MATTHEW 10: 24-28 [THE MESSIAH REVEALED]
ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE PERSECUTED
[Luke 12:1-11]
Having painted a deserting picture concerning the persecution His disciples would encounter in ministry, Jesus shifts to words of comfort, challenge, and encouragement. We need not be taken back by the revilings that come even when we are innocent and prudent. We need not hold back from revealing the full counsel of God either. We must not shrink back no matter the opposition in our duty to Christ (CIT).
Those that persecute want you to fear them, but they do not have absolute power nor do they have the final say. They many think that they can do whatever they want to you, but God will hold them accountable. They will one day answer to Him. Do not fear them.
Fear Him who judges all and holds people to eternal accountability. A proper fear of God puts life and ministry in prospective.
I. Expect Misunderstanding and Suffering, 24-25.
II. All Things Revealed, 26-27.
III. Fear God Alone, 28.
Jesus shows the relation between disciple and teacher in verse 24. “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. "
This often repeated saying (Jn. 15:20; Lk. 6:40; Jn. 13:16) speaks of difficulty for all the followers of Jesus. It is a summary of what Christ has said concerning rejection and persecution. The impact of the statement is not one we want to accept. The assertion is a rule for ministry that holds back many from serving Jesus.
Jesus reminded His disciples of their place as His servants. The servant or disciple should not expect to be treated any better than his master [for the servant is not over his master]. The students or disciples therefore should not expect better treatment than their teacher or master had received. Their identity was inextricably linked to His, and they would be treated as He had been treated. The Bible is clear as to the treatment Jesus received (23:8; Luke 6:40; John 15:20).
This expectation could be frightening if it were not for such Scriptures as Hebrews 5: 8-9. "Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation.” Our suffering with the Master will make us like our Master. Is this transformation not our goal and desire? They who think they do us the worst evil may well do us the best good.
[A teacher is a model of the truth that is being shared. Having served in college administration for fifteen years, I found that this became a very important principle of Christian education. Teachers are not simply passing on to others content in the field of knowledge, but they should model what they teach, demonstrating how to integrate faith with life and learning, and modeling the spirit and character the student is to achieve. And students achieve maturity of education when the wholeness of their personal lives reflect this character. Augsburger, Myron S.; The Preacher's Commentary Series, Vol. 24: Matthew. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1982, S. 18.]
Jesus reminds His disciples in verse 25 that He was not asking something of them which He Himself had not already experienced. “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they malign the member of his household!”
The point of disciple shid is to become more like the teacher. Let the disciple be satisfied in becoming like his teacher. Teacher-likeness or Christ-likeness, or being transformed by the teacher and His teachings into His likeness, must be sufficient reward for each disciple. Hoe fo you know when your are becoming more like your master Jesus? When God begins to bless and transform your life into the image of Christ, people will treat you like they did Him, which has it's good as well as bad side. Try not to be discouraged by the ill treatment, but be encouraged by your closeness to God and those who walk with Him.
Beelzebub [literally lord of the flies; the Gk is Beezeboul means “lord of the high place-heights.”-Walvoord, John & Zuck, Roy. The Bible Knowledge Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983, S. 43.] or lord of the demons [Satan] would be the harshest reproach for one who was seeking to serve God in the power of the Holy Spirit. Christ had been so named by the religious and community leaders of His day (9:34; 12:24-26). The true master of the house [οικοδεσπότην - closest relationship with members of the household] was being willfully confused with the house of demons. If the Messiah Himself is rejected as Satan, what expectation is in store for those who, in His likeness, represent Him? If Christ was so accused and charged how much more the less godly, the less perfect, the less mature member of His household? Should His disciples expect less malignment than their Master? No, the malfeasance directed against Jesus will also fall upon them.
These verses should challenge any who claim to be serving Christ. What do you expect? Do you hesitate to stand firmly or become fully yielded to Christ for fear of being rejected and have evil spoken concerning you, your intentions, and your ministry? Do you think Christ your Master gives to us, His disciples and “bond-slaves,” the right to compromise and seek friendship with the world and it's ways to avoid being treated as He was treated?
II. ALL THINGS REVEALED (26-27).
Verse 26 forbids the natural fear of persecutors with a realization of the future that awaits them. “Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.”
Jesus, knowing fully what temptations there would be, says to fear not the inevitable [It is forbidden three times in vv 26–33 (see Luke 12:4–5; 1 Pet 3:14; Rev 2:10; 14:7 also)]. When hate, slander, scourging, or murder is a possible outcome of persecution, fear may come calling. But with Jesus' preparation and presence a Christian, like a soldier, sailor, policeman, or fireman, can face bravely the risks of their calling.
Fear can be caused by uncertainty or that the truth of the cause or of the injustice received may never become known. Jesus encourages us by promising that one day whatever deceit concealed from public scrutiny will be revealed. The enemies of Christ, what they have done, whom they have persecuted, and how they were punished will be disclosed. The courage and faithfulness of the righteous will also be revealed. What His servants have done, whom they have honored, how precious they are in the sight of God will also become known.
Despite being misunderstood, misrepresented, vilified, slandered, and abused, we must remain content. We must not cease from our labor because our motives are mistaken and our character is fiercely assailed. We must find courage and hope in that one day all will be acknowledged and set right by God (Lk 12:1-11).
[Prudent care must be used, but let not anxious or perplexing thought disturb you. Cast this care upon the Father. In case of great peril, the disciples of Christ may go out of the way of danger, though they must not go out of the way of duty. No sinful, unlawful means may be used to escape; for then it is not a door of God’s opening. The fear of man brings a snare, a perplexing snare, an entangling snare, by which we are drawn into sin; and, therefore, it must be striven and prayed against. Tribulation, distress, and persecution cannot take away God’s love to us, or ours to Him. [Henry, Matthew: Matthew Henry's Commentary: Vol V. MacDonald Publishing Co. McLean, VA, p. 144.].
With this understanding of the future verse 27 teaches us what we must do. "What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.”
Jesus was teaching His disciples many things but they did not fully comprehend them yet because the Holy Spirit had not come to illuminate the message and the messenger. Christ would teach them the meaning of His life, His death, and His resurrection, but the darkness of their heart, soul, and mind would not let them comprehend.
One day the impact of what Christ had taught them would dawn upon them. Then they were to openly, frankly, and courageously proclaim. They were to seek a public platform, like the housetops, and proclaim the precious truths of Christ.
In the not too distant past, CERTAIN SUBJECTS were spoken of only in whispers. Daytime soap operas were, perhaps, the first to speak openly about forbidden subjects. Next came books exposing dark secrets of the rich and famous. Now all sorts of people line up on television talk shows to air family squabbles or sexual deviations. Secret activities of both domestic and foreign governments are reported by the press irregardless of the fall out. News programs also report sordid events in the most explicit language. Secrecy, as well as decency and good taste, have been blown wide open.
Today it seems like nothing is hidden except the joy believers experience in Jesus Christ. In spite of being surrounded by a climate of openness, many Christians still speak of their faith only at church or among fellow Christians. Some act as if faith in Jesus is a shameful secret rather than the good news needed by all people. We are like the boy who came home from sports camp saying gleefully, "Everything worked out great, Dad. None of the guys found out I was a Christian."
We need to pray that God will enable us to throw off fear, timidity, and intimidation so that we may speak openly for Jesus.
III. FEAR GOD ALONE, 28.
Verse 28 commands us to fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
In the world's thinking, killing the body is the most horrible prospect, yet God says it must not be the ultimate reason for fear. Opponents may put to death the messengers of God, but they are unable to separate them from the true source of life. Only God can destroy the soul. If there is to be fear, let it be of Him. Obedience to God, who ultimately is in charge of physical as well as spiritual life, is far more crucial. The message they had received from the Lord privately (in the dark . . . whispered), they were to proclaim publicly without fear [speak in the daylight . . . proclaim from the house-tops].
We can be killed but we cannot be dispossessed. No earthly power can remove us from the sheltering love of God. The one who has power to do more than our enemies has also numbered the hairs of our head. He does not forget the sparrow that is sold for small change. He will not forget us. We have nothing to fear from the future.
There is a fear that makes cowards and a fear that makes heroes. The fear of man makes us cowards and the fear of God makes us heroes. A believer who rightly fears God will gain victory over the fear of man and death, for if you fear God there is none else you need fear.
Armando Valladares never dreamed believers would be persecute in Cuba, even when Fidel Castro prohibited public worship. But three days after he prayed in a church, Valladares was arrested, "tried," and sentenced to thirty years imprisonment. Yet his faith in God grew stronger during those savage years of humiliation, psychological and physical tortures, and starvation rations. He became a witness to prisoners and jailers alike. The poetry that his suffering developed was smuggled to Miami and published. It proved God’s blessing upon the persecuted like Bunyan’s Pilgrims Progress had done. Through its publication he eventually regained his freedom.
Jesus taught us to fear God, not man. Such respect for the Almighty brings us His favor and emboldens us against hostile human powers. It is really the only antidote to other fears. What empowers us to resist those who want to take faith away? A greater faith in God and the knowledge that men can kill the body only, but God can destroy both body and soul. We do not know what fears we may have to face, but we can determine to confront them all with a greater faith in God.
The phrase destroy both soul and body in hell needs some discussion. The term soul is a comprehensive term for the heart and mind and represents the human essence or existence. It is the conscious being who without being combined with a spirit nature will be separated from God and tormented forever.
To destroy does not imply annihilation but torment or everlasting destruction in Hell or Gehenna (Mt. 5:22). Gehenna is not to be confused with Hades or Sheol - the abode of the soul until judgment day. Gehenna (the valley of Hinnon - a fiery garbage pit south of Jerusalem, 2 Kings 23:10; Mt. 25:46, Mk 9:47, 2 Thess.. 1:9) symbolizes the eternal place of punishment, the "lake of fire" in Revelation 19:10; 20:10-14.
The warning again is fear not the one only having power to kill the body, but fear the One who after killing the body destroys it in hell. This terrible reality should motivate us with a great concern for the lost.
We can be killed but we cannot be lost. No earthly power can remove us from the sheltering love of God. The one who has power to do more than our enemies has also numbered the hairs of our head. He does not forget the sparrow that is sold for small change. He will not forget us. We have nothing to fear from the future.
[It should be noted that to God alone belongs the power of the second death. God is the One who has authority to cast men into hell, and man, nor even Satan, who will himself ultimately be cast into everlasting fire. In other words, Jesus reminded them that it was more important to fear Him who had authority over the soul as well as over the body and who can bring both to eternal condemnation in hell (Gehenna). Again, the term geenna is not the same as hadē, which is the place where the dead wait for the final judgment (see 11:23; 16:18; Acts 2:27, 31; Rev 1:18).
The word is transliterated Gehenna from the Hebrew ge-hinnom (Is. 31:9; Jer. 7:31, 32; 19:6). It is a place of eternal and unquenchable fire (3:12; Mark 9:43), a lake of fire and brimstone (Rev. 20:10, 14, 15), an eternal fire (18:8, 9; 25:41), a furnace of fire (13:42), an outer darkness (8:12; 22:13; 25:30), and an eternal punishment (25:46). God has power to cast both body and soul into hell (Luke 12:5).]
There are those who tell us that fear ought to be banished from Christianity and that we ought not hold the fear of Hell before their eternal soul. Those who speak this way cannot appeal to Jesus for Jesus certainly employed fear of Hell as motive.
People today seek to hide themselves and others from the fact that Hell is terrible reality. Without the fear of God, love and gratefulness for God is weak. For the love of the Savior is proportionate to the ransom and rescue from which we have been saved. Jesus came to deliver us from fear not by concealing the harsh facts of hell and the wrath of judgment against sin. He came not to abolish God’s wrath but to deliver us from divine justice by reconciling us to God through the shed blood of His body for us.
In CLOSING
The truth of Jesus’ message will win out on the last day. Therefore, His disciples must not fear but must openly proclaim what Jesus taught them privately, in their time alone with Him, in spite of those who want to remove His Word from public life.
Do you have a burden for the lost, or have you lost your burden? We are warned to fear God who will throw them into Hell. That fear of God's awesome authority and their terrible doom should take away all fear for our physical life and motivate us to urge the lost to receive Christ before it is too late! Has it? If it has not, you need to assess your fear of God's judgment upon the lost and of your standing before Him one day also.
[Jesus’ goes on to base His argument for freedom from fear on the goodness and providence of God. Two sparrows are sold for a copper coin, [an assarion] worth about one cent in our money, yet the heavenly Father takes note of them to the extent of providential care. In answer to the question of His taking care of us, Jesus says that even the hairs of our heads are numbered.. Providence is God’s interest & care over the smaller details of our lives. God pays detailed attention to each of us individually! Jesus said that He does care for each, that we, being so much more valuable than sparrows, should rest in this faith, free from fear [Augsburger, p. 18.].
Dear reader, if you do not have a personal relationship with God; this prayer is for you:
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner in need of forgiveness. I believe that You died on the cross to take the punishment that I deserve for my sins and that You were raised from the dead. Please forgive me of my sins and come into my heart and life as my Savior and Lord. From this day forward, please be glorified in and through me. Thank You for Your amazing grace. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
