A Dreadful Power (Matthew 10:28)
- Candice Watters
- 14 hours ago
- 3 min read
[And] do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. —Matthew 10:28
Do you fear your Mayor? How about your Senator? The President? In the U.S. system of government, where we elect our leaders and they (in theory) work for us, we live without fear of them. This is a great blessing, but our form of government does not help us when it comes to understanding the kind of fear Jesus talks about in Matthew 10:28.
We’re very casual when it comes to authority; the internet has made it worse. Add to that our culture’s emphasis on God’s love to the exclusion of His other attributes and we realize how much we need this warning. Jesus spoke it when Rome ruled the world. His hearers were terrified of the army whose soldiers roamed the streets, keeping order by inflicting pain. Justice was capricious and it was best to keep your head down and try not to be noticed. Terror of the ones in charge was a daily reality. Physical death, a daily possibility.
Jesus said His hearers were to fear God more than Roman soldiers. For the worst that men in power could do was to kill the physical body. But God’s destructive power is eternal (Matthew 25:46).
Thinking of God this way makes many people uncomfortable. Popular sentiment says, “God would not destroy me, God is love!” or “My good deeds will be enough” or “I’m not as bad as some people” or “I think I’m good with God.” But this is dangerous thinking. A nonchalance toward authority, coupled with believing that God’s love trumps His justice, wrath, and power, leaves people vulnerable to ignoring Jesus’ words.
God is love (1 John 4:8), but He is just as surely a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29). We dare not remake Him in our image; He is not like us (Psalm 50:21). And He will destroy everyone–body and soul–who does not receive the Son by faith.
The day is coming “When the Lord Jesus [will be] revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus” (2 Thessalonians 1:7b-8).
This isn’t a picture we tend to paint for children, or one we like to meditate on ourselves. But we must. God’s love includes His holy wrath. Everyone who does not name the name of Jesus, who rejects the Lord Christ and does not gladly bow down before Him in worship, will, on the last day, bow in terror. They will receive the full force of God’s wrath. For this, He is to be feared. But there is more.
The very reason Jesus came was to provide a way of escape from the torment He foretold. Jesus willingly took the road of suffering. He set His face like a flint and went to the cross. It was there that He drank the full cup of God’s wrath in the place of all who believe. It is unmeasurable grace, unbelievable mercy, that the perfect Son of God would suffer the punishment we deserve for our sin. Paul tells us that, “By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, [God] condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:3b-4).”
To reject this gift is death. This is Jesus’ warning. If you do not fear the Lord, if you die in your sin thinking you have done enough good to be good with God, you will suffer forever. It is the folly of mankind to neglect such a warning. Wrath is coming; Jesus tells us the truth. This is love.
For Reflection
Of all the attributes of God revealed in Scripture, which one(s) do you tend to focus on?
How does Jesus’ warning about God's destructive power embolden you to be fearless when facing people who don't know Him?
Ask the Lord to give you courage, and the opportunity, to share the gospel with unbelievers this week.
Candice Watters is the editor of Fighter Verses. She and her husband, Steve, are co-authors of Start Your Family: Inspiration for Having Babies. They have four grown children and one daughter-in-law.