I have entitled our message, “Jesus Before All Else.” Author Mike Mazzalongo wrote a book entitled Jesus Above All Else. He says that Jesus told His followers, “in no uncertain terms, that in order to be His disciple they must place Him above all else.” He explains that “above all else” means that we love Jesus more than any other person. “Above all else” means being ready to suffer; and “above all else” requires counting the cost of discipleship(1) – all of which we see in today’s passage. He continues to state, “Discipleship is a two-way street: Jesus [gave] up His life for us; we give up our [life] for Him. Discipleship means more than observing Jesus or talking about Him, it requires us to make Him ‘the Being’ who is above every other being in our lives, including ourselves.” With this brief introduction in mind, let us dive into our passage beginning in verses 32-33:
Jesus Before Men (vv. 32-33)
32 Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
These verses emphasize Jesus Before Men; Jesus first and foremost before the opinion of men, that is. These words apply to His disciples facing persecution, who might choose to cower in shame before their persecutors; but they also apply to the lost, who are afraid to confess the name of Christ. His DISCIPLES who choose to confess their faith in Him, who risk ridicule, and even life and limb, to share the gospel and His love; Jesus will openly own and acknowledge them. He will “speak the praise and commendation of their works . . . He will introduce them into His Father’s presence, and recommend them to [God], to be honored [and] blessed”(2) for all eternity.
In that day and time, for a disciple to deny knowing his rabbi and master, and choosing to act contrary to his teachings, was considered a heinous crime by the Jews.(3) “To deny Christ, is to drop, or oppose any of those truths regarding His person, office, and grace; or to hide and conceal them from men, through fear, shame, or cowardice.” Those who deny Jesus in any form or fashion, either by word or deed, are seen by Christ as being ashamed of Him. Therefore, in the presence of His Father, He will deny “that they belong to Him; [and] He will deny that He ever knew them.”(4) So, does this mean that there are believers who will lose their salvation?
If you will recall, we earlier studied Matthew 7:21-23, where Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” Being a disciple, or a student of the Bible, does not make someone a Christian. Neither do good works. The teachings of Christ must move from the head to the heart. A person must transition from being a student to being a true believer. A disciple who is a true believer will never be denied by Christ.
This brings us to THE LOST. Just as there are those who call themselves disciples, but are not true believers; on the flip side, there are others who would never dare call themselves a disciple. They outrightly reject Christ and His teachings. They deny His very existence. They deny Him before men. They cringe when they hear His name. They are even ashamed to say His name in a historical context. My wife and I were watching the TV show “Somebody’s Gotta Do It” with Mike Rowe. You probably know him from the show “Dirty Jobs.” Mike was acting in a play where another actor was playing the role of Jesus. Mike wanted to meet this actor; and so, he went around the studio asking if anyone had seen Jesus; but you could see other actors cringe when they heard him say the name of Jesus.
In Mark 8:38, Jesus said, “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” If you do not want to spend an eternity in hell, then you must say His name – in faith. “Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven” (v. 32).
Jesus Before Family (vv. 34-37)
34 Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and a man’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
These verses emphasize Jesus Before Family; Jesus first and foremost before the opinion of family, that is. These words apply to both His disciples and the lost who must often choose to follow Christ and believe in Him at the cost of upsetting and losing their family members. Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth” (v. 34). The Jews had the notion that great shalom and prosperity would follow the days of the Messiah. The disciples believed this too. But Jesus wanted His DISCIPLES, who would choose to follow Him, to know that this would not be the case. Outward ease and worldly tranquility would not accompany their ministry.(5)
Jesus did not come to bring peace; but rather, a sword. Luke uses the word “division” (Luke 12:51). By the “sword,” He may have meant the gospel, as in the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17), which is the means of dividing and separating the people of Christ from the people of the world; from their ungodly principles and practices.(6) His DISICPLES would encounter resistance from family members; such as resistance to their confession of faith and resistance to their discipleship call to follow Jesus. It was not the “intention and design of Christ, in coming into the world, to foment and encourage such things; but this, through the malice and wickedness of [the human heart], was eventually the effect and consequence of His coming.”(7)
In verse 35, when Jesus said, “I have come to set a man against his father, [and] a daughter against her mother,” and so forth, continuing into verse 36; this saying appears in the Talmud, the central text of Rabbinic Judaism. The Talmud states, in Sotah 49, “A little before the coming of the Messiah, the son shall insult the father, the daughter rebel against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and each man shall have his own household for his enemies.”(8) As the Talmud was a commentary of Scripture, it probably drew from Micah 7:6. Commentator Adam Clarke says that, by quoting this saying, “our Lord shows them that He was the Messiah, for all these things literally took place shortly after their final rejection of Christ.”(9)
In verse 37, Jesus mentioned “He who loves father or mother more than Me.” His words are not meant “to lessen the due affection of children to their parents; or to detract from the respect and esteem”(10) that is due to them. The intent is to show that Christ is to be loved above even our dearest friends and family. If those among THE LOST prefer father or mother to Christ; and prioritizes their instructions over the truths and commands of Christ, and seeks to please their father or mother by breaking His commands, rejecting the gospel, and either denies Him, or refuses to confess Him, then according to Jesus, “He . . . is not worthy of Me” (v. 37). Munster's Hebrew Gospel renders it as “He . . . is not fit for Me,”(11) and so does the Good News Translation.
In reference to THE LOST who would choose father or mother before Jesus, commentator John Gill says, “It is not fit and proper, that such a person should name the name of Christ, or be called by His name, and should be reckoned one of His disciples. He is not fit to be a member of the church of Christ on earth, nor for the kingdom of heaven, but deserves to be rejected by Him, and everlastingly banished [from] His presence . . . The same is the sense of the following clause, ‘and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me’.” Gill adds that “whoever, to gratify a child, drops the profession of Christ, renounces His gospel, and neglects His commands, it is not proper . . . that he should bear the name of Christ, [or] be accounted [as] one of His.”(12)
Jesus Before Life (vv. 38-39)
38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
These verses emphasize Jesus Before Life; placing Jesus first before our own life, that is. In verse 38, He spoke of the DISCIPLE who must take up his cross. The cross was a Roman punishment, whereby criminals were put to death. Taking up one’s cross “alludes to the custom of causing the criminal to bear his own cross to the place of execution,”(13) just a Jesus literally carried His own cross to Golgotha. Figuratively speaking, the cross represents “afflictions, reproaches, persecutions, and [even] death itself; and particularly the . . . hatred and persecution of [close] relations and friends, which must be expected by [those] who bear a faithful testimony for Christ.”(14) The true DISCIPLE must be willing to take up the cross and follow in Jesus’ footsteps.
Notice that Jesus emphasizes “his cross,” as in the DISCIPLE’S “own personal cross.” Every DISCIPLE “has his own cross, [or] his own particular afflictions, appointed by God and laid on him by Christ, and which he should . . . take up and patiently bear for His [name’s] sake.”(15) If he refuses, then he is “unworthy” and “unfit” for Christ, and it might just mean that He is still lost, never having truly trusted in Jesus as his personal Savior and Lord. He might find himself in the category of THE LOST, the one who pursues his own life, chases his own endeavors, and chooses his own security and well-being in the here-and-now, while forfeiting his spiritual life in the hereafter (v. 39).
Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, was outspoken in his faith, and he also spoke out against the Pope. He was ordered to be burned alive; but, to save his own life he recanted. As they say today in politics, “He recused himself.” But even after renouncing his beliefs, he was still executed by burning.(16) Clarke says that the statement, “He who finds his life will lose it,” was literally fulfilled in Thomas Cranmer, observing how someone might have a pretty good life in the here-and-now by denying Christ, conforming to the world, and being free from ridicule and persecution, but it does not always work out that way.(17)
Jesus said, “He who finds his life will lose it” (v. 39). THE LOST person who seeks to preserve his life, and hold on to his worldly pleasure and treasure, by living in sin and complying with the world, and by either refusing to come to Christ or denying His holy name; that person is sure to lose his life in eternity.(18) Jesus also said, “He who loses his life for My sake will find it” (v. 39). The person who is willing to forego the present advantages of this life, to suffer reproach and persecution; who is willing lay down his life for the sake of Jesus and the gospel, rather than denying Christ; that person shall be at home with the Lord as soon as he is separated from his body.(19)
Receiving the Reward (vv. 40-42)
40 He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 41 He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.
These verses emphasize Receiving the Reward; the ultimate reward being Jesus and the salvation He offers. Jesus shared these words to comfort His DISCIPLES, encouraging them that some would embrace the gospel, accept them into their homes, and entertain them in a hospitable manner.(20) However, these words apply primarily to those who are not His disciples; those who are lost. Jesus said in verse 40, “He who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.” THE LOST person must believe the gospel preached by the messenger, and receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. When they receive Jesus, they in turn receive the heavenly Father; and thus, eternal life. Jesus said in John 14:21, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
In verse 41, Jesus spoke of receiving a prophet. This is not someone who foretells the future; but instead, the meaning is a “teacher” – one who teaches the gospel.(21) “To ‘receive’ him, is not only to embrace his doctrine, but to entertain him in a kind, and generous manner.” “In the name of a prophet” implies that he is regarded and shown respect because of his position as a teacher.(22) Adam Clarke says that “many sayings of this kind are found among the rabbis,” and he provides an example: “He who receives a learned man, or an elder, into his house, is the same as if he had received the Shekinah.”(23) The prophet’s reward is either a reward from the prophet himself, such as the faithful preaching of the gospel; or, it is a reward from God, such as the reward of eternal life after believing the gospel taught by the prophet.(24)
Jesus also spoke of receiving a righteous man. The righteous man is someone who appears to have the work of grace in his heart, knowing Jesus Christ. He does not necessarily have to be a preacher, just a believer. Those who receive a righteous man will receive a reward, either from the righteous man himself, who will not fail to pray for his benefactor, to wish him well, and give him all the assistance he can in his Christian [walk],” or perhaps it is something directly from God.(25)
In verse 42, Jesus spoke of giving water to “one of these little ones.” He meant His disciples who were of low esteem and rejected. The New Living Translation renders it like this: “If you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers.” “A cup of water in the eastern countries was not a matter of small worth. [People would] go sometimes a great way to [retrieve] it, and then boil it that it may do [no harm]. They would [then give it] to travelers when they [were] hot . . . [This] seems to have been practiced by the more pious and humane Jews; and our Lord assures them that, if they do this [for His lowest of disciples], they shall not lose their reward.”(26) The rabbis had a similar saying: “He that gives food to one that studies in the law, God will bless him in this world, and give him a lot in the world to come.”(27)
The “whoever” that gives a cup of cold water “in the name of a disciple” (v. 42) is thought to be a believer, because no one other than a believer would associate himself with the name of a disciple. The Holman Christian Standard Bible says, “And whoever gives just a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, because he is a disciple – I assure you; he will never lose his reward!” (v. 41). He gives it, because he “himself” is a disciple, or rather, a believer.
Notice the transition from “receiving” a reward in verse 41, which applies to THE LOST person, to not “losing” his reward in verse 42. This “whoever” had already acquired something the others did not yet have. But it is not something that can be lost, as the true believer can never lose his salvation. The New Living Translation better renders it this way: “You will surely be rewarded” (v. 42). So, in addition to the salvation you already have, you will be rewarded in heaven when you, as a believer, help even the least of Christ’s active disciples and ministers.
Time of Reflection
In closing, allow me to summarize what we have learned. To be a true disciple and follower of Jesus Christ, to know that we have eternal life in Him, we must never be ashamed to confess His holy name. We must also be willing to follow and serve Him all the days of our life, above all else; forsaking our own desires and even our family and friends, if necessary. If you are among THE LOST, without knowing Jesus Christ, please consider the words of Jesus in Matthew 16:26: “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” You can become one of His DISCIPLES, and be among the saved, by confessing the name of Jesus. Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
NOTES
(1) Mike Mazzalongo, “Jesus Above All Else,” Bibletalk.tv: https://bibletalk.tv/jesus-above-all-else (Accessed June 27, 2025).
(2) John Gill, “John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible,” Bible Study Tools: https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/matthew-10-32.html (Accessed June 27, 2025).
(3) Ibid.
(4) Ibid.
(5) Ibid., https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/matthew-10-34.html (Accessed June 27, 2025).
(6) Ibid.
(7) Ibid.
(8) Adam Clarke, “Matthew to the Acts,” Clarke’s Commentary, vol. 5 (Nashville: Abingdon), p. 125.
(9) Ibid., p. 125.
(10) Gill, https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/matthew-10-37.html (Accessed June 27, 2025).
(11) Ibid.
(12) Ibid.
(13) Clarke, p. 125.
(14) Gill, https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/matthew-10-38.html (Accessed June 27, 2025).
(15) Ibid.
(16) Clarke, pp. 125-126.
(17) Ibid, p. 125.
(18) Gill, https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/matthew-10-39.html (Accessed June 27, 2025).
(19) Ibid.
(20) Ibid., https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/matthew-10-40.html (Accessed June 27, 2025).
(21) Clarke, p. 126.
(22) Gill, https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/matthew-10-41.html (Accessed June 27, 2025).
(23) Clarke, p. 126.
(24) Gill, https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/matthew-10-41.html (Accessed June 27, 2025).
(25) Ibid.
(26) Clarke, p. 126.
(27) Ibid., p. 126.
