Matthew 10–15

The Twelve Apostles are Sent

Mark 6:7; Luke 9:1

10And ^awhen He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. ²Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, ^bwho is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; ³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and ¹Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; ^4cSimon the ²Cananite, and Judas ^dIscariot, who also betrayed Him.

The Twelve Apostles are Instructed

Mark 6:8–13; Luke 9:2–6, 12:2–10

⁵These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: ^e“Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of ^fthe Samaritans. ^6gBut go rather to the ^hlost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ⁱAnd as you go, preach, saying, ^j‘The kingdom of heaven ³is at hand.’ ⁸Heal the sick, ⁴cleanse the lepers, ⁵raise the dead, cast out demons. ^kFreely you have received, freely give. ^9lProvide neither gold nor silver nor ^mcopper in your money belts, ¹⁰nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; ⁿfor a worker is worthy of his food.

^11o“Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. ¹²And when you go into a household, greet it. ^13pIf the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. ^qBut if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. ^14rAnd whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, ^sshake off the dust from your feet. ¹⁵Assuredly, I say to you, ^tit will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!

^16u“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. ^vTherefore be wise as serpents and ^wharmless ⁶as doves. ¹⁷But beware of men, for ^xthey will deliver you up to councils and ^yscourge you in their synagogues. ^18zYou will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. ^19aBut when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For ^bit will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; ^20cfor it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

^21d“Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. ²²And ^eyou will be hated by all for My name’s sake. ^fBut he who endures to the end will be saved. ^23gWhen they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have ^hgone through the cities of Israel ⁱbefore the Son of Man comes.

^24j“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. ²⁵It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If ^kthey have called the master of the house ⁷Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! ²⁶Therefore do not fear them. ^lFor there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.

²⁷“Whatever I tell you in the dark, ^mspeak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. ²⁸ⁿAnd do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather ^ofear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in ⁸hell. ²⁹Are not two ^psparrows sold for a ⁹copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. ^30qBut the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

^32r“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, ^shim I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. ^33tBut whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

^34u“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. ³⁵For I have come to ^v‘set ¹a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; ³⁶and ^w‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ ^37xHe 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. ^38yAnd he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. ^39zHe who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

^40a“He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. ^41bHe 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. ^42cAnd whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”

11Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to ^ateach and to preach in their cities.

Rejection of John the Baptist

Luke 7:19–30

^2bAnd when John had heard ^cin prison about the works of Christ, he ¹sent two of his disciples ³and said to Him, “Are You ^dthe Coming One, or do we look for another?”

⁴Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: ^5eThe blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and ^fthe poor have the gospel preached to them. ⁶And blessed is he who is not ^goffended because of Me.”

^7hAs they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? ⁱA reed shaken by the wind? ⁸But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. ⁹But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, ^jand more than a prophet. ¹⁰For this is he of whom it is written:

^k‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,

Who will prepare Your way before You.’

¹¹“Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ^12lAnd from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. ^13mFor all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. ¹⁴And if you are willing to receive it, he is ⁿElijah who is to come. ^15oHe who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Rejection by Jesus’ Generation

Luke 7:31–35

^16p“But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, ¹⁷and saying:

‘We played the flute for you,

And you did not dance;

We mourned to you,

And you did not ²lament.’

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, ‘Look, a glutton and a ³winebibber, ^qa friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ^rBut wisdom is justified by her ⁴children.”

Rejection of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum

Luke 10:12–15

^20sThen He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: ²¹“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago ^tin sackcloth and ashes. ²²But I say to you, ^uit will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. ²³And you, Capernaum, ^vwho ⁵are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. ²⁴But I say to you ^wthat it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.”

Invitation to Come to Jesus

^25xAt that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that ^yYou have hidden these things from the wise and prudent ^zand have revealed them to babes. ²⁶Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. ^27aAll things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. ^bNor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. ²⁸Come to ^cMe, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take My yoke upon you ^dand learn from Me, for I am ⁶gentle and ^elowly in heart, ^fand you will find rest for your souls. ^30gFor My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Controversy Over Sabbath-Labor

Mark 2:23–28; Luke 6:1–5

12At that time ^aJesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to ^bpluck heads of grain and to eat. ²And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”

³But He said to them, “Have you not read ^cwhat David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: ⁴how he entered the house of God and ate ^dthe showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, ^ebut only for the priests? ⁵Or have you not read in the ^flaw that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple ¹profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? ⁶Yet I say to you that in this place there is ^gOne greater than the temple. ⁷But if you had known what this means, ^h‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. ⁸For the Son of Man is Lord ²even of the Sabbath.”

Controversy Over Sabbath-Healing

Mark 3:1–5; Luke 6:6–10

⁹ⁱNow when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue. ¹⁰And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, ^j“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—that they might accuse Him.

¹¹Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? ¹²Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”…