Welcome to form now I’m Tim gray president of the Augustine Institute and joining me is Dr Michael Barber who’s a professor of scripture here at the August Institute and it’s our Delight to be with you as we’re walking through our Bible study on the gospel of Matthew we
Do that once a week and we invite you to to grab your bible we’re using the Augustine Bible which is the ESV Catholic edition because we think it’s one of the most accurate and one of the best English translations of the Bible for studying the word of God and you can
Get that at catholic. mark Market uh which is our e-commerce store so you can get that at catholic. Market if you’re interested and uh grab your bible and open up we’re at uh the gospel of Matthew chapter 10 and 10 is uh important new chapter in The Narrative
Of of story of Mark’s gospel because we just saw how in chapters 8 and nine there is 10 stories of Jesus doing Mighty deeds and those 10 signify Authority and so we’ve been watching Jesus’s Authority uh being on display basically in all all these different scenes and stories now we move to
Chapter 10 and we get a speech or a discourse of Jesus that follows after the after Jesus’s Deeds narrative and Matthew’s gospel is structured by a movement of narrative story showing Jesus acting and then showing Jesus teaching and the actions and deeds of Jesus prepare us to understand and to uh
Receive the teaching of Jesus more fully and so it’s it’s teaching it’s it’s Act and then teaching so the deeds and the words of Jesus that’s so important to understand that once you do the gospel of Matthew opens up in a whole new light which is really exciting so Matthew
Chapter 10 we’re going to see Jesus teaching and his audience is the twel apostles alone not like in the sermon of the mount that we saw earlier in Matthew 56 and 7 where he taught the apostles and the crowds now he’s just focusing on the TW Apostles and he’s going to be
Sharing his authority with them but what kind of author Authority does he have to give well we just witnessed that in chapters 8 and chapter n of Matthew so for example in chapter 8 a Centurian said I’m a man of authority I said to one go and he goes I said to another
Come and he comes and he recognizes that Jesus is a man of authority well Jesus is going to share some of his kingly authority and Priestly Authority with the twel now we have a image of that a good example is in the beginning of Matthew chapter 9 Jesus forgives the
Sins of the paralytic before he heals him and so what kind of authority does Jesus give to the 10 or to the 12 in chapter 10 the authority to forgive sins is going to be one of the authorities that Jesus gives the apostles and we get
A hint of that in Matthew for example where he ends the scene of the paralytic with the crowd saying in amazement for God who had given such authority to men plural not just to Jesus but to men and so we’ll see him giving that authority to men in ch
Chapter 10 so it’s really important to read the big picture of the movements of Matthew’s gospel now we’re going to dive in to chapter 10 so Michael why don’t you to start us off well with chapter 10 and and remind us where we are uh in the narrative right well so remember
Matthew’s gospel is divided up into five major sections right so we could call those five sections books because a lot of Scholars think and uh Tim and I think this that um Matthew did this in order to evoke the five books of the Torah the five
Books of Moses Jesus is presented as a new Moses here and so you have uh in the gospel of Matthew I mean at least it’s an easy way to think about if you just want to find an easy way to remember Matthew’s gospel uh five major sections narrative discourse narrative discourse
Now we’re moving into the discourse of chapter 10 and Jesus uh has been going through Galilee and he’s been going through all these villages performing Miracles and we read and he called to him his 12 disciples now notice they’re not called Apostles here they’re called Disciples and I do think that’s very
Important what does disciple mean it means student that’s what it really means and you know what students have to do I always have to remind mine they have to study ex right and so from two professors right here right and so you know we’re not all called to get
Advanced degrees in theology but we all we are all called to study we are all called to love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul with all your mind don’t forget that last one that’s one that’s easy to forget and so that’s why you’re here because you want
To study the Lord uh you want to study the truth about the Lord with all you want to love him with all your mind and he calls to them so he’s going to disciple them before he sends them out as Apostles he calls to them his 12
Apostles 12 disciples why are there 12 that’s an important number the reason that he calls 12 disciples here is because ancient Israel is made up of 12 tribes right you go back to Abraham Abraham has a son named Isaac Isaac has a son named Jacob who’s renamed and his
His new name is Israel and Israel ultimately has 12 sons those 12 sons become known as their families become known as the 12 tribes of Israel you can divide it up sometimes the Old Testament divides it up differently is Levi one of the 12 tribes they’re a Priestly tribe
Joseph has two sons but either way broadly there are 12 tribes in Israel this is always understood the problem is by Jesus’s day that was ancient history right so there were 12 tribes in Israel but what happens in the 8th century is the Assyrian come in the 8th Century
Right BC 800 years before Jesus the Assyrians come they capture the northern tribes and they’re taken off they’re never heard from again they’re frequently referred to as the lost 10 tribes what happened to them well they came to the Americas they became the Mormons no don’t go to the Joseph Smith
Sorry okay that’s more of a theology Catholic theology is based on the Old Testament and what we know know is that the 12 tribes become divided there was one king who reigned over all 12 tribes after David that his name was Solomon greatest king after David after Solomon 12 tribes
Are divided up and then 10 Northern tribes are taken off in the Exile and they’re never heard from them again well Jesus by appointing 12 Apostles is pointing to the reality that there will be a restoration of Israel that all Israel be restored and just to kind of fast
Forward a little bit in Matthew chapter 19 Jesus refers to this in Matthew 19 we I think we’ve got the Bible verse there on a picture but in Matthew 19 Jesus says truly or Amen in the Greek I say to you in the New World literally in the
Palen genesia right in the palen again Genesis in the new Genesis in the new creation what’s going to happen in the new creation you 12 when the son of man sits on his glorious Throne you who have followed me will also sit on 12 Thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel so Jesus
Expects a restoration of the 12 tribes so by appointing 12 he’s he’s signifying that Jesus is bringing about the renewal of God’s people and here once again we have the implicit davidic messiahship of Jesus because there was only one king that rued ruled over all 12 tribes if
The 12 represent the new Israel Jesus isn’t one of the 12 he’s the leader of the 12 and so there we see implicitly Jesus’s davidic role Michael that’s so important and I I think you beautifully laid out that there’s a significance in what Jesus is doing in choosing 12 we
Know that there was more disciples than 12 yeah it’s not that Jesus simply wanted a dozen or a Baker’s Dozen right he chooses this 12 to show that he is reconstituting the 12 tribes of Israel around himself right with himself as the leader and that’s not again you know a
Rabbi might have two or three or four disciples uh that would be usually pretty typical maybe a half dozen uh not too much more than that and here Jesus comes as a rabbi Gathering ging disciples but he’s not just your everyday Rabbi Gathering your everyday disciples Jesus is the Christ who’s
Specifically calling 12 to signify clearly and everyone recognizes this you find it in the gospels over and over again the list of the 12 the list of the 12 and as you mentioned there and it’s other PL passages that reinforce this he says there’s there’ll be 12 Thrones and
You know that’s so fundamental to what Jesus is doing he’s reestablishing the Kingdom of Israel around himself because a lot of the tribes were lost but Jesus is now regathering the 12 tribes around the 12 apostles they’re the new 12 tribes they’re the new Israel and that’s just
Such a powerful thing to understand and there’s so many things like this in the gospel that I hope you can come to appreciate a little bit more every little detail has such meaning and purpose and as you begin to recognize that and you see this it just feeds your
Faith you begin to realize the depth and breadth of the word of God and what Jesus is up to and what he’s doing it’s really really extraordinary most certainly and it it has practical implications by the way in our own life you know there’s 12 jurors because in
Christendom we decided 12 jurors because just as the 12 apostles would judge Israel and sit on 12 Thrones judging Israel the idea of 12 jurors is selected to remind all of us that ultimately there will be a ultimate trial and it will be the 12 apostles faithful the
Christ who will judge each one of us and what we do in our life so every time you were to see a trial or hear about a trial it was a sewing post to remind all of us Christians that there will be an ultimate trial and we want to make sure
That we’re faithful Witnesses for that ultimate trial so it’s really a beautiful thing that’s why there’s 12 jurors that’s right that very point you see that influence of Christianity all throughout the West it’s really interesting now what’s important to also point out is that according to ancient
Israel right the 12 tribes if you look at various synagogues correspond to the 12 months of the year the different constellations in the sky so 12 months is also not a coincidence right and so what Jesus is doing in the 12 he’s not just bringing about a new Israel he’s
Bringing about a new creation because Israel is supposed to be uh of Creation in miniature right all right so we go on to read then then these are the names of the 12 ah Apostles so they were disciples as they were learning from him now they’re Apostles Apostles literally
Apostello the Greek word means to send right the one who sent so the apostles are the ones who are sent and we get the names of the twel and sent you know that that term is so important because to be sent like an ambassador means to be sent
In the name of the one who sends you and you right you as an as an ambassador as an apostle you share in the authority of the one who sent you the king because you speak in their name and therefore with their Authority and so that’s a whole different level than disciple yeah
That’s right all right so then we go on and we read that the TW Apostles are first Simon I like that first right he’s the first and it’s not because he’s the first Apostle who’s called right but he’s first in in terms of his Rank and
We’re going to see that play out more in the gospel of Matthew in all the lists of the 12 apostles there are various differences the order even the names are sometimes slightly different one thing that never changes first name always Peter pet always Simon Peter Peter’s number one first Simon who is called
Peter and Andrew his brother and I always like that that Peter’s brother is called with him and then we go on to read James the son of zebede and John his brother notice Jesus has a penion here for calling Brothers right so uh I have two sons Michael and Matthew uh who
Are very close in age I have another group of boys Thomas and Simon they both share rooms together Brothers become very close as they grow up and it’s a beautiful thing Christ Builds on that Grace as we always say Builds on nature so that fraternity Within Apostolic college is actually rooted in the
Brotherhood of of the 12 I love that image especially thinking of your wonderful boys and their their closeness and friendship and you know I Think Jesus is probably doing something when he does this and I know in in the gospel of Mark the first thing is the calling
Of the brothers right the two sets of brothers and you know all of Genesis begins with a pair of brothers K and Abel who end up not getting along and there is fratricide where Cain kills Abel and I I I just can’t help but think uh that Jesus is Calling a pair couple
Pairs of Brothers to show that in the New Covenant Brothers can love one another and part of the mission beautiful that’s beautiful Simon was called Peter Andrew’s brother by the way notice Andrew is a Greek name which is interesting which shows us that in Galilee this there there’s a real
Gentile influence sometimes people imagine that you know the the Jews are you know just anti- Gentile there’s no Greek speaking there’s no so it’s philli he’s a Greek name and I think and they both come from Betha which is the Greek the most Greek Village on the Sea of
Galilee it’s really amazing now of course they moved TOS right right but they’re originally from Beth originally from Beth SAA and you know when we were there a year ago one of the things that you were pointing out to me and I hadn’t really studied yet was the
Archaeological data from Beth SAA and Capernaum you want to talk a little bit about how those two cities are yeah they’re so close they’re only three miles apart basically but they’re really in two different uh political jurisdictions in the time of the first century so the uh when Herod the Great
Dies he he divides his kingdom by three sons and the one son we know Herod Jr Herod antipater the one after the father and then you have Philip and uh and so you have Herod Jr and Philip who are Rivals and of course we get Philip named
In in uh Betha and Betha is in the domain of Philip Philip what’s interesting is that it’s seems like the Roman incursion in the beths side was getting more and more pronounced over the years right and so the archaeological evidence suggest that they moved from Betha to capernum and in
Capernum you have a huge synagogue there’s a lot of evidence that the Jews there are are they’re they’re in a in almost a way they’re reacting to forces of if you want to call it secularization right they want to when you look at Betha it was becoming
More and more hellenized and Philip who had studied in Rome really wanted to bring Greco Roman culture to his kingdom and his City Herod uh wasn’t necessarily terribly Jewish in his belief but he wasn’t willing to go as far as Philip Philip had the accomp which had a lot
More Gentiles in his kingdom whereas Herod wanted to show himself he had to show himself as more Jewish because a lot of the Jews in his kingdom were very zealous and conservative and so I believe you know the reason Andrew and Peter mov from Betha just three miles
Down to cerum is there it’s because uh Beth SAA becomes more and more hellenized that is paganized basically as you can think about it and so as devout Jews they’re like we got to get out of town and so they leave Betha and it’s interesting when Jesus does a
Miracle in Betha he takes the blind man outside the city and then heals him and he warns him not to go back into the city that’s right yeah so the idea is that what we know archaeologically there’s a lot of details to show this that Betha was becoming more and more
Gentile in its flavor and its culture and its even its religion and so uh good Jews wanted to leave Betha and that’s what Andrew Philip and Peter do and so Jesus calls some of them he calls Simon he calls Andrew James and John Brothers this is James the son of zebede is known
As James the Greater he’s the one who executed in Acts chap 12 he doesn’t make it very far in into Christian history but uh has an important role to play John his brother this is to John that tradition attributes the Gospel of John to the Beloved disciple as he’s known in
Tradition Philip and Bartholomew Thomas and Matthew the tax collector James son of alus Thaddius Simon the zalot and Judas es scariot who betrayed him Jesus calls one man he knows is going to betray him it’s really remarkable and then we read that Jesus and we could say
More about all these 12 but we just got to move on the TW these 12 Jesus sent out instructing them go nowhere among the Gentiles enter no town of the Samaritans but go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel and with this I want to go back to that prophecy
That I mentioned last in the last episode from Ezekiel chapter 34 we talk about how the 12 tribes rep present the fact that God is one day going to reather his people this is a major theme in Ezekiel CH 34 in Ezekiel 34 the prophet is given an Oracle and he’s told
To preach against the Shepherds of Israel and the leaders of Israel particular are are who are in View and he goes on to talk about how the leaders of Israel fed themselves they did not care for the sheep and so what does God say he says well I will be the shepher
Shepher says I myself will search for my sheep I will seek them out and then in verse 16 this is a very important verse Ezekiel says the following God says through Ezekiel I will seek the lost I will bring back the Stray I will bind up the injured and I will strengthen the
Weak now that’s what Jesus has been doing in Matthew chapter 9 we just read that Jesus was healing every disease every infirmity and then he looked at the people and said they were like sheep without a Shepherd Jesus is the Divine Shepherd he’s the one coming to bind
Them up to heal them and to work miracles and Ezekiel goes on to talk about how the Sheep of Israel have been scattered they’ve been lost this happened through Exile it happened through dispersion of the people Jesus is now sending out the 12 to go and do
What well to do what the Lord himself says he’s going to do in Ezekiel this is going to be a very important theme the apostles don’t just become you know fans of Jesus they don’t just sit on the sidelines and cheer for him no Jesus wants them to participate
In his ministry this is going to be the basis for the understanding of the church right that we’re not just the people who God Saves in a passive way God actually wants to work through through the 12 he wants to work through the new Israel and send them out to do
The work that he did and so he says go nowhere but to that lost sheep of Israel and at the end of The Gospel it’s going to send them to the Nations and Proclaim as you go saying the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand how do you demonstrate the
Kingdom of Heaven is at hand that’s some bold claim the king is here who’s the King Jesus how do you demonstrate that heal the sick raise the Dead cleanse lepers cast out demons so the disciples are now going to do what Jesus did so in
Matthew 8 and N Jesus does it himself in Matthew 10 in this speech he sends out the 12 to do what he said no it fits beautifully because as you mentioned in chapter nine he ends with the Harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few now he commissions laborers to go out that’s
Right and then he says you know the Israel is like the lost sheep and then he talks about the lost sheep of Israel and you know I think that prophecy that you mentioned in Ezekiel 34 is so important and you know the Shepherds Jesus is or God I should say who’s given
This Oracle to Ezekiel all throughout the chapter I mean if you look at what leads up to verse 7 through 11 uh God’s fed up with his Shepherds who are you know feeding themselves pasturing themselves on the sheep and not seeking the Lost not binding them and not caring
For them and all that and so basically God says in verse 11 of Ezekiel 34 I myself will come and seek out my sheep right I myself will be the Good Shepherd and so God promises that himself that he himself will come to Shepherd the flock of Israel and we see Jesus fulfilling
That and we also see Jesus sending out good Shepherds so one of the things I think as you step back and look at Ezekiel 34 that I think is important is for us to remember that you know throughout the story of Israel there was bad Shepherds and what what does he mean
By bad Shepherds well they meant bad priests he meant bad kings bad princes the bad the leadership class of Israel from priest to Prince uh they had been corrupted and and they were feeding themselves on God’s people rather than serving God’s people they were exploiting them and not serving as God’s
Ministers and that happened then and happened many times in Israel’s history and it also happens many times in church history you know different people St Bernard clero would use this imagery for the corrupt clergy as you know bad Shepherds and so we’ve seen where we
Have bad Shepherds and I know a lot of people get really scandalized and upset and rightfully angry when we find out about priest scandals and Bishop scandals and and of high level clerics who are exactly doing what what the bad shepherds are doing they’re feeding themselves on the sheep they’re
Exploting the sheep and they’re not being faithful to God but people sometimes think well maybe I’m done with the church maybe I don’t need the church because there’s bad Shepherds but remember God had bad Shepherds throughout the history of Israel as well as good Shepherds and God promised
Himself will become a shepherd and that he would send good Shepherds and so there’s nothing happening with these scandals in the church no matter how high the cleric that isn’t for told in the word of God and so for me personally Michael when I know the word of God and
I know that even you know in Acts Paul will warn that there will become you know wolves who will sneak in who will be Shepherds and these are not good Shepherds these are wolves who want to Devour the sheep and he warns that many will come in even amongst the episcopo
Even amongst the the Bishop Rick right who will be wolves we can’t let bad Bishops or priests steal our faith right and undermine our faith woe to them God says in Ezekiel 34 and God’s clear that he will judge them with great rigor and woe to them I would not want to be
Somebody who was ordained to be a shepherd and who was unfaithful I mean they they have eternity that they could pay for that if they don’t repent and God will write all wrongs but it’s important for us to see that and so here Jesus sees that you know there’s
Bad Shepherds in his day some of the Pharisees a lot of the priests even the chief priests are bad Shepherds and Jesus comes to lead his sheep and Jesus always provides for a sheep to find the truth and to find the nourishment even in the midst of a time of bad shepher
And so we have to have that Hope and Faith but anyhow in in Ezekiel 34 it’s really interesting God says that he will come and he will judge between his sheep and he says that he will be the one to um to distinguish between the Sheep he
Says I will judge between sheep and sheep and um and he also will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep interestingly enough in Matthew 25 yep at the end of go the gospel of Matthew Jesus explains that he will come on the last stay and he will separate the
Nations and he will put the sheep on one side put the goats on the other right so Jesus is going to come and fulfill this prophecy at the end of time and he will distinguish between his sheep um one last thing we could just say not only
Does God say in Ezekiel that he will be the she the shepherd He also says that he will set up he says I will be the shepherd then he goes on to say and I will set up over them one Shepherd my servant David he shall feed them he
Shall feed them and be their Shepherd well wait a minute who’s the shepherd is it the god of Israel or is it the davidic king and the answer is both yes all the above all because in Jesus the god of Israel has become the son of
David and he’s shepher in his sheep and he’s going to feed his sheep in many ways especially in the Eucharistic celebration so after Jesus sends them out uh and he tells them you know they don’t need much they have to rely on God’s Providence God’s fly Providence
And uh and you know go to houses and you know knock the dust off if they reject you and don’t receive the message and go on to the next in other words it’s not necessarily the audience’s reception rejection uh that you’re responsible for but keep going uh to those who will be
Recepted to the message and then he warns about persecution later on and that’s important too because I think for us Christians right now we’re moving out of a Christian Society into a secular Society that’s becoming more and more hostile to Christianity so we might suffer persecution and I think a passage
Like this is important for us to realize oh no no kidding what does Jesus say I’m sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves wow well pretty when I turn on the news I feel like a sheep in the midst of wolves yeah I mean that’s not
The most encouraging thing that your teacher could have told you right you’re going to be the sheep and they’re going to be the Wolves oh great fantastic right but we know who the shepherd is so we don’t have to fear the Wolves because we know that we have a that
Doesn’t mean that we’re not going to suffer Jesus himself is going to suffer so there’s no reason to think we won’t also be called into that mystery of persecution and suffering nonetheless the one who endures to the end Jesus said exactly that’s the line I was just
Going to read that’s the one who endures to the end and so patient endurance is what we need in the midst of wolves and you know and I think of Psalm 23 which is the Good Shepherd you know and uh y though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I
Shall fear no evil for your rod and your staff they comfort me and so we have to know that Jesus is our Good Shepherd and that even if we have a bad priest a bad Bishop any level of bad cleric Jesus is still the ultimate Shepherd of the
Church it is his flock at the end of the day priests Bishops and Popes are simply stewards Jesus is the ultimate Good Shepherd and you can call upon him at any time and Jesus will give you his person Grace if you call upon Him He will strengthen your faith he will
Strengthen you and answer your prayers in your need and that’s so important for us to know and to be encouraged by and that there’s nothing happening in the life of the church that hasn’t been foretold and so we need not be shaken but believe and uh I think that’s so
Important and I I hope that uh you know next time we’re going to cover um chapter chapter 11 I I I think will we be able to move into chapter 11 or finish up chap chapter 10 here so we’ll finish up chapter 10 and then we’ll move into chapter 11
And 12 and uh I hope that you know as we go into these stories that it deepens your faith to see the word of God opened up these connections between Ezekiel and what Jesus is doing and all these images I think it’s it’s so edifying for me
Gets me fired up and uh I want to thank everybody you know who supports Us in the mission Circle uh you know what we’re doing at form we’re reaching now over a million 90,000 people uh which is just amazing we could say a million but we missed 990,000 people which is a lot
Of people a lot and every day we add more people to the platform uh more and more people are joining so your support of our mission circle is really important right now we’re in a special time during the month of August a donor has made a challenge that they’ll match
Any new Mission Circle donor and all the giving they give for the rest of 2020 they’ll match dollar for dollar it’s an extraordinary Challenge and this is our 15th year anniversary in the month of August so if you want to become a mission partner with us we would greatly
Appreciate it join us in our mission to share the good news of Jesus Christ with the world God bless and keep you
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