The Uncomfortable Commission: Text: Ezekiel 2:1-7
Introduction: A Cure for Ministerial Timidity
We live in an age that has domesticated the ministry. We have turned the prophet's mantle into a therapist's blazer. We want pastors who are managers, motivators, and community organizers. We want sermons that are TED talks with a few Bible verses sprinkled in for flavor. We measure success by the three B's: buildings, budgets, and bodies in the seats. And consequently, we have produced a generation of Christians who are allergic to hard truths and ministers who are terrified of being disliked.
The modern church is drowning in a sea of pragmatism. We are constantly asking, "What works?" We survey the culture, we focus-group our message, and we sand down the sharp edges of the gospel so that it won't offend the very people who need it most. We have become convinced that if we are just nice enough, winsome enough, and accommodating enough, the world will beat a path to our door. But the Bible presents us with a radically different picture of what it means to be a messenger of God.
The call of Ezekiel is a bucket of ice water to the face of our therapeutic, results-driven, man-pleasing version of Christianity. God does not call Ezekiel to a successful ministry, at least not as we would define it. He calls him to a faithful ministry. He is not sent to a people who are "seeking" or "open." He is sent to a house of rebels, to a people with hearts like flint and faces like brass. And his job is not to negotiate with them, but to announce to them. This is the uncomfortable commission. And it is not just for Ezekiel. It is the paradigm for every faithful servant of God who is called to speak God's truth in a world that has declared war on it.
This passage is a divine corrective. It is God's cure for ministerial timidity. It recalibrates our understanding of calling, courage, and success. If we are to be of any use to God in our own rebellious generation, we must learn the lessons that God taught Ezekiel by the river Chebar.
The Text
Then He said to me, "Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!"
And as He spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and caused me to stand on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me.
Then He said to me, "Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to a rebellious people who have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day.
I am sending you to them who are stiff-faced and strong-hearted children, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says Lord Yahweh.'
As for them, whether they listen or whether they refuse, for they are a rebellious house, they will know that a prophet has been among them.
Now as for you, son of man, do not fear them and do not fear their words, though thistles and briers are with you and you sit on scorpions; neither fear their words nor be dismayed at their presence, for they are a rebellious house.
But you shall speak My words to them whether they listen or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious.
(Ezekiel 2:1-7 LSB)
The Divine Summons and Supernatural Power (v. 1-2)
The commission begins with a command that is impossible for a man, overwhelmed by the glory of God, to obey in his own strength.
"Then He said to me, 'Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!' And as He spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and caused me to stand on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me." (Ezekiel 2:1-2)
First, notice the title: "Son of man." This is God's favorite title for Ezekiel, used over ninety times. It constantly reminds the prophet of his place. He is a man, a creature, dust. He stands before the uncreated, transcendent God not as a peer, but as a servant. This title establishes the infinite Creator/creature distinction right at the outset. Ministry begins with humility, with knowing who God is and who you are not.
God commands him to stand. In the previous chapter, Ezekiel had seen the vision of God's glory and had fallen on his face. Now, God tells him to get up. But he does not say, "Pull yourself together, man." The command comes with the power to fulfill it. "The Spirit entered me and caused me to stand." This is the pattern of all true Christian obedience. God does not give us a list of suggestions and hope for the best. He gives commands, and with those commands, He gives the grace and power of His Spirit to enable us to obey. This is regeneration in miniature. We are dead in our trespasses, and God commands us to live. We are spiritually prostrate, and God commands us to stand. And the Spirit enters us, raises us to our feet, and enables us to hear and obey His voice. No man can stand for God until God has first stood him up.
The Brutally Honest Job Description (v. 3-4)
God does not try to sell Ezekiel on the job with a glossy brochure. He gives him an unvarnished, brutally honest assessment of the mission field.
"Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to a rebellious people who have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. I am sending you to them who are stiff-faced and strong-hearted children, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says Lord Yahweh.'" (Ezekiel 2:3-4 LSB)
The mission field is not a distant pagan land. It is Israel. The covenant people. The church. The hardest and most heartbreaking ministry is often to those who have the greatest light and have rebelled against it. God's description is relentless. They are a "rebellious people," literally a "nation of rebels." This is not a recent problem; it is a generational, deeply ingrained pattern: "they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day." This is a culture of rebellion.
He describes them as "stiff-faced and strong-hearted." The Hebrew is literally "hard of face and strong of heart." Their faces are set like cement against God, showing no shame, no repentance. Their hearts are hardened, obstinate, and impenetrable. This is the audience. There is no room for illusion here. God is stripping away any romantic notions Ezekiel might have about his ministry.
And what is the message for these hard-faced, hard-hearted rebels? It is not a dialogue starter or a gentle suggestion. It is a declaration of absolute authority: "Thus says Lord Yahweh." The prophet's power is not in his personality, his rhetorical skill, or his ability to connect with his audience. His power is entirely derivative. He is a herald. He speaks the words of the King, and that is all. He is not authorized to negotiate the terms of surrender.
The Redefined Metric of Success (v. 5)
This next verse is one of the most liberating verses in the Bible for any parent, pastor, or evangelist.
"As for them, whether they listen or whether they refuse, for they are a rebellious house, they will know that a prophet has been among them." (Ezekiel 2:5 LSB)
God takes the pressure of the results off of Ezekiel's shoulders and places it squarely on His own. The prophet's job is faithfulness, not "success." The outcome is irrelevant to the commission. "Whether they listen or whether they refuse." God is not surprised by their rebellion. He states it as a fact: "for they are a rebellious house."
So what is the goal? If it is not conversions, what is it? The goal is that "they will know that a prophet has been among them." The faithful preaching of the Word always accomplishes its purpose. When it is received, it brings salvation. When it is rejected, it removes all excuses. It vindicates the justice of God. The Word of God does not return void. It either softens or it hardens. It is either a savor of life unto life or a savor of death unto death. But it is never neutral. Ezekiel's ministry will be a success if, on the day of judgment, the people of Israel cannot say, "We didn't know." His faithfulness guarantees their accountability. This is the true metric of a successful ministry.
The Mandate for Courage in a Hostile Land (v. 6-7)
God anticipates Ezekiel's natural fear and addresses it directly and repeatedly.
"Now as for you, son of man, do not fear them and do not fear their words, though thistles and briers are with you and you sit on scorpions; neither fear their words nor be dismayed at their presence, for they are a rebellious house. But you shall speak My words to them whether they listen or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious." (Ezekiel 2:6-7 LSB)
Three times in one verse, God says, "do not fear." Why? Because the mission is genuinely dangerous. The imagery is sharp and painful. "Thistles and briers." His ministry will be a walk through a thorn patch. Every step will be met with sharp, scratching opposition. "You sit on scorpions." The people he is sent to are not just prickly; they are poisonous. They will sting. They will inject their venom of slander, mockery, and hatred. This is not a metaphor for a few nasty emails. This is a description of a soul-threatening environment.
And what is the basis for this courage? It is the same reason given before: "for they are a rebellious house." Their rejection of Ezekiel is not ultimately about Ezekiel. It is about their rebellion against the God who sent him. Jesus told His disciples the same thing: "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you" (John 15:18). Understanding the true source of the opposition is a great comfort. It depersonalizes the attacks. The scorpions are stinging the message, not just the messenger.
And so, the final command is a repetition of the central duty. "But you shall speak My words to them." In the face of fear, in the midst of scorpions, regardless of the outcome, the mandate remains unchanged. Speak. Speak My words. Do not trim them. Do not apologize for them. Do not adjust them based on the scowls of a rebellious house. Your task is proclamation, not persuasion. The results are in God's hands. Your faithfulness is in yours.
The Greater Son of Man
Ezekiel was called "son of man," but he was a signpost pointing to the ultimate Son of Man, the Lord Jesus Christ. If Ezekiel was sent to a rebellious house, Jesus came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. If Ezekiel was told his people were stiff-faced and strong-hearted, Jesus looked out over Jerusalem and wept, "how often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling" (Matthew 23:37).
If Ezekiel was warned about briers and scorpions, Jesus endured the crown of thorns pressed into His brow. He endured the venomous sting of betrayal, false accusation, mockery, and abandonment. He was the ultimate prophet who spoke the ultimate word, "Thus says Lord Yahweh," and for it, He was crucified.
And yet, His ministry was the ultimate success. "Whether they listen or refuse," His life, death, and resurrection ensured that the world would know that a prophet, and more than a prophet, had been among them. His cross stands at the center of history as the ultimate declaration of God's hatred for sin and His love for sinners. It is the word that leaves all men without excuse.
And now, the commission is ours. By the same Spirit that stood Ezekiel on his feet, we have been raised with Christ and sent into the world. We are sent to our own rebellious generation. We are surrounded by the same briers of mockery and scorpions of cultural hostility. And the temptation is to fear their faces, to soften the message, to measure our success by their applause.
But God's charge to Ezekiel is His charge to us. Do not fear. The Spirit who raised you will sustain you. Their rebellion is against God, not you. Therefore, speak His words, all of them, whether they listen or whether they refuse. For our task is not to be successful, but to be faithful. And in our faithfulness, we ensure that this generation will also know that the King has been among them, offering a pardon that they can either accept with joy or reject to their everlasting peril.