Thought for 26 March

 

Matthew 10:9-11

‘Don’t take any money with you.  Don’t carry a traveller’s bag with an extra coat and sandals or even a walking stick.  Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve to be fed.  Whenever you enter a city or village, search for a worthy man and stay in his home until you leave for the next town’. 

On Monday, our reading came from the beginning of Matthew 10 and I suggested that you should read the rest of the chapter.  Well, I took my own advice and today, have chosen another few verses from the same chapter for our consideration.  In some bibles, the whole chapter is known as the little commission.  According to the thesaurus, a commission could also be a command, directive, instruction, charge, contract or an assignment.  

In this chapter, there are 42 verses.  The first four tell us the names of the disciples Jesus chose.  The remaining 38 verses were the words of Jesus that outlined what was expected from the disciples and the challenges they would be likely to encounter and there’s a lot to take in. 

Today’s verses make me think of what it is like in our house whether we’re going on holiday for one or two weeks or even, just for a few days.  In a few words, we don’t travel light!!!  Clothes are packed for every type of weather we could possibly encounter.  There’s dress clothes and casual clothes.  If two of us are going, the luggage for each of us is shared between the two cases – just in the event of one of them going missing (which has never ever happened, but you can’t be too careful – so I’m told).  We have main luggage, but we also have hand luggage, and both varieties can end up being fairly substantial, as my occasional lower back pain can testify. When it comes to finding a place to stay, most folks will have that arranged before they head to where they’re going.  When it comes to money, we will probably have sterling, Euros and a couple of bank cards we can also use, if required. 

I don’t imagine the level of preparation for going to a new place all those years ago would have come anywhere close to the level of preparation that we might deploy, but there must have been some level of preparation nevertheless, and Jesus recognises this and tells them not to do any. They are not even to have any money with them that they might purchase some food when they get hungry. In terms of finding somewhere to stay for the night, he tells them to find a worthy man and stay in his home until it is time to leave.  I’m trying to think how that would pan out in our time.  If an unknown preacher turned up in Holytown or New Stevenston with just the clothes he was wearing, and not a penny on him, how would he go about finding that worthy man?  How must those disciples have felt when they were given this Commission and how would we feel today if we were told by our Lord to go out and do the same? 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the Gospels and the beautiful truth that Jesus is indeed, the Messiah.  We thank you that even though Israel rejected Jesus and crucified their King, you were not finished with your chosen people.  We thank you that in your grace, you chose us and others who believe in Jesus' name and trust Him as Saviour, to witness to a sinful world, and have entrusted us to be a light to lost sinners, and to be ministers of the New  Covenant, in Christ's blood and In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.  (with thanks to knowing-jesus.com)