Matthew 10
10
The Twelve Disciples; Instructions for Service
1Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority and power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.
2Now these are the names of the twelve #In general usage the word “apostle” (Gr apostolos) means “sent one” or “messenger.” In this passage and others in reference to the “twelve,” the word “apostles” is used in a technical sense of the twelve disciples, and later Paul, whom Jesus chose. An apostle was one who witnessed Christ’s resurrection (Acts 1:21, 22; 1 Cor 9:1, 2). They validated their apostleship by performing “signs and wonders and miracles” (2 Cor 12:12), and were the foundation of the church.apostles (special messengers, personally chosen representatives): first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother; #It is believed that Salome, Zebedee’s wife and the mother of James and John was a sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus.James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3Philip and Bartholomew (Nathanael); Thomas and Matthew (Levi) the tax collector; #Also known as James the Less or James the Younger. It is believed that his mother, Mary (Gr Maria), was a sister or sister-in-law of Mary, the mother of Jesus (John 19:25).James the son of #Possibly the Hebrew or Syriac name of the same person: Clopas. He may be the “Cleopas” mentioned in Luke 24:18.Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus (Judas, not Iscariot); 4Simon the Cananaean (Zealot), and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.
5Jesus sent out these twelve, instructing them: “Do not go among the Gentiles, and do not go into a city of the Samaritans; 6but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9Do not take gold, or silver, or [even] copper money in your money belt, 10or a provision bag for your journey, or even two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker deserves his support. 11Whatever city or village you enter, ask who in it is worthy [who welcomes you and your message], and stay at his house until you leave [that city]. 12As you go into the house, give it your greeting [that is, ‘Peace be to this house’]. 13If [the family living in] the house is worthy [welcoming you and your message], give it your [blessing of] #I.e. “shalom” is to come upon this house.peace [that is, a blessing of well-being and prosperity, the favor of God]. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. 14Whoever does not welcome you, nor listen to your message, as you leave that house or city, #A symbolic act expressing contempt.shake the dust [of it] off your feet [in contempt, breaking all ties]. 15I assure you and most solemnly say to you, it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of #The cities destroyed by God because of the sinfulness of their people (Gen 19:1-29).Sodom and Gomorrah than for that city [since it rejected the Messiah’s messenger].
A Hard Road before Them
16 “Listen carefully: I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be wise as serpents, and innocent as doves [have no self-serving agenda]. 17Beware of men [whose nature is to act in opposition to God], for they will hand you over to the courts and flog you in their synagogues; 18and you will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given you within that [very] hour; 20for it is not you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
21 “Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; and children will rise up and rebel against their parents and cause them to be put to death. 22And you will be hated by everyone because of [your association with] My name, but it is the one who has patiently persevered and endured to the end who will be saved.
23 “When they persecute you in one city [because of your faith in Me], flee to the next; for I assure you and most solemnly say to you, you will not finish going through all the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
The Meaning of Discipleship
24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor is a bond-servant above his master. 25It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the bond-servant like his master. If they have called the head of the house #I.e. an idol worshiped in the Philistine city of Ekron: Baal Zebul, lord of the high places or Baal Zebub, lord of the flies.Beelzebul (Satan), how much more [will they speak evil of] the members of his household.
26 “So do not be afraid of them, for nothing is hidden that will not be revealed [at the judgment], or kept secret that will not be made known [at the judgment]. 27What I say to you in the dark (privately), tell in the light (publicly); and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops [to many people]. 28Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather be afraid of Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are not two little sparrows sold for a #Gr assarion, a Roman coin equal to a 16th of a denarius (the denarius was counted as a day’s wages for an unskilled worker).copper coin? And yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 30But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered [for the Father is sovereign and has complete knowledge]. 31So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.
32 “Therefore, the one who # The word “confess” used in conjunction with “before” connotes a legal statement or a testimony in a legal setting. confesses and acknowledges Me before men [as Lord and Savior, affirming a state of oneness with Me], that one I will also confess and acknowledge before My Father who is in heaven. 33But the one who denies and rejects Me before men, that one I will also deny and reject before My Father who is in heaven.
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword [of division between belief and unbelief]. 35For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36and a man’s enemies will be the members of his [own] household [when one believes and another does not].
37 “ # Commitment to Jesus takes precedence over all else. He 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. 38And he who does not take his #The historical background behind this statement is that those who were about to be crucified had to carry the crossbeam to which they would be nailed or bound. In addition to the terrible agony that crucifixion inflicted, it was such a great indignity that some of the Roman writers used the word cross as a curse word in the expression “Go to a bad cross!” (Lat i in malam crucem).cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me] is not worthy of Me. 39Whoever finds his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], and whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake will find it [that is, life with Me for all eternity].
The Reward of Service
40 “He who receives and welcomes you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 41He who receives and welcomes a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous (honorable) man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. 42And whoever gives to one of these little ones [these who are humble in rank or influence] even a cup of cold water to drink because he is my disciple, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.”
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Matthew 10
10
(We have not yet translated 10:1-23. You can read those stories and most of those messages in Mark 3:13-19; 6:7-13; 13:9-13.)
Don’t be frightened of people that will hurt you because you follow Jesus
24-25Jesus told his followers, “You know about students and teachers. The teacher is more important than any of the students. The students have to learn to be like their teacher. And I am your teacher, so you have to learn to be like me.#Matthew 9:34; 12:24; Mark 3:22; Luke 6:40; 11:15; John 13:16; 15:20
And you know about workers and their boss. The boss is more important than any of the workers. The workers have to learn to be like their boss. And I am your boss, so you have to learn to be like me.
People will treat you the same way as they treat me. I am your leader, and they lie about me. They call me the boss over the bad spirits. And you are my followers, so they will say bad things about you too, more than they say about me. 26But don’t be frightened of them. You see, people might do things secretly now, but later God will let everyone know what they do. People hide things now, but later God will show them to everybody.#Mark 4:22; Luke 8:17
27And think about the message I tell you now. Sometimes I tell you something when nobody else is here. I might even just say it quietly in your ear. But later on, I want you to tell my message to everyone in the world. If you can, get up on a high place, and shout my words out loud, for lots of people to hear.
28Don’t be frightened of those people that can only kill your body. They can’t kill your soul. But you have to listen to God. If you don’t do what he says, you have to be frightened. He can finish up your body, and then he can also finish up your soul too, in that bad place called hell.
29Think about those little birds called sparrows. They don’t cost very much. You can buy them for a few dollars. But God remembers each one of them anyway. And if one of them falls down to the ground, God knows about it. 30-31Well, you are more important to God than a big mob of those birds, so don’t be frightened. He knows you properly. He even knows how many hairs you have on your head. So he will only let things happen to you that will be good for you.”
Follow Jesus properly
32Jesus said, “If you tell everyone that you are one of my followers, I will tell God, my father in heaven, that you are one of my followers. 33But if you tell everyone that you are not one of my followers, I will tell God, my father in heaven, that I don’t know you, and I will tell him that you are not one of my followers.#2 Timothy 2:12
34Don’t think that I came into the world to get everyone to agree with each other. No. People will not agree about me, and some people will fight the people that they don’t agree with. It will be like this,
35-36Maybe your own family will not want me, and they will turn against you and be your enemies.
A man will be the enemy of his father.
A daughter will be the enemy of her mother.
A woman will be the enemy of her mother-in-law.#Micah 7:6
37You see, you have to love me more than you love your own father and mother. Then it is all right for you to be my follower. And you have to love me more than you love your own son or daughter. Then it is all right for you to be my follower. If you don’t love me like that, you are not the right person to be my follower. 38If you want to follow me properly, you have to stop thinking only about yourself. You have to live like me. You have to be ready to die, yes, to die like a criminal on a cross, just like me.#Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23 39If you only want to look after your own life here on earth, you will lose it. You will not live with me for ever. But if you are ready to give up your life here, then you will find real life, and you will live with me for ever.”#Matthew 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24; 17:33; John 12:25
(We have not yet translated 10:40-42. You can read some of those messages in Mark 8:34-35; 9:37, 41.)
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