In multiple places in the Gospels, we see Jesus telling his followers to “have no fear” of those who threaten them for following Him. Now, many of us do not personally know what it is like to be persecuted or ostracized for following Jesus. We might be tempted to ignore such passages because we do not believe that it speaks directly to our situation. We are more worried about paying the bills than being beaten to death for being a follower of Jesus. Yet, while you might not be threatened with death for following Jesus, there are still threats thrown at you by the world for following Christ.
Someone might not be threatening to kill you for Christ, but you are indeed threatened with being a social outcast. You are threatened with being labeled a radical or a fool or a bigot or a prude for being faithful to Christ. You might not always face direct physical harm, but you might face material loss if you follow Christ, which leads us to the question: When it comes to losing things in the world, what are you willing to lose to honor Christ? What are you willing to give up so that you might gain Christ? Can you trust God to provide in such situations? I believe Matthew 10:26-31 is a helpful passage for us to look at to answer such questions.
Matthew 10:26-31
26 So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28 And 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? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
What can we learn from this passage that will help us put our fear in its place?
We learn that we should not fear those who persecute us.
Verse 26 points us back to the preceding verses to tell us who we are not supposed to fear in this life. If we look back to verse 16, we see that Jesus has described our mission as His disciples in a rather frightening way – “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” What an image? Sheep in the midst of wolves!
Well, who are these wolves? According to verses 17-23, the wolves consists of some religious leaders (Vs. 17), some political figure and government officials (Vs. 18), and even some family members (Vss. 21-22). According to this passage, some of these people will insult us, imprison us, ostracize us, and even try to kill us. Even our own family members! You see, when Jesus calls you to follow Him, He is not calling you to some life of ease and recreation. He is calling you to follow Him as sheep in the midst of wolves! And here is his promise in verse 22, “And you will be hated for my name’s sake!”
Wow, Jesus! Really? Hated for your name’s sake? This is the reality of faithful discipleship, but you may be tempted to say, “Now, we know that there was a historical context here in this passage. Obviously, Jesus was talking to his disciples, that doesn’t really apply to us.”
Well, let’s ask Jesus. Jesus, will we as your disciples, which is what you tell us we are if we follow you, if we are your disciples, surely, we will be spared hardships in this life. Surely, you intend for us to enjoy the best of our life now. Right, Jesus? To which Jesus responds, “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.”
So, what is Jesus’ answer? Essentially, Jesus hears our question and responds with his own question, “Do you really think that the servant will be treated better than the master? Do you really think that you as my disciples will be treated better than I did as the teacher?”
Now, at this point, you are inclined to say or think, “Yes, but this was before the cross and the resurrection. This was before the New Covenant. Jesus’ death and resurrection has freed me from suffering. Right?” The apostle Paul is so helpful for us. In Philippians 3:8-11, Paul writes about his own discipleship, his own obedience to the call to follow Christ, He says, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith – that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”
Do you see now? The call to follow Christ is a call to live as sheep in the midst of the wolves who desire to devour and destroy us. The call to follow Christ is a call to take up our cross and die to ourselves. To follow Christ “outside the gate to the place of the skull” and be found in Him!
So, those of you who want to follow Christ? Beware! Following Christ is not easy, but O’ how I promise it is worth it!
So, back to verse 26 in Matthew 10. Jesus has called us to not fear those who threaten us, persecute us, and even kill us. As the rest of verse 26b and 27 tell us, there is no need for us to soften our message or soft-peddle the truth. What has been revealed to us in Christ will soon be reveal for all the world. Therefore, “we shout it from the rooftops” – Jesus is coming again, and those of you who would turn from your rebellion – form your self-reliance, your false hopes, your sin, your hatred of holiness – you who turn to Christ can find life, forgiveness, freedom, hope, truth, satisfaction, and salvation. You can be made whole, no matter what you have been told your entire life. Your marriage can be mended. Your addiction can be broken. Your life can be changed. The King is coming, and He is offering a reprieve to you this morning, He is offering you a pardon, if you will have it.
This message, however, to those who are still blind in their unbelief, it is offensive, because it tells people that they are unrighteous, that they are sinners, that they have a need that they are incapable of meeting for themselves.
And as you tell others this message, Jesus promises you, some will hate you. As you attempt to live faithfully to Christ, some will persecute you and attempt to hinder you. And you will be tempted to fear the wolves that surround you. So, what are you supposed to do?
Instead, we are to fear the LORD.
In order for us to live without fear toward others, we must fear the Lord supremely. According to Matthew 10:28, instead of fearing those who can only “kill the body and nothing else,” we must fear the one who is able to “destroy both body and soul” in hell. Notice the intensification of the language in this verse: Jesus
In other words, if we are going to make a decision about who we ought to fear, then we ought to prioritize what really matters. According to Jesus, the worst that a person can do to us is kill our body. Now, you may think, “Well, yea, that’s awful,” and I wouldn’t argue that it was not awful. But just because it is awful does not mean that it is ultimate. As Jesus would say, “What will a person give in exchange for their life? What does it profit a person to gain the whole world but lose their soul?” Honestly, this is one of my greatest fears for western Christianity. I fear that churches are full of people who are happy to gain the world while losing their soul. They have no fear in their lives of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell forever. They have no regard for eternity. They are simply living for today. And Jesus would say, “Do not fear the one who threatens your life on this earth. Fear the one has the power over life and death!” Fear the Lord!
Now, the reason why we struggle to fear the Lord and instead fear people is
At the end of the day, the bottom line in our fear, the question that we constantly face is one of faith. Simply put, when we fear people instead of fearing the Lord, here are the questions at the root of our failure:
If following Jesus means losing my life, will God take care of me?
If being faithful to God means losing all the things that I treasure in this world, will God be enough for me?
Or simply, does God love me enough to take care of me?
Pay attention to how Jesus answer these questions. Jesus answers with a story about sparrows.
He asks you, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.” Translation – Your Father in heaven holds sovereign sway over insignificant sparrows. Not a sparrow in the sky will fall without the permission of the Lord of Heaven. Not a bird. Not a single sparrow will hit the ground without God allowing it. God cares about the sparrow.
And as you are sitting there, looking at Jesus, with wonder and a little confusion in your eye regarding his answer, he looks at you again and say, “But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.” God knows how many or how few hairs are on each of the heads in this room. And not just this room but every head in this world. Every hair has a number. And God knows it!
And as you stare back at him, Jesus looks at you one last time, and say, “Fear not, you are of more value than many sparrows.”
Does God love me enough to take care of me if I lose everything to follow Christ? Fear not, you are worth more than sparrows. And if the sparrows do not fall from the sky without His permission, then you have nothing to fear!
Why should I feel discouraged?
Why should the shadows come?
Why should my heart be lonely,
And long for heaven and home,
When Jesus is my portion?
My constant friend is he:
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know he watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know he watches me.
I sing because I’m happy,
I sing because I’m free,
For his eyes is on the sparrow,
And I know he watches me.
