DANIELWESTFALL.COM
  • Home
  • What We Believe
    • Statement of Faith
    • HCF's Church Covenant
    • The New City Catechism
    • The 9 Marks of a Healthy Church
  • Publications
    • Journal Entries
    • Faith and Culture (Biblical Apologetics)
    • Newsletters and Announcements
  • Evangelism Techniques
    • The Romans Road
    • The Three Circles Method
    • Crown-Heart-World
    • Evangelism Explosion
    • Sharing Your Testimony
  • Biblical Discipleship
    • Bible Studies and Discipleship Groups
    • The Gospel Project
    • The Gospel Project Recordings
    • Request Access
    • Ask a Question
  • Gospel Foundations
    • Volume 1: The God Who Creates
    • Volume 2: A Wandering People
    • Volume 3: Longing For a King
    • Volume 4: The Coming Rescue
    • Volume 5: God With Us
    • Volume 6: The Kingdom On Earth
  • Mathematics Tutoring
  • Bible Study Tools
    • The Bible App
    • Blue Letter Bible
    • Audio Bibles-BibleGateway.com
    • Daily Reading Plans-BibleGateway.com
    • Bible Overview
    • Notes on the History of Salvation in the Old Testament from the ESV Study Bible: Preparing the Way for Christ
    • How to Interpret the Bible
  • Links and Resources
    • Songs We Sing at HCF
    • Hymns We Sing at HCF
    • Capitol Hill Baptist Church Core Seminars
    • 9 Marks Church Search
    • White Horse Inn Podcast
    • The 99 in :99
    • The Gospel Project for Preschoolers Videos
    • The Gospel Project for Kids Videos
    • My YouTube Channel
  • For the HCF Elders
    • Ministry Updates for HCF Elders
    • Prayer Requests

Journal Entries

Matthew 10:34-42--Costs and Rewards for Following Jesus

2/22/2020

0 Comments

 
​Matthew 10:34-42 English Standard Version (ESV)
LISTEN:  
https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/esv/Matt.10.34-Matt.10.42
Not Peace, but a Sword
​
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Rewards
40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41 The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

While Jesus did come to bring peace between God and Man in His first coming, He did not come as the rider on the white horse that would be the conquering king that would bring peace throughout His kingdom so that the lamb would lay down with the lion.  This is what many of the Jews were expecting from Jesus and Jesus was up-front with them that He wasn't there to make everything restored to the point where there was no conflict in our relationships--in fact, He was going to create much conflict and be the center of much conflict.  People would have to decide who they believed He was and what to do with His message and it would divide families--some of the strongest love that we know because we are made of the same flesh and blood.  But Jesus said that unless we love Him even more than we love our family and are willing to abandon them (and everything else we hold dear) for the sake of the call (listen to the song that I posted on my Facebook page today to go along with this passage), then we do do not deserve to be called His disciples because if we are following after Him, He left everything in heaven behind for us because of the sake of His calling--to be born and live as a man to ultimately die on the cross.  For those that can't see my Facebook profile, here's a LINK  to the video.

Some of us will be asked to die for Him, but how many of us are willing to live for Him in front of our friends and family and co-workers and be unwilling to buy into the argument that worship is not just something that you say or sing when you are inside the four walls of a church building, but it is how you live your life each and every moment in light of the God who gave so much for you. 

The next part of the passage reminds us that those who accept us are accepting Christ and those who reject us are rejecting Christ and they will each receive their reward(s) accordingly.  Some people may accept us for different reasons though--not all will accept us because they see us as disciples of Christ.  Like Jesus, some will simply see us a a morally righteous person or as a prophet who speaks God's words to men, and those who accept us that way will receive some reward--don't miss it that it seems like those who receive these "rewards" from men because that's what they were seeking have received their reward in full.  Jesus will make this quite clear in other places in the gospels and there were always people trying to get close to Him for all the wrong reasons.  This is why Jesus first included the part about how life as His disciple meant giving up everything.

  The best reward discussed here is for those who show the selfless love of Christ to those who could never offer them anything in return--like giving a cup of cold water to a child in the name of Jesus.  These are the people who will receive their reward not from men (as implied in the first part of the passage), but from God Himself--an eternal reward. that is imperishable and impossible to lose  So the question then is one of what kinds of rewards do we seek?  The applause of men or do we "perform" for an audience of One who will one day say, "Well done may good and faithful servant."?
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Daniel Westfall

    I will mostly use this space for recording my "journal" from my daily devotions as I hope to encourage others to read the Bible along with me and to leave a legacy for others.

    Occasionally, I'll also post some true blog/opinion pieces focused on what the Bible has to say about current events or the importance of a particular spiritual discipline, or something more topic-related to orthodoxy (right belief) or orthopraxy (right living).  You can also find those blogs over at Faith and Culture.

    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    June 2016
    January 2010
    July 2007

    Categories

    All
    1 Chronicles
    1 Corinthians
    1 John
    1 Kings
    1 Peter
    1 Samuel
    1 Thessalonians
    2 Chronicles
    2 Corinthians
    2 John
    2 Kings
    2 Peter
    2 Samuel
    2 Thessalonians
    3 John
    Acts
    Colossians
    Deuteronomy
    Ecclesiastes
    Ephesians
    Esther
    Exodus
    Ezra
    Galatians
    Genesis
    Hebrews
    Isaiah
    James
    Jeremiah
    Job
    John
    Joshua
    Jude
    Judges
    Leviticus
    Luke
    Mark
    Matthew
    Nehemiah
    Numbers
    Philemon
    Philippians
    Proverbs
    Psalms
    Romans
    Ruth
    Song Of Songs/Song Of Solomon
    The Sermon On The Mount

    RSS Feed

Use this search bar to search for any keywords for any content posted here on the website.  Some content you find in your searches may have an old target link, but I assure you the article is still on the website.  If you need help finding something, please contact me, and I'll be happy to help you.
  • Home
  • What We Believe
    • Statement of Faith
    • HCF's Church Covenant
    • The New City Catechism
    • The 9 Marks of a Healthy Church
  • Publications
    • Journal Entries
    • Faith and Culture (Biblical Apologetics)
    • Newsletters and Announcements
  • Evangelism Techniques
    • The Romans Road
    • The Three Circles Method
    • Crown-Heart-World
    • Evangelism Explosion
    • Sharing Your Testimony
  • Biblical Discipleship
    • Bible Studies and Discipleship Groups
    • The Gospel Project
    • The Gospel Project Recordings
    • Request Access
    • Ask a Question
  • Gospel Foundations
    • Volume 1: The God Who Creates
    • Volume 2: A Wandering People
    • Volume 3: Longing For a King
    • Volume 4: The Coming Rescue
    • Volume 5: God With Us
    • Volume 6: The Kingdom On Earth
  • Mathematics Tutoring
  • Bible Study Tools
    • The Bible App
    • Blue Letter Bible
    • Audio Bibles-BibleGateway.com
    • Daily Reading Plans-BibleGateway.com
    • Bible Overview
    • Notes on the History of Salvation in the Old Testament from the ESV Study Bible: Preparing the Way for Christ
    • How to Interpret the Bible
  • Links and Resources
    • Songs We Sing at HCF
    • Hymns We Sing at HCF
    • Capitol Hill Baptist Church Core Seminars
    • 9 Marks Church Search
    • White Horse Inn Podcast
    • The 99 in :99
    • The Gospel Project for Preschoolers Videos
    • The Gospel Project for Kids Videos
    • My YouTube Channel
  • For the HCF Elders
    • Ministry Updates for HCF Elders
    • Prayer Requests