Matthew 10:32

Sunday, 8 June 2025

 

“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. Matthew 10:32

 

“All, therefore, whoever he will assent in Me before men, I will assent – I also – in him before My Father, the ‘in the heavens.’” (CG).

 

In the previous verse, Jesus reassured His apostles that they were of more value than many sparrows. He next turns to words which have to be considered in their intended context.

 

Jesus is still speaking to His apostles (disciples as recorded in Luke 10). He is doing so while they go out into the cities of Israel to proclaim the good news of the kingdom. He has not yet been crucified for the sins of the world. Thus, His words speak solely of the relationship between Israel and Jesus.

 

Understanding this, He begins the first of two verses which must be considered with those points in mind, saying, “All, therefore, whoever he will assent in Me before men.”

 

The first thing to understand is that not every “every” means “every” and not every “all” means “all.”

 

Mark 1:5 says, “Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.” However, Luke 7:30 says, “But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.”

 

This is not a contradiction. Rather, the word “all” as used by Mark, as is often the case, is given as a general statement concerning who went to be baptized.

 

Jesus is making a broad statement concerning those who are going forth and those who will hear and attend to their message. Those who hear the message and assent in Him, acknowledging the word, will be in one category. That category is defined by His next words, “I will assent – I also – in him before My Father, the ‘in the heavens.’”

 

Jesus emphatically declares that He will then confess such a person before His Father. The proposition depends on the free will assertion of the individual hearing the good news. In response to that free will assertion, Jesus Himself will likewise assent concerning that person.

 

The expression en emoi, in Me, demonstrates a uniting of the confession with the individual. Despite this, these words are spoken prior to the giving of the Spirit, which first occurs in Acts 2 and which is spoken of in the epistles as a guarantee of eternal salvation, such as in Ephesians 1:13, 14.

 

Therefore, that process of salvation cannot be what Jesus is referring to here. Rather, He is speaking of a general confession of Him and not necessarily the uniting of an individual with the Spirit. That will become clear through analyzing the next verse.

 

Life application: The words of this verse and the next are constantly quoted by Christians concerning other Christians who then make claims of salvation or condemnation based on what Jesus is saying here. As an example –

 

“It means to acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ, and our dependence on him for salvation, and our attachment to him, in every proper manner. This profession may be made in uniting with a church, at the communion, in conversation, and in conduct. The Scriptures mean, by a profession of religion, an exhibition of it in every circumstance of the life and before all people. It is not merely in one act that we must do it, but in every act. We must be ashamed neither of the person, the character, the doctrines, nor the requirements of Christ. If we are; if we deny him in these things before people; if we are unwilling to express our attachment to him in every way possible, then it is right that he should ‘disown all connection with us,’ or deny us before God, and he will do it.” Albert Barnes

 

That is not the gospel. In fact, what Barnes says is in complete contrast to the gospel, which says one is saved by grace through faith and that when one believes, he is sealed with the Holy Spirit for the day of redemption.

 

If what Barnes (et al) says is true, then it means that salvation is not of Christ but of our own efforts. Mixing the words of Jesus in the dispensation of the law with the words of Paul in the dispensation of grace will inevitably lead to confusion of thought and a contradiction in one’s theology.

 

Lord God, help us to walk with You all our days, living in a manner that is pleasing to You and in the joy of the salvation which You have given to us. When we fail in this, we know that You will still be with us, but it is we who will suffer the lack of fellowship as we do things our own way. May it not be so! Help us to hold fast to You always. Amen.