the Third Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Day by Day Devotional - Year 3 of 5
Matthew 10:24-42
The disciple is not above his Master (v. 24); he would not wish to claim better treatment than his Lord. Whether he is a Christian, or whether he is a Jew in the coming time of the great tribulation, the true disciple may expect to meet from an unjust and wicked world the same opposition as the Lord Jesus did (see vv. 17, 18). But this will be the opportunity for him to enjoy all the resources of grace, this unbounded grace which knows and keeps the redeemed one even to the extent of a hair of his head (v. 30; see 2 Corinthians 12:9).
It is not only the hatred of the world which meets the faithful believer, but he often has to deal with the hostility of his own family (v. 36). May he not be discouraged! The Lord has expressly said that it would be like this, and He has also provided the resources to meet his need.
To take up his cross is to take up the distinctive stigma of those condemned to death. In other words, it is to show that he has finished with the pleasures of the world, and that he has given up his own will. From a human point of view, that amounts to losing his life. "No," says the Master, "it is, on the contrary, the only way to find it." But the motive must be "for my sake," as the Lord Jesus states (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).
