Have No Fear of Them Matthew 10:5a, 21-33

Grace, mercy, and peace …

Today we’re going to talk about having no fear of those who hate and hurt us.

Jesus says in our Gospel, “Have no fear of them… do not fear those who can kill the body, but can’t kill the soul.”

When God created you, you made you with a soul. God fashioned Adam’s body from the dust of the ground, and then breathed his spirit into him, and man became a living being, Genesis 2:7 says. More than that, a being to live forever.

People were first made to live forever because they were given a soul.  When their soul became corrupted by sin, upon disobeying God, that’s when death came to them.

As our epistle says, … the end of those things (sin) is death… For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Although their bodies died, their souls lived on in heaven.

The soul can’t die, or as Jesus said in our gospel, can’t be killed, physically, because it’s not a physical thing; it’s spiritual.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 teaches us that the soul or spirit is immortal. It says that at the end of our life on earth, when our bodies die, The dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Life can be taken from the body, albeit temporarily (in the end God will raise all human bodies) but the soul was made to never die.

Your soul started when your body started, when you were conceived. Your identity as a human being is tied up in your soul, as well as your body.

Your soul is just as much you, as is your body. In fact, without a soul, you wouldn’t be you; you wouldn’t be human.

Only humans have a soul in their body. That’s a part of being made in the image of God.

Because you have a soul that lives forever, God will someday raise your body to live forever. Without a soul that wouldn’t happen.

And without a soul you couldn’t be saved. Faith in God, and a saving relationship with Christ, is only possible because we have a soul.

Jesus redeemed us because we have not just a body, but also an immortal soul.

Because we have a soul, the Holy Spirit can come into our spirit, our soul, at Baptism, with the power to believe.

In light of all this, it’s no wonder that we value the gift of our souls so highly.

As we care for our bodies, even more so, we need to care for our souls.

Pirates of the Caribbean Movies… “We have to think of our eternal soul now…”

In our gospel Jesus teaches us to think of our eternal soul.

He says, Do not fear those who can kill the body, but can’t kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both body and soul in hell. While the soul doesn’t die in hell, it suffers a fate worse than death, eternal torment.

God doesn’t want that for your body nor your soul; he wants you to repent and believe, and have the free gift of eternal life. 

When you see yourself as not just a body but also a soul, and you see your body and soul as belonging to God, it changes your perspective of life.

One of the things it does is to take away the fear, and replace it with faith, and peace, and love, and joy, and all the free gifts that accompany our salvation.

Our Gospel today is a continuation of last week’s Gospel, where Jesus sent out his disciples to heal and do miracles, and especially to proclaim the life-giving, soul-saving Gospel.

And he warned them that it wouldn’t be easy, that it would create quite the stir. He said in verse 16: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.”

Vicious, hateful people will try to stop you, so, verse 17, Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues.

He was also talking about after his death and resurrection, when they would go into the world as his witnesses and would sometimes face considerable opposition, so much so that all of them, except for John, would be martyred.       In verse 22 Jesus told them, You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.  

Revelation 2:10 says, Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Or again as Jesus said, Do not fear those who can kill the body, but can’t kill the soul.

No matter what you go through in life, if you have faith in Christ, it will turn out for your eternal good.

In verse 24 Jesus told his disciples that opposition was to be expected, because he was opposed. They would sometimes be treated poorly because He was treated poorly. His enemies would do the same to them that they did to Him.

This is what Jesus meant when he said, “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master... If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!”.

One of the things Jesus’ enemies did was to try to label him as evil. They said that he was possessed by Beelzebub.

That name, Beelzebub, was a variation of the name of the false Canaanite god, Baal. Eventually Beelzebub became another name for the devil.

The apostles were considered to be evil by those who thought that Jesus was evil, as so they were persecuted as he was.

The same is true today. It’s still the devil’s work to try to label good as bad; and the gospel as false news, rather than good news; and those who follow Christ as bad, mean, violent people to be opposed or stopped.

Sadly, some who claim the name Christian are hateful and violent toward others, but then they’re not following Christ; they’re following the world, and Beelzebub, the devil.
                                                                                                                                                            When you follow Christ, you do so in truth and love. And you can expect some opposition by those who feel threatened by the truth of the gospel.

Jesus says, Do not fear them. What can they do to you?

Psalm 118:6 says, The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?

A lot, one might say. They can hurt me; they can ridicule me; they can make me into a social outcast; they can destroy my livelihood.

Yes, they can. But there’s something more valuable they can’t touch; your soul.

In places like China, where the gospel is feared by the socialist status quo, young people and students who are publically Christian are often denied the opportunity for advanced education to train for professional jobs, or denied promotions, or denied positions in government.

Still, the gospel is spreading rapidly in China. In fact, it’s estimated that by 2030, just 13 years from now, China will have the largest number of Christians of any nation in the world. Just explosive growth!

That’s what can happen when people don’t fear those who can hurt the body, but can’t touch the soul. The reward to the soul is greater than the harm to the body.

Jesus promises us, Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven.

And he warns us, But whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Jesus wants to recommend you to His Father for eternal life; even more than that, to present you with certainty for eternal life.

Don’t fear those who would stand in the way of that.

The truth is there’s some fear in all of us; but there’s strength in knowing, 2 Timothy 1:7, that God has NOT given us a spirit of fear, but of courage and love.

Always remember that, even though in this world, your body can be harmed, yet in Christ, your soul is untouchable.

May God give you a courageous heart to acknowledge Christ above all things, and before all people, even before those who would try to hurt you for it.

And as you confess Him before men, may His peace, which passes understanding, guard your heart, mind, and soul, in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.