A Community Living Through Upheaval
Sermon Notes Pentecost 3 14th June Matthew 9:35-10.8 by Desiree Snyman
Most scholars agree that Matthew's Gospel emerged out of Antioch and was written after the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. Antioch was in northern Syria, in what is now the southern part of modern-day Turkey. Understanding the Antiochian context sheds a great deal of light on Matthew's Gospel because it helps us recognise the concerns and experiences of the local Christian community.
The Jewish Roman Wars are significant here. The Jewish–Roman wars were a series of large-scale war by the Judea’s against the empire between 66 and 135 CE. In response the emperor wanted to annihilate the Jewish religion which undergirded the resistance nd make an example out of the Jews. He knew he had to do three things: destroy the temple, end the priesthood (which was hereditary) and demolish as much of the Holy City Jerusalem as possible. The early Jesus movement was Jewish. The disciples continued to worship in the Temple and practice Jewish traditions. The Jewish Roman war accelerated the separation between Judaism and Christianity.
Acts 11 tells us that Antioch became a place of refuge for believers fleeing persecution from Jerusalem. It became a centre of mission and growth, but it was also a community marked by displacement, uncertainty, and change. It is no accident that the atmosphere of persecution is so present in Matthew's Gospel:
"When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next."
Matthew's community knew exactly what those words meant.
Sheep Without a Shepherd
Against this background, Jesus' compassion takes on new meaning. The temple is destroyed. There is no possibility of making sacrifices. There are no priests to lead the prayers and guide the liturgy. It is for this reason that the text says, "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."
The word for compassion here describes how the gut moves in sorrow in response to suffering.
The people are harassed and helpless. They are living through upheaval. They are being persecuted. They are like sheep without a shepherd because the structures that once guided them have been destroyed. The Temple is gone. The priests are gone. Jerusalem has been destroyed. The old certainties have disappeared.
Jesus sees all of this and responds with compassion.
Mercy Not Sacrifice
The destruction of the Temple also helps us understand an earlier saying of Jesus:
"Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, not sacrifice."
These words come from the prophet Hosea.
In Antioch, sacrifices are no longer possible. Yet Matthew offers a profound innovation. A life of mercy becomes the new sacrifice. Compassion becomes the new way of worshipping God.
When the old ways are no longer available, God is not absent. God is inviting something new.
Continue the Mission
In the face of cataclysmic change, what is the early Jesus movement supposed to do?
One option is to give up.
Another option is to play the blame game. The suffering and destruction must be someone's fault. God must be punishing somebody.
A third option is emotional paralysis.
Matthew offers a fourth option.
During chaos, Jesus says: trust in me, trust in community, and let's get back to work. Let's continue the mission. There is a new future ahead.
The harvest is still plentiful.
The workers are still few.
The mission remains.
How Do We Face Change?
This is the central question of today's Gospel: How do we face change?
Like the first hearers of Matthew's Gospel, we too are living through a period of profound upheaval and transformation. While we may not be fleeing persecution, the changes confronting us can feel equally disruptive. Many people experience the rapid pace of technological advancement as unsettling, and those who struggle to keep up with it can feel pushed to the margins of society.
The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a striking example. Some see it as a remarkable gift that could help build a better future; others fear it may contribute to our own undoing. Perhaps it will be both. For many, AI raises deeply existential questions. Young people investing years in education and earning multiple degrees wonder whether meaningful employment will still await them, or whether machines will eventually replace much of what they have trained to do.
So what do we do when change arrives uninvited?
What do we do when something precious is taken from us?
Our natural instinct is often to rebuild what has been lost. We long for things to return to the way they were. We cling to what is familiar and secure.
But what if the Spirit is inviting us into something new?
What if there is a grace, a possibility, or a freshness that we cannot yet see?
Jesus does not tell his disciples to remain where they are. Instead, he sends them out. There is a summons here to embrace a larger future and to receive the present moment as a teacher. Faith invites us not to resist the work of the moment, but to receive it.
The opening verses of this passage list the disciples and remind us that Judas was the one who betrayed Jesus. Matthew expects us to remember the events that follow. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus says, “Look, the betrayer is at hand.” When Judas approaches and greets him with a kiss, Jesus responds, “Friend, do what you have come to do.”
This remarkable response offers a way of meeting change. Rather than resisting reality or denying what is unfolding, we can face it with courage and openness. We can say to change itself:
“Friend, do the work that you have come to do.”
Learning to Trust
One of the striking features of this passage is that Jesus sends the disciples out with almost nothing.
No money.
No extra provisions.
No means of protection.
They are to rely on hospitality.
They are to trust the communities they encounter.
In commanding them to show compassion to others, Jesus also makes them dependent on the compassion of others.
Trust in God and trust in community belong together.
Even though the old leaders are gone, even though familiar structures have collapsed, they are encouraged to adapt, to innovate, and to discover new ways of continuing the mission.
Not despite the heartbreak, but through it such that the uncertainty is a doorway to new possibilities. Through it.
Sent Among Wolves
The prosperity gospel often presents Christ as the solution to all your problems.
The canonical Gospels offer something quite different.
"I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves."
Jesus assumes there will be difficulties. There will be resistance. There will be rejection.
The promise is not that suffering will disappear. The promise is that God will be present within it.
The world cries out for people willing to embody good news.
The good news that this is God's world and that, despite all evidence to the contrary, God's purposes are not finished. We continue the mission of receiving compassion from Christ and offering that compassion to ourselves, others and creation. We innovate and find new ways of being the Good News. Trust God. Trust community.