Even though Jesus' disciples would encounter hostile opposition, they should fear God more than their antagonists.
10:26-27 The basis for confidence in the face of persecution is an understanding that whatever is presently hidden will eventually come out into the open. This applies to the truth about Jesus that the fearful disciple might seek to keep hidden for fear of opposition. It also applies to the disciple himself who might want to hide instead of letting his light shine. It applies also to the preceding teaching about persecution.
What Jesus told His disciples privately would eventually become public knowledge, so they should declare it publicly. In Palestine common flat-roofed houses were good places from which to make public addresses.
10:28 It also helps to conquer fear if the disciple will remember that the worst a human adversary can do does not compare with the worst God can do. Jesus was not implying that true believers might go to hell if they do not remain faithful to God. His point was that God has power over the disciple after he dies whereas human adversaries can do nothing beyond killing the disciple's body. The believer needs to remember that he or she will stand before God one day to give an account of his or her stewardship.444
10:29-31 Third, the same God who will not permit a sparrow to fall to the ground will certainly take care of His faithful servants. The poor in Israel ate sparrows since they only cost a fraction of a day's wage.445The mention of the disciples' heavenly Father (v. 29) stresses His care that extends to the numbering of his or her hairs. Often people think that God cares only for the big things in life and is unconcerned about the details. Jesus taught the opposite. God's concern with details should give us confidence that He controls the larger affairs of life.
10:32-33 Disciples of Jesus must acknowledge Him publicly. One cannot fulfill the basic requirements of a disciple privately (cf. 5:13-16). Remember that the terms "believer"and "disciple"are not synonymous. In the context confessing Jesus means acknowledging Him faithfully in spite of persecution to do otherwise. Jesus will acknowledge faithful disciples as such to His Father. He will not give this reward to unfaithful disciples who cave in to pressure to deny Him. Obviously Jesus believed it is possible for believers to be unfaithful. Notice that the blessing of Jesus' commendation will go to anyone (i.e., any disciple) who confesses Him publicly. Jesus probably looked at the whole course of the disciple's life as He made this statement. One act of unfaithfulness does not disqualify a disciple from Jesus' commendation (e.g., Peter).446
The view that this passage teaches that a believer may lose his or her salvation if he or she fails to confess or denies Jesus cannot be correct. Elsewhere Jesus taught that believers never will lose their salvation (cf. John 10:28-29). This is the consistent revelation of the rest of the New Testament (e.g., Rom. 8:31-39). Jesus was speaking here of rewards, not salvation.447
10:34-36 Jesus meant that His immediate purpose would entail conflict even though Messiah would ultimately bring peace (Isa. 11; Luke 2:14). People would divide over whether Jesus was the Messiah.
Micah 7:6 refers to rebellion that happened during King Ahaz's reign. It pointed to a greater division in Jesus' day. In both cases the root of the conflict involved righteousness and unrighteousness.
"Feud between members of a family is also mentioned in the Talmud as a sign of the coming of the Messianic age."448
Jesus presented the consequences of His coming as though they were His purpose in coming. He came to bring this kind of conflict only in an indirect sense. By expressing Himself this way Jesus demonstrated His Christological and eschatological awareness. These conditions will prevail before Jesus' second coming too.
10:37-39 Jesus taught that people must love one another, but they must love Him more. This is a remarkable claim that shows how important Jesus' viewed the supreme allegiance of His disciples. Taking one's cross does not mean tolerating some unpleasant situation in one's life for Jesus' sake. It means dying to self, namely putting Jesus first. In this sense every disciple bears the same cross. Jesus' reference to crucifixion would have helped His disciples realize that their calling would involve pain and shame.
Those who find (i.e., preserve) their lives now will forfeit them later. Conversely the disciple who loses his or her life (Gr. psyche) by martyrdom or by self-denial now will find (preserve) it in the next stage of his or her existence. This is true in a twofold sense. The person who lives for the present loses the real purpose of life.449He or she also loses the reward for faithful living.
"There is an absolutism in the call to Jesus and the kingdom that can seem unattractive, if not unendurable. But this is only half the story, for the rewards are beyond calculation."450
This entire section (vv. 26-39) contrasts the present with the future. For the 12 Apostles their present ministry, self-denial, and consequent persecution involved identifying themselves publicly as Jesus' disciples. It involved calling on the Jews to repent for the kingdom was at hand because the King had arrived. For modern disciples our present ministry, self-denial, and consequent persecution involve identifying ourselves publicly as Jesus' disciples. They also involve urging people to believe in Him. In both groups those who are faithful to their calling will receive God's commendation when we stand before Him. Old Testament saints will stand before God when He judges Israel at Jesus' second coming (Dan. 12:1-2). Modern Christians will stand before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Cor. 3:10-15). Those who are unfaithful will not receive some of the commendation, joy, and reward that could have been theirs had they remained faithful.
This discourse (ch. 10) covers the whole period during which disciples of Jesus will minister, from Jesus' day until the establishment of the messianic kingdom. It begins with the duty of the 12 Apostles but then broadens to include all subsequent disciples before the establishment of the kingdom. The scope of the Mission Discourse and the Sermon on the Mount are the same, the interim between Jesus' first and second advents.
