A preview for Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders of Lifeway’s Explore the Bible lesson of Matthew 10 for February 1, 2026. Includes a sample introduction to the lesson, text outline and highlights, illustrations you can share, discussion questions for your group, and spiritual life applications. A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at:

INTRODUCTION:

“In a primary debate (for the 2000 Presidential election), an answer of George W. Bush’s underscored the generational and cultural distinctions between father and son. Asked to name his favorite philosopher, George W. replied: “Christ, because He changed my heart.” Calling his son afterward, Bush senior said, “Don’t worry son, I don’t think the Jesus answer will hurt you very much.” George W was struck by the remark; it had never occurred to him that what he thought of as honesty about his faith could hurt him.” (Jon Meacham, Destiny and Power, p. 553)

AND/OR ALTERNATE ??? DISCUSSION QUESTION???

“Can anyone share a time when you were in a situation where it was difficult to confess Christ — or have you known someone who was in a situation like that?”

Then transition by saying that in today’s lesson in Matthew 10, Jesus calls His followers to confess Him publicly, even when it costs us something to do so.

CONTEXT:

We’re continuing our study of the Book of Matthew this quarter. Last time we looked at Matthew 9, and how Jesus showed mercy both to the “down and out” as well as the “up and out.” Matthew 9 ends with Jesus “reaching, teaching, and caring” for people in :35, and then looking at the needs of the multitudes, Jesus tells His disciples that the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few, and to pray for the Lord to send out workers into His harvest.

That takes us right into Chapter 10, where Jesus “puts feet to their prayers” and sends His disciples out on mission in :1. Verses 2-4 name the 12 apostles, and then in :5-14 Jesus begins giving them instructions for this particular mission trip: that they are to go to Israelites, not the Samaritans or Gentiles on this trip, and they are not to take anything with them, but be provided for along the way. He also tells them to shake the dust off their feet if they are rejected, and move on. This brings us to our focus passage for today, beginning in :16. 

OUTLINE:

I.   The Commission (:16-20)

II.  The Attitude (:26-31)

III. The Confession (:32-34)

TEXT:  Matthew 10:16-20, 26-34

I. The Commission (:16-20)

16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be as wary as serpents, and as innocent as doves. 17 But be on guard against people, for they will hand you over to the courts and flog you in their synagogues; 18 and you will even be brought before governors and kings on My account, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given you in that hour. 20 For it is not you who are speaking, but it is the Spirit of your Father who is speaking in you.”

Now we do need to note that Jesus is speaking in a particular context here: as we saw in the introduction He is sending His original 12 apostles out on mission for the first time, and He is giving them some instructions for the trip, which we find in this passage.

But even though this Commission was given in a particular context, there are still some things here that apply to us as Jesus’ followers today. So you might either just point these things out, OR ask a:

???DISCUSSION QUESTION???
“What are some things you see in :16-20 that still apply to us in our context today?”

(Some answers should include:

— Jesus is still sending His people out today. We aren’t part of that particular assignment, but He still calls us to go and share. We have the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8, and so on. ALL of us as God’s people are to be “on mission” for Him.

— We still need to be “wise as serpents” and “innocent as doves.” 

This is one of those careful balances we need to keep as God’s people. We need to be personally “innocent.” Stay pure and above reproach. But on the other hand, we also need to be wise. Don’t be naive; in the world there are “many dangers, toils, and snares,” and we need to be wise to avoid them. 

ILLUSTRATION:
My nephew is on a mission trip to Indonesia this month, witnessing among Muslims in some of the islands there. They are seeking to meet other young people and others, and build relationships with them — that’s their purpose. But they were warned by their supervisor on the trip: don’t take a picture with just you and one of the people there; always make sure someone else is in the picture with you — just so nothing is misunderstood. That’s part of being “wise” and “innocent.” We need a lot more of that in Christian ministry today. We need to be “as innocent as doves” in all we do — but don’t be naive; also be “wise as serpents” and on the lookout for Satan’s snares, for certainly in this world, all are not innocent, even if we are trying to be!

— We still need to understand that we may be persecuted, as the original disciples were. 

Note that the persecution that Jesus’ disciples went through, gave them opportunities to share the gospel: when they are “handed over,” as :17 says, :18 says they will be “a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.” So even our persecution leads to opportunities to witness. We see this repeatedly in Acts, don’t we?

— Peter and disciples get called in by the Jewish leaders, and they get to witness.

— Stephen is assailed by the Jews in Acts 7, and he shares the gospel with the whole crowd. 

— Paul gets unjustly arrested, but testifies to governors and kings about the gospel.

And even in our difficulties today, God gives us opportunities to share.

ILLUSTRATION:

This last week, Don Lemon of CNN news went into the church where Minneapolis protesters were disrupting the service. You may or may not know that this church is a Southern Baptist church plant, from our North American Mission Board! And if you saw the video, the young pastor did a fantastic job of sharing Jesus with Don Lemon and the watching world. He was going through a kind of persecution that many of us have never experienced — but in it he had an opportunity to share the hope of Jesus, and he did!  

(If you have the capability and want to show the video of that interview, here is the link:   

Let’s follow the example of this young pastor, and the command of Jesus here. When we experience trouble and persecution, use those opportunities to share Christ.

— Also relevant to us today, is that  we still need to rely on God’s Holy Spirit to give us the words to say when we need to speak.

???DISCUSSION QUESTION???
“Can anyone share a time when you didn’t feel like you knew what to say, but the Lord just gave you the right thing to say?”

(Over the years as a pastor, I have had this happen a lot. Sometimes I’ve spoken or written something, and I’ve thought, “Wow, that’s good; where did that come from? It wasn’t from me!” The Holy Spirit who lives inside of each of us as Jesus’ followers gives us what we need to say when we need it! So we need to trust that, and just “open our mouth” when we need to, and begin to share. The Lord will help us when we do.)

You/your group can share your own experiences of this.

But emphasize that Jesus still sends His people out to reach the world today.

II. The Attitude (:26-31)

26 “So do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the darkness, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim on the housetops. 28 And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are two sparrows not sold for an assarion? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all counted. 31 So do not fear; you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.”

So after telling them that He was sending them out on mission, and that people would oppose/oppress them, Jesus begins a new section in :26, “So do not fear them …”. This is the attitude He wants His disciples to have: we are not to fear those who oppose or persecute us.  In fact, Jesus uses the term “Fear not/do not fear” THREE TIMES in this section. So this segment is very much about NOT being afraid, as Jesus’ disciples.

A. Jesus says in :26-27 “So do not fear them.” The “SO” refers to what falls in between our two “focus passages,” where Jesus says the disciple is not above his Teacher; if they called Him Beelzebub, they will us as well. So He says, “Do not fear them.”They are going to do that. Expect it. Don’t fear it. But “what I tell you in the darkness, tell in the light. What you hear whispered … proclaim on the housetops.” 

Jesus is saying here, just fearlessly, openly, proclaim what I am telling you. Perhaps they were sitting around a fire, and Jesus was speaking to them in a low voice. But He says, I want you to go out and share My message publicly, everywhere. Don’t be intimidated; share My message!

B. The second “fear not” is found in verse 28: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but who are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Jesus is saying here, don’t let the fear of what man can do to you, keep you from sharing My word. Men can hurt your physical body temporarily; yes they can kill you. But that is not the ultimate power. GOD has the ultimate power, to cast men into hell. HE is the One who should be feared!

There IS a legitimate “fear of God.” It is not a “craven fear” — especially for those who know Him. But ALL should respect His awesome power and majesty, and fear lest His judgment come upon us! We should fear God more than anyone or anything else, and our reverence for HIM should overshadow any other fears.

ILLUSTRATION

William Manchester tells this story about Winston Churchill in his epic Churchill biography trilogy: 

One night Churchill was dictating to one of his secretaries at 3 a.m. During his dictation, he decided to open of the office windows. When he did, a bat flew into the room. The secretary was terrified of the bat — but, she said later, she was more terrified of Churchill than she was of the bat — so she kept on taking the dictation!

I think this conveys something of the attitude that we as followers of Christ should have towards our various fears. Sure, we may fear pain, or rejection, or humiliation, or whatever. But we should fear God more! And our fear (really awe and respect) for Him should be greater, and swallow up any other fear that might hinder us from obeying Him! 

C. Then Jesus closes this section in :29-31 by giving another reason for us not to be anxious: because our Heavenly Father cares for us. He gives two illustrations of this:

1. He uses the famous example of the sparrow (similar to what He did in Matthew 6). He says “Are not two sparrows sold for …” some translations say “a penny,” “a cent,” “a copper coin,” etc. It’ literally “an assarion.” An “assarion” was a small copper coin, 1/16 of a drachma or a daily wage for a common laborer. It is very much like a “penny” today (or what it was before it was discontinued!)

ILLUSTRATION:

You might even use an illustration of a penny. Bring one to class, and make a big deal of showing everyone what this “rare thing” is! Of course everyone knows what it is. And then ask: “What can you buy for a penny?” And of course, the answer is, NOTHING! I don’t think there is literally anything you can get for a penny — that’s why they discontinued it!

Then make the point: the sparrow is a small, common bird. (I’ve recently gotten into birdwatching, and one of my challenges is figuring out all the different sparrows! Sparrows are very small birds; and they are very common.) But Jesus says, this very common bird, sold two for one of these worthless cents — not even one of them falls to the ground apart from God. In other words, God is watching over them, overseeing them. Nothing happens to them that He doesn’t cause or allow. So HOW MUCH MORE will He not watch over, and care, for YOU! 

2. He then uses another illustration in :30, where He says “Even the hairs of your head are all counted.” 

ILLUSTRATION:
“Do you know how many hairs the average human has on their head?” (+/- 100,000)

“Do you think you have more less than average?”

We may not know — but GOD DOES! When you love something, and care about it, you want to know as much about it as you can. Well the Bible says God loves us, and He loves us so much that He knows the exact number of hairs we have on our heads! Psalm 139 adds to this, saying “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God; If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.” God not only KNOWS us, He also thinks countless numbers of thoughts about us, continually. 

The point is, if we just knew how valuable we are to God, how much He knows and loves and loves and cares about us, we would not worry. We’d trust Him, secure in His love. 

One of the key words here is when Jesus says: “Your FATHER.” We should not worry, because we know our Heavenly Father loves us, and cares for us, and has us in His hand. And as Jesus said in John 10, no one can snatch you out of His hand. DO NOT FEAR! Your Father has you in His hand! And this section closes with Jesus saying, “you are worth more than many sparrows.” If God cares for these virtually “worthless” creatures, how much more does He care for YOU: made in the image of God; bought by the blood of Christ. My dad always said: “Something is worth what someone will pay for it.” Well God paid the blood of Christ for us, so we are worth very much to Him! That should tell us all we need to know. God loves and cares for us, so we do not need to be afraid. 

You might sum up this section as: share His word; don’t fear men; trust God!

III. The Confession (:32-34)

32 “Therefore, everyone who confesses Me before people, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before people, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. 

34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”

The word “confess” that Jesus uses twice here in :32 is the Greek “homologeo” “homo” = “same”; “logeo” = “speak/say”. So it means you “say the same thing” about Jesus that He says about Himself: that He is Lord & God, that He is “the way the truth and the life.” “Confess” Him; “say the same thing” that He says, that His word says, about Him. Jesus says if you do, He will confess you before His Father.

This is just what Romans 10:9-10 says: “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” So Jesus says it is important for us to confess Him publicly. In fact He says, if we deny Him before people, He will deny us before God in heaven. No one wants that!

So knowing how important confessing Jesus is:

???DISCUSSION/APPLICATION???

“What are some ways we can confess Christ publicly today?”

(or NOT confess Him!)

— Making a public “profession of faith” in church is one. Declare your faith openly and publicly. 

— BAPTISM is a primary one. In fact, baptism is the New Testament time of “public confession.” They didn’t have separate “professions of faith;” when people were saved they confessed “Jesus is Lord” in baptism. Baptism is still a primary time of publicly professing Christ. I am told by missionaries that Muslims in Africa and elsewhere do not mind if people “say” they’ve given their life to Jesus as their Lord & Savior; it is when they are BAPTIZED that the persecution comes. Baptism is like the public “coming out” for the Christian. So you might challenge some of your class members this weekend to confess Christ publicly in baptism if they never have. 

— In personal conversations with others. Have you had opportunities to “own up” to Jesus recently? Did you take them, or just quietly deny Him?

— On mission trips and evangelistic outreaches.

You/your group can think of others. But make the point: let’s make sure we confess Jesus before men. If we will, He makes the promise that He will confess us before the Father! 

LASTLY don’t miss this final little :34, where Jesus says: “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”

On the one hand, this does NOT mean that Jesus came to spread His gospel by the sword/killing people. Islam is notorious for “converting” people through “Islam or the sword” — convert or die! They spread their religion all through the Middle East (and are doing it in Africa right now!) Christians do not convert and conquer in this way. We don’t spread Jesus’ kingdom by the sword.

What then does Jesus mean by saying He came to bring “a sword”? He means His truth is going to be very contentious and divisive. Everyone will not receive it. And importantly, it will divide people. In the very next verses, just outside our “focus passage” Jesus said:  (:35) “For I came to turn a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and a person’s enemies will be the members of his household.” So Jesus said families will be divided over Him.

This goes along with last week’s lesson, on things that people misunderstand about Jesus and His ministry. They think Jesus is just all about “peace, peace, peace” — and don’t get it wrong; there IS peace to be found in Jesus:

— The angels in Luke 2 proclaimed “peace on earth/goodwill towards men” at His birth.

— Jesus said in John 14:27 “27 Peace I leave you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives, do I give to you.”

— Philippians 4:6 speaks of “the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus,” and so on. 

So there definitely IS peace to be found in Christ!

BUT many misunderstand this, and think of Jesus and His followers as just all “peace loving, meek, kind” type people who never get in an argument, who would never hurt a fly, etc. 

But as Jesus says here, He is very divisive. People will divide over Him. Some will believe He is Lord and God. Others will call Him a liar or a lunatic. 

In C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Susan Pevensey asks Mr. Beaver if Aslan the Lion (who represents Christ in the story) is “safe.” He replies: “Safe? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King.”

This is like what Jesus is saying here. Following Him is not “safe”! Like in His mother Mary’s life, it may bring a sword to pierce your own soul. Like Jesus said, it may even cause your own family to hate or forsake you. 

???DISCUSSION QUESTION???
“Can anyone here share of times when your faith in Jesus caused controversy or divisions in your family or other relationships?”

Sadly, many people can share of times like that. But emphasize that Jesus calls us to choose to follow Him, regardless of the impact it has on our family. He said just after this passage in :37-38: “The one who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and the one who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And the one who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”

Jesus calls us to take our stand for Him, regardless of the impact it may have even on our own family.

ILLUSTRATION
Since my sister has moved back to the States from serving with the IMB, she has been working to reach international students here at OU. She told me she met one young man from an Islamic country, who confessed Christ as his Savior, and now he’s trying to keep from having to go home, because his family is trying to kill him! This is not uncommon in Islam. 

So following Jesus can have dramatic consequences — and He tells us that up front. Men may hate you and persecute you. Friends and family may divide over you. But He calls us to follow Him regardless. Emphasize to your class that everyone has to make their own choice about how they will respond to Jesus. What’s your choice?

The words of Joshua might be good ones to close your class with today: “Choose you this day whom you will serve.”

Interestingly, the Greek words for “Jesus” and “Joshua” are the same! So in a very real way today JESUS is saying, “Choose YOU this day whom you will serve!” He’s come to bring a sword; to make us choose; to cause a division of those who will be His/and those who will not. Which side are you on? “Choose you this day whom you will serve!” 

It might be good to read again these words of Jesus in :32-33 as you close:

“Therefore, everyone who confesses Me before people, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before people, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.”

Let’s go into the world, confessing Jesus this week! 

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