Matthew 10:24-39 on June 21st, 2026
Above is audio of the sermon pulled from the video and amplified.
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Have No Fear: Finding Comfort in God's Promise
So have no fear, Jesus says. Easier said than done. It is hard to have no fear with the way things are these days. Everything seems so uncertain, confusing, vindictive, polarized, discomforting, even good things, very sense of doubt. And that doubt leaves just enough room for fear to sneak in.
The Mission and the Warnings
Last week, Jesus sent his twelve disciples and us out on a mission. He was giving them a little bit of a pep talk. And after the comfort and promise of Jesus seeing us with compassion, he tells us to go out to reclaim the good news. And our lesson for today is still part of his sending out pep talk.
And today he gets a little more real about the difficulties that the disciples will face. And today he's reminding them and forewarning them, but he's also trying to comfort them at the same time. And the thing about this though is we tend to forget the comfort part and fixate on the warnings and the negatives. And I mean, who really remembers anything about comfort in our passage for today? We focus on those bad things, the swords, the separations, the family discord, the denials. And those warnings kick us into fight or flight mode, which isn't all that helpful when proclaiming the God of grace. And so we start to be afraid to fear.
Our Deep-Set Human Fears
And we all have some of those deep-set human fears being alone. Not like I need some alone time, but alone alone. No friends, no family, no relationships. We're afraid of not having a place, not being good enough. We all want to be good enough. If we are good enough, people will like us and will never be alone. We'll have it all, friends, money, prestige, which brings us to the fear of not having enough.
Because if we just had enough, whatever that means, we look for simple, easy, immediate answers, the world is all too happy to provide. Are you afraid of being alone? Certain way, these products, they were made just for you. If you have these things, you'll never be alone. Are you afraid you're not good enough? Well, at least you're better than those people over there. New stations and websites, they tell you exactly what you already know to be true. You are validated. You are more informed than everybody else. You are on the right side, which means you're good enough. Are you afraid of not having enough? Then you should keep on accumulating bank accounts, power, control. If you want to be happy, strive to have more. Keep it. Hold on tight because at any moment it could just go away. Only you matter. See you, you do belong. You are good enough if you follow our lead.
The World's False Answers
I mean, those answers are what surround us day after day. They tell us who we are and who we should be. And if we don't listen to them, if we don't follow their lead, then there is no place for us. Our greatest fears will come true. You're nothing, nobody. You won't matter. You'll never be happy. In our world, while pretending to offer answers, only stokes our fear. Because by keeping us fearful, we can keep getting fed the answers that the world wants to give.
But Jesus says, have no fear of them. Do not be afraid. This is the message of angels and prophets, and now Christ Himself, do not be afraid. Fear not. Do not fear those who oppose you, Jesus says. In time, the truth will come out.
God's Truth vs. The World's Lies
God proclaims good news. The world tells us what to do to fit in. And yet God says, you already belong. The world tells us how to become valuable. Jesus says, you are of the greatest worth. The world tells us what is important. The spirit reminds that to God, you are important.
Fear dominates our lives. And while it seems that Jesus follows these words of hope with more fear, this is more about naming our fears out loud. Yes, the world, the authorities, and other people can harm us, but they cannot touch our eternal destiny, our salvation, our place with God. So Jesus, instead, redirects us to fear the one who actually holds that power.
A Different Kind of Fear
But this type of fear is different. It is reverence. It is awe. It is the kind where you realize that you are in the presence of something so much bigger, so much truer, so much more real than anything that the world has been selling you. This type of fear reminds you of your place and something far greater than yourself.
This God is the one we are to honor, to revere, to look at. The God who has power over our immediate and eternal lives, this God loves us beyond all things. Loved more than the Sparrows loved in all of the details of who you are, all your ins and outs, all the hairs on your head. You are loved and you are formed into the new family of God.
Jesus' Example and Actions
But the good news is more than just what Jesus says. It is how He finishes the story with His actions. Jesus entered our world and He stood up to everything that we still fear. He went against the pressures that told him, he must fit into how the world works, that he must do this or that to belong. He knew that he belonged to God. He went against the powers which preferred order, hierarchy and adherence. He upset the apple cart by loving and welcoming and sharing a meal with anyone, letting them know their worth to God.
And He even faced one of the greatest fears any human being has and that is death. And under the threat of death, Jesus loved God. And in each of these ways, Jesus went against the answers that our world tries to give. He went to places that we dare not go. He did things for people whom we dare not recognize. He stayed true to God's kingdom when most of us would sing a different tune at just the mention of the hammer and nails.
What Jesus Knew
And all of this is because Jesus knew what was important. Now we all belong to God and nothing changes that. And we all are beloved children more valuable than anything with all the hairs on our head count. And in Jesus, we see how God deals with fear, with our world, with us and our good times in our bad. If God can use something as awful as the cross to work redemption, then God can and will work through all of our hardships. Big old little for the sake of life.
Instead of condemning the world, God decided to save it. Instead of being a God of fear and scaring the hell out of us, Jesus came to show us inescapable overpowering unconditional love.
Living Out Our Mission
So instead of fear, as has been our default for so long, maybe we can actually live out the mission that Jesus sends us to do with joy, with anticipation, with hope. That is what Jesus calls us to after all. So in the face of all that is daunting and fearful, Jesus says, have no fear. The world does not have the last word. Do not fear. Jesus has faced the worst that our world can do. Be afraid. God has you forever. Amen.