27 “Whatever
I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the
ear, preach on the housetops. 28 And
do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But
rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
29 Are not two sparrows sold
for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from
your Father’s will. 30 But
the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Do
not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
32 “Therefore
whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My
Father who is in heaven. 33 But
whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father
who is in heaven.
28. Again we have an injunction not to be afraid;
openness and fearlessness run through this passage. This time the
disciples are told not to fear people who can kill61 the
body but can do no more. Body may be used of the bodies of
people or of animals, alive or dead; in this place it stands for the
whole of mortal life, which is put in contrast to the soul,
that which is more than mortal. The persecutors will be able
effectively to bring an end to bodily life, but they lack the power63
to kill the soul. People with this significant limitation are
not to be feared. But it is a different matter when attention is
turned to God (curiously Bruce thinks “the tempter” is in mind,
but the tempter’s power avails only to the extent that God permits;
McNeile points out that in the parallel passage [Luke 12:5], Jesus
speaks of “authority” to cast into hell, an authority that only
God has). The Bible never says that believers are to be afraid of
Satan. If we are going to be afraid, let it not be of the minor
danger that is all that evil people or even Satan himself can bring
us, but of the major danger involved in God’s holy wrath against
evil. Where they are not able he is able; his power far
surpasses that of anyone or anything else in all creation. And Jesus
illustrates that power by saying that God can destroy both soul
and body in hell (cf. Isa. 10:18). It is perhaps surprising that
he should speak of the destruction of the body in hell (for hell
see on 5:22): the body dies here on earth. But the expression refers
to the whole person, and the whole person is body and soul; Jesus is
not so much speaking of the particular area in which the body suffers
dissolution as of the power of God, a power not limited to this earth
(as the power of the persecutors is), but extending to the world to
come. The reference to hell shows that we are not to
understand destroy of annihilation. Jesus is speaking of the
destruction of all that makes for a rich and meaningful life, not of
the cessation of life’s existence.
29. The power of God is to be discerned not only
in the way he disposes of soul and body and works out his purposes in
hell as elsewhere. We see it in his care for even the most
insignificant of his works of creation. Jesus draws attention to the
sparrows that were sold in the marketplace for food.67
They were very small birds and could command only a very small price:
two a penny! Clearly they ranked low in the scheme of things and must
be regarded as of little importance. But God takes notice of every
individual little sparrow. Not one of them falls to earth (Chrysostom
has “fall into a snare,” but this has no support in the MSS)
without70 the involvement of your Father. It is not
certain precisely what these last words mean, as is evident from the
translations. NIV has “apart from the will of your Father”
(so RSV); NEB, “without your Father’s leave”
(GNB, “consent”); JB, “without your Father
knowing.” Any of these might be the right way of understanding the
passage. But whatever our understanding of the point in detail, it is
plain that Jesus is affirming that the little sparrows matter to God.
People regard them as of trifling worth, but they are part of God’s
creation and have real value for him. God is not so busy running the
universe that he has no time for little birds. Perhaps we should
notice that the prophet Amos can ask, “Will a bird fall on the
ground without a fowler?” (Amos 3:5, LXX). But the loving care of
the heavenly Father forms a strong contrast to the fowler’s aim
simply to destroy.
30. If God is interested in the smallest of his
created beings, he is also interested in the smallest details of the
people he has made in his own image. Your comes first in the
sentence and puts some emphasis on people in contrast to birds, a
contrast that is strengthened with But. It scarcely seems to
matter how many hairs we have on our heads (and we certainly do not
have that information ourselves; Bengel points out that we take no
notice of hairs “pulled out by the comb”). The word order is “of
you … even the hairs the head, all (of them),” which draws
attention to “all” and thus emphasizes that the Father has
complete knowledge of the most insignificant information about each
one of his children. The verb counted is in the perfect tense,
which may signify that the number stays on record; it points to God’s
continuing interest.
- Therefore introduces the consequence of these evidences of God’s care. Since God cares for the humblest members of his creation and since he has knowledge of the most unimportant piece of information about his people, those people need not fear. In this Gospel Jesus often tells people not to be afraid; fear is no part of being a disciple. On this occasion he gives the reason that they matter very much to the heavenly Father; their worth74 is much more than that of many sparrows (JB has “hundreds of sparrows”). Since the Father cares for the sparrows, much more will he care for them.1
Jesus’ basic argument for freedom from fear is the goodness and providence of God. Two sparrows are sold for a copper coin, an assarion, worth about one cent in our money, yet the heavenly Father takes note of them to the extent of providential care. In answer to the question of His taking care of us, Jesus says that even the hairs of our heads are numbered. Providence is God’s interest and care over the smaller details of our lives. It is in direct contrast to the deistic view which holds that God created the world and set it on its course and we should not think that He pays attention to each of us individually! Jesus said that He does care for each, that we, being so much more valuable than sparrows, should rest in this faith, free from fear.2
We fear
God alone (v. 28). All that men can do is kill the
body; and, if they do, the believer’s soul goes home to be with the
Lord. But God is able to destroy both body and soul in hell!
Of course, God will never condemn one of His own children (John 5:24;
Rom. 8:1). Martin Luther caught this truth when he wrote:
Let goods and kindred go,
This mortal life also;
The body they may kill:
God’s truth abideth still;
His kingdom is forever.
The person who fears God alone need never fear any man
or group of men. The fear of God is the fear that cancels fear.
God cares for His own (vv. 29–31).
It did not cost much to purchase sparrows in the market. If we
compare these verses with Luke 12:6, we discover that sparrows were
so cheap that the dealer threw in an extra one! Yet the Father knows
when a sparrow falls to the ground; and the Father is there.
If God cares for sparrows in such a marvelous way, will He not also
care for His own who are serving Him? He certainly will! To God, we
are of greater value than many sparrows.
God is concerned about all of the details of our lives.
Even the hairs of our head are numbered—not “counted” in a
total, but numbered individually! God sees the sparrow fall to the
ground, and God sees when a hair falls from the head of one of His
children. When He protects His own, He protects them down to the
individual hairs (Luke 21:18). There is no need for us to fear when
God is exercising such wonderful care over us.
Christ honors those who confess Him (vv. 32–33).
To confess Him means much more than to make a statement with the
lips. It also means to back up that statement with the life. It is
one thing to say, “Jesus Christ is Lord,” and quite another thing
to surrender to Him and obey His will. The walk and the talk must go
together.
In heaven, Jesus has two special ministries. As our High
Priest, He gives us grace to keep us from sinning. As our Advocate,
He forgives and restores us when we do sin (1 John 2:1–2). The
merits of His heavenly intercessory work do not depend on our
faithfulness, for He is faithful even if we are not (2 Tim. 2:12–13).
But the benefits of His heavenly ministry are for those who
are faithful to Him. When Christ confesses us before the Father, He
is securing for us the benefits of His sacrificial work on the cross.
When He denies us before the Father, He is unable to share these
graces with us. The fault is ours, not His.
But something else is involved. One day we shall stand
before His judgment seat where the rewards will be distributed (2
Cor. 5:10; Rom. 14:10). If we have denied Him, we will lose rewards
and the joy of hearing His “Well done.” To be sure, anyone who
denies Him on earth may be forgiven. Peter denied the Lord three
times, was forgiven, and was restored.3
10:29 apart from your Father. Not merely “without His knowledge”; Jesus was teaching that God providentially controls the timing and circumstances of such insignificant events as the death of a sparrow. Even the number of hairs on our heads is controlled by His sovereign will (v. 30). In other words, divine providence governs even the smallest details and even the most mundane matters. These are very powerful affirmations of the sovereignty of God.4
1
Morris, L. (1992). The Gospel according to Matthew (pp.
262–264). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans;
Inter-Varsity Press.
2
Augsburger, M. S., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Matthew (Vol.
24, p. 18). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.
3
Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol.
1, pp. 38–39). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
4
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New
American Standard Bible. (Mt 10:29). Nashville, TN: Thomas
Nelson Publishers.
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