Down an Unfamiliar Road

Many of us are guilty of making quick assumptions whereby we come to a conclusion before we’ve examined the facts. For instance, try this brain teaser: “Two boxers are in a match scheduled for 12 rounds. One of the boxers gets knocked out after only one round, yet no man throws a punch. How is this possible?” You may not be all that familiar with the Marquess of Queensberry rules for Boxing, but you should know enough to see how impossible this looks, even though it turns out to be true.

Since we don’t know the facts, we can only go on assumptions. The term “assumption” is quite easy to define. It means accepting something as true or possible without having any proof. It is based mostly on speculation, guessing, a notion, conjecture, etc. It’s like throwing mud against a wall hoping that it will stick, or taking $20 to the store to pay for an item we presume will cost less than that, only to find out that we’ve miscalculated. The underestimation of the cost is not what embarrasses us, it’s having to turn around, go home or to the ATM and get more money.

But what about assumptions we make concerning others, especially our friends? I read this story about two businessmen with a great idea who made an assumption that ended up falling flat on its face. They tell us that several years ago they came up with a great idea for a new leadership-development program they thought would be valuable to everyone in their business. They had research showing that when people embarked on a self-development program, their success increased dramatically if they received periodic follow-up encouragement. So they developed a software application to offer that sort of encouragement. People could enter their development goals, and the software would send them reminders every week or month asking how they were doing. This was meant to motivate them to keep on going. They invested a lot of time and money in this product. But it turned out that people did not like receiving such unsolicited e-mails and considered them more annoying than motivating. Some of the users came up with a name for this type of software. They called it “nagware.”¹

They go on to explain how that failed assumption came about. First, they were too lazy to check the facts. They figured it was a good idea and went with it without checking to see if the people wanted such reminders.

Second, the program was so good they did not expect anything to go wrong. It’s hard for people to consider the possibility of negative events so they just assume the worst would not happen.

Third, they based their assumption on data they assembled without considering that such data is constantly changing and requires constant study. So they were indecisive at that point and decided to go with what they had.

Fourth, they were basing their theory on old data, therefore they remained locked in the past. It’s one of those “That’s the way it’s always been done” theories, so they made the assumption it would work in this case.

Fifth, they failed to see if their effort really was connected to their overall strategy. In other words, was this the best way to do what they wanted to do. That’s why when things went wrong, no solutions had been figured out for plan B.

Sixth, they were overly optimistic that the people who got the emails would respond the way they thought they would. So they made the assumption that these people thought the way they did.

Seventh, they made the assumption that these people felt about them the way they felt about these people. So they more or less lived in isolation with their own ideas. This denied them the expertise they may have gotten had they asked.

Eighth, they made the assumption that they had all the facts they needed to carry this out. So instead of searching for people with more experience and expertise, they went on what they knew.

And ninth, they did not communicate their intentions with the recipients before they started. They made the assumption that it would be alright with them. They forgot that communication is a decision that involves rational and implications, so there has to be a connection to make it flow successfully.

If this is so important in business, how much more important it is that we make assumptions about God, the Bible, our faith, or our fellow believers. That’s why we need to constantly talk to God, study His Word, practice our faith, and fellowship with believers; not to assume that we already know all that we need to know to be victorious for Christ.

By the way, the answer to the brain teaser we started out with is this: both boxers were women.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TEN

Part V (Con’t)

Verse 38: Those who will not accept the cross that is given to them when they follow me are not worthy to claim they are mine.

Now Jesus goes from talking about people who are willing to confess Him as their Lord and Savior to speaking about putting action to their faith by following Him. This taking up the cross to follow Jesus has been interpreted in many different ways over the centuries. Some have literally taken a cross and walked around the globe as a sign of their dedication to the One who gave His all on the cross. Others see it as the willingness to bear all the heartache, sorrows, and burdens of living for Christ as they journey through this life. However, most classical scholars sees our Lord using the cross here as a metaphor of a person’s willingness to go to any lengths, including death, for the cause of the Gospel.

The unknown writer of an Early Church commentary on Matthew writes: “The man who bears his own cross is one who, if necessary, is ready to face any danger for the sake of God, up to and including death, rather than abandon Christ. He is ready to be tortured any day, because of his way of life. Even if he does not suffer anything as great as death, he will still receive mercy. For it is not the intention that is rewarded, but the deed. Intentions come from our free choice, but a deed is accomplished only through the grace of God. ‘He who finds his life will lose it.’¹ It is better to die for God’s sake and live eternally than to live for the sake of human interests and suffer eternal death. He died for us, although He was incapable of dying unless He wished to. How much more should we be willing to die for Him, we who are mortal even if we do not wish to be? If our Lord died for His servants without even a reward, it is almost unthinkable that a servant could die for the Lord and yet be rewarded.”²

But none of this should be a surprise. After all, didn’t God tell the devil this would take place: “I will make you and the woman enemies to each other. Your children and her children will be enemies.”³ A Jewish translator believes that the word “seed” is better used here than “children”⁴ because the devil is not known to produce children. However, in the spiritual sense, the term: “children of the devil” became a common phrase.⁵ And it didn’t take long for that to happen.⁶ It was also a price Levi had to pay when selected by God to be the priestly tribe of Israel.⁷ Even Job’s trust and faith in God caused trouble within his own family,⁸ as did Jeremiah.⁹ So our Lord is not talking here about Christians forcing Christianity down other people’s throats by way of threat and violence as is the method of some Muslim fanatics today, but it was a matter of choice. Either live your life God’s way or man’s way.

If you were to call candidates for the ministry before an examining board and ask them the following questions: “Would you be willing to leave home and go anywhere in the world to preach this Gospel?” “Would you be willing to trust God to supply you with what you need to live and sustain your ministry in return for your labors?” “Would you be willing to be laughed at, made fun of, ridiculed, and persecuted for My sake?” you would be asking similar questions to what our Lord has been asking up to this point. But then, if you were to ask them: “Would you be willing to live without the clothes you prefer, or live in comfortable house, or drive a nice car, or eat the kind of meals you are used to in order to reach the lost for Christ?” you would be asking the question that Jesus asked His followers here. In the words that follow, I believe we can see that to be the case.

Verse 39: Those who try to maintain their life and its ambitions will end up losing them. But those who give up their life and ambitions to serve Me will find life’s true meaning.

This declaration by our Lord has been the source of debate, consternation, and confusion among Bible scholars, ever since it was written. It almost makes Jesus look like a rebel rouser instead of the Prince of Peace. But the context is vitally important in understanding what Jesus was saying. Some scholars believe that Jesus was referring to the Jews expectation that when the Messiah came He would drive out foreign armies and restore peace in the land. But that does not conform with our Lord’s focus on the family being in turmoil over belief in Him. Even those who refuse to comply with the worldly standards and behavior at their work place have experienced such rejection and turmoil. As a matter of fact, down through history the soul of Christianity has been fought over and defended in many wars and conflicts.

One Bible commentator stated this: “Peace on earth was promised at the birth of Jesus.¹⁰ And peace on earth was earned by the Redeemer.¹¹ But here is where the Lord refers to the second, terrible effect of Gospel-preaching, in the case of those that persistently refuse to accept the redemption through the blood of Jesus.¹² Christ foresaw this hostile opposition to His message; He knew, also, that the spiritual conflict which would be brought on by carnal enmity would find its expression in actual physical persecution. His disciples should not then imagine, as they were likely to do, that there would now be a reign of earthly quietness and peace, with all the blessings which the word implies. Division, contention, war, sudden, fierce calamities would follow the introduction of the Gospel. There is no more bitter hatred and strife than that due to religious differences. It estranges the closest of friends, it disrupts families, it causes lasting enmity between members of the same household. These features will accompany the propagation of the new religion. To stand firm on the side of Christ demands the utmost fearlessness.”¹³

Chrysostom expresses his understanding of this text as follows: “See how great is the impairment to those who have an exaggerated love for their own life. And how great is the blessing to those who are ready to give up their lives for a well-ordered love! So He bids His disciples to be willing to give up parents, children, natural relationships, kinships, the world and even their own lives. How burdensome are these injunctions! But then He immediately sets forth the greater blessings of rightly ordered love. Thus these instructions, Jesus says, are so far from harming, they are in fact of the greatest benefit. It is their opposites that injure. He then counsels them, as He so often does, in accord with the very desires they already possess. Why should you be willing to give up your life? Only because you can come to love it to excess. So for the very reason that you love it extraordinarily, in order for it to be to your advantage to the highest degree, you must learn to dislike loving it so inordinately. You will then, in the truest sense of the word, come to love your life for the right reason. Jesus does not consider this as applying only in the case of love for parents or children. He teaches the same with regard to your own life, which is the dearest of all to you.”¹⁴

So it all depends on which side you stand. On the one hand the presence and word of Christ brings peace to people’s hearts, homes and communities. But at the same time, it can also spark opposition and persecution among the same. So our Lord is warning His disciples that just like a scalpel, the sword of the Word of God can hurt or heal. It all depends on who is holding the scalpel, one who is a surgeon or one who is suicidal. And with the Word of God, a Spirit-filled pastor will use it to heal while a spirit possessed pretender will use it to hurt.

When turning to household conflicts, the first thing we must notice is that Jesus does not say that parents should hate their children. He is certainly aware of the love and affection that parents and children share. But when given the choice of either accepting the objections their children may have of becoming a Christian or yielding to the call of the Holy Spirit to follow Christ, if their love for Him does not supersede that of pleasing their children, then they automatically disqualify themselves as authentic ambassadors of the Kingdom of heaven. It is called “tough love.”

Too many Christian parents acquiesce to their children’s desires to have or participate in worldly pleasures for fear of losing them, without knowing that they have already lost them to sin and Satan. If you children denounce you because you are a Christian and following the teachings of Christ, God will not hold you any more responsible for their actions that God held Adam and Eve accountable for what Cain did to Abel. But a parents should never criticize their children just because they decide not to submit to Christ in the same way they do. Just continue to be an example and the Holy Spirit will do the work of conviction.

Verse 40: Whoever accepts you also accepts me. And whoever accepts me accepts the One who sent me.

Now our Lord turns from rejection that may be encountered by His followers to acceptance that will also come their way. So often we determine success or failure in a Christian effort based on whether or not we were accepted. When we are true to the Word and walking in the Spirit and will of God, it is not us that they are receiving or rejecting, it’s the One who sent us and goes with us.

We find an interesting parallel between what Jesus says and what God tells the Israelites in Exodus: “I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to Him, listen to what He says and do not rebel against Him; because He will not forgive any wrongdoing of yours, since my name resides in Him. But if you listen to what He says and do everything I tell you, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.”¹⁵ This relationship was already understood by Jewish wisemen who said: “Just as you are members of the covenant, so must your representatives be members of the covenant”.¹⁶ In fact, Rabbis agree: “…a man’s representative is the same as himself”.¹⁷ And one Rabbi added: “A man’s representative is the same as himself, he ranks as being one and the same.”¹⁸

In other words, Jesus was telling His disciples that although they were being the ones sent, He saw them more than just someone going in His place, but as He Himself going with them because He would be in them. So whatever happens to them, will in fact happen to Him, and will also impact His Father in heaven. While this may have thrilled the disciples to know that the Lord was with them and in them, not all Jews were as open minded.

In one polemic Jewish writing we read: “Jesus is made to say to His apostles, ‘He that receives you receives me, and he that receives me receives Him that sent me.’ By this expression the Christians are reduced to the necessity of believing that Jesus and His apostles are identical; and as they are taught that three make one, they ought, by equal reasoning, deduce the inference from the present passage, that the trinity, with the twelve apostles, make altogether one unity”.¹⁹

In a way, this critic was right, this is what the apostles believed, and this bond of unity is what has kept the church alive all these centuries. But the burden of understanding and accepting this is not on the ambassadors of God’s kingdom, but on those who either receive them or reject their message. It is like a police officer who wears a badge and uniform. The person who spurns their orders to pull over for speeding or going the wrong way down an interstate highway is not showing disrespect for them as a person but are resisting what they, the badge and uniform represent. So it is not the policeman who punishes them but the authority behind the law they refused to obey. It was the apostle Paul who said so eloquently: “I am not the one living now—it is Christ living in me. I still live in my body, but I live by faith in the Son of God.”²⁰

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TEN

Part V

Verse 32: If you stand before others and are willing to say you believe in me, then I will tell my Father in heaven that you belong to me.

Here we see our Lord referring back to what He just said in verses 19-20 about what to say when brought before tribunals to answer why you are preaching the Gospel of One called the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. If you are afraid of standing up and declaring without hesitation or fear that you believe in me as the Savior of mankind, then why should I tell my heavenly Father that you are one of mine?

It is important to see that Jesus put the positive response first in this verse, and the negative response last in the next verse. This means that He thinks of us first as redeemed, before having to think of us as rescued. I look at this as Jesus standing right beside me when I’m asked if I know Him, instead of Him watching me from afar.

The orthodox defender of the faith in the Early Church, Apollinaris, had this to say: “The prize is superior because it comes from God. It is not the same thing to acknowledged as human’s do and to acknowledge God’s way.… The believer must acknowledge God with both heart and mouth. ‘For one believes with one’s heart and is justified, and one confesses with his one’s lips and is saved¹.’”²

Verse 33: But if you stand before others and say you do not believe in me, then I will tell my Father in heaven that you do not belong to me.

So Jesus takes this warning one step further by pointing out that He personally would deny knowing them before His father if they proved to be unwilling to openly confess Him as their Lord and Savior. But our Lord was just about to take His warning one step further. Some scholars think that this was meant specifically for Peter since our Lord knew what was going to happen. But He was speaking to the whole group, not just one man. And besides, at that point I’m sure Peter never took this to heart as being a message to him personally.

This involves a seal of approval that can be confirmed or denied. One Psalmists declared, “I will discuss your rules with kings, and none will embarrass me.”³ We can learn a lesson from what happened with high priest Eli’s family when they disappointed God by the way they corrupted and abused their offices, Samuel had this message for Eli, “The Lord, the God of Israel, promised that your father’s family would serve Him forever. But now the Lord says, ‘That will never be! I will honor people who honor me, but dishonorable things will happen to those who refuse to respect me.‘”⁴

I cannot think of a more devastating rejection than when one called of God realizes they are no longer under the anointing of the Holy Spirit because they lost their reverence and respect for God. And that can not only happen by openly and flagrantly disobeying the Word of God, but it can be done in the way we worship Him and the manner in which we pray to Him Oh God help us when our worship services are all about the praise of the singers rather than praise to the Savior we sing about, and our prayers are to impress people instead of interceding with God.

Early Church preacher Chrysostom had this to say about denying God for who He is: “The Son of God does not speak soothing words here but rather speaks of the consequences of denial. Note carefully: It is not by some power within yourself that you make your admission but by the help of grace from above. But if you deny me, the Son, He is saying, then I will deny you in the presence of the Father. Someone may then object: ‘How then am I to be blamed if God, forsaking me, denies me?’ The answer is, Your being forsaken is the fault of you yourself, the forsaken person, not of God. ‘But why,’ you object, ‘should I need to confess faith with my mouth if I confess faith in my mind?’ No, we must confess with our mouths in order that we may be steadily trained to speak boldly. It is only through this more abundant love and determination that we will be raised on high.”⁵

In another Early Church commentary on Matthew, the writer makes this point: “Jesus does not say, ‘Every one who acknowledges me in his own heart’ but ‘before others.’⁶ If one does not acknowledge Him before others, it does one little good to say they believe in Christ in their heart. For it is impossible that one who denies with one’s lips can believe in one’s heart. For the root of confession is the heart’s faith. Confession is thus the fruit of faith. As long as a root is living, it must produce either branches or leaves, and if the plant does not produce these, we know beyond a doubt that its root is withered in the ground. In the same way, as long as the faith of the heart is healthy, it always sows the seeds of confession with the lips. But if there is no acknowledgment with the lips, you should know beyond a doubt that the faith of the heart has already withered away. For the apostle says, ‘For one believes with one’s heart and so is justified, and one confesses with one’s lips and so is saved.’⁷ And so confession by the lips is worth nothing without faith of the heart, and faith of the heart is worth nothing without confession by the lips.”⁸

Verse 34: Do not think that my coming will bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace. I came to bring conflict.

The people listening to Jesus may have had one of two reactions to what He said. Those who were expecting a warrior Messiah to come and liberate them from Roman rule and set up the kingdom of David once more, may have began to think, He’s the one! On the other hand, those who heard Jesus teach about loving God and their neighbor as themselves, it must have been a shock. Didn’t He say: “Blessed are the peacemakers?”

Early church scholar Chrysostom had an interesting way of interpreting this. He writes: “What sort of peace is it that Jesus asks them to pronounce upon entering each house? And what kind of peace is it of which the angels sing, ‘Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace’? And if Jesus came not to bring peace, why did all the prophets publish peace as good news? Because when the disease is removed, this brings peace more than anything else. This is peace: when the cancer is cut away. Only with such radical surgery is it possible for heaven to be reunited to earth. Only in this way does the physician preserve the healthy tissue of the body. The incurable part must be amputated. Only in this way does the military commander preserve the peace: by cutting off those in rebellion. Thus it was also in the case of the tower of Babel, that their evil peace was ended by their good discord. Peace therefore was accomplished.”⁹

To put this another way, sometimes it takes aggressive action with force to destroy a threat that may destroy peace, and once that threat is extinguished, then peace will continue to rule. If Jesus could have come and eradicated sin and its deadly effect the same way He quieted the storm on the Sea of Galilee, then He wouldn’t have had to die on the cross. But it took the violence of His beatings and the ferocity of the nails being driven into His hands to defeat sin once and for all. So it is that sometimes salvation will only come to a family when one Christian member is willing to undergo rejection and abuse in order for others to see how valuable salvation really is. Jesus now makes this very clear:

Verses 35-36: I have come to make this happen: A believing son will be turned against his father. A believing daughter will be turned against her mother. A believing daughter-in-law will be turned against her mother-in-law. Even you followers of mine will have members of your own families turn against you and become your enemies.

This certainly qualifies as one of the top ten most misunderstood scriptures in the New Testament. Here our Lord echoes the warning given in the Old Testament: “For a son insults his father, a daughter rises against her mother, daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law — a person’s enemies are the members of his own household.”¹⁰ These statements by our Lord did not come as a surprise to His listeners. As the result of His coming Jesus refers to Jewish verbal teachings with prophecies about such dismal times to come: “Truth will be absent, the youth will blanch the faces of the elders, elders will rise in honor of the youth, the son will deride his father, the daughter will stand up against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”¹¹ This was not going to happen simply out of a spirit of rebellion, but in rebellion against the commandments that they rejected as the rule of life.

Even Jewish commentators were skeptical about the Jews’ readiness for what was to come. Said one of them: “With the death of the three last of the latter prophets, that is to say, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, the Holy Spirit prophecy ceased, but use was made of the voice from above. Once at the assembly of the wise men in Jericho they heard the voice proclaim, ‘There is one amongst you who is well worthy of the Holy Spirit, but alas the present generation is unworthy of it’.”¹² And another Jewish sage had this to say: “Hence that house in which there is strife will be destroyed, and the sages say that even a prayer-house in which there is strife will be demolished. The same is said about two chiefs of the court who live in one town and quarreled with each other until they finally died. Abba Saul said: Strife between courts is a destruction of the world. Abba Issi ben Johanan said in the name of Samuel the Little: This world resembles the eyeball of a man. The white is the ocean that surrounds the whole land; the black is the world; the circle in the black is Jerusalem, and the pupil in the circle is the Temple.”¹³

One Early Church writer offers what he calls the necessary strife that precedes peace. He writes: “The Lord himself proclaims peace, which is why the apostle Paul also admonishes peace and says, ‘For He is our peace.”¹⁴ This means, of course, the peace of those who believe and receive. But in what way does He not bring peace to the earth? When the daughter believed and the father remained an unbeliever, ‘what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?’¹⁵ For the proclamation of peace caused a division. With a believing son and an unbelieving father there is necessarily strife. The peace that was proclaimed itself caused a division: a good division! For it is in peace that we are saved.”¹⁶

What Jesus says here about families being torn apart has been taken by some scholars as a prophecy by our Lord pertaining to the coming siege of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple. At this moment in time, those listening to Jesus would not have understood such a dire prediction if it was meant for those who would be living 2,000 years later. He was speaking to Jews, not the church. But like any such virus, even after the Temple was destroyed and the Jews dispersed, persecution of Jesus’ followers continued, and is in full blossom this very day. But our Lord does not leave His listeners hanging, He adds more to show how loyalty and dedication to Him as the Messiah will be tested.

Jerome seems to have had a similar thought when he comments on this: “Jesus had said previously, ‘What I tell you in the dark, declare in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim upon the housetops.’¹⁷ He now explains what follows after this proclamation. The whole world is divided against itself for the sake of faith in Christ. Every house contains both unbelievers and believers. And a necessary conflict has been sent to break an evil peace. It is written in Genesis that God did a similar thing to the rebellious people who streamed out of the east and rushed to build a tower, by which they meant to reach the heights of heaven. God divided their languages.¹⁸ For this same reason David prays in the psalm, ‘O God, scatter the peoples who delight in war.’¹⁹”²⁰

Verse 37: Those who put their father or mother’s interests ahead of mine are not worthy of me. And those who prefer their son or daughter’s wants more than they do mine are not worthy of me.

Both Chrysostom the preacher and Augustine the theologian lived at the same time in church history, and here is what they had to say about applying Jesus’ words to their situation: Chrysostom says: “Jesus said this to bring fathers to greater gentleness and children to greater freedom, just at the point where love might be most tempted to hinder them. He bids parents not to attempt what is impossible by assuming that their love of their children can be rightly compared with their love toward God. He instructs the children not to attempt what is impossible by seeking to make their love of parents greater than their love of God. Then lest His hearers should become riled or count this saying as too demanding, see how He turns the argument even further in a more drastic direction. For after saying ‘who hates not father and mother,’ He even adds, ‘and his own life!’ So do not compare love of God merely with love of parents, brothers and sisters and wife. If you are serious, compare it with the love of your very life. For nothing is dearer to you than your life. Yet if you are also not ready to give up this love, in all things you must bear the opposite lot.”²¹

Then Augustine writes: “Let a father say, ‘Love me.’ Let a mother say, ‘Love me.’ To these words I will say, ‘Be silent.’ But isn’t what they are asking for fair? Shouldn’t I give back what I have received? The father says, ‘I fathered you.’ The mother says, ‘I bore you.’ The father says, ‘I educated you.’ The mother says, ‘I fed you.’ … Let us answer our father and mother when they justly say ‘love us.’ Let us answer, ‘I will love you in Christ, not instead of Christ. You will be with me in Him, but I will not be with you without Him.’ ‘But we don’t care for Christ,’ they say. ‘And I care for Christ more than I care for you. Should I obey the ones who raised me and lose the One who created me’?”²²

In both cases, these scholars seem to be placing a person’s love for their next of kin in competition with their love for God. But when we take what Jesus says before this and what He will say after this, we can better see that our Lord is actually saying that believers will be confronted with having to evaluate their submission to their parents with their service to God.

Let’s put it in this context. When a man or woman is called into the military, and in a time of war they are ordered to the front lines where they face death, will they decide not to go because they love their parents so much that they don’t want to leave them, out of fear that it may look like rejection or that they don’t love them for all they’ve done for them, or will they go willingly to the front lines out of duty and honor for their country, and in anticipation that what they are doing in defense of their country will in fact end up protecting their parents and brothers and sisters? I think we can see if this concept fits with what Jesus has said what He will say next.

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.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TEN

Part IV

Verse 26: So don’t be afraid of those people. Everything that is hidden will be shown. Everything that is secret will be made known.

After Jesus warns His disciples about those who would have no respect for them because they had no respect for Him, He gives them a message of peace. But this message contains some important information that helps us understand the situation. By saying that everything concealed or coded would be brought to light, our Lord is either talking about the works of the opposition or the power of the disciples

Early Church Bishop Hilary tells us: “This refers to the day of judgment, which will make known the hidden conscience of our will and reveal to public knowledge those things that now seem obscure. Jesus is admonishing us, therefore, that we are not to fear our persecutors’ threats or stratagems or power, because the day of judgment will reveal that these all were nothing and empty.”¹

However, what Jesus says next seems to point in another direction. The disciples’ fear of these people will be unwarranted because what He has something to tell them. So here our Lord is basically saying that when a believer or group of believers confront those who are denouncing them and speaking against their message, what He gives them will allow them to set the record straight. It will also show the strength of the individual or congregation in that they were not frightened into seeking help from men, but expecting help from God.

Verse 27: What I tell you privately, but I want you to declare openly. What you hear me saying to you in a low tone, I want you to shout it from the rooftops.

We can conclude from Jesus’ words here that He was not insinuating that He gathered His disciples behind closed doors and whispered secrets in their ears. Rather, that what He shared with them in out on the hillside would soon be openly declared in the public square and what He said to them as a small group gathered around Him, would be announced to larger crowds outside. Anyone who is a reader of the Psalms will notice that the way Jesus says this is a form of Hebrew poetry which is called a “synonymous parallelism.” This is where the same thought is repeated in different words but having the same meaning.²

The Jews were already anticipating such a revelation. They said: “Sing to God, sing praises to His name; extol Him who rides on the clouds by His name, Yah.”³ From the word ‘riding’, which occurs in two Biblical passages we derive that they are speaking of heaven. Here, and: “…there is no one like God, riding through the heavens to help you.”⁴ And darkness and cloud and thick darkness surround Him, for it is said: “He made darkness His hiding-place, His canopy thick clouds dark with water.”⁵ But is there any darkness before Heaven? For behold it is written: “He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what lies in the darkness; and light dwells with Him.’⁶”⁷ So what Jesus is saying to His disciples was clearly a fulfillment of God’s Word.

Chrysostom gives us this exposition: “The point is not that Jesus was literally whispering into their ears or speaking in physical darkness. Rather, He was here pressing a strong figure of speech. He was conversing with them quietly and alone in a small corner of Palestine. In contrast with this tone of voice, they would soon be preaching with a boldness of speech that would in due time be conferred upon them. The metaphor of whispering in the ear in a dark place, in this present quietness, is contrasted with what is to come. For they were soon to be commissioned to speak not to one or two or three cities but to the whole world. They would soon be traversing land and sea, amid inhabited countries and across deserts, addressing both princes and tribes, philosophers and orators, telling it like it is with an open face and with all boldness of speech.”⁸

In my mind I can see Jesus huddled with His followers, instructing them before they are sent out. He wants them to know that as one man with one voice, it is not possible for Him to spread the Word as fast and as far as it needs to go on His own. So He needs their voices to repeat everything He’s been teaching and telling them. This spirit to broadcast what the Holy Spirit gives us through study, preaching and teaching of God’s Word, should motivate every believer to go and tell what has been revealed to them.

So why just sit in the pew and then when the service is over go home for the rest of the week and say nothing to anyone about what you heard. Thus the Gospel was not meant to be preached only inside a church building, but whenever and wherever the opportunity presents itself, be it sitting in a person’s home, or in the boardroom of a company; in front of a Bible study class, or in front of a TV camera. The Holy Spirit is always there to inspire us through what we’ve learned, and then to interpret what we say into the spiritual language of each listener.

I once wrote an article for a denominational magazine that I titled, “Where’s the Church on Monday Morning?” Many who go to work on Monday will hear their workmates and friends tell about what they did over the weekend. How they partied on Saturday night, slept in on Sunday, then went to the park or a ball game and later went out to drink and dance with their buddies. But what did they say about their weekend? Did they tell their friends about a Bible Study they went to and how exciting it was to learn new truths about the God’s Word? Did they talk about the church service they attended on Sunday and how the pastor preached a powerful message and the Lord blessed and the Holy Spirit moved and people were healed and brought to salvation?

A student of Eusebius, who wrote Ecclesiastical History, had this to say on this text: “But someone may ask, ‘If it is good to speak in the light, why did He Himself speak in darkness? And if it is good to preach from the housetops, why did He himself quietly speak into their ears?’ He keeps quiet because it is timely, but He instructs the disciples to proclaim and preach His words. He is not afraid—it is, rather, for ignorant people to fear the Lord Jesus. He is carefully managing His speech, much like a steward manages money. At times He keeps silent and at other appropriate times He speaks openly.”⁹ We might liken what this student of Eusebius is saying here in today’s world to someone sitting in a small Bible study class or in a pew listening to God’s Word being preached. They may not be inspired to go out on the street corner to wave their Bible and try to interest the people going by in what they have to say, but for the next six days the Holy Spirit will give them opportunities to share what they have learned to those who were not there. Sometimes it will be to a group, at other times it may be to an individual.

The Jews had an interesting story that embodies this concept. They say: “A Master Rabbi came to the place where Rabbi Shila spoke, when there happened to be no interpreter to stand next to Rabbi Shila, so Master Rabbi stood next to him and interpreted what he said.”¹⁰ The footnotes say that the Rabbi taught in Hebrew (which was the language of the scholars) while the interpreter translated it into Aramaic (which was the language of the people).

This is an illustration of what Jesus was talking about. There are many in this world who would not understand a sermon because they have no knowledge of the Bible or the teachings of Jesus. Especially when it is repeated in the language of the King James Version. So as in this case, the world needs an interpreter because they speak the language of the world while the Bible speaks the language of heaven. So begin to see yourself as an interpreter when you go out and the subject of God or the Bible comes up in a conversation.

The anonymous writer of an early church commentary on Matthew gives us this to consider: “Jesus now reveals to them what will be the outcome of their preaching, because their preaching was going to have a glorious result. ‘Here I am,’ He says. ‘I am the light hidden in the shadows, God concealed in a man, exaltation in humility. So although this mystery was hidden from the ages, it will now be made manifest to all through you, so that the prophecy I spoke will be fulfilled: “Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them; and there is nothing hid from its heat.” ‘¹¹ For there is no place where the sun is not seen and its heat is not felt. In the same way there will be no place where Christ is not known and his divine nature is not understood. In this way all humankind will be divided into two groups: the unbelievers who will have no excuse and will be punished, and believers.”¹²

Even though Jesus did not say anything about the blowing of the ram’s horn, it may have been implied with the preaching from the rooftop, since that was an excellent way to attract attention. So Jesus was not asking His disciples to do what was already being done, but to take what was being done and transform it into a platform for the Gospel. If Jewish people were accustomed to responding to the sound of a ram’s horn and gather and listen to a speaker, then do the same only now they will hear what the Messiah had to say.

Verse 28a: Don’t be afraid of people. They can only kill the body, but they cannot kill the soul.

In an Early Church anonymous work on Matthew, we find this commentary: “The essence of the human is not the body, but the soul. It is the soul alone that God made in His own image and the soul that He loves. For the sake of the soul He even created the world. Our enemies are jealous of the soul and persecute the soul. For the sake of the soul even the Son of God came into the world. But the body is the garment of the soul, as the apostle says: ‘For while we are still in this body, we sigh with anxiety; not that we would be unclothed but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.’¹³ If a madman destroyed someone’s garment that is worn over the body, his victim would think of him as the inflicter of an injury, but there would be no harm to the victim’s nature. In the same way if unbelievers murder the body that is worn over the soul, the soul is grieved by the murder, but there is no harm to the soul’s nature.”¹⁴ Then our Lord goes on to say:

Verse 28b: The only One you should fear is God…

By using the word “fear,” our Lord does not mean to be afraid of and therefore to avoid by all means possible, but in the sense of revering and respecting God as the Almighty One, and that He means what He says. Augustine gives us this exposition: “The gospel is life. Impiety and infidelity are the death of the soul. So then, if the soul can die, how then is it yet immortal? Because there is always a dimension of life in the soul that can never be extinguished. And how does it die? Not in ceasing to be life but by losing its proper life. For the soul is both life to something else, and it has it own proper life. Consider the order of the creatures. The soul is the life of the body. God is the life of the soul. As the life that is the soul is present with the body, that the body may not die, so the life of the soul (God) ought to be with the soul that it may not die.”¹⁵

Then Augustine continues: “How does the body die? By the departure of the soul. I say, by the departure of the soul the body dies, and it lies there as a mere carcass, what was a little before a lively, not a contemptible, object. There are in it still its several members, the eyes and ears. But these are merely the windows of the house; its inhabitant is gone. Those who bewail the dead cry in vain at the windows of the house. There is no one there within it to hear.… Why is the body dead? Because the soul, its life, is gone. But at what point is the soul itself dead? When God, its life, has forsaken it.… This then we can know and hold for certain: the body is dead without the soul, and the soul is dead without God. Every one without God has a dead soul. You who bewail the dead rather should bewail sin. Bewail ungodliness. Bewail disbelief.”¹⁶

The bottom line here is that Jesus wants His disciples to know that they can expect persecution and rejection as they carry out the mission He has given them. But the one thing they need to always keep in mind is this: no matter what the consequences may be when they are interfered with or prohibited from completing their task by those who oppose them, it is not as vital as the consequences that can be imposed by the One who sent them if they fail to give their all in carrying out their mission. This was not intended to put them under the bondage of fear, but to let them know that God in His mercy will do what is right and just in their case, so be glad He won’t do what He could do.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TEN

Part III (Con’t)

Verse 24: Students are not more privileged than their teacher. Servants are not more powerful than their master.

This saying echos what God said to Jeremiah: “The wise must not brag about their wisdom. The strong men must not brag about their strength. The rich must not brag about their money. But if someone wants to brag, then let them brag about this: Let them brag that they learned to know Me. Let them brag that they understand that I am the Lord, that I am kind and fair, and that I do good things on earth. I love this kind of bragging”.¹ We find this idea of a servant not rising above his master intrinsic in the teaching of Rabbi Zeira who said: “The servant does not take over ownership from his master in behalf of a third party … a slave cannot pass on ownership from his master in behalf of a third party.”² In other words, what we pass on to others from what God said and what Jesus said still belongs to them. We can never claim the message as our own.

Theodore of Mopsuestia (AD 350-428), who specialized in Early Church exegetical studies of the Bible, made this comment: “It is truly said that a disciple is not above his teacher according to his nature. For he who is made like his teacher by adoption can never go beyond his nature, but to be made like his teacher is the highest end he can reach. It is also for this reason that Jesus says there is only one teacher, and that teacher is Himself. For the teachers among humans are more like routinely stamped images of teachers than like true ones, as each of them teaches what he himself takes for granted. One will make more progress if one is reconciled to the good that has already been given.”³

This is somewhat contrary to Oriental thought in which it is the goal for every student to strive and become better than their teacher. And for a teacher in the Orient, there is no greater reward than when a student becomes greater than his master. But for the disciples of Jesus, they could not even imagine becoming as good as their teacher, let alone better. So no matter how long a person follows Jesus, they will never reach the point where they no longer need to emulate Him or study His words because there is nothing more to learn. No matter how long we live, we will forever be growing in Christ if only to be what He wants us to be in this world.

Verse 25a: Students should be happy to be treated the same as their teacher, just as servants should be happy to be treated the same as their master.

Here again our Lord quotes phrases familiar to the Jewish ear. Rabbi Johanan once said: “Enough for the servant that he should be like his master.”⁴ We find this repeated by other Jewish commentators, who abide by this truth.⁵ It is put another way in the Jewish commentary on Ruth: “The cover for the scroll is saved together with the scroll, just as a son provides merit for his father, and a disciple provides merit for his master.”⁶ As a matter of fact, one sage commented that even after a father is gone, a son may still achieve something that will reflect good on his father, even though his dad is no longer alive.⁷ By the same token, this Rabbi goes on to say: “When we see others suffering we must examine our own way of life. As frequently in the Torah, what happened to the forefathers foreshadows what will happen but should not happen to their children.”⁸

It still surprises me today that many Christians do not think it fair that they should be treated like earlier believers during the time of the apostles by Roman persecutors. What has inspired and kept many of Christ’s followers loyal to Him is that they do not believe they should fare any better than their Master. So if He remained faithful, so can they. The greatest of all stories written about Christians are not those that display God’s children living in peace and luxury, but those who persevered and stood fast in times of trials and tribulations. Anyone with such false notions should read what the apostle Paul had to say to the Roman believers who were were facing persecution. Believe it or not, suffering for Christ’s sake can be a blessing.⁹

The great Early Church preacher, Chrysostom, had this to say: “What Christ is saying to the faithful is, I am now already sharing with you the same stigma you are presently suffering. That is sufficient for your encouragement. I, your Master and Lord, have felt the same grief you now feel. And if that distresses you further, remember this: that even from this apprehension you will soon be freed. For why do you now grieve? Are you troubled that someone is calling you a deceiver or a liar? So what? Wait a little while. In time you will be seen as benefactors of the world and champions of faith. For time reveals whatever is concealed. Time will refute their false accusations and make your good intent known. For as historic events unfold, a larger design will be recognized. Everyone will finally grasp the real state of the case and not merely the frail words used to describe it. Then your adversaries will be revealed as false accusers, liars and slanderers. With time lengthening to reveal and proclaim your innocence, you will shine brighter than the sun. Your voice will in time be heard more clearly than a trumpet. Your good intent will be attested by all. So do not let what is now being said demoralize you. Rather, let the hope of the good things to come raise you up. For the true story of your testimony cannot be suppressed forever.”¹⁰

Verse 25b: If those people call me ‘Beelzebub,’ and I am the head of the family, then it is even more certain that they will insult you, the members of the family!

When it comes to the Jew’s referring to Jesus as Beelzebub, Early Church fathers were adamant about identifying spiritual beings as either servants of God or servants of Satan. One philosopher and skeptic of the Early Church suggested this: “The demons belong to God, and are therefore to be believed, to be offered sacrifices according to laws, and to be prayed to that they may be favorable.”¹¹ But one respected church leader disagreed with this critic. He states: “Those who are disposed to learn, must know that the Word of God nowhere says of evil things that they belong to God, for it judges them unworthy of such a Lord. Accordingly, it is not all men who bear the name of ‘men of God,’ but only those who are worthy of God, – such as Moses and Elias, and any others who are so called, or such as resemble those who are so called in Scripture. In the same way, all angels are not said to be angels of God, but only those that are blessed: those that have fallen away into sin are called ‘angels of the devil,’ just as bad men are called ‘men of sin,’ ‘sons of perdition,’ or ‘sons of iniquity.’ Since, then, among men some are good and others bad, and the former are said to be God’s and the latter the devil’s, so among angels some are angels of God, and others angels of the devil. But among demons there is no such distinction, for all are said to be wicked. We do not therefore hesitate to say that Celsus is false when he says, ‘If they are demons, it is evident that they must also belong to God.’ He must either show that this distinction of good and bad among angels and men has no foundation, or else that a similar distinction may be shown to hold among demons. If that is impossible, it is plain that demons do not belong to God; for their prince is not God, but, as holy Scripture says, ‘Beelzebub’”.¹²

BEELZEBUB: Jewish scholars tell us that the name “Beelzebub,” also written as “Beelzebul,” which occurs nowhere else in Jewish literature, is a variant form of “Baal Zebub,” the god of Eḳron, whose oracle King Ahaziah consulted during his illness, provoking thereby the wrath of God;¹³ the name is commonly explained by the Septuagint and Josephus as “The Fly, the God of Ekron.”¹⁴ Also, plagues were often ascribed to the influence of flies.¹⁵ In fact, the fly was regarded by the Jews in particular as more or less impure and demonic. “The evil spirit lies like a fly at the doors of the human heart,” says Rab, with reference to “the flies of death” in Ecclesiastes.¹⁶

In one Jewish book it states: “A fly, being an impure thing, was never seen in the slaughterhouse of the Temple.”¹⁷ Also, in other Jewish writings we learn that after Elisha was sent to the Shunammite woman, she said unto her husband: “Behold now, I perceive that he is a holy man of God.”¹⁸ So Rabbi Jose ben Hanina said: “You learn from this that a woman recognizes the character of a guest better than a man, ‘a holy man.’” So the question came up, “How did she know this?” Rabbi Abba Arikha (also known as “Rab,” and Rabbi Samuel of Nehardea gave different answers. Said Rab, “Because she never saw a fly pass by his table.” Said Rabbi Samuel, “When she spread out the linen on his bed, and she never saw any overnight soil spots on it.”

What renders the name still more problematic is the form “Beelzebul,” which the older manuscripts present, and which has given rise to a number of other conjectures, among them the following: (1) It has been suggested that the terms Beelzebub and Baal Zebub are corrupt forms of what was originally “Baal Zebul” (Baal of the heavenly mansion),¹⁹ and afterward “Baal of the nether world.” (2) The word “Zebul” (from “zebel,” dung) is a mispronunciation of “Zebub,” in order to give the name the meaning of “god of the dung.” It is more likely that the name “Beelzebul” is a dialectic variation of “Beelzebub,” as “Beliar” is of “Belial”; St. Jerome read and translated the name as “lord of flies”. In any case, it was not a direct reference to Satan, but his top henchman.²⁰

To the Jew, flies were symbols of impurity.²¹ We also find that Jews believed, of the ten miracles that were wrought for their forefathers in the Temple, one of those was this: “…no fly was ever seen in the slaughter-house.”²² In their minds this elevated their status as a special people in the eyes of God, therefore they should be seen as special in the eyes of man.

For example, here is one discourse on how things were viewed by a naturalist who lived during the time Jesus was here on earth, from 23-79 AD. He says:

“The nature and multiplicity of the various remedies already described or which still remain to be enlarged upon, compel me to enter upon some further details with reference to the art of medicine itself: aware as I am, that no one1 has hitherto treated of this subject in the Latin tongue, and that if all new enterprises are difficult or of doubtful success, it must be one in particular which is so barren of all charms to recommend it, and accompanied with such difficulties of illustration. It will not improbably suggest itself, however, to those who are familiar with this subject, to make inquiry how it is that in the practice of medicine the use of samples has been abandoned, so convenient as they are and so ready prepared to our hand: and they will be inclined to feel equal surprise and indignation when they are informed that no known art, lucrative as this is beyond all the rest, has been more fluctuating, or subjected to more frequent variations. Commencing by ranking its inventors in the number of the gods, and consecrating for them a place in heaven, the art of medicine, at the present day even, teaches us in numerous instances to have recourse to the oracles for aid. In more recent times again, the same art has augmented its celebrity, at the cost perhaps of being charged with criminality, by devising the fable that Æsculapius was struck by lightning for presuming to raise Tyndareus to life. And this example notwithstanding, it has not hesitated to relate how that others, through its agency, have since been restored to life. Already enjoying celebrity in the days of the Trojan War, its traditions from that period have acquired an additional degree of certainty; although in those times, we may remark, the healing art confined itself solely to the treatment of wounds”.²³

This same author goes on explain how some medicinal remedies were made at that time: “The part of Syria which is called Commagene, has discovered another invention also; the fat of the goose is enclosed with some cinnamon in a brazen vessel, and then covered with a thick layer of snow. Under the influence of the excessive cold, it becomes macerated, and fit for use as a medicament, remarkable for its properties: from the country which produces it, it is known to us as ‘Commagenum’.”²⁴ Since both illness and remedy were tied to the gods, there were many ceremonies conducted at pagan temples during Jesus’ day, where they chanted hymns, burned all sorts of incense and poured out libations of wine.²⁵ Perhaps we can see why these Jews were so quick to assign Jesus’ healing powers to Beelzebub.

At the beginning of this section we find a parallel much like that found in the Book of Proverbs. But Christ introduces more than just parallel thoughts and correlated perfects and imperfects. He produces for our hope and joy, if we obey, promises that reaching right down into the very necessities of life. Many think and live their religion on pure spiritual levels, mostly while in church activities. But Christ makes it clear that God cares for the whole man, both inside and outside the church.

To know, for instance, that God keeps track of every sparrow is wonderful, but to know that not only does He record our existence but that He even knows how many hairs are on our head is awesome. Isn’t it simple logic then, that if He cares for the little sparrow, how much more will He care for His children whom He bought at the price of His own Son on the cross. If they crucified our Lord and continue to reject Him today, why should any of His followers and representatives expect any better treatment? We do not serve God for the applause of mankind, but for the approval of our Father in heaven. Just look at what He accomplished by remaining true to His mission!

Chrysostom had this comment at the end of this portion of the text. He writes: “Observe how He reveals that He is the Lord and God and Creator of all things. What does it mean that ‘a disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master?’ As long as one is a disciple or a servant, one is not ready to receive honor. So do not speak to me of what is lacking in the Master. Learn your arguments from all that is sufficient about Him. Jesus does not say ‘how much more will they malign His servants?’ but instead ‘how much more will they malign those of His household?’ This demonstrates His close relationship with them. In another place Christ says, ‘I no longer call you my slaves; you are my friends.’²⁶ Moreover, he does not say ‘if they are insolent to the master of the house and accuse him.’ Instead, He includes the exact form their insolence took, namely, that they called Him Beelzebul.”²⁷

Right now you may say to yourself, “I don’t complain when things don’t go my way.” Why then do you complain just because some sinner says something against you or doesn’t treat you with the respect you think you should receive as a Christian? Why do you get upset then when other believers are recognized as an important part of God’s mission to save lost mankind but not you? Why do you make a fuss when the honors and awards placed on others, saint or sinner, are not also given to you, because you as a believer you should be recognized?

Such inequalities can wait for future judgment, stay with what is important right now. Believe me, God will take care of it. Here Jesus is basically saying that before He will ask His followers to endure suffering and persecution, He will go through it Himself. Therefore, if He must endure it, then they should not expect anything less. As a matter of fact, they should consider it an honor to suffer like their master. Our Lord also uses a reference to a derogatory name He had been called.²⁸

For many Pentecostals during the early years of the movement, they were often referred to as “Holy Rollers.” Some resented it but others absorbed the intended insult with the pillow of love. One time as I sat in a coffee shop out in the Dakotas, someone in the next booth spoke loud enough for all the other diners to hear, and asked me: “Hey preacher, is it true that over at your church they turn out the lights and roll on the floor!” I heard some snickering and muffled laughter, but I sat quiet for a moment, then I repeated what the Holy Spirit flashed in my mind. “No,” I said, “that’s not true. We don’t turn out the lights.”

How true Early Church preacher Chrysostom is on the fact that no matter what people may say about us and our faith in Jesus the Christ, or what names they may sling at us because we are dedicated followers of the Messiah, they are in fact directing those insults at Him, the One who lives inside us. So if He could take what they called Him back then, I’m sure He can tolerate whatever skeptics and critics may aim at Him today. So don’t take their barrage of ridicule personally. He can handle it for you!

As insulting and debasing as these charges against Jesus may have been, our Lord took them in stride, and refused to dignify them by accepting them as an insult. So if our Master coped with it in this manner, we have no better example to follow than His. He understood that they were just trying to find the resource for His healing power, because they were stuck in the colossal ignorance of their day as it relates to disease and remedies. So if someone makes fun of your faith or your walk with Christ, don’t become defensive and throw insults back at them. And don’t apologize for what you are or what you may have said about your faith. I recommend that you simply smile and tell them that you are disappointed in their reaction because you considered them to be worthy of knowing what a great and wonderful God you serve.

A homeless man showed up outside a growing church in a nice location in the city. He hung around the front entrance while it filled with nicely dressed people for Sunday service. Only three people said hello to him, most looked the other way. He asked people for change to buy food because he was hungry. No one gave him anything. It was a cold, windy day, but no one invited him inside. When the service began, he entered the sanctuary and found a seat toward the front, but was quickly told by the ushers he would need to go sit in the back. As people entered he greeted them, but all he got were cold stares and dirty looks as they passed by.

Soon it was time to begin the service. He listened as new visitors were welcomed, but no one acknowledged him. People kept turning around looking his way with stares that said you are not welcome here. Then the associate pastor walked to the podium with a special announcement they were all waiting for. He said: “We are excited to welcome our new Senior Pastor this morning.” The congregation rose as they looked around clapping with joy and anticipation.

The homeless man stepped out into the aisle and started walking to the front. That’s when all the clapping stopped and the church became silent. With all eyes on him, he walked up on the platform and took the microphone. He stood there for a moment and then elegantly recited a verse from the Bible. “Then the king said to those on the left hand…I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite me in; I needed some clothes but you gave me nothing to wear; I was sick, and in prison, and you did not visit me.”

All of us I’m sure would love to get a real personal letter from God written on paper, telling us what we need to know in order to please Him. Of course, we already have correspondence from Him in writing, and it’s called “God’s Word” – the Bible.

But it still would be something that would thrill us if we opened our mail box and found a letter from Him addressed to us. That is, if you still have a good relationship with Him. But let’s imagine that you did get a letter, and it read like this letter I found that may be like the one you’d get from your heavenly Father.

From: God
To: (Put your name here)

Effective Immediately:

Please be aware that there are changes you need to make in your life. These changes need to be completed in order that I may fulfill my promises to you to grant you love, peace and joy in this life. It may be inconvenient, but after all that I am doing for you, this seems very little to ask of you to do for Me. You already have the teachings of my Son in the Gospels, but here are a few I’d like to lovingly remind you of.

QUIT WORRYING

Life may have dealt you a blow and all you do is sit and worry. Have you forgotten that I am here to help you carry your burdens? Or do you just enjoy fretting over every little thing that comes your way so people feel sorry for you?

PUT IT ON THE LIST

Something needs done or taken care of. Put it on the list. No, not YOUR list. Put it on MY to-do-list. Let ME help you take care of the problem. But I can’t help you until you turn it over to my will. And, although my to-do-list is long, I am, after all, God. I can help you take care of anything you put into my hands. In fact, if the truth were ever really known, I have taken care of a lot of things for you that you don’t even know about.

TRUST ME

Once you’ve given your burdens to me, quit trying to take them back. Trust in Me. Have the faith that I will take care of all your needs, your problems and your trials. It may not be as you want or when you want, but I’m always on time with the right solution. Problems with the kids? Put them on My list. Problem with finances? Put it on My list. Problems with your emotional roller coaster? For your sake, put it on My list. I want to help you. All you have to do is ask.

LEAVE IT ALONE

When things start going well, don’t wake up and say, “Well, I’m feeling much stronger now, I think I can handle it from here.” Why do you think you are feeling stronger now? It’s simple. You turned control of your burdens over to Me, and I’m helping you take care of them. I also renew your strength and cover you in My peace. Don’t you know that if I give you these problems back, you will be right back where you started? Leave them in My hands and trust Me. We can do the job better together.

TALK TO ME

I want you to relax about a lot of things. Don’t concentrate on what’s making you so upset. Put aside the worry and the fretting because you know I’m in control. But there’s one thing I want you to never forget. Please don’t forget to talk to Me – OFTEN! I love you. I want to hear your voice. I want you to include Me in the things going on in your life. I want to hear you talk about your friends and family. What you’re planning to do and where you’re going. Things you have to do and things you need to finish. Prayer is simply you having a conversation with Me. After all, I am your best friend.

HAVE FAITH

I see a lot of things from up here that you can’t see from down there. Have faith in Me that I know what I’m doing. Trust Me, you wouldn’t want see what I see, it would scare you. Just remember I will never let anything happen to you without My permission. I continue to care for you, watch over you, and meet your needs. You only have to trust Me. Although I have a much bigger task than you, it seems as if you have so much trouble just doing your simple part. How hard can trust be?

SHARE

You were taught to share when you were still young. When did you forget? That rule still applies. Share with those who are less fortunate than you. Share your joy with those who need encouragement. Share your laughter with those who haven’t heard any in such a long time. Share your tears with those who are hurting. Share your faith with those who have none.

BE PATIENT

I managed to fix it so in just one lifetime you could have so many diverse experiences. You grow from a child to an adult, change jobs many times, learn many trades, travel to so many places, meet thousands of people, and experience so much. How can you be so impatient then when it takes Me a little longer than you expect to handle something on My to-do-list? Trust in My timing, for My timing is perfect. Just because I created the entire universe in only six days, everyone thinks I should always rush, rush, rush.

BE KIND

Be kind to others, for I love them just as much as I love you. They may not dress like you, or talk like you, or live the same way you do, but I still love you all. Please try to get along, for my sake. I created each of you different in some way. It would be too boring if you were all identical. Please know I love each of your differences. Also love your fellow believers. After all, I’m living in them just like I’m living in you. So by loving them you are loving Me.

LOVE THE PERSON I MADE YOU TO BE

As much as I love you, how can you not love what I’ve helped you to become? You were created by Me to be loved, and to love in return. I am God who is Love. Love Me. Love your neighbors. But also love what you are because of Me. You certainly don’t want to go back being what you once were. That would tear my heart out. It makes my heart ache just to see you so angry at yourself when things go wrong. After all, I gave My Son to get you. You are very precious to me. Don’t ever forget that!

With all My heart, I love you,

GOD

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TEN

Part III

Verse 20: But it will not really be you speaking; the Spirit of your heavenly Father will be speaking through you.

And another Early Church writer on Matthew gives us this exposition: “For the greater consolation of the apostles, He did not say, ‘The Spirit of your Father who speaks in you’ but ‘who speaks.’ He meant that neither then nor now can they do or speak anything without the Spirit of God. It is as though He said to them, ‘You see me hungry, and you believe that I am the heavenly bread. You see me thirsty, and you believe that I am the spring of water welling up to eternal life.¹ You believe in me and declare that I speak the truth. How are we to understand this human faculty that sees one thing and believes another and then professes that belief? So, if now at a time when there is no danger, my grace is at work in you, how much more will it be in you when persecution comes? For He who sustains you in peace will help you all the more in war.”²

So in other words, early church scholars believed that Jesus is really saying that whenever a believer is confronted by those who ask them why they preach or teach what they do, the Spirit will not speak for them, but God through the Spirit will speak through them. That means that whatever testimony we may be forced to give, it will have the added anointing and unction of the Holy Spirit so as to convict and convince those who may desire to prosecute us for preaching the true gospel of Jesus the Christ. We certainly can see that when the apostle Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost, and the apostle Paul stood before king Agrippa.

When we compare this concept to a radio, first it must be plugged in so it can operate. So imagine the Bible as the source to be plugged into, and the Holy Spirit as the electricity that flows through the cord that connects you, and you are the speaker. Not only that, but you must be tuned into the right station in order to broadcast the best programming, and that station is JESUS! That’s why we are not here to argue or advise the world, but to advertise the good news of the Kingdom of God. That’s why the apostle Paul was unapologetic when he said: “I am proud of the Good News, because it is the power God uses to save everyone who believes.”³

And now our Master adds another factor that behooves us to be aware of the conditions around us and what may be driving all this opposition to the Gospel we preach, so that we can be ready:

Verse 21: Brothers will turn against their own brothers and hand them over to be killed. Fathers will hand over their own children to be killed. Children will fight against their own parents and will have them killed.

These words must have come as a shocker to Jesus’ disciples. Whatever their expectations were, this was probably not on their list. Nevertheless, even the Jews themselves had announced that this would occur in the time of the Messiah. They said: “The wisdom of the Scribes will decay and those who fear sin will be utterly despised. Truth will be absent, the youth will make the faces of the elders turn pale, elders will rise in to give their seat to the young, the son will deride his father, the daughter will stand up against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. The enemies of one are members in his own household. The face of the generation is like the face of a dog, bearing no shame for anything.”⁴ This is not a description of the congregation of believers, but of society as a whole.

This warning about the deterioration of respect and authority is also outlined by Jewish scholars. They said:

“In the period preceding the coming of Messiah, insolence will increase and prices will soar. The vineyard will produce, yet wine will be expensive, since constant partying will cause excessive demand. And government will turn to away from the truth and there will be no admonishment for sins, since all are sinners. The wisdom of the Scribes will decay and those who fear sin will be utterly despised. Truth will be absent, the youth will turn the faces of the elders pale, but elders will support their youth’s actions, the son will deride his father, the daughter will stand up against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. One’s enemies are members of his own household. The face of the generation is like the face of a dog, bearing no shame for anything. The son is not embarrassed in front of his father and upon whom, can we rely on?”⁵

Rabbi Eliezer the Great put it this way:

“From the day the temple was destroyed, the sages began to be like school teachers, school teachers like synagogue attendants, synagogue attendants like common people, and the common people became more and more debased; and there was none to ask, none to inquire. upon whom is it for us to rely? Upon our father who is in heaven. in the footsteps of the Messiah? Insolence will increase and honor dwindle; the vine will yield its fruit abundantly but wine will be expensive; the government will turn to falsehood and there will be none to rebut them; the meeting-place of scholars will be used for immoral purposes…and the dwellers on the frontier will go about [begging] from place to place without anyone to take pity on them”.⁶

Scholars tell us that the reason wine will become scarce is because of widespread drunkenness due to such persecution. Also, the government turning to heresy is a reference to the Roman Empire going over from paganism to Christianity.⁷ Again, in the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles we find nothing of this magnitude faced by the disciples or their descendants. It would be 200 years before the church would begin to suffer such persecution. Some scholars believe that this message was in reference to what the Jews experienced during the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD. In that case, it was the survival of the early church that Jesus was speaking of.

Yet many scholars see this as part of the eschatological ending as displayed in John’s Apocalypse. Then again, it may not point to any specific period or event, but was to be accepted as a tide of persecution that would go on and off as long as the Church is here on earth. The prophet Isaiah foresaw something similar, “You who obey the Lord’s commands, listen to what He says: ‘Your brothers hated you. They turned against you because you followed Me. Your brothers said, ‘When the Lord shows His glory, then we will rejoice with you.’ But they will be punished.”⁸ This could certainly point to the end days just before the rapture, when Christians will be persecuted the hardest. Then our Lord brings in a qualifier, in that if all of this was going to happen to Him, then why should His followers be exempt. They would simply be on the same mission as He was.

Early Church Bishop Hilary sees this entire saying of the Lord as referring to the Orthodox Jews and the Messianic Jews following our Lord’s ascension. That among the believing Jews, the family in a single house will disagree among themselves. This means that whereas the people were formerly united (for the ‘people’ is meant under the names of parents and relatives), the believing Jews will now be exposed to vicious hatred. They will be turned over to earthly judges and kings, who attempt to secure either their silence or their cooperation. For they are to bear testimony to their own people and to the Gentiles, and after that testimony has been borne, their persecutors will be deprived of the excuse that they are ignorant of divine things. When Christ has been prophesied by the words of the martyrs amid the tortures of savage persecutors, the way will be open for the Gentiles to believe in Him, though they remain stubborn.⁹

Other Christian scholars, however, take these word of Jesus as only applying to the End Times. But church history has shown that over the centuries this hideous phenomenon has occurred many times. One need only read Foxe’s Book of Martyrs to see what happened over the last 400 years in Europe. But again, Jesus now gives the underlying reason for this hatred:

Verse 22: Everyone will dislike you because you follow Me. But the one who remains faithful to the end will be saved.

These words by Jesus gives us a clear definition of what “being saved” really means. Too often believers use the words “redeemed” and “saved” interchangeably. But look at them this way: we are “redeemed” from the bondage of sin, and we are thereby “saved” from the penalty of sin which is death. However, our Lord states clearly, that salvation will come only to those who remain faithful in their redemption from sin to the end. That is to the end of one’s life, whether it comes by death or at the rapture. In this case, our Lord gives His disciples a specific time frame in which to reference their task. One thing to focus on is that Jesus did not say that the good news would reach every city in Israel and then the Son of Man would come, but that they would all hear the gospel before He returned.

One early church writer has this to say about enduring to the end. He writes: “This is said because many begin but few reach the end. There is always pleasure in the beginning, but the end is the time of testing. For no one can endure with God to the end without becoming a person who belongs to God by means of grace. Everything done because of the flesh is mortal. The body is itself impermanent. But what is done because of God is eternal, just as God is eternal. What is glorious is not to begin something good but to reach the end in a good way. Hence the very essence of a good life is a good death. Firmness of heart can reach the end. Fleshly desire often starts some good thing but cannot reach the end except by the grace of God. So then, now that you have turned to God and begun to serve God and do the works of righteousness, never think back on your previous deeds. Think about your end. The contemplation of our previous good service leads to pride, but the contemplation of our end leads to holy reverence.”¹⁰

Verse 23: When you are treated badly in one city, go to another city. I promise you that you will not finish going to all the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes again.

One of the early 4^th century church theologians made this comment: “His coming is not described as a manifest one at the end of our life. His coming will appear as spiritual guidance and help for those who are persecuted from time to time for the sake of God.”¹¹ In other words, Jesus was telling them that the mission He was sending them out on and their continued ministry in bringing the good news to all the cites throughout Israel would not be completed before they would see the Anointed One in all His glory.

But some scholars take into account that here Jesus is talking to His disciples, and especially the 70 followers He is about to send out on their mission in the area of Galilee where they were at the time. So this implies that even though He may be gone from their sight for a while, His absence will not be long enough for them to finish what He is now sending them out to do. This may have been His reference to the time between His crucifixion and His resurrection. I can imagine that what Jesus really said in Aramaic and how it was written down in Hebrew and then translated into Greek may have blurred the original meaning. But we need not be concerned because the message was primarily directed at those who followed Him at the time.

Early Church scholar Cyril of Alexandria sees it in this light: “Jesus commands His disciples to flee from one town to the next, and from that one to another. In saying this He is not telling His disciples to be cowardly. He is telling them not to cast themselves into dangers and die at once, for that would be a loss to those who otherwise will benefit from the teaching.”¹² It is clear that Cyril saw this with respect to his day and the days to come for all of Christ’s followers.

This is why those who are teachers and preachers should diligently examine God’s Word before going out to preach or teach what Jesus really said. One thing I’ve always used as a guide to determine the priority of how exact my exegesis should be in relationship to the original text, is that some verses do not affect or impact God’s plan or the teachings of Jesus on salvation, but are more or less historical and are not as critical as those that do. But I still endeavor to give the most accurate meaning as possible so that the listeners can gain a better understanding of what Jesus really said. Handling God’s Word is a serious matter, and we should be cautious in preparation before presenting what we say as fact.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TEN

Part II (Con’t)

Verse 16: Listen to me! I am sending you out, and you will be like sheep among wolves. So be smart like snakes. But also be as harmless as doves.

Our Savior knew the dangers that sheep faced from wolves and other predators out in the countryside. So sending His sheep out without Him being along to guide and protect them was risky. But how would they fare once He ascended back into heaven if they were not given the opportunity to train under His leadership? We see that our Lord uses the metaphors of sheep, wolves, doves and snakes to identify the characteristics of both His disciples and those who would oppose them.

One early church anonymous writer on Matthew shares his belief that Jesus had a purpose in describing His disciples as being “like” sheep, and calling those who were a threat to them as “wolves.” In his mind, these followers were by nature gentle and trusting like sheep, and those who stood ready to attack them were by nature as ravenous as wolves.¹ But there may be more to this than simply the attitudes of both the sheep and wolves. When it came to wolves that attacked, the sheep were defenseless; they were easy targets, especially the young and those who strayed from the flock.

Therefore the only defense they have is to use any innate tendencies they may have on how to stay together and be alert when caught alone out in the open. Yet, it may also be that Jesus knew that His followers at this point in their training were not yet capable of disputing the critics and skeptics. They were still too young in the faith. So He wanted to caution them and warn them to simply avoid being drawn into any disputes or debates. But at the same time, when they were confronted not to strike back as an eagle might do, but be as calm as a dove in their answers.

It was common knowledge among all travelers through the rural areas of Galilee and Judea that snakes would not strike unless you bothered them or invaded their territory. Also, from the time of Noah, doves were seen as harmless birds that need not be feared. So by using these two creatures, Jesus was appealing to His disciples to use the powerful abilities He just gave them in a wise, yet non-confrontational manner. This should be a guideline for everyone who takes the Gospel into hostile territory. And the reason the Master gave them these instructions is because He knew what they didn’t know about the hostility and cunningness of their adversaries, including the one who inspired them, the serpent Satan himself.

There was also a proverb about snakes and doves as part of Jewish verbal tradition that Jesus may have had in mind and with which His followers were familiar. It was used when comparing Israel to other nations. Rabbi Judah once quoted Rabbi Simon saying: “The holy blessed God said, concerning Israel, with me they are harmless as doves, but among the nations of the world, they are elusive like serpents.”² So our Lord knew that what confronted them would be similar to what the children of Israel faced trying to occupy the Promised Land. They must be properly prepared for the worst.

Early church teacher Chrysostom sees our Lord’s words in this context: “He is teaching them a new sort of warfare. He sends them out exposed, with only one coat, barefoot and without a staff, without clothing or provisions. The manner of their battle array is entirely unimpressive. He calls them to allow themselves to be totally supported by the generosity of such as receive them. All this is to accentuate his unspeakable power. Then, to press this reverse strategy to its limits, he tells them to exhibit the gentleness of sheep, even though they are going out among wolves, and not simply toward the wolves but trustfully moving right into the midst of the wolves.”³

Verses 17-18a: Be careful! There are people who will arrest you and take you to be judged. They will whip you in their synagogues. You will be taken to stand before governors and kings.

This warning was not meant to alert the disciples of the dangers of their current mission, but what would face them down the road in future evangelistic efforts. The courts that our Lord referred to here were certainly those described in Jewish writings, which we know as the major and minor Jewish federal courts called the Sanhedrim, established in every city in Israel in which there were 120 or more adult males.⁴ They not only adjudicated legal matters, but religious matters as well, and meted out the punishment of scourging on violators of the law.⁵

Specific instructions were given on how this scourging was administered: “The transgressor’s two hands are bound to a column on either side. The community attendant takes hold of his clothes and pulls downward. If they tear at the front, that is satisfactory; if the tear at the sides, that is satisfactory. He continues until he uncovers his heart. The rationale is that he should not administer lashes on his garment, as indicated by Deuteronomy 25:2: ‘And he shall strike him,’ i.e., ‘him,’ and not his garment. A stone is placed behind him. The attendant who administers the lashes stands on it. He holds a strap of calf’s leather that is folded into two, and a second one, making four, and two straps of donkey leather attached to it that rise and descend with it. The strap is a three inches wide and it is long enough to reach the transgressor’s belly. The handle of the strap is a three inches wide…The person receiving the lashes should not stand, nor should he sit. Instead, he should bend over as Deuteronomy 25:2 states: ‘The judge shall cast him down.’ The verse continues: ‘And he shall strike the one who is before him.’ This implies that the attention of the judge should be focused upon him. He should not look at other matters while having him lashed. From this, we learn that two people are never lashed at the same time.”⁶ Furthermore, the number of whip lashes were limited to forty.⁷

But it wasn’t long after Jesus ascended that the Sanhedrim and smaller courts lost all power of capital punishment under the Romans. Say the Jews, “40 years before the destruction of the Temple, capital punishment was nullified among the Jewish people. Although the Temple was still standing, since the Sanhedrim went into exile and were not in their place in the Temple, these laws could not be enforced”.⁸

Later in early church history (310-403 AD) we read about such persecution on a high ranking Jew named Josephus who became a Christian while remaining a strong leader in Jewish society. It reads: “Since he was very strict as an apostle should be—as I said, this is their name for the rank—and indeed was a reformer, he was always intent on what would make for the establishment of good order and purged and demoted many of the appointed synagogue-heads, priests, elders and “azanites” (meaning their kind of deacons or assistants), many were angry with him. As though in an attempt to pay him back these people took no little trouble to pry into his affairs and find out what he was doing. For this reason a crowd of meddlers burst in upon him at home in his residence, and caught him pouring over the Gospels. They seized the book and grabbed the man, dragged him on the floor with shouts, carrying him away to the synagogue with no light mistreatment, and beat him as the Law prescribes. This was his first trial; however, the bishop of the town arrived and got him out. Another time they caught him on a journey, he told me, and threw him into the river Cydnus.⁹ When they saw him taken by the current they thought he had gone under and drowned, and were glad about it.”¹⁰

So we can see how prophetic our Lord’s words were to His followers. But there was a reason for such persecution, besides animosity between religions. It would also be done for political reasons. After all, the kings and governors did not want any religious turmoil in their territories. Within a few short years after this statement by Jesus, Saul of Tarsus would feel the full brunt of such inquisitions by Roman governors.

Between the years 200-300 AD the Jewish leaders would comment on the loss of their court’s authority: “Yosé Meoni interpreted the following verse in the synagogue in Tiberias: ‘Hear this, Priests’ (Hosea 5:1) – why do you not labor in the Torah? Have not the twenty-four priestly gifts been given to you?’ They said to him, ‘Nothing at all has been given to us.’ ‘And give heed, O House of Israel!’ (Hosea 5:1), ‘Why do you not give the priests the twenty-four gifts concerning which you have been commanded at Sinai?’ They said to him, ‘The king took them all away’.”¹¹

The Jews also report how the king of Persia “seized three of the great men of Israel: Amemar Bar Mar Yanuka Bar Mar Zutra, a colleague of Rabbi Ashi; Rabbi Mesharshia the Exilarch and Huna Mar Shamu. The king of Persia executed them and seized some of the youths of Israel and forced them to abandon their faith [in Tevet] of the year 4434 [read 4234, AD 474] when Raba Tosfaah died”.¹² But when such persecution might come from either the Jews or Gentile authorities, Jesus makes it clear what the main opposition was.

Verse 18b: People will do this to you because you follow Me. You will tell about Me to those kings and governors and to the non-Jewish people.

The tense and tone of this warning now switches from the immediate present to the future. There is no record that on this occasion these disciples who were sent out stood before any governors or kings. Therefore it is a message that has resonated down through the ages. Many Christians today do not expect this to happen to them. They feel that those days of persecution are over. But a quick look around the world will show that in some cases it is getting as bad, or worse, than ever before. That’s why Jesus cautions them to use the skills of the serpent and the demeanor of the dove to cope with the situation.

After all, we are told: “The serpent was the most clever of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made”.¹³ A Jewish translator uses the term “cunning” instead of “clever.” He tells us that it involves a pun used by ancient Hebrew writers where the word ‘arum, “cunning,” plays off the word ‘arumim, “naked,” used in verse 25 of the previous chapter.¹⁴ One Jewish commentator states: “The serpent represents all the negative spiritual forces in the universe, and brings God’s wrath upon His world as it seduces God’s creatures to rebel against Him”.¹⁵

This certainly puts the light on one of Satan’s most powerful tools: “seduction.” He seduced one third of the angels by false promises to join him in rebellion against God, and now he seduces the first woman in the Garden of Eden into believing what he said rather than trusting what God said. Such seduction is not to take away what a person already has, but to offer them something that is supposed to be better, nicer, and more satisfying. As we look around us today, Satan is still using this as his main tactic in deceiving the world, and in some cases, deceiving believers.

Therefore, you should never go into hostile territory with the belief that nothing will happen to you. But if something does confront you, be gentle and kind to those who accost you. To put it in another way, don’t go around looking for or stirring up trouble. But when trouble finds you, treat it as something that may confront every believer. Here’s an old saying that illustrates this: “Never trouble trouble until trouble troubles you; for you only make your trouble double-trouble when you do.”¹⁶

Another thing Jesus points out is that when we are persecuted for His sake, then it is He who is really on trial. That’s why we can take refuge in Him and accept the outcome for us as being the same outcome He allows for Himself. But He won’t let us go before our accusers alone, He promised that the Holy Spirit will be there with us, and when we give our answers to the charges, the Spirit will prompt us on what to say. When God asked Moses to go back down into Egypt where a warrant was out for his arrest for killing an Egyptian slave master, Moses was less than enthusiastic. Beside, he had a problem speaking, which many scholars interpret as a problem with stuttering. But God told him: “Go, I will be with you when you speak. I will give you the words to say.”¹⁷

Likewise, when Jeremiah thought that he was too young to become a preacher, God said to him, “Don’t say, ‘I am only a boy.’ You must go everywhere I send you and say everything I tell you to say.”¹⁸ Jesus was making sure that His disciples were prepared for the conflict up ahead. Just as soldiers are trained before they go into battle, so young Christians should be mentored and made ready as witnesses for the Kingdom of God. Now Jesus goes on to offers His assurance:

Verse 19: When you are arrested, don’t worry about what to say or how you should say it. At that time you will be given the words to say.

Hermeneutically and exegetically this verse is often either over-stressed or under-emphasized. When taken out of context and made to fit every situation it losses its real significance and power. This extra help received from God in giving inspiration, even so much as the very words to speak, is here promised in the time of trial and persecution. When you are hauled before any authority because of your openly expressed faith in God or His Word without any opportunity to prepare a defense, you must consider it an opportunity to testify to your faith in Christ. Then God’s Spirit will give you unction to speak.

There is no mention here of this special power provided for those scheduled to preach in a planned church service, therefore there is no need to study or prepare. It does not guarantee that they will be provided an impromptu sermon straight from God to make up for their lack of prayer and study. Some have used this as an excuse not to study and learn God’s word. On the other hand, there are those who say that merely standing up and sharing what you believe the Holy Spirit has taught you in your study of God’s Word does not make you a qualified messenger without proof of having a proper education. This too is wrong, since we do not read where Jesus gave His disciples any diplomas to show that He had trained them.

To me, the Word of God is essential and must be studied to gain greater knowledge and understanding of what it says. Every student of the Bible should therefore seek help and guidance from more experienced teachers of the Word. But when it comes to sharing the Word, the Holy Spirit’s anointing in the message is sign enough that you have been properly mentored in God’s Word. As my late great friend, Dr. Ray H. Hughes, used to say: “You may put together a good sermon, but the message comes from God.”

We must remember, inspiration is not words put into one’s mouth but the motivation to put the Word of God in your heart so that it comes out of your mouth with authority. It is true that studying, learning and education are very helpful and should be sought, but it is also true that God ‘s wisdom and knowledge can be instilled in the heart and mind of a dedicated servant to speak the truth no matter what his intelligent quotient or his lack of formal training. Most often, this has been demonstrated over the centuries during times of persecution and tribulation for God’s people. No wonder Jesus spent some three years teaching, mentoring and showing His disciples how to minister properly. But after He ascended into heaven He had the Father send the Holy Spirit to teach, inspire and anoint what He had said while He was here on earth.