Proclaim Christ Fearlessly!

4th Sunday after Pentecost, 6/25/23 Matthew 10:5a, 21-33 Proclaim Christ Fearlessly! I. You will overcome. II. You are in the Lord’s hands. III. You will receive eternal glory. There are certain things I just won’t do, and it’s not because I think those things are beneath me; it’s because they fill me with fear. For instance, I know that sweating a pipe joint is not that difficult to do, but I just won’t do it. I’m afraid that, shortly after I sweat that joint and leave, it will begin leaking and I won’t notice until major damage is done. I’m afraid, so I won’t do it. And I won’t do anything on a roof anymore. Not a chance. I’ll pay someone to go on my roof and do what needs to be done, but I’m not going up there myself. I wouldn’t even if I were tethered to a harness that secured me. I’m afraid, so I won’t do it. I no longer file my own income tax returns, either. I used to, but not anymore. It’s become too complicated. I want to be able to sleep at night, knowing that, if my return was filed incorrectly, it’s the fault of my tax preparer. I’m afraid of filing my tax returns myself, so I won’t do it. In this morning’s text from Matthew 10, Jesus wasn’t asking his disciples to sweat a pipe joint, climb onto a roof, or file their income tax returns. He was sending them out on a task for which he had and was still specifically preparing them to do: go out into the world and proclaim his gospel to as many people as possible. You might think he would be throwing them a party to celebrate what joyful time this was in his ministry and theirs. You might think he would hold a pep rally for them with thousands of cheering followers to fire them up for their mission. But he doesn’t do that. Instead, he gives them a heavy, heaping dose of reality. He let them know what they will face, what they can expect, and what’s at stake. Three times in these verses Jesus tells them plainly what they would face and then shares with them the imperative, “Don’t be afraid.” He wanted them to proclaim the gospel fearlessly. As his modern disciples who have received his great commission to go and make disciples of all nations, he gives us the same encouragement this morning. As we go out into the world with the gospel, he wants us to know what we can expect from others and what we can expect from him. And it’s all with this one goal in mind: proclaim Christ fearlessly. Let’s make that the focus of our attention this morning, and, as we do, may the Lord fill us with confidence for this all-important task. Part I. What would you consider to be one of the most fun and enjoyable employment positions to hold? For me, it would be the spokesperson for the lottery. I’m the one who speaks with you to verify that, indeed, you have won more money than you ever could imagine. I would just love to see the reactions I would get when I announce, “You’ve just won $875 million!” In a very real way, the disciples of Jesus here in our text and you and me have a position in the kingdom of God that entails announcing to people a much larger gift, one that can’t be purchased with all the money in the world. It’s the forgiveness of sins and eternal life through Jesus Christ. You would think people would be giddy to hear that news. You would think people would be rushing to us to hear that news. But you know that isn’t the case. Instead, this is what we can expect, “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.” The only reason people might be rushing to us when we talk about Jesus is to oppose us. And that opposition might even come from our relatives and friends. They won’t want to hear what Jesus says. They might stubbornly resist the truth that Jesus wants them to know. Really? Really! In fact, that opposition might get very ugly. Jesus spoke about relatives betraying Christians to death. That has happened in history and is still happening. If it hasn’t happened to you yet, consider yourself blessed by God. Because we can expect persecution. Jesus stated, “When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another.” Don’t let persecution silence you; move on. And why should we expect anything different? Jesus speaks at length about how he was mistreated. His own family members. The citizens of his hometown of Nazareth. The Jewish religious leaders. One of his own disciples. All of them should have welcomed Jesus with open arms; but, at one point at least, they resisted and rejected Jesus. They even claimed he was the devil himself. Nothing could have been further from the truth. But that’s the reception he received. His followers—you and me—should expect the same. “But the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” In the end, we win. We overcome and win the victory. And that’s why Jesus urges you to proclaim Christ fearlessly. You will overcome. Part II. I have something to ask you. For what would you risk your life? I imagine answers such as my spouse, my children, my grandchildren, my dear relative or dear friend. I’m sure most of us answered that way. Jesus told his disciples to expect being persecuted to death. And a common first reaction to that news might be, “You’re kidding, Jesus! Doesn’t God care that I’m doing what he has commissioned me to do—to proclaim Jesus to the world? And he let’s me suffer for it?! Doesn’t he care about me? Are some things beyond his control?” Jesus answers those abjections to proclaiming Christ fearlessly with, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul…Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” In effect, the Lord states, “I know when sparrows, which are practically worthless, fall to the ground and die. Don’t you think I know what’s happening to you when you face trouble for proclaiming Christ? Nothing escapes my knowledge. Nothing is beyond my control.” And if you still aren’t convinced, he wants you to know that he knows you better than you do. He knows the number of the strands of hair on your head. For some of us, that’s a little easier to know than for others. Seriously, your God has a perfect knowledge of you and what’s happening in your life. He sees perfectly how it all turns out. Your value to him is beyond comprehension. There is no dollar figure high enough. How do I know? Because he sacrificed his greatest possession, his Son, his priceless Treasure, for you. Since he was willing to do that for you, doesn’t that tell you something—everything—about what you mean to him? Jesus once declared, “My sheep know my voice. I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand” (Jn. 10:28). So, proclaim Christ fearlessly! You are in the Lord’s hands, and he loves you beyond measure. Part III. Have you ever noticed that, at times, the word of God cuts both ways? What do I mean by that? Well, Psalm 5 states that God hates all who do wrong. That’s me. That’s you. John 3 states that God loves the whole world. So also, that’s me. That’s you. It’s both. How can that be? It depends on the situation. Jesus says much the same thing in these closing words of our text. “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.” If you’re tempted to say nothing about Christ for fear of opposition, then take to heart our Lord’s words of warning. And then take to heart his words of love and forgiveness which assure you that he will wash your sins away, strengthen your faith in him through his word and sacrament, and empower you to acknowledge him before others, to grab opportunities to defend Christ and to speak to others about his forgiving love for all. Jesus won eternal life for each and every sinner. That includes you and me and the people to whom we speak about Christ. By faith in Christ, solely through the grace of God, that eternal life belongs to us. Our names are written in the Book of Life. My baptism and yours declare it. We are his own dearly loved children who are destined for eternal glory with him. So, proclaim Christ fearlessly. You will receive eternal glory. It seems to me there are three options each of us has when presented with an opportunity to proclaim Christ fearlessly. We can do so, as Jesus has commanded us. Or, we can say nothing at all. Or, we can deny even knowing Jesus. I don’t think that last one is much of a problem for us, although it was for Peter, so, there’s a warning there for all of us. It’s the middle one that’s our problem most of the time, isn’t it? I have the opportunity to proclaim what Jesus says and I choose the “say nothing” option. And I convince myself I’ll do it when the timing is better. To be sure, there are better times to proclaim what Jesus says than others, but too often that’s just my excuse. Do you find that to be true with yourself? I’m guessing you do. So, before we proclaim Christ to others, let’s flee to him first. Flee to him for the forgiveness that our failures need, and for the power that the next opportunity to proclaim him requires. He promises you both. We have forgiveness for our failures as his proclaimers and he promises to empower us to proclaim him and even to give us the words to speak. When we do that, he also promises to bless what we say, to his glory. So, it’s all good. It always is when you have Jesus as your Savior. Proclaim Christ fearlessly! As sisters and brothers in Christ, let’s help each other do that very thing. Amen.