Luke 12:6-7

Funeral Exegesis.

6 οὐχὶ πέντε στρουθία πωλοῦνται ἀσσαρίων δύο; καὶ ἓν ἐξ αὐτῶν οὐκ ἔστιν ἐπιλελησμένον ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ. 7 ἀλλὰ καὶ αἱ τρίχες τῆς κεϕαλῆς ὑμῶν πᾶσαι ἠρίθμηνται. μὴ ϕοβεῖσθε· πολλῶν στρουθίων διαϕέρετε.

6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

στρουθία is the plural of στρουθίον, a diminutive for "sparrow," so not just "sparrows," but "little sparrows" are the idea here (the birds were sold as food). An ἀσσαρίων was a Roman copper coin worth 1/16 of a denarius. The NIV Study Bible's comparison of Roman coins here is extremely helpful in a sermon or Bible Class. To just quote it:

"Three words used for Roman coins are denarius (Mt 18:28), assarion (Mt 10:29) and kodrantes (Mt 5:26), very loosely related to each other as are a 50-cent piece, nickel and penny. The coins here [Lk 12:6] are assaria, so the transaction would be something like five birds for two nickels."

The construction ἔστιν ἐπιλελησμένον is a perfect passive participle (ἐπιλανθάνoμαι) combined with a copulative ἔστιν; this is periphrasis because “forgotten” here is impersonal: “Periphrasis of impersonal verbs by means of the adjectival participle is not only general in Hellenistic, but is found already in Attic […Acts 19:36; 1 Clem. 34:2; etc.]” (BDF 353).

In verse 7 we have what BAGD calls the ascensive ἀλλὰ καὶ (ἀλλά 3), indicating elliptically that the preceding is regarded as a settled matter, and what follows is not only something new (hence the adversative ἀλλά) but also far more important. The passive ἠρίθμηνται is from ἀριθμένω (English cognate do arithmetic; count, number).

The imperative μὴ ϕοβεῖσθε is light-hearted (like the illustration of the plank in one’s eye) but for some, very serious indeed. Jesus uses hyperbole (“you are worth more than many sparrows”) to underscore the true length and breadth and depth of God’s love for us (Eph. 3:18).

Sermon outline for a World War II Veteran on this text:

     "Not One is Forgotten by God"
          1. War on earth.
          2. Blessings on earth.
          3. Spiritual war and peace
          4. Blessings forever.