Matthew 10:26
All of Matthew chapter 10 is made up of
teachings by Jesus to His disciples on the subject of being a witness for Him
in this world. Jesus had a lot to say about persecutions. One of the things that keeps many Christians from being
better witnesses is the fear of persecution. We have nothing to fear but fear
itself. No matter how good our intentions are when we are surrounded by
unbelievers, it is easy to fear and to do what Peter did. What a shame for a
Christian to deny that he even knows Jesus. It
is surprising how many church members, Sunday school teachers, and church
leaders there are who never mention the name
of Jesus in the work place or the market place.
When we turn into cowards and fail the way
that Peter did, at least we can be sure that the Lord will forgive us and give
us another chance just like He did for Peter. The Lord understands that the
fear of persecution can be a strong force to limit the effectiveness of some believers.
Therefore, in Matthew chapter 10 He told us why we do not need to fear. He said
in Matthew 10:26-31, "Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered,
that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. What I tell you
in darkness, that speak you in light: and what you hear in the ear, that preach
you upon the housetops. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able
to 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 farthing? And one of them shall not
fall on the ground without your Father. But the very
hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear you not therefore, you are of more
value than many sparrows."
Three times in these verses Jesus said, "Do not fear." He said it in verse 26, verse 28, and verse
31. In verse 26 Jesus said do not fear, because there is nothing covered that
shall not be revealed. The truth will be revealed. If you are aligned with
truth, then you will be aligned with the goal of revealing truth. If you are on
the side of truth, then you have nothing to be afraid of because there is nothing on the face of this earth that is as
strong as the power of truth. Always seek the truth, always believe the
truth, and always tell the truth. If you love truth, you will not be able to
keep quiet; and your love for that which is true will be stronger than the fear
of persecution. Jesus is the Truth.
In verse 28 Jesus
said to not fear those who kill the body, but who cannot touch the soul. Many
of the early Christians did give their lives simply because of their faith in
Jesus, and it still happens in our day and age. But Jesus said that even if
your life is threatened, do not fear. Jesus is saying that it is a minor point that someone could kill the body,
but pose no danger to the soul. Of course, we know that Jesus taught many times
that the soul and its eternal destiny are infinitely more important than the body and its
earthly lifespan.
We are all going to die. I am heading for
the grave one way or another, either by violence, accident or disease. When
Jesus said that we should “rather fear him who is
able to destroy both body and soul in hell”, He is
stating that we should be concerned about what God is going to do with
us, both in this life and the next. We should be much
more concerned about our eternal destiny
and our spiritual condition, than our earthly life span. If human life is
important, and it is; and if a violent end to life is a tragedy, and it is;
then how much more important is the destiny of the soul and how much greater of
a tragedy would be the loss of a person’s soul?
The Bible says in Hebrews that “it is appointed unto men once to die but after this the
judgment.” This indicates that it is God who chooses the time, the
place, and the circumstances of the death of each of us. It is God who gives
life and it is God who takes it. This includes animals as well as humans. Jesus
indicated this when He said of the sparrows in verse 29, "...and one of them
shall not fall to the ground without your Father."
God has given you life for a purpose, and
your life will not end until that purpose is completed, no matter who hates
you. We can look at the life of Jesus and see this very clearly demonstrated.
John chapter 8:58-59 says, "Jesus said unto them, verily, verily I say unto you,
Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus
hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and
so passed by." Just as Jesus could
not be harmed until it was time for Him to die for the sins of the world and to
leave this life, we can know that we have nothing to fear as long as we are
serving God; and we will not leave this earth until He is finished with us.
When there are disasters where some people survive and others do not survive,
sometimes there are survivors who are perplexed and troubled, wondering why
they survived but others did not. The most obvious reason is that God is not
through with them yet. No matter what the wicked does or does not do, it is God
who decides who will die and who will live and when.
In verse 31 Jesus said to not fear
persecution because you are of more value than many sparrows. We know how much
God loves the animals that He created, and He loves us even more. He knows
everything about us, as Jesus said in verse 31, even the hairs of your head are
all numbered. God is involved in every detail of your life. He is wherever you
are, and if you go anywhere else, He is there before you get there. He goes
with you every step of the way. Therefore, you have nothing to fear because God
will always be there for you.
In Matthew 10:32-33 Jesus said, "Whosoever
therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father
who is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny
before my Father who is in heaven."
The word "confess" comes from the Greek word “to speak” and
means to say the same thing as. To confess Jesus is to say the same thing about
Jesus that God says about Him. God the Father spoke from heaven so that humans
could actually hear Him say about Jesus, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." The apostle Thomas fell down before Jesus
and said, "My
Lord and my God." When you speak
to humans and say, "Jesus is the light of the
world. Jesus is the one who saves his people from their sins. Jesus is the
beginning and the end. Jesus is the Son of God," then you are
confessing Him before men. If you do not say these and other things about Jesus
to humans, then you are not confessing Him.
There is a benefit to look for
opportunities to speak in this way about Jesus to others. Jesus said that He will also confess you before the
Father. This is not a minor thing. If your name is constantly being mentioned
to Him by Jesus, there is no doubt that some very good things are in store for
you. After many years of being a witness for Jesus Christ, Paul said in Second
Timothy 4, "I
have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord,
the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto
all them also that love his appearing."
Make sure that you confess Jesus before
others. Do not miss out on the benefits and rewards of doing so.
To confess the Lord means to speak about the Lord publicly. In other words, do not
keep your beliefs about the Lord a secret. This is partly what Jesus meant in
the sermon on the mount when He said that "neither do men light a candle and put it under a
bushel...". In order to be a
witness for the Lord with what you say, you do not have to be rude or verbally challenge them. The
best verbal witness about the Lord is often the things that are said as part of
the natural and normal flow of daily conversation. If you have failed at
something, you could mention that you are glad that the Lord Jesus is
forgiving. If something good happens to
you, you could mention that you are thankful to the Lord who is the author of
all good things. If you are going through a difficult time, you could mention
that you know the Lord will get you through it, just like when He calmed the
storm for the disciples. If you are rightly related to the Lord, you will be
able to find opportunities to confess Him before men.
Even if
you do speak about the Lord before men, never forget that the most important
testimony that you can present is what you do and how you live your life. Your
actions will either substantiate what you say or nullify what you say. Actions
speak louder than words.
The opposite end of the spectrum of
confessing Jesus before men is to do what He said in verse 33. Jesus said, "But whosoever
shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father who is in
heaven." The word "deny" that Jesus used is a very strong word. It
means to repudiate or disown. It is more than a failure to confess Him. It is a
public and verbal denial and repudiation of who Jesus is. The same word is used
in the gospels to describe Peter’s denial of the Lord Jesus. It was a very
serious sin that Peter committed, when he publicly and verbally denied the
Lord. It was right that Peter became so severely burdened by his denial of Jesus.
His sin was great, which proves that the
forgiveness given to Peter later by Jesus was even greater.
This same word used for “deny” is also
found in Second Peter 2:1. It says, "But there were false prophets also among the people, even
as there shall be false teachers among you, who secretly shall bring in
damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them and bring upon
themselves swift destruction." If
you want to know if someone is a false teacher or not, find out what they
really believe about who Jesus is. Remember that Jesus asked the disciples, "Whom do men say
that I am?" You should ask the
same question of others, and you should make it clear by your own confession
which side you are on. As it says in the Psalms, "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so."
There are several truths that
must be affirmed: the miracle of the virgin birth, the status of Jesus as the
Messiah and Son of God, the atonement of our sins by His death on the cross,
and the miracle of His resurrection from the dead. If someone who claims to be
a teacher from God does not publicly affirm these beliefs, you will know that
such a person is a false teacher who is guilty of denying, repudiating, and
disowning the Lord Jesus Christ.
In Matthew10:34-36 Jesus said, "Think not that I
am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace but a sword. For I am
come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her
mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household." Those who
turn from their sins and turn to Jesus to receive forgiveness of sins have the
Spirit of Christ dwelling within. Those who do not have the Spirit of Christ
are alienated from the things of God, and they do not comprehend the Word of
God. There is a lack of common purpose between believers and unbelievers. Two
cannot walk together except they agree. What could there possibly be in common
between the believer and the unbeliever in a spiritual sense? There is nothing.
Therefore, there will not be peace between them.
In Matthew
Of course, everyone has his own cross to
bear. You may not suffer these kinds of problems with family and friends, but
there will be some kind of price to pay if you follow Jesus. He said in Matthew
10:38-39, "And
he that takes not his cross, and follows after me, is not worthy of me. He that
finds his life shall lose it: and he that loses his life for my sake shall find
it." If you like a challenge, the
greatest challenge in the world is to follow Jesus Christ. It’s not easy. There
will be a cross to bear. First Peter
Why is there a cross to bear? Why is there
sometimes so much suffering that comes as a part of believing in Jesus Christ?
There are probably several reasons. The first reason is because Jesus Himself
suffered and we are called to walk in His footsteps. He was called "a man of sorrows
and well acquainted with grief."
The apostles knew a lot about suffering for Jesus, and they talked about it in
their writings. Peter said in First Peter 4:13, "But rejoice, inasmuch as you are partakers of Christ’s
sufferings..." One of the
paradoxes of the Christian life is that true suffering for Christ, joined with
the right understanding on our part, will actually result in rejoicing. Paul
said, "That I
may know Him and the fellowship of His sufferings." The greatest experience
of human life is to know Christ as Savior. And then
there are ever deepening spiritual experiences that can be known by the
believer in Jesus, as the believer walks with Him and grows in the knowledge of
Him.
Suffering will either drive you away from
the Lord or it will bring you closer to the Lord. The difference is up to you.
If you understand the greatness of your sins and if you appreciate Him for the
forgiveness of sins, there is no cross too heavy nor sorrow too great that will
keep you from following Him.
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Copyright; 2007 by Charles F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved