What is the meaning of Matthew 10:29?

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?” (Matthew 10:29a)

• In first-century markets, a tiny coin could purchase a pair of sparrows, showing just how little people valued them.

• Jesus deliberately picks the smallest, cheapest creature to stress God’s meticulous care.

• This fits His earlier teaching: “Look at the birds of the air… your heavenly Father feeds them” (Matthew 6:26).

• Luke records the same idea with “five sparrows sold for two pennies” (Luke 12:6), reinforcing that no life is too small for God to notice.

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Yet not one of them will fall to the ground

“Yet not one of them will fall to the ground” (Matthew 10:29b)

• A bird’s brief tumble or final breath is never random; God tracks every flutter.

• Scripture echoes this watchful oversight: “He gives the beast its food, and the young ravens that cry” (Psalm 147:9); “Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God?” (Job 38:41).

• Even events we call “accidents” are included in His daily governance: “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD” (Proverbs 16:33).

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apart from the will of your Father

“…apart from the will of your Father” (Matthew 10:29c)

• God is not merely Creator; He is “your Father.” The care He extends to sparrows is multiplied toward His children.

• His sovereign purpose frames every moment: “All my days were written in Your book and ordained for me before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:16).

• Because the Father’s will rules all things, believers can rest in promises like Romans 8:28 and Ephesians 1:11—He works “all things according to the counsel of His will.”

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summary

Jesus chooses the world’s smallest commodity to assure His disciples of the Father’s intimate, sovereign care. If not even a two-for-a-penny sparrow can fall without God’s directive, how much more can we trust Him with every detail of our lives? Nothing escapes His notice, nothing overrides His purpose, and nothing can separate His children from His steadfast love.