Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN
Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household. “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:21–33, ESV)
Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Jesus isn’t talking here to comfortable Christians. He is talking to his disciples. He is preparing them for what they don’t know, can’t even believe, is coming. Persecution. In their lifetimes they will experience betrayal, hatred, arrest, and almost all of them, death.
And then in the middle of all that darkness, he starts talking about birds. Sparrows. It seems strange. It seems disconnected. Why bird? Why sparrows of all birds? Shouldn’t he talk about being soldiers? Shouldn’t he talk about kings? Shouldn’t he talk about the fight?
No, he doesn’t because the sparrow is the point. Sparrows were cheap, disposable, forgettable.
He wants to remind his disciples that that’s what the world thinks of them. That’s exactly how the world will treat them.
…and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. (Matthew 10:22, ESV)
He doesn’t say disliked or misunderstood. He says hated. The English word understates it. We hear it as emotional dislike. μισέω means: to hate, to detest, to reject, to have hostility toward, to regard with aversion. This word means opposition that results in action.
Jesus is not merely saying people won’t like you. He is saying they will act in opposition to you. In fact, he promises it will happen. His disciples shouldn’t expect applause or adulation. They should expect hate, and open hostility.
A disciple is not above his teacher. (Matt 10:24, ESV)
They hated him. They will hate the disciples. They will hate you.
Think about it. Persecution isn’t just trying to stop a message. It tries to make the message and the speaker meaningless. “You don’t matter.”
In bloody arena’s, hiding in the catacombs, the early Christians got that message. And believers now, hear the same thing. “You don’t matter. Your message is nothing. You are not useful.”
Useful. That’s what the world values. Power is useful. Wealth is useful. Productivity is useful. Christians are not.
A Christian may find himself treated like a marketplace sparrow. They were cheap, disposable, and replaceable.
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?
Sparrows were sold in the market. Not as pets. As snacks. They were the cheapest thing there. Poor people bought them for food. In Luke he says they would even throw one in for free.
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? (Luke 12:6, ESV)
Two for one penny. Two pennies mean four. Five is an extra thrown in for free. Sparrows are worthless.
Not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
But Jesus says differently. The merchant doesn’t even bother to count them. The crowds don’t count them. But the Father does.
Jesus says that sparrows matter to the Father. So, you matter to the Father. He knows you. He sees you. He counts every hair. He knows everything about you. Your suffering. Your tears. Your persecution. Your death.
Your value isn’t set by the world. Your value is set by Christ. And the proof is the cross. God didn’t purchase you with silver or gold. He purchased you with the blood of His Son. Martin Luther wrote:
I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity.
not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death. Luther pushed the idea. Gold and silver were precious. How many sparrows could be purchased with a heap of gold and silver? Too many to count. For you, God spent his most precious commodity. Jesus suffering and death, and his very life.
Jesus says sparrows fall, not unnoticed by the Father, he counts every single one. But he doesn’t say they don’t fall. Christians fall also. He never promises otherwise. His disciple listening to him would die for Jesus and his word.
And what does he say? Do not fear.
That is profound.
Do not fear.
How can he say that when he has just given a litany of things that shake us to our core? God the Father is still God the Father, even when sparrows fall. Even when persecution leads to death. It is a resurrection promise. The black hole of the grave isn’t a place where God loses people. The Father who knows every hair on your head, the Father who counts sparrows, knows where your body rests. He promises resurrection. Just as Jesus was raised from his grave, you will be too. The world forgets graves. The Father doesn’t. In your grave lies one who has been redeemed by Christ. Purchased and won
with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death.
And listen to how Luther frames it.
that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity.
In the marketplace sparrows weren’t even worth a dime a dozen. The world prices Christians the same way. But, God the Father, he does not.
A persecutor says, “You are worthless.” God the Father sees a soul redeemed by the blood of Jesus.
The world forgets and moves on. The Father remembers.
The world buries. The Father raises.
Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." (Matthew 10:31)
The world prices you like a sparrow. Christ prices you with His blood. Therefore, do not fear. Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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