Sermon for June 21, 2026, Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Matthew 10:21-33 (Fourth Sunday after Pentecost/Proper 7—Series A)

“Don’t Be Afraid to Confess Jesus Boldly”

Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer, Enfield CT

June 21, 2026

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Our text is the Gospel Reading from Matthew 10:

²¹And brother will deliver over brother into death and a father his child, and children will turn against parents, and they will put them to death. And you will be hated by all on account of My Name. ²²But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ²³And when they persecute you in that city, flee to the other. For truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. ²⁴A disciple is not above his teacher, nor is a slave above his master. ²⁵It is enough for the disciple that he should be like his teacher and a slave like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more the members of His household. ²⁶Therefore, do not fear them. For nothing stand covered which will not be revealed and hidden which will not be made known. ²⁷What I say to you in the dark, speak in the light, and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. ²⁸And do not fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul. But rather, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And one of them does not fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹Therefore, do fear. You are worth more than many sparrows. ³²Therefore, everyone who confesses Me before men, I also will confess him before My Father who is in heaven. ³³But whoever denies Me before men, I also will deny him before my Father who is in heaven.

          The altar paraments are the color of the season after Pentecost, green. During this “Time of the Church” we focus on the growth of faith and the growth of Christ’s Church. Green is a fitting color for growth. After the long, cold winter we had, it is nice to see the green leaves and grass flourishing again. But how is it that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Church grows and flourishes? This is what the season after Pentecost invites us to consider. 

          This morning, then, we have Jesus in our Gospel lesson giving instructions to the Twelve Apostles. He is sending them out on their unique mission “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” They would proclaim, “The reign of heaven has drawn near.” These Apostles would heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and cast out demons in Jesus’ name. Some people would receive the Good News of the reign and rule of heaven come near in Christ, but many would not. The Twelve are told that they should expect opposition and persecution. These might even result in torture and physical death because of their missionary activity. 

          Jesus’ instructions to the Twelve finds application to us Christians today. We also are Jesus’ disciples. We too are servants who are like our Lord. And we do not need to be afraid to confess Jesus boldly. 

          “A disciple is not above his teacher, . . . It is enough for the disciple that he should be like his teacher.” As followers, disciples, of Jesus because of our Baptism, we must realize that you and I are not “independent individuals.” As disciples of Christ, you and I are defined by the relationship we have with our Teacher, Jesus Christ. Jesus, God the Son, was sent by the Father to seek and to save those lost in sin and under the punishment of death. As disciples of Christ, Jesus’ mission then becomes our mission, the Church’s mission. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus called His disciples “the salt of the earth,” and “the light of the world,” and “a city on a hill” (Matthew 5:13-16). Since we are gathered around Jesus who came to save people from their sins, the Church as a whole, as well as us as individual members of the Church, are also a part of the mission to save the lost. It is enough for a disciple to be like his Teacher. The Teacher, Jesus, is God’s mission to save the lost and so, as disciples, you and I also participate in that mission. 

          How, then, was Jesus received in His mission? He was misunderstood. The Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons by the ruler of the demons, Satan. “They have called the master of the house Beelzebul.” Jesus faced opposition and hatred in His proclamation that in Him, God’s reign had come so near the people to save them from sin and death.

Again, it is enough for the disciple to be like his Teacher. Christ’s disciples then and now are like our Lord in that, because we are part of the mission to seek and to save the lost, we will face difficulty and persecution. We will be vilified as intolerant and narrow-minded as we proclaim that there is salvation to be found in no one else except Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12). Many in our day renounce the exclusive claims of Jesus and His Gospel. Many people consider Jesus to be one savior among many saviors and the Christian Church as offering one of many truths that lead to eternal life. A lot of people simply will not have the one true God be their only Lord. And you and I may take the heat for that proclamation. “If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more the members of His household.” You and I will be like our Lord, misunderstood as we live the Christian life of faith in mission. We will be opposed and suffer the hatred of others. 

          It’s not easy to be like our Lord, especially when we count the cost of discipleship. In light of the challenges and hardships faced as Christ’s missionaries, we have a normal human reaction—fear! Hearing Jesus’ words, “And brother will deliver over brother into death and a father his child, and children will turn against parents, and they will put them to death. And you will be hated by all on account of My Name.,” immediately sends shivers of fear down our spines. “When they persecute you in that city,” Jesus says, “flee to the other.” That’s frightening, too! Maybe you and I don’t really want to be like our Lord after all. I can’t imagine the Twelve Apostles feeling much different at this point as they heard Jesus’ words. But then Jesus offered an antidote for this normal human reaction of fear. 

          When we get a cut on our body, we put antibiotic ointment on it and cover it with a band-aid. The cream in our cabinet at home is a “triple antibiotic cream.” Consider that Jesus Christ gave His first apostles and, through His Word, gives to us a “triple Gospel antibiotic” antidote to fear. “Therefore, do not fear them. For nothing stand covered which will not be revealed and hidden which will not be made known. What I say to you in the dark, speak in the light, and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul. But rather, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And one of them does not fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore, do fear. You are worth more than many sparrows.”

          The first antidote to the fear of being a disciple of Jesus is that we do not have to be afraid of our opponents because the day will come when every secret of God’s plans in Christ—and all of people’s hidden sin and rebellion—will be made known to everyone. Right now, only the eyes of faith can see the reign of God by grace in Jesus Christ. Since not everyone has faith in Jesus, not everyone can see this present reality. As a result, you and I as disciples may be rejected and abused when we tell others about Jesus. Yet, God is faithful and ever-present with us. He is doing hidden things in and through us by the working of the Spirit, but on the Last Day the truth will come out. This actually frees us now to declare in the open the very things of faith so that people will “see” by hearing the Gospel and, through the power of the Holy Spirit, be brought to faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. By the power and grace of the Holy Spirit, you and I can faithfully proclaim the counsels of both God’s Law and Gospel, the message of human sin and need along with God’s provision of forgiveness, life, and salvation in Jesus, with the promise of vindication and resurrection on the Last Day! 

          The second antidote to our fear over being disciples in Jesus’ mission is the fact that the worst that any of our persecutors can do to us will never destroy our relationship with God our Father. The enemies of Christ and of His Church can go only so far as to physically kill us. I know that sounds really bad, but they can’t go any further. Jesus’ enemies killed Him by nailing Him to a cross. As He endured that death, He suffered the wrath of God against all human sin. He bled and died to save the world. He rendered death powerless over those who believe in Him by faith. We do not need to fear those who can kill our bodies because they cannot harm our souls. What’s more, because our sins are forgiven in Baptism, our souls will immediately be with Christ in paradise at the time of physical death. And joy of all joys, not even our bodies will remain in the grave forever!  Because Jesus rose on the third day, we too will rise with our bodies when our Lord comes again on the Last Day. That’s why not even fear of physical death can stop the disciple of Jesus from remaining loyal to God our Savior.

          The words of Reginal Heber’s hymn highlight this antidote:

A glorious band, the chosen few, On whom the Spirit came,Twelve valiant saints—their hope they knew And mocked the cross and flame.They met the tyrant’s brandished steel, The lion’s gory mane;

They bowed their necks their death to feel—Who follows in their train?

A noble army, men and boys, The matron and the maid,Around the Savior’s throne rejoice, In robes of light arrayed. They climbed the steep ascent of heav’n Through peril, toil, and pain.O God, to us may grace be giv’n To follow in their train! (LSB 661:3-4)

In Christ, we have already conquered death and will live again in body and soul with Him forever! 

          Jesus’ final antidote to the fear of discipleship is the joyous fact that, when difficulties or persecutions, or even martyrdom, should come, His disciples are still under the Father’s loving care. God our Father is with us when we are suffering because we share the Good News of Jesus. The Father is with us when we are being made fun of and under pressure to give up our faith in Jesus. He is with us if we should be called upon to die for the name of Jesus. Our greatest fear is that God might abandon us in our time of need when we are suffering because we are Jesus’ disciples. He will not! The Father abandoned His only Son Jesus on the cross, forsaking Him to the punishment of sin and death and hell so that you and I will never be abandoned. For He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb. 13:5 ESV). Christ our Lord and Master has promised, “I am with you always.” 

          The Lord’s triple Gospel antidote overcomes fear and gives us His promised assurance that He loves us and is with us through it all. That’s why, in our callings as disciples of Christ, we look for every opportunity we are given to confess publicly who Jesus is and what He came to do. Jesus’ mission is our mission. He came to seek and to save the lost. We now, without fear, can boldly confess Christ as the only Savior from sin and death. As St. Paul has written, “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Rom. 10:10 ESV). 

          Our confession of Christ spoken to others is the evidence of the faith which is in our hearts. As disciples of Jesus, we cannot help but speak of our Savior and what He alone has done for us and continues to do in our lives through His Holy Spirit. Jesus won our forgiveness and salvation from sin, death, and the power of the devil. He has given us new life through the promised Holy Spirit in the waters of Baptism. He refreshes us through all our earthly trials and troubles with His holy Gospel and the Sacrament of His Body and Blood.  And on the Last Day, Jesus will make a confession to the Father about you and me, saying, “This one is mine.” 

          As you and I grow in our faith as Jesus’ disciples, we remember what our Lord has taught us today in His Word. As disciples, we are like our Lord. His mission is our mission—to seek and to save the lost by telling the Good News of salvation in Christ. As our Lord faced misunderstanding and hatred, so will we. But we do not need to be afraid. Our relationship with our heavenly Father is secure in Christ. No one can ever take that away from us. We are always under our Father’s loving care as we confess Christ boldly to a sinful, hurting, and suffering world so that many more people might receive Christ as their Savior by grace through faith, and join the Christian Church as disciples of the Lord Jesus.  Amen.