Mateus 10
A.T. Robertson · Citado em PreceptAustin
Mateus 10
Robertson writes "Note accusative here (case of extension), saying “no” to Christ, complete breach. This is a solemn law, not a mere social breach, this cleavage by Christ of the man who repudiates him, public and final." (Word Pictures in the NT) Paul writes that "If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us." (2Ti 2:12) Comment - Sadly, some well known teachers falsely teach that what Paul is saying is that this person is a believer who departs from following Jesus for the rest of their life after making a profession of faith. Think about this a moment. Would such a person who loves unholiness down here REALLY all of a sudden "love holiness" in Heaven? It is neither logical nor theologically sound! Beware of this genre of teaching, which is a form of EASY BELIEVISM! Others teach that Jesus is not speaking of salvation but of rewards, so to deny Him on earth is to lose rewards in Heaven. I think this is a dangerous teaching that can take a man straight to hell if he professes Jesus but lives like the devil all of his days. NET Note - "renounce," "disown," "repudiate." It is important to note that the object of Christ's denial is "us." The text does not contain an implied object complement ("he will deny us [x]"), which would mean that Christ was withholding something from us (for example, "The owner denied his pets water"), since the verb avrne,omai (arneomai) is not one of the category of verbs that normally occurs in these constructions (see ExSyn 182–89). 🙏 THOUGHT - Beloved I want to caution you about a popular modern commentary by Thomas Constable. Many of his notes are absolutely excellent. But he has some strange teaching on clear verses like Mt 10:33-34. Thus he comments "Disciples of Jesus must acknowledge Him publicly. One cannot fulfill the basic requirements of a disciple privately (cf. Mt 5:13-16). Remember that the terms "believer" and "disciple" are not synonymous (ED: THIS IS CATEGORICALLY INCORRECT. THEY ARE SYNONYMOUS). In the context confessing Jesus means acknowledging Him faithfully in spite of persecution to do otherwise. Jesus will acknowledge faithful disciples (ED: HE DOES NOT MENTION FAITHFUL BELIEVERS) as such to His Father. He will not give this reward to unfaithful disciples who cave in to pressure to deny Him (ED: THERE IS NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IN THE PASSAGE ABOUT REWARDS! THIS IS AN ABERRANT TEACHING AT BEST AND A DANGEROUS TEACHING AT WORST AS IT MIGHT ALLOW A PERSON WHO BLATANTLY DENIES JESUS BEFORE MEN TO THINK HE OR SHE IS A TRUE BELIEVER! YOU CAN SEE WHY THIS IS SO DANGEROUS! ETERNITY IS IN THE BALANCE, NOT REWARDS VERSUS NO REWARDS!)....The view that this passage teaches that a believer may lose his or her salvation if he or she fails to confess or denies Jesus cannot be correct (ED: AND IT DOES NOT EVEN SUGGEST THAT INTERPRETATION. JESUS IS SAYING THE ONE WHO DENIES NEVER BELIEVED IN THE FIRST PLACE! ONE CANNOT LOSE SALVATION!). Elsewhere Jesus taught that believers never will lose their salvation (cf. John 10:28-29+). This is the consistent revelation of the rest of the New Testament (e.g., Rom. 8:31-39+). Jesus was speaking here of rewards, not salvation." (ED: NO HE WAS SPEAKING OF SALVATION, AND NOT REWARDS. HOW CAN ONE INVOKE REWARDS WHEN THERE IS SIMPLY NO MENTION IN THE TEXT OF REWARDS? ONE CANNOT UNLESS THEY ADD TO THE TEXT SOMETHING NOT THERE. See Can Salvation be Lost?) The specific verb deny (arneomai) is never used anywhere else in the NT in the context of rewards, so to invoke that meaning here seems a bit of a stretch. The "Gospel truth" is that it is not rewards "deniers of Christ" will lose at the Judgment Seat of Christ but it eternal life they will lose at the Great White Throne judgment, where sadly they will receive their just "reward" of eternal punishment! See Jesus' strong warning in Matthew 7:21-23+ for the "many" (not few) who claim with their lips to know Him, but with their life (habitual practice of lawlessness) deny Him. Here are just a few interpretations from other sources that disagree with Constable's interpretation. Always seek to be a Berean (Acts 17:11)! See also related comments on the parallel verse in Luke 12:9. John Martin's comment on the parallel passage in Luke 12 - To acknowledge denotes the fact that the disciples recognized Him as the Messiah and therefore they had access to the way of salvation. Those who did not acknowledge Him were denying themselves the way of salvation. (See context - Bible Knowledge Commentary - NOTE: DR MARTIN IS AT SAME SEMINARY [Dallas Theological Seminary] AS CONSTABLE BUT HOLDS A DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITE VIEWPOINT WHICH IS MORE IN KEEPING WITH MOST CONSERVATIVE EVANGELICAL COMMENTATORS AS SHOWN BELOW) POSB - Denying Christ is the most dangerous thing we can do. Why? (1) Because there is a day coming when we will need Christ to confess us before God. (2) Because Christ has already foretold what He will do if we deny Him: He will deny us. He will tell the truth—He never knew us (Matthew 7:23; Matthew 25:41). (Borrow The Preacher's outline & sermon Bible : New Testament, King James Version) J C Ryle on the parallel passage in Luke 12:9 - Our Lord declares, that if we do not confess Him before men, He will "not confess us before the angels of God" at the last day. He will refuse to acknowledge us as His people. He will disown us as cowards, faithless and deserters. He will not plead for us. He will not be our Advocate. He will not deliver us from the wrath to come. He will leave us to reap the consequences of our cowardice, and to stand before the judgment bar of God—helpless, defenseless, and unforgiven. What a dreadful prospect is this! How much turns on this one hinge of "confessing Christ before men!" Surely we ought not to hesitate for a moment. To doubt between two such alternatives, is the height of folly. For us to deny Christ or be ashamed of His Gospel, may get us a little of man's good opinion for a few years—though it will bring us no real peace. But for Christ to deny us at the last day will be ruin in Hell to all eternity! Let us cast away our cowardly fears. Come what will—let us confess Christ! (Luke Commentary) Matthew
Mateus 10
Robertson - This is a solemn law, not a mere social breach, this cleavage by Christ of the man who repudiates him, public and final. The Wycliffe Bible Commentary (online) - The Greek tense (aorist, constative) refers not to one moment of denial (e.g., Peter's), but to the life in its entirety, which Christ is capable of assessing precisely. Jesus is not warning about an occasional lapse in one's witness that is otherwise found in a life punctuated by outspoken identification with Him Moody Bible Commentary - The meaning of Jesus denying a person probably refers to being deprived of salvation (cf. 10:22). Will Jesus deny Peter before the Father (see 26:70, 72)? This is unlikely. The tense of the verb denies indicates that if a person's life could be defined or summarized as a whole by the words, "He denied Me," then that person can expect to be denied by Jesus. But that label does not fit Peter's life. He surely denied Christ, but he repeatedly "confessed Christ" (Jn 21:15-17) thereafter. Jesus is not warning about an occasional lapse in one's witness that is otherwise found in a life punctuated by outspoken identification with Him. (Borrow Moody Bible Commentary) John
Mateus 10
Robertson - Criminals were crucified in Jerusalem. It was the custom for the condemned person to carry his own cross as Jesus did till Simon of Cyrene was impressed for that purpose. The Jews had become familiar with crucifixion since the days of Antiochus Epiphanes and one of the Maccabean rulers (Alexander Jannaeus) had crucified 800 Pharisees. It is not certain whether Jesus was thinking of his own coming crucifixion when he used this figure, though possible, perhaps probable. The disciples would hardly think of that outcome unless some of them had remarkable insight. R Kent Hughes on what is a cross because many people think when they experience difficulties, that is tantamount to the "cross" but that is not necessarily the case - Our crosses come from and are proportionate to our dedication to Christ. Difficulties are not an indication of cross-bearing; difficulties for Christ's sake are. We need to ask ourselves if we have any difficulties because we are following close after Christ. (See Mark: Jesus, Servant and Savior) In his commentary on Luke Hughes expands on crosses asking "What are our crosses? They are not simply trials or hardships. Some think of a nutty boss or an unfair teacher or a bossy mother-in-law as a "cross." But they are not. Neither can we properly call an illness or a handicap a cross. A cross results from specifically walking in Christ's steps, embracing his life. It comes from bearing disdain because we are following the narrow way of Jesus Christ, "the way and the truth and the life" (John 14:6)....Our crosses come from and are proportionate to our dedication to Christ. Difficulties do not indicate cross-bearing, though difficulties for Christ's sake do. Do we have any difficulties because we are closely following Christ? (See Luke: That You May Know the Truth) A W Tozer said to be crucified with Christ means "Three things. Number one: a man who is crucified is facing only one way. Number two: a man who is crucified is not going back. He has said goodbye. He is not going back. And number three: he has no further plans of his own." Avery Will in Master Life says "We learn from Jesus' example that a Christian's cross has two characteristics: It is a voluntary commitment, and it is an act of obedience. For believers, cross bearing is voluntary, redemptive, sacrificial service for others. Self-denial emphasizes turning from commitment to self to commitment to Him. Taking up your cross involves turning with Christ to a world in need. The first result is a new vision of self; the second result is a new vision of the world's need." (See MasterLife: Developing a Rich Personal Relationship) Ray Pritchard writes that "the cross represents three things: It’s a sign of suffering, a sign of rejection by the world, and a sign of obedience to God. What is “your” cross? Your cross is accepting God’s will for your life and doing it cheerfully. Your cross will always include suffering, always lead to rejection by the world, and always involve obedience to God." (Who Owns Your Life?) When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die -- Dietrich Bonhoeffer