Read MATTHEW 10:5–20

Believers around the world today are suffering for the sake of the gospel. The Spectator, a British publication, called it “the war on Christians.” They reported that the secular International Society for Human Rights estimates that 80 percent of all acts of religious discrimination globally are directed at Christians. Each year for the decade preceding 2013, an average of 100,000 Christians were martyred—that’s eleven Christians every hour of every day.

No wonder Jesus said He was sending His followers out as “sheep among wolves” (Matt. 10:16)! As in yesterday’s devotion, in today’s reading we see the entire Trinity involved in spreading the good news of the kingdom. The sending of the Twelve, unlike the sending of the 72, was limited to the Jews (vv. 5–8), not because God’s love excluded Gentiles (see v. 18) but simply because “the lost sheep of Israel” were to hear first (see Rom. 1:16).

The Father is involved because the “kingdom of heaven” is His kingdom. The promises being fulfilled are His promises. The day of judgment that awaits unbelievers is His day of judgment. The Spirit is involved because He was sent by the Father. He will give faithful believers wisdom about what to say when they are persecuted (vv. 16–20). And the Son is involved, of course, because He Himself is the promised Messiah. With this mission, He was training His twelve disciples in proclaiming the kingdom, trusting God and God’s people to provide, and facing opposition (vv. 9–15).

Bearing witness to the kingdom was and is more important than mere safety. The Good Shepherd sends us, too, out as faithful sheep among the wolves of the world. Thankfully, we, too, can rely upon the Spirit of our Father to speak through us!

APPLY THE WORD

As we pray for the persecuted church around the world, consider joining with a prayer partner to intercede for believers who are oppressed. Just as Jesus’ followers were sent out in pairs, praying with a partner can be encouraging and powerful. “For where two or three gather in my name,” Jesus said, “there am I with them” (Matt. 18:20).

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