This sermon was preached to Grace Church Guildford on 20 November 2022. The full video recording of the service can be found below along with the transcript.
Why don’t you do what you know you should do? Take a silly example. Every time you go to the dentist, you are told to floss your teeth twice a day. Why don’t you do that? What keeps you from obeying that instruction? Maybe you don’t believe tooth decay will happen to you, or maybe you don’t have any floss and never remember to buy it, or maybe your routine is so bad you barely have time to brush your teeth, never mind to floss them as well. While you know what you should do, there are various obstacles that keep you from doing it.
And that can be true in the Christian life as well. If you’ve been a Christian for a while, if like Matt you’ve turned from sin and trusted in Jesus, and you have been regularly reading or listening to God’s Word, then I imagine you often understand how God wants you to act. The problem you have isn’t knowing what to do, the problem you have is doing it, having the motivation to overcome obstacles and to actually carry out Christ’s commands.
We have recently been working through Matthew 10 together. This sermon on mission that Jesus gave to his disciples. A few weeks ago, in 10:5-15, we learnt that like them, we too are sent out on a mission, told to proclaim the good news of Jesus to those around us. As we say in our church vision statement, we are to go with the Gospel of Grace to the Glory of God.
In 10:5-15, we are sent out on a mission. Told what to do. And yet in 10:16-23, we see that as we do this, we will face opposition. As Jesus puts it in 10:16, we are sent out like sheep among wolves. Far from expecting the world to celebrate us as we share this good news with them, Jesus says we should expect the world to persecute us. Whether it is the social rejection of 10:14 or execution of 10:21, wherever it may be on that spectrum, Jesus teaches his followers to expect some kind of opposition. As Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:12, ‘everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted’.
And as we pick up in 10:24 this evening, we see that these prospects haven’t improved. For in 10:24-25 we are again reminded that we should expect persecution, for Jesus says: [READ]. As Christians, we follow Jesus, one who was betrayed, arrested, flogged, falsely accused and nailed to a cross. If Jesus was rejected by this world, what makes us think that we will be received? If the one we follow died on a cross, then surely we too must expect to take up our cross and be prepared to die as well!
Friends, we see here that the Christian life, is not an easy life. For we have been sent on a mission that means we must swim against the current of this world, give up the desires of our own flesh, and as we were reminded this morning, endure the flaming arrows of the Evil One.
O yes, we know what we should do: we should live faithfully for Jesus, and share our faith with those around us. And yet, so often we fail to do that because of the opposition and obstacles we face. And Jesus knows this. And so, having instructed and warned these apostles, he sets out in the rest of sermon to motivate and encourage, to persuade and convince them to live for him even when it is get difficult or dangerous. Having told us about our mission in 10:5-15, and this opposition in 10:16-23, in 10:24-42 he will give us our motivation. And he does it in two parts: (1) Do not fear the present (10:26-31); (2) Do not forget the future (10:32-42).
1. DO NOT FEAR THE PRESENT (10:26-31)
Some people find fear to be a little fun, whether it is by watching scary movies or going on rollercoasters. However, those who have tasted true fear, experienced real terror, know that it is no laughing matter. Watching horror movies may make you jump. But true fear, real terror, can have far worse effects on both your body and your mind. Fear is a powerful force that can do terrible things.
As the Puritan John Flav-el explained in the 1600s, ‘Among all the creatures God hath made, man is the most apt and able to be his own tormentor; and of all the scourges with which he lasheth and afflicteth both his mind and body, none is found so cruel and intolerable as his own fears...fear inflicts the deepest and most dangerous wounds upon the mind of man...the grief we suffer from evil would be light and easy, were it not incensed by fear...when the church is in the storms of persecution, and almost covered with the waves, the stoutest passengers in it may suffer as much from [the fear within them], as from the storm [of persecution around them]’.
Well Jesus has just sent his apostles out into a storm of persecution, and so he knows that he must deal with their fears, for it is surely fear that is one of the main reasons that we do not obey, do not keep Christ’s commands. Given Jesus has told them they will rejected and flogged, arrested and accused, betrayed and put to death by their family, we can understand why he immediately, from 10:26, takes time to address their fears about such things. Did you notice that three times in this section, Jesus tells them not to fear? In 10:26, 28, and 31, Jesus says do not fear, have no fear, fear not. And each time he gives a reason for his command, explains why these apostles need not fear the present, why we need not fear being faithful to Jesus today. Let’s look at these three reasons together.
A. Because the truth will stand the test of time (10:26-27)
In 10:26 we read: [READ]. People often talk today about being on the right side of history. And there is much to commend in this. If we have made mistakes in the past, we should try to correct these in the present. Whether relating to slavery, racism or sexism, we can be thankful that there have been some positive developments in our society over the years. And yet, this idea of being on the right side of history is often used against Christianity. It is used to argue some of our beliefs are outdated, redundant, part of the past. It could be on sexuality and gender. Or it could be our belief about sin [...] and Hell [...]. We are told to get with the times, keep up with progress, stay on the right side of history by agreeing with what our culture says about these issues today.
And because of this, Christians today can feel likely they have to change what they believe, or perhaps just keep quiet about some of the less popular aspects of our faith. And yet, we see Jesus actually uses the same argument to arrive at a very different conclusion. For in 10:26, he explains that at the end of history, the truth will come out. Nothing will remain hidden, everything will be uncovered, and the truth will be seen to be true. For this reason, in 10:27 Jesus says: [READ]. Jesus tells us to publicly proclaim what he says, to teach what God has told us, because these are the truths that will stand the test of time. If everything God has said will be brought into the light then, why would we only whisper about it in the dark now? Why would we hold back from saying in the present what will be heard by all in the future? Jesus explains the way to stay on the right side of history, is to say what God says, tell the truth, knowing it is only the truth that can stand the test of time.
If you are here this evening, and you are not a Christian, not trusting Jesus in the way Matt described, do you see this explains why we Christians sometimes believe and teach unpopular things. As Christians, we do not determine our beliefs based on whether they are acceptable to those around us or not. The question we ask is not ‘what does the world say about this’, the question we ask is ‘what does God say about this’? As Christians, we believe we must share with others what God has said to us, even if that is not what they want to hear. God speaks to us today through his Word, the Bible. And so, if the Bible tells us something, then we believe that we should teach it. Even if the world says something different, we believe that God tells us what is true in the Bible, and we need not fear sharing that with others.
If God has revealed it, Jesus says we should not fear to repeat it. Because what God says is true, and truth will stand the test of time. As we hears his morning from Proverbs 30:5, every word of God proves true. Even if it doesn’t seem true in the present, even if no one else around us might think it is true now. Ever word of God proves true in the end. At the end of the ages, when all is said and done, the truth will be seen to be true. Why would we fear telling friends, family, colleagues in the present what God will tell them on the future? Why would we fear to share with others what God has said to us?
B. Because our God is greater than our enemies (10:28)
Or perhaps better God is scarier than our enemies. You see, there is one very simple answer why we fear speaking the truth in the present, fear witnessing for Jesus in this world. And it is because, as Jesus has just said, it can lead to arrest, flogging and even death. It is because we fear the consequences of speaking out, of standing firm, that so often we fail to do so. And yet, Jesus deflates these fears with a simple argument. For in 10:28, he says: [READ].
In one sense you see the problem isn’t that we have too much fear, its that we have too little fear. Or rather, we fear the wrong thing, fear the wrong person. Jesus says fearing men in such moments, is like going for a skydive and being afraid of catching a cold. Or going for a bungie jump and being afraid of getting sunburn. If you are going to fear anything when jumping from a great height, you should fear plunging to your death, not catching a cold or getting sunburn! And the same is true here in 10:28. If you are going to fear anyone, it should be the God of heaven, not the men of earth. For, in the end, the worst that men can do is kill you, which is nothing compared to what God can do, for he can destroy body and soul in Hell. When we compare earthy persecution with eternal punishment, then we see who we should really fear!
It was this argument that helped the famous martyr Polycarp remain faithful to Jesus. Polycarp was likely killed in 155 AD, during an early wave of Roman persecution against Christians. At 86, he was extremely old for the time, and so, the Roman official who was supposed to sentence him to death took pity and pleaded with him to renounce Jesus and receive a pardon. However, Polycarp refused. When the official went on to explain to Polycarp that if he did not renounce Jesus, he would be burnt alive, Polycarp is believed to have said, ‘You threaten me with fire which burns for an hour, and is then extinguished, but you know nothing of the fire of the coming judgment and eternal punishment...’. Polycarp endured to the end, because of what Jesus says in 10:28. He knew we need not fear a fire that burns for an hour in the present, if we know of a fire that will burn forever in the future. Far worse than being persecuted for following Jesus on earth, is being punished for denying him in eternity. Jesus says here in 10:28 that that is what we should really fear. Or as the early church father Augustine put it when preaching on this passage: ‘Fear not then, O Martyr, the sword of thy executioner; fear only thine own tongue, lest thou do execution upon thine own self, and slay, not thy body, but [slay] thy soul.’
This point is easy to understand, and yet it can sometimes fall a little flat with us. For as we go to share our faith with others today, we are unlikely to be threatened with death. Unlike martyrs such as Polycarp, it is not fear of death we need to grapple with as we share our faith, instead it is other fears. It is the fear of the awkward pause, the offended glance, the rude reply, or a ruined relationship. Those are the fears that keeps us from confessing Jesus, from standing firm for him.
And yet, do you see that if this argument is true of one kind of fear, it is also true of others? Just as we need not fear the punishment of men when we consider the punishment of God, we need not fear losing the approval of men when we consider losing the approval of God, or fear being rejected by men if we compared it to being rejected by God. So often, to borrow the title from a wonderful and highly recommended book on the topic, we live as if ‘people are big and God is small’? When really it is the other way around. God is greater, bigger, more important than any man. And here Jesus says we must live in light of that. When we see how important God, we understand how unimportant everyone else is, and so live fearlessly for him, not for them. O Christian, do not fear those who can destroy a relationship or reputation, those who can make life difficult for you at work or at home, those who at the verse worst can only destroy your body, no fear him who can destroy both body and soul. As the old hymn goes, ‘Fear Him, ye saints, and you will then, have nothing else to fear.’
C. Because the Father will care for his children (10:29-31)
In a single verse we move from hearing how God destroys body and soul in hell to how he oversees the flight of each sparrow and knows the hairs of every one of our heads. Jesus teaches us that the God who is to be feared above everyone else, is the same God who cares for us more than anyone else. The God who should be feared, is the God who is our Father. In 10:29, Jesus uses the examples of sparrows to show this. At the time, a sparrow was the cheapest animal in the market, it would cost only a penny to buy two of them. And yet we are told that God watches over, cares for, each and every sparrow, that ‘not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.’ That means, not a single sparrow dies apart from God’s permission, outside of his control. God is sovereign even over the death of each and every sparrow. He not only sees it, but he also oversees it. And so Jesus challenges us to consider, how much more is God not concerned with and sovereign over what happens to us! If he cares for the least valuable creature in creation, surely he will care for us, his children, who in 10:31 we are told ‘are of more value than many sparrows.’
Jesus illustrates the completeness of our Father’s care there in 10:30, by saying, ‘even the hairs of your head are all numbered.’ Lord willing, in a matter of weeks, perhaps even days, Sarah and I will welcome our first child into the world. As you can imagine, we are really excited to meet the baby, and I am sure that when we do, we will spend hours looking at it, noticing every freckle, watching every little change as it begins to grow. And yet, even if we are as observant as we could be, we will never be able to watch over our child as closely as God does his children. We could never count every hair on its head, know it at such detail. And yet, God see and oversees his children that closely.
Christian, that is how carefully God watches over your life. There can be no accidents, no chances, no mistakes, no unintended consequences. Of course, none of this means you won’t suffer. After all, sparrows fall to the ground every day. And yet, they never do so apart from God’s plan and purpose. And it is the same for us. Not a hair can fall from our heads, apart from our Father. O yes, we may suffer, indeed we will suffer, and yet we see here that even when we do, we are never alone. Even when we are afflicted, we are never abandoned, for our great and good Father sees, and oversees, everything that happens in our life. We will never have a health problem, never have a family tragedy, never have a financial difficulty, never undergo a period of persecution, that is outside of our Father’s control, that is not part of his perfect plan. O brothers and sisters, if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground except for our Father, then do you see how no child of God could ever suffer, ever shed a single tear, apart from Him as well. Do you see that we need not fear what lies in the path ahead, for our Father oversees every detail. We need not fear what may happen to us when we share our faith or stand our ground, because out Father will look after us every step of the way.
2. DO NOT FORGET THE FUTURE (10:32-42)
In these final verses, Jesus will make this point again and again. He puts it most simply at the start, where we read in 10:32-33: [READ]. Here Jesus teaches what we say about him, is what he will say about us. If we say we do not know him on earth, then he will say he does not know us in heaven. It the same in 10:34-39, where he says if we do not choose him in the present, then we will not have him in the future. If we choose our family, or our comfort, or our safety over Jesus now, then that will have consequences then. For example, in 10:39, he says: [READ]. Jesus says that if we hold onto our life in the present, we will lose it in the future. And yet if we give it away, lay it down, sacrifice it for his sake now, we will receive true life, real life, eternal life then.Again and again, we see what we do with Jesus now, determines what we get from Jesus then.
This not only applies to how we treat Jesus, but by extension, how we treat his people. For in 10:40, Jesus explains to the apostles, ‘Whoever receives you receives me...’. And then, in 10:41-42, applies this to three other groups of his people, including a ‘little one’ in 10:42, that is the least important member of God’s people. And for each, Jesus says how we receive his followers in the present will be rewarded in the future. Even the most basic act of hospitality, giving a cup of water to a little one, even the smallest act of service to the least of God's people will not go unrewarded. Jesus says what we do with him now, and what we do for him now, will be rewarded then. And so, as we live in the present, we must not forget the future.
This is not just they way Jesus concludes the chapter, but in many ways, it is the overarching theme, big idea of his whole sermon. I wonder did you notice that Jesus finishes his sermon in 10:42 with the same phrase he’s used before? Three times in the sermon he states, ‘Truly I say to you’ to emphasise a key point, highlight an important truth. Like many preachers, Jesus also has three main points in his sermon, and all of them tell these apostles to fix their eyes on the future. In 10:15, Jesus says: [READ]. In 10:23: [READ]. And finally, here in 10:42: [READ]. Throughout this whole sermon, Jesus teaches we find strength for the present by remembering the events of the future, remembering both the judgment of those who reject Jesus and a reward for those who receive him.
Christian, this really does go hand in hand with what Jamie was preaching on this morning. The Christian life is a life of faith, one where we take all we can see in the present and stake it, bet it, invest it, in what we are confident will happen in the future. Every decision we make is driven by our certainty of eternity. The Christian life is one that depends on the future, what we do now only makes sense because of what know will happen then. As Paul argues in 1 Corinthians 15, if you take away the future, then the Christian faith is futile.
And so Christian, can I ask you tonight, do you believe in the future? Do you believe in entering? Really believe in it? Is it more real to you than what you can see with your eyes, touch with your hands? Are you as certain that there is a heaven and a hell as you are that there is a place in England called Guildford? Do you believe, really believe in the future? For if you do, see here that will make a difference to how you live in the present! Temptation will lose its taste, for you will be hungering for better things to come. Persecution will lose its power, for you will know that death is not the end. Fears in the present will fade, for you will realise that there are bigger things to worry about. Christian, you will live faithfully in the present, if you just make sure not to forget the future.
That is the way of the Christian life. Indeed, that is the way Christ lived his life. Here in 10:37, Jesus says it is by remembering the future that we can take up our cross in the present. That is the first time the cross is mentioned in Matthew, but it hints at what is soon to come. For in Matthew 27, Jesus himself will take up his cross, carrying it to Calvary’s hill before suffering and dying on it for the sins of his people, bearing the wrath of God for all who will turn from their sin and trust in him. And how was it that Jesus was able to do this? What was it that motivated him to take up his cross? To endure to the end? Well, as we heard at the end of our service this morning, Hebrews 12:2 makes clear that it was because he did not forget the future. There we read that it was ‘for the joy that was set before him [that Jesus] endured the cross, despising the shame.’ Jesus knew he would take his life up again, and so he could lay it down. Jesus knew that he would be honoured and rewarded by the Father, and so he could be mocked and despised by men. Jesus overcame all the fear, endured all the pain of the cross, because he did not forget the future. And here he says we can do the same. That we can overcome our fears, endure to the end, be bold witnesses for him in this world, carry our own crosses, if we just keep our eyes fixed on the future. Here we see we must not forget the future, for what we do with Jesus, what we do for Jesus now, will have consequences then.
Whoever you are, wherever you stand with God this evening, do you see the Bible says this is also true for you? What you do with Jesus in the present will have consequences for you in the future. In 10:32, Jesus says if we acknowledge him before others, he will acknowledge us before his Father. Tonight, Matt has done that, he has stood before this congregation and confessed his faith in Jesus, acknowledged him before you all.
If you are here tonight, and you understand yourself to be a Christian, to be trusting in Jesus for forgiveness, and yet have not been baptised, what is stopping you from acknowledging Jesus before others in that way? What is keeping you from being baptised, making your faith in Jesus public? Why don’t you chat to a friend or family member about that after the service, or you could come to chat to me or an elder about it. We would love to think through your concerns or worries.
Or can I encourage you to go away and read the story of the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8, where having heard Philip explain the Gospel and accepted Jesus as his Saviour, he asked that question: ‘What is there to keep me, to hinder me, to stop me being baptised?’ Friend, ask yourself that question this evening. If you have been coming long to Grace Church for a while, perhaps even grew up here, you know what you should do, you know the Bible tells you to confess your faith by being baptised. You know what you should do, you just haven’t actually done it. Well here see, Jesus here Jesus gives you some motivation, tells you to remember the future when making that decision.
For friend, in 10:33, Jesus says that if we disown him before others, refuse to acknowledge him in the present, then he will disown us, refuse to acknowledge us, in the future. Refusing to acknowledge Jesus through baptism in the present, will have consequences for the future. If you are not willing to say that you know Jesus publicly now, then you cannot expect Jesus to say that he knows you before his Father then.
Maybe you are here this evening, and you are not a Christian, can I urge you too to consider that in light of the future. Tonight you have heard at various points in the service the goods news of Christianity, the Gospel, that means we who have sinned against God and deserve his punishment, can find forgiveness and mercy, through repenting of our sin and trusting in Jesus Christ. Having heard that this evening, remember that what you do with Jesus is what he will do with you. If you reject Jesus, then he will reject you. But if you receive him as your Saviour and Lord, then he will receive you as part of his kingdom and member of his family. O yes, in 10:38 we see if you hold onto your life, refuse to give it up to him, then you will lose it. And yet if you give up your life, let go of it and hand it over to Jesus, then he will give you a far greater, far better life in return. A life that yes may be tough in the present, but will be glorious in the future, and will go on and on and on from one degree of glory and joy to another for ever and ever, for it will be a life of peace and hope that will never end. O yes, being a Christian comes with a cost, and yet Jesus is more than worth that price.
ALEXANDER ARRELL