Chapter 20 - The Hallmarks of Discipleship—part 1 (10:24-31)

20 The Hallmarks of Discipleship—part 1 (10:24-31)

A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become as his teacher, and the slave as his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household! Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. And 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. Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows. (10:24-31)

Jesus’ most crucial and definitive teaching about discipleship, setting forth its true nature and its real demands, is presented in the remainder of this chapter. The call of the Great Commission is the call to “make disciples of all the nations” (Matt. 28:19). Disciple-making is the central work of the people of Christ’s church, the work of bringing men and women to a saving relationship to Jesus Christ and of helping them grow in His knowledge and likeness. It is what Paul calls “the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12).

When Jesus called the twelve to Himself, He carefully instructed them about what they would be expected to do and to endure. In so doing, He excluded the halfhearted people who wanted the benefits of the kingdom but not its commitments. He elected to Himself only those who were willing to enter the narrow gate and walk the narrow road.

In Matthew 10:24-42 Jesus sets forth the essence of this Christian dedication and consecration. The truths He teaches here were obviously of great importance to Him, because He repeated them frequently throughout His ministry. Like every effective teacher, He understood the importance of emphasizing and reemphasizing basic truths. Each area of study has a core of information that is absolutely foundational, and the good teacher continually goes back to that information and reinforces it.

As an aside, it should be noted that redaction criticism fails largely at that very point. Because certain biblical analysts do not recognize the validity and importance of repetitive teaching, they assume that the gospel writers pulled together various sayings of Jesus and arbitrarily decided to insert them at different places in His ministry. They maintain that we therefore cannot be sure of what Jesus actually spoke on any given occasion. But to accept the redaction critic’s view is to reject the integrity of the gospel writers and therefore of Scripture itself.

Like every good teacher, Jesus taught the same truths with many formats, in various circumstances and with various applications. The Lord is here providing the twelve apostles with the body of His basic teaching on discipleship. Using a variety of phrases and illustrations throughout His ministry, He would repeat these truths over and over again to the disciples and to the multitudes.

Because the truths of Matthew 10 are so foundational and so profound, believers who have wholeheartedly lived out these truths are the men and women who have made great marks on the world for Jesus Christ. They are the ones with total dedication, total commitment, and total obedience.

Florence Nightingale wrote in her diary: “I am thirty years of age, the age at which Christ began His mission. Now, no more childish things, no more vain things.” Years later, near the end of her heroic life of service, she was asked the secret of her ability to accomplish so much for the Lord. She replied, “I can give only one explanation, and that is this: I have kept nothing back from God.” That is exactly what Jesus is talking about in this passage—keeping nothing back from Him.

When the famous surgeon Howard A. Kelly graduated from medical school he wrote in his diary: “Today I dedicate myself, my time, my capabilities, my ambition, everything to Him. Blessed Lord, sanctify me to Thy uses; give me no worldly success which may not lead me nearer to my Saviour.”

Soon after graduating from college, Jim Elliot wrote in his diary: “God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life that I may burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life but a full one like You, Lord Jesus.” God answered that prayer, and in the flower of young manhood Jim Elliot’s life was cut short by the spear of an Auca Indian as he and several other young men sought to take the gospel deep into the jungles of Ecuador.

Jonathan Edwards, the great preacher and theologian whom God used to bring revival to colonial America, wrote:

I claim no right to myself, no right to this understanding, this will, these affections that are in me. Neither do I have any right to this body or its members, no right to this tongue, to these hands, feet, ears or eyes. I have given myself clear away and not retained anything of my own. I have been to God this morning and told Him I have given myself wholly to Him, I have given every power so that for the future I claim no right to myself in any respect. I have expressly promised Him, for by His grace I will not fail. I take Him as my whole portion and felicity, looking upon nothing else as any part of my happiness. His law is the constant rule of my obedience. I will fight with all my might against the world, the flesh and the devil to the end of my life. I will adhere to the faith of the gospel however hazardous and difficult the profession and practice of it may be. I pray God for the sake of others to look on this as self-dedication. Henceforth, I am not to act in any respect as my own. I shall act as my own if I ever make use of any of my powers to do anything that is not to the glory of God or to fail to make the glorifying of Him my whole and entire business. If I murmur in the least at affliction, if I am in any way uncharitable, if I revenge my own case, if I do anything purely to please myself or omit anything because it is a great denial, if I trust myself, if I take any praise for any good which Christ does by me, or if I am in any way proud, I shall act as my own and not God’s. But I purpose to be absolutely His.

The instruction of Matthew 10 was first of all to the twelve, not only because they were the only ones present with Jesus on this occasion but also because some of the instruction (preaching only to Israel, v. 6) was temporary and because some of it involved use of powers (healing, raising the dead, and casting out demons, v. 8) that were delegated only to them. Much of the teaching, however, applies to every disciple of Jesus Christ in every age. In verse 24 Jesus begins using the indefinite third person (“a disciple,” “a slave,” “everyone,” “whoever”) in addition to the second person “you”—clearly indicating that He is speaking about every believer, every true disciple. Jesus here teaches with the widest possible perspective. “For every person who would be My disciple,” He says, in effect, “here is what I ask. For all who follow Me, this is the cost of discipleship.”

Because Jesus refused to disguise or minimize the cost of discipleship, many would-be disciples left Him. When He made clear that to participate in the kingdom and to follow Him demanded complete identification with Him—pictured by the eating of His flesh and the drinking of His blood— “many of His disciples withdrew, and were not walking with Him anymore” (John 6:53-66). When “a certain scribe came and said to Him, ‘Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go,’” and Jesus replied, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head,” that scribe disappeared (Matt. 8:19-20). When Jesus called two other men to follow Him, one gave the excuse of having to bury his father, meaning he wanted to wait until his father died in order to receive the inheritance. The other man wanted “to say good-bye to those at home,” meaning he wanted to take care of all his family responsibilities before following Jesus. To both of them Jesus said, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:59-62). The kingdom is entered and served on God’s terms, not man’s.

Jesus’ instructions in Matthew 10:5-15 led to His warning of the dangers of discipleship (vv. 16-23), which led to His teaching about the characteristics and benefits of discipleship (vv. 24-42). He first gave instruction on how to minister and then described the reaction of the world to faithful ministry. Finally, He presented the characteristics of the faithful disciple, gave additional warnings about the cost of discipleship, and mentioned provisions God promises to make for His true disciples.

Jesus’ teaching and the gospel writers’ presentation of it are always logical and clear. Only the person who doubts either the intelligence or the integrity of Jesus and those writers can miss the purpose and progression of His instruction when it is carefully studied. Jesus was not teaching only for scholars, and the writers were not writing only for scholars. They were teaching and writing for the common man, and their purpose was not to obscure and complicate the message but to make it clear enough for the simplest believer to grasp. Only the blindness of willing unbelief can prevent a person’s understanding the way of salvation and the path of obedience.

In the remainder of the chapter (10:24-42) Jesus identifies a comprehensive definition of discipleship, in which He lists some six hallmarks. The true disciple of Jesus Christ emulates His Master; he fears God rather than the world; he confesses the Lord; he forsakes family; he follows his call; and he receives a reward.

A DISCIPLE EMULATES HIS MASTER

Jesus first presents the negative aspect of the truth (v. 24), then the positive (v. 25a), and then the consequence (v. 25b).

First, it is axiomatic that a disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. By definition, a disciple (learner) is beneath his teacher in knowledge and wisdom and a slave is beneath his master in social and economic standing. Also by definition, a disciple who is genuinely a disciple learns from his teacher, and a slave who genuinely is a slave obeys his master.

Man’s volition is represented by the figure of disciple and teacher, and God’s sovereignty is represented by that of slave and master. The two illustrations unite to emphasize that the first and most obvious principle of discipleship is submission.

From the beginning to the end of his gospel, Matthew’s purpose is to reveal Jesus as the divine King of kings, the Messiah and Son of God who came to redeem and to eventually rule the world. He is the only King, the only Messiah, the only Son of God, the only Savior and Lord. In all of those roles He demands and is deserving of total submission.

After David finally became king of Israel, there was still scattered loyalty to the family of Saul, despite that king’s poor showing as a ruler. Abner, the commander of Saul’s army, refused to recognize David as king and managed to temporarily establish Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, as ruler over part of the kingdom for a period of two years. But when Ish-bosheth made a foolish and ill-founded accusation against Abner, the commander came to his senses, finally realizing how unqualified Ish-bosheth was to rule and how foolish his own thinking had been in opposing David, God’s chosen and anointed man for leadership (see 2 Sam. 2:8-3:21).

Matthew calls the Abners of the world, as it were, to abandon their foolish allegiances to false leaders and false gods and to become subjects of Jesus Christ, God’s anointed Savior and Lord.

Second, as Jesus goes on to point out, it is also axiomatic that the purpose of a true disciple is to learn from his teacher in order to become as his teacher and that the purpose of a faithful slave is to serve and become as his master. When teaching the same truth on another occasion, Jesus said, “Everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). A disciple’s single, overriding purpose is to emulate his teacher. It is enough for him to become as his teacher, not only in the teacher’s wisdom and character but also in the teacher’s treatment. The disciple desires nothing more and settles for nothing less.

“The one who says he abides in [Christ],” John informs us, “ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked” (1 John 2:6). The function of discipleship is clearly stated in the Great Commission: “to observe all that I commanded you” (Matt. 28:20). A disciple becomes like his Christ, his Teacher, when he learns and obeys Scripture. He is one in whom the Word of Christ richly dwells (Col. 3:16). To grow in discipleship is to grow in Christlikeness, looking forward to the day when “we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2).

The logical result of being like Christ is being treated like Christ. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household. Jesus continues to develop the same truth but changes the figure from those of disciple/teacher and slave/master to that of head of the house/members of his household. Family members and servants should not expect to be treated better than the head of the family is treated.

Paul knew that to truly know Christ and the power of His resurrection involves “the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,” and that apostle desired all of those things, knowing they are inseparable (Phil. 3:10). The true disciple does not demand to be accepted and loved by the world, when His Lord was rejected and crucified by the world. He does not expect his commitment to the Lord to cause him to become famous and respected, when His Lord was considered infamous and was despised.

Beelzebul (sometimes found as “Beelzebub” or “Baalzebub”) was originally the name of a pagan Canaanite deity. The name Baalzebub probably meant “lord of the flies,” and it was later changed to Baalzebul, “lord of the dwelling.” Because he was an especially despicable deity, his name had long been used by Jews as an epithet for Satan.

Jesus’ point was that, if people called Him Satan, they would surely call His disciples the same thing. The Pharisees had already done precisely that when they accused Jesus of casting “out the demons by the ruler of the demons” (Matt. 9:34), who was often referred to as Beelzebul (Mark 3:22; cf. Matt. 12:24).

Jesus repeated this general warning to the disciples many times. As noted earlier, in one of His last discourses He told them, “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:18-19; cf. v. 20; 13:16). The day would come when the one who persecuted the disciples would actually “think that he is offering service to God” (16:2). But in reality, those who oppose and persecute Jesus’ disciples do so “because they have not known the Father” or the Lord Jesus Christ (v. 3). As Jesus had already explained, His disciples are not hated because of who they are in themselves but “on account of My name” (Matt. 10:22).

Thus the call to discipleship is the call to be like Christ, including being treated like Christ. To people who are truly seeking God, the lives of His faithful saints are beautiful and attractive. It is often the Christlike qualities of love, joy, peace, and kindness in Christians that attract unbelievers to the Lord. The more we emulate Christ, the more attractive we will become to those God is calling to Himself. But at the same time we will become more unattractive to those who reject God. Because they want nothing of Him, they will want nothing of us.

A DISCIPLE DOES NOT FEAR THE WORLD

Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. And 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. Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows. (10:26-31)

The true disciple of Jesus Christ not only emulates his Master but is also not afraid of the world. Three times in these six verses Jesus says, do not fear. In light of what He had just promised, His exhortation not to be afraid was in order. He had told the disciples He was sending them out as sheep in the midst of wolves, that they would be tried and scourged in Jewish courts, “brought before governors and kings” for His sake, delivered up in various ways, betrayed by their families, hated and persecuted by the world in general, and called satanic (vv. 16-25).

We are warned in Proverbs that “the fear of man brings a snare” (29:25). Fear of what people may think, say, or do has strangled many testimonies and hindered much service in the Lord’s name. Human nature wants to avoid problems and conflicts, especially if they might bring ridicule and hardship. People do not naturally want to be thought little of or mistreated, and even less to suffer or die. Christians who have fallen prey to today’s great emphasis on self-preservation find it especially difficult to confront sinful society with the demands and standards of the gospel. Our culture has produced an unacceptable “softness” among evangelicals.

Continued refusal to confront the world gives strong evidence that a professed believer may not belong to Christ at all. “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him,” John says. “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world” (1 John 2:15-16).

But every believer, like Peter warming himself in the courtyard while Jesus was on trial, at times finds it difficult to speak out for the Lord for fear of being considered foolish, backward, extremist, unsophisticated, obtrusive, or strange.

Because criticism, abuse, and danger would become frequent companions of the apostles, Jesus repeatedly exhorted them not to be afraid (see, e. g., Matt. 14:27; 28:10; Luke 12:32; John 14:27). At this time Jesus gave three reasons for His followers not to be afraid: their vindication by God, their veneration of God, and their valuation by God.

VINDICATION BY GOD

First, believers should never be afraid of the world because they know God will one day vindicate them. Therefore looks back to what Jesus had said in verse 25. Although God’s children will be mistreated and accused of being wicked and even demonic, Jesus says, do not fear them, that is, those who cause you trouble. For looks forward, introducing the promise that in the end God will make everything right. All truth and goodness and all falsehood and wickedness will be seen for what they really are.

The world is highly successful at illusion and deception. It can make an impressive and convincing case for sin by covering it over with seemingly good motives and helpful benefits. The world puts the best face on wickedness and the worst face on righteousness. But the Lord has decreed that there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. The world’s wickedness will be shown for what it is, and believers’ righteousness will be shown for what it is. God has bound Himself to vindicate His children.

We should not be concerned about what the world says now but about what God will say at the final day. When the Lord returns, He “will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God” (1 Cor. 4:5). What greater motive could we have for faithfully serving the Lord and fearlessly facing the world? Why should we worry about unpopularity in this life when we know we will be fully vindicated in the next? Paul calls this great coming event “the revealing of the sons of God” (Rom. 8:19) and “the freedom of the glory of the sons of God” (8:21; cf. 1 Tim. 5:24-25).

“Now no one after lighting a lamp covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed,” Jesus said; “but he puts it on a lampstand, in order that those who come in may see the light” (Luke 8:16). When God gives truth to declare, the business of Christians is to make it known, not to hide it—just as one day God Himself will instantly and perfectly make every truth known. In view of what is coming, it is both faithless and shortsighted to hide the light now in order to avoid criticism and persecution.

With mock encouragement Solomon wrote, “Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes.” He then added, “Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things” (Eccles. 11:9). “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person” (12:13).

The disciple’s perspective should be God’s perspective. In His eternal view He already sees the final outcome of every life. Those in the world’s eyes who now look like winners will turn out to be losers, and those who seem to be losers will be winners.

There are to be no secrets in Christianity. What the Lord has, in effect, revealed to us in the darkness we are to speak in the light; and what has been whispered in [our] ear we are to proclaim upon the housetops.

Fraternal orders and lodges that have secret rites and ceremonies have no part in the work of Christ’s kingdom, no matter how much they may try to defend their religious purposes and standards. All spiritual and moral truth that man needs to know and can know, God has already fully made known; and His desire is for that truth to be proclaimed, not hidden. Christians are not elite defenders of man-made secrets but bold proclaimers of God-given truth. Secrecy has no part in the gospel.

As His followers study, meditate, and pray over God’s Word in solitude and in the company of fellow believers, God opens up His truth to their hearts and minds. But what is learned in those places of figurative darkness, hidden from the world, the child of God is then to speak in the light of open proclamation. What we figuratively hear whispered in [our] ear we are then to proclaim upon the housetops.

During New Testament times Jewish rabbis would often train their students to speak by standing beside them and whispering in their ears. What the student heard whispered he would then speak aloud. What the Lord has, in effect, whispered in our ears through His Word we are to speak aloud to the world, holding nothing back. What the Lord has made known to us, we are to make known to others.

In Jesus’ day a person shouting from housetops could be heard for a great distance. Both official and personal announcements were often publicized by that means. The objective of shouting from the housetop was to be heard by as many people as possible. The Talmud tells of rabbis blowing trumpets from housetops to announce the beginning of religious holidays. A modern remnant of that practice is the announcement of Muslim prayer times from high in a minaret.

Making God’s truth known includes teaching the so-called hard sayings of Scripture. We are not to be needlessly offensive, and never offensive in our approach or attitude. But when the fullness of God’s revelation is taught, the world will invariably be offended, because it will stand accused. Fallen man does not like to hear that he is fallen; sinful man does not like to face the reality that he is sinful; rebellious man does not like to be told that he is God’s enemy. Those are truths that Jesus and the apostles never refused to proclaim, and it was because they boldly taught such truths that the world rejected and persecuted them.

The world shows little objection to a gospel that is only “positive,” that only mentions God’s offers of peace, joy, and blessing. An unbeliever is not offended by those elements of the gospel, true as they are. But he is terribly offended when he is told that he is a sinner under God’s judgment and destined for hell.

John 3:16-17 is often only partially preached and taught. That God loves the world, sent His Son to save the world rather than judge the world, and saves everyone who believes in the Son is not the total truth of the passage. Implicit in verse 16 and explicit in verse 18 is the truth that apart from such faith a person will perish, because “he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the “name of the only begotten Son of God.”

VENERATION OF GOD

And 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. (10:28)

The second do not fear has to do with those who kill the body. The harm they do is only temporary. We should instead fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Fear is used here in two senses. The first has to do with fright and terror, while the second has to do with awe and veneration.

There may be a price to pay for speaking God’s truth in the light and proclaiming it from the housetops. As Paul determined to go to Jerusalem despite many warnings from his friends, “a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. And coming to us,” Luke reports, “he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, ‘This is what the Holy Spirit says: “In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles”’”(Acts 21:10-11). When his friends began crying at the news, Paul said, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus” (v. 13). Paul had no fear of those who could only kill the body. He had already said, “Neither count I my life dear unto myself” (Acts 20:24, KJV).

Such people, however, and even Satan himself, are unable to kill the soul. Physical death is the full extent of the harm they can bring us; they cannot touch the soul, the eternal person. Even the bodies they destroy will one day be resurrected and become imperishable (1 Cor. 15:42).

It should be made clear that destroy does not here mean annihilation. The lost will not cease to exist, but in their resurrected bodies “will go away into eternal punishment,” just as the saved in their resurrected bodies will go into “eternal life” (Matt. 25:46). The word behind destroy (appolumi) does not convey the notion of extinction but of great loss or ruin. Paul uses the same term in 2 Thessalonians 1:9, where he speaks of “eternal destruction”—a phrase that would not make sense if “destruction” meant annihilation, which by definition cannot be eternal. That which is annihilated ceases to exist.

Jesus’ point here is that the only fear a believer should have is of Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell; and only God can do that. In the last days Satan himself will be cast into hell, which is the Lord’s domain, not Satan’s.

But this fear is not that of terror or fright, but of reverential awe and honor. It is not that a believer is in danger of having his soul and body cast into hell, because his eternal destiny is heaven. God’s ability to destroy both soul and body in hell is mentioned here only to contrast His unlimited and permanent power with Satan’s limited and temporary power. God is the only One who can determine and bring to pass the destiny of souls and bodies.

Reverence of God in His sovereign majesty is a powerful motivation for Christians to serve Him and to be fearless of any earthly, physical consequences that service may bring. The power of human threats seems rather puny in comparison to the power of God’s promises.

When Hugh Latimer was preaching one day in the presence of King Henry VIII, he reports that he said to himself, “Latimer! Latimer! Remember that the king is here; be careful what you say.” Then he said to himself, “Latimer! Latimer! Remember that the King of kings is here; be careful what you do not say.” For such unflinching faithfulness Latimer was eventually burned at the stake. But He feared failing God more than he feared offending men.

Over a period of some 300 years of terrible persecution, ten generations of Christians dug nearly 600 miles of catacombs beneath and around the city of Rome. Archaeologists estimate that perhaps a total of 4 million bodies were buried there. A common inscription found in the catacombs is the sign of the fish, the Greek word for which (ichthus) was used as an acrostic for “Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Savior.” Another common inscription found there is “The Word of God is not bound.” During the most prolonged period of persecution in the history of the church, those believers revered God more than they feared man:

Since that day, many more millions have given their lives for the cause of Christ. Perhaps as many as 50 million believers were martyred during the Dark Ages, and millions more have been martyred in our own century, largely by communist regimes in Europe, Asia, and Africa. As is said of Lord Lawrence on his memorial in Westminster Abbey, they feared man so little because they feared God so much. In many other countries, state religions prohibit Christian missionary and evangelistic work and seriously restrict worship by those who are already Christians.

The faithful disciple values his soul immeasurably more than he values his body, and he will gladly sacrifice that which is only physical and corruptible for the sake of that which is spiritual and incorruptible. Jim Elliot, mentioned earlier in the chapter, wrote, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

Jesus’ warning in verse 28 may have been specially directed at Judas, as an early appeal for him to consider that the God he rejected was able to destroy both his soul and his body in hell. Beyond that, it stands as a continuing warning to the unbelieving Judases of all time.

VALUATION BY GOD

Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows.
(10:29-31)

Jesus assures the twelve, and every person who would ever trust in Him, that they are dear to their heavenly Father. With divine intimacy and intensity the Lord loves and cherishes those who belong to Him, and He will not allow any permanent harm come to them.

An assarion (cent) was the smallest coin in circulation in Jesus’ day and was worth one-sixteenth of a denarius, the average daily wage for a laborer. One such cent would buy two sparrows, which were as common and relatively valueless in New Testament times as they are today. Roasted sparrows were often served as cheap finger food, as a type of appetizer or hors d’oeuvre.

Yet not one sparrow will fall to the ground apart from your Father, Jesus says. This most insignificant of little birds cannot even fall without God’s knowledge. In some Greek usages, the word for fall is translated as “hop”—in which case a little sparrow cannot even hop on the ground without God’s knowledge!

God’s knowledge of us is so detailed and His interest in us is so keen that the very hairs of [our] head are all numbered. The average hair count on the human head is said to be about 140,000, which means that some people have many more hairs even than that. God, who has all knowledge of every person, illustrates that omniscience by this mundane and spiritually inconsequential bit of information pertaining to the number of hairs on a person’s head. If He takes notice of such things as that, how much more is He concerned about spiritual matters of far greater consequence?

Jesus then gives a third exhortation to not fear (cf. vv. 26, 28) and another reason why we should not fear: we are of more value than many sparrows. The obvious understatement illustrates how very dear God’s children are to Him. In a similar promise Jesus said, “If God so arrays the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more do so for you, O men of little faith?” (Matt. 6:30). How can we be anxious and fearful, knowing of such care and protection by our heavenly Father?

From among the finest athletes in the Roman Empire, Nero selected a group called The Emperor’s Wrestlers. Their motto was: “We, the wrestlers, wrestling for thee, O Emperor, to win for thee the victory and from thee, the victor’s crown.” The wrestlers were also soldiers and were often sent out on special military campaigns. On a certain mission in Gaul (modern France), many of the wrestlers were converted to Christ. Upon hearing the news, Nero ordered the commander, Vespasian, to execute any wrestler who refused to renounce Christ and swear religious as well as military allegiance to the emperor. The emperor’s orders were received in the dead of winter, as the men were encamped on the shore of a frozen lake. When Vespasian assembled the soldiers and asked how many were Christians, forty men stepped forward. Hoping not to lose any of these fine men, many of whom were his friends, he gave them until sundown the next day to reconsider. But at the given hour, all of them still refused to renounce Christ. In order that they not die at the hands of their comrades, the commander ordered the forty men to disrobe and walk naked out onto the ice. Throughout the night the soldiers on shore could hear the forty sentenced men singing triumphantly, “Forty wrestlers, wrestling for Thee, O Christ, to win for Thee the victory, and from Thee, the victor’s crown.” The singing grew fainter as morning neared, and at dawn a lone figure walked back and approached the fire. He confessed that his faith was not strong enough to face death. When Vespasian then heard the faint strains of “Thirty-nine wrestlers, wrestling for Thee, O Christ,” he was so moved that he threw off his armor and clothes and marched out to join the others, shouting as he went, “Forty wrestlers, wrestling for Thee, O Christ, to win for Thee the victory, and from Thee, the victor’s crown.”