Bible Animals: The Sparrow 

God’s Care

The two main places where sparrows are mentioned in the Bible are Matt. 10 and Luke 12, which are parallel accounts of the same event. 

In Matt.10 Jesus is sending out the twelve disciples, and is calming their fears, and forewarns them of persecution. He draws a lesson from the everyday things around them. Sparrows were cheap, yet God cares for them, for, says Jesus, God knows when one of them falls. The teaching was that God cares for His children more than He does for birds, so that the disciples could be sure that wherever they went, their Heavenly Father would be with them to care for them. They must, therefore, remain faithful to Him. 

Preach without Fear

In Matt.10:27, Jesus instructs his disciples to preach openly wherever they went, in the light and on the housetops. They must be bold and declare their allegiance to Christ by spreading the gospel message that they had received in darkness and in whispers. Jesus knew that his opponents would try to annihilate the gospel, even if it involved the murder of those who spread God’s Word. Hence he warned his disciples that persecution would come, but that they ought not to fear death, but rather revere their God, who is more powerful than any man. Verse 32 tells us that Jesus promised to reward their faithful service at the throne of his Father. And so he pointed out that two sparrows were sold for a farthing, as if they were inanimate objects; yet still God cares for them. Verse 30 draws the obvious conclusion that faithful men, fashioned in the image of God, are far more important: “The very hairs of your head are all numbered”. 

This gives an added note of comfort, and underlines the great power and compassion of God towards those who fear Him, for He sees and knows all things: “Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows”. Jesus shows that men’s acts toward them are insignificant, for God would care for and reward those who were faithful to Him. 

The account in Luke 12 also refers to the sending forth of the disciples to preach the gospel. Comparison of verses 1 and 4 shows that Jesus’ friends were his disciples; only those who do what he says are his friends. Again comes the exhortation not to fear the acts of men, but rather those of God, for man can only kill, but God has the power to raise men from the dead and give them eternal life. God’s power is limitless, in contrast to that of man. Jesus says, “I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear…”. 

Verse 6 refers to the sale of sparrows. In this incident five sparrows are sold for two farthings, and not one is forgotten before God. Again, Jesus assures his disciples that the hairs of their head are numbered, for they are more valuable than many sparrows. The disciples knew that God provided for the birds; and the Lord’s prayer, taught them in the previous chapter, told them that it was God who provided their food, also. They, who knew the gospel message, should remember that God has given special care to men, for He has provided salvation through Jesus, and given them a hope of eternal life in the Kingdom, of which they had heard so much. 

Ourselves

These lessons teach us that God cares greatly for those of us who believe in Him; we should be comforted by Jesus’ words to his disciples when we feel afraid of others, or of that which we must do for the gospel. For if we are the true friends of Jesus, we must trust him (for we will receive no better treatment than did our Master), because we can be assured that we will obtain the mercy of God.