Matthew 10:26-39

Context

Fear God, Not Man

10:26 “Do¹ not be afraid of them, for nothing is hidden² that will not be revealed,³ and nothing is secret that will not be made known. 10:27 What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light, and what is whispered in your ear,⁴ proclaim from the housetops.⁵ 10:28 Do⁶ not be afraid of those who kill the body⁷ but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.⁸ 10:29 Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny?⁹ Yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.¹⁰ 10:30 Even all the hairs on your head are numbered. 10:31 So do not be afraid;¹¹ you are more valuable than many sparrows.

10:32 “Whoever, then, acknowledges¹² me before people, I will acknowledge¹³ before my Father in heaven. 10:33 But whoever denies me before people, I will deny him also before my Father in heaven.

Not Peace, but a Sword

10:34 “Do not think that I have come to bring¹⁴ peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace but a sword. 10:35 For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, 10:36 and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.¹⁵

10:37 “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 10:38 And whoever does not take up his cross¹⁶ and follow me is not worthy of me. 10:39 Whoever finds his life¹⁷ will lose it,¹⁸ and whoever loses his life because of me¹⁹ will find it.

[10:26] ¹tn Grk “Therefore do not.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated.

[10:26] ²tn Or “concealed.”

[10:26] ³sn I.e., be revealed by God. The passive voice here and in the next verb see the revelation as coming from God. The text is both a warning about bad things being revealed and an encouragement that good things will be made known.

[10:27] ⁴tn Grk “what you hear in the ear,” an idiom.

[10:27] ⁵tn The expression “proclaim from the housetops” is an idiom for proclaiming something publicly (L&N 7.51). Roofs of many first century Jewish houses in Judea and Galilee were flat and had access either from outside or from within the house. Something shouted from atop a house would be heard by everyone in the street below.

[10:28] ⁶tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[10:28] ⁷sn Judaism had a similar exhortation in 4 Macc 13:14-15.

[10:28] ⁸sn See the note on the word hell in 5:22.

[10:29] ⁹sn The penny refers to an assarion, a small Roman copper coin. One of them was worth one-sixteenth of a denarius or less than a half hour’s average wage. Sparrows were the cheapest items sold in the market. God knows about even the most financially insignificant things; see Isa 49:15.

[10:29] ¹⁰tn Or “to the ground without the knowledge and consent of your Father.”

[10:31] ¹¹sn Do not be afraid. One should respect and show reverence to God, but need not fear his tender care.

[10:32] ¹²tn Or “confesses.”

[10:32] ¹³tn Grk “I will acknowledge him also.”

[10:34] ¹⁴tn Grk “cast.” For βάλλω (ballw) in the sense of causing a state or condition, see L&N 13.14.

[10:36] ¹⁵tn Matt 10:35-36 are an allusion to Mic 7:6.

[10:38] ¹⁶sn It was customary practice in a Roman crucifixion for the prisoner to be made to carry his own cross. Jesus is speaking figuratively here in the context of rejection. If the priority is not one’s allegiance to Jesus, then one will not follow him in the face of possible rejection.

[10:39] ¹⁷tn Grk “his soul,” but ψυχή (yuch) is frequently used of one’s physical life. It clearly has that meaning in this context.

[10:39] ¹⁸sn If there is no willingness to suffer the world’s rejection at this point, then one will not respond to Jesus (which is trying to find life) and then will be subject to this judgment (which is losing it).

[10:39] ¹⁹tn Or “for my sake.” The traditional rendering “for my sake” can be understood in the sense of “for my benefit,” but the Greek term ἕνεκα indicates the cause or reason for something (BDAG 334 s.v. 1).