The first four books of the New Testament, are called “Gospels” because they tell the “Good News” of the coming of Christ (“Gospel” means “good news”). The first three are called the “Synoptic Gospels” because they are closely related.
Scholars endlessly argue about the relationship between the three: “Which one came first?” “Do Matthew and Luke quote from Mark or from Mark and another unknown source?” (Many scholars talk about this other source, often called “Q” – the first letter of the German word quella — “source.” Some believe Q was a collection of the sayings of Jesus, similar to the so-called “Gospel of Thomas,” an apocryphal book, while others say Q is just an oral collection of the sayings of Jesus.) We’ll leave that debate for the professors to argue about, but it is often interesting to compare the accounts in the four Gospels.
For example, do you ever feel like no one cares about you? Perhaps you are tempted to think, if you dropped off the face of the earth, no one would notice. Those feelings of worthlessness can be so depressing, but if you are tempted to think that way, imagine the plight of the poor sparrow!
My family loves to watch the endless variety of birds in our backyard. There are bright red cardinals, woodpeckers, finches, jays and soaring overhead are the Cooper’s Hawks.
With all that endless variety and magnificence, we hardly even notice the little, common house sparrows that chirp and hop around us.
It was the same way in biblical times. There are over 400 species of birds that inhabit Palestine and forty of them are mentioned in the Bible. Eagles, owls, vultures, doves, quail, seagulls, swan, even ostriches catch our attention, but the poor sparrow hardly noticed.
In those days, the little sparrow was poor man’s food. They were sold two for a penny (Matthew 10:29) and, if you read the parallel account in Luke, the “Beloved Physician” points out sparrows were so common they were sold at a discount. In Matthew, you could buy two for a penny, but in Luke, you could buy five for just a penny more (Luke 12:6)!
So, do you ever feel like your life, like that of the little sparrow, could be sold away at discounted prices? Then listen to Jesus:
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows,” (Matthew 10:29-31).
Don’t despair. If God loves sparrows, surely He loves you more!