Matthew 10 - 11
Jesus Appoints the Twelve
10aAnd summoning His twelve disciples, Jesus gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to bheal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.
2aNow the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, bSimon, who is called Peter, and cAndrew his brother; and dJames the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3aPhilip and 1Bartholomew; bThomas and cMatthew the tax collector; dJames the son of Alphaeus, and eThaddaeus; 4Simon the 1Zealot, and aJudas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.
The Twelve Disciples Sent Out
5aThese twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, “Do not 1go 2in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the bSamaritans; 6but rather go to athe lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7“And as you go, 1preach, saying, ‘aThe kingdom of heaven 2is at hand.’ 8“Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. 9“aDo not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, 10or a 1bag for your journey, or even two 2tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for athe worker is worthy of his 3support. 11“And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay there until you leave. 12“Now as you enter the 1house, agive it your 2greeting. 13“And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14“And whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you leave that house or that city, ashake the dust off your feet. 15“Truly I say to you, ait will be more tolerable for the land of bSodom and Gomorrah in cthe day of judgment than for that city.
The Promise of Persecution
16“aBehold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so 1be bshrewd as serpents and cinnocent as doves. 17“But beware of men, for they will deliver you over to the acourts and flog you bin their synagogues; 18and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19“aBut when they deliver you over, bdo not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given to you in that hour what you are to say. 20“For ait is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
21“aAnd brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and bchildren will rise up against parents and 1cause them to be put to death. 22“aAnd you will be hated by all because of My name, but bit is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.
23“But whenever they apersecute you in this city, flee to 1the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel buntil the Son of Man comes.
The Meaning of Discipleship
24“aA 1disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. 25“It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. aIf they have called the head of the house 1,bBeelzebul, how much more the members of his household!
26“Therefore do not afear them, bfor there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 27“aWhat I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim bupon the housetops. 28“And do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather afear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in 1,bhell. 29“aAre not two sparrows sold for an 1assarion? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30“But athe very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31“So do not fear; ayou are more valuable than many sparrows.
32“Therefore aeveryone who 1confesses Me before men, I will also confess 2him before My Father who is in heaven. 33“But awhoever 1denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
34“aDo not think that I came to 1bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35“For I came to aset a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36and aa man’s enemies will be the members of his household.
37“aHe who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38“And ahe who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39“aHe who has found his 1life will lose it, and he who has lost his 2life for My sake will find it.
The Reward of Service
40“aHe who receives you receives Me, and bhe who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 41“aHe who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. 42“And awhoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these 1little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”
Questions from John the Baptist
111,aNow it happened that when Jesus had finished 2giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there bto teach and 3preach in their cities.
2aNow when bJohn in prison heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3and said to Him, “Are You athe One who is to come, or shall we look for someone else?” 4And Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5athe blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the bpoor have the 1gospel preached to them. 6“And blessed is he 1who adoes not 2take offense at Me.”
Jesus’ Tribute to John the Baptist
7Now as these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into athe wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8“1But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ 2palaces! 9“1But what did you go out to see? aA prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. 10“This is the one about whom it 1is written, ‘aBehold, I send My messenger 2ahead of You,Who will prepare Your way before You.’
11“Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is 1least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12“aAnd from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven 1suffers violence, and violent men 2take it by force. 13“For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14“And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is aElijah who 1was to come. 15“aHe who has ears to hear, 1let him hear.
16“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces, who call out to the other children, 17and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not 1mourn.’ 18“For John came neither aeating nor bdrinking, and they say, ‘cHe has a demon!’ 19“The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a 1drunkard, aa friend of tax collectors and 2sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated 3by her deeds.”
Woe to Unrepentant Cities
20Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His 1,amiracles were done, because they did not repent. 21“aWoe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, bBethsaida! For if the 1miracles had occurred in cTyre and dSidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in 2,esackcloth and ashes. 22“Nevertheless I say to you, ait will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in bthe day of judgment than for you. 23“And aCapernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will bdescend to cHades; for if the 1miracles had occurred in dSodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. 24“Nevertheless I say to you that ait will be more tolerable for the land of bSodom in the day of judgment, than for you.”
Come to Me
25aAt that 1time Jesus said, “I praise You, bFather, Lord of heaven and earth, that cYou have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. 26“Yes, aFather, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. 27“aAll things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father bexcept the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.