Matthew 10:24-39

Further Sayings on Persecution.

Matthew 10:24 a would hardly be intelligible to the disciples till after Matthew 16:21; Matthew 10:25 b connects with Matthew 12:22. Beelzebub: Mark 3:22 *.

Matthew 10:26. From Q (cf. Luke 12:2): Matthew 10:26 is found in Mark 4:22, though the application is different both there and also in Luke 12:2. Here and in Matthew 10:27 the thought is that Jesus-' influence in His lifetime is small compared with what it will be later. The destroyer in Matthew 10:28 b is God (cf. Wis_16:13, James 4:12), though some argue from Luke 12:5 mg. that it is the devil. But the usual exhortation is to fight the devil rather than to fear him. soul (psuche) is variously used in the Synoptists; here it is all that makes up the real self. But they that fear the Lord are to trust in the Lord (Psalms 115:11); hence Matthew 10:29. Even if they suffer martyrdom it will be with God's knowledge and loving care.

Matthew 10:32 f. sums up the thought of faithful endurance elaborated in Matthew 10:17. confess, i.e. acknowledge, range oneself with. Some think Lk., the Son of Man (will confess him), preferable to Mt.'s I. Mark 8:38 seems to distinguish between Jesus and the Son of Man; Mt. by his pronoun declares them identical.

Matthew 10:33 should be read not as a threat but a statement of inevitable law.