Jesus Sends Out His Apostles^(A)

10 Jesus called his twelve ·followers [disciples] together and gave them authority to drive [force; cast] out ·evil [defiling; ^Lunclean] spirits and to heal every kind of disease and sickness. ² These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (also 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 Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who ·turned against [betrayed] Jesus.

⁵ Jesus sent out these twelve men with the following ·order [instructions]: “Don’t go ·to [^Lon the way/road of] the ·Gentiles [non-Jewish people] or ·to [^Lenter] any town where the Samaritans live. ⁶ But go to the ·people of Israel, who are like lost sheep [^Llost sheep of the house of Israel]. ⁷ When you go, ·preach [announce; proclaim] this: ‘The kingdom of heaven is ·near [at hand].’ ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead to life again, ·heal [^Lcleanse] ·those who have skin diseases [^Tthe lepers; see 8:2], and ·force demons out of people [^Lcast out demons]. ·I give you these powers freely, so help other people freely [^LFreely you have received, freely give]. ⁹ Don’t ·carry [or acquire] any money ·with you [^Lin your belts]—gold or silver or copper. ¹⁰ Don’t carry a ·bag [traveler’s bag; or beggar’s purse] or ·extra clothes [^Ltwo tunics] or sandals or a ·walking stick [staff]. Workers ·should be given what they need [deserve to be supported; ^Ldeserve their food/sustenance].

¹¹ “When you enter a city or town, ·find [seek out] some ·worthy [honorable; respected] person there and stay in that home until you leave. ¹² When you enter that home, ·give it your blessing [^Lgreet it; ^Ctypically, “Peace be with you”; see Luke 10:5]. ¹³ If the ·people there welcome you [^Lhouse is worthy], let your peace ·stay there [^Lcome upon it]. But if ·they don’t welcome you [^Lit is not worthy], ·take back the peace you wished for them [^Llet your peace return to you]. ¹⁴ And if ·a home or town [^Lanyone] refuses to welcome you or ·listen to you [heed your words/message], leave that ·place [^Lhome or town] and shake its dust off your feet [^Cin protest and as a warning of judgment]. ¹⁵ I tell you the truth, on the judgment day it will be ·better [more bearable/tolerable] for the ·towns [^Lland] of Sodom and Gomorrah [^Cevil cities destroyed by God; Gen. 19] than for the people of that town.

Jesus Warns His Apostles^(B)

¹⁶ “·Listen [^LLook; ^TBehold], I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. So be as ·clever [wise; shrewd; cunning] as ·snakes [serpents] and as ·innocent [harmless] as doves. ¹⁷ ·Be careful of [Beware of; Watch out for] people, because they will ·arrest you and take you to court [hand you over to the courts/councils; ^Clocal councils associated with Jewish synagogues] and ·whip [flog; scourge] you in their synagogues. ¹⁸ ·Because of me [On my account; For my sake] you will be taken to stand before governors and kings, ·and you will tell them and the Gentiles about me [^Las a witness/testimony to them and to the Gentiles]. ¹⁹ When you are arrested, don’t worry about what to say or how to say it. [^LFor] At that time you will be given the things to say. ²⁰ It will not really be you speaking but the Spirit of your Father speaking ·through [in] you.

²¹ “Brothers will ·give [betray; hand over] their own brothers to ·be killed [death], and fathers will give their own children to ·be killed [death]. Children will ·fight [rebel; rise up] against their own parents and have them put to death. ²² All people will hate you because ·you follow me [^Lof my name], but those people who ·keep their faith [endure; stand firm; persevere] until the end will be saved. ²³ When you are ·treated badly [persecuted] in one city, ·run [flee] to ·another city [the next]. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through all the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes [Dan. 7:13–14].

²⁴ “A ·student [disciple; follower] is not ·better than [superior to; ^Labove] his teacher, and a ·servant [slave] is not ·better than [superior to; ^Labove] his ·master [lord]. ²⁵ ·A student should be satisfied [^LIt is enough for a student/disciple/follower] to become like his teacher; ·a servant should be satisfied to become [^Land a servant/slave] like his master. If the head of the family [^Chere referring to Jesus] is called Beelzebul [^Canother name for Satan], ·then the other members of the family will be called worse names [^Lhow much more the members of his household]!

Fear God, Not People^(C)

²⁶ “So don’t be afraid of those people, because everything that is ·hidden [concealed; covered up] will be ·shown [revealed; uncovered; disclosed]. Everything that is ·secret [hidden] will be made ·known [clear]. ²⁷ I tell you these things in the dark, but I want you to tell them in the ·light [daylight]. What you hear whispered in your ear you should ·shout [proclaim] from the housetops. ²⁸ Don’t be afraid of people, who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. The only one you should fear is the one who can destroy [^Lboth] the soul and the body in ·hell [^LGehenna; 5:22]. ²⁹ Two sparrows are sold [^LAre not two sparrows sold…?] for only a penny [^CGreek: assarion; a copper coin of very low value], but not even one of them can ·die [^Lfall to the ground] ·without your Father’s knowing it [or apart from your Father’s will]. ³⁰ God even ·knows [numbers; counts] how many hairs are on your head. ³¹ So don’t be afraid. You are ·worth much more [more valuable] than many sparrows.

³² “All those who ·stand before others and say they believe in me [^Lconfess/acknowledge me before people], I will ·say before my Father in heaven that they belong to me [^Lconfess/acknowledge them before my Father in heaven]. ³³ But all who ·stand before others and say they do not believe in me [^Ldeny/disown me before people] I will ·say before my Father in heaven that they do not belong to me [^Lalso deny/disown them before my Father in heaven].

Divisions Within Households^(D)

³⁴ “Don’t ·think [suppose] that I came to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ [^LFor] I have come ·so that

Conditions and Rewards of Discipleship^(E)

³⁷ “·Those who love [^LThe one who loves…] their father or mother more than they love me are not worthy ·to be my followers [^Lof me]. Those who love their son or daughter more than they love me are not worthy ·to be my followers [^Lof me]. ³⁸ Whoever ·is not willing to carry the [^Ldoes not take up his] cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Those who ·try to hold on to [cling to; seek to preserve; ^Lfind] their lives will ·give up true life [lose them]. Those who ·give up [lose] their lives for ·me [my sake] will ·hold on to true life [^Lfind them]. ⁴⁰ Whoever ·accepts [receives; welcomes] you also ·accepts [receives; welcomes] me, and whoever ·accepts [receives; welcomes] me also ·accepts [receives; welcomes] the One who sent me. ⁴¹ Whoever ·accepts [receives; welcomes] a prophet ·because he is a prophet [^Lin the name of a prophet] will receive the ·reward of [same reward as] a prophet. And whoever ·accepts [receives; welcomes] a ·good [righteous; upright] person because that person is ·good [righteous; upright] will receive the ·reward of [same reward as] a ·good [righteous; upright] person. ⁴² Those who give one of these little ones [even; so much as] a cup of cold water because they are my ·followers [disciples] will ·truly get [^Lcertainly not lose] their reward.”