Matthew 10

Matthew 10:3

Matthew The Publican Matthew the publican.—Matthew 10:3. There are four lists of Christ’s apostles given in the New Testament—one in Matthew, one in Mark, one in Luke, and one in the Acts, and in each of them you find the name of St. Matthew. But in one of the lists —that in Matthew’s Gospel—you find after the name the words “the publican.”You must often have noticed the word “publican” in the New Testament. You find it again and again, and always in a connection that shows how little the publican was respected. Publicans and sinners are often spoken of together, and when the Jews wished to say something very bad about Jesus they said. “He is a friend of publicans,” “He eats with publicans and sinners.”Now this word publican has quite a different meaning in the Bible from what it has among ourselves. It has nothing to do with the sale of strong drink.

The publican in the Bible is a tax-collector.But why should tax-collectors be spoken of as the lowest of men, and as great sinners? We often find it hard to pay taxes.

Yet we do not speak of our tax- collectors and custom-house officers as though they were not fit to be known. If these taxes had been paid to a Jewish king or prince reigning at Jerusalem, the Jews would have felt differently about them. But the people of Palestine were paying taxes to a foreign power. They were at this time under the Roman Empire, and they felt very bitterly having lost their independence. They were the people of Jehovah; the Romans were heathen, who brought heathen ways among them, and compelled them to pay taxes to support a hated government.And not only were the taxes paid to Rome, but they were very heavy. The reason was this.

The Roman Empire was divided into provinces or districts, and the right to collect taxes in a district was sold by the government to the highest bidder. That is, a man said, “I will give you so much if you give me the right to collect and keep the taxes in such a place,” and the man who offered most got the post.Now these men offered money for the post of publican that they might make money by it; and all the money they could raise above what they paid for the taxes was profit to themselves.

So they squeezed money out of people in every way they could think of. They made the taxes as heavy as they could, and did many dishonest things in order to get as much profit as possible. The great publicans employed other men to collect the taxes for them through the country, and these other men all acted in the same way. They cheated and overcharged whenever they got the chance.Thus a publican was always thought of as a dishonest person. There was a proverb which said that bears and lions might be the fiercest of the wild beasts in the forests, but publicans and informers were the worst in the cities.You see, then, why the Jews hated the publicans. And when a Jew became a publican it was a terrible offence.

He was a traitor to his country by collecting Roman taxes, and by extorting money from his own people. Besides, he had to break the Sabbath.

Those who were not Jews did business on the Sabbath, and he had to be ready to examine goods and charge duty on that day, just as on any other day.You can imagine how the Jews felt towards a man who did work like that. He was a disgrace to his family and his town. If we could imagine our country conquered by a heathen people who oppressed us with taxes, and insulted our religion, we should understand how the Jews felt towards anyone of their countrymen who became a publican.Now Matthew was a publican. He sat in a little wooden hut near the Sea of Galilee, and collected the money due to him. There was a great deal of traffic on the Lake and in the towns round it. People were always coming and going, and he heard all the news of the countryside being discussed by the people who came to his little office.

He heard of the preaching of John the Baptist. He heard that some publicans had gone to him to be baptized, and that John had told them not to take more money than was due to them.

Then he heard of the preaching of Jesus. He heard of His miracles that were done in Capernaum—how the sick were cured, how the paralyzed people walked, and how on this very Lake He had made a storm be still. He heard that some men he knew had gone to be followers of the new Teacher. James and John and Simon and Andrew—all fishermen on the Lake—had left their work and followed Jesus.Perhaps Matthew went one day to listen to Christ, and heard Him speak about the love of God. Nobody loved the publican. Everybody despised him. Yet Jesus said God loved everybody. Perhaps he heard Jesus tell men not to be greedy of money or give their hearts to seeking it.

That was what he (Matthew) was doing. Making money was all his pleasure in life.Then one day Jesus Himself passed the publican’s office. Very likely He had often passed it before, but this day He stopped and spoke. All He said was, “Follow me.” And Matthew rose, and left everything and followed Jesus.What did Jesus want with a man like that? Of what use would he be? He was not respectable, and would only bring discredit on his Master. But Jesus had looked deep into the heart of Matthew. He saw that he was ashamed of his life and wanted to leave it.

He saw that he needed God’s love and forgiveness. And that was the kind of man He always wanted. There was no one so low or so much despised that Christ could not take him and use him. He saw good where nobody else saw it, and He did not care about public opinion. While people said, “Ah, He has taken that publican to be His companion now,” He knew that Matthew was going to be a faithful disciple and spread the knowledge of the Savior throughout the world.We do not know much about Matthew’s after-life. During Christ’s life on earth he was always with Him, but after His death we hear no more about him.

There are traditions that he went to distant countries as a missionary, and died a martyr.We owe one of our Gospels to Matthew, and there are some things in it that are not in any of the others. It was Matthew who kept this beautiful saying of Christ for us—“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” And it is in Matthew’s Gospel only that we are told that he was a despised publican.There are two things for us to learn from the story of Matthew.1. There is good in everybody, however much appearances may be against them. It often happens that people would gladly be different, but they do not know how to begin, and their circumstances make it difficult. We must be careful not to judge people by what they seem, because God, who sees them as they truly are, and loves them, often judges very differently. There is nothing so ugly and dirty looking as coal-tar, but out of it can be made beautiful and brilliant dyes.There was once a tinker who lived in Bedford.

He was so given to swearing that everybody was shocked to hear him. Yet God called him and he followed; and he became the author of the Pilgrims Progress— John Bunyan.2.

It is love that wins people. While people despised and hated him Matthew was a hard, selfish man, but when Jesus loved him and showed him that He wanted him his heart was softened.The people who bring out the best in you are not those who look at your bad points but those who look at your good points. Their belief in you helps you to be better. Always look for the good in people and you will find it even where you do not expect it.There was once a little girl who was so naughty that she had to be removed from several schools. Her teachers said she was so troublesome that they could not keep her. At last she went to a school where she did very well indeed. When someone asked her what the explanation was, she said, “They were so good to me that I was ashamed to be bad any longer.”

Matthew 10:16

Serpents And Doves Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.— Matthew 10:16. Have you ever noticed how often Jesus spoke about dumb animals? He seemed to love them and understand them better than anyone else did. When He was a boy He must have wandered often among the hills and vales of Galilee, and I expect there wasn’t a thing that boys know about birds and beasts that He didn’t know. He knew how each bird made its nest, the numbers and the color of the eggs, and how long the little birds took to hatch and grow up. He knew where the foxes had their holes, and the wild beasts their dens. He knew much more than ordinary boys do, for with those wonderful eyes of His which could look right into the very hearts of men, He could see also into the minds of the creatures God had made, and could read all their little joys and cares and sorrows.And so it is not strange that when Jesus was talking to the people, He often spoke to them about the birds and beasts.

When He wanted to let them know how much God loved them, He told them of the lost sheep whom the Good Shepherd went to seek. WhenHe would have them understand how God watched over each one of them, He drew a picture of the little common sparrows, not one of whom fell to the ground without His Father’s seeing it.

When they were anxious about this world’s goods, He spoke of the ravens whom God fed, and when one man wanted to follow Him without counting the cost, He reminded him that the foxes had holes and the birds of the air their nests; but the Son of man had not where to lay His head.When Jesus was about to send His disciples on their first mission He again spoke of two dumb creatures. The disciples were going out into a world where they would meet with many temptations and many rebuffs, and He cautioned them to be “wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.”Now why did Jesus tell His disciples to be like serpents? Well, of course it wasn’t the wickedness of the serpent He was thinking of, nor the harm it could do with its poisoned fangs. Perhaps nobody but Jesus would have found something good to say about the serpent. But He did find something good in it as He found good in everybody. He told His disciples to imitate the wisdom of the serpent.

The serpent is especially wise in protecting itself from its foes. Sometimes it makes itself look like the branch of a tree, sometimes it hides in the hot sand with only its head visible, sometimes it lies among the long grass, or at the bottom of a pool.Jesus knew that He had set His disciples a difficult task and that they would need all their head as well as all their heart to carry it out.

Many people were against them. Although they were not to be cowards, they were not to run unnecessary risks. And they were not to spoil their cause by needlessly and foolishly setting up people’s backs. Many men and women have ruined a good cause by allowing their enthusiasm to run away with their judgment.But although they were to be wise as serpents they were also to be “harmless as doves.” Harmless just means simple or innocent. Like the dove they were to be pure, and gentle, and faithful. They were not to give anyone a real reason to speak ill of them. They were not to avenge themselves.Jesus wants all His followers, like the first disciples, to be “wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” He wants all-round boys and girls. Some people are like trees that have grown all to one side.

They are not beautiful because they are undeveloped. The best people grow out on every side. Christ wants us to use all our powers for Him.1. First, He wants us to be “wise as serpents.” He wants us to use our head as well as our heart.We have to be wise for our own sakes. The world is not all a good place. There are bad things in it as well as good, and we have to be watchful to discern the good from the evil, and to avoid the evil.Once an earthenware pot and a brass pot stood side by side on the bank of a river. One day the river rose after rain and the pots were carried far out into the middle of the stream. As it bobbed up and down, the earthenware pot dreaded lest it should be shattered by a blow from the brass pot.

But the brass pot sailed up, all polished and smiling, and said, “Don’t be frightened. I shall take care of you.” “Thank you,” replied the earthenware pot, “all the care I require of you is that you keep your distance. I am not afraid of the stream, but if you come close to me, it will mean my ruin.”There are lots of brass pots sailing about the world. On the surface they look very fine and attractive, but if we come too near them they may be our ruin, and we need the wisdom of the serpent to know them and avoid them.Then we have to be wise also for the sake of others. If we want to help them and do them good we must be wise in the doing of it.And we have to be wise for Christ’s sake, for we may do His cause a great deal of harm if we act foolishly.2. But, secondly, we must be “harmless as doves.” We may be wiser than any serpent, but if we are not also as simple as doves our wisdom may turn into cunning.

Jesus wants us to use our heart as well as our head.If we are to be like the dove we must be innocent and pure. Purity is the best shield with which to face the world.

In the Pilgrim’s Progress, Bunyan tells how the Shepherds brought the Pilgrims to Mount Innocence and how they saw there a man in a white garment sitting on the hillside. Two men called Prejudice and Ill-will were continually throwing dirt at him, but when the dirt touched his garment it very soon fell off again and left no stain. When the Pilgrims asked the meaning of it the Shepherds told them that the man’s name was Godly-man and that he was clad in a robe of innocence. Those others who were throwing dirt hated him for his well-doing, but their labor was all in vain. And the fate of all others who were like him would be as his—God would cause their innocence to break forth as the light, and their righteousness as the noonday.Jesus Christ Himself was “wise as a serpent, and harmless as a dove.” No one who trod the earth was ever so pure or so gentle, and no one was ever so wise. Do you remember how cleverly He answered the Pharisees and how wise He was in His dealings with all the people who came to Him?

And we can wish for nothing better than just to grow a little liker Him from day to day. Let us ask His help that we also may become “wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.”

Matthew 10:26

Secrets There is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.—Matthew 10:26. This is to be the story of a trash-heap, and what was found in it.The trash-heap is not in this country, but in Egypt. Far away in Egypt, on the edge of the desert, you may see today a little Arab village. It is a poor little place, yet on its site there once stood a flourishing town. That was about two thousand years ago, and there is nothing to be seen of the town now but some mounds where the sand of the desert has blown over the ruins of the fallen houses and completely covered them. And it is among these mounds that our trash-heap is. Some years ago a number of explorers went to Egypt to examine the mounds and see what they could find out about the ancient town of Oxyrhynchus, and the people who once lived there.Now wherever there are people living in a town they have utensils for cooking and for eating.

If these are made of pottery they get broken from time to time, and the broken pieces do not decay but may be found centuries after. Thus people know the kind of pottery that was made in those days.

But in this place the explorers found something better than broken pottery. They found a great number of books and writings which had been thrown out as useless. Very likely they were intended for burning, but unless you stir up a bonfire and let in air it will go out. Now a great part of these books and documents had not been touched. They had been covered over with sand, and had remained there ever since. Of course that could not happen in our country because the soil is moist, but in Egypt the climate is so dry that things do not decay, and the sand has preserved the writings perfectly.These books are not like ours.

They are not written on paper, which was not known in Egypt, but on papyrus, which was made from the papyrus plant. This is a tall plant which grows in marshy places and was very plentiful in ancient Egypt.

The stem was opened and the pith cut into strips which were laid side by side close together. Then other strips were laid across them and they were pressed firmly together and dried. This made a kind of writing material so durable that it has lasted for thousands of years.The writings, then, in this trash heap were on papyrus, and they were in Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, and other languages. What were they about? Well, what kind of papers do we throw into our waste-paper baskets from time to time? There were old letters, accounts, receipts, tax-papers, diaries, and legal agreements, also schoolwork written by Egyptian schoolboys.

You see that from these writings we can learn a great deal about the life people led in those days—how they wrote, and thought, and did business. Among much that was of little value was found one leaf of a papyrus book containing eight “Sayings of Jesus Christ,” and a few more “Sayings” were found written on the back of a business paper.

These sayings are very interesting because they are like some in our New Testament; and we know that Jesus must have said many things of which we have not a record. It is very odd that one of these sayings, so long buried in the sand and so strangely found, is, “There is nothing hidden which shall not be revealed, nor buried which shall not be raised.”But of all the writings found that which will interest you most is a letter. It was written by a naughty boy, called Theon, to his father, who had gone to Alexandria without him. Theon had wished very much to go, and, as he was a spoiled boy, he gave a great deal of trouble. His father, in order to get away in peace, pretended he was only going to the town. When Theon found he had been cheated, and that his father had really started on his journey, he sat down and wrote this letter.

The writing (which is Greek) is bad, the spelling is bad, the grammar is bad, but the contents are worst of all. For the naughty boy says that unless his father sends for him and takes him with him, he will never speak to him, or write to him, or shake hands with him again.

He says he is behaving so badly that he is driving his mother out of her wits, and that she would be only too glad to pack him off. His father had sent him a present of locust beans to console him, but he despises them. Lastly, he says he will not eat or drink, but will starve himself to death, unless he is taken to Alexandria.We do not know whether Theon got his way, but his letter was thrown out with the trash, and here it is. Perhaps there are still some children like him nearly two thousand years afterwards.Naughty Theon little knew that his impudent letter would lie hidden for perhaps seventeen hundred years and would then be dug up. He never guessed that his bad conduct would be revealed to the world, his childish writing and his bad spelling photographed and printed in learned books. The things which he thought hid were revealed.There are some things which you would like very well to be hidden, things which you would rather not remember, things which you would be glad to bury deep under some sand heap.

There are little acts of selfishness and greediness and untruthfulness which you are ashamed of. But, like Theon, you are all writing letters every day, and you cannot destroy them.

They are not written on paper or papyrus, but they are written all the same, and some day the sand will blow away and the writing will be seen. Every act, however small, makes a mark on your character. Each time it is repeated it makes a deeper mark. Then something happens — the sand blows off—and the character you have made for yourself is uncovered. When all the writing is seen it reads Truthfulness or Untruthfulness, Trustworthiness or Untrustworthiness, Selfishness or Unselfishness, Greed or Generosity.Now is the time, when you are children, to take care what you write. It is now that you are making your characters.

By the time you are grown up they will be nearly formed, and it will be very hard to change them. Remember that the bad habits you think so little about are becoming a part of you— written on you so that you will find it almost impossible to take out the marks.

And if you have made any ugly marks already, ask God now, before you are any older, to give you His big india-rubber of forgiveness and grace to erase them.

Matthew 10:31

Dearer Than A Sparrow Ye are of more value than many sparrows.—Matthew 10:31. We don’t value a sparrow very much, do we? Sparrows are so plentiful, so plain-looking, so cheeky and greedy and quarrelsome, that we are inclined to look down upon them. Of course Mr. Sparrow has his good points. He is a cheery little fellow, and he stays with us all winter when birds of finer feather or sweeter song desert us for warmer climes. And whatever his faults, he is no snob, for he chirps just as brightly in the smoky, dirty city as in the green country lanes.But if sparrows are numerous and despised here, they are much more so in the land where Jesus lived; for there is perhaps no country in the world where they are more plentiful than in Palestine. There they are to be found in thousands. In the springtime the trees and shrubs are stuffed full of their nests.

They are regarded as a nuisance. They are caught by hundreds in snares and sold to the poor people for food. In Christ’s time they were so cheap that two could be bought for a farthing—and if you bought two farthings worth one was thrown into the bargain.When Jesus wished to show His disciples how much God cared for them He spoke about the despised sparrows. God gave the sparrows their life, and they are precious in His sight. He enters into all their little joys and troubles. He does not forget any of them, and He notices when even one falls to the ground. Jesus told His disciples not to be anxious and fearful. If God could look after the sparrows, how much more could He care for the men and women and children whom He made in His own image.

They were “of more value than many sparrows.”Now I think we can learn two lessons here. And the first is that we should he kind to the sparrows.—We should be kind to the sparrows and to all God’s creatures, for He made them and He cares for them, and when we ill-treat them we are hurting God.When George Frederic Watts, the famous artist, was a boy he suffered a great deal from bad health. Often he laid in bed for days at a time; and how do you think he amused himself? He made friends with a sparrow. He managed to tame it so well that it would perch on his head as he lay in bed and even eat out of his plate.There are just two ways we can treat God’s creatures. We can be kind to them and make them our friends, or we can be cruel to them and make them our enemies.

Those of you who have pets at home can tell me which is the better way.And then in the second place our text teaches us how much God cares for us.—We are apt to think of God as a Great Being who lives afar off, and who rules the world. We forget that He is very near to every one of us, so close that He hears every sigh we breathe, so close that He sees every tear we shed.

God does indeed rule the world and guide the stars in their courses, but He is so great and wonderful that He also knows every one of His children here below.Some years ago King Edward the Seventh visited Norwich. The school children were drawn up in a line to meet him, and when he passed along they cheered just as loud as ever they could, and they sang “God save the king” with all their heart and soul. But after the monarch had passed by one little girl was found in floods of tears. The teacher, trying to comfort her, asked, “Didn’t you see the king?” “Ye—es,” sobbed the girl, “but he did—didn’t see me!”An earthly king, no matter how kind and willing he may be, cannot see everybody, but the great King of kings sees and knows and loves each one of us as though that one were the only person in the world. He knows you far more intimately than your father or mother does. He is never too busy looking after the world to forget one of you.

It doesn’t matter how plain you are, or how poor, or how little thought of, God cares for you. He cares for the plain, despised sparrow, and He cares far, far more for you.I’m only a little sparrow, A bird of low degree; My life is of little value, But the dear Lord cares for me. I know there are many sparrows; All over the world they are found; But our Heavenly Father knoweth When one falls to the ground. I fly through the thickest forest, I alight on many a spray; I have no chart or compass, But I never lose my way. I just fold my wings at nightfall Wherever I happen to be; For the Father is always watchings No harm can happen to me. I am only a little sparrow, A bird of low degree, But I know that the Father loves me. Dost thou know His love for thee?