Breaking the Word

  No disciple is above his teacher,…

"Therefore do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops…

 So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father. (Mt 10:24-33)

In this passage Jesus tells his disciples: “Do not be afraid” three times. (vv. 26, 28, 31). This seems to be a commandment. Because he had been telling them the problems they were about to face. The people in authority would be against them, the relatives would leave them and go away etc. There would also be physical sufferings. None of these things should disturb them.

The reason why they should not be afraid of is quite strange. The reason is that everything would be made public and there would be no secrets. What is made public is not their secret thoughts or plans rather their fidelity and their belief in God. People will begin to see that God is with them and they are worth more than the sparrows etc. So their worth and their attachment to God and the presence of God in their lives and the care of God will be made public.

Also they are not to be afraid of God. Because God is the one who cares for them and knows the details of their lives. They are to be afraid of the people and things that would separate them from God.  Acknowledgement and denial are reciprocal. This again is with regard to the relationship with Jesus.  

 "Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. But beware of people, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. (Mt 10:16-23)

The warnings given by Jesus to the apostles are quite shattering. Any shepherd will know how it would be between wolves and sheep. There will never be an amicable situation between them. Sheep will remain always sheep and the wolves always so. The apostles have to be shrewd but they should never lose their simplicity. The apostles are called to be sheep and imitate doves. Never retaliate and never react but they have to be shrewd.

Being a witness to Jesus would also bring them to courts and in front of judges.  They would be cross questioned and they would be asked to answer things which they would not have known. Worry should never overtake them. Man of worry is a man of disbelief. A believing person would always find God guiding him and the spirit would reveal to him about what to speak.

A follower would always have problem with relations. Believing and following varies from person to person. Hence this would put one against the other. In a worst of situations, a relation would hand over the other to be punished and so on.  The hardest statement is that one would be hated by all for his name sake. Yes being a follower and adhering to his name brings the only reward of being hated by all. Endurance in belonging to his name is the only test of time.