Matthew 10:23-28

²³ When they pursue you in this city, escape to the next, for honestly, I tell you, you will not have finished with all the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

²⁴ “A disciple is not over his teacher, nor is a servant over his master.

²⁵ It is sufficient for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they mistreat those of his household.

²⁶ “So do not fear them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be made known.

²⁷ What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.

²⁸ And do not fear from the killers of the body (who are unable to kill the soul). Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. _________________________________________

workers need to choose the right fear

Even though Jesus knew that the Galilean mission would be successful, he wanted the apostles he sent out to know that there is always a possibility of betrayal, rejection and violent death when they go out to proclaim the word of life. Too much is at stake for the Adversary to allow our mission to succeed without retaliation. Yet, there is a fact that should cause us to check our fear of these body-killers. That fact is hell.

Oh, I am not referring to the hell that was dreamed up in the minds of pagans, where souls are tormented constantly for eternity. I’m talking about the hell Jesus talked about here — Gehenna. Gehenna is not a temporary place of torment that disembodied souls go at death. It is the final state of the lost — it is the lake of fire that follows the great white throne judgment.[1] The purpose of Gehenna is not to inflict pain as punishment. It is to destroy – to utterly kill – to annihilate. This is something that only God can do.

The pagans thought that even God could not kill the soul, but they were wrong. They thought that souls continue to live after death, making death a lie. Jesus taught that death is real. He warned his apostles that when they dared to proclaim him, the world would treat them like they did him. We all know what they did to Jesus. But then something wonderful happened. He rose from the dead. They had killed his body, but his soul (his whole being) came to life again at his resurrection. He had no reason to fear the killers of his body, because God would raise his soul from that death.

The right fear is the fear of God. Jesus instructed his workers in the Galilean mission to choose this fear, and let it override their fear of persecution. Yes, they could be put to death. Over the centuries since this message was given, many a body has been killed for sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. But the same God who raised Christ from the dead will also raise their souls to life again. Their death is real, but only temporary. The death we should all fear is the death without Christ, without faith, and without God. That death is destruction of both soul and body in Gehenna. It is what the Bible calls the second death.[2] It is to be feared because it is permanent. When God destroys, he utterly destroys. The prophet Malachi said that “the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.”[3]

Fearing Gehenna hell, and fearing the God who can destroy people there, does not need to make us love him any less. Jesus is talking about putting our earthly fears in perspective. The dangers that await us for obedience to him need to be contrasted with the dangers that await those who reject and disobey him. We serve out of love. We proclaim his grace because we have been won over by that grace. Reality is that we might die for proclaiming that grace.

But Jesus teaches his disciples here that the gospel message and what is says about the future are all going to be revealed in the end. Nothing that is hidden is going to stay hidden. The enemies of the gospel are not going to destroy it. What the disciples hear Jesus saying in the dark, they can feel free to say in the light. What they hear whispered, they can proclaim on the housetops. Those truths are not going to go away, regardless of how fierce the opposition to them. Our confidence in the power of God can help us to overcome fear of man.

LORD, give us respect for your power, and confidence in it, so that we can boldly proclaim the message of your love – in the face of the world’s hate.

[1] Revelation 20:11-15.

[2] Revelation 2:11; 20:6,14; 21:8.

[3] Malachi 4:1.