“As Ambassadors for Christ, Do Not Fear”
(Matthew 10:24-33 – Pentecost 5 – June 28, 2026)
Matthew 10:24-33 – 24“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! 26Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 27Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. 28And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 30But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”
Dear Redeemed, children of our heavenly Father through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ:
An ambassador is a person officially sent to represent his government in a foreign nation. When a president or a king sends an ambassador, that representative does not speak by his own authority; he speaks by the authority of his ruler or government.
It is the same in Christ’s Kingdom. The Bible says we are His ambassadors. As citizens of His heavenly Kingdom, we live as foreigners in the kingdom of this world. As such, Christ sends us in His behalf to speak a message of salvation He wants all people to hear. 2 Corinthians 5:19-20 says: “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”
As Jesus indicates, it is not always easy to proclaim His message in a hostile world. But let us be encouraged by His words. “As Christ’s Ambassadors, Do Not Fear”: 1) You stand with Him in His truth; 2) You stand with Him in eternal life.
1) You stand with Jesus in His truth
Jesus was about to send His disciples out among people to proclaim: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (vs. 7). It was good news for sinners. God sent His Son into the world to win salvation for all! The King of heaven came to subjects who had rebelled against Him by their sins; but He came to win their forgiveness and offer them peace. He would pay for that peace with His own blood. But before He sent His disciples out as ambassadors of His peace, Jesus warned that their message would not always be well received. In the course of their ministry they would be persecuted, imprisoned, and even killed (vs. 16-23). Why? Because they stood with Jesus in His truth.
He told them ahead of time what to expect: “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!” (vs. 24-25)
We belong to Jesus’ household – His Church, His Kingdom of Grace – since He has redeemed us by His blood and called us to Himself in faith. So our highest aim is to be like Him as our Teacher and Lord. But we should not expect to have it better than He did in this world. After all His faithful teaching of the truth of God, His enemies accused Him of teaching by the father of lies, Satan. When Jesus drove out demons, they said: “He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons” (Luke 11:15). After all His speaking the truth in love to sinners, preaching the good news of the salvation He had come to win for them, inviting everyone into His Kingdom by faith, His enemies managed to find so much fault with Him that they nailed Him to a cross.
If Jesus was despised and rejected for the truth, should we expect any different? As ambassadors of heaven’s King, we implore our fellow sinners to be reconciled to Him through repentance and faith in His blood-bought forgiveness. The message we bring is peaceful and loving; but it is not often received in a peaceful and loving way.
It is because the unbelieving world is under the influence of Satan, the true enemy (Ephesians 6:12). He hates Jesus and His truth. By Jesus’ Word, demons were cast out. By Jesus’ work, this world’s evil ruler himself is cast out (John 12:31). Satan rightly dreads the final Word of Jesus by which he will be consigned to eternal hellfire. The evil foe hates and fears Christ and wants to do all he can to silence His truth.
Sadly, those who belong to Satan’s kingdom also hate His truth. This is why Jesus was despised and rejected, accused of preaching lies, and finally crucified. The world fears the light of His Word, the truth that exposes sin for what it is and calls sinners to repentance (John 3:19-20). Jesus’ ambassadors bring His good news of blood-bought forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life; yet Jesus’ enemies hear bad news and want to silence His people. This is why, even though Jesus’ disciples speak His truth in love, they may be accused of hate speech; and for the sake of faithfulness to Jesus’ truth, they may face loss of work, loss of family and friends, and even loss of life.
Jesus says: “Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (vs. 26-28)
Enemies of Jesus may try to cover and hide His truth by falsehood and deceit, but He will have His Gospel faithfully preached in all the world (Matthew 24:14). Governments have tried to silence His Word by threatening penalties, imprisonment, and even death to those who speak it. They may be able to harm the body, but they cannot harm the soul. They actually have more to fear than the believer. For God, whose truth they oppose, is “Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
As ambassadors for Christ, we confess our own shortcomings. At times, we have feared men more than God and have failed to confess Christ. We should have spoken His truth in love; but instead we spoke our own untruthful or unloving words. We have not always cared enough to call those who are straying in sin to repent, that they might be restored in Christ’s forgiveness. In fear of rocking the boat with family, friends, or others, we have remained silent about our faith. We have feared what people might think, say, or do; so we have gone along with the crowd instead of doing God’s will.
This is why, before we speak His message of reconciliation to others, we take it to heart ourselves. We confess our own sins; and we look to Jesus, the King of heaven, who came as our own Savior. We trust His perfect life and faithful witness, His speaking the truth in love unto death, as the life God counts to us for righteousness. We trust Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross for our sins, for all our lack of love and faithfulness, as the sacrifice by which He won our reconciliation and peace with God.
Therefore as ambassadors for Christ, we need not fear. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). God has baptized us and washed us of all sin. He has poured out His Spirit and faith in our hearts, claiming us as His holy children in Christ. He has given us the joy of His salvation and eternal life to live by and to share. We can proclaim His truth fearlessly from housetops, pulpits, or wherever we are. It is the truth that frees sinners from Satan’s lies and gives salvation and eternal life to all believers.
2) You stand with Jesus in eternal life
As Jesus sent His disciples into the world as ambassadors of His truth, they would willingly face persecution, imprisonment, and in many cases even death. Why? They had seen Jesus crucified and risen from the dead. They knew He was who He claimed to be, the Lord and Savior of sinners, the giver of eternal life. They knew it was a truth worth giving their lives for; they knew they stood with Jesus in eternal life. Likewise, we stand with Jesus in His truth; and we stand with Him in eternal life.
How precious is our life to God as He protects and cares for us. Jesus pictures this saying: “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (vs. 29-31).
Tiny sparrows could be sold for next to nothing. An average human head has over 100,000 hairs. Yet not one of these falls to the ground apart from our heavenly Father’s will. If God cares for such tiny things in His creation that seem insignificant, how much more does He care for us, whom He has redeemed by the blood of His Son and made His eternal children by faith! This all-giving love of our heavenly Father never changes. By the same love He watches over us, protects us, and provides for us daily. By the same love, He will bring us through death into His heavenly Kingdom.
This gives us confidence as ambassadors of Christ, as long as we live in this world. He moves us boldly and joyfully to confess our faith and share His Gospel with others, for we want them to know His saving love and share in His eternal heavenly Kingdom.
Jesus says: “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” (vs. 32-33) As believers, we are confessors of Christ. With the faith created in our hearts by the Spirit we confess that we are saved, not by what we do, but by what Jesus has done for us in His perfect life, sacrificial death, and triumphant resurrection. Our faith cannot keep silent. In our worship, in our witness, we confess our hope in Christ, not only for this life but for the life to come.
Already, Jesus is confessing us before His Father in heaven, interceding for us (Romans 8:34). For His sake our heavenly Father is looking on us in love, hearing our prayers, and caring for us. On the Last Day when Jesus comes in all His glory, He will confess us before His Father. He will fulfill His promise in Revelation 3:5: “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”
Who would want to trade the approval of God for the approval of men? When this world and its empty glory passes away, how wonderful it will be to hear Jesus welcome us into His everlasting Kingdom, as He says: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34).
Ambassadors for Christ: Do not fear! You stand with Him in His truth; You stand with Him in eternal life. As we speak His message of salvation, we pray that many may be brought by faith into His Kingdom of Grace and at last into His Kingdom of Glory.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Amen.