About a third of the way through the gospel attributed to Matthew, we are introduced to the twelve apostles and Jesus’ first charges to them as those called to be laborers for God’s harvest. Chapters 11 and 12 sound a lot like a recapitulation of the earlier Sermon on the Mount a few chapters ago. This time though with a twinge of judgment talk. Matthew’s gospel is a slow burn when it comes to judgment rhetoric, increasing with each of Jesus’ five lengthy discourses spread across the arch of this narrative.
At a cursory glance (not just here; also in other similar passages) it is tempting to think that Jesus is granting the disciples permission to pass judge and condemn others. That when they are rejected or persecuted, they should go ahead and curse the people who have cursed them and tee up the wrath of God. That is not the case!
When we focus on the text—at both the ground-truth level and the 10,000-foot perspective—we discover that judgment solely belongs with God. Yes, God may at times see to it that judgment is derived through human endeavors. Yet, that should never be the modus operandi for those who follow Jesus. We are to share the good news of Jesus and to do so with endless compassion (as prefaced just before these chapters in Matthew 9:35-38). The harvesters are not meant to be field burners; we are meant to be field sowers and gatherers—tending to God’s garden of humanity with care are respect for all.
The gospels articulate judgment as a “what is to come” while we should be actively living in a “what is now” state of mind. The vision of a future judgment acts as a hope for the followers who are persecuted today. Judgment is not the mission of those who follow. There are supposed “Christian”movements afoot that say the followers of Jesus should bring about judgment. What these actors are doing is far from the prescribed mission of Christ our Lord. If we do not live a life of love and compassion, we do not follow Jesus.
We must be clear that this does not mean that we should not strive for righteous justice in our world. There is a fine line between justice and judgement. We can be arbiters of justice while leaving final arbitration—the final judgement—up to God. It is in this sense that Jesus’ self-proclaimed mission in the heart of these two chapters is “not of peace, but of the sword” (Matthew 10:34-39). Violence is not being promoted by Jesus. This statement is rather a declaration to follow our Lord and Savior and to strive for justice no matter the personal cost to ourselves and our previous allegiances.
We find in the gospels a common tension of living in the world and yet not of the world. As Christ followers we are tempted to think we know best. Jesus instead urges us to be humble. We work to bring about the Eternal Kingdom as we are called to do, while recognizing we are not the only good workers in this harvest field. In this same vein, we push for justice that is rooted in compassion and mercy, and trust that God will one day be the Ultimate Judge.
To be a bit poetic about this: Having seen the light does not mean we necessarily know the light. And knowing the light does not necessarily mean we understand the light. And even if we know and understand it, we cannot be the light. We may be like the light and share the light. The light of God is God’s light and never ours. At most, we are merely the light of God being reflected across us.
Relevant Reformation 