TEXT [Commentary]

3. Jesus forbids fear (10:24-33)

24 “Students[*] are not greater than their teacher, and slaves are not greater than their master. 25 Students are to be like their teacher, and slaves are to be like their master. And since I, the master of the household, have been called the prince of demons,[*] the members of my household will be called by even worse names!

26 “But don’t be afraid of those who threaten you. For the time is coming when everything that is covered will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. 27 What I tell you now in the darkness, shout abroad when daybreak comes. What I whisper in your ear, shout from the housetops for all to hear!

28 “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.[*] 29 What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin[*]? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. 30 And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.

32 “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.”

NOTES

10:24 Students are not greater than their teacher, and slaves are not greater than their master. In case the disciples were surprised at the bleak prospects of their mission, Jesus reminded them of their place as his servants. The students or disciples should not expect better treatment than their teacher or master had received (cf. 23:8; Luke 6:40; John 15:20). Their identity was inextricably linked to his, and they would be treated as he had been treated.

10:25 the prince of demons. Gr., “Beelzeboul,” which is evidently derived from Heb. words meaning “lord of the house” or “lord of the heights”; cf. 9:34; 12:24, 27. The term probably portrays Satan as exalted head of the demons. If Jesus had been called this, why should his disciples expect to be praised? The argument is from the greater to the lesser—if the persecutors are bold enough to call the master Beelzeboul, much more certainly they will call his servants Beelzeboul.

will be called by even worse names! The disciples’ identification with their Teacher means not only that they will be called worse names than Jesus but also that they will share his fate. The malfeasance directed against Jesus will also fall upon them.

10:26 don’t be afraid. Although fear of persecutors seems only natural, it is forbidden in 10:26-33 three times (cf. Luke 12:4-5; 1 Pet 3:14; Rev 2:10; 14:7). Both 10:26 and 10:27 are structured in the poetic fashion of Heb. “synonymous parallelism.” Matthew 10:26 is not so much in contrast with the preceding (NLT “but”), as it is a conclusion drawn from the preceding. Recognizing that they share their master’s fate should release disciples from fear (cf. 5:11-12). They should be emboldened by the realization that they are following in the footsteps of Jesus.

everything that is covered will be revealed. Additional motivation is found in the realization that the future will reverse the present. Secrets, evidently the hidden sins of the persecutors, will be revealed on judgment day.

10:27 shout from the housetops for all to hear! The truth of Jesus’ message will win out on the last day. Therefore, the disciples must not fear but must openly proclaim what Jesus taught them privately, in spite of persecutors.

10:28 Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body. The disciples are here told whom they should fear, not the ones whose powers are merely temporal and physical but the One whose power is eternal (cf. Ps 33:18-19; 4 Macc 13:13-15). The language of this verse seems to assume a sort of dualism of body and soul. The “destruction” of body and soul in hell (geenna [TG1067, ZG1147]) does not support annihilationism (cf. 25:41, 46). See the commentary at the end of this section for further discussion of this. The persecutors are able only to cause physical death, but God is able to punish eternally in hell. Thus, God is viewed by Jesus as not only a loving father but also as the eternal judge. The disciples were encouraged to draw near to God as Father (cf., e.g., 10:20, 29), but as they do so, they are also reminded that they must be in awe of his authority as judge to determine their eternal destinies. The temporary peril of persecution should not be taken lightly, but it pales in comparison with the eternal punishment of God in hell.

hell. The word Gehenna is used in a number of NT texts to designate the fiery place for punishment of sinners and is often translated “hell” or “the fires of hell” (5:22, 29-30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 33; Mark 9:43, 45, 47). It is usually used in connection with the final judgment and often has the suggestion that the punishment spoken of is eternal. Gehenna is derived by transliteration from the Heb. of the OT, “valley of Hinnom,” a ravine on the south side of Jerusalem. This valley was the center of idolatrous worship in which children were burned by fire as an offering to the heathen god Molech (2 Chr 28:3; 33:6). In the time of Josiah it became a place of abomination, polluted by dead men’s bones and the filth of Jerusalem (2 Kgs 23:10) and by garbage and rubbish dumped there. A fire burned continuously in this valley. It thus became a symbol of the unending fires of hell where the lost are consumed in torment (TBD 592). The term geenna is not the same as hadēs [TG86, ZG87], which is the place where the dead wait for the final judgment (NLT renders it “the place of the dead”; see 11:23; 16:18; Acts 2:27, 31; Rev 1:18).

10:29 one copper coin? Gr. assarion [TG787, ZG837], which was worth one sixteenth of a denarius—the denarius being the normal wage for day laborers (cf. 20:2ff). Yet God’s awareness of a comparatively worthless sparrow’s fall to the ground provides much incentive for trusting that he is aware of the persecution of his people.

10:30 the very hairs on your head are all numbered. God’s awareness extends even to the trivial matter of the number of hairs on their heads (cf. Luke 21:18; Acts 27:34), so they are of more value than a whole flock of sparrows (cf. 6:26; 12:12).

10:31 you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. This reassuring section begins with a lesser-to-greater argument to the effect that disciples are of more value to God than sparrows (10:29-30). The rhetorical question that begins the section invites the disciples to reflect on the matter themselves (10:29). Such reflection should lead them to conclude that they need not fear persecutors. Disciples may never know fully why God permits persecution, but they can be sure that he knows their difficulties and will deal justly with their persecutors (10:26, 28, 33). Hagner 1993:286 puts it well: “God has the knowledge, the power, and the concern to protect the disciples from any ultimate harm or injury.”

10:32-33 Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. Persecutors will call upon disciples to join them in denying Jesus, so there will always be the temptation to deny Jesus and the Kingdom in order to avoid persecution. Confessing Christ before persecutors is a specific instance of the endurance called for earlier (10:22). These verses put the matter of facing up to persecutors as a stark antithesis, with the confession of 10:32 contrasting with the denial of 10:33 (cf. Luke 12:8-9; 2 Tim 2:12). Denial is rejecting or disowning Jesus. If a person confesses Jesus before persecutors, Jesus will confess that person before his Father on judgment day (cf. 7:21). But if a person joins the persecutors in denying Jesus, that person will be denied by Jesus. This language seems to imply a setting on judgment day in which a person’s public recognition or denial of Jesus in this life anticipates Jesus’ recognition or denial of that person at the judgment. Loyalty to Jesus may result in persecution in this life, but it results in the loyalty of Jesus on judgment day.

COMMENTARY [Text]

This section provides three reasons why disciples should not fear the prospect of persecution. First, the disciples are reminded that as servants of their master, Jesus, they are not above him, and that they are to be like him. As his servants, they will share in his treatment by the persecutors (10:24-25). As the narrative proceeds and the opposition to Jesus intensifies, culminating in the disputes with the Jerusalem leaders during the passion week, the disciples presumably grasped this teaching more fully. Second, since they would share in Jesus’ treatment, they need not fear because they would also share in Jesus’ vindication (10:26-27). Later they could look back from a post-resurrection perspective, as Matthew the author does, and realize that the resurrection vindicated Jesus and that his return would vindicate them. Then the hidden things would be revealed. Third, the disciples should not fear persecutors but the One to whom both they and the persecutors will answer on judgment day (10:28-33). The ordeal inflicted by the persecutors is only temporary, but the persecutors will suffer eternal punishment. Disciples who acknowledge Jesus will be acknowledged by him before the Father, but persecutors who deny Jesus will be denied by him before the Father. Thus, the disciples can deal with fear by recalling their shared identity with Jesus, by focusing on his return, and by maintaining their awe of God.

Matthew 10:28 is frequently cited in support of the notion of annihilationism (sometimes called conditional immortality), the belief that those who reject God and Jesus cease to exist at the final judgment. In this view eternal punishment amounts to eternal nonexistence rather than conscious punishment, which is the traditional Christian teaching on the destiny of unbelievers. This was not a matter with which Matthew was concerned, but it is a common question today. The issue hinges on 10:28b, in which God is described as the One “who can destroy both body and soul in hell.”

Annihilationists take the word “destroy” (apollumi [TG622, ZG660]) quite literally and posit a final judgment in which unbelievers are destroyed—that is, they cease to exist. But it is clear from other texts that this “destruction” is a state of punishment for the whole person (Matt 5:22, 29-30; 18:9; 23:15, 33), which is as eternal in duration as the bliss of eternal life in God’s Kingdom (25:41, 46; cf. Dan 12:2; 2 Thess 1:9; Rev 14:10-11; 20:10). The matter of eternal punishment is, to say the least, a fearful doctrine. But it is precisely the motivation given in Matthew 10 for fidelity in discipleship during days of persecution (10:22, 28, 33). To put it bluntly, if there were no hell to avoid, there would be one less reason to be faithful to Jesus, and there would be one more reason to deny him.