You are worth many sparrows

[CWH]

Hi,

Are our lives or the apostles' lives so cheap?

Matthew 10:29-31 (New International Version)
29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny[a]? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

On second thought, Jesus was not belittlering our lives or the apostles' lives and I believe what the Lord said was literally correct. We are worth more than many sparrows. A study conducted several years ago calculated that the human body is worth only a few dollars if broken down to its very elements that it is composed of:

http://hubpages.com/hub/bodyworth

Excerpt:
When we total the monetary value of the elements in our bodies and the value of the average person's skin, we arrive at a net worth of $4.50!....the mineral composition of the human body, which breaks down as follows:

65% Oxygen
18% Carbon
10% Hydrogen
3% Nitrogen
1.5% Calcium
1% Phosphorous
0.35% Potassium
0.25% Sulfur
0.15% Sodium
0.15% Chlorine
0.05% Magnesium
0.0004% Iron
0.00004% Iodine

Additionally, it was discovered that our bodies contain trace quantities of fluorine, silicon, manganese, zinc, copper, aluminum, and arsenic. Together, all of the above amounts to less than one dollar!

Many Blessings to all.

[gregoryfl]

I am thankful our lives are not the sum of its physical parts. Our life is none other than Jesus Christ himself, and is of infinite value.

Ron

[CWH]

Does anyone has any insight as to what sparrow means? I am still not satisfied by the meaning of our lives worth many sparrows....so cheap? I believe there are other meanings of sparrow; monetary value based on the cost of the elements that the human body is made of is just one possible explanation. "Sparrow" may also mean, God's people i.e. people who believe in Jesus. The followings are the collation of verses with the word "sparrow":

Psalm 84:3
Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.

Proverbs 26:2
Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.

Matthew 10:29
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny ? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.

Matthew 10:31
So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Luke 12:6
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies ? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.

Luke 12:7
Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Many Blessings.

[gregoryfl]

Does anyone has any insight as to what sparrow means? I am still not satisfied by the meaning of our lives worth many sparrows....so cheap? I believe there are other meanings of sparrow; monetary value based on the cost of the elements that the human body is made of is just one possible explanation. "Sparrow" may also mean, God's people i.e. people who believe in Jesus. The followings are the collation of verses with the word "sparrow":

Psalm 84:3
Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.

Proverbs 26:2
Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.

Matthew 10:29
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny ? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.

Matthew 10:31
So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Luke 12:6
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies ? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.

Luke 12:7
Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Many Blessings.Cheow,

I think you are missing the point that Jesus was trying to make. I don't believe he was intending for us to find any hidden meaning in the birds. I think that your initial feelings, that these birds were cheap, is exactly what he was trying to tell us.

Let me quote the entire section as well as the parallel one and see what Jesus is emphasizing. First from Luke:

Luk 12:6 "Aren't five sparrows sold for two assaria coins? Not one of them is forgotten by God.
Luk 12:7 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore don't be afraid. You are of more value than many sparrows.

Here is the same account in Matthew:

Mat 10:29 "Aren't two sparrows sold for an assarion coin? Not one of them falls on the ground apart from your Father's will,

Notice the similarity of his comparison with us to field grass:

Mat 6:30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won't he much more clothe you, you of little faith?

Jesus was emphasizing of how little value these birds are. Notice that in Luke's account you can buy 5 of them for 2 coins, and yet in Matthew's account you can buy 2 of them for 1. In other words, if you were to bring 2 coins, you get an extra bird, instead of the normal 4.

These birds were only used for sacrifices IF someone was too poor to afford the normal sacrifice. Typically they were reserved in the days of Jesus for lepers. But the point is that, despite these birds being of such cheap value, God cares for them very much.

To further emphasize that point, he compares us to grass next. How valuable is the grass that he clothes with his care? So much so that tomorrow it is thrown into the oven as fuel. Here he is specifically speaking about wildflowers.

Don't get hung up on his saying that you are worth many sparrows, because his emphasis is on the fact that you and I are more than abundantly cared for. If he can care for such insignificant birds, and also grass that is but for a moment, how much more does he care for us?

His comparison to us being worth many sparrows, (notice he doesn't number them) is akin to his numbering the hairs on our head. The idea is simply if God cares enough to know how many hairs are on your head at any given moment, and that he cares for the little birds, then you can certainly know he cares deeply for you, because no matter how many birds you wish to count, you are worth more than they are.

Hope that helps brothers,

Ron

[CWH]

HI Ron,

Thanks for the insight. In fact I appreciate it especially on the part, "Don't get hung up on his saying that you are worth many sparrows, because his emphasis is on the fact that you and I are more than abundantly cared for. If he can care for such insignificant birds, and also grass that is but for a moment, how much more does he care for us?"

Of course, I understand that Jesus did not mean we or the apostles were cheap in the monetary sense. As Christian student trying to understand the words of God, I just want to hear other views.

I would like also to point out a few things:

There is discrepancy in Luke and Matthew about the worth of sparrows. I am not sure if there is numerology involved (I suspect it does). Luke said that 5 sparrows were sold for 2 coins and Matthew wrote 2 sparrows were sold for 1 coin. And it doesn't make economic sense:
5 sparrows for 2 coins
4 sparrows for 2 coins

People being prudent will go for the 5 sparrows for 2 coins. So a prudent seller will probably sell:
5 sparrows for 2 coins
4 sparrows for 2.5 coins


There is a possibility of numerology here:
2 coins for 1 sparrow = 2 X 1 = 2
5 coins for 2 sparrows = 5 X 2 =10

The total = 12 ; the 12 apostles!. Therefore, the sparrows here means the apostles. The verse means that you are worth many apostles; this is how the lord saw in His 12 apostles and each and everyone of us Christians.


Ron wrote:
Let me quote the entire section as well as the parallel one and see what Jesus is emphasizing. First from Luke:

Luk 12:6 "Aren't five sparrows sold for two assaria coins? Not one of them is forgotten by God.
Luk 12:7 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore don't be afraid. You are of more value than many sparrows.

Here is the same account in Matthew:

Mat 10:29 "Aren't two sparrows sold for an assarion coin? Not one of them falls on the ground apart from your Father's will,

Notice the similarity of his comparison with us to field grass:

Mat 6:30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won't he much more clothe you, you of little faith?

Jesus was emphasizing of how little value these birds are. Notice that in Luke's account you can buy 5 of them for 2 coins, and yet in Matthew's account you can buy 2 of them for 1. In other words, if you were to bring 2 coins, you get an extra bird, instead of the normal 4.


Many Blessings.

[CWH]

I read a website and it raises my conviction that the sparrows in Matthew 10 and Luke 12 were the 12 apostles. Besides sparrow was used to represent the apostle in some paintings. We may be like sparrows, the lowest among all creatures, yet God's love in us abounds. "You are worth many sparrows" means you are worth more than many apostles in the eyes of the Lord. Amen.

http://tarotcanada.tripod.com/DontForgetTheSparrow.html

The first reference to Sparrows in the Bible occurs in the Old Testament and is a reference to Sparrows building their nests in the temples. Psalm 84: 3 Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King, and my God. This Psalm was written by David when he was in great despair after being driven from Jerusalem by the army of his son, Absalom. This verse expressed his wish for a safe and peaceful place such as the Sparrows had found in the House of the Lord. When David receives word that his son, Absalom, has fallen in battle, he laments in Psalm 102:7 I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top. His reference is to Sparrows who have lost their mates, perching on roof tops and mourning their loss with a sad and inconsolable lament. This same reference of the lone sparrow on the roof is also compared to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane when he feels abandoned by his sleeping apostles.

In Matthew 10:29-31, "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But by the very hairs on your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows." and in Luke 12:6-7 it is echoed, "Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore; ye are of more value than many sparrows." In the time of Jesus, young children caught sparrows, plucked their feathers and sold them for pocket change. 2 for a farthing, 5 for 2 farthings - the 5th sparrow was thrown in for nothing - a forgotten sparrow.

Sparrows were viewed as one of the lowest creatures and Jesus used the example of sparrows in his teachings about God's love for those who were persecuted. We had more to fear from the one who would steal our souls than those who would harm our body and hold us as worthless. We have value in the eyes of God. Early Christian tombs were often decorated with drawings of Sparrows escaping from cages. This represented the Christian's soul escaping the bondage of life and flying to the freedom and safety of heaven.

In the Gnostic Gospels of the Apocrypha, twelve Sparrows are used to represent the 12 Apostles. In the Gospel of Thomas, there is a story of young Jesus being caught playing on the Sabbath, he was making clay sparrows. His earthly Father, Joseph, corrected the young Jesus for his profanity of the Sabbath. The young man clapped his hands and the Sparrows flew away but he reminded them to remember him. To some it was sorcery, to others a miracle.

many Blessings to all.