Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ (Ro 1:7). Amen.
A word ending in –ian explains and expresses that there is a relation to something. I submit two simple examples. A musician has to do with music and a mathematician with math(matics). It is not hard to see.
The same is the case with a Christian. We are connected to Christ, associated with him. That is a good thing. We appreciate it and admit it. Christian, confess Christ fearlessly and faithfully. We read from …
Matthew 10:24-33
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus, whom we profess before all and proclaim to all,
If you can play and instrument or solve a problem, I don’t think that is embarrassing. It would be strange for someone to state:
• “I am sorry. I tickle the ivories.”
• “I apologize. I understand algebra.” (Well, maybe that one.)
Hardly. It is who they are. So they will sit at a bench to push keys to make sound—reminding a person of Bach—or behind a desk to punch calculators to find solutions—replacing numbers for letters.
It is no different with a person who knows Jesus. There will be excitement. And so there is the encouragement.
Christian, Confess Christ
1. Fearlessly (24-31)
2. Faithfully (32,33)
1. Fearlessly (24-31)
It is not so much the noise as it is the unknown. When there is a bump in the night under the bed or in the closet, the boy sits up in bed startled. “What was that?” And then the wonder: “Is it going to hurt me or harm me?” That sensation of fright is not something that just strikes a six-year-old. And we also freeze up at times. Jesus inspires us to open up. Christian, confess Christ fearlessly.
Jesus is getting his disciples ready to go out on a little preaching tour into the harvest field (Mt 9:38). They were going to tell the good news that Jesus has arrived. They would copy what they had seen Christ do. They had a mission to go.
But Jesus is clear. He doesn’t fill their head that it would always be great or only be glorious. There would be difficulty and danger. (And after Jesus went into heaven, for all of them except one would be death.) Persecution would be a part of the process. In fact, they could expect the same treatment that Jesus received. It would not be a superiority, but a similarity. Jesus brings that out with a comparison: “A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master” (Mt 10:24). What is true of one is true of the other. Jesus was not trying to make them sad, but glad. Their attitude could be like Jesus’ (Php 2:5). “It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master” (Mt 10:25). That would be sufficient for them. Think of your favorite teacher or best boss. For an individual to comment, “You are just like him or her,” would be flattering. Now to be sure, there would be rejection. There were those who wanted nothing to do with Jesus, even to the point of one day calling for his crucifixion. But there was also reception, calling on his name. Some would respect the messenger and rejoice about the message. That was to remove any fear.
Jesus is even specific. They could anticipate slander—a lie in order to wreck someone’s reputation. When Jesus performed miracles, the Pharisees preferred to deny him and to declare that he was in league with the devil (Mt 9:34; 12:24), Beelzebub, a name which means “lord of the flies”—like the ones that hover around manure (Mt 10:25). Certainly not a compliment, but also not correct. “If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!” (Mt 10:25). The saying goes: Like father, like son. We could alter that to this: Like Jesus, like disciples. The prophet Jeremiah found that reality. There was ridicule and “reproach all day long” when he opened his mouth with God’s Word (Je 20:8). Even from friends. We might face that same ridicule from those close to us—at home or at work. The charge against us may be that we are unloving or intolerant.
But disciples—present and past—are not to be scared. Ever. “So do not be afraid of them” (Mt 10:26). Why? No plot or plan could be covered up like one hatched in some back room. “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known” (Mt 10:26). Jesus is aware of everything and attentive to his own. Jeremiah could be strong because of the One who stood behind him: “But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail” (Je 20:11). They would not be able to silence or stop. That echoes the thought of David who had us sing that the Lord is our rock of refuge and strong fortress (Ps 31:2). We can rely on his rescue. That would make them confident to carry out what Jesus wanted: “What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs” (Mt 10:27). They were to herald what they had heard. Bravely and boldly—not holding back, but holding out, announcing to others in public what Jesus communicated to them in private. We do the same.
For the second time Jesus brings up fear and commands them to stop it: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Mt 10:28). The worst anyone can do is to take one’s life on earth, not one’s life in heaven. Only God can sentence a person to hell forever. It is a dreadful thing to fall into his punishing hands (He 10:31). But no one will be able to snatch us from his loving hands (Jn 10:28). And that is where he has put us.
Satan would have us shudder in fear rather than share without fear. And you have been there—knees knocking or butterflies flapping. It seems safer to bite our tongue than speak our mind. That results in fewer problems and pain. Who wouldn’t want that?
Jeremiah for one who had anything but an easy ministry—thrown in prison, put in stocks. He related being silent or still to a fire burning inside. And he could not keep God’s Word in (Je 20:9). And we don’t either. As the apostle Paul pointed out why it is so necessary: “just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned” (Ro 5:12). A sinner sins. And a sinner dies. But we don’t shy away from that kind of talk because we have the solution for sin and death—God’s grace and gift of Jesus who died with our sins and rose with our salvation (Ro 4:25; 5:15). Even in death, there is life. And instead of death, there is life.
We are that important to our Father in heaven. More precious than anything since we are the “crown of his creation”—fashioned with body and soul. Jesus drove that point home by looking at common, ordinary birds. These are not expensive parrots or endangered eagles. “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? [Jesus anticipates a “yes” response.] Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father” (Mt 10:29). They didn’t come at a high price for a meal. Their currency was not the same as ours. But we get the meaning. Rarely do people even pick a cent off the street because the risk of bending over is greater than the reward of being rich. But those insignificant animals don’t die when they dive-bomb into the link windows, as they have been regularly lately, without the knowledge and consent of our Father. (Note that he is our Father.) And then the emphatic addition: “You are worth more than many sparrows” (Mt 10:31). Perhaps we could say it this way: You treasure the vehicles in your garage, but how much more the children in your house.
Not only that, but notice the intimate knowledge that our Father has of us. “And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered” (Mt 10:30). (He has an easier time of that with some of us.) We don’t make a big deal when we find one or two in the bathroom sink (maybe not until there are clumps in a comb or brush). But the Lord can identify which one and from where—whether it will grow back or you will go bald. Possibly it is more along the lines of the lame joke. Someone asks: “Did you get your hair cut?” And you answer: “No. I got all of them cut.” God distinguishes each one. That takes away any terror. And so we can sing with the psalmist: “My times are in your hands” (Ps 31:15). That is why Jesus brings us fear the third time: “So don’t be afraid” (Mt 10:31). That emotion can cease. Christian, confess Christ fearlessly. Your Father is behind you and backs you.
2. Faithfully (32,33)
So when the cry goes out from the next room when there is a bang (and not from the 482nd firework of the past week), “Mommy,” or “Daddy,” they get up and go to the next bedroom right away. They don’t yell, “Quiet! I am trying to get some sleep in here.” That is their role as a parent. We have a responsibility as a Christian. Confess Christ faithfully.
Jesus cites two possibilities when it comes to making a statement about him. Basically his attitude about us mirrors our outlook about him. We will look at the second one first. It is a warning. “Whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven” (Mt 10:33). Anyone who imitates Peter around the fire the night when Jesus was arrested, inventing oaths and inviting curses, affirming three times, “I don’t know him,” will receive the same from Jesus: “I don’t know you either” (Mt 7:23). It would be like a stranger that we meet on the street. Remember that when we falter, our Father is faithful, remaining true to himself (2 Ti 2:12,13). And he forgives us and will not blot out our names from the book of life (Re 3:5).
There is the beautiful flipside to that. And that is where we find ourselves as we confess Christ. “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven” (Mt 10:32). Through the work of the Holy Spirit, we can assert with Thomas a week after Easter: “My Lord and my God” (Jn 20 28). He is One who is over all and above all, the changeless One. His love for us is unending and enduring. He defeated the devil. He defends us as we stand firm in the truth that he is the one and only Savior from sin. There was a civil war soldier on a southern battlefield who was hurt seriously when a fragment of a shell hit him. He was bleeding badly from his lacerated arm. It would only be a matter of time. Until a passing physician bound up the artery and saved his life. “Doctor, what is your name?”, the thankful man pleaded. “No matter,” was his response. “Oh no,” the man came back. “I want to tell my wife and children who saved me.” Even more so. We want to speak of his name (Acts 4:12). It is Jesus—whose very name means “the Lord saves” (Mt 1:21). His name is on our lips. Right now and forever.
And ours is on his. Before his Father, he contends: “This one believes in me. This one belongs to me.” Christian, confess Christ faithfully. That is what Jesus does about you.
You may not great at music or math. (That is a relief to me because of my lack of talent in those areas, whether notes or numerals). But we are Christians—linked to Christ. Confess him. Fearlessly and faithfully. Without terror. And in trust. Amen.
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ro 15:5,6). Amen.
July 9, 2017
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