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Following Jesus · Part Three · Message Thirty-Eight
Do Not Be Afraid of Them
Because the Father sees, judges, and cares for his people, disciples can acknowledge Jesus openly and follow him faithfully even when witness brings accusation, division, or death.
Part Three · The Kingdom Revealed
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Lesson overview
Jesus does not hide the cost of representing him.
His messengers may be accused as he is accused, opposed by authorities, and rejected even within their own households. Yet three times in the heart of the passage he turns them away from fear. Hidden truth will be disclosed, human persecutors cannot take the life that belongs to God, and the Father whose care extends to sparrows knows his children down to the hairs of their heads.
Freedom from fear is not permission for secrecy. What Jesus teaches his disciples privately must be proclaimed openly, and allegiance to him must take precedence even over the closest human loyalties. Taking up the cross names a costly, public surrender of the self, but losing one’s life for Jesus is the way to find it. The discourse ends with welcome: receiving Jesus’ messengers is receiving Jesus and the Father who sent him, and even an ordinary cup of cold water matters to God.
Because the Father sees, judges, and cares for his people, disciples can acknowledge Jesus openly and follow him faithfully even when witness brings accusation, division, or death.
The Father’s Spirit in hostile courts
Jesus prepares his witnesses for councils, rulers, and opposition, promising help when they must speak.
The kingdom’s demand for repentance and loyalty to Jesus can provoke painful resistance, even from family.
Disciples should not be surprised when those who malign Jesus also malign his household.
Therefore do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.
Matthew 10:26
Do not be afraid
Jesus grounds courage in coming disclosure, God’s final authority, and the Father’s intimate care.
Faithful witness belongs in the light; Jesus will acknowledge before the Father those who acknowledge him.
The welcome God remembers
Loyalty to Jesus surpasses even family ties and calls the disciple to lose life in order to find it.
Those who receive Christ’s representatives receive Christ, and no act of hospitality is invisible to God.
Read, trace, and live the teaching.
This lesson belongs within the whole Gospel story. Read the principal passage slowly, follow the supporting texts in their own contexts, and notice how the words and works of Jesus reveal the kingdom he brings.
Read the passage
Matthew 10:16–42
Trace the promise
Micah 7:5–7; Psalm 56:3–4, 10–11
See the Gospel connection
Proverbs 29:25; Matthew 6:25–34; Matthew 12:22–32; Matthew 16:24–27
Follow the truth
1 Peter 3:13–17
Scripture guide
Read the whole teaching in context.
These are the principal passages developed in this message and the texts that clarify its place within the mission of Jesus.
The passage in context
Micah 7:5–7; Psalm 56:3–4, 10–11
Promise and preparation
Proverbs 29:25; Matthew 6:25–34
The Gospel’s witness
Matthew 12:22–32; Matthew 16:24–27
Life under the King
1 Peter 3:13–17