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Sermon
The Gospel of Matthew

Proclaim it from the Housetops: The Supreme Remedy for Terrifying Fears

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July 6, 2025
Matthew 10:24-31
Jason Vaden
Church Planting Resident

Fear & Anxiety

Evangelism

Courage & Boldness

Identity in Christ

Transcript

0:16Well, there may be plenty of texts that are just as helpful as Matthew 10 24 through 31, but I'm convinced there's none any better suited to equip God's people to spread the fame of Jesus among the neighbors and nations or neighborhoods and nations. Um, like that text, for those of you who don't know me, lemme start by saying, uh, I'm Jason Vaden. I'm the pastor for community outreach and connection here. And my big responsibility is just that it's, it's doing everything I can week in and week out to, to mobilize as many of you as possible into as many lives out there as possible when we scatter from here.

1:02And, uh, as you might guess, the biggest obstacle that I face week in and week out, not only with you but with myself, is anytime we begin to talk about spreading the fame of God through Jesus with the gospel, it evokes a sense of fear in us to one degree or another. And yeah, that you heard me right? That's true for the outreach guy as well. I dunno how you like the sound of that, but it's, it's true. And it may or may not surprise you that there are no shortage of surveys out there that would suggest that the second greatest fear for a lot of people right behind the fear of death is the fear of public speaking in general.

1:47But here's the, here's the beauty of our sermon text, right? It, it addresses both of those things by potentially combating a fear of death that's associated with public proclamation of Christ. So let me pray to that end. Father, would you be pleased as the one who upholds all things by the word of your power, would you oh Lord Jesus, as the one in whom all things hold together, do an upbuilding work in your church as your written word is preached? Holy Spirit, would you then mobilize your scattered church to truly spread the fame of Jesus in effective powerful ways? Would you put a fresh wind and a fresh fire in our bellies to see others know your great fame and glory and soul satisfaction in Jesus I pray, amen.

2:42So this morning, we're still in the midst of Jesus commissioning context or Jesus commissioning of the 12 disciples. And, uh, that is for, for the short term immediate, uh, mission effort that lies ahead. And, and even though the better part of these persecutions that, that our Lord, uh, predicted, prescribed for his disciples wouldn't actually come to pass until after Pentecost. In the book of Axis we read about it there, Jesus nonetheless used future tense verbs rather than subjunctive mood. In other words, he didn't say this may happen, this, this might happen. Instead going back up in, in verses 16 to 23, he said very definitively, for instance, in verse 17, they will deliver you over to courts and they will flog you in their synagogues.

3:41You will be dragged before governors and kings, for my sake. Down in verse 21, brother will deliver brother over to death and the father, his child and children will rise up or will rise against parents and have them put to death. And then very succinctly, he says in verse 22, and you will be hated by all for my namesake with instruction like that. It's no small wonder that this morning, as we approach verses 24 through 31, first of all, Jesus gives a rationale for this kind of fierce persecution toward his disciples and then immediately transitions into divine remedy toward these kinds of fears that are evoked by fierce persecution.

4:30So let's start in verses 24 and 25 with Jesus' rationale for this kind of fierce persecution toward his disciples. And very first thing we see is that Jesus setss down what I call a universal axiom. That is an undisputed uncontested statement of fact. A disciple is not above his teacher nor a servant above his master. That's one of those, those statements that that almost doesn't need to be said. A disciple's not above his teacher and a servant's not above his master because both of them are, uh, devoutly submitted to their teachers and their masters. And because of that, precisely because of that, because they're so devoutly submitted and live in a place of subordination to these who are over them, they bear a tremendous likeness to them.

5:22Verse 25, that's Jesus' point. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher and the servant like his master, but there's also a dramatic way in which they differ. You see, it's the teacher who has all the skill and the expertise and the knowledge. It's the master who has the power and authority and respect. Where does this take us till end of verse 25, look at it. If they have called the master of the house be al, which is to say prince of demons, how much more will they malign those of his household? In other words, if they're so brazen and so unrestrained and defiant to run rough shot over those with all the expertise and knowledge and skill and respect and authority and power, what do you think they're gonna do to you?

6:21That's Jesus' rationale and it's easy to see why we need him to come and dose us just like he did as disciples with the divine remedy for all the fear that this intense threat of persecution evokes. So I wanna give you three doses at this point. Take the divine remedy in three different doses and the first dose is resemblance to Jesus. It actually shows up. I'm gonna argue in this transition between verses 25 and 26, notice how verse 26 transitions out of verse 25. So have no fear of them. It's different than a a contrastive conjunction like but but have no fear of them that would, that would be turning away from what was said 180 degree direction and looking in the opposite way.

7:13That's not what Jesus is doing here. He uses a an O, which is in, in the Greek New Testament. It's a conclusive thought. It's a so then that therefore have no fear, which means he's forming his, his statement at the front end of 26 from what he just said in verse 25. If they call the master of the house, Abel, print the demons, how much more will they malign those of his household? Therefore, so then based on that, have no fear. And I just, I just have to ask you this morning, is that doing it for you? That conclusive thought? Does that bring the fear level down for you? Doesn't for me at least not first blush.

7:59We know there's more to it than what appears on its face. And think of the disciples, if you will, if, if you want to get beyond hypothetical and reality. I mean these guys have just been delivered all of these promises of persecution face to face with Jesus recently after witnessing him being called beals above him, being called the prince of demons back in verse 34 of Matthew chapter nine. They're the Pharisees said that he meaning Jesus cast out demons by the prince of demons. So what's he getting at here? There's something in these first two verses of our sermon texts that are, that is critical for us to consider and observe.

8:44And I think one observation is just to run back up the page to the two times that he speaks of resemblance. This is the first dose that we want to take for our souls to fight against the fear that's evoked by this hostile persecution and likeness has a profound insight and implication to it. And I think we'll see that if we retrace our steps in the gospel of Matthew all the way back to the beatitudes. You might remember in Matthew chapter five that in verses three through eight, those first six beatitudes really consist of the spiritual DNA, that's birth and bonafide born again disciples and that DNA itself, then when you get to verse nine of Matthew five surges forth earth on this peacemaking, this all important peacemaking mission.

9:38If you hadn't seen it that way, I urge you to see it that way this morning. The inner working of the Holy Spirit and what he's producing there is compelling the bonafide disciple of Christ to go on mission as a peacemaker. And now when you hear that, please don't hear Jesus urging us to something like playing one more stands of Kumbaya and saying, I'm, I'm okay. You're okay. Let's just all get along. That's not peacemaker, that's not what he's talking about. And said, he's talking about people who have been awakened to their own poverty. They've seen the devastating destruction of judgment that they deserve.

10:13They've made a beeline to God through Christ and now they're doing all they can to help others get there, which means they're on mission to preach the gospel of the kingdom and to call people to respond to it by saying Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near. And you know as well as I do that goes over about as well as a lead balloon. That's why after Jesus says in Matthew five, nine, blessed are the peacemakers, he sits down right beside it, this beatitude, blessed are those who are persecuted, who righteousness sake, the two stand together and they become some of the most visible, convincing, manifest resemblances of God the Father by faith in Jesus Christ, his son.

10:58Notice, remember, recall, look if you will, Matthew five verse nine, blessed are the peacemakers why Jesus explains why they're so blessed for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Here's a profound insight into likeness to Jesus. He's not just any teacher, he's not just any master. If we resemble him authentically at all, it is a supernatural work of the spirit and it means according to the beatitudes, that we are actually adopted and adopted sons and daughters into his family and citizens and his eternal kingdom.

11:44So you come back to our sermon text, part of what's going on here, I believe is, is the reminder that this is not a cause for fear. It's a cause for great joy, which Jesus gets around to saying in Matthew five 12, rejoice and be glad for great is your reward in heaven. We, if we resemble Jesus, we resemble the Father in heaven. By faith in Jesus, we have been adopted in to God's family through Christ, and we are citizens in his kingdom, which means even if the whole world comes out against us in fierce hostility, we have a father in heaven who will defend us. We have a king who will ultimately vindicate us and fight for us.

12:27And so this is the first dose resemblance to Jesus, and it gives way to a second dose. And this is found in verse 26 as well. It's repayment for Jesus adversaries look with me in verse 26, immediately after this conclusive thought, so have no fear of them. Jesus adds an explanation for nothing is covered that will not be revealed or hidden, that will not be known. This phrase shows up in the synoptic gospel as Matthew, mark and Luke as many as five times. So it's an important phrase and the context determines exactly what's meant here. You know, these are big, all inclusive terms. Nothing is covered that will be revealed or hidden that will not be known.

13:19I think of all of those uses, the one that sheds the most light on this one for us is the one that Jesus speaks in Luke 12, one through two. Remember now in this context, the, the disciples had just recently witnessed Jesus being called prince of demons by the Pharisees. In a similar way, Jesus warns his disciples against the Pharisees in Luke 12, one through two, he says, beware of 11 of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed or hidden, that will not be known. So I think there's a very real sense that in Luke 12 and here in Matthew 10 24 through 31, Jesus' use of this phraseology and covering things that are, are hidden, revealing things that are covered up is dealing with the vile, wicked religious, uh, impulses that come against Jesus and his disciples even as they're cloaked, um, with religiosity.

14:31Jesus is saying that ultimately there's coming today when all of that's gonna be exposed, But I think there's something more going on here. Notice Jesus doesn't stop there in our text. He says in verse 27, what I tell you in the dark, say in the light and what you hear whispered proclaim on the housetops. I think there's a very real sense here in that the thing, the things in, in real history space and time through Jesus' disciples that expose the hypocrites are the things that he told them in the dark and that he whispered to them in secret. When these things are spoken in the light and when they're proclaimed on the housetops, it's gonna expose hypocrisy in these hypocrites.

15:22And that doesn't go well at all. That'll get you killed. That's exactly why Jesus goes where he does in verse 28, and do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Housetops back then were typically flat. So whether it was metaphorical or literal, the idea is declaring this publicly out in the light unashamedly and speaking the things Jesus has shown to us even in his word, this risk, this kind of blowback from hypocrites. This is where, this is where the whole remedy of Jesus begins to feel very counterintuitive. I'll admit that this feels like a really jagged pill to swallow.

16:01It's almost like he has, he has pushed the, the most severe threat and the worst fear related to persecution for his namesake to the surface here and now, his remedy for it, in essence is saying, turn it look at something infinitely more terrifying. That's what he says, right? He says, do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body and hell.

16:39Now first of all, let's be clear, Jesus, Jesus reveals here and elsewhere that hell is a literal place. It's a place of outer darkness, weeping and gnashing of teeth. It's a place where the fire is not quenched and the worm does not die. It is a place where unrepentant sinners and the adversaries of of God and Christ will spend all eternity being tormented under his wrath. And yet I would argue that's not, that's not the fear that Jesus points to here for his own bonafide disciples. First of all, consider or just walk you through the scriptures reminding you that true resemblance and likeness to Jesus means sonship adopted sonship in his family.

17:27It means citizenship in his eternal kingdom. But also notice after verse 28, Jesus immediately turns to this intimate acquaintance and involvement of God the father and the lives of all of his people. They're precious to him. He's going to preserve them and keep them at all costs and no one's gonna snatch him away from his hand. Besides look back at verse 28 itself after Jesus says, do not feel fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. He doesn't say rather instead, which, which he's, he's replacing that with what follows it. Okay, but he doesn't say rather fear being cast into hell.

18:07Is that what he says? That's not what he says. He doesn't say fear him who will cast you into hell. He doesn't even say fear him who might cast you into hell. What does he say? He says fear him, meaning God Almighty, who can do Ami and in God's case, unlimited, immeasurable and exhaustible power destroy both soul and body in hell. And you say, okay, I, I see the distinction here, but not so sure that it makes a difference. Well, um, let me just give you maybe a couple of analogies to try on to see if this helps. Try approaching it. First of all from this angle, the very instance that God justifies any sinner by grace through faith in his son Jesus, God's countenance forever changes towards that sinner and that sinner status forever changes before God as one who used to be his fierce enemy and is now his eternal friend.

19:15Everybody agree with that. However, what doesn't change is God's own essence. Let me just illustrate this with the statement on Hebrews 1229, that statement to the blood white church of of Jesus Christ doesn't say our God was a consuming fire, says our God is a consuming fire. Just because we have on the fireproof robe of Jesus perfect righteousness doesn't change the fact that God is an all consuming fire and his enemies being tormented in hell forever are the evidence of that. Think also about the analogy maybe of a bridge spread across a deep wide gorge. The immovable reinforced steel beams of that bridge hold it in place so that if you were to place or, or put all of your weight on that bridge, it's gonna perfectly hold you up without any fear of ever falling to the bottom of that gorge below.

20:16But what it doesn't eliminate is the awesome sense of terrified wonder. When you look over the edge of those guardrails at the gidding boulders and the rushing rapids, hundreds of feet below that sense of, of awesome terrified wonder still strikes the heart. Jesus in essence is saying to overcome even the severest of fear, especially the severest fear being murdered for the sake of Jesus. This is what you need to gaze at. This is what you need to look upon. Think about it this way, when Jesus does this and he emphasizes God's unlimited power to destroy both soul and body in hell, he presents God no doubt as a supreme threat to mankind.

21:13But don't you see how ruminating on God this way as the supreme threat to mankind actually serves the re redeemed heart in, in a sense says, just as God has the power, an inha, inexhaustible, unlimited power to destroy both soul and body and hell, he has the same power to redeem. He has the same power to ignite your soul for spreading the gospel. After all who but God can save from God who but Jesus Christ as God come in the flesh can bear the infinite weight of this destructive force and power and your place at the cross by saying, by Jesus saying, look at the one who has the power, the in infinite power to destroy both soul and body and hell, he's in a sense magnifying the great depth and extent to which God went to save your soul.

22:05Christian, so far from paralyzing you, far from making you live in constant fear of hell. This is actually putting the super concentrate of God's centered joy in your worship. It undergirds your gladness with gr with gravity. And it's this explosive joy in God through Christ that actually releases you and me from all the bondage that comes with fear and evangelizing others. And it gives us the freedom and it gives us the power to step into that public space and to shout it from the rooftops. Think about the Apostle Paul for a moment. Think about his ability to overcome being afraid of not having someone's approval for the sake of the gospel, a fear of being rejected.

22:51What does he do? What does he say? What's his solution? Romans one 16, he mentions the gospel four times in that first chapter and then in Romans one 16, there's a lot to say about this text, but he says, I am not ashamed of the gospel. What's his explanation? How did he get there? He says, for it, what is it for it? The gospel I'm not ashamed of, of the gospel because of the gospel. It is the power, the gospel is the power of God and the salvation for all the believing ones.

23:28Two fundamental places. Paul goes after saying that in Romans one is the revealed righteousness of God in verse 17 and the revealed wrath of God in verse 18, I'm convinced that there's something maybe more primary here in the text that that, uh, our Lord is doing and Matthew is writing on. And I think it has to do with the reassurance that there is coming a time that God in Christ is going to repay all of his own enemies and by extension our enemies if we're united to God through Christ, by faith in him. Just think about the reality that God himself is the one who's personally punishing and exerting destructive power on those who are in hell.

24:22Verse 28, he's doing that all sins against him carry an infinite offense and therefore God is the only one who can, who can bring a punishment that vindicates his great name, vindicates his son and us by extension. So you got these who are threatening the persecution of, of betrayal and flogging and dragging Jesus disciples into court and even killing their bodies. Yet all the while Jesus wants us to see that God the Father stands ready to destroy their, their souls and bodies in hell forever. He's the one personally inflicting that justice. In two Thessalonians one, six and following reminds us of some of the same.

25:11The Lord Jesus, there is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels inflaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord. Jesus goes on to use some of the same phrases that we find here in our sermon text, the punishment of eternal destruction, the glory of his mic. And in that instance, the saints of God are actually in wonder, marveling with admiration over the justice, the perfect justice of God being displayed to vindicate his name on and on their behalf. I think some of that reassurance is here as well. Jesus wants us to be reassured that there's coming a time that all the wrongs committed against God's blood by church will be righted and will be repaid with that.

26:03I think this, this truth, this revelation releases us from any notion of trying to repay our enemies ourselves to take vengeance into our own hands and seek retaliation. But beyond that, I think this text is also turning us in the direction of resembling Jesus even more. We know that the wrath that we deserve, we know the judgment that our sins have merited for us and we know the penalty Jesus paid in our place and has broken our hearts. And so we want our enemies to be one to God through Christ. I mean, what if, if if the goal was just to let the remainder of God's enemies just perish and be scorched and consumed in hell forever, what's the point of this short term immediate mission that he's sending the disciples out on in the formation of the early church and all the missions and and spreading of the gospel happens in the Book of Acts and that he calls us to today?

27:10What's the point of that? So It It not only reassures us that he is going to repay all of our enemies, it not only, um, releases us from the attempts of seeking retaliation and revenge, but it actually renews us with a sense of urgency to perceive e pursue even our worst of enemies with the power of the gospel. And this bears a great likeness to Jesus, our Lord. Matthew 5 45, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. And this brings us to the third dose of Jesus'. Remedy God's remembrance of Jesus' disciples because we resemble our Father in heaven by faith in his son Jesus.

28:09Jesus promises he's gonna repair enemies and he promises here in these last few verses That God the father is going to remember us without fail forever. You see the same immeasurable power that can destroy both body and soul of god's and Christ adversaries in hell forever can also redeem, keep and preserve God's saints forever. See, the the adversaries of Jesus Christ can only kill the body and cannot kill the soul. You and I, we can care, we can do a lot to care for ailing, believing loved ones in this life. We can minister to their souls, we can care for their bodies, but beyond the grave we can't do a thing.

28:58God, on the other hand, our father in heaven can destroy both body and soul in hell and, and he can care for his adopted children beyond the grave. I think Jesus is illustrating this in so many words with what he says in verses 29 through 31. Look at that text there. He contrasts his own with sparrows. He asks the question here in verse 29, are not too sparrow sold for a penny? And that English translation of penny there is referencing the little copper coin, smallest unit of currency in Jesus day, about a 16th of a day of a day's wage. And he's wanting us to see that these sparrows, their value is so little that two of them can be purchased with this one little copper coin.

29:56So he asks that question and then he comes back with his answer and not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your father. I mean here Jesus is valuing these little sparrows who are dangling way down here at the bottom of the food chain with the smallest unit of curse currency in his day and wanting us to see in a massive way that not a single one of them will fall to their death out in the woods somewhere, anywhere in the world. And you just ask yourself even today, how many dozens, how many hundreds of sparrows might fall to the ground throughout the world out in the woods somewhere?

30:46And yet Jesus says not even one of them does this apart from God the Father, meaning he's there, he's active. He not only takes notice, but he schedules this moment for them. I think part of Jesus' instruction here is inviting us to draw a straight line from even a single little sparrow down at the bottom of the food chain falling to his death out in the woods all alone somewhere drawing a straight line from that to the body of even one of his disciples being killed by the fierce hostility of Jesus adversaries. I think connect the dots there and then hear Jesus saying this about even one little sparrow in Luke 12, six, he says, not one of them is forgotten before God.

31:38Not even one is forgotten before God. In other words, when 10 of Jesus 12 disciples were eventually martyred, it wasn't because they were off God's radar. When James, the brother of John was run through with Herod sword in Acts chapter 12, verse two. And when Peter the apostle was eventually crucified upside down, it wasn't because they were off the divine grid to the contrary, go back to verses 30 and 31 and look at what Jesus says. Even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not. Therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows.

32:26The original apostles have long since been laid in the ground and their bodies have seen decay, undergone decay and their hair, the hair on their head has deteriorated, disintegrated into dust. Maybe you have some loved ones that have long since been laid in the ground and seen the seen the same decay. Maybe you are facing a life threatening situation for yourself and one of your loved ones. And it's a daunting thing to think about death and the grave and the, the, the decay that follows. Well, I want you to hear the words of Jesus in the same context from, uh, Luke 21 verse 18. He said this to his disciples in this same kind of context, the same kind of teaching.

33:09He said to them, not a hair of your head will perish your body and your hair may go under the ground and they may, they may decay and they may disintegrate and deteriorate, but not even a single hair on your whole body will perish. The same word as is used to talk about Jesus destroying both soul and body and hell of hollow me the same word meaning this, there's coming a time when the Lord Jesus will reveal himself from heaven with flaming fire in the mighty angels. There will be a shout of the trumpet. I mean there'll be a blast of the trumpet. There'll be a shout of the ark. Angel and Jesus in that moment will give the command and every single one of those DNA numbers for every believing body and all the hairs on every, uh, believing head will reassemble together.

34:04And all the blood bot people of God will be reunited their bodies, the glorified perfected bodies will be reunited to their spirits that have been made perfect in the Heavenly Assembly and will become a massive throng of worshipers and join God the Father and God the Son, by the pie of the Holy Spirit forever and ever on a new earth, in a new heaven.

34:31And this is the hope that the text points to, it's the hope you and I can have today. If you truly resemble God the Father in heaven, because you've repented of your sins and you have faith in the Lord Jesus, this is the promise to you. Jesus is going to repay all the wrongs committed against you. And he's gonna remember you always and forever.

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Sermon Text

Matthew 10:24-31

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