{"id":26405,"date":"2026-06-17T07:31:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T05:31:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/?p=26405"},"modified":"2026-06-16T10:41:47","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T08:41:47","slug":"matthew-105a-21-33","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/matthew-105a-21-33\/","title":{"rendered":"Matthew 10:5a, 21\u201333"},"content":{"rendered":"

Committed My Cause to the Lord! | Pentecost IV | 21 June 2026 | Matthew 10:5a, 21\u201333 | David M. Wendel<\/strong><\/p>\n

First Reading: Jeremiah 20:7\u201313<\/em>
\nSecond Reading: Romans 6:12\u201323<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

5\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them,\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

21\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death,\u00a022\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake.\u00a0But the one who endures to the end will be saved.\u00a023\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>When they\u00a0persecute you in one town,\u00a0flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel\u00a0before the Son of Man comes. 24\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>\u201cA disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant[<\/sup>d<\/sup><\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0above his master.\u00a025\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master.\u00a0If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign[<\/sup>e<\/sup><\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0those of his household. 26\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>\u201cSo have no fear of them,\u00a0for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.\u00a027\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on\u00a0the housetops.\u00a028\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>And\u00a0do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him\u00a0who can destroy both soul and body in hell.[f<\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a029\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?[<\/sup>g<\/sup><\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your<\/em><\/p>\n

Father.\u00a030\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>But\u00a0even the hairs of your head are all numbered.\u00a031\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Fear not, therefore;\u00a0you are of more value than many sparrows.\u00a032\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,\u00a033\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Matthew 10:5a, 21\u201333<\/strong> English Standard Version <\/strong>Copyright \u00a9\u00a02001 by Crossway Bibles<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Committed My Cause to the Lord!<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n

This July 19th<\/sup> will be the 45th<\/sup> anniversary of my ordination to the ministry of Word and Sacrament. And NALC Bishop Emeritus John Bradosky, whom many of you know, will be present to preach at both services to give thanks, not for one lowly pastor, but for God\u2019s call to each of us, to ministry and service, as God\u2019s calls all of us into ministry: some into the ordinary ministry through baptism, others into the extraordinary ministry, through ordination. So, recently I\u2019ve been thinking about my ordination service.<\/p>\n

The first reading at my ordination at my home church, First Lutheran Church, Columbus, Indiana, was the call of Jeremiah. I chose that passage because I was quite young, only 25 years old, which seemed, to me at the time, really, really young! And if you\u2019re not familiar with the call and ministry of Jeremiah, it begins with him, having been called directly by the word of the Lord. And Jeremiah responds to God\u2019s call, saying, \u201cAh, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.\u201d Jeremiah would\u2019ve gladly avoided the call of God, at least for a few years, to grow up, to gain greater wisdom and life experience, because the specific call of God to Jeremiah, would not be an easy one. For God was calling Jeremiah to proclaim an unwanted, unpleasant message to God\u2019s people. In fact, the prophetic ministry of Jeremiah was to be one of the most difficult of all the prophets, as God was displeased with Judah, and her kings and her priests, resulting in God calling Jeremiah to go and declare God\u2019s judgement against 5 kings of Judah, during his 40 years of ministry!\u00a0 Jeremiah was sent to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow. So, Jeremiah accepted the call reluctantly, because as it says in Jeremiah 1:9, \u201cThe Lord put forth his hand and touched Jeremiah\u2019s mouth; and the Lord said to Jeremiah, \u2018Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n

And how did Jeremiah\u2019s ministry go? Our first reading today gives us a glimpse. Our passage picks up in verse 7 of chapter 20. But in verse 1, we read, \u201cNow Pashur the priest\u2026who was chief officer in the house of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying\u2026so Pashur had Jeremiah beaten and put him in the stocks that were in the upper Benjamin Gate of the house of the Lord.\u201d That\u2019s how the kings and priests responded to Jeremiah\u2019s prophecies of doom, destruction and judgement. They didn\u2019t receive it with repentance and return to the Lord God. They had Jeremiah beaten and publicly humiliated. And did this physical torture and public shaming silence Jeremiah? On the contrary, after being released, Jeremiah prophesied even more destruction for Pashur, Jerusalem and Judah, declaring that Pashur and his friends would fall by the sword of their enemies and Judah would be handed over, by God, to the pagan king of Babylon, with all the wealth of Jerusalem, all its gains, all its prized belongings and all the treasures of the kings of Judah being taken into the hands of their enemies who would plunder them and seize them and carry them off to Babylon!<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s where our reading picks up, as we find Jeremiah, who had been so forceful and forthright in his prophecy against Pashur and the king and Judah, apparently struggling now, going back and forth in his own mind, as he considered the call of God on the one hand and the rejection and persecution he was experiencing, on the other. Jeremiah cries out, \u201cO\u00a0Lord,\u00a0you have deceived me, and I was deceived; you are stronger than I, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me. 8\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout,\u00a0\u2018Violence and destruction!\u2019 For\u00a0the word of the\u00a0Lord\u00a0has become for me a reproach and\u00a0derision all day long. 9\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>If I say, \u201cI will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,\u201d there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and\u00a0I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot. 10\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>For I hear many whispering. Terror is on every side! \u2018Denounce him!\u00a0Let us denounce Jeremiah!\u2019 say all my\u00a0close friends, watching for\u00a0my fall. They say, \u2018Perhaps he will be deceived; then\u00a0we can overcome him and take our revenge on him.\u2019\u201d That is Jeremiah\u2019s internal struggle with the call of God, his burning desire to faithfully declare God\u2019s judgement and wrath, in the face of rejection and persecution, as even his friends come out against him, to quiet his message of violence and destruction!<\/p>\n

And yet, the prophet, in response to his inner conflict, answers his own cry, telling himself, \u201cBut the LORD is with me as a mighty warrior; therefore, my persecutors will stumble, they will not overcome me. They will be greatly shamed\u2026their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten.\u201d And Jeremiah concludes, in our passage, \u201cO LORD of hosts, who tries the righteous, who sees the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed my cause.<\/em>\u201d In spite of great opposition, threats, and plots against him, Jeremiah concludes he cannot keep silent, because the word of the LORD is like a great fire, burning inside him! He has tried to hold it in, for his own sake,<\/em> but he can\u2019t. And so, finally, Jeremiah accepts his lot in life. Jeremiah will trust in the LORD, affirming, \u201cfor to you Lord God, have I committed my cause.\u201d It\u2019s interesting that Jeremiah continues, because it is to the Lord God, that he has committed his cause. <\/em>Which can be interpreted in two ways.<\/p>\n

Some translators interpret Jeremiah\u2019s words as, \u201c\u2026for to you, Lord, have I pleaded my case.\u201d In this sense, Jeremiah would be at peace because he has brought his honest, heartfelt concerns to the LORD, and now, he will trust in the Lord\u2019s vengeance and vindication. That\u2019s one way of interpreting Jeremiah\u2019s words. However, it seems the more accepted translation is, as in the English Standard Version, \u201cto you have I committed my cause,\u201d meaning, \u201cLord, I have committed the cause of my life, my purpose and reason for existing, to you\u2014so regardless my anxiety and fears, I will trust in you!\u201d Both are helpful, meaningful ways to understand Jeremiah\u2019s position.<\/p>\n

And I hear you thinking, \u201cBut what does all this Old Testament, Jeremiah prophecy stuff have to do with me, with us, today?\u201d Well, as we turn to our Gospel reading, we hear Jesus speaking, not to Jeremiah but to his twelve disciples, and what Jesus is saying sounds very much like He is preparing them for the same kind of ministry as Jeremiah\u2014a ministry which would result in rejection and opposition! Jesus sent the twelve out to preach the good news and He instructed them saying, as a result of your preaching, \u201c\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death,\u00a022\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake\u2026\u00a023\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>When they\u00a0persecute you in one town,\u00a0flee to the next\u2026for 24\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master\u2026 If they have called me,\u201d Jesus says, \u201cthe master of the house, Beelzebul\u2014which means \u2018Satan\u2014the prince of demons,\u2019 how much more will they malign\u00a0those of his household.\u201d Clearly, the Lord is preparing His twelve disciples for persecution and opposition, as they are called to share the word of the Lord which will not always be welcome or tolerated. But, is He speaking to you and me, as well? Are Jesus\u2019 instructions in our account today meant for us, as in our world today, we are sent out to call people to die to themselves, to live for Jesus, who gave His life on the cross for them?<\/p>\n

Surely, most of us who are living our faith, most of us who are not ashamed to mention the name of Jesus, most of us who strive to live Christ-like lives, obediently, faithfully, have experienced criticism and skepticism, if not outright opposition. Calling people to die to themselves, inviting others to repent and confess their sin, modeling for others what it means to reject the ways of the world to live a biblical, ethical life of love, righteousness and peace, will necessarily rub folks the wrong way and may at times bring about rejection and persecution. We today will not be immune from that. We will not escape that, unless we keep our faith hidden under a basket, unless we refuse to publicly affirm that Jesus is Lord. But for those of us who are called; for those of us who are disciples and followers of Jesus today; for those of us, in whom the Word of the Lord burns inside us so that we can\u2019t keep silent, together with Jeremiah, together with the twelve disciples, there will be rejection and persecution, there will be opposition\u2014not everyone in our world will be open to the message which we consider, \u201cgood news.\u201d So, how do we endure to the end? How do we persist? How do we not fear those who can kill the body, to silence the messenger and so the message?<\/p>\n

First, as with Jeremiah, we bring to the Lord God our concerns, knowing, trusting that He will strengthen us and encourage us to be able to fulfill our calling as disciples of Jesus. As Jeremiah said, \u201cto you, LORD, I have pleaded my case\u2026and you are with me as a mighty warrior, therefore I will sing to you and praise you, O Lord!\u201d<\/p>\n

Second, we will remember that it is to the Lord that we have committed our cause, it is to the Lord that we have committed the cause, the purpose, the reason for our lives, so that relying on Him, trusting in Him, we will not fear! We will proclaim God\u2019s Word from the rooftops! We will not hide our faith in shadows and darkness but will live and serve in the light of day. For that\u2019s what it means to commit our cause to the Lord.<\/p>\n

And, we have committed our cause to the Lord, haven\u2019t we? We can think of this as Martin Luther spoke of the bondage of the will\u2014that we will either be in bondage to sin, Satan and the ways of the world, or we will serve God and His purposes. We will either be committed, in our daily lives, to living as secular, worldly people furthering the agendas and concerns of the world without God and the world opposed to God, or we will be committed, wholeheartedly, undividedly, to God and His Word and His will. As I\u2019ve told seminarians considering a call to ministry, basically, if you are not completely committed to God\u2019s cause, if you don\u2019t have God\u2019s Word burning in your heart like a fire inside you that you can\u2019t damp down, don\u2019t go into the ministry because you won\u2019t be able to withstand the opposition and rejection. As it was for Jeremiah, as it was for the twelve disciples, so it can be for us. So, we cling to Jeremiah\u2019s conclusion: \u201cThe Lord is with us as a mighty warrior\u2026the Lord\u00a0of hosts\u2026 who sees the heart and the mind, to you have I committed my cause. We will sing to the\u00a0Lord; we will praise the\u00a0Lord! For He delivers us in our time of need!<\/p>\n

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

\u00a9The Rev. Dr. David M. Wendel
\nd.wendel@grace43081.org
\nGrace Evangelical Lutheran Church
\nWesterville, Ohio USA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Committed My Cause to the Lord! | Pentecost IV | 21 June 2026 | Matthew 10:5a, 21\u201333 | David M. Wendel First Reading: Jeremiah 20:7\u201313 Second Reading: Romans 6:12\u201323 5\u00a0These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them,\u00a0 21\u00a0Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26403,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,417,727,157,853,108,629,110,412,349,3,109],"tags":[],"beitragende":[],"predigtform":[],"predigtreihe":[],"bibelstelle":[],"class_list":["post-26405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-matthaeus","category-3-so-n-trinitatis","category-archiv","category-beitragende","category-bibel","category-current","category-david-m-wendel","category-engl","category-kapitel-10-chapter-10-matthaeus","category-kasus","category-nt","category-predigten"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26405"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26405\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26406,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26405\/revisions\/26406"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26405"},{"taxonomy":"beitragende","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/beitragende?post=26405"},{"taxonomy":"predigtform","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtform?post=26405"},{"taxonomy":"predigtreihe","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtreihe?post=26405"},{"taxonomy":"bibelstelle","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bibelstelle?post=26405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}