Jesus, Magnet for Trouble—and Shield—Matthew 10:24-33

This passage shows us that Jesus gets us into trouble with people, and out of trouble with God.

Maybe you had a childhood friend who was a magnet for trouble, and you found yourself getting into trouble too whenever you hung out with him. Jesus is a little bit like that. He's a magnet for trouble--the closer we get to him, the more people seem to have a problem with us. It isn't always like that, but it often is, and Jesus wouldn't have us be surprised by this.

But, while Jesus gets us into trouble with people, he gets us out of trouble with God. The Bible teaches that sinners--and who hasn't sinned?--are deeply in trouble with a holy God. If we can only get out of trouble with him, we really have nothing to fear. If God has nothing against us--if God is even for us--then people can never hurt us. So, while Jesus is a magnet for trouble, he's also a shield against it. He is, you might say, an inconvenient and invincible Savior: inconvenient because he brings trouble upon us, invincible because he makes sure it can never really harm us.

Our trouble-attracting Lord gives us three instructions here about how to follow him: (1) Don't be surprised by trouble, (2) Don't be afraid of trouble, and (3) Don't be unfaithful in trouble.

Don't Be Surprised

First, don't be surprised by trouble. Jesus says, "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough 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 malign those of his household."

In other words, persecution of Christians may be unpleasant, but it's totally understandable and natural. It comes with the territory. It's the logical result of our connection with a persecuted and hated master.

What difference does it make to know that persecution is to be expected? I think it makes a lot of difference. Sometimes, Christians respond to persecution with shocked indignation: "How dare they!" Christians who don't expect persecution can be badly caught off guard, and sometimes can return evil for evil in their indignation. Jesus teaches us how to find peace in the middle of trouble: Wasn't he persecuted too? This is what we signed up for, not some horrible, unexpected turn of events. Don't be surprised.

Don't Be Afraid

And, second, don't be afraid of trouble. Jesus gives us several reasons not to be afraid. One is that we have nothing to hide. "Nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops." Christians are not undercover agents, living in fear that our cover may be blown. We're operating in the open, so we don't have to worry about people finding out who we really are or what we believe.

Another reason not to be afraid of people is that only God can hurt us. If you were in a zoo cage with a lion and a mouse, would you waste your time worrying about the mouse? Just make friends with the lion, and you'll be fine! Jesus says, "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both body and soul in hell."

One last reason not to be afraid is that God (the only one who could hurt us) is actually watching over us to take care of us. "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?" Jesus asks. I don't know how inflation may have affected the price of sparrows, but I'll put it in terms of squirrels. I have a lot of squirrels in my yard, and you can definitely have two of them for a penny. I'd even consider a bulk deal: five squirrels for two pennies. But Jesus says that as cheap as the sparrow (or squirrel) may be, God knows every one of them. I don't know how many squirrels live in the maple tree in my back yard, but God does. And he cares. He watches over every detail of their lives. No, he doesn't keep them alive forever, but he doesn't let anyone else decide the day of their death: not one of them falls to the ground apart from him. Sparrows and squirrels matter to God. And if they matter to him, then human beings, made in his image, must matter to him far, far more. So we, the followers of his Son, do not need to be afraid.

Don't Be Unfaithful

Third, don't be unfaithful in trouble. "So," Jesus says, "everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven."

These are strong words, and we need to take them seriously. If someone puts a gun to your head and commands you to say that Jesus is not your Lord, what will you do? Jesus says that you must claim him like your eternal life depends on it. If you deny him, he will deny you.

Now, if you have ever denied Jesus in the past, but you are willing to repent and turn to him for forgiveness, you can find great comfort in the example of Peter, who denied Jesus three times, and yet was forgiven. But the lesson of Peter is a lesson about God's grace, not a lesson that you can get away with whatever you want. If you keep on denying Jesus -- with your words or with your life -- on the presumption that you are a Peter, you may find in the end that you are a Judas, condemned as a traitor to your Lord.

Jesus' Own Troubles

But if you acknowledge him before men, he will acknowledge you before his Father in heaven.

What good does it do for us if Jesus acknowledges us before his Father? What will his Father say in response? Will he say, "Well, that's kind of you to acknowledge this sinner, but he has committed unpardonable crimes and cannot be forgiven"? No, he will not say that, because Jesus has done more than acknowledge us, the people he has brought through so much trouble. No, he himself has gone through still greater trouble for us.

For us he became one of us, a child, then a man, and suffered the inconveniences and discomforts and pain and hunger and thirst of life in this world. For us he showed his power and mercy, healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, casting out demons, and raising the dead. And for us he died, though he deserved never to die, taking upon himself our guilt and the punishment we deserved. And then--then!--for us he rose, defeating death and entering eternal like on the third day.

He has gone through trouble for us, and so, when he acknowledges us before the Father, it really means something. He has gotten us out of trouble with God. More than that, he has gotten us into God's favor, and into God's family. We are children of God: we do not need to be afraid of men.

Pastor Nate Jeffries