Christ & His People | Matthew

Introduction:
When Saul of Tarsus met the Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus, he met with a surprising question.
Acts 9:1-5 (ESV)
1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting ME.
The first thing about that question that would have been jarring for Saul is that this same Jesus whom Saul had so disregarded, was now stopping him in his tracks and introducing Himself with divine power. Saul recognizes the divine power, so that the one addressing him, Saul addresses as Lord.
The second thing about the question that would have been shocking is that there was a people whom Saul also had no regard for - he despised them and sought to punish them with death. These lowly people are identified by Jesus as a people so united with Himself, that to persecute them is to persecute Him.
This truth is rightly understood and applied in a way that is not only corporate, it is also to be applied in a way that is INDIVIDUAL.
Colossians 1:24 (ESV)
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,
When the church is persecuted, Christ is persecuted. When a disciple of Jesus Christ suffers for the church, that disciple suffers Christ’s afflictions.
THIS TRUTH IS TAUGHT TO CHRIST’S DISCIPLES IN OUR VERSES.
But as Jesus teaches this truth, He makes clear that the opposite is also true. It is not just the persecution of His people that Jesus identifies with. It is the reception of His people. It is the blessing of His people.
This is a truth that our God demonstrated in the Old Testament with respect to Israel.
Numbers 24:1-9 (ESV)
1 When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go, as at other times, to look for omens, but set his face toward the wilderness. 2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe. And the Spirit of God came upon him, 3 and he took up his discourse and said, “The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened, 4 the oracle of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down with his eyes uncovered: 5 How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel! 6 Like palm groves that stretch afar, like gardens beside a river, like aloes that the Lord has planted, like cedar trees beside the waters. 7 Water shall flow from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters; his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. 8 God brings him out of Egypt and is for him like the horns of the wild ox; he shall eat up the nations, his adversaries, and shall break their bones in pieces and pierce them through with his arrows. 9 He crouched, he lay down like a lion and like a lioness; who will rouse him up? Blessed are those who bless you, and cursed are those who curse you.”
Deuteronomy 32:9-10 (ESV)
9 But the Lord’s portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage. 10 “He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; he encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.
• THE REALITY OF IDENTIFICATION WITH CHRIST (vs.40)
The first point that Jesus makes is simple, straightforward, uncomplicated, but profound. How His disciples are treated is a statement about Christ and the Father.
Jesus commissions these men.
They go out by His calling, with His authority, carrying His message, and identified with His name.
Now, think about that for a moment.