Christian Art | The Mission Of The Apostles
Matthew 10: 16-23 – Week 14 Ordinary Time, Friday (King James Audio Bible KJV, Spoken Word)
16 ¶ Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.
21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
‘I speak the name of Jesus.’ As the Discourse of the Mission continues, Jesus prepares his disciples to face danger. They are to be as sheep. In this way again they are to imitate Jesus – to act in persona of Jesus – as they preach and heal, as they prefigure the saving sacrifice upon the cross. There is to be contention, contradiction.
Something of the meaning of the contradiction may be gleaned from Jesus’ telling his disciples that brother will be turned against brother, that families will become internally contradictory, at conflict within themselves. We may wonder: how can this be a good thing – the intention? One thought we might find is that Jesus’ message, the core, saving grace he bestows upon us, strikes at the heart of what we thought we knew – of established ‘wisdom’. It tears that old so-called wisdom apart, because such is no longer tenable in the light of the new hope of life everlasting in Jesus. The old wisdom will not, however, go without a struggle. As new life breaks through the rot of the old, so there will inevitably be contention, contradiction. Jesus dramatizes the difficult birth pains of new knowledge, the new covenant, by speaking of a family, like a mind torn asunder, as old, established custom fragments and disintegrates, and as the new is made apparent for all who dare.
In the midst of and acting as the agents of such contention, the disciples are not to fear. They are to flee where there is threat – we can imagine them scurrying through the cities as they raise a storm – and so are not to seek martyrdom at this time; and when brought before rulers, courts, tribunals, then they are to trust completely in the Spirit. There is to be a further relinquishing of egotism, self-reliance, as the Spirit shines through the disciples in their words to bear testimony that Jesus is life and truth.
Finally, the disciples are reassured: before they have gone through all the cities of Israel, the Son of man will come. People will follow Jesus. People will hear the message about Jesus Christ, and they will ask Jesus to be at home in their hearts. The Kingdom has come, and is now there for the people to ask to be a part of their lives. The Church will be born. Many shall speak Jesus’ name as disciples.
King James Audio Bible
Concluding Prayer
A pure heart create for me, O God,
put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
nor deprive me of your holy spirit.
Give me again the joy of your help;
with a spirit of fervour sustain me,
that I may teach transgressors your ways
and sinners may return to you. (Psalm 50/51)
Christ the King of Peace – and yet in these verses Jesus tells us, confusingly, that he has come to bring not peace on earth but conflict. These are challenging verses. They demand we ask, what can this mean? The symbolism of fire encompasses a range of meanings. Fire is used in the Bible to signify God’s love for humanity. It is also a response of man to God: ‘My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue.’ (Psalm 39: 3) It is also the fire of Pentecost, when the tongues of fire descended to the apostles and they received their commission to preach the Gospel and establish the Church of Jesus Christ. Christ’s death on the cross must precede this commissioning [ … ]
We have known the Father through the Son. Indeed, Jesus now tells the disciples that they have actually seen God the Father. This is the vision of faith, and of our knowledge, as Jesus tells us that he is in the Father and the Father in him. The unknowable, in this life to our natural senses, has become a knowable truth of faith [ … ]
King James Audio Bible | KJV | King James Version King Herod There were several individuals named Herod who played significant roles in ancient history, particularly in the history of the Roman Empire and the region of Palestine. Here is a brief overview of the most notable Herods: Herod the Great: Also known as Herod I, he was a Roman client king of Judea, ruling from 37 BC to 4 BC. He is perhaps most famous for his role in the biblical story of the birth of Jesus, in which it is said that he ordered the slaughter of all male children in Bethlehem under the age of two in an attempt to kill the newborn Jesus. Herod Antipas: Also known as Herod II, he was the son of Herod the Great and ruled over Galilee and Perea, two regions in Palestine, from 4 BC to 39 AD. He is mentioned in the New Testament as the ruler who imprisoned John the Baptist and later had him beheaded. Herod Agrippa I: Also known as Herod III, he was the grandson of Herod the Great and ruled over Judea from 41 to 44 AD. He is mentioned in the New Testament as the ruler who imprisoned the apostle Paul. Herod Agrippa II: Also known as Herod IV, he was the great-grandson of Herod the Great and ruled over parts of Palestine and Syria from 50 to 100 AD. He is mentioned in the New Testament as the ruler who heard Paul’s defence before the Roman governor Festus. These rulers, who were known as the Herodian dynasty, were not Jewish but rather descended from a Greek family that had converted to Judaism. Despite this, they were appointed as rulers by the Roman Empire and were generally unpopular among the Jewish population due to their collaboration with the Roman occupation and their often brutal methods of rule. Herod The Great Herod the Great, also known as Herod I, was a Roman client king of Judea who ruled from 37 BC to 4 BC. He was born in 73 BC in Idumea, a region in southern Palestine, and was the son of Antipater the Idumean, an Edomite who had been appointed as a governor of Judea by the Roman general Pompey. Herod rose to power after the Roman general Julius Caesar appointed him as king of Judea in 40 BC. He consolidated his power over the next few years by defeating his rivals and establishing himself as the undisputed ruler of the region. As king, Herod embarked on a massive building program that included the expansion and renovation of the Temple in Jerusalem, the construction of the port city of Caesarea Maritima, and the fortification of several cities in Judea. He also commissioned the construction of a number of palaces and other buildings, including the famous Herodium, a palace-fortress located south of Jerusalem. Despite his many accomplishments, Herod was a controversial figure who was known for his harsh rule and his willingness to use violence to maintain his power. He was married several times and had a large number of children, several of whom he had executed when they posed a threat to his rule. One of the most famous stories associated with Herod is the biblical account of the birth of Jesus, in which it is said that he ordered the slaughter of all male children in Bethlehem under the age of two in an attempt to kill the newborn Jesus. According to the New Testament, Jesus was saved by his parents, who fled to Egypt, and later returned to Palestine after Herod’s death. Herod died in 4 BC at the age of 70, leaving a legacy as one of the most significant rulers in the history of ancient Palestine. Herod Antipas Herod Antipas, also known as Herod II, was the son of Herod the Great and ruled over Galilee and Perea, two regions in Palestine, from 4 BC to 39 AD. He was born in 20 BC and was named after his father’s patron, the Roman emperor Augustus. Like his father, Herod Antipas was known for his ambitious building projects, including the construction of the city of Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee and the expansion of the Temple in Jerusalem. He was also known for his political cunning and his ability to navigate the complex political landscape of the Roman Empire. Herod Antipas is mentioned in the New Testament as the ruler who imprisoned John the Baptist, a prominent religious figure who criticized Herod’s marriage to his sister-in-law, Herodias. According to the New Testament, John was eventually beheaded at the request of Herodias’ daughter, Salome, who danced for Herod and his guests at a banquet. Herod Antipas is also mentioned in the New Testament as the ruler who oversaw the trial and execution of Jesus. Although he initially wanted to release Jesus, he ultimately handed him over to the Roman authorities at the urging of the Jewish religious leaders. Herod Antipas’ rule came to an end in 39 AD when the Roman emperor Caligula exiled him to Gaul, modern-day France. He died in exile a few years later. Herod Agrippa I Herod Agrippa I, also known as Herod III, was the grandson of Herod the Great and ruled over Judea from 41 to 44 AD. He was born in 10 BC and was the son of Aristobulus and Bernice, two of Herod the Great’s children. Herod Agrippa I was well-educated and fluent in both Greek and Hebrew, and he was highly regarded by the Roman authorities for his loyalty and his ability to maintain order in Judea. He was appointed as king of Judea in 41 AD by the Roman emperor Claudius, who was impressed by his abilities and saw him as a reliable ally in the region. As king, Herod Agrippa I continued the building projects of his grandfather and expanded the Temple in Jerusalem. He also implemented a number of reforms aimed at improving the lives of the […]
