Needed words

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

NEEDED WORDS

Matt 10:17-20

17 "Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. 18 On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

NIV

We have no record of such treatment of these disciples if they left Jesus at this time to make their journey throughout the towns of Israel. If we proceed further in this gospel we find his disciples are still with him. So did Matthew miss some time, or did none of these travels happen until after the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus? It would seem this is the case. He was giving them instructions as to what to do after he was gone, although he did not say that. One of the clues given to us which verifies this, is he tells them the Spirit of their Father will speak through them. It is not until he leaves them he tells them he will send the Spirit. We see the Spirit coming to them in Acts well after his ascension. This is another example of his divine nature, knowing all that is to happen, because in the reality of the divine it already has. Everything that will happen to Jesus did so before the foundation of the earth. So in some sense this is prophetic, these situations will happen. But then as we know from history these things did happen to them, most of his disciple were martyred eventually. But is this just prophesy and a history lesson for us? Is there anything in here for us to garner as truth for our lives? We certainly know that throughout history even today in areas in the world Christians have experienced much persecution at the hands of their own peoples. This does not speak to situations such as the holocaust but rather being treated in such manner by the very people of their own country. As with the case of the disciples they were sent to the towns of Israel only. Although the Romans did the crucifying of Jesus, it was the Jews who demanded it. Will we someday be subject to this kind of treatment in our country, but our own people? Will Christians be brought before the local councils and be flogged in the churches? Because of our faith could we be brought before the local government courts, even arrested? Maybe not in our lifetime, yet maybe we will in a sense. Maybe Christianity is being flogged in the courts of this land. Maybe Christianity is being attacked, arrested and on trial. We certainly have had encounters with people in our own communities and families that would flog our belief in Jesus. They present their compelling arguments against Christianity in the public arena, and more so more freely on social media. Our own government is bending to the pressures of those who distain our faith by passing laws prohibiting public expression of Christmas, unless giving the same space to anti-Christian expressions. More of late, it seems more liberty is given to other beliefs than to Christianity.  However, as with the disciples we have the Spirit. When we, or our faith is flogged in the public square including social media, we should not be alarmed nor sit silent. Jesus tells his disciples and us not to worry about what we are to say for the Spirit will speak through us. We will be given the right words. But that also means we need to rely on the Spirit and not on our own abilities or linguistic prowess. It is not by our intellectual knowledge  we are to make the case, but by the guidance of the Spirit. This also means we should not be afraid to speak up, to witness to the truth.  But at the same time we need to be on guard against such attacks. This goes back to being aware there are wolves out there. Although we live as innocent people, as sheep, we need to know where the den of wolves is. Be on guard against them, and keep on sharing the gospel as the Spirit gives us both the power and the needed words.