Matthew 10:24-33

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 but yet 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're

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 also will deny before

my Father who is in heaven. Let's pray. Gracious

God, would you help us this morning to hear the

words of this sobering passage, to hear the words

of our Lord as they are spoken. Lord, we pray

that the Spirit of God would make effectual the

preaching of the Word of God this morning. Lord,

do so for the glory and honor of Christ, in whose

name we pray. Amen. We're in Matthew 10, and

in this chapter, the Lord is giving the twelve,

that is the twelve apostles, instructions because

he's preparing them to go out on their first

missionary journey. But he's preparing them for

the challenges that they are going to face. He's

a great teacher. He's not sugarcoating. He's

not glossing over the facts. He's not trying

to make the mission sound more glamorous than

it will be. In fact, from the very beginning,

he lets them know there will be opposition. There's

going to be slander. There will even be physical

danger as they begin to take the gospel first

to Israel and subsequently to the nations. In

fact, he even told them. He said, I'm sending

you out as sheep amidst wolves. Therefore, we

know from the beginning, This mission is going

to be fraught with danger. But what is their

job? It's to preach the gospel, stay faithful

to Christ, and leave all the results to their

Father in heaven. Now, as I said, the immediate

context is Jesus addressing the original 12 apostles.

That's the immediate context. But as you read

down through chapter 10, there becomes a shift

where it broadens and it encompasses not just

the 12, but the broader call of all Christians,

even those of us today. Jesus is reminding his

church of a very key truth. You and I should

expect to share in the experience of Christ's

suffering and rejection. How Christ was treated

is really how you and I can expect to be treated

as well. He was persecuted. We are to expect

persecution. But we are not to shrink back from

it. Rather, we are to fear God, continue to follow

Christ, even amidst great persecution. Now, we

look in verse 24. He says, Notice the terms that

the word Jesus uses to describe his people. There

are three of them. He uses the word disciple.

He uses the word servant. and then also those

of his household. All of those terms are subordinate

terms. They're inferior positions. But when he's

referring to himself, he uses the word teacher,

master, master of the household. All of those

are authoritative terms. So what does he say?

First, let's look at the two terms. We are disciples.

In Greek, it is the word mathetes. We are disciples.

We are mathetes. We're also servants of Christ,

which is the word doulos. And I'm making a point

about this. I don't care about the Greek, but

it's really interesting. So first of all, we

see the word disciple. A disciple or mathetes

is simply a student, a learner. You and I are

students of Christ. Now what does a student do?

A student is to study. So to be a disciple means

that we study Christ's teaching. We observe and

obey his commands. We observe his manner of life

and we seek to live accordingly. So the disciple,

if we're true disciples, you and I want to look

as much like Christ as possible. We want to emulate

him. But the life of a disciple is not just that

of emulation. Rather, the key here is relationship.

The disciple doesn't just study Christ. The disciple

abides in Christ. What does that mean? It means

we're not merely trying to act like Jesus. That's

moralism. That'll damn you. But rather, we are

one with Jesus. He has given his spirit to us.

The spirit of the living God lives within his

people. The disciple abides in Christ. The word

abides is the word remains. In John 15, Jesus

said, abide in me and I in you. As a branch cannot

bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the

vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.

I am the vine, he says, and you are the branches.

He who abides in me bears much fruit. Yet without

me, you can't do a single thing. So not only

do we follow him, not only do we study him, but

rather we live in him and we draw strength and

life from him. So we have, in essence, the teacher,

the Lord Jesus. He teaches his disciples, that

is us, how to be Christians. How to be little

Christ, if you will. Now let me give you a side

note. This is really not much of the way of exegesis

here. There are some who see a hierarchy in the

Christian life. They believe that you can be

a Christian and not be a disciple. They believe,

because here's what they think, that discipleship

is kind of like a higher plane of the Christian

life. So someone can be a convert to Christ,

be a Christian, and yet not be a disciple. The

problem is you don't find that one time anywhere

in the scriptures. If you are converted to Christ,

a Christian, automatically that makes you a disciple

of Christ. All Christians are... Now, the truth

is, you and I might be in different stages of

growth. We might be in different stages of understanding.

Yet, by necessity, all Christians are disciples.

And I would say this, if you're not his disciple,

it's because you are not his. To be a Christian

is to be a disciple. But the second thing is

actually a little more shocking here. Christ

also refers to his people as servants. And you're

like, well, what's shocking about that? This

is why I want to give you the Greek word. The

word that is translated in the English as servant

is a little misleading. Not a little. I think

it's very misleading. Because the word servant

in Greek is actually the Greek word doulos. Doulos

is not a servant. Doulos is a slave. At its root,

here's what it means at its root, one who belongs

to another. So in first century, the time Matthew

would have been written, a doulos was the legal

property of another. He had a master. He was

not free to choose his own work. He did not have

autonomy. In fact, he was someone else's property.

He was owned by someone. Now everyone at that

time would have been familiar with rabbis having

disciples. All rabbis had disciples. But Jesus

said that his disciples are his douloi, plural

there, slaves. My disciples, he said, are my

slaves. They're not just my students. And that

was something radically new. Yes, you're a disciple,

you're a student of Christ. But if you are a

Christian, you are his doulos, you are a slave

of Christ. And slaves belong to a master. In

Greek, kurios, Lord. Jesus is called kurias.

Jesus ha kurias. Jesus the Lord is what it says

there. That was the early church's confession.

Remember when we said Christ is Lord? Well, in

Greek, that is kurias Christas. Christ is Lord.

And what that meant is that you and I are recognizing

our place as his slaves. A doulos was not a servant

in the modern sense. Now, we have that word in

Greek. You know what that word is? Diakonos.

The word we get, deacon. What is a deacon? He's

a servant. The root word is one who waits at

tables. It's a waiter or a waitress. So that's

not how we're referred to here. We're doulos.

And under Roman law, a slave had no legal recognition

as a person. He was viewed as property. Now you

might be thinking I'm reading too much into this.

I'm taking a word and I'm extrapolating. I'm

going beyond what its original intention was.

Listen to the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians

6. Or do you not know? Go to that next slide,

guys. Or do you not know that your body is the

temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom

you have from God, speaking of the Spirit. You

are not your own. For you were bought at a price.

You were purchased, you were redeemed by a price,

the blood of Christ. Therefore, because you are

not your own, you are to glorify God, where?

In your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

They don't belong to you. You and I have always

been slaves. Always. Before coming to Christ,

we were slaves to sin. But we've been purchased

by Christ at his death. And we now belong wholly

to him. And we owe him complete and utter devotion.

He is our master. We don't have autonomy over

our own lives. In Romans chapter 6. But God be

Romans 6 · chapter mention

thanked that you were slaves of sin. That's where

we were. Yet you obeyed from the heart that form

of doctrine to which you were delivered. And

having been set free from sin. You became slaves.

Same word there, doulos, of righteousness. You

were a doulos to sin, you are now a doulos, a

slave to righteousness, to Christ. So do you

see the movement? We go from slavery of sin to

slavery of Christ. But yet, the Bible says, if

the Son sets you free, you are free indeed. So

the ironic thing is, is in being a slave to Christ,

we actually have freedom that we've never enjoyed

before. Now what's the point here in Matthew

10? The Lord Jesus is making a very bold claim.

Yes, he's their rabbi. Yes, I'm the teacher.

But I'm also their master, kurios, their Lord.

These men, yes, they're my students, but they're

my douloi, they're my slaves. They belong to

me. Now, if you're a Jew, and all 12 were Jews,

the 12 original apostles, they would have understood,

of course, we're slaves to God. Jesus said, you

are my slaves. I am not just your rabbi. I am

not just your teacher. Just as you were a slave

to God, so you were also a slave to me. Now,

friends, that's radical. That means a lot in

the way that we live our lives even today. Now,

what's the goal of the disciple? Verse 25. It's

enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher

and a servant like his master. This is what we

want. Conformity to Christ, to look like him,

to grow up in him, to live our lives like he

does. But for disciples, these 12, this also

meant suffering. Look at the latter part. He

says, if they have called the master of the house

Beelzebub, how much more will they call those

of his household? Jesus is arguing from the greater

to the lesser. If Christ, the great one, was

maligned, and slandered, how much worse is it

going to be for his followers? Think who Christ

was. He's the holy, the sinless son of the living

God. And what did they call him? Beelzebub. It's

a title for Satan. It literally means Lord of

the flies. He said, they're calling me a term

for Satan. What do you think they're going to

call you? How do you think you will be evil spoken

of? But we also must realize that it's sharing

in Christ's reproach that is making us to be

his disciple. That's what it is. Part of discipleship

is sharing in his reproach. And this is all throughout

the New Testament. And the reason I'm making

a point of this is I want you to understand in

your Christian life and in mine, we are to expect

opposition, persecution, slander, and being maligned.

Romans chapter 8, verse 17. Children, heirs.

Romans 8:17

Heirs of God, praise the Lord. Joint heirs with

Christ. That's astounding. If indeed we suffer

with him, that we may also be glorified together.

In Matthew 5, Jesus said, Blessed are you when

they revile you, persecute you, say all kinds

of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice!

Be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward

in heaven. Why? For so they persecuted the prophets

who were before you. You're in good company,

folks. They've always spoke badly of people who

lived righteously and preached righteously. Always.

From the prophets on forward. From Cain killing

Abel to the present day. In Acts chapter 5, verse

Acts 5:41

41, Peter and John, it says they were rejoicing

that they were counted worthy to suffer shame

for his name. They had just been beaten. They're

like, hey, that's great. And the last verse here,

1 Peter 4. And I could have gone on. But rejoice

to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings.

If you are reproached, now for the name of Christ.

If you're reproached for being an idiot, that's

on you. Because some people really are. Some

people just live stupid lives and they get persecuted

and they want to make it like they're righteous.

No, that's on you, man. But if you're reproached

for the name of Christ, blessed are you for the

spirit of glory and of God. rest upon you. If

you're persecuted because your life looks so

much like Jesus, well, praise God for that. You're

blessed. Ridicule, suffering, and persecution

come with being a disciple of Christ. Okay, there's

suffering, but he says don't give in to fear.

Look at verse 26. Therefore, do not fear them.

That's the first part of them. Why not fear?

First of all, who are we not to fear? The wolves

that Jesus is sending his sheep out to. They

are the ones, the wolves, that are going to malign

you. He says don't fear them. Rather understand

the latter part of verse 26. Listen carefully.

There is nothing covered that will not be revealed.

There's nothing hidden that will not be made

known. Now that's a scary thought for all of

us. Nothing? Yeah, nothing. One day, he says,

the truth will be crystal clear for everyone.

God's truth will be made manifest. At when is

that? At the final judgment. Those who persecuted

Christ's disciples will be exposed for the wicked

men they are. And on that same day, those who

remain faithful to Christ will be exonerated.

They will be vindicated. Now for a time, folks,

right now, as I prayed earlier, we live in a

veil of tears. Right now, it appears that the

wolves have the upper hand. But at the final

judgment, all that will come to light. The lies

they spoke against you and they spoke against

God's people will be exposed as lies. The injustices

that God's people endured for him will be made

right at that time. Right now, church, you and

I in broad culture will be thought of as fools,

bigots, narrow -minded. Xenophobic, misogynistic,

homophobic. Add whatever phobia you want to the

end of that. But God says, one day I will vindicate

my own. And all the wrongs that they suffered

will be made right. He's making all things right.

We sang about it. On that day. The truth of God

will be revealed, and it will be seen for the

wisdom that it is. Therefore, because of that,

that day is coming. Endure suffering. Endure

persecution. Endure being maligned, knowing that

one day there will be a reversal, a fortune.

The tables will be turned. God's going to vindicate

his son, and God's going to vindicate his people.

So endure whatever you have to right now. Endure

hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. They

called Christ Beelzebub. On that day, all those

men who had the audacity to call Christ Beelzebub

will bow their knee before their king and confess,

Christ is not Beelzebub, Christ is Lord. On that

day. But until that day, what do we do? Keep

preaching. Proclaim the truth boldly. Look at

verse 27. Whatever I tell you in the dark, He's

speaking the light. Whatever you hear in the

ear, preach on housetops. So Jesus, remember,

how did he teach the 12? Privately. He would

preach broadly to the masses, but he would take

the 12 aside and teach them privately. And he

said, whatever I said privately, you publicly

make known to the people, to the masses. And

he says, preach on the housetops. Now we're thinking,

that's going to be really hard because I'm going

to fall off a steep pitch like we have. First

century Palestinian homes had flat roofs. That

made a great, and they had a staircase usually

on the outside, ladder. So you could go up there

if you want to make a public announcement, get

on your roof and start speaking, and Pete, you're

going to draw a crowd. Now, Jesus is using a

metaphor here. He's telling the 12, go, if you

will, stand on your roof, preach to everyone

everything that I have said to you. Preach to

whom? To masses, all people, indiscriminately.

Who needs to hear the gospel? All people. Don't

keep this message hidden. Preach it in the light,

but know, know this, it will not always be well

received. Preach the word boldly, preach it publicly,

but know this, it will invite criticism, slander,

and possible danger. There will be times for

these men right here that he's speaking to that

preaching the word of God will bring great suffering.

including martyrdom. But he says, don't even

let the prospect of dying as a martyr to keep

you from preaching. Don't even seek to save your

own life. Verse 28. Do not fear those who kill

the body, but cannot kill the soul. Don't do

it. Okay. Well, what am I to do? Fear him who

is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Well, who can do that? God. Church, don't you

fear man. You fear God and him alone. Three times,

verse 26, verse 28, and verse 31, Jesus told

the men, don't fear. Now why is he telling them

not to fear? Because they're probably afraid.

He's setting them up and he's like, but don't

fear. The wolves, they may take your life. They

may kill the body, but they can't kill the soul.

God, on the other hand, is able to destroy both

soul and body in hell forever. Now you're saying,

but I didn't think the body was destroyed in

hell. It's not. The word destroy does not mean

that they will be annihilated or cease to exist.

It means, it's referring there to ultimate and

final loss in hell forever. There's no prospect

of escape. In other words, do not fear man who

has limited power. Instead, you better fear God

because he has ultimate power. What can man do

to you? Anything man can do to you only affects

this life. They have zero control over the next.

But God has ultimate power in this life and the

next, and he determines our destiny in the next

life. I keep thinking, God, Jesus is there. Commanding

them, do not fear guys, don't fear. And that's

natural to have fear, especially in the face

of death. But how do you not fear then? You must

have a greater fear of God. You must have the

Lord sanctified in your hearts. In his commentary,

R .C. Sproul speaks about Alexander Solzhenitsyn

and some of you are familiar with him. He was

a decorated soldier during World War II and he

was captured by the Soviets and he was actually

imprisoned in a Soviet gulag. from 1945 to 1953.

And during those years, Solzhenitsyn was tortured

by the Soviets. But in 1953, he was released

and he was asked, how did you endure such great

suffering? And his answer is so instructive.

He said, I knew that I could not keep the Soviets

from torturing my body. But I kept reminding

myself that he did not possess a weapon that

could pierce my soul. This is how we do it. I'm

reminded of that great line in Martin Luther's

famous hymn, A Mighty Fortress is Our God, when

he says, Let goods and kindred go, this mortal

life also. The body they may kill, God's truth

abideth still. His kingdom is forever. The body

they may kill, but it doesn't do a thing to the

truth of God. Part of fearing God, folks, is

to recognize that in every way he is infinitely

greater than us, including his wisdom and his

power. Therefore, trust him. When I was talking

to Kim this morning or texting to her, that's

part of what I was trying to convey. I'm like,

I don't understand. I don't understand why all

the suffering that seems to be compounded has

come upon you. But we must lean into the one

who's infinitely wiser than we, who sees the

beginning from the end. This is where the life

of faith comes in. That's it. But it's not just

his power that's greater. It's not just his wisdom

that's greater. Of course, we know that. This

is where comfort comes in. So is his love and

protection. Look at verse 29. Are not two sparrows

sold for a copper coin? That's just a penny.

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,

third time and final time, you are of more value

than many sparrows. If God's providence extends

all the way to birds like sparrows, how much

more does it extend to you, to me? He says two

sparrows are sold for one coin. They're not considered

worthy. They're not of a lot of value. Yet not

one of them dies without our Father in heaven

knowing it and permitting it. They don't die

without his will. That's sovereignty, by the

way. The sparrow dies according to God's will.

Do you not think he's not in control of the events

of your life? You're saying, but this doesn't

make sense. I know. But there's not even a sparrow

that will fall from the sky today unless God

allows it. And he's in control of your life as

well. Can anything happen to you unless God first

permits it? The hairs, the very hairs on your

head are numbered. God knows every intricate

detail of your life. Everything. He knows you

better than you know yourself. I mean, after

all, he's the one who gave you your DNA. Everything

about you. The numbers of hair on your head.

The number of times your heart is beating even

now. But the Bible says he takes notice of every

tear you've ever shed. It's who God is. And he's

talking to us. Our God is glorious. And our God

is great. And his gospel must be preached. But

it will bring opposition. But don't walk in fear.

Rather, live in trust. Live by faith. Lean into

him. Trust him. Verse 31, don't fear, therefore,

you're of more value than many sparrows. I mean,

friends, God takes care of small birds. And he

says, you're much more valuable than they. So

the implication is, will he not much more take

care of you? Do you see what Jesus is saying?

I'm going to take care of you. And you need to

know that up front because you're going to experience

some things that you'd rather not experience.

James is beheaded. Peter's crucified upside down.

John's thrown into a vat of burning oil. Exiled

to the Isle of Patmos. We know the other apostles

all died martyrs as well. But he says, you have

more value than birds. They're not created in

God's image, but you are. In Colossians 3, Paul

told the Colossian believers, your life... is

hidden with Christ in God. I find that very comforting.

My life, it's hidden with Christ. You are secure

because you are united with Jesus. I need to

know that. You need to know that. That's how

we not live in fear. That's how we live by faith.

Yes, you're saying, God runs the universe. Yes,

he does. But he loves and knows his own. He is

transcendent. Far above us, and he's imminent.

He's near. He's at hand. His steadfast love will

never be taken from you. Therefore, go and live

boldly for the cause of Christ. Look at verse

32. It brings us to the end. Whoever confesses

me before men, him I will also confess before

my Father who is in heaven. Now, friends, take

note of this last part, verse 33. It's not my

words. This is the words of Jesus. These are

the words of Jesus. I should be grammatically

correct there. But whoever denies me before men,

him I also deny before my Father who is in heaven.

This leads to a very important question. Whom

will you fear? If you fear God, then you will

confess Christ before men. You will. But if you

fear man, then you will deny Christ before men.

You're saying, but... then what does it mean

to confess Christ? It's to confess him as Lord,

but it's also to affirm our loyalty and our allegiance

to him openly. We're identified with him. We're

not ashamed to be known as one of his. We bear

his reproach gladly. We have the mark of baptism

upon us. Now let me just say this. Let's be honest

here. There may be some short -term advantage

by preferring human approval. There may be. Short

-term. But it comes with eternal loss. There

may be some short -term disadvantage if you prefer

divine approval or God's approval. But that's

a temporary loss. But with it comes an eternal

reward. It's a no -brainer, right? If you look

at it that way. So the question that we have

to ask or that we have to answer is, will you

confess Christ as Lord even when it brings suffering?

Are you going to deny him? Paul wrote in Romans

10, if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus,

confess in your mouth the Lord Jesus, Kurios

Iesus, and believe in your heart that God has

raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

For with the heart one believes unto righteousness,

and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Friends, your eternal, is based on what the Lord

Jesus says about you. We often think our eternal

destiny is based on what we say about Jesus.

It's actually not. It's what Jesus says about

us. Well, what's he say? He just told us. If

you confess, that is if you acknowledge him before

men, he said, when I'm standing before my father,

I will acknowledge you. But if you deny me here,

one day when you're standing before his father,

He would disavow, he will disown, he will not

acknowledge you. Mark 8. Whoever therefore shall

be ashamed of me and of my words, not just me,

but my words, my gospel, my Bible, if you will,

in this adulterous and sinful generation, of

him also shall the Son of Man, that is Christ

himself, be ashamed when he comes in the glory

of his Father with the holy angels. Couldn't

be clearer. My greatest desire, my greatest delight

will be that the Lord Jesus will one day confess

my name before his Father. Isn't that your greatest

desire? That he will step before his Father's

throne saying, this one belongs to me. I died

for him. This one's mine. And he promises to

do that if we confess him before men here. Now

this would have served as a great encouragement

to these 12 men. How? Jesus had just told them,

I'm sending you out a sheep amidst wolves. You're

going to go on a missionary journey. But by the

way, it's going to be filled with danger and

slander. And you might die. Possible martyrdom.

Basically, this is not an easy mission. It's

not an easy journey. But take heart. Persevere.

Because he said, I promise one day I will confess

you before my Father in heaven. And it will be

worth it all. You're mine. I've got you. Just

trust me. And friends, he promises the same to

us today. Now what do we do in light of this

passage? So the one minute drill here. We are

to expect opposition in our Christian lives.

Not everything will go swimmingly, nor will everyone

like the message we bring. Now we live in a land

where physical persecution is rare. But you're

going to be maligned. You might not be promoted.

You might be ostracized, criticized, thought

of as a nincompoop who is stupid. Okay. That's

one thing they could do. But also, when we follow

Christ, it's not just that. God might bring adverse

situations in our lives to test us, to refine

us. I think of Kim. I think of some of you all.

We've all gone through it. The refiner's fire.

But we continue to bring that message anyways.

Why? Because we fear God more than we fear man.

We have to. We have to fear him more than man.

God must be bigger in your heart and in mine

than man is. That's the only way we do this.

But we don't just fear God. We also trust him

and love him, knowing that the details of our

lives are under his paternal sovereign care.

And that doesn't always make sense to me, because

as a father, I'm thinking, I wouldn't do that.

But that's where I lean into God's wisdom. Friends,

he takes care of birds. He's going to take care

of you. You're saying, how? Through everything.

So let us, as we close, let us sound the clarion

call of the gospel that Jesus Christ, the Son

of the living God, gave his life for sinners,

was buried, and on the third day he rose again

from the dead, and all those who will bow their

knee, confessing him as Lord, he receives them

into his kingdom. Let us be clear. Lift up your

voice. Proclaim what God has done for sinners

in Christ. And don't be ashamed of that holy

name. Don't be ashamed of the word Jesus. When

you're talking to someone, don't just talk about

God. Everyone's fine talking about God. You hear

it at the Oscars. The people don't know God will

thank God. Thank Jesus. Talk about his name.

Be associated with Christ and his gospel. And

one day he says, I'm not going to be ashamed

of you. I will identify you when you stand before

my Father in heaven. What a great encouragement.

This is such rich text this morning. Help us,

church. Listen to it. Listen to what the Spirit

of God is saying this morning and let us bow

and ask God for the courage to do it. For without

him, we can do nothing. Let's pray. Father, thank

you, Lord, for this wonderful word. Lord, not

my word, your word. Lord, I may have done a terrible

job of presenting it, but God, it's rich, it's

nutritive, Lord. It's satisfying and it sustains

us, Lord. Your word is food. Lord, and our hungry

souls want to eat it up. Lord, help us to remember

that, God, that we are of more value than birds,

that you know the hairs on our head, that, Lord

God, you know everything about us, and you're

orchestrating all the details of our lives, and

you're in complete control. Father, be with my

dear sister Kim. Lord God, please fill her with

peace in knowing this. And, Lord God, it's hard

because, Lord, there are some times when your

will takes us into a direction we would rather

not go. It doesn't look good to us. But help

us to bow and to trust, Lord, Christ knows what

he's doing. Lord, I pray for those who are here

this morning. There may be someone who's here,

Lord God, and who does not know Christ. And Lord,

their heart is hard. They live for themselves.

God, open their hearts to the truth of your word

and bring them into the kingdom for the glory

of Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.