§ 8. Jesus' Ministry in Galilee Continued

The gospels often emphasize the need for us to place our trust in God rather than men—a theme that also appears in the Psalms of old.

Psalm 118:6–9

The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.
    What can man do to me?
The LORD is on my side as my helper;
    I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
    than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
    than to trust in princes.

Psalm 20:7–8

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
    but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
They collapse and fall,
    but we rise and stand upright.

John reveals that Jesus Himself kept this rule, even while He knew what we were thinking!

John 2:23–25

…Many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

Paul wrote the evangelists he trained to warn the people against devoting themselves to human speculation, myths, traditions, and heritage—all of which have considerable persuasive power among men today.

1 Timothy 1:3–4

…Charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.

Titus 1:13–14

…Rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth.

Matthew's language here indicates the apostles would find themselves pretty far-flung from the authorities in Israel, appearing before foreign kings and testifying to foreign nations. The apostles, however, do not have to leave the boundaries of Israel to fulfill this saying; Jesus Himself was delivered up to Pilate, the Roman governor, even in the capital city of Jerusalem.

The Lord's larger point is clear: people—any people—who oppose the gospel will leverage whatever power is available to them in their effort to prevent the truth from going forward. Paul would write the church in Thessalonica that they had seen this same pattern unfold among them as it had in Jerusalem before them. Should we think any nation incapable of reacting this way?

1 Thessalonians 2:14–16

For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!

Jesus here tells the apostles something about the process of inspiration. They will be called to speak publicly, and they will choose to go, but when the moment arrives, they will not be speaking their own words. Instead, God will be using their mouths to speak His words. This is the process at work in Acts 2 when Peter stands up with the rest and delivers that first sermon, for example.

In his second letter, Peter echoes these words of Jesus. His statement there makes clear reference to the original thought of being "carried" by the Spirit set forth in the prophet Ezekiel.

2 Peter 1:21

No prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

God's control over the content of His word is so direct that some people even prophesied unwillingly!

John 11:49–51

…Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said…, “It is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation….

The Lord's words both here and again in verses 35–36 are drawing on the prophet Micah. The quoted passage in Micah centers on the theme from earlier here, "Beware of men."

Micah 7:5–7

Put no trust in a neighbor;
    have no confidence in a friend;
guard the doors of your mouth
    from her who lies in your arms;
for the son treats the father with contempt,
    the daughter rises up against her mother,
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
    a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.
But as for me, I will look to the LORD;
    I will wait for the God of my salvation;
    my God will hear me.

While some would receive the word of the Lord gladly, the apostles had to overcome a great deal of opposition to reach them.

Glorifying God always comes at some cost. As Paul would warn Timothy:

2 Timothy 3:12

All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

It may be helpful to recall that Jesus said we will inherit a great reward when we suffer for His name's sake—and we can certainly count the apostles among that number.

Matthew 5:11–12

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

We can also take some comfort in understanding something the apostles understood about the world's opposition to the gospel. They recognized it was not personal; people simply did not yet understand what God was doing among them.

Acts 3:17–18

[Peter said,] “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled.”

Acts 13:27

[Paul said,] “Those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him.”

2 Timothy 4:16

At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them!

We must bear up under temptation and persecution for a time. The New Testament echoes this theme throughout.

James 5:10–11

As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

Hebrews 12:1–3, 7

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
…
It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

Although Paul wasn't present for the current episode in Matthew 10, he would certainly experience all that Jesus foretold.

2 Corinthians 11:23–28

Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.

As Matthew makes clear later, the church will begin before the apostles have been able to visit every town. The apostles were not aware at this point that the Lord's time teaching on earth would be limited to about three and a half years—a very short life expectancy for a thirty-year-old.

Matthew 16:28

Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.

This concept from the Lord is very common throughout the gospels. It is a mistake to see a link between genuinely unrelated passages merely on the basis that they both feature this concept.

John 21:25

Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

This statement is the application of the principle, "A disciple is not above his teacher." If people are against God, they will also be against those who serve Him.

The meaning of this saying is clear: Jesus and His apostles will be accused of being in league with Satanic forces rather than sent by God for truth.

As for the word "Beelzebul," it is not Greek, and so it is not translated. However, Beelzebul (also spelled Beelzebub) is named as the god of Ekron in the days of Elijah the prophet. The name is thus Baal-Zebub, or "Baal the Prince," in the Hebrew, according to secular commentators.

2 Kings 1:2–3

Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness.” But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron…?’”

While Baal appears often in the Old Testament, Matthew brings this name up again only once more in his gospel. In chapter 12, the Pharisees claim Jesus casts out demons by Baal-Zebul, not the Holy Spirit of God. The other gospels similarly mention this name only in their parallels to Matthew.