Matthew 10:29-33

²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for an assarion?[1] And not one of them will fall to the land without your Father’s permission.

³⁰ But even the hairs of your head are all accounted for.

³¹ Do not fear, then; you are more valuable than many sparrows.

³² So everyone who admits knowing me in the presence of men, I also will admit knowing in the presence of my Father who is in the sky,

³³ but whoever denies knowing me in the presence of men, I also will deny knowing in the presence of my Father who is in the sky.

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workers need to admit their identity

Jesus was sending his apostles out to preach the gospel of his kingdom to their neighbor towns in Galilee. Many of the people knew something about Jesus, but these apostles who already knew Jesus personally had the responsibility to represent him, providing truth instead of rumors. That is why it would be essential for the apostles to be honest about their relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Jesus had already warned them that they would face persecution, and to be prepared for violent, even fatal opposition. He had first told them to be true because not even death is as bad as forsaking God. Death at the hands of men is temporary, but the second death in Gehenna is permanent.

Now he gives them another reason why that reaction to their message should not deter them from proclaiming it. The Father in the sky values the lives of all his creatures, giving his permission before even a common sparrow dies. But a believer has a special relationship with God through Christ. For these special people, even the hairs on our heads must be accounted for.

The gospel message we now preach is the whole story of what Jesus Christ accomplished when he walked this planet, including the work he accomplished as our Savior by dying on the cross as an atoning sacrifice, and being raised from the dead as the firstfruits, guaranteeing our future resurrection and his future kingdom. The message of a future king and kingdom coming down from the sky was crucial to the apostles’ ministry in Galilee, so it had to be proclaimed only by those who had really enlisted in the kingdom. The apostles had to own up to their new relationship with God through Christ, or else Jesus would not own up to them in the presence of his Father.

LORD, give us to courage to admit to our identity – our relationship with you and our hope of your coming kingdom.

[1] about an hour’s wage (1/16^th of a denarius, a day’s wage for unskilled labor).