Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Matthew 10:20

"For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you." — Matthew 10:20 (ASV)

The verb “arrest” (GK 4140) is better translated as “hand over.” The subject is ambiguous: people, opponents, or Jewish leaders could be “handing over” the disciples to the Gentile authorities. Later on this happened to Paul and other Christians, who at first witnessed to their faith with relative impunity under the Roman laws granting exemptions from emperor worship to Jews, but fell victim to increasing Roman wrath as the Jews progressively denied any link between themselves and Christians.

Confronting a high Roman official would be far more terrifying to believers than confronting a synagogue council. But if Jesus warned his disciples of dangers, he also promised them help: the Spirit would speak through them when the time came; so they should not fret about their response. This promise is neither a sop for lazy preachers nor equivalent to the promises given the Twelve in the farewell discourse (Jn 14–16) that the Spirit would recall to their memory all they had heard from Jesus (Jn 14:16, 26). It is a pledge to believers who have been brought before tribunals because of their witness.

Unlike Luke, Matthew does not often mention the Spirit. But from other passages in his gospel, it is clear that he associates the Spirit with the kingdom’s dramatic coming (3:11; 12:28, 31) and the church’s witness (28:18–20). That same Spirit, “the Spirit of your Father,” would provide Jesus’ followers with the help they needed under persecution when facing hostile officials.