Matthew 10
10
Jesus Appoints Twelve Apostles
(Mark 3:13–19; Luke 6:12–16)
1Jesus called his twelve disciples and gave them authority to force evil spirits out of people and to cure every disease and sickness.
2These are the names of the twelve apostles: first and foremost, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee; 3Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James (son of Alphaeus), and Thaddaeus; 4Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who later betrayed Jesus.
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
(Mark 6:7–13; Luke 9:1–6)
5Jesus sent these twelve out with the following instructions: “Don’t go among people who are not Jewish or into any Samaritan city. 6Instead, go to the lost sheep of the nation of Israel. 7As you go, spread this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ 8Cure the sick, bring the dead back to life, cleanse those with skin diseases, and force demons out of people. Give these things without charging, since you received them without paying.
9“Don’t take any gold, silver, or even copper coins in your pockets. 10Don’t take a traveling bag for the trip, a change of clothes, sandals, or a walking stick. After all, the worker deserves to have his needs met.
11“When you go into a city or village, look for people who will listen to you there. Stay with them until you leave ⌞that place⌟. 12When you go into a house, greet the family. 13If it is a family that listens to you, allow your greeting to stand. But if it is not receptive, take back your greeting. 14If anyone doesn’t welcome you or listen to what you say, leave that house or city, and shake its dust off your feet. 15I can guarantee this truth: Judgment day will be better for Sodom and Gomorrah than for that city.
16“I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. So be as cunning as snakes but as innocent as doves. 17Watch out for people who will hand you over to the Jewish courts and whip you in their synagogues. 18Because of me you will even be brought in front of governors and kings to testify to them and to everyone in the world. 19When they hand you over ⌞to the authorities⌟, don’t worry about what to say or how to say it. When the time comes, you will be given what to say. 20Indeed, you’re not the ones who will be speaking. The Spirit of your Father will be speaking through you.
21“Brother will hand over brother to death; a father will hand over his child. Children will rebel against their parents and kill them. 22Everyone will hate you because you are committed to me. But the person who patiently endures to the end will be saved. 23So when they persecute you in one city, flee to another. I can guarantee this truth: Before you have gone through every city in Israel, the Son of Man will come.
24“A student is not better than his teacher. Nor is a slave better than his owner. 25It is enough for a student to become like his teacher and a slave like his owner. If they have called the owner of the house Beelzebul,#10:25 Beelzebul is another name for the devil. See Matthew 12:24. they will certainly call the family members the same name. 26So don’t be afraid of them. Nothing has been covered that will not be exposed. Whatever is secret will be made known. 27Tell in the daylight what I say to you in the dark. Shout from the housetops what you hear whispered. 28Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell.
29“Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s permission. 30Every hair on your head has been counted. 31Don’t be afraid! You are worth more than many sparrows.
32“So I will acknowledge in front of my Father in heaven that person who acknowledges me in front of others. 33But I will tell my Father in heaven that I don’t know the person who tells others that he doesn’t know me.
34“Don’t think that I came to bring peace to earth. I didn’t come to bring peace but conflict. 35I came to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36A person’s enemies will be the members of his own family.
37“The person who loves his father or mother more than me does not deserve to be my disciple. The person who loves a son or daughter more than me does not deserve to be my disciple. 38Whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow me doesn’t deserve to be my disciple. 39The person who tries to preserve his life will lose it, but the person who loses his life for me will preserve it.
40“The person who welcomes you welcomes me, and the person who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41The person who welcomes a prophet as such will receive a prophet’s reward. The person who welcomes a godly person as such will receive a godly person’s reward. 42I can guarantee this truth: Whoever gives any of my humble followers a cup of cold water because that person is my disciple will certainly never lose his reward.”
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Matthew 10
10
The Twelve Harvest Hands
1-4The prayer was no sooner prayed than it was answered. Jesus called twelve of his followers and sent them into the ripe fields. He gave them power to kick out the evil spirits and to tenderly care for the bruised and hurt lives. This is the list of the twelve he sent:
Simon (they called him Peter, or “Rock”),
Andrew, his brother,
James, Zebedee’s son,
John, his brother,
Philip,
Bartholomew,
Thomas,
Matthew, the tax man,
James, son of Alphaeus,
Thaddaeus,
Simon, the Canaanite,
Judas Iscariot (who later turned on him).
5-8Jesus sent his twelve harvest hands out with this charge:
“Don’t begin by traveling to some far-off place to convert unbelievers. And don’t try to be dramatic by tackling some public enemy. Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously.
9-10“Don’t think you have to put on a fund-raising campaign before you start. You don’t need a lot of equipment. You are the equipment, and all you need to keep that going is three meals a day. Travel light.
11“When you enter a town or village, don’t insist on staying in a luxury inn. Get a modest place with some modest people, and be content there until you leave.
12-15“When you knock on a door, be courteous in your greeting. If they welcome you, be gentle in your conversation. If they don’t welcome you, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way. You can be sure that on Judgment Day they’ll be mighty sorry—but it’s no concern of yours now.
16“Stay alert. This is hazardous work I’m assigning you. You’re going to be like sheep running through a wolf pack, so don’t call attention to yourselves. Be as shrewd as a snake, inoffensive as a dove.
17-20“Don’t be naive. Some people will question your motives, others will smear your reputation—just because you believe in me. Don’t be upset when they haul you before the civil authorities. Without knowing it, they’ve done you—and me—a favor, given you a platform for preaching the kingdom news! And don’t worry about what you’ll say or how you’ll say it. The right words will be there; the Spirit of your Father will supply the words.
21-23“When people realize it is the living God you are presenting and not some idol that makes them feel good, they are going to turn on you, even people in your own family. There is a great irony here: proclaiming so much love, experiencing so much hate! But don’t quit. Don’t cave in. It is all well worth it in the end. It is not success you are after in such times but survival. Be survivors! Before you’ve run out of options, the Son of Man will have arrived.
24-25“A student doesn’t get a better desk than her teacher. A laborer doesn’t make more money than his boss. Be content—pleased, even—when you, my students, my harvest hands, get the same treatment I get. If they call me, the Master, ‘Dungface,’ what can the workers expect?
26-27“Don’t be intimidated. Eventually everything is going to be out in the open, and everyone will know how things really are. So don’t hesitate to go public now.
28“Don’t be bluffed into silence by the threats of bullies. There’s nothing they can do to your soul, your core being. Save your fear for God, who holds your entire life—body and soul—in his hands.
Forget About Yourself
29-31“What’s the price of a pet canary? Some loose change, right? And God cares what happens to it even more than you do. He pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail—even numbering the hairs on your head! So don’t be intimidated by all this bully talk. You’re worth more than a million canaries.
32-33“Stand up for me against world opinion and I’ll stand up for you before my Father in heaven. If you turn tail and run, do you think I’ll cover for you?
34-37“Don’t think I’ve come to make life cozy. I’ve come to cut—make a sharp knife-cut between son and father, daughter and mother, bride and mother-in-law—cut through these cozy domestic arrangements and free you for God. Well-meaning family members can be your worst enemies. If you prefer father or mother over me, you don’t deserve me. If you prefer son or daughter over me, you don’t deserve me.
38-39“If you don’t go all the way with me, through thick and thin, you don’t deserve me. If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you’ll find both yourself and me.
40-42“We are intimately linked in this harvest work. Anyone who accepts what you do, accepts me, the One who sent you. Anyone who accepts what I do accepts my Father, who sent me. Accepting a messenger of God is as good as being God’s messenger. Accepting someone’s help is as good as giving someone help. This is a large work I’ve called you into, but don’t be overwhelmed by it. It’s best to start small. Give a cool cup of water to someone who is thirsty, for instance. The smallest act of giving or receiving makes you a true apprentice. You won’t lose out on a thing.”
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.