Matthew 10:16–39

If sheep were simply exposed to wolves it would be bad enough, but to be sent among them is more serious still... You want the combination. It is a sad thing to have only the prudence and a very weak thing to have only the guilelessness.

The Lord does not hide from the disciples that the nation, indeed the world, would reject Him, and therefore them. He puts this fully before them, to prepare them for it and to encourage them in view of it. He was sending them out as sheep among wolves — a hopeless thing to natural expectation. They were therefore to be as prudent, or wary, as serpents, but pure as doves, without the serpent's deceit.

From verse 16 the Lord warns them of the circumstances in which the gospel of the kingdom was to be preached... He calls for prudence, heavenly prudence. The aim and character of that prudence were to be entirely holy, and free from any just charge of harming men. "But beware of men" — do not suppose that, although you go out with love in your hearts, you will not meet with wolves.

The Lord told His disciples to be as wise as serpents, probably a reference to Genesis 3:1. The word "subtil" there is translated by the same word in the Greek Old Testament as the one used in this passage. It is "prudence."

The world may be prudent, knowing evil. The heart may be simple through ignorance and find itself betrayed. The Christian may be wise or prudent by the wisdom of God who directs him, and simple because he walks according to the life which is in him... This is not the simplicity of ignorance, but the simplicity of good. It avoids whatever would make one leave one's true position before God.

All who truly seek to build up the church will carefully avoid actions that by their nature can be misread. To be wise as serpents is no less necessary than to be harmless as doves.

Verses 16 to 23 involve far more than the commission in effect while the Lord was on earth; for it goes on to the testimony seen in Acts, and then further still, to what will be revived in the tribulation period, as verse 23 shows. They were sent as sheep among wolves, and so were always to be on guard: wise as serpents, yet unlike serpents, guileless as doves. Wisdom and transparent honesty are a true protection for the servant of the Lord.

But — and this is a terrible word about man — "Beware of men," says the Lord. He does not say, beware of Israel. All men are now thrown into the same mass. It was in Israel itself that the disciples worked, yet Israel is blinded along with the whole mass of human wickedness. God could still think of them and of the promises, but in fact the heart of man was the same there as everywhere else.

Pilate said to the Jews about the Lord, "Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law" (John 18:31). This shows that they were allowed to judge certain matters and to give limited punishments... The Lord told His disciples that they would be flogged in the synagogues (Matt. 10:17). Paul confessed that when he was persecuting the church, he had imprisoned and beaten in every synagogue those who believed on the Lord (Acts 22:19). Paul himself no doubt suffered the same punishment in the same buildings (2 Cor. 11:24). So they put their places of worship to a very undignified use.

"But beware of men" — do not think that you will escape meeting wolves just because you go out with love in your hearts. The Jews are plainly meant... While hating the Gentile yoke, they would be quite willing to call in Gentile authority where it became a question of Christ's followers. The Jews would drag them before the Gentile kings and governors, hated as those rulers were.

He was sending them out as sheep among wolves, which looks hopeless from a natural point of view. So they were to be as prudent — or wary — as serpents, but pure as doves, without the serpent's deceit. Men would hand them over to councils, or sanhedrins. These were religious courts attached to the synagogues themselves. But beyond this they would bring them before governors and kings, the worldly powers of the Gentile nations.

If they did not beware of men (a sad testimony about men), they would only suffer. But when they were flogged and brought before councils and governors and kings, all this would become a testimony to them. It was God's way of presenting the gospel of the kingdom to kings and princes. It did not change the character of that gospel, or adapt it to the world, or mix the Lord's people up with the world's customs and false greatness. What is more, circumstances like these made their testimony far more visible than links with the great ones of the earth would have done.

While the Lord was on earth, there is no record of His disciples suffering the opposition of verses 17 and 18. John the Baptist did suffer prison and death. But in the book of Acts they were handed over to the Jews' councils and flogged for their testimony to Christ. Some of them were also brought before governors and kings for His sake. This is first a testimony against the Jews, but the Gentiles are added too. That shows these words go beyond the commission of verses 5 and 6.

While the Jews hated Gentile rule, they were quite willing to call in Gentile authority when it became a question of Christ's followers. They would drag the messengers before the Gentile kings and governors, hated as those rulers were.

Men would hand them over to councils — the religious courts attached to the synagogues themselves. But beyond this they would bring them before governors and kings, the secular Gentile powers. As we see in the Lord's own case, the charge there had to be a different one, and it was brought with malice. Yet He would turn that malice into a testimony in the highest places, and to the Gentiles at large. Grace was content to reach them even in such a way.

When they were scourged and brought before councils and governors and kings, all this should become a testimony to those rulers. It was God's way of bringing the gospel of the kingdom to kings and princes. And it did that without changing the character of the gospel, without adapting it to the world, and without mixing the Lord's people up with the world's ways and its false greatness. What is more, circumstances like these made their testimony far more visible than any link with the great ones of the earth could have done.

This is the means the Lord uses to carry the gospel to kings and to the great of the earth. The preachers are not the great of the earth. His disciples would always have to keep their true character. So they would stand before kings and rulers as prisoners, giving an account of their faith.

While the Lord was on earth, there is no record of His disciples facing the opposition of verses 17 and 18. John the Baptist did suffer prison and death. But in the book of Acts they were handed over to the Jews' councils and scourged for their testimony to Christ. Some of them were also brought before governors and kings for His sake. This is first a testimony against the Jews, but the Gentiles are added too. That shows these words go beyond the commission of verses 5 and 6.

We see this happen in Acts, where Paul stands before Felix and Festus, and then before King Agrippa. The Lord gives them clear instructions in verse 19. People misapply those words when they use them of preaching the gospel. They have no reference to any service for the Lord, but would save the disciples from anxiety when on trial.

I could not doubt that this preaching of the kingdom of heaven by the twelve apostles will start again in days to come. Israel's definite and utter rejection of Christ interrupted it. And it is to this renewed testimony that much of Matthew 10 has its most definite application. See especially verses 18, 22, 23.

We see this in the Acts, where Paul appears before Felix, and Festus, and then before king Agrippa. Verse 19 gives them clear instructions. People misapply the verse when they use it of preaching the gospel. It has no reference to any service for the Lord, but would save them from anxiety when on their trial.

In Matthew 6, verses 25, 27, 28, 31, 34 (and Matthew 10:19), "thought" should be "anxious thought."

When these things happened they would need no speech-writer. They would not even need to study in advance the wisest or most fitting answer to the charges. Instead, they were to depend fully on God to give them the words to speak at the time they were needed. In this they would allow the Spirit of their Father the freedom to speak without hindrance. We see this beautifully carried out in the cases of Peter and John in Acts 4:8-12 and 5:27-32; Stephen in Acts 7; and Paul in Acts 24:10-21 and 26:1-29.

They would receive such power and guidance from the Spirit of their Father that the words they spoke would not be their own words. They would be the words of Him who inspired them. Once again, their relationship with their Father is the basis of their fitness for the service they had to do. That same relationship clearly marks the Sermon on the Mount. Remember that this testimony went to Israel only. Yet Israel was living under foreign rule, so the testimony would reach their rulers.

What about the accused? No orator that we hear of volunteered to present his case in the most favourable light before the court. No one pleaded his cause. Was he deserted? Was he worse off for this? He had One with him whom Ananias, Tertullus, and Felix did not know. Relying on His help and guidance, he could stay perfectly calm and let the orator speak first. He was sure that no human eloquence, no shameless flattery, and no cunning misrepresentation could damage his defence.

One cannot but feel that such a truth as this, though it has special application to apostles setting out on this mission, most surely remains for us.

Wherever possible, a person should think over and study the subject he expects to speak on. It is no mark of spirituality to take no thought how or what we shall speak, and we do not believe this is a correct use of the Scripture... Here, He assures His disciples that He will never desert them when they stand before kings and rulers for His name's sake. They need not work out in advance any line of defence, or any elaborate statement of what they hold. Suppose they have been living in the enjoyment of these things and bearing faithful witness. Then they may be sure that the Lord will not desert them in their time of need.

It seems clear that up to verse 15 the group of apostles is mainly in view. That mission was marked by the personal presence of the King. From verse 16 to 20 the language is more general. It looks at the preaching in Acts and on to the fall of Jerusalem. By then the King has gone away, and His servants are handed over to be flogged and brought before rulers and kings. The Holy Spirit from the Father would be in them and would be the power for every emergency.

It is the calm of one who does not think of himself, either through fear or through human eagerness. It is full of the Holy Spirit; everything he says and everything he does comes from Him. Such a man works perfectly on God's side, because the man himself is out of the way, and God by His Spirit works in him... If man works, then there is imperfection. God works in man, and then man is what he ought to be.

They would receive such power and guidance from the Spirit of their Father that the words they spoke would not be their own words, but the words of Him who inspired them. Once again, their relationship with their Father... is what makes them able for the service they had to do.

Those who believe the gospel of salvation have the Holy Spirit of God living in them, and He seals them. He is certainly a distinct person from those He lives in. He bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God (Romans 8:16). At the same time He identifies Himself with us in a wonderful way. He helps us in our weakness, and He makes intercession for us with groanings that words cannot express.

No one pleaded his cause. Was he deserted? Was he worse off for this? He had One with him whom Ananias, Tertullus and Felix knew nothing about. Leaning on His help and guidance, he could stay perfectly calm and let the hired speaker go first, as the trial required. He was sure that no human eloquence, no shameless flattery and no clever twisting of the facts could damage his defence.

Taking no thought about how or what we will speak is no mark of spirituality, and we do not believe it is a correct use of that Scripture... Here He is assuring His disciples that He will never desert them when they stand before kings and rulers for His name's sake. They do not need to work out a line of defence in advance, or any careful statement of what they hold... The same holds good when someone cannot know in advance what he will speak on, or when an unexpected opening for preaching the gospel comes. At such times there has often been the greatest liberty and directness, and the Lord's help has been clear.

Even before an enemy, the Lord told the twelve apostles to have no anxiety about how or what to speak, because in the hour of need it would be given to them... How much more was that divine power needed and given when the question was not their own defence, but passing on God's mind and will to His own people, and for ever!

Here we see clearly that this part of the chapter referred to the time when the Lord would be away. It would be the Spirit of their Father speaking in them. But the hatred of the human heart against the testimony of God would be shown by pushing men to break the ties that God had formed at the time of creation. The affections of the flesh, of the human heart, would be changed into positive hostility. The more intimate the relation, the more relentless its hatred. There are rights in these relationships; but now it would be the rights of hatred: brother would deliver brother to death.

The revelation of God in the person of Christ, or in the preached word, awakens the enmity of the human heart. So long as God is not revealed, everything is tolerated; but when He is revealed, man's will rises up against His authority, and against the pressure which this revelation exerts on a conscience that is not at rest; and the closer the relations are, the greater is the hatred.

"Brother will deliver brother over to death." It is Christ who brings out the true character of everyone. The tenderest ties of nature are set aside here in their hostility toward those true to Christ.

Then he describes in the most striking way the fearful breaking of all bonds and the treachery common among the Jews. "The son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house." It is a solemn thought that these are the words Jesus applies to the effect of His message of the kingdom. What an awful proof of man's evil! At the end, this state of things will bring God's final judgment on the Jews. Yet it is what the Lord tells the disciples to expect wherever this gospel is preached now.

Our Lord now promises them the most bitter persecution: "You will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes." These words are perhaps the most important in the whole chapter. They are a kind of key to the entire chapter.

The same will no doubt be true in the tribulation period, and verse 21 will have special application to that time, when even close natural relationships will be ignored because of the intensity of hatred toward the name of Christ, the true Messiah — brothers betraying brothers, fathers their children, children their parents, to be put to death. How dreadfully abnormal! Yet this will be the exposure of what is the real character of the unbelieving heart of men.

The full character of their mission is gone into — persecution, death — but the Spirit of their Father speaking in them, and a care over them which counted the hairs of their head... The full power needed would be given every moment, but the testimony would draw out the passions of men in a way that would break through every natural tie. Relations of nature divinely formed would not resist the hatred of the human heart against the testimony of God.

The testimony would draw out the passions of men in a way that would break through every natural tie. Family ties that God Himself formed would not hold out against the hatred of the human heart toward the testimony of God. All men would hate them because of Christ's name. It is a strange feeling, and only the hatred of man's heart against God can explain it!

At the same time He prepares them for the most heartless conduct toward them, even from relatives. A brother would know his brother's habits. A father would know all about his child, and the child would know all about the father. All of it would be turned against the servants of Christ.

hupomone (from hupomeno, "to sustain")… it is a "patient endurance" that does not give way under trial and suffering… Romans 15:5 traces it back to its divine source for us. Scripture never applies it to God directly, because nothing could ever test Him or press on Him. But the Lord Jesus, in the place He has taken as Man, is our perfect example in it, Hebrews 12:2-3. He "endured" the cross, and the hostility of sinners against Himself.

These words about enduring to the end, and about not finishing the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes, are perhaps the most important in the whole chapter. They are a key to the entire chapter.

The death of Christ cut the mission of the apostles short. They still carried it on for a while afterwards, but the destruction of Jerusalem ended it completely — for the time being, though not for ever. God then took up the calling of the Church. When the Lord has taken the Church out of the world to heaven, He will again raise up witnesses to the Messiah on earth, and the Jew will be converted.

Then follows a text which has troubled the peace of many a Christian, but which really belongs to the faithful few in Israel in a future day — "But the one who endures to the end will be saved." It refers to salvation when the Lord appears in judgment. Many will fall away under the delusions of that time. But when the Son of Man appears, His judgment will separate: of two in a field, one may be taken in judgment and the other spared, or "saved," to pass into eternal life on the earth under Him in the thousand years of His reign.

But the one who endures to the end will be saved. It does not matter what the end may be — a martyr's death, or the coming of Christ to the earth. As ever, the test of reality is continuance. There may indeed be failure, and even the love of many growing cold, but those that are real will endure. Peter broke down, but his faith did not fail; he continued to the end.

All these words had a special meaning for the Jewish disciples our Lord sent out. They also hold precious comfort and teaching for every true believer living today. It would be very one-sided to pass over these words of our Lord and treat them as holding no truth for us.

It is plain that the Lord, in this chapter, sends the twelve on a mission that is specifically Jewish. "Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Then He warns them of the persecutions and betrayals they were to expect. He tells them to flee from one town to another: "For truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through (or finished) all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes." That is, their mission would be broken off before it was complete — broken off by the coming of their Master... So the original Jewish mission was interrupted, and what has been well named "the Gentile parenthesis" came in. When that is over, the Lord will, I have no doubt, raise up servants at a future day to take up the word and work now left aside. Before they have finished announcing the coming kingdom through all the towns of Israel, the Son of Man will come.

This had no fulfilment in His lifetime. While He was here with them, the disciples were not persecuted in any town in the way that chapter describes. Yet they were part of the remnant of their own day. Seen in that light, He could rightly speak to them as representatives of His servants among the Jews in the future.

The explanation is that this testimony to the nearness of the kingdom has been suspended, and will be resumed at the time of the end. The disciples stand as representative men. What He said applied to them at that moment, and it will apply to others in a similar position at the end of the age. The kingdom was rejected when it was presented at that moment in Christ in person, and so the testimony was withdrawn. It will be resumed when the gathering out of the church is complete, and it will barely reach its finish when the Son of Man comes to receive and establish the kingdom, as Daniel 7 had predicted.

Preachers will bring this message to the towns of Judah, and they will be in the middle of their work when the King comes... These are the ones who stand for the testimony of Jesus in the middle of suffering beyond anything known before.

Everyone knows that it is easy to be a martyr in theory, and that those who are martyrs in theory are seldom so in practice... Faith never teaches anyone to court danger and difficulty, but to walk the path of Christ in peace and thankfulness... I dare say some of us have been struck by this: the Lord told them to flee to another town when they were persecuted in one. That is not courting martyrdom at all, but the very opposite.

Paul's service in Thessalonica was cut short by this riot, for he served in the spirit of the Lord's instruction recorded in Matthew 10:23. So they moved on to Berea.

These words had a special meaning for the Jewish disciples our Lord sent out. They also hold precious comfort and instruction for every true believer living today. Every word which our God and Father has been pleased to give us has a meaning for us.

"It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his Lord." "If they have called" (or nicknamed — it is more a surname or nickname) "the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household?" There you have the relation of the disciple to the teacher, the relation of the servant to his Lord, and of those who live in his house to the master. They should not be surprised at how they were treated, once they thought about what the Teacher, the Lord, the Master received.

This word means strictly "a learner" or "pupil." … When large crowds followed the Lord, He turned to them and told them to count the cost of really following Him. Such a person must hate (compared with Christ) all his natural relations and his own life too. He must take up his cross and follow Christ, and he must give up all that he had, or he could not be His disciple. Luke 14:26-33. … It was true association in heart with a rejected Christ. Matt. 10:24-25; John 15:8.

He was going through this Himself now, and they would have to feel it in their turn. "So have no fear of them." The first reason not to fear is this: I have walked the same path; do not be afraid.

This work of grace kept going, and it even spread wider. Yet He warned the twelve ahead of time that they should not expect their message to be received.

If they had called the Master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they call those of His household. Beelzebul means the "lord of the dwelling" — the Satanic "master of the house," who made people possessed by demons his home. Yet the One they called this was the rightful Master, the One stronger than the strong, who set the poor captives free (Matt. 12:29).

What is the measure and standard in God's school? It is enough for a disciple to become like the teacher. It is enough for the servant to become like his Lord, the teacher. Too high? This is what the Teacher and Lord has in mind for disciples, Matthew 10:24-25.

What corruption there is in Christendom, a loud contradiction of Christianity! Men turn the service of the Lord into worldly rank and wealth. They compete with the pride of life and claim to be above their rivals — and they do it in the name of the Crucified One. He had nowhere here to lay His head, and He laid down that it is enough for the disciple to be as his teacher, and a servant as his lord.

You remember what the Lord said to His followers: "It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his lord" (Matt. 10:25). So if you are faithful to the Lord Jesus, you may be sure of this. Your path is where the light shines: (1) suffering in this world for Christ's sake; (2) glory to come with Christ on high.

"It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master." "If they have called" (or surnamed — it is more a surname or nickname) "the master of the house Beelzebul…" You have there the relation of the disciple to the teacher, the relation of the servant to his Lord, and of the members of his house to the master. They ought not to be surprised at how people treated them when they thought what the Teacher, the Lord, the Master got.

The meaning of this word is much disputed. Some connect it with BAAL-ZEBUB, "lord of the fly," in the Old Testament, but others believe it to be a term of contempt meaning "lord of dung." The Jews made the blasphemous charge that the Lord cast out demons by Beelzebul (as it should be spelled). They call him "the prince of the demons." That makes their meaning clear: the head of those demons was enabling the Lord to cast them out.

Beelzebul means the "lord of the dwelling" — the Satanic "master of the house," who made the demon-possessed his home. They called Him this who was the lawful Master, the One stronger than the strong, who set the poor captives free (Matt. 12:29). What, then, would they call the men of His household?

First of all our Lord speaks of the position of the disciple… The position of the disciple, according to these words, is identification of the closest kind with his Lord.

They would have to bear the consequences of their Master's rejection. That rejection was not just the dislike people feel for an enlightened reformer. It was the expression of the enmity of man's heart against God — against God shown in goodness… As they carried on the testimony and the power, the same hostility that people had shown against Jesus would come against them.

He was proving this now, and they would have to feel it in their turn. "Fear them not therefore." The first reason for not fearing is this: I have travelled the same path. Do not be afraid… As it was with Me, so will it be with you. But do not be alarmed. Be full of good courage, and persevere in the testimony.

So you may be sure that if you are faithful to the Lord Jesus, your path is where the light shines: (1) suffering in this world for Christ's sake; (2) glory to come with Christ on high.

"So have no fear of them." The first motive for not fearing is this: I have travelled the same path; do not be afraid. "Have no fear of them… for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known." He means: you will understand the reasons and motives of people's unbelief another day, if not now. Everyone who knows the truth and does not follow it must dislike those who do. As it was with Me, so will it be with you: but do not be alarmed. Be full of good courage, and persevere in the testimony.

And now He speaks the word which is to calm their fears: "Fear not." What meaning it has coming from such lips! Angels spoke the word "Fear not" long ago. They are only creatures sent with a message from the Throne. But the One who speaks here is the Creator Himself, made a little lower than the angels He had created… He tells them of the day when everything will be uncovered, and the secret things made known. This fact is to be before them, and before us, every day. Let us learn to look at all things in the light of the judgment seat! "Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God" (1 Corinthians 4:5). In view of this revelation of the secret things our Lord tells us to be bold and to declare the whole counsel of God.

Three great principles are here presented. First, the great general truth: man can keep nothing secret, though it may seem so. He can hide nothing. All must be in the light. God must have the upper hand, and light will win. Second, we must give an account of ourselves to God. Third, we are not to fear the secret schemes of men. We are to fear God, and bear witness according to the light given to us. To say that man can hide nothing is still not strong enough. There is nothing secret that will not be brought to light.

This is a very important principle. It upholds the authority of God as light. If anything could be kept back from that light, it would escape His power and judgment, and evil would go on independent of Him. It also upholds integrity of conscience.

They may well trust the strength of His own word: "have no fear of them." Their falsehood may seem to win for a time. But it will be fully exposed, to their own shame. Truth will win its complete victory in the end.

They themselves were to hold nothing back. They were to proclaim on the housetops all that they had been taught. God would bring everything into the light — their faithfulness to Him in this, as well as everything else. This answered the secret plotting of their enemies. It was also to mark the ways of the disciples themselves. God is light, and He sees in darkness as clearly as in light. He will bring everything out into the light. They were to do this now, in the way they lived.

All this is to keep the conscience in the light before God. Where there is anxiety about being exposed before other believers, shame before men still rules the heart and will. Self-love and reputation govern the mind. We are not in the light before God. Sin does not have its right character in our eyes. The reason is that self still has its power and place.

"So have no fear of them." The first reason not to fear is this: I have travelled the same path; do not be afraid… As it was with Me, so it will be with you. But do not be alarmed. Be full of good courage, and persevere in the testimony. "What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops" (v. 27). He encourages them to the greatest openness and boldness.

What the Lord spoke to them in darkness (that is, privately) they were to speak in the light, for it was the truth that men needed. In the same way, what we learn today in quiet communion with the Lord we are to declare with the boldness of honest faith. These things must not be just our opinions, but what the Lord speaks.

The Lord speaks of the disciples publishing on the housetop what He had told them privately. Matt. 10:27; Luke 12:3. You can often see this way of proclaiming in the East, when the public crier calls out from the housetop the news he has to make known.

They were His witnesses. What He told them in the darkness they were to preach in the light. What they heard whispered they must proclaim on the housetops (Matt. 10:27). The essence of Christ's gospel was its publicity, and also, as was later developed, its universality. Its ultimate scope was to all men and not to a few only.

They themselves were to hold nothing back. They were to proclaim on the housetops all that they had been taught. For everything should be brought into the light — their faithfulness to God in this respect, as well as all other things… God, who is light, and sees in darkness as in light, would bring all out into the light. But they were to do this in practice now.

Accordingly, Jehovah, in commissioning Jeremiah to be His prophet, said to him, "Whatever I command you, you shall speak" (Jer. 1:7). Also, the Lord, when sending out the twelve Apostles, said to them, "What you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops" (Matt. 10:27; Luke 12:3). The Apostle Paul writes in one of his letters, "I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you" (1 Cor. 11:23).

The glory of Christianity is AN OPEN BIBLE. Freemasonry, by contrast, has secret signs, and the lodges write their ritual in a secret code. Our Lord tells us that every secret will be revealed. He instructed His disciples: "What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops." (Matt. 10:27)

They were to expect insults. They were not above their Master, whom their enemies had already called Beelzebub. Their part was to trust God, whatever the hidden plots of their enemies... They were not to fear. First, they should fear Him who could cast body and soul into hell far more than those who can only kill the body. But besides, without their Father — Him who guarded them as a Father — not a sparrow fell to the ground. They had more value in His eye than many sparrows.

The coin called the "assarion" had two values, and we must allow for local differences. But the "two farthings" would be worth about one penny of our money. Matthew stresses how small the coin was that bought two sparrows; Luke stresses how many birds you got for it.

The sparrow was so worthless that if a customer bought two farthings' worth, an extra bird would be thrown in! Then the disciples were reminded that they were of more value than many sparrows and that the very hairs of their head were all numbered.

We learn our Father's special, detailed care for His own children from this: the sparrow, a bird people despise as worth nothing, cannot fall to the ground "apart from your Father." He could have said, Without God. But He said, Your Father — and a father's love is concerned for his children.

God is so great that He can take notice of these little things. He is great in great things and great in little things. Such a small thing, and it seems so worthless — yet your Father notices it!

The God who rolled the mountains together, laid valleys, seas, and rivers in their places, and calls all the stars by name, so that not one fails — this is the God who loves me!... This same God spans the heavens and measures the sea in the hollow of His hand. Yet He describes Himself as the One who notices the falling sparrow and counts the hairs of His people's heads.

Although most people are unaware of it, God takes a deep interest in all His creatures... People, nations and cities all come under the watchful eye of God. He cares for His saints in a special way, but His goodness in providing for His creation and His rule over it are always plain to those who have eyes to see.

It is important to take everything from the Father's hand. It is just as important to look at the trials of others the same way — saying to a tested Christian, "If not a sparrow falls without the Father, how could you be in this trial without the Father?" What a difference it makes to look at things from the heavenly side.

Not a sparrow falls to the ground without our Father, and He assures us we are of value to Him. He makes no mistakes, and there is nothing that escapes His eye and hand.

They were to expect reproach; they were not above their Master... Their part was to trust God, whatever the hidden plots of their enemies... They were not to fear. First, they should fear Him who could cast body and soul into hell much more than those who can do nothing but kill the body. But besides, without their Father — Him who guarded them as a Father — not a sparrow fell to the ground. They had more value in His eye than many sparrows. Lastly, whoever confessed Jesus before men, Jesus would confess him before the angels of His Father. These are the three motives that He gives for firmness.

One of the features that sets God apart is this. He cares for great things and arranges them — the ordering of the solar system, the sequence of the seasons. He also provides for small things — marking the fall of the sparrow, or numbering the hairs of the heads of His saints. The great men of the earth are too small to look after small things — they are not big enough. How different our God is! He is great enough to sustain the universe. He is also great enough to come down in fullest sympathy to the wants and troubles of His lowliest creature.

And no detail of your life is too small for His notice. When He told His disciples that the hairs of their heads were numbered, He meant it. And if you will have it that His language was figurative, so be it. But it simply means that those details of your life that are too insignificant for your notice do not escape His.

Notice, in one place He says, "Fear him," and a little later He says, "Fear not." There is no contradiction. Oh, no! In the first, it is the holy fear of a child, afraid of doing what would pain or grieve the Lord. In the second, you have the sense of the care of God... He puts the care of God, in its exact detail, in a very touching way: "But even the hairs of your head are all numbered." That is the deeply blessed interest God has in us. His eye is upon us with all the tender affection of a Father's love... If you had this sense, you could leave everything with God.

God's rule now does not keep the righteous from suffering, and least of all from suffering for the name of Christ. But the Lord watches over him. Not a sparrow falls to the ground without our Father. It seems strange to us to hear, "Some of you they will put to death … But not a hair of your head will perish."

The children of God, if they were in the power of this truth, would also be far less restless and anxious in times of sickness. God may allow us to use remedies, but how often we use them in unbelief! We act as if our recovery depended only on human help and advice. Surely if a sparrow cannot fall on the ground without the permission of our Father, His children cannot. No, the very hairs of our heads are all numbered, and God is honoured by our perfect calm and confidence in the face of the greatest dangers.

A second reason not to fear is on other grounds: and what harm can they do? They cannot touch the soul; nor can they even touch the body unless your heavenly Father allows it. "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul." They cannot injure you. There is nothing a believer has to dread, except grieving and sinning against God.

In Palestine sparrows are plentiful. Five of them were sold for two pennies. Yet the Lord said that not one of them fell without His Father's knowledge, and He added, "you are of more value than many sparrows." If God cares for the birds — and the word used here is the small form, a little bird — surely He will care for His own beloved ones.

This is where we learn our Father's special, detailed care for His own children. Men despise the sparrow as a worthless bird, yet it cannot fall to the ground "apart from your Father." He might have said, Without God. But He said, Your Father — and a father's love is concerned for his children.

"Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." We must listen to the Lord in John 17 to get some idea of what we are worth. God could have created a far better world than this one for each saint, better in man's eyes, and perhaps more glorious than this world was at creation. But what would all of that be next to what He has given us in Christ? And we have even more than this — yes, the love of Him who gave it all.

Here the heart is taught not only to fear God, but also to trust Him — it is not only warned, but also calmed. "Fear," and "fear not," may seem a contradiction to flesh and blood; but to faith it is no contradiction. The man who fears God most will fear circumstances least. The man of faith is the most dependent man in the world, and at the same time the most independent. He depends on God, and not on circumstances.

We only have to do what we are told in His Word, and leave the consequences to Him. He is well able to take care of His own interests, and nothing left in His hands can go wrong. Our difficulty is that we get nervous about ourselves, and wonder what is going to happen to us... A sparrow cannot fall to the ground apart from our Father; and we are of more value than many sparrows. If He is determined to keep us here for Himself, an army of murderers could have no power against us. And if it were His blessed will that we should seal with our blood the testimony entrusted to us, what does it matter? "Whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's" (Rom. 14:8).

We have had the Father's care; now we come to the Son's confession, which is still to come. The Father's care we know on earth, whatever the trial may be. The Son's confession of us will be in heaven, when the whole scene of trial is over.

From verse 32 to the end of the chapter, we have the importance of the confession of Christ, and the effects of it in this world. We have had the Father's care; we have now the Son's confession by and by. The Father's care we know upon earth, whatever may be the trial. The Son's confession of us will be in heaven, when all the scene of trial is over.

Everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ and confesses with the mouth that Jesus is Lord, such a person confesses Him before men. This confession of Him is ever to increase, not only with the lips but in the conduct and the life. So every true believer is a confessor of Jesus as Lord, and the Lord in His day will confess him before His Father.

Matthew 10:32 does not refer specially to the act of baptism. Our whole life should be a testimony for Christ. The Christian himself is "the epistle of Christ, known and read of all men."

The Lord sees the difficulties they will meet, and cheers them by saying, "If you confess Me before men, I will confess you before the angels of God." And notice how the Lord knows how to put His finger on the very point of the difficulty: "If you confess Me before men." It is not whether they could think of Him in their private rooms. Of course they could do that, if they cared for Him at all. But that is not it. Do they "confess Me before men?" Sadly, how often we cannot find courage to confess Christ openly "before men," when we can do it in private. But this is simply a test of how far the fear of man has more power over our souls than God.

Ungodliness betrays itself not only in the unwillingness of the heart to believe, but in the cowardice of the soul to confess the Lord (Rev. 21:8). So we see here that "many even of the authorities believed in Him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue." Their moral reason was this: they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God... But we must not forget this: "with the heart one believes and is justified, with the mouth one confesses and is saved" (Rom. 10:10). God makes much of confession of His Son.

To be valued so greatly by the Father surely calls for a fitting response on our part — that response of fearlessly confessing Christ before men. He is far more than worthy of this. But this too will bring a response from the Lord Jesus, in confessing before His Father the one who confessed Him before men. Wonderful honour indeed given to the wholehearted believer!

But they must confess Christ before men. Whoever confessed Him before men, He also would confess before His Father in heaven. But whoever denied Him, He also would deny before His Father — He could not now say their Father — in heaven. Grace never sets aside the holiness of God, but shapes us to meet its conditions. At the same time, God's holiness does not set aside grace, which always receives the one who repents. The chief of the apostles gives us the illustration of this.

Are there any of you who are hesitating between two opinions, and afraid to confess what you owe to the Lord? Oh, I once more urge you to be honest. Be open, be decided, confess Christ's name on earth, and He will not be ashamed to confess your name before the whole assembled universe.

From verse 32 to the end of the chapter, we have the importance of confessing Christ, and the effects of it in this world… We have had the Father's care. Now we have the Son's confession, later on. We know the Father's care on earth, whatever the trial may be. The Son's confession of us will be in heaven, when all the scene of trial is over.

It is not whether they could think of Him in private. Of course they could do that, if they cared for Him at all. But that is not the point. Do they "confess me before men?" How often we cannot find the courage to confess Christ openly "before men," when we can do it alone at home! This is a simple test of how far the fear of man has more power over our souls than God.

Ungodliness shows itself not only in a heart that refuses to believe, but in a soul too cowardly to confess the Lord (Revelation 21:8). We see it here: "many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue." And the reason is plain: they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

To deny Christ, we understand to mean not a sudden fall into temptation, like Peter, but a total and absolute denial. It shows that, whatever a person claimed before, there had never been any reality in the soul… So here Christ will deny those who deny Him. That is, He will reject them finally and completely.

Grace never sets aside the holiness of God; it brings us into line with what that holiness requires. And God's holiness does not set aside grace, which always receives the one who repents. The leading apostle gives us the illustration of this.

Men do not stop to consider the solemn horror and dishonesty of denying the Son of God the rights that are His alone. This is not only an insult to Him, but also to His Father. The name of His beloved Son is precious to Him beyond all we can imagine.

God would cease to be God, if He went along with the dishonour of His Son.

Whoever confessed Him before men, He would also confess before His Father in heaven. And whoever denied Him, He would also deny before His Father — He could not now say their Father — in heaven.

Dear friends, stand forward for Him. Do not be ashamed to own your relationship to Him, your dependence on Him… confess Him before men, and act for Him, and live for Him in a godless world. He is not ashamed to call you brothers. Will you be ashamed to confess Him as your Lord and Master in front of the whole world? … Make the plunge, and trust God for the outcome. I know it by experience, that an open bold confession of being Christ's is more than half the struggle over.

Then He warns them that their testimony may have a very painful result — homes thrown into confusion, family members set against one another. Do not be surprised... We know that the Lord can give us peace at all times and in every way. But here He is speaking about His testimony going out through His disciples into a world that hates Him. So the two are bound to collide. He does not want confusion. It is the natural effect when the knowledge of Christ enters a house where some of its members reject Him.

The prophet Micah describes the moral corruption of his day. He says that all trust between friends, and even between husband and wife, had completely vanished... The gospel of Matthew shows the same state of things, but this time it follows the presentation of Christ... When Christ is set before people, they either receive Him or reject Him. So He brings not peace but a sword. It draws out of those who refuse Him all the enmity and all the hidden corruption of the human heart, both against Christ and against His followers... Sons have betrayed their fathers, and parents their children, and in this way the Lord's words have often been fulfilled in the history of the Church — that a person's enemies will be those of his own household.

The closest relationships made no difference, and neither did sex, age, or youth. Grace works freely, according to the sovereign will of God. In the same way man's hatred spares no one, and it shows up in the most unlikely places... So it is solemn to find that the evil had already come before the days the prophet spoke of. The presence of Divine love in the person of Jesus provokes it.

If man had been what he ought to be, the result would have been peace. But man saw no beauty in Christ to desire Him, and the effect was hatred — not peace, but a sword. The nearer the relation, the deeper the grievance... Yet the division that grace brings has this strange mark. The one in a family who turns to Christ usually becomes, at once, the slave of the rest. Such cases turn nature itself upside down. How often a husband or parent loses his authority!

Peace on earth waits until He appears in glory. Meanwhile the ground of that peace has been laid in divine righteousness. In the richest way the same ground has been laid for peace in heaven, and for peace where we needed it most — by the blood of the Cross.

There must be a decision as regards Christ. If one loves father or mother, son or daughter more than Him, he is not worthy of Him. He cannot take a secondary place to any natural relationship. For any mere man to demand this would be wickedness. But this Man is the eternal God. He is worthy of unconditional worship, and every creature owes Him absolute obedience.

Many tensions arise when one member of a family turns to the Lord and the others oppose him. He meets a lack of understanding, sometimes open acts of hostility, and in some countries even persecution. How thankful we should be if God has granted us the grace of a close family, where each member loves the Lord and seeks to serve Him!

The Lord has warned us in advance about the effect of His coming and testimony — not its purpose. That effect would be strife, dividing even the nearest and most precious natural relationships (Matt. 10:34-37).

When Christ is presented to people, they either receive Him or reject Him. So He brings not peace but a sword. It draws out from those who refuse Him all the enmity, all the hidden corruption of the human heart — both against Christ and against His followers.

Here the Lord says, "And a person's enemies will be those of his own household" — words not repeated in the other gospels. The word here is oikiakos, which comes from oikia. It is used again, in line with the meaning of oikia, in verse 25 of the same chapter in Matthew: "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master." If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of His household (oikiakos)?

The cup of the Lord was full of bitterness. He endured not only the hostility of sinners against Himself, but also the mistaken and evil judgments of His own relatives. He walked that path first, ahead of all others — the path where, as He warned His disciples, a person would find enemies inside his own household.

The Lord is alluding to the prophecy of Micah, who describes in similar terms the worst evil of the last days (Micah 7:6). It is solemn to find, then, that the evil had already come before the days the prophet spoke of arrive. And the presence of divine love in the person of Jesus provokes it. This could not be if men were not thoroughly bad; but Jesus is the Truth, and therefore brings everything to a head.

Peace on earth was not the word now, but hostility in the closest relationships. Owning the Lord is intolerable to man. The closer the relationship, the greater the hostility.

There is this peculiar feature in the division that grace brings in. The one who is converted in a family generally becomes, at once, the servant of the rest. Such cases even turn nature upside down. How often a husband or parent loses his authority in this way!

The powerful ties of family relationship will not be enough to hold people together when Christ becomes the object of anyone in the family. A person's enemies will be those of his own household. And this becomes the test of being wholly for Him.

What is happier than a Christian home, where Christ is owned as Lord? It is a little foretaste of that heavenly home. There nothing can intrude to spoil our eternal peace, because nothing can interfere with Christ's absolute control. Contrast this with the divided house, where the world is allowed in.

Now this becomes one of our severest trials — the effect that the testimony of God has upon families. People speak of households being broken up and relatives divided. The Lord already uses the same words and strengthens us for it.

There must be a decision as regards Christ. If one loves father or mother, son or daughter more than Him, he is not worthy of Him. He cannot take a secondary place to any natural relationship. For any mere man to demand this would be wickedness. But this Man is the eternal God. He is worthy of unconditional worship, and entitled to the absolute obedience of every creature.

No human tie should have a superior claim to that of the Lord Jesus. And in the words quoted, He had in view a case where family authority sought to override His word as Master. Even a government does not let a parent's claims or a child's duties release a subject from loyalty to the Crown. It does not shield a criminal from justice either. Must the Lord of all ask less than this from the subjects of His kingdom?

There is no hardness in the Christian or in Christ. When it is the service of God and faithfulness, we must not regard father or mother. The Lord sent His mother away whenever she came to Him during His service. It is not the destruction of natural affection, but the superiority of Christ — God coming in — or else it is idolatry.

There is only one case in which the Lord shows the necessity of forsaking father and mother, and that is when the child is commanded to forsake Christ. In every other case it is sin against Him. He is the One who said long ago, "Honor your father and your mother," and who also said through the apostle, "Children, obey your parents." When father or mother, or wife, or life itself, comes into competition with Christ, then all must be "hated"; the disciple must bear the cross and follow Him.

Luke 14:26 — It is the first of our Gospels, notice, that softens the language here ("hate"). The Greek word for "hate" means to renounce the claims or influence of the person or thing concerned. Compare Matthew 10:37, "Whoever loves father or mother more than me."

The world is against Him. He puts forth no power to subdue it, and no power even to shelter His people from the vengeful hatred He predicts. Yet He claims from all who will be His disciples the most complete devotion a man could show. He is to be dearer than the dearest, nearer than those bound to us by the closest ties. And under that constraint they are to follow Him as the perfect, supreme example of everything highest a person can reach: to be "worthy of Him" is to be their whole ambition!

The first hints our Lord gave His disciples about bearing the cross were in no way vague or ambiguous. This saying is not a mere isolated statement either — from verse 16 of the chapter to the end, the whole passage runs on the persecution that would fall on His faithful witnesses. He, the Lord of the harvest, was sending out His labourers into the harvest. He warns them ahead of time of the enormous opposition they would meet. It would come from those who oppose every new thing out of sheer stubbornness. It would come from the powers that be — governors and kings. Hardest of all to bear, it would come from their nearest relatives: fathers, mothers and children.

There is no service to Christ which is without a cross… He said this to the twelve in particular, as servants of God. Yet in principle it is true of every disciple's service.

It seems to me that Scripture ties the cross above all to shame and disgrace. The cross itself was a cruel and shameful heathen way of putting a man to death. Even the heathen kept it for the very worst. It seemed to say: here is a wretch whose feelings count for nothing. His sufferings can be dragged out to frighten others away from doing what he has done.

As the other Gospels show, the Lord had used expressions like "taking his cross" and "bearing his cross" as pictures of one truth: His disciple must be ready to come under the death sentence of the world.

Christ did not say, "And whoever does not bear My cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple." That would mean perfection of reproach, and would imply perfection of walk. But every believer, in his own measure, suffers reproach. It is the same character as Christ's, and so it is called a cross; but it is his cross, not Christ's. Every disciple bears his cross. But God forbid that he should glory in it. He glories only "in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Gal. 6:14).

People use the word for every kind of trial and suffering, without distinction. Unbelievers use it, and others use it about unbelievers. Yet using the language of Scripture, it is clear that no unbeliever bears a cross. The world loves its own; it does not hate them (John 15:19)… It is the reproach of Christ. Only one thing earns the name cross: the suffering or reproach that flows from man's unjust judgment on what is like Christ in us.

For any mere man to demand this would be wickedness. But this Man is the eternal God, worthy of unconditional worship, and entitled to the absolute obedience of every creature… Christ has willingly accepted the cross of mankind's rejection for our sake. Every disciple of His is therefore to take his own cross. That is, he chooses to identify himself with the rejected Christ of God, and to follow Him in this path of rejection. He expects no recognition from the world, but reproach instead.

This worthiness does not refer to standing before God. Forgiveness of sins and acceptance with God rest on grace alone, never on merit of any kind (Eph. 2:8). The point is not relationship but discipleship… To dodge the cross is to forfeit the title of a worthy witness for the Lord Jesus in the world.

If the Lord was going to make those who followed Him take up the cross, He had to bear it Himself. He went ahead of His sheep in this path of self-denial and devotedness, to prepare the way. He went alone.

Of all His wonderful words in the Gospels, this is the only one I know of that comes back, with slight changes, no less than six times. Read these passages: Matthew 10:39; 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24; 17:33... So He pressed this truth home four times: when He sent out His twelve disciples; just before His transfiguration; when giving a prophetic talk not long before the end of His ministry; and within a few days of His death.

The Lord boldly meets the case. I have come to bring in My principle, and it sets child against parent... He shows that His coming would bring the opposite to a path of ease in this world. Yes, we must make up our minds to suffer trial, rejection and scorn.

The word translated "life" here is usually translated "soul." It refers to that "soul life" which marks man in his natural fallen condition. The soul is not the same as the spirit. The spirit is the higher part of a person, able to put him in intelligent touch with God. The soul is the seat of our natural desires and longings. So "soul life" is the life of enjoying all the things that naturally appeal to us.

In the world to come, the finding and losing of the soul in this present world are turned around. There the finding becomes losing, and the losing becomes finding. The man who makes himself the object of his life loses himself and is cast away. The man who sacrifices self and its interests for Christ's sake is really keeping everything safe for the world to come... And you do not have to lay down your life as a martyr for this to apply. Can only those who die a martyr's death live for ever?

The Lord goes on to declare the reward, connecting it with the conditions He has already laid down. "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life" — not simply as having done this, but — "for My sake, will find it." This is not a rule of harsh self-denial, or anything like that. It is His love ruling in the face of a hostile world.

So if the cross had to be His portion, His followers must accept the cross too. For Him the cross meant atonement for sin, as well as rejection and shame. We share the rejection and shame only. But nature shrinks from this, and even resents it. Its motto (suggested by Satan) is "Spare yourself"; God's motto is "Deny yourself." Someone has truly said that Peter "at the last denied the Lord because he had not denied himself."

One who found his life — that is, chose a life of ease and comfort on earth — would only lose it. A man cannot keep what he tries so hard to hold. But suppose someone loses his life for Christ's sake, and makes Christ his object. It might cost him life's natural pleasures and aims. Yet he would find his life after all: a satisfying life of lasting value and blessing, with eternal good in view.