Matthew 11:1
“When Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities?”
When I read this verse, I wondered, “ What was the command or charge Jesus had given to his disciples, and when it says, “their cities”, whose cities was He referring to? As I looked back through Matthew 9 and 10 for the answers to these questions, my heart was really touched and softened by Jesus’ response to His called, chosen, obedient, beloved disciples.
The end of Matthew 9 says Jesus went to “all the towns and villages”. Matt 11:1 (in the KJV & MSG) says Jesus went on to “their towns and villages”. Matthew 10 is all about instructions to Jesus’ disciples, so Matthew 11:1, must literally mean He went to the towns of His twelve disciples. How like the Lord it would be to tell his disciples to drop everything and follow Him, knowing all along that He Himself would go back and minister / give special attention to the very people and places they held dear and left behind.
This touches my heart so deeply, because when I look back on my own life I can see very clearly that the Lord did (and is still doing) this in my own family. When I was a freshman in college I felt like God wanted me to go on a short term mission trip to China, however, my parents were completely against it. I felt the mission trip was the Lord, but I also knew it was the Lord to honor my parents. How could I do both? During that time, the Lord showed me Numbers 30:3-4 “ When a young woman still living in her father’s household makes a vow to the Lord or obligates herself by a pledge and her father hears about her vow or pledge but says nothing to her, then all her vows and every pledge by which she obligated herself will stand. But if her father forbids her when he hears about it, none of her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand; the Lord will release her because her father has forbidden her. ” God’s word completely settled it and I did not go, plus I learned a really valuable life lesson – God has an answer to every question in His word and if I seek Him, I’ll find it. About 2 years later Ken and Dana invited me to seek the Lord about working on staff with Campus Rock after I graduated, and maybe 3 years after that Ken, Dana, and Tom invited me to seek the Lord about doing something to specifically reach out to our international students at WCU. I loved the relationships God had given me here and I was delighted and honored that God’s answer for me for both of these things was yes. At the same time, my family was broken and far from the Lord, and I desperately wanted my siblings and parents to really know the Lord. Now it’s been more than 20 years since those first decisions of seeking and obedience were made, and I’ve seen more examples than I could ever count of the people around me in this church family laying their lives down for the Lord and each other and seeing amazing fruit of students and families and international students returning to the Lord, being healed, and being filled with the Holy Spirit. What a joy it has been to see God’s work and faithfulness in this body! However, all the while, the greatest and most magnificent and transformational work I’ve seen God do has actually been in my own family. Jesus himself has gone to my family. He has ministered to them, He has drawn them to himself. At this time all of my siblings and one of my parents have turned their hearts and their families to the Lord – it truly is a miracle (many miracles – each reconciled relationship is a miracle!). Glory to God. He has done immeasurably more than I could dream or imagine in my family. (Thank you Jesus for the promise of Ephesians 3:20)
The twelve disciples made a lot of mistakes during the years that Jesus was training them, but ultimately, I think He saw the faith, courage, and obedience it took for them to lay down their nets and follow Him. I can see how God can take a heart like that, surrendered to his will, and change the world – even in spite of our mistakes. I’m grateful and humbled that even though our sacrifices are zero compared to His, He still sees them and He cares for the people so dear to us.
–Melissa Haigler
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