text: 6/15/2021 Our Father's Care
  READ MATTHEW 10:16–20, 26–31
  In Matthew 10, Jesus described His Father's care for sparrows in order to comfort the disciples as He warned of upcoming dangers. He offered instructions to the twelve as He "gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness" (v. 1). While the power to do such deeds might have seemed grand to the disciples, many would oppose them, including governing authorities, their own families, and the ensnaring grip of the evil one (vv. 16-28).
  Then in 10:29-31, Jesus told them not to fear whatever they faced because they would never be out of their Father's care. "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?" He asked. "Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care. . . . So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."
  Matthew 10:2-4 lists the names of the twelve disciples who'd be trained to carry the work of the gospel forward. Each of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) has such a list. The names aren't always in the same order, but they always appear in three groups of four, and the names in each group are the same in each list (see Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-16). The remainder of Matthew 10 consists of Jesus preparing these disciples for their first outreach trip. This preparation readied them for two things: the opportunities to impact people through the power of Christ and the reality of opposition to the work of Christ.