NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TEN

Part IV (Con’t)

Verse 28c: …the one who can send the soul and the body to everlasting destruction.

A great Early Church scholar and teacher of exegesis had this to say about the end such people are facing. He writes: “By ‘everlasting destruction’ He means the condemnation awaiting those who receive payment according to their works.” The writer then goes on to make this vital point: “…and from destruction there is no longer any salvation.”¹

To put all of this into perspective, let’s render it this way: Jesus it saying that God is the One who can take away both earthly life from the body and everlasting life from the soul, where as man can only end one’s life here on earth, but not life promised to believers in heaven. That’s why God’s warnings should be revered and respected above all given by men. In this we can see why it is so important that those who know God’s Word and have learned the warning Christ has given, to tell as many as possible before their lives are ended by natural death, because once they are dead in the grave, there will be no more altar calls for them to respond to, only judgment and everlasting punishment.

Verse 29: When birds are sold, two small sparrows cost only a penny. But not even one of those little birds can die without your Father knowing it.

We know that such birds were used for cleansed lepers to make an offering to the LORD; one was sacrificed and the other was let loose.² It was an established part of Jewish verbal teachings that no fewer than two could be involved.³ But the emphasis here was on how little they cost. This was in contrast to how much God cared.

To show how much God cared for the smallest of creatures, one Rabbi said: “The rocks are a refuge for the conies (similar to a rabbit): the coney takes shelter under the crag from the searching bird, lest it devour it. Then if the Holy One, blessed be He, created His world thus for the sake of unclean things, how much the more for the sake of Abraham!”⁴ Sometimes believers get sidetracked thinking that God is only interested in big things and cares less about the small things in their lives. Here Jesus is making it clear that God’s attention span is long and detailed.

The Jews spoke of the same care as seen in this traditional story: “Rabbi Simon peeped out of his cave from time to time to see a hunter shooting at birds with varied success. Sometimes the bird fell, and at times a bird escaped. From this he gained greater insight into his destiny by saying, ‘even a bird does not fall to the hunter’s bow unless death is decreed for it, and what is decreed we must accept cheerfully’.”⁵ So we could say that Jesus was wanting to give His disciples assurance that they would be watched by their heavenly Father at all times to protect them from the hunter of their souls, and that the arrow of death would not strike them without His permission.

The Jews had other words of appreciation for God’s care of the smallest of birds. They said: “Without God’s approval a bird does not perish, much less a man.”⁶ So the disciples should have had no trouble understanding the point Jesus was trying to make. But I guess the confusion for many believers came when they saw God-loving, God-fearing men and women have their lives ended in despicable and inexplicable ways while the wicked went on living happily ever after. It’s not their bodily departure from this life that was the most important, it was their soul’s destination that followed.

In examining the writings of Early Church fathers we find that Origen touches on the omniscient character of God in that nothing happens in this world without His knowledge, and in this case the fall of the sparrow is part of His foreknowledge. But he also noted that the sparrow’s fall was not so much by God’s direct will or even by His order and design, but that it is the natural part of events. However, he also sees a spiritual metaphor being used here by our Lord that the reason the sparrow fell is because it looked down and followed its “dishonorable passions” rather than allowing itself to be borne upward to the mountain top, and that this is emblematic of one who becomes involved in the words of men rather than the words of God.⁷

But in a way I see this neglecting the point Jesus was making in that if God cares enough to notice when a sparrow bought for a penny dies on the altar of sacrifice, how much more will He notice when those who He bought at the price of His own Son are facing possible life-threatening circumstances. To say it another way in today’s language: if a father will pick up little ducklings and help them cross the road, how much more will he take hold of his child’s hand and help them across the street. If the disciples thought that might be a bit too much even for God, Jesus added:

Verse 30: God even knows how many hairs are on your head.

This saying was not intended to show off God’s mathematical skills, but rather to ascribe inexhaustible lovingkindness to God. The Jews took this concern from where Saul said: “As surely as the Lord lives, not one hair of Jonathan’s head will fall to the ground!”⁸ This same understanding was repeated by David to the woman of Tekoa: “As the Lord lives, no one will hurt your son. Not even one hair from your son’s head will fall to the ground.”⁹ Also, a well-known Rabbi commenting on where David said: “You make winds your messengers, fiery flames your servants”¹⁰ said: “Nothing is by chance, but all things are with design”.¹¹ This was integrated into the Jewish mind, for as one Rabbi taught: “No man bruises his finger here on earth unless it was so decreed against him in heaven, for it is written: It is of the Lord that a man’s goings are established.¹²”¹³

This certainly is not the Jewish version of fatalism, which is the belief that all events are predetermined and therefore inevitable. They believed that God could intervene at any time to change things from following their natural path. Just as man was given free will, it came from a God who exercises His free will. That’s why obedience is so important, especially as David expressed it in Psalm 91.

It reminds me of the story of what happened to king Saul’s son Jonathan, after he unknowingly broke a vow that his father Saul had made not to eat during their battle with the Philistines. When Jonathan was pointed out as one who had violated that restriction, he was sentenced to die. However, we read, “But the soldiers said to Saul, ‘Jonathan led Israel to a great victory today. Must Jonathan die? Never! As surely as the Lord lives, not one hair of Jonathan’s head will fall to the ground! God helped Jonathan fight against the Philistines today.’ So the people saved Jonathan from death.”¹⁴ So even back in those days the hair on one’s head was considered worthy of saving. A similar incident happened to David and Solomon.¹⁵ So Jesus wanted His disciples to know that they were more valuable than the sparrow and they counted even more to God than the hair on their heads.

Verse 31: So don’t be afraid. You are worth more than a whole flock of birds.

By now, the disciples must have been scratching their heads because Jesus was taking them down a road they had never traveled. He is talking about unveiling secrets that heretofore had never been revealed. But it came with a qualifier. If they went out and started preaching these new truths, they might run into serious trouble. But that had happened before to many of the prophets, just look at what occurred with Jeremiah! Why should the reception of this truth be so unwelcoming? Solomon put his finger on it by saying: “The wicked are afraid of everything, but those who live right are as brave as lions.”¹⁶ Solomon also taught that those propagating the truth should not be afraid, “Fear can be a trap, but if you trust in the Lord, you will be safe.”¹⁷

No doubt our Lord recalled what His Father said to Israel through the prophet Isaiah and that the same applied to His followers: “Don’t be afraid. I saved you. I named you. You are mine. When you have troubles, I am with you. When you cross rivers, you will not be hurt. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not hurt you. That’s because I, the Lord, am your God.”¹⁸ This message of comfort Jesus was giving to His disciples, sounds familiar to the one God gave Israel after reminding them of what He did for Abraham, “You people who understand goodness should listen to me. You people who follow my teachings should hear the things I say. Don’t be afraid of evil people. Don’t let their insults upset you. They will be like old clothes eaten by moths. They will be like wool eaten by worms. But my goodness will last forever. My salvation will continue forever and ever.”¹⁹

And the same thing God said to Jeremiah Jesus was saying to His followers now, “As for you, Jeremiah, get ready. Stand up and speak to the people. Tell them everything that I tell you to say. Don’t be afraid of the people.”²⁰ So if Jeremiah trusted the Lord, why shouldn’t they, and why shouldn’t we!²¹ Declaring God’s truth out in the open was not new. Solomon shared what Wisdom encountered, “Listen! Wisdom is shouting in the streets. She is crying out in the marketplace. She is calling out where the noisy crowd gathers: ‘Fools, how long will you love being ignorant? How long will you make fun of wisdom? How long will you hate knowledge? I wanted to tell you everything I knew and give you all my knowledge, but you didn’t listen to my advice and teaching. I tried to help, but you refused to listen. I offered my hand, but you turned away from me. You ignored my advice and refused to be corrected.’”²²

The key to remaining calm in the midst of any angry reaction to the gospel was what Jesus was keying in on. God said the same thing to Isaiah, “Don’t think they are out to get you, just because that’s the rumor going around. Don’t be afraid of what they fear. Don’t let their fear frighten you! The Lord All-Powerful is the one you should cautious about offending. He is the one you should respect. He is the one who should give you reason to think twice.”²³ That was the spirit of confidence that got Daniel and the three Hebrew children through the threat made by King Nebuchadnezzar.²⁴ Jesus wanted His followers to remember that it was what He gave them to say that might bring some resistance. This was a subliminal message that they should stick to the gospel, not what they thought the people should hear. After all, we find this Scriptural warning: “You should not let your made up dreams and bragging bring you trouble. You should respect God.”²⁵

Chrysostom gives us his homily on this subject of the value God places on those created in His image. He says: “What do you see in creation of less value than a tiny sparrow? But even the sparrow will not fall without God’s knowledge. Jesus does not mean that the sparrow falls by God’s direct will because it is unworthy but that nothing that occurs is hidden from God. If then God is not ignorant of anything that happens in creation, and if God loves us more truly than the best human father, and if God loves us so as to have numbered our very hairs, then we need not be afraid. Jesus said this not to indicate that God literally has a number placed on the very hairs of our head but rather to show that God has perfect knowledge of everything about us and providentially cares for everything about us. Therefore, if God both knows all things that happen to us and is able to save us and willing to do so, then whatever we may be suffering, we need not think that God has forsaken us in our suffering. For it is not God’s will to keep us wholly separated from that which arouses dread but rather to persuade us not to make an idol out of whatever we dread. It is this, more than anything else, that constitutes deliverance from dread. ‘Therefore, don’t be afraid. You are of more value than many sparrows.’ Don’t you see that God views your fear with more concern than the lives of many sparrows? He already knows the secrets of your heart. Hence Jesus adds, ‘Do not fear.’ For even if that which you dread prevails, it prevails only over your body; this is the limited part of yourself, which nature will eventually take in due time and bring to an end.”²⁶

The disciples may not be completely assured at this point, so our Lord adds a practical thought for them to consider. He points out that God is not only interested in the big things, but even the smallest detail in His creation. Birds were caught and sold for Temple sacrifices in those days, and they were available to even the poorest of citizens. But God was aware of each one that was sold and died as a payment for wrongdoing. And if that were not enough, Jesus adds another factor that takes God’s caring to an even deeper level.