Matthew 10
1 Jesus called his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out and to heal every disease and every illness.
2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;
4 Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who was the one who handed him over.
5 Jesus sent these twelve with the following instructions: “Do not take the road to the Gentiles, and do not enter a Samaritan town;
6 instead, go first to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7 As you go, proclaim: ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is near.’
8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. You received freely; give freely.
9 Do not provide gold, silver, or copper for your belts;
10 no bag for the road, no two tunics, no sandals, and no staff; for the worker deserves his food.
11 Whatever city or village you enter, find out who there is worthy, and stay with him until you leave.
12 As you enter the house, greet it;
13 if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.
14 And if anyone does not welcome you or listen to your words, as you leave that house or that city, shake the dust from your feet.
15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that city.”
16 “Look, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves.
17 Beware of people, for they will hand you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues;
18 and you will be brought before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.
19 When they hand you over, do not worry about what to say or how to say it; what to say will be given to you at that very moment;
20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
21 Brother will hand brother over to death, and a father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death.
22 You will be hated by everyone because of my name; but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
23 When they persecute you in one city, flee to another; for truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
24 A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.
25 It is enough for the disciple to become like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they call those of his household that!”
26 “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.
27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the rooftops.
28 Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, fear the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father.
30 Even the hairs on your head are all counted.
31 So do not be afraid: you are worth more than many sparrows.
32 So everyone who acknowledges me before people, I too will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven;
33 but whoever denies me before people, I too will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”
34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace to the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
35 For I came to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
36 and a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.
37 Anyone who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
38 and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.
39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
40 Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.
41 Whoever welcomes a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person because he is righteous will receive a righteous person's reward.
42 And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink because he is a disciple—truly I tell you—will certainly not lose his reward.”
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