Matthew 10
New Catholic Bible
Instructions to the Apostles: The Charter of the Apostolate[a]
Chapter 10
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles.[b] 1 Calling his twelve disciples together, he gave them authority over unclean spirits, with the power to drive them out and to cure every kind of disease and illness.
2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot,[c] the one who betrayed him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent forth after giving them the following instructions: “Do not travel[d] to the territory of the Gentiles, and enter no Samaritan town. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 And as you go, proclaim: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ 8 Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. You received without payment; give in the same way. 9 Take along no gold or silver or copper in your purses, 10 no sack for your journey, or an extra tunic, or sandals, or a staff. For the laborer deserves his keep.
11 “Whatever town or village you enter, look for some honorable person who lives there, and stay with him until you leave. 12 As you enter a house, extend your blessing upon 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 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your message, shake the dust from your feet[e] as you leave that house or town. 15 Amen, I say to you, it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah[f] on the day of judgment than for that town.
16 No Servant Is above His Master.[g]“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore, be as cunning as serpents and yet as innocent as doves. 17 Be on your guard, for people will hand you over to courts[h] and scourge you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be brought before governors and kings because of me to testify before them and the Gentiles.
19 “When they hand you over, do not be concerned about how you are to speak or what you are to say. When the time comes, you will be given what you are to say. 20 For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
21 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise up against their parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by all because of my name, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 23 When you are persecuted in one town, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not have finished traveling through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.[i]
24 “No student is greater than his teacher, nor a servant greater than his master. 25 It is enough for the student to be like his teacher and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul,[j] how much more those of his household?
26 The Conditions of Discipleship.[k]“Therefore, do not be afraid of them. There is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing secret that will not become known. 27 What I say to you in the dark, proclaim in the daylight, and what you hear whispered, shout from the housetops.
28 “Have no fear of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, fear the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.[l]
29 “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them can fall to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. 30 Even the hairs on your head have all been counted. 31 So do not be afraid; you are worth far more than any number of sparrows.
32 “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my heavenly Father.
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace but a sword.[m]
35 For I have come to set a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
36 and one’s enemies will be the members of his own household.
37 Whoever Receives You Receives Me.“Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me, 38 and anyone who does not take up his cross[n] and follow 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.[o]
40 “Whoever receives you receives me; and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. 41 Whoever receives a prophet[p] because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous man because he is righteous will receive a righteous man’s reward. 42 And whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a disciple, amen, I say to you, he will not go unrewarded.”
Footnotes
- Matthew 10:1 This section of Matthew is called the Instructions to the Apostles; collected in it are the texts describing the mission of the disciples, applicable to the early Church and for all future time. The disciples begin the great enterprise; through them Christ’s authority and power continue among human beings—so long as they act truly in his Spirit and share his lot. Thus is born a new People of God.
- Matthew 10:1 Israel was made up of twelve tribes; the kingdom of Jesus was to have twelve founders (see Mt 19:28; Rev 21:12-14): the “Twelve” or the “apostles.” The latter is a Greek word (plural) meaning “those who are sent”; Jesus himself chose the term (Lk 6:13).
- Matthew 10:4 Iscariot: i.e., “Man from Kerioth,” a place in the southernmost part of Palestine.
- Matthew 10:5 Do not travel: the Good News about the kingdom was to be proclaimed first to Jews alone. After his Death and Resurrection, Jesus commanded the disciples to take the message to all nations (Mt 28:19; see Mt 21:43). Samaritans: a race of mixed blood resulting from the intermarriage of Israelites left behind when the people of the northern kingdom were exiled and Gentiles were brought into the land by the Assyrians (2 Ki 17:24). In the time of Jesus, Jews and Samaritans were bitterly opposed to one another (see Jn 4:9).
- Matthew 10:14 Shake the dust from your feet: a symbolic act practiced by the Pharisees when they left an unclean Gentile area. Here it represents a solemn warning to those who reject God’s message.
- Matthew 10:15 Sodom and Gomorrah: see Gen 19:23-29.
- Matthew 10:16 The disciples are prolongations of Christ, so to speak. Whatever happened to him will also happen to them. But if they persevere they will be saved.
- Matthew 10:17 Courts: the lower courts, connected with local synagogues, that tried less serious cases and scourged those found guilty.
- Matthew 10:23 You will not have finished . . . before the Son of Man comes: this may be interpreted in two ways: (1) the disciples will not have converted all of Israel before the Second Coming of Christ; (2) the disciples will not have preached the Gospel in all the towns of Palestine before the destruction of Jerusalem occurs in A.D. 70, which is a portent of the end of the world.
- Matthew 10:25 Beelzebul: “Baal the Prince,” or Beelzebub, “Lord of the Flies.” The former is the name of an ancient pagan divinity (see 2 Ki 1:1-14), the latter a contemptuous distortion of the name.
- Matthew 10:26 In the face of fierce opposition and trials of all kinds, the apostles must not lose heart, for they will be given the courage to bear true witness to Jesus and his message.
- Matthew 10:28 Gehenna: see note on Mt 5:22.
- Matthew 10:34 As Simeon predicted (Lk 2:34), Jesus will be a sign of contradiction even within families. Those who accept the Gospel will be at peace with God, but they will have to bear persecution at the hands of those who do not.
- Matthew 10:38 Take up his cross: this is the first time Matthew mentions the cross, which was an instrument of death. The picture is of a man, already condemned, required to carry the beam of his own cross to the place of execution (see Jn 19:17). Here it symbolizes the necessity of total commitment—even unto death—on the part of Jesus’ disciples.
- Matthew 10:39 Those who renounce their earthly life in order to confess Jesus will obtain the happiness of eternal life.
- Matthew 10:41 Prophet: the last prophet of the old covenant was John the Baptist.
马太福音 10
Chinese New Version (Traditional)
差遣十二使徒(A)
10 耶穌叫了十二門徒來，賜給他們勝過污靈的權柄，可以趕出污靈和醫治各種疾病、各種病症。 2 十二使徒的名字如下：為首的是西門（又名彼得），西門的弟弟安得烈，西庇太的兒子雅各，雅各的弟弟約翰， 3 腓力，巴多羅邁，多馬，稅吏馬太，亞勒腓的兒子雅各，達太， 4 激進派的西門，和出賣耶穌的加略人猶大。 5 耶穌差遣這十二個人出去，並且囑咐他們：“外族人的路，你們不要走，撒瑪利亞人的城，你們也不要進； 6 卻要到以色列家的迷羊那裡去。 7 你們要一邊走一邊宣揚說：‘天國近了。’ 8 要醫治有病的，叫死人復活，潔淨患痲風的，趕出污鬼。你們白白地得來，也應當白白地給人。 9 你們腰袋裡不要帶金、銀、銅錢； 10 路上不要帶行囊，也不要帶兩件衣裳，不要帶鞋或手杖，因為作工的理當得到供應。 11 你們無論進哪一座城哪一個村，都要打聽誰配接待你們，就住在那裡，直到離去。 12 到他家裡的時候，要向他們問安； 13 如果這家是配得的，你們的平安就必臨到他們；如果這家不配得，你們的平安仍歸你們。 14 如果有人不接待你們，不聽你們的話，你們離開那一家那一城的時候，就要把腳上的灰塵跺下去。 15 我實在告訴你們，在審判的日子，所多瑪和蛾摩拉所受的，比那城還輕呢。
使徒會遭受迫害(B)
16 “現在，我差派你們出去，好像羊進到狼群中間；所以你們要像蛇一樣機警，像鴿子一樣純潔。 17 你們要小心，因為有人要把你們送交公議會，並要在會堂裡鞭打你們； 18 你們為我的緣故，也要被帶到統治者和君王面前，向他們和外族人作見證。 19 你們被捕的時候，用不著擔心說甚麼和怎麼說，因為那時你們必得著當說的話； 20 因為說話的不是你們，而是你們的父的靈，是他在你們裡面說話。 21 弟兄要出賣弟兄，父親要出賣兒女，甚至把他們置於死地；兒女要悖逆父母，害死他們。 22 你們為我的名，要被眾人恨惡，然而堅忍到底的必然得救。 23 如果有人在這城迫害你們，就逃到別的城去。我實在告訴你們，你們還沒有走遍以色列的各城，人子就來到了。
24 “學生不能勝過老師，奴僕也不能勝過主人。 25 學生若能像老師一樣，奴僕若能像主人一樣，也就夠了。如果一家之主也被稱為別西卜（“別西卜”是鬼王的名字），何況他的家人呢？
應該怕誰(C)
26 “所以不要怕他們。沒有甚麼掩蓋的事不被揭露，也沒有甚麼祕密是人不知道的。 27 我在暗處告訴你們的，你們要在明處講出來；你們聽見的耳語，要在房頂上宣揚出來。 28 那些殺身體卻不能殺靈魂的，不要怕他們；倒要怕那位能把靈魂和身體都投入地獄裡的。 29 兩隻麻雀不是賣一個大錢嗎？但你們的父若不許可，一隻也不會掉在地上。 30 甚至你們的頭髮都一一數過了。 31 所以不要怕，你們比許多麻雀貴重得多呢。
32 “凡在人面前承認我的，我在我天父面前也要承認他； 33 在人面前不認我的，我在我天父面前也要不認他。
作門徒的代價(D)
34 “你們不要以為我來了，是要給地上帶來和平；我並沒有帶來和平，卻帶來刀劍， 35 因為我來了是要叫人分裂：
人與父親作對，
女兒與母親作對，
媳婦與婆婆作對，
36 人的仇敵就是自己的家人。
37 愛父母過於愛我的，不配作屬我的；愛兒女過於愛我的，不配作屬我的； 38 凡不背起自己的十字架來跟從我的，也不配作屬我的。 39 顧惜自己生命的，必要喪掉生命；但為我犧牲生命的，必要得著生命。
得賞賜(E)
40 “接待你們的，就是接待我；接待我的，就是接待那差我來的。 41 因先知的名接待先知的，必得先知所得的賞賜；因義人的名接待義人的，必得義人所得的賞賜。 42 無論誰因門徒的名，只把一杯涼水給這些微不足道的人中的一個喝，我實在告訴你們，他決不會得不到他的賞賜。”
Chinese New Version (CNV). Copyright © 1976, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2005 by Worldwide Bible Society.
