24 “A disciple is
not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; 25 it is enough
for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they
have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign
those of his household!
26 “So have no fear
of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing
secret that will not become known. 27 What I say to you in the dark,
tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. 28
Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear
him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two
sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart
from your Father. 30 And even the hairs of your head are all
counted. 31 So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many
sparrows.
32 “Everyone
therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my
Father in heaven; 33 but whoever denies me before others, I also
will deny before my Father in heaven.
34 “Do not think
that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace,
but a sword.
35 For I have come to set a man
against his father,
and a
daughter against her mother,
and a
daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
36 and one’s foes will be members of
one’s own household.
37 Whoever loves father or mother more
than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is
not worthy of me; 38 and whoever does not take up the cross and
follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Those who find their life will
lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.
Matthew 10:24-39 address the fear
the disciples may have in following Jesus. Every fear we have has its ground in
the knowledge that we have something or someone to lose. I can lose the job,
the family, the house, my money to the robber, my records in a computer crash,
my freedom, motherhood, health, and life itself. It is all at stake. Rejection
and loss are the basis of our fears.
In fact, Kathleen Norris has a good
reminder:
Fear is not a bad place to start a
spiritual journey. If you know what makes you afraid, you can see more clearly
that the way out is through the fear.[1]
The theme of Matthew 10:16-25 is
sayings on the coming persecution. It addresses the fear of being at the
receiving end of the hatred of others who have the power to inflict harm. It
continues the missionary discourse that began in Matthew 10:1. Persecution is a
normal part of a follower of Jesus. Verse 24-25a observes the reality of the
superior/inferior relationships we have in our lives. In this case, the focus
is on the disciple/teacher and slave/master relationship. In verse 25b,
suggests that if the opponents of Jesus accuse Jesus of being Beelzebub, they
will also malign his followers. The exorcisms of Jesus made him an easy target
for such accusations. His followers can expect the same abuse and
misunderstanding that Jesus suffered. The disciple can expect to enter into
conflict with the world.
Matthew 10:26-33 are sayings
concerning public confession, an encouragement for the disciples to remain
fearless witnesses for Christ. The end-time revelation of the judgment of God
will bring to light who we are. The point is the encouragement to public
profession of Christian faith. One can acknowledge and recognize this faith,
but one does not complete the discipleship process until one professes. One is
not genuinely free until one is a witness. The believer has a love for the
people of this world and therefore professes what God has done and said in
Christ. Such a witness occurs in the mere fact that they are who they are. The
community humbly professes its faith.[2]
His followers are to fear God, recognizing that God can kill the soul and body,
suggesting the soul is mortal. Their Father cares for the insignificant
sparrow, so the Father will care for the follower of Jesus. They are to trust
the Father fully. They have no reason to doubt the providential care of God.
This means that every creature is a good in itself and not just a means to a
larger end. God has in mind the good of individual creatures.[3] The
world as it is leads to the affliction of the follower of Jesus. Jesus speaks
for human beings, but human beings must also speak for Jesus. We are to take publicly
our stand with Jesus. The confession of faith is a matter of taking sides with
Jesus in the public dispute concerning his cause and person.[4]
Matthew 10:34-39 are sayings on the
coming cross. The text reveals what a fearless witness may expect to encounter.
We might have some surprise in reading that Jesus is not the peacemaker, but rather
the bringer of a war. The war is between this world and the new world Jesus
seeks to bring. The Christian fellowship binds people to each other and will
therefore introduce separation in other relationships, including family (Micah
7:5-6). Such separation from normal social relationships is the cost of
faithful confession in this world. The unity of humanity toward which the rule
of God points is always a broken one in history. Even the primary loyalty of
the ancient world, the household, Jesus sought to relativize given the priority
of the rule of God. Jesus challenged the basic social and religious practice to
its core. The tie to the household is no excuse for not becoming a follower of
Jesus. Honoring family and parents, as important as it may be, must not stand
in the way of obedience to God. Followers of Jesus will suffer, even to the
point of taking up the cross of persecution. The reward is that those who give
their lives away will actually discover life. We discover life in giving it
away rather than desperately holding on to it.
These sayings remind us that there
is life beyond this paralyzing fear of rejection and loss and that in the whole
scheme of things, there are much more important things of which to be afraid. Jesus
offers us the ultimate perspective of the rule of God, and from that eternal
perspective, we will all realize that being a faithful witness and standing
with Christ in this life is much more important than the fear of rejection and
loss. Such fears
• drive us to cling to what we
eventually must lose;
• keep us from saying what we must
say;
• keep us from going where we must
go;
• keep us from doing what we know
we need to do;
• keep us from being who we need to
be.
A community of people unafraid of
losing the praise and esteem of the world and even its possessions and building
would truly be free.
We typically
picture the one we should be afraid of with horns and a pitchfork. We may find
a more accurate picture if we look in the mirror. We ultimately have to fear
only ourselves, for only we can choose to reject the life that following Jesus offers.
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