Matthew 10–15

Commissioning the Twelve

10Summoning His 12 disciples, ^wHe gave them authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out and to heal every ^xdisease and sickness. ^y2These are the names of the 12 apostles: ^z

First, Simon, who is called Peter,

and Andrew his brother;

James the son of Zebedee,

and John his brother;

³Philip and Bartholomew; ^a

Thomas and Matthew the tax collector;

James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; ^b

⁴Simon the Zealot, ^cand Judas Iscariot, ^d

who also betrayed Him. ^e

⁵Jesus sent out these 12 after giving them instructions: “Don’t take the road leading to other nations, and don’t enter any ^•Samaritan ^ftown. ⁶Instead, go to the lost sheep ^gof the house of Israel. ^h7As you go, announce this: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ ⁱ⁸Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with skin diseases, drive out demons. ^jYou have received free of charge; give free of charge. ⁹Don’t take along gold, silver, or copper for your money-belts. ^k10Don’t take a traveling bag for the road, or an extra shirt, sandals, or a walking stick, for the worker ^lis worthy of his food.

¹¹“When you enter any town or village, find out who is worthy, and stay there until you leave. ¹²Greet a household when you enter it, ^m13and if the household is worthy, let your peace be on it. But if it is unworthy, let your peace return to you. ⁿ¹⁴If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet ^owhen you leave that house or town. ^15•I assure you: It will be more tolerable on the day of judgment ^pfor the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town. ^q

Persecutions Predicted

¹⁶“Look, I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as harmless as doves. ^r17Because people will hand you over to sanhedrins ^sand flog you in their ^•synagogues, ^tbeware of them. ¹⁸You will even be brought before governors and kings because of Me, to bear witness to them and to the nations. ^u19But when they hand you over, don’t worry about how or what you should speak. ^vFor you will be given what to say at that hour, ²⁰because you are not speaking, but the Spirit ^wof your Father is speaking through you. ^x

²¹“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will even rise up against their parents and have them put to death. ^y22You will be hated by everyone because of My name. ^zBut the one who endures to the end will be delivered. ^ab23When they persecute you in one town, escape to another. ^cFor I assure you: You will not have covered the towns of Israel before the ^•Son of Man comes. ²⁴A disciple ^dis not above his teacher, or a ^•slave above his master. ^e25It is enough for a disciple to become like his teacher and a slave like his master. If they called the head of the house ‘^•Beelzebul,’ how much more the members of his household! ^f

Fear God

²⁶“Therefore, ^gdon’t be afraid of them, since there is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered and nothing hidden that won’t be made known. ^h27What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light. What you hear in a whisper, ⁱproclaim on the housetops. ^j28Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; ^krather, fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in ^•hell. ^l29Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? ^mYet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s ⁿconsent. ^o30But even the hairs of your head have all been counted. ^p31So don’t be afraid therefore; you are worth more than many sparrows. ^q

Acknowledging Christ

³²“Therefore, everyone who will acknowledge Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father in heaven. ^r33But whoever denies Me before men, ^sI will also deny him before My Father in heaven. ³⁴Don’t assume that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ^t35For I came to turn

a man against his father,

a daughter against her mother,

a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

³⁶and a man’s enemies will be

the members of his household. ^uv

³⁷The person who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; ^wthe person who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁸And whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow ^xMe is not worthy of Me. ³⁹Anyone finding ^yhis life will lose it, ^zand anyone losing ^ahis life because of Me will find it. ^b

A Cup of Cold Water

⁴⁰“The one who welcomes you welcomes Me, ^cand the one who welcomes Me welcomes Him who sent Me. ^d41Anyone who ^ewelcomes a prophet ^fbecause he is a prophet ^gwill receive a prophet’s reward. And anyone who ^hwelcomes a righteous person because he’s righteous ⁱwill receive a righteous person’s reward. ⁴²And whoever gives ^jjust a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a disciple ^kl—I assure you: He will never lose his reward!”

In Praise of John the Baptist

11When Jesus had finished giving orders to His 12 disciples, He moved on from there to teach and preach in their towns. ^m2When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent a message by his disciples ⁿ³and asked Him, “Are You the One who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” ^o

⁴Jesus replied to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: ⁵the blind see, the lame walk, those with skin diseases are healed, ^pthe deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news. ^q6And if anyone is not ^•offended because of Me, he is blessed.” ^r

⁷As these men went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind? ^s8What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothes? Look, those who wear soft clothes are in kings’ palaces. ⁹But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and far more than a prophet. ^t10This is the one it is written about:

Look, I am sending My messenger ahead of You; ^u

he will prepare Your way before You. ^vw

¹¹“^•I assure you: Among those born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has appeared, ^xbut the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹²From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been suffering violence, ^yand the violent have been seizing it by force. ¹³For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John; ¹⁴if you’re willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who is to come. ^z15Anyone who has ears ^ashould listen! ^b

An Unresponsive Generation

¹⁶“To what should I compare this generation? It’s like children sitting in the marketplaces who call out to each other:

¹⁷We played the flute for you,

but you didn’t dance;

we sang a lament,

but you didn’t mourn! ^c

¹⁸For John did not come eating or drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ ^d19The ^•Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, ^ea friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ^fYet wisdom is vindicated ^gby her deeds.” ^h

²⁰Then He proceeded to denounce the towns where most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent: ²¹“Woe to you, Chorazin! ⁱWoe to you, Bethsaida! ^jFor if the miracles that were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, ^kthey would have repented in ^•sackcloth and ashes long ago! ²²But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment ^lthan for you. ²³And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to ^•Hades. ^mFor if the miracles that were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until today. ²⁴But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

The Son Gives Knowledge and Rest

²⁵At that time Jesus said, ⁿ“I praise ^oYou, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to infants. ^p26Yes, Father, because this was Your good pleasure. ^q27All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows ^rthe Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son desires ^sto reveal Him. ^t

²⁸“Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ^u29All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, ^vbecause I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. ^w30For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Lord of the Sabbath

12At that time Jesus passed through the grainfields on the Sabbath. ^xHis disciples ^ywere hungry and began to pick and eat some heads of grain. ²But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful ^zto do on the Sabbath!”

³He said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry— ⁴how he entered the house of God, and they ate ^athe ^•sacred bread, which is not lawful for him or for those with him to eat, but only for the priests? ^b5Or haven’t you read in the Law ^cthat on Sabbath days the priests in the temple violate the Sabbath and are innocent? ^d6But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here! ^e7If you had known what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice, ^fgyou would not have condemned the innocent. ⁸For the ^•Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” ^h

The Man with the Paralyzed Hand

⁹Moving on from there, He entered their synagogue. ⁱ¹⁰There He saw a man who had a paralyzed hand. And in order to accuse Him they asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” ^j

¹¹But He said to them, “What man among you, if he had a sheep ^kthat fell into a pit on the Sabbath, wouldn’t take hold of it and lift it out? ^l12A man is worth far more than a sheep, ^mso it is lawful to do what is good on the Sabbath.”

¹³Then He told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored, ⁿas good as the other. ¹⁴But the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him. ^o

The Servant of the Lord

¹⁵When Jesus became aware of this, He withdrew from there. Huge crowds ^pfollowed Him, and He healed them all. ^q16He…