Enduring Suffering as Christians: Lessons from Matthew 10

Join Reagan for a profound discussion on the theme of enduring suffering as Christians, grounded in Matthew chapter 10. Reagan addresses the worst kind of suffering, particularly the suffering of loved ones, and relates it to the unjust sufferings that Jesus foresaw for his disciples. By reading and dissecting Matthew 10:16-33, Reagan explores eight reasons Jesus gives us to endure suffering, including the promise of salvation, the temporary nature of suffering, and the ultimate vindication of faith. This insightful lesson not only provides theological insights but also practical encouragement for Christians facing trials today.

00:00 Welcome and Introduction
00:58 The Worst Kind of Suffering
02:02 Jesus' Message to the Disciples
03:20 Enduring Suffering as Christians
04:54 Eight Reasons to Endure Suffering
07:22 The Value of Endurance and Faith
21:10 God's Unlimited Reach and Care
27:35 The Stakes of Confession and Denial
31:47 Conclusion and Call to Action

Transcript

Well, good morning. We are so grateful for the presence of everyone who is here this morning and those who are joining us online. We're grateful you've chosen to be with us that way as well. If you have your Bible with you, would you take it out please and turn to Matthew chapter 10. Matthew chapter 10, and if you'll make the effort to turn to Matthew chapter 10, we'll begin reading in verse 16 here in just a second.

And that is the only opening to which we'll turn this morning. I'll have some other verses up on the screen, but if you turn to Matthew chapter 10. Uh, the points that we're gonna be making this morning are all gonna come out of that text beginning in verse 16. Matthew chapter 10, verse 16. If you have one of those red pew bibles, if you're using one of those this morning, that should be on page 9 54 in one of those red Bibles, 9 54, uh, but the first book of the New Testament, 10th chapter, 16th verse.

And you'll be ready to go for our lesson this morning. What is the worst, the worst kind of suffering? I long thought and said maybe a little tongue in cheek sarcastically. Uh, the worst kind of suffering is suffering. That happens to me. But as I've gotten older and as I've had more people in my life, uh, that I love and more people in my life that depend on me in some way, and that I have some impact on how much they suffer the way in which they live their lives, I've grown to see that the worst kind of suffering is suffering that happens to someone you love.

Especially if that suffering is unjust. If they shouldn't be suffering, it's unfair that they're suffering in some way. A spouse, a child, that's tough, isn't it? Unjust? We try and fix those things. A parent, perhaps a friend, certainly a brother or sister in Christ suffering where you would gladly trade places with them, but you can't.

They have to experience, they have to overcome it, and maybe they overcome it with your help and your support, but they're the one that has to go through it. Jesus is in that kind of position in Matthew chapter 10, and what the disciples are told by Jesus they're gonna have to experience in terms of suffering and persecution.

It sounds pretty bad. If you read with me there beginning in verse 16 of Matthew chapter 10, this is what Jesus says to the 12 and by extension we think about all disciples who experience some level of this kind of suffering. He says, behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves, but beware of men.

For, they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. You'll be brought before governors and kings, for my sake, as a testimony to them and to the gentiles. Drop down to verse 21. He continues and says, now brother will deliver up brother to death and a father his child and children will raise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.

And you'll be hated by all. For my name's sake. Hated by all delivered up by family members. You're like sheep in the midst of wolves. You're gonna be scoured in their synagogues. This sounds pretty terrible, but I want us to, to think about this idea of suffering and suffering unjustly, perhaps. What are you going through now?

Maybe it's a season of trial for you. And whether it's a period of trial or testing or suffering or persecution or, or strong temptation, maybe heavy discouragement because of the actions of others, the response of Jesus to these apostles and their coming suffering and persecution is relevant to you.

Who here has ever suffered unjustly at, at any point in your life, raise your hand if you've ever suffered unjustly. I mean, we can think back to elementary school and we suffered unjustly on the playground. That is kind of a universal experience, right? That we go through things that aren't fair in our lives and sometimes we suffer.

Or a persecuted. How do you handle that? Why should you endure and how can you endure, especially as a Christian? Well, the reality is that Jesus didn't leave the disciples without answers to facing suffering and persecution. He doesn't just say, look, it's gonna be bad. You're gonna be like sheep amongst a bunch of wolves, and it's gonna turn out pretty awful.

Good luck. No, he equips them. He equips them to face these things and the admonitions that Jesus gives them ring just as true to us as it would have to them. We know why and how Jesus said to endure suffering. So what reasons did Jesus give for them to have courage and endurance in the face of what they were going to experience?

Well, Matthew chapter 10, verses 22 through 33 tells us. Jesus says, here are the reasons why you should endure suffering, and here are the reasons how you can endure suffering when these things inevitably come up in our lives and be they small or be they great, I would suggest for those who know Jesus Christ.

These things that we're gonna talk about this morning can be helpful to us in facing these things with courage and faith and hope. We had our, our gospel meeting, uh, this past week, as has already been mentioned a couple of times. And that's always so encouraging. Isn't it? So encouraging. But it's also, it's a long week.

And so, uh, I'm preaching right after Dawn. Don did a great job and, and it is a long week. He made a couple jokes about going long. In fact, on the porch out there, um, whatever night it was, he went the longest. He said, oh, I'm so sorry that I'm going long. I'm like, man, you're making me look good. It just keep on doing what?

I didn't quite say it like that, but. If Preston perhaps were to ask me, you know, what should I do right after a gospel meeting? My advice to him would be, you know, make it simple, just like a three point sermon. Really short, really, really easy to get. And so, um, unfortunately I count eight reasons why Jesus said why and how to endure suffering.

But perhaps I can at least do the short part because these are, these are simple and I think they're memorable. I'm not expecting you to remember all eight, um, but I think at least some of these on this list will probably resonate with you. But yes, I see that's why I should endure this suffering, and I see that's how I can endure this suffering.

Jesus communicated all eight, so I decided not to leave. Any out, and though sometimes we feel like we are sheep in the midst of wolves, I mean, this is, this is, this ain't ai. People like I, I saw a whole series of photographs by this guy and like they went and like attacked the sheep and there's some pretty gruesome photos.

I'm not gonna share any of those this morning, but it is a kind of gruesome image, isn't it? That there are people out there who want to tear us apart and the devil certainly does. So how do we respond? Well, this is what Jesus says for us to do. Number one, we endure what the world throws at us because we see and anticipate by faith the ultimate salvation of the fateful.

If you look there, um, in verse 22, you'll be hated by all for my namesake, but he who endures to the end will be saved. Now that's a promise. We talked this morning about Proverbs and how they're the probabilities of wisdom. This is a promise from our savior. If you endure to the end, you will be saved. If you endure this suffering, persecution, temptations, the difficulties that we have to go through in life, the end result of those things for the Christian is that you will be saved.

This is how time ends, and I may not know all the story, but I know the ending. And I think that's kind of the case, that if we know how something's gonna turn out in the end, we're able better to endure what we have to go through in the middle. Um, I very rarely do this, but I was reading a book, um, maybe a year or so ago from one of my favorite authors, uh, and I'm reading this book and, and I just kind of have this sense of foreboding and dread because of things that are happening.

I'm like, man, I really like this character a lot, and I'm just afraid things are not gonna turn out. In fact, I was a pretty, pretty sure that this character wasn't gonna make it to the end of the book, and so I did something I, I rarely ever do. I turned to the end of the book. I read the last few pages and as soon as I saw the character's name and that, yes, he was actually alive, I went back to where I was reading.

Now were there still some difficulties were, there's still some angst and some anguish in what's gonna happen with the character? Sure. You know how I am with imaginary characters, man, I get worked up about it, but at the same time, I knew how it was gonna end, that everything was gonna turn out all right, and so my anxiety level went way down.

God sees the end from the beginning and he tells us how this is all going to end. If you endure to the end, you will be saved. And that's what Jesus says. And I don't know how we're gonna get there, but I know things will work out. And so too for us, everything will work out and I may suffer in the meantime, but even that suffering in the meantime is not gonna last forever.

That's the second point that Jesus gives. The second reason. To endure suffering is that all periods of suffering come to an end. Look there in verse 23. When they per persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the cities of Israel before.

The son of man comes. Listen, you're gonna go to one place. They're gonna persecute you there. If they do go to another city, Jesus tells the apostles, but know, know that this suffering will come to an end. Uh, we have any endurance runners in here? Raise your hand if you're an endurance runner. I if you jog, that counts.

You know, if you enjoy running, maybe you don't enjoy running. Maybe you just have to run. I, I don't know. But you can endure something knowing that there is a finish line, right? That this is not gonna go on forever. You can do anything, even things that are difficult, if you know it's going to end. Uh, I share Larrys with you fairly commonly.

My dad is Larry. He, he tells me these proverbial words of wisdom, right? And I remember when I was going through a particularly difficult time in my life, I was working a lot. I just, I was tired all the time. I just wasn't sure if I was gonna get through this. He said, Reagan, you can do anything for a year.

You can do anything for a year. And there have been times in my life I've thought to myself, all right, I can do this because you can do anything for a year. What's he communicating? Well, a year isn't very long in comparison to your life, so suck it up. Quit complaining, son. Right. Well, I think maybe he's a little more compassionate than that, but what he's saying is if you know something is going to end, you're able to endure it.

And if we as Christians, I don't know if this is possible, but we need to aspire to it. If we could truly see how temporary these temptations and sufferings and times of discouragement are. Would be better able to withstand them. This isn't gonna last forever, this time in your life. And the fact is you can do anything for a lifetime because a lifetime is short in comparison to all of eternity.

And we don't know when suffering will come to an end. We just know that it will be soon. And as Paul said to the churches in Galatia, in due time, we will reap if. We do not lose heart if we endure. Number three, Jesus's reasons to endure suffering was that Jesus suffered for us first, and God doesn't ask us to go through anything that he's unwilling to go through himself that he hasn't been through, at least in principle himself, to keep reading there in verses 24 and 25.

A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house, beels above, that's what they had accused Jesus of, right? He's, he's like the ruler of demons. That's why he can work miracles.

All of these things. How much more will they call those of his household? Jesus says, I'm suffering and have suffered, and so no, you're gonna suffer too. Now, this is long before Jesus goes to the cross in terms of, of chronology, but the ultimate expression of that is that Jesus suffered for us first as Christians and he suffered terribly.

I was reading through Matthew's very dis description of those things, uh, after Adam led us in some thoughts about the Lord's Supper. As I'm partaking, I'm seeing Christ's suffering. And so trial testing, suffering, persecution, temptation, discouragement. Jesus experienced all of those things and he was as Hebrews four in verse 15, says, tempted in all points as we are yet without sin, he can empathize with us because he has felt what we feel and isn't it right for him to ask this of us, suffer if need be for a little while.

When he has been thrown through so much more than we have. Uh, first Peter chapter two in verse 20. Uh, first Peter is really a book about suffering and that's kind of the beginning of these things. It's the suffering of Christ and what he has been through. Read this with me, if you would, for what credit is it?

If when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently, but when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called. This is. Part of the Christian life because Christ also suffered for us. Leaving us an example, our master, our teacher that you should follow in his steps who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth, and yet still he suffered.

Who when he was reviled, did not revile and return when he suffered. He did not threaten but committed himself to he, him who judges righteously, who himself bore our sins and his own body on the tree. That wasn't fair. But he suffered for us that we having died to sins might live for righteousness. By who?

Stripes you were healed. And so we suffer. How? Why? Because Jesus suffered for us first. Jesus' suffering led to our salvation. So we should know that our patience and suffering is not. Do as I say, not as I do. That's the worst, isn't it? Do what I tell you to do, but I'm not gonna go through it myself. That is not the case for our God.

He says, do as I do. I've been through this and, and I know you will have to go through it as well. Jesus suffered first from us, for us, should encourage us when we suffer for him. Reason number four, how and why we should suffer according to Jesus. Well, the ultimate vindication of our faith. The ultimate vindication of his message of truth and righteousness.

Keep reading verses 26 and 27 of Matthew chapter 10. Jesus says, therefore, do not fear them so there is nothing covered that will not be revealed and hidden that will not be known. Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light and what you hear in the ear, that is what's whispered to you. Preach on the housetops, the message.

Jesus Christ, the faith that we have in him will be vindicated in the end. It will be made known as what is true and what is real. Time will tell who the real victors are. Uh, let me give you Larry number two for our lesson this morning. Um, I remember there was a. A nasty rumor that was going on around me in college.

To be honest, I don't remember exactly what it was. I just kind of remember what it pertained to. So I called my dad again and I said, look, I'm, you know, I'm going through this. What, what am I supposed to do? I just go around and tell all of these people this isn't true, and all these sorts of things. And, and he told me, let the test of time prove all, you just keep living the way you're supposed to be living.

And over the course of time. Your true character is gonna be seen, and it's gonna be shown that what's being said about you isn't really true. Well, the test of time will prove all in regard to our faith, in regard to the truth of God's message. If we are in the right, we will eventually be vindicated as such either in this life or the life to come.

And that's not just true personally. It's true of the word of God and it's true of our faith in it. We will be proven right justified. In the last day you ever thought about on the judgment day, there will be no atheists. There will be no mockers. There will be no doubters of judgment. We need not be ashamed of our faith, we need not be ashamed of the message of Jesus Christ because it is from God.

Shout it from the rooftops. Um, all right, let me be an old man for just a second here. One of my least favorite phrases in the last decade or so is how Bible believers are on the wrong side of history. You heard that before. You're just on the wrong side of history on this deal. Well. It's a shortsighted and ignorant phrase for lots of reasons.

One of them being people don't know their history very well, but it's got me to think about what are we on the right side of as Christians, I'm on the right side of God's judgment. I'm on the right side of spiritual victory. We as Christians are on the right side of love and grace and justice and righteousness, and what those things really and truly mean.

We're on the right side of God and his Christ, and that is what truly matters. There is ultimate vindication of our faith. And the message number five, uh, of these reasons Jesus gives to endure is that there is limited reach of the devil and sinful men working on his behalf. Look there in verse 28, and do not fear those who killed the body.

But cannot kill the soul. Well, that applies to a lot of people. Every person in this world, they can kill your body, but they can't kill your soul. And that applies to the devil as well. He desires your soul. He desires to have it. He desires to, for it to be sent to eternal destruction in hell. But ultimately, he doesn't have that power.

But rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body Hell. Now that's talking about God. We'll talk about that more here in just a second. But our enemy, the devil, is not divine. He's a spiritual being, but he is not an all knowing, all present, all powerful God. He is limited. He cannot destroy us if we are faithful because God is more powerful than him.

And when people who are knowing or unknowingly working on behalf of the devil in order to persecute us, in order to, to lead us to suffering when those things are going on, we need to remember that they are not as powerful as the devil and they cannot destroy the most important things in life. There is no fear because they cannot take the most important things from us.

They'll try, they'll take everything from us that they can. For these disciples, these apostles to whom Jesus is, is speaking, even their lives would be taken. Only John the Apostle whom Jesus loved, died what we would call, uh, a natural death. He died of old age. According to tradition. All of the other apostles died violent deaths, often crucifixion or beheading or things of the sort.

Yeah, they could take their lives. The most important things could not be taken. There is a limit to what they can reach, and so people can't take our spirit, our faith, our hope, our peace, our joy, our love, our salvation, none of those things can be taken from us because they are given by God. We can only lose those things if we let go of them.

If we give them up. Because the devil can reach into our lives and do so many things. We see that with Job and other characters in the Bible, but he cannot take the things that are most important. On the other side of the coin, there is the unlimited reach of God. Now that really kind of begins in a negative way in what we read in verse 28.

God is the one able to destroy both soul and body in in hell. God is the one who has unlimited reach in judgment, all must stand before God and give an account. But more positively, we see God's reach for good in verses 29 and 30 where Jesus says, are not two sparrows sold for a single copper coin and not one of them falls to the ground.

Not one of these sparrows falls to the ground apart from your father's will, but the very hairs on your head are numbered. Uh, Maddie and I had a traumatic experience the other day. Um, we were pulling out on. That's a little dramatic. I don't know how traumatic was it traumatic? Yeah, she says it was traumatic.

Okay, so I'm not exaggerating. We were pulling out, uh, from Pin Bonner Road onto 94, turning left, right there if you know where that intersection is. And there was a turtle crossing the road and we're like, rooting for the turtle. Right. Come on, you can make it. You can make it. He didn't make it and it was traumatic.

And I had the thought as we were driving and I, I felt a little pit in my stomach 'cause it's like an innocent animal getting killed, you know? And it's like, ah, that's terrible. God saw that God didn't stop it. That's the world we're in. But God knew that he created that animal. God created all these birds.

Um, I read an article, Texas a and M's, having issues with birds on some part of campus, right? They can't get rid of all the birds. God knows every single one of those birds and sees when each one of them falls. That's how far God's knowledge and reach is, how much more for us.

God knows every pain. God knows every weakness. God knows every temptation God sees. When things are unfair. God knows when you suffer and he suffers with you. Maybe it's dramatic to say God felt the pain of the turtle, but God feels your pain and he is able to reach with certain promises that you have a life watched over by the creator of the universe and that there are things that can't be taken from you because he makes it so and God.

Working on our behalf will make things right. Two passages of great comfort for me. I, I'd encourage you to write these down. We're talking about memorizing scripture. Memorize these if you so choose, repeat them to yourselves, but, but if nothing else, be assured of the truth of these two passages. First Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 13.

No temptation has overtaken you except such as his common demand. Jesus is talking to the apostles. In Matthew chapter 10, but faithful disciples throughout the centuries have experienced all the same things. But God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able. But with the temptation, we'll also make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it.

Whatever suffering and pain you're going through, God says, with my help, you're able to bear these things. You're, you're able to, to make it through these temptations with my help. That God is there, that brings great comfort to me. And then the second one that I would put is Ephesians chapter three, verses 20 and 21.

Now to him, who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we ask or even think according to the power that works in us. This isn't just God working separate from us and our lives. To him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. God is able to do more than I can even imagine, and his power is not impersonal.

It is the power that works in us as his children. Remember those things and remember the unlimited reach of God. Number seven, we can endure suffering because of our value in the eyes of God. Uh, but the very hairs of your head are all numbered. I failed to read verse 30. It's not just turtles and birds.

It's us too. God knows, even the hairs on our head do not fear. Therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows. How many sparrows? You know, like how many on, on a, I would say probably all the sparrows that have ever existed over the history of time are not of the same value as one single solitary soul.

You are of more value than many sparrows, than all of God's creation. God values you and I the most, and it's not just that God can work on our behalf. He desires to work on our behalf. He cares deeply for us and what we are going through. He always does what is best for us spiritually. How do I know that?

Well, Romans chapter eight, verse 32, he who did not spare his own son, but delivered him up for us all. God was willing to give Jesus and Jesus was willing to come. How shall he not with him? Also freely give us all things, all the things that are best for us spiritually. God will give because he cares, because we are of value to him.

And that's how much I mean to God, not all the sparrows that have ever existed. No. The life of his only begotten son. God said it's worth it. Jesus said, it's worth it. The Holy Spirit said it's worth it to us, to me,

for Jesus to be sacrificed on a cross that's that's how much it costs for you to be saved and for me to be saved, and that's how much God was willing to pay. That's my value, and it's yours, and God wants us to succeed in those things. Check the time. Number eight.

Jesus's final reason to endure suffering, at least in this passage is what's at stake, the stakes of confession or denial of him. Jesus sends his apostles out sheep in the midst of wolves. Be wise as serpents, harmless as doves. There's a way you're supposed to act and all of these things, but no, the world's hated you.

It's gonna hate the world, hates me. It's gonna hate you too. You're gonna have to go through these things. But what's at stake is eternity. Read verses 32 and 33 with me. Therefore, whoever confesses me before men him, I will also confess before my father who is in heaven,

but I don't wanna read the next verse. Let's just all do that, right? Let's just all do that. Let's all confess him. If you're here this morning and you've not yet confessed Jesus as the Christ, what better time than today? And it's not just a confession made with the mouth, that's where it starts. I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of living God.

That is a, an affirmation that I'm gonna live, a commitment, that I'm gonna live my life for him, that I'm willing to confess to him, not just with my lips, but with my life. And I'm willing to obey him whatever he requires of me. I am more than willing to be buried in a watery grave so that when I'm buried in a, in a, in a physical grave, I have the same assurance of resurrection.

Just as I come up out of the water, I know I'll rise from the grave to meet him in the. Therefore, whoever confesses me before me and him, I'll also confess before my father who is in heaven, and when we stand before God in judgment, Jesus says, that one's mine. He's with me. And we have right to enter in.

Would that, I never had to read the next verse, but Jesus said it and so do I. Whoever denies me before men, him. I'll also deny before my father, who is in heaven school has started back, sorry. Teachers. Oh, I mean students, right? Students. What if your teacher said your entire grade comes down to this one test?

I don't, I don't know that I've ever been in a class like that. I've heard of classes like that. You know, all the semester, your entire grade comes down to this one test. Maybe we procrastinate, maybe we don't do what we should, but, but man, like I'm probably gonna study for that test. I'm probably gonna come to class knowing that that test is coming.

Well, what if the teacher said, your entire life depends on this test. That's worth going to class and studying and giving up other things for it. You know, some of us do better or worse if our life depends on it. You know, the higher the stakes, the better we perform. But I think this much is true. The higher the stakes, the harder we try all of us.

And what God desires from us is to try. He desires us to endure. To not lose heart. And if we're willing to do that, he's willing to do the rest, to not tempt us beyond what we are able to bear, to forgive us when we fall short, and to bring us home eternally. God desires our very best effort. Everything we have to give to confess him daily with my actions as I live for him.

And so I ask you this morning, are you willing to confess him? Confess him before many witnesses and obey his commands for you to submit yourself to him and do his will. Not just now, but when we go through these doors and the rest of your life, if you're willing to do that and make that confession.

Jesus equips us to endure suffering. He gives us the why and the how we can endure those things. When those things inevitably come and praise God, this suffering doesn't last forever, he sees to it instead. That suffering, that that sorrow, that gloom is replaced with eternal rejoicing if we are found to be his child.

And if we can help you either to become God's child or if we can help you in enduring the things you're going through even this morning, come now while together we stand and while we sing,

A blessed savior calling.