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"A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.
"Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
"Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven."
- Matthew 10:24-33
In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued His talk with the Twelve Apostles before sending them out on their first mission: "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes."
"A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known." In Friday's reading, we read that Jesus cast out a demon from a man who was mute, and the Pharisees accused Him of casting out demons by the ruler of demons. When Jesus says, "Do not fear them," He is speaking generally of the persecutors of the disciples He's warning them about. In today's text, "Do not fear" is repeated three times. My study bible says it's to embolden the witness of the gospel in the face of adversity. A note says, "Christian believers, then and today, must neither be intimidated by persecution nor fail in their mission to preach."
"Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." My study bible tells us that this passage teaches us about the immortality of the soul, which is ours by grace. There is no need for them to fear the killing of the soul by the ones who persecute. It also explains that Fear Him is a command to fear God because only God has the power to judge the soul. This command is for an appropriate awe and respect, a true correct response to awesome, unknowable power. (See Proverbs 9:10; Luke 1:50, 23:40; Acts 10:2, Colossians 3:22, 1 Peter 2:17.) Christian followers are instructed to resist the devil (James 4:7), but not to fear him. That again goes to Jesus' important teaching here on humility; to be humble to God only is to resist the devil. Hell here is literally "Gehenna." In Jewish history this is the Valley of Hinnom, which became a place of forbidden religious practices (2 Chronicles 28:3, Jeremiah 32:35). King Josiah put an end to these practices (2 Kings 23:10). By Christ's time, this valley had become a garbage dump, smouldering ceaselessly, my study bible tells us. Because of these association, Gehenna acquired the connotation of eternal punishment in the afterlife, where all that is "refuse" is burned away.
"Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven." This is a statement of the essential importance of each disciple to God. To confess Christ before men is to be in relationship, in covenant; He will in turn confess that person before the Father. This conveys an incalculable worth to the one who knows the tiny sparrows and numbers even each hair on our head. But this covenant works both ways; the deniers will also be denied this bond.
We have one thing that we know, no matter what else may be happening around us. There's this truth of the gospel message, that the "kingdom of heaven is at hand," and that we've been taught by Christ what that means. His great emphasis on humility, throughout the message of His sermons (such as the Sermon on the Mount -- which began in Matthew's chapter 5, with the Beatitudes), teaches us about what we put first, what we serve. This is emphasized in His exhortation that they must remember the power of God as something much more to be in awe of than the power of those who will seek to persecute the apostles. It tells us about the one thing necessary. And what that means, really, is that no matter what else we are concerned with or troubled about or dealing with, there's one thing that remains constant, our own focus on what we serve. It becomes the pole point, the lodestar, around which we can focus and process whatever else is happening. I think that particularly at times of high stress, complicated surroundings, and confusing messages, this becomes a key way to center and to release fear that paralyzes us and blinds us. It becomes a form of practicing dispassion, a way to let go and see how things may regroup in our own vision of our lives. That is the one thing needful, and humility becomes the real key to achieving it. We live in times in which things may change very fast. We have challenges that come at us in ways that are not easy to decipher. Let us remember the one thing Jesus teaches us to truly "fear," or to hold in reverence, awe, respect. It's the thing that is truly beyond what we can contain, that calls us to mystery, to admit we don't know it all, but that reaches deep into every single one of our hearts. For even the Spirit of the Father can speak through us, as Jesus said in yesterday's reading. Today He reminds us that even the hairs of our head are numbered by the Father, and that even two sparrows are essential to God. God's awareness of us is acute, down to the minute details we ourselves aren't aware of. That's the bond of love that's truly necessary to remember.
