Matthew 10–15

The Twelve Commissioned and Sent Out

10And summoning his twelve disciples, he gave them authority over unclean spirits, so that they could expel them^* and could heal every^a disease and every^b sickness. ²Now these are the names of the twelve apostles: first Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, James^c the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, ³Philip, and Bartholomew, Thomas, and Matthew the tax collector, James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, ⁴Simon the Zealot,^d and Judas Iscariot—the one who also betrayed him.

⁵Jesus sent out these twelve, instructing them saying, “Do not go on the road to the Gentiles, and do not enter into a city of the Samaritans, ⁶but go instead to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷And as you^* are going, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near!’ ⁸Heal those who are sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, expel demons. Freely you have received; freely give. ⁹Do not procure gold or silver or copper for your belts. ¹⁰Do not take a traveler’s bag for the road, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff, for the worker is deserving of his provisions. ¹¹And into whatever town or village you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there until you depart. ¹²And when you^* enter into the house, greet it. ¹³And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴And whoever does not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you^* are going out of that house or that^e town. ¹⁵Truly I say to you, it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town!

Persecution of Disciples Predicted

¹⁶“Behold, I am sending you out like sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. ¹⁷But beware of people, because they will hand you over to councils, and they will flog you in their synagogues. ¹⁸And you will be brought before both governors and kings because of me, for a witness to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹But whenever they hand you over, do not be anxious how to speak^* or what you should say, for what you should say will be given to you at that hour. ²⁰For you are not the ones who are speaking, but the Spirit of your Father who is speaking through you.

²¹“And brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his children, and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death, ²²and you will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end—this one will be saved. ²³And whenever they persecute you in this town, flee to another, for truly I say to you, you will never finish going through the towns of Israel until the Son of Man comes.

²⁴“A disciple is not superior to his teacher, nor a slave superior to his master. ²⁵It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household?

Fear God Rather Than People

²⁶“Therefore do not be afraid of them, because nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing secret that will not become known. ²⁷What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light, and what you hear in your ear, proclaim on the housetops. ²⁸And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul, but instead be afraid of the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?^f And one of them will not fall to the ground without the knowledge and consent^g of your Father. ³⁰And even the hairs of your head are all numbered! ³¹Therefore do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

³²“Therefore everyone who acknowledges me before people, I also will acknowledge him before my Father who is in heaven. ³³But whoever denies me before people, I also will deny him before my Father who is in heaven.

Not Peace, But a Sword of Divisiveness

³⁴“Do not think that I have come to bring peace on the earth! I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵For I have come to turn a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ³⁶And the enemies of a man will be the members of his household.^{h 37}The one who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and the one who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸And whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹The one who finds his life will lose it, and the one who loses his life because of me will find it.

On Rewards

⁴⁰“The one who receives you receives me, and the one who receives me receives the one who sent me. ⁴¹The one who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. ⁴²And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple, truly I say to you, he will never lose his reward.”

A Question from John the Baptist

11And it happened that when Jesus had finished giving orders to his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and to preach in their towns. ²Now when^* John^a heard in prison the deeds of Christ, he sent word^* by his disciples ³and^* said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” ⁴And Jesus answered and^* said to them, “Go and^* tell John what you hear and see: ⁵the blind receive sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised, and the poor have good news announced to them.^{* 6}And whoever is not offended by me is blessed.”

⁷Now as^* these were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ⁸But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in the houses of kings. ⁹But why did you go out? To see a prophet?^b Yes, I tell you, and even more than a prophet! ¹⁰It is this man about whom it is written:

‘Behold, I am sending my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way before you.’^c

¹¹Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen one greater than John the Baptist. But the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹²But from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven is treated violently, and the violent claim^d it. ¹³For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John, ¹⁴and if you are willing to accept it,^* he is Elijah, the one who is going to come. ¹⁵The one who has ears, let him hear!

¹⁶“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces who call out to one another, ¹⁷saying,

‘We played the flute for you and you did not dance;

we sang a lament and you did not mourn.’

¹⁸For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ ¹⁹The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a man who is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”^e

Woes Pronounced on Unrepentant Towns

²⁰Then he began to reproach the towns in which the majority of his miracles had been done, because they did not repent: ²¹“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ²²Nevertheless I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and for Sidon on the day of judgment than for you! ²³And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until today. ²⁴Nevertheless I tell you that it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you!”

A Yoke That Is Easy

²⁵At that time Jesus answered and^* said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and have revealed them to young children.^{f 26}Yes, Father, for to do so was your gracious will.^{g 27}All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom^h the Son wants to reveal him.^{* 28}Come to me, all of you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke on you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy to carry and my burden is light.”

Plucking Grain on the Sabbath

12At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. And his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck off heads of grain and eat them.^{* 2}But when^* the Pharisees saw it,^* they said to him, “Behold, your disciples are doing what it is not permitted to do on the Sabbath!” ³So he said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those with him, ⁴how he entered into the house of God and ate the bread of the presentation, which it was not permitted for him or for those with him to eat, but only for the priests? ⁵Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple violate the sanctity of the Sabbath and are guiltless? ⁶But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here! ⁷And if you had known what it means,^a ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. ⁸For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

A Man with a Withered Hand Healed

⁹And going on from there he came into their synagogue. ¹⁰And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand, and they asked him, saying, “Is it permitted to heal on the Sabbath?” in order that they could accuse him. ¹¹But he said to them, “What man will there be among you who will have one sheep and if…