— TESTIMONY FOR CHRIST.
(Read Matthew 10.)
IF we read this chapter carefully we shall notice that the instructions the Lord Jesus gave His twelve apostles do not apply solely to the round He sent them on that occasion. The end (ver. 22), the coming of the Son of man (ver. 23), is the goal in view. The mission to Israel is specially the subject of the chapter; the commission in Matthew 28:18-20 extends it to the Gentiles.
Our purpose is not to take up all the details of the chapter, but to note some practical lessons for ourselves concerning sonship in service. Twice in His instructions to the twelve, Christ refers to their relationship with the Father. The first time is in connection with their ability to testify of Him, and secondly as to the danger incurred in so doing.
The ability to testify of Christ.
“For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you” (ver. 20). In calling the Holy Spirit (compare Luke 12:12), “the Spirit of your Father,” Christ lays stress on the relationship of sons in which His disciples stand to the Father. The same truth concerning their relationship is given by inspiration in John 1:11-13: “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power (or the right or privilege) to become the sons (lit. children) of God, even to them that believe on His name.” The passage goes on to speak of their birth, whereas Matthew presents the relationship which flows from birth.
After His resurrection He tells them to “wait for the promise of the Father, which ye have heard of Me; for John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence” (Acts 1:4, 5). The Holy Spirit is “the promise of the Father.” Compare John 14:26, 15:26, 27, 16:8-10, &c. Now that He is come, every believer receives Him, “Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father” (Gal. 4:6).
Acts 4:8, 6:10, 13:9, 10., are examples of testimony rendered in the power of the Holy Spirit. Do you think these are exceptional instances? All ministry, all testimony not rendered in the power of the Spirit of God, is worthless and harmful. Compare Rom. 15:18, 19; 1 Cor. 2:13, 12:12; 2 Cor, 6:4, 6, and other passages.
We make no claim for inspiration on behalf of believers nowadays, in the sense that anything they testify has the value of Scripture, and we do not admit any such claim from any one. But the Spirit of God always furnishes suitable words to believers who are subject to His power and who testify of Christ. This is our confidence and joy, and a source of boldness and power in testimony. Compare 1 Peter 4:2. The Word always remains the subject matter of testimony. “What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light; and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye on the house-tops” (ver. 27).
Christ is the object of testimony: “When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me. And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with Me from the beginning” (John 15:26, 27). So in our chapter, “Ye shall be brought before governors and kings for My sake” (ver. 18). “Ye shall be hated of all men for My name’s sake” (ver. 22). Whosoever shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven” (vers. 32, 33). “He that loveth father or mother,... son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me” (vers. 37, 38). “He that receiveth you, receiveth Me; and he that receiveth Me receiveth Him that sent Me” (ver. 40).
The apostles were to preach, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (ver. 7), and what could they say of the kingdom without speaking of Christ continually. They were to heal the sick and work other miracles, and each time they wrought in Christ’s name (see Luke 10:17). Thus Christ was the one and continual theme of their preaching, and men were summoned to prepare for His coming and admit all God’s claims on their hearts and consciences. Knowing what the Scriptures teach as to man’s wicked and rebellious nature (Rom. 3:10-20), we cannot be surprised to find Christ’s messengers ill-treated. And that brings us to our second subject.
The danger incurred in testifying of Christ.
“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves.” They would be delivered up, scourged, and put to death. Their nearest relatives would hate and betray them. But in the midst of these dangers, they were not to fear men, for they were the objects of their Father’s care, even to the smallest detail of their lives. “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing, and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore; ye are of more value than many sparrows” (vers. 2931). They might even lose their life for Christ’s sake, but they would find it again (ver. 39), even in resurrection, so that the utmost peril cannot separate from Christ, for He was martyred and was “raised from the dead by the glory of the Father.”
Rare indeed is it in this country at the present day that any faithful witness is called on to die for Christ, but each of us will meet with persecution and rejection in various ways if we faithfully testify of Him. And let us not forget that quite recently in China many a believer has been put to death for Christ’s sake.
If we practice Matthew 5:44-48, we may verify Peter 3:13, “And who is he that will harm you if ye be followers of that (or of Him) which is good?” But be assured that faithful testimony for Christ will ever have the same result of being rejected as His was rejected, and of persecution, too, for the witnesses in various ways. “Blessed are ye when men shall revile and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” (chap. 5:11, 12).
“He that taketh not his cross and followeth after Me is not worthy of Me” (ver. 38). Some people talk of this or that trial or difficulty in their daily life as being their “cross.” Such a trial is rather a part of the discipline that God uses toward His sons. The figure of the “cross” applies to violent and ignoble death in martyrdom, just as Christ carried His cross on the way to Calvary. While you and I may never have to suffer martyrdom, the Lord would have us ever ready to lay down our lives in following Him. He would have us ready to lose our life for His sake (ver. 39). Compare 2 Corinthians 5:7 to end, specially verse What a privilege, beloved brothers and sisters, to be the objects of our Father’s care in testifying for Christ, with the assurance in serving Christ of soon being with Him where He is! “If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be: if any man serve Me, him will My Father Honor” (John 12:26). F. M. H.