Matthew 10:29, “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.”
Both the Greek and the Aramaic clearly say that one sparrow will not fall without your Father. It does not say, without your Father’s notice. If any translation adds the word notice they are merely paraphrasing the passage. Leaving the passage as it is in English would leave one to believe that God is causing the little guy to perish. Actually, the passage does not even say if a sparrow dies, it just says fall. The word in Greek for fall is peseitai which is a word meaning to fall down or fall prostrate, it is does not mean to die. The passage in Luke 12:6 say that not one of them is forgotten by God. That does not suggest the sparrow dies.
According to ornithologist it is not uncommon for a baby sparrow to fall from its nest as it grows older and spend a few days on the ground before it can fly. They say it is best you leave them alone and not try to rescue them as the mother bird is watching and still carrying for it. If you attempt to pick one up and you hear a lot of squawking, nearby, then you know the mother is close and having fit over your interference. The idea that touching a baby bird will cause it to be abandoned by its mother is a myth.
Unfortunately, despite the mother’s best efforts, the little guy is still prey to cats and other predators and again ornithologist tell us that this is nature’s way of keeping the birds from becoming overpopulated. I know that sounds pretty harsh, but Matthew 10:29 assures us that God knows about each one of the little beggars running and hopping around trying to avoid capture and for whatever reason he controls which one is taken and which one is not. One of the first questions I am going to ask Him when I get to heaven is why he created a natural world which is so brutal. I won’t even attempt to say I have an answer for that one.
The Aramaic Bible is a little more helpful, not much. The word used for fall in the Aramaic is nephal which comes from a Semitic root word used by the Akkadians, a warlike people, to describe a soldier that is killed in battle because he has become so terrified that he fails to use his skills and proper common sense. We all know how fearful people tend to do foolish things. That is the idea behind the Semitic root NF which is rendered in English as fall.
Thus one possible thought that may come to the mind of a first century Semitic person hearing these words from Jesus is that if God is aware of the fear and terror of a small baby sparrow, then how much more is His awareness of us when we are fearful. This seems to fit the prior verse in Matthew which tells us not to be fearful of those who can kill the body, but we are to be fearful of Him who is able to destroy the body and soul in hell. He then follows up with verse 29 which tells us that if God is aware of the fear of a little sparrow that has fallen from His nest, then how much more is God aware of our fear of Him who can destroy the body and soul in hell.
That is one possible interpretation of this passage. But keep in mind that Jesus was speaking to Jews who were very familiar with Oral Tradition. I did read something very interesting this morning in the Midrash, which is a record of Jewish Oral Tradition, in Bereshit Rabba 69:3, “A bird without God is not hunted or taken, neither will the soul of man (be hunted or taken without God).” In Jewish tradition an animal is not slaughtered for meat without first asking God for His approval to slaughter the animal. In other words an animal is not to be slaughtered for food without the Father. The words without God are a very common Hebraic expression or idiom which means, without God’s permission. It is believed by orthodox Jews that God created certain animals to provide nourishment for man and the animals have this understanding. However, killing the animal is done only by a skilled shocket (butcher) who performs the slaughter as a religious ritual where the animal is slaughtered in the most humane and painless way possible.
It could be that God was preparing his disciples for their coming persecution by telling them that He will be close by when times of trouble comes and nothing will happen to them without their Heavenly Father’s consent. They need not fear for their temporal existence, they will all die, everyone who lives will die, that is the way of life, it must end, it is appointed unto man once to die. Some may die early some may have a few extra years, but all will die. We need not fear that death, because of the presence of God will be very close at that time to make it as humane as possible. The death we need to fear is the eternal death and that Jesus has taken care of by his death on the cross. We go through hard times, we go through illness, sometimes terminal, but in all we are like that baby sparrow so vulnerable on the ground before it can fly but is watched over by its mother. Even being watched over by its mother it is still terrified and God is aware of the fear of even that little sparrow, how much more is He aware of our fears, He is watching over us like that mother bird is watching over its young so vulnerable on the ground, yet God is more capable in providing and protecting us than that mother bird is to protect its young.
We cannot be certain as to why God allows some innocent little birds to be captured by a cat and some are not just as we cannot understand why some must suffer and others do not, but Jesus is making sure we do understand one thing and that is we may succumb to the physical enemies of this world that can bring our temporal existence to an end. Where the mother bird falls short of protecting its young against predators that will seek to destroy her young, God, however, is much more and He is able to protect us from the predator that seeks to destroy our soul. He will make absolutely sure we will not succumb to the enemy who can destroy our soul in hell. Our physical state is tenuous at best, but our eternal state is a sure thing through Jesus Christ.
p.s. The picture is of a little bird (Tsippor )that fell right next to Chaim and I while we were at Starbucks. Laura
Please don’t forget to “like” our Facebook page
Recent Comments