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S3 104: Innocent as Doves
Sending the Disciples
BEMA Episode Link: 104: Innocent as Doves
Episode Length: 39:59
Published Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2019 01:00:00 -0800
Session 3
About this episode:
Episode Length: 39:59
Published Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2019 01:00:00 -0800
Session 3
About this episode:
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings listen to the second major discourse given by Jesus as he sends out his disciples on a mission to bring the Kingdom.
Notes
*Note: The following notes are handwritten by me, Adam, and I reserve the right to be wrong.
- Matthew Structure
- Five major sections each followed by a long discourse by Jesus.
- Parallels to the books of Torah
- Matthew portrays Jesus as the new Moses.
- Bible Project Resources: Matthew 1-13 | Matthew Poster
- Matthew 10
- Jesus Sends Out The Twelve
- Jesus has shown the disciples how to live out the sermon on the mount, now he sends the disciples out to try it on their own.
- World Views of the Disciples
- Pharisaical View (from Bethsaida): Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John (maybe Essene view), Philip
- Herodian: Thomas (Didymus), Matthew, James son of Alpheus, Thaddeus
- Zealot: Simon and Judas.
- Did Jesus pair his disciples up with others that have a different worldview than they had? If he had, that would have been very Rabbinic of him. Who knows though.
- Jesus instructs the disciples to go to the “sheep of Israel”, not the Gentiles, and DO these things. Be the message, not just share the message.
- They are told to be dependent on those in the communities they visit. They will have to rely on the hospitality of others. If they are not hospitable, leave. Why mention Sodom and Gomorrah? Because they were not hospitable.
- “Sheep among wolves,” “shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves?” The church will not treat you well. Be prepared for that. Many have struggled to find their place in the church. “I’m not sending you to the pagans, I’m sending you to the believers.” “You will be flogged.”
- “You will have to flee…” This will not be easy and you’ll be persecuted.
- “You will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.” The story of the paralyzed man. Marty wonders if Jesus is telling his disciples this because they’re going to have to get really good at forgiveness.
- “Has been called Beelzebul” That just happened in chapter 9.
- “…be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Marty doesn’t explain away this reference to hell. Jesus is making a point that they must focus on God and not man. This is about Empire vs Shalom. Sometimes we blackout when we hear the word “hell” but it’s important to pause and understand the full context. We have not yet gotten a full discourse on Hell from Jesus yet.
- “I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Some believers love to quote this verse but we often don’t pay attention to what he’s actually talking about. This is from Micah. Micah 6:14 discusses the sword. Jesus is saying that the same kind of world that Micah describes is upon us. Jesus follows this sword quotation with, “but as for me, I will hope in the Lord,” Micah 7:7. Why does Jesus say this, because he’s telling them if they’re going to persevere in the midst of this and if they will, God will see them and save them. Context matters. If we are not careful in the way we read, we can teach the exact opposite of what Jesus is teaching.
- “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. Anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Talmud teaches that Rabbis and Disciples have a stronger relationship than parent and child. If you follow me, you HAVE to be all in. This is not about hating your mom and dad, it’s more about sheep listening to their shepherd.
- “Receive a prophet’s reward.” This is a present tense reward. The way you live will produce a specific type of reward. Ayin tovah, ayin ra-ah. Good eye, bad eye. If you want to be a person of hospitality and mercy and justice and humility, you will reap the rewards from that. If you want to be stingy and someone with a bad eye, you will reap those rewards as well.
- Stacey’s questions, comments, concerns:
- This seems to be more of a lesson for his disciples than for the people.
- Forgiveness seems to come up a lot.
- How often do you think God wants us to rely on other people?
- Questions
- Overview
- This is the group resources video for episode 104 of the BEMA podcast titled innocent as doves. No feedback from this episode that we have to follow up on. The Big Ideas, just walking verse by verse through this chunk of Matthew, I believe Matthew chapter 10, where Jesus sends out his disciples, kind of, on their first mission trip, on Mission. And so many things that come to mind here. Episode 83 where we talked about gospel narrative. He sends them out to bring the message. The “euangelion,” bring the euangelion, tell people there’s a new king and a new kingdom. There are so many questions out there about what is the gospel. Maybe we’re not asking that so much in our context but once you become historically aware of the Gospel narrative, you’re like wait a minute, when Jesus told them to go share the gospel what did that mean? Because obviously it doesn’t he’s not referring to his death and resurrection. That hasn’t happened yet. What… When Jesus told his disciples, “go share the gospel,” what is he telling them to go share? That’s where our conversation in episode 83, I’ll link that in the description, becomes so helpful because you know that to know what a euangelion was in the Greco-Roman context is just super helpful. That there’s a new king and a new kingdom, he sends them out to proclaim that there’s a new king and a new kingdom on display; that this new reality that is among us, it’s here, it’s at hand, it’s accessible and this new reality is going to liberate you from fears and insecurities. From the things that enslave you from your sin, from all the above. There’s a new king and a new kingdom and it’s changing everything. That’s the message and that message isn’t just a verbal message it’s also an incarnated message. It’s a message that is incarnated through our actions and our practice and our behavior. So we bring healing and we announce healing and we better not announce healing without bringing healing and we probably shouldn’t just bring healing without giving some kind of word or announcement to what it is and where it’s coming from and what it belongs to which is Jesus. So all those things are super helpful and should lead to all kinds of great conversation. You’ll probably come up with even better talking points.
- Head
- Re: Euangeleon in E83, if Jesus is asking his disciples to go share the gospel about a new king and a new kingdom BEFORE HE HAS DIED, what does that mean in this context?
- Reviewing E83:
- What is a Greco-Roman gospel?
- What do they understand about the euangelion?
- How is that impacting this narrative?
- Thoughts on the Bible Project videos on Matthew?
- Thoughts on the Bible Project poster on Matthew?
- Thoughts on Micah and how it relates to this passage? Is it a stretch to reference unquoted portions of Micah and tie them to this portion of Matthew?
- Thoughts on how Micah 7:6 and Malachi 4:6 compare and contrast with Matthew 10:21, and 34-39?
- Heart
- Guilt that drove evangelism in fundamental christian traditions:
- Who struggles/d to share the gospel?
- If we shape our understanding of what it means to share the euangelion, does reading Matthew 10 make us feel like, “well if that’s what the gospel is like, I would do that… I want to do that”?
- Are there any of you that have stories about receiving a beautiful gospel; that have received the gospel in a good way?
- Are there any of you that have stories about receiving the gospel in a destructive way? In a way that is not good?
- Guilt that drove evangelism in fundamental christian traditions:
- Hands
- Jesus tells his disciples to be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.
- What does it mean to be shrewd in this passage?
- Do we give enough credit to what it means to be shrewd, discerning, to be wise about how we apply the gospel and the presence that we’re living out in the world?
- Do we spend enough time wrestling with what it means to be shrewd as serpents because Jesus invites us, commands us to be, tells us we’re going to have to be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves?
- Do we neuter the gospel by assuming we’re supposed to be this passive, cross-eyed, dumb version of believers that don’t think critically and don’t engage anything with any depth or complexity or nuance?
- Jesus tells his disciples to be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.
- Overview