OUR FATHER  WHOSE SPIRIT WILL GIVE US THE WORDS TO SPEAK WHEN WE ARE DRAGGED BEFORE KINGS

The Lord Jesus, having explained to His disciples mission to which He was commisioning them, laid out for them the hazards they would face but assured them that even in the face of religious violence and political oppression, they would be under the care of the Spirit of God and He would provide everything they required including the words they needed to speak before the councils, governors and kings.

16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. 17 But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. 18 You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; 20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

The metaphor the Lord gave to illustrate the nature of their mission was the image of sending sheep out on a mission among wolves.

The sheep would be approaching wolves in their dens to offer them the good news of the kingdom but to the wolves, the sheep would be seen vulnerable prey and so Jesus advised the disciples to be as cunning as serpents and as harmless as doves. They were to be wary of men and understand that the message of the kingdom of God they were bringing would, in some cases, stir up harsh reactions against them.

In the heated atmosphere of persecution and the attempt to suppress their message, the Lord told them not to worry about trying to cobble together verbal defences and explanations but rather, the Holy Spirit would furnish them with what to say and how to say it on the fly.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO OFFERS SALVATION TO THOSE WHO WOULD WILLINGLY ACCEPT IT

The Lord's instructions to His disciples continued in Matthew chapter 10 verses 11 - 15 with guidance on how to interact with jusrisdictions they came to in their travels.

11 “Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. 12 And when you go into a household, greet it. 13 If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!

These were the observances given to the disciples when they arrived at a settlement;

• Ask around for who could host them
• Once accepted, remain in that dwelling
• When entering the household, greet it
• If worthy, let peace be on it
• If not worthy, retract peace
• If rejected, shake the dust from the feet

When arriving at a city or town to bring the news of the kingdom, the disciples would need a place to stay for the duration of their mission.

They were to ask about a place to stay and when a person accepted to host them, that person was a worthy person. Even if it were a humble household, their hospitality towards God's people would make them worthy.

The disciples were instructed to remain at the house that first welcomed them because after they began ministering and the miraculous power they carried became known, the people of the settlement would start vying to host them to gain proximity to the ministers.

The ones who accepted them first were the ones the Lord wanted to have the priviledge of hosting them for the duration of their stay.

When they were ministering from door to door, they were to greet each household and if their greeting was received, then the peace and goodwill of the disciples could be placed upon that household. If the household reacted negatively to the greeting, the disciples could rescind their peace and goodwill and proceed to the next house.

These steps sifted for the people to whom the good news of the kingdom would be delivered to.

The towns that refused to recieve the carriers of the message or refused to heed their words were going to be subject to a harsher judgement than Sodom and Gomorrah because a message of goodwill and peace was offered to them and they rejected it while that offer was not made to Sodom and Gomorrah and yet they were judged.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO PROVIDES ALL WE HAVE NEED OF IF WE SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS

Having given His disciples the power to heal the sick and cast our demons, the Lord Jesus, in the next section (Matthew chapter 10 verses 5 - 10), instructs them to go out into the territory.

They were only to go the towns of children of Israel and avoid the gentile and Samaritan  towns because their turn to hear the good news of God's salvation would come after the Lord had accomplished the salvation for the whole world by the sacrifice of His life for us.

5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9 Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, 10 nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.

The actions they were to undertake were these;

• Preach that the kingdom of heaven was here
• Heal the sick
• Cleanse the lepers
• Raise the dead
• Cast out demons

Having been given the power at no cost, the disciples were to dispense the blessings on the people at no cost. The Lord instructed them to travel very light as per these guidelines;

• Take no valuables as reserves
• Carry no luggage
• No spare jackets
• No spare footware
• No walking aids or defense implements

In these exercises, the disciples were learning how to undertake these missions with total trust and faith in God's oversight over the missions he sent them on.  As workers, they were worthy of their food and would be provided for by God.

They did not need reserves for money nor clothing or even for self-defense. The Lord would provide all they had need of while they were out in territory to which He had sent them.

As Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6 verse 33,

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO GAVE HIS SON THOSE WHO WOULD FOLLOW HIM

Matthew chapter 10 begins with Jesus gathering the 12 men to whom He would personally teach the ways of ministering in His kingdom. 

He conferred upon these 12 men the power over demons, diseases and sicknesses.

1 And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. 2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

From verses 2 - 4, the 12 disciples are mentioned by name. Interestingly, in some cases, the disciples are mentioned in pairs. The two sets of  brothers are mentioned first and paired in the list. Others are listed with their background or lineage.

• Simon - Andrew  (brothers and Simon is Peter)
• James - John (brothers & sons of Zebedee)
• Philip - Bartholomew
• Thomas - Matthew (Matthew tax collector)
• James - Lebbaeus (James son of Alpheus & Lebaeus surname Thaddaeus)
• Simon - Judas (Simon Cananite & Judas Iscariot fated to betray Jesus)

As John 17 verse 24 says of these;

“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO IS THE LORD OF THE HARVEST

Reaching the last section of Mathew chapter 9, verses 35 - 38, we  learn of Jesus' itinerary and the activities that He carried out at each port-of-call as he traversed the country to visit the big and small settlements of people.

35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 

36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. 

37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 

38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

As he travelled among the people and healed them of their diseases, He was moved with compassion for them as He perceived their listlessness and directionless lives.

Jesus pointed out to His disciples that people in this condition were ready to hear the message of the kingdom and that the harvest was truly plentiful  in the territory at that time.

The Lord directed His disciple to pray that the Lord of the harvest sends laborers to assist with the great work of bringing in the harvest.

The lord of the harvest is the in command and control over the operations of the harvest.

Harvesting has many dimensions that fall under the responsibility of the lord of the harvest and once the decision is made to begin the harvest, these components are given into his control.

He will call the shots on hiring, training, firing, workplace policies, wages, quality control, tools and supplies, optimization, processing, transportation, storage, pest control, theft control and delivery of the harvest.

Below are some examples from scriptures reflecting different lords of the harvest looking after different aspects of the harvesting operation.

The parable Mathew chapter 20 verses 7 - 8 captures the lord of the harvest hiring and arranging for wages to be paid and setting the policies of renumeration.

7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’

Another lord of the harvest is Boaz in the book of Ruth and we see his adminstration of his authority in helping Ruth in chapter 2 verses 8 - 9;

8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.”

Here we see Boaz setting work policies against harrassment and administrating access to company supplies.

These and many others descriptions of the management of the harvesting operation in scripture reflect the realities and requirements of the harvest of the souls of men into the granaries of the kingdom of God.

God is the Lord of this harvest and He is in charge of hiring, training, firing, workplace policies, wages, quality control, tools and supplies, optimization, processing, transportation, storage, pest control, theft control and delivery of the harvest.

In the time frame of the narrative, in the face of a huge harvest, the Lord indicates that hiring of workers is the priority.

38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO FREE THE CAPTIVES

Mathew chapter 9 verses 32 - 34 records Jesus' encounter with a man who was brought to him who could not speak and was demon possesed.

32 As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed. 33 And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel!”

34 But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.”

The demon was cast out and the man was able to speak revealing that a demon can be the cause of specific physical pathologies.

This astonishing intervention by the Lord Jesus created a stir among the people who had never encountered power like that.

The religious establishment, beginning to sense that they were losing relevance in the face of the  dramatic miracles performed by Jesus, issued an explanation for the miracle claiming that Jesus' authority to expel demons came from the ruler of demons.

Later in Mathew chapter 12 verses 26, Jesus counters that accusation against him by asking;

If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHOSE WAYS ARE RIGHTEOUS

From Psalm 119 - Aleph;

Blessed are those whose paths are blameless

Who walk according to Your ways

Oh, that my heart was steadfast

In seeking  to obey 

Seeking  to obey

I will turn to You with all my heart

For I yearn to sing Your praise

I will consider all of Your commands 

And follow in Your ways

Follow in Your ways

Follow in Your ways

Psalm 119 - Aleph

Blessed are those whose ways are blameless,

    who walk according to the law of the Lord.

2 Blessed are those who keep his statutes

    and seek him with all their heart—

3 they do no wrong

    but follow his ways.

4 You have laid down precepts

    that are to be fully obeyed.

5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast

    in obeying your decrees!

6 Then I would not be put to shame

    when I consider all your commands.

7 I will praise you with an upright heart

    as I learn your righteous laws.

8 I will obey your decrees;

    do not utterly forsake me.

OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO BRING SIGHT TO THE BLIND

Departing from the rulers house where the young girl was brought back to life,  Jesus was followed by two blind men who cried out to Him for mercy and Matthew chapter 9 verses 27 - 32 captures a revealing encounter.

27 When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!”

28 And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”

The Lord Jesus asked them if they had the prerequisites for healing their sight which was belief in Jesus' ability to restore their vision.

The two men vocally affirmed that they did believe and Jesus touched their eyes and according to their faith, their eyesight was restored.

29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.” 

30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, “See that no one knows it.” 31 But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.

In an attempt to manage the political temperature surrounding His ministry, Jesus did not want it known that it was He who had healed the men and so He warned the men to keep the source of the miracles to themselves but the two men could not contain themselves and divulged Jesus' involvement throughout the region.

A few verses further and we see the political effects of the news of the occurences of the miracles. The religious establishment began commenting on Jesus' work and ascribing it to the powers of darkness.

Matthew chaptwr 9 verse 34; But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.”

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