Matthew 10 Study Notes

10:23 The phrase you will not have gone through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes may mean that Christian disciples will not complete their mission to the Jewish people before the second coming of Christ. The towns of Israel likely include the far-flung cities of the world where Jews settled down after several dispersions from Israel. However, Jesus’s promise is closely linked to the first half of the verse by the conjunction for and by the repetition of the word town. Thus “will not have gone through the towns” primarily means that the disciples will not have run out of Jewish towns to which to escape before Messiah comes. The mission to the nations in Mt 28:19-20 augments rather than replaces the mission to Israel.

Like the English term fear, Greek phobeo covers a broad spectrum of meanings, including worry (Mt 1:20), discomfort at potential circumstances (Mt 2:22; 10:31; 14:5; 21:26,46), and feelings of awe and/or terror, especially in the presence of the supernatural (Mt 9:8; 10:28; 14:27; 17:6-7; 27:54; 28:5,10). Phobeo has two main applications in the NT: fear of God and fear of man or circumstances. In regard to the former, fear can be understood as a healthy understanding of who God is, his power, and what he demands from us (cp. Pr 1:7; 9:10). The unbeliever should tremble in terror before such a God, for he is the one who can “destroy both soul and body in hell” (Mt 10:28). For the believer, however, such fear is replaced by a relationship in which perfect love can flourish (1Jn 4:18; cp. Rm 8:15), though awe of God’s greatness remains (2Co 5:11; 7:1).

10:24-25 On the meaning of Beelzebul, see note at 12:24.

10:26-28 Most may not see the truth of the gospel now, but they will. And “the worst [the persecutors] can do does not match the worst God can do” (D. A. Carson).

10:29-31 If God must consent to the fall of sparrows, no disciple can suffer persecution without his consent. The God who has numbered even the hairs of your head has also numbered the days of your life. His plan for his disciples cannot be cut short by persecution.

10:32-34 Jesus’s words do not imply that his disciples should take up the sword in violent reprisal against persecutors. The sword is merely a symbol for conflict and division (Lk 12:51).

10:35-37 This is an even more emphatic statement of 10:21-22.

10:38 Taking up a cross does not refer to evangelism. Instead, Jesus refers here to the death march that leads to crucifixion. The point is that disciples must be prepared to die (literally and figuratively) as martyrs for Christ.

10:39 Worldly “life” and true life in the world to come are incompatible.

10:40-42 The person who welcomes a persecuted disciple welcomes Jesus and the one who sent him. He can expect to receive a heavenly reward, just as the person who welcomes a prophet or righteous person receives the reward that a prophet or righteous person deserves.