Home     

  20^th March 2024

WednesdayReflection

************************

'John Piper' comments on

"Even the Hairs of My Head
   Are All Numbered"

************************

I can't understand, with any empathy or appreciation, what goes on inside a person who says that, when he sees the cross of Christ and experiences God's power, he feels a sense of worthiness.

My experience is exactly the opposite:
when I catch a glimpse of Calvary-love, my first feeling is not,
"My, how worthy I must be that he would die for me!" but rather, "O, how foul must be my sin to require such a sacrifice, and how horribly lukewarm is my love and adoration and trust and obedience to such a worthy Saviour!"

The text is Matthew 10:24-33.

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?
And not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father's will.
But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.

The main point of the text is that Jesus' disciples should not fear anything but the wrath of God who can destroy soul and body in hell.
You can see that fearlessness is the main point because it is repeated three times, and everything else is argument for why we should not fear.

So what Jesus is trying to do with these words, is fortify the hearts of his disciples against fear.
He is trying to help me have his peace as pastor of this church;
he is trying to make me bold amid opposition;
he wants me to be free from anxiety so I can answer the phone in love, with a genuine concern for others instead of myself.

And the way Jesus aims to accomplish all this in my heart is by his word:
by telling me some truth about God that, if I believe it, will liberate me for fearless, authentic, loving life in the service of the church.

Jesus argues for fearlessness. He reasons with us.
He wants to change the emotions of our heart, but the pathway of his transforming power leads through the mind.
One year in the pastorate has confirmed my experience of many years:
it is the Word of the Lord that changes people most deeply.

On the wings of the Holy Spirit, the Word has power to create sons of Abraham out of stones, and to overcome fear in a wavering pastor.
I would count it the highest privilege God could give me if he were to enable me to preach this Word with ever greater understanding and conviction and power for the rest of my life.

There are at least four reasons Jesus gives in this text for why I as a pastor and you as lay-ministers should not be fearful.
Let's listen to these and pray that the very hearing will create the peace and boldness Jesus wants.

But what is comforting is the promise Jesus gives in verse 26 that whatever evil men speak of us falsely, will most surely be exposed.
Therefore, we need not fear that they will have the last word.
God will have the last word.
We can relax, endure their criticisms and threats, and even have the freedom and grace to return good for evil.

Verse 33 says,

"Whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven."

And why do many people deny Jesus before men?
Fear.
But fear of the wrong thing.

What ought to be feared, in denying Jesus, is because if we do that, Jesus will deny us, and God will destroy soul and body in hell.

But there is another reason why verse 28 is amazing.
It shows how radically other-worldly are the values Jesus lives by.
We say, "O no, we could even be killed." Jesus says, "Fear not, you can only be killed!"

Do you hear the way our Lord Jesus talks?
Do you hear how strange and out of step with humanity he is?
I get so excited when words like this begin to sink into my heart, when I begin to feel how free and how authentically different followers of Jesus can be, if we share his radical values.

"Don't fear! You can only be killed!"

The only way to find comfort in a sentence like that is to experience an utter revolution of what you count as most valuable.
Fear is what you feel when your greatest values are threatened.

So when Jesus said,
"Don't be afraid; they can only kill your body," he meant, "Don't count this life with all its attachments as most valuable.
Confessing my name before men is more valuable than life.

Choose death before you choose to deny me."

This is an edited version.
The full article and Bible references are avaiable on request

John Piper
is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary.
For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
He is author of more than 50 books, including Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist and most recently Foundations for Lifelong Learning: Education in Serious Joy.

  Contact the Rector
  The Revd.
  Nic.Edwards
  The Rectory,
  Church Lane,
  BUGBROOKE,
  Northampton,
  NN7 3PB

  Land Line: 01604 - 815496
  (Can be accessed from the mobile device)
  Mobile: .....
  E-mail:
  thebeneficeofbhkandr at gmail dot com

  Contact the Benefice Office
  Sunday School Rooms, Church Lane,
  BUGBROOKE, Northampton, NN7 3PB
  Land Line: 01604 830373
  E-mail:
  thebeneficeofbhkandr at gmail dot com
  Mon., Tues., Wed,, Thur., Fri.
  9:00^am to 11:30^am

  For Baptism bookings  (Christenings)
  to arrange an appointment please contact
  the Benefice Office.

  For Wedding bookings:
  please contact the Benefice Office to arrange
  an appointment.

  Who Made This?
  Seeing as you asked, if you can give helpful
  advice or report factual corrections and
  'deliberate mistakes',email:-
  regparker3 at gmail dot com

  Email addresses shown using words in an
  attempt to avoid 'spam',
  Type the email address replacing 'at' with '@',
  and 'dot' with '.'