After the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) rich with the teachings of Jesus, we are told about many healings that Jesus did (Matthew 8-9). Interspersed among his great deeds was this reminder, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head" (Matthew 8:20).
Matthew 10 begins with Jesus summoning his disciples and commissioning them to do the kinds of healings he has done. "Not everyone will welcome you," he tells them (10:13-14). It is not only the Son of Man who will be in danger; his disciples also will be at risk (10:16-18).
We have something like a summary in verses 24-26. "You who are disciples have the authority of the one who commissioned you. With that authority comes accountability. If they don't like me, they aren't going to like you, either." Then Jesus tells them not to be afraid.
Christians living in the time that Matthew's Gospel was written could hear these words as being supportive of them in the conditions that they knew.
In what ways are they helpful for 21st century disicples?
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