Jesus said to his apostles, «A student is not above his teacher, or a slave above his master. A student should be glad to become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If the head of the family has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of the family! So, do not be afraid of them.
»There is nothing covered that will not be uncovered, and nothing hidden that will not be made known. What I am telling you in the dark, you must speak in the light. What you hear in private, proclaim from the housetops. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but have no power to kill the soul. Rather be afraid of him who can destroy both body and soul in hell. For only a few cents you can buy two sparrows, yet not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father's consent. As for you, every hair of your head has been counted. So do not be afraid: you are worth much more than many sparrows.
»Whoever acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven. Whoever rejects me before others I will reject before my Father in heaven».
Source: http://evangeli.net/gospel/
Analysis
Today's passage is quite the complicated one, and contains many messages. As such, I'll only describe what's significant and the key points. Jesus opens by speaking of students and slaves becoming equal to their teachers and masters respectively. He then says that whatever was hidden or covered, will be uncovered and made known. He also said not to fear those who can only kill the flesh, but fear that who can kill the soul and body in hell. He then made remarks relating to sparrows and how we humans are worth more to God than the sparrows. Finally, Jesus states that they who accepts Him will be accepted by God, and they who reject Him will be rejected as well.
The point about students not above the teacher or slaves not above the master is a significant point here. The obvious meaning is about the equality of every being on earth, however why is Jesus addressing the students and the slaves, the one that are technically the oppressed classes? Let us refer to the communists, particularly those who are hellbent on massacring the capitalists, Jesus wishes to say to the oppressed ones to have mercy towards their oppressors, and to stay humble even towards the oppressors. As such, they should be glad when they become elevated to be equal to their oppressors. In short, just because we are oppressed, it does not mean we are better than our oppressors, after all, both the oppressed and oppressor can have equally materialist desires, and thus be equally sinful.
I am actually very intrigued with the part of the head of the family being called "Beelzebul", and saying that the members of the house would receive equal treatment. Honestly, this is one confusing metaphor Jesus claimed, while some interpretations claim that the head of the family is Jesus, called out as full of deceit, and the members are Christians, which become entangled as well, I feel there is another meaning behind this and the standard interpretation simply doesn't cut it. My opinion is that it refers to the social hierarchy, as when the elites are declared to be untruthful, what are the chances that the lower classes have not been led astray as well? The connection with the previous part is clear, a student is not higher than a teacher, because as long a student remains a student, they are unable to progress further as their words will be of their teacher, and thus inheriting the faults of the teacher, and is just as flawed as the teacher.
The next part is also significant in my view. However, what is actually hidden or covered as Jesus claims? It is none other than the truth, which the Church itself failed to protect, and thus become buried again in darkness. The truth which God tells us privately and secretly, we should expose it as much as we can, to anyone who would listen. As such, the truth will eventually be exposed for all to see, and bring the downfall of the materialist system. Jesus also tells us to not fear those who can destroy the body, this is obvious because death is not the end of everything. However, Jesus tells us to fear they who can destroy both the body and soul, putting us into eternal death, this is because in absolute depravity we have no freedom and no power, we are constantly tortured by our sins. And the very thing that can do that is not God, but the temptations of sin, and sin itself. Though since Jesus sacrificed Himself, no body has to die.
The two parts of hidden truths and death is actually connected. Jesus wishes to tell us not to be afraid of rejection or persecution when we expose the hidden truth. This is only natural, as exposing the truth will usually disrupt the status quo, and the truth does contradict the established doctrines and dogmas, as such people will call us out, and those who follows us, as lunatics or disturber of the peace. Again, relating this with the Beelzebul metaphor. However, we must not fear or sway by the disbelievers, we must stand firm with our allegiance, that is the truth and the only truth.
The next part speaks of how sparrows are worth little in our eyes, yet none will die if God does not allow it, thus proving how even sparrows are valued by God. Meanwhile, all of our hairs on our head has already been counted, and we must not fear, as we are worth so much more to God than the sparrows, in other words, if sparrows are valued by God, let alone us humans, which should be valued more. Now, does this mean that we humans are superior to the sparrows? No, we are of equal degree to the sparrows, what Jesus means is that we are simply better in ability and nature than the sparrows. Just like a teacher is wiser than their student, but is equally human with the student. That is the message of Jesus.
The last part is somewhat interesting for me, as it shows more of Jesus' arrogance than anything else. Jesus claims that they who reject Him will be rejected by God as well. This makes no sense at all, as everyone is a part of God, so it implies that God rejects Themselves. Well, there is another alternative, what Jesus speaks of may be the truth, what I mean is, He is not referring to Himself as a human, but as a bearer of the truth, and what Jesus means is that if we reject the truth, then we reject God, and thus the reverse is true as well. Rejection by God in the end is us rejecting ourselves. As a result, what Jesus is saying is actually very enlightening. If we reject the truth, we have rejected ourselves as we reject the true nature of ourselves as a human being. I believe that is all I have to say, have a nice day and see you tomorrow.
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