Hello my friends,

Today I want to reflect with you on Matthew 9:35—10:23. Jesus gives some very specific instructions to his disciples that I feel are often overlooked. As I contemplated them this week, it really helped to put my spiraling between despair and determination into perspective. I hope it does for you too.

Resources to consider:

​-Following Jesus In A World Obsessed With Empires. I recently wrote a 30 day devotional in hopes of providing an encouraging resource for those who are trying to follow Jesus while navigating the world we are in today. Tap the link above to read more.

-A Christian Field Guide to Christian Nationalism.pdf I wrote this free resource in an effort to help people feel better equipped in their conversations with others about Christian Nationalism from a Christian perspective. Tap the link above to download the PDF. If you have problems doing so, simply respond to this email with the subject line "Field Guide" and I will email it directly to you.

​-Southern Baptists Move Closer to Constitutional Ban on Women Pastors. I wanted to share this discouraging news story with you and the deeper picture behind it. I believe in the leadership and authority of women, within and outside the church. So any time that call is challenged by a corner of Christianity, it is worthy of our lament and our voice of opposition.

Between Despair and Determination.

Matthew 9:35-10:23

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

“Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts— no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep. Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

The Workers Are Few

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Whenever I think of the state of the world, my heart vacillates between rage, determination, hopelessness, and despair. On good days, I feel more determination than anything else, but on hard days, filled with tasks and exhaustion, I feel just overwhelmed at the scope of all we are facing as a nation, as a planet, and as humanity.

As I am sure you saw, Elon Musk became the world’s first trillionaire. In the context of all we have been witnessing, from the cuts to USAID, the slashing of healthcare, the dismantling of food assistance (all of which Elon could fund several times over), the rolling back of environmental protections, the continuous targeting of public lands for corporations to make even more money, and the building of data centers that are drinking the an already warming world dry, Jesus’ words hit me differently. When he says, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few,” I grieve that there isn’t more people sharing so many of our concerns for the suffering and destruction that is just being carried out so openly in our world today. Why are there such few workers in the face of such great need?

As we can see from this passage, the task of the disciples is to carry out the teachings of Jesus, yet this task has a very distinct identity: restoration for restoration’s sake. Jesus is clear that they must cast out demons, heal the sick, and to be generous to others as they have had generosity shown to them. They are to do all this relying on God’s provision. They are to trust that the God who they are working with to bring restoration will also bring restoration to them.

In our culture of the United States, the phrase “social justice” can often be treated with disdain or even outright hostility, as if it is somehow separate or even in opposition to the gospel of Jesus. The Christianity I was born into was very clear that the gospel of Jesus was purely about “saving souls” for Jesus and we weren’t really supposed to be concerned with the “affairs of the world.” This kind of theology easily binds itself to anti-government sentiments and breads hostility to any sort or social program geared towards aiding others in their needs. Inherently rooted in such theology is the subconscious (or conscious) belief that desperate people are more receptive to the message of salvation and will more freely accept it when the offer to help their physical needs is hanging over their heads.

This is completely contradictory to the message Jesus is outlining here in Matthew. It isn’t an “either/or.” Jesus is sending them out to both proclaim the message of salvation and to alleviate suffering. Jesus’ ministry is holistic. Helping people’s physical needs is not contingent on their acceptance of his message, but a central part of the message itself. They are even told by Jesus that if their message is not received to move on in peace. Based on what we read here, one could truthfully say that if people’s physical needs are not being helped and the world isn’t being restored, it isn’t the gospel of Jesus.

Do not go among the Gentiles.

While Jesus ministry will later be directed towards those outside Israel in Matthew’s gospel, we see Jesus’ insistence that it begin with the “lost sheep of Israel.” This is a common theme all throughout the Bible to refer to the leaders of Israel, those who are without a proper shepherd as they exercised their power. As you can imagine, and see today, this misuse of power and resources negatively impacted the other group Jesus’ ministry was focused on: the poor and the vulnerable (sheep without a shepherd). Jesus was desiring a reformation and renewal first among Israel, who had a covenant with God to be a “light to the world,” all while alleviating the suffering the misuse of power, both from Israel and Rome, had caused among the “least of these.”

Every single time I read this passage, I cannot help but think of how different this dynamic is from how “evangelism” is typically understood in so many corners of Christianity today. How it is so focused on those “outside” Christianity with little to no focus on calling itself back to faithfulness to Jesus and his teachings. Christianity in the United States is in such desperate need of renewal and reformation, especially within its structures of leadership and how it postures itself towards our world.

What makes this dynamic all the more tragically ironic is that only a few verses after this passage is a passage so often quoted in Christian nationalist circles in order to justify its hostility and aggressive actions towards the world in the name of Christ: “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” (Matthew 10:34). To use it in such a hostile way is to completely miss the context. Jesus is bringing a metaphorical sword to the current status quo within his own religious group. A status quo that is ‘at peace” with systems and practices that oppress and harm “the least of these.” The very status quo Christian Nationalism seeks to uphold.

Can we imagine what our world would look like today if followers of Jesus came to the current status quo of Christianity in America, not to keep the peace, but to bring a sword of reformation, and division from the things that are causing it to be a tool of harm rather than God’s instrument of peace and restoration in the world?

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​The one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

As I contemplate these things in light of this passage, I come to the final section of Jesus’ commission to his disciples, where he says “Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.” As far as I can tell, Jesus is referring to his death and resurrection here, as he is the Son of Man. Right before he says this to them, he assures them that those who remain steadfast in this work of restoration that he has called them to will be saved. Between my despair and anger, I ultimately arrive at the realization that I can’t in good faith do anything but continue to strive towards restoration and healing in the world around us, no matter the outcome. One of the deepest lessons of Jesus’ resurrection is that life came unexpectedly and courageously even when everything those first disciples saw was death and the mechanism of empire devouring its prey. I have to hope against hopelessness that we will also be surprised by the unexpected, by joy, by human flourishing, and by goodness overcoming evil. It is that hope that keeps me striving and working towards restoration and healing. I hope it does for you as well.

Now I'd like to hear from you! Did you find this helpful? What thoughts came to your mind as you read? Feel free to respond to this email and share your thoughts with me. I look forward to reading them. A 30 Day Day Devotional: I wrote a daily devotional in hopes to provide a companion for people seeking to follow Jesus through the season of we are currently navigating together. You can find out more below: $20.00 Following Jesus In A World Obsessed With Empires: 30 Days of reclaiming the hope, compassion, and justice of Jesus. Today, our world can often feel overwhelmed by darkness, division, and despair. I created this 30-day devotional to... Read more Get it now! ​ Ways to support: If you'd like to support this project, you can do so through one-time-gift of any amount you feel is right. You can also subscribe through a $5/mo, $15/mo, or $25/mo. Several others have also asked for a recurring gift option that is different from the ones offered here, like this one. If you'd like me to set up a different option for you, please just send me an email with the word "support" in the subject line. As always, I really want to thank all of you for reading and for all the ways you support me and this project every single week. I'm thankful for the ways we are building this together and hope it creates a lasting, positive change in our world along the way! I sincerely appreciate you all, Ben Remember, you can now view this and all previous newsletters as well as invite friends to join through this link: https://benjamin-cremer.ck.page/profile.

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