Matthew 10-11

Tree of Life Version

Instructions to the Twelve

10 Yeshua summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, so they could drive them out and heal every kind of disease and sickness. ² Now these are the names of the twelve emissaries: first, Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew; Jacob the son of Zebedee and John his brother; ³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; Jacob, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; ⁴ Simon the Zealot,^[a] and Judah the man from Kriot,^[b] the one who also betrayed Him.

⁵ Yeshua sent out these twelve and ordered them, “Do not go to the Gentiles, and do not enter into any Samaritan town. ⁶ But go instead to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ As you go, proclaim, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near!’ ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with tzara’at, drive out demons. Freely you received, freely give. ⁹ Do not get gold or silver or copper for your money belts, ¹⁰ or a bag for the journey, or two shirts,^[c] or sandals, or a walking stick; for the worker is entitled to his food.

¹¹ “Whatever town or village you shall enter, find out who in it is worthy and stay there until you leave. ¹² As you come into the house, greet it. ¹³ If the household is worthy, let your shalom come upon it. But if it’s not worthy, let your shalom return to you. ¹⁴ And whoever will not receive you or listen to your words, as you leave that house or that town, shake the dust off your feet. ¹⁵ Amen, I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah^[d] on the Day of Judgment than for that town.

¹⁶ “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. ¹⁷ But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and flog^[e] you in their synagogues. ¹⁸ You will be brought before governors and kings because of Me, as a witness to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you should say, for it shall be given to you in that hour what you should say. ²⁰ For it is not you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

²¹ “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against their parents and have them put to death. ²² And you will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end shall be saved. ²³ Whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next. Amen, I tell you, you will never finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

²⁴ “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for the disciple to become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!

²⁶ “So do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed and nothing hidden that will not be made known. ²⁷ What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear in your ear, proclaim from the housetops! ²⁸ And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.^[f]

²⁹ “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?^[g] Yet not one of them shall fall to the ground apart from your Father’s consent. ³⁰ But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ So do not fear; you are worth more than many sparrows.

³² “Therefore whoever acknowledges Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father who is in heaven. ³³ But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

³⁴ “Do not think that I came to bring shalom on the earth; I did not come to bring shalom, but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to set

³⁷ “He who loves father or mother more than Me isn’t worthy of Me, and he who loves son or daughter more than Me isn’t worthy of Me. ³⁸ And whoever does not take up his cross and follow after Me isn’t worthy of Me. ³⁹ He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

⁴⁰ “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives the One who sent Me. ⁴¹ He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward, and he who receives a tzaddik in the name of a tzaddik shall receive a tzaddik’s reward. ⁴² And whoever gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, amen I tell you, he shall never lose his reward.”

Signs and Wonders Bear Witness

11 When Yeshua had finished instructing His twelve disciples, He went on from there to teach and preach in their towns. ² Now when John heard in prison about the works of the Messiah, he sent word through his disciples ³ and said to Yeshua, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”

⁴ Yeshua replied, “Go report to John what you hear and see: ⁵ the blind see and the lame walk, those with tzara’at are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised and the poor have good news proclaimed to them. ⁶ Blessed is the one who is not led to stumble because of Me.”^[i]

A Prophet Without Honor

⁷ Now as they were leaving, Yeshua began to talk to the crowd concerning John. “What did you go out to the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ⁸ No? So what did you go out to see? A man dressed in finery? Look, those who wear finery are in the palaces of kings! ⁹ Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, even more than a prophet. ¹⁰ This is the one about whom it is written,

¹¹ “Amen, I tell you, among those born of women, none has arisen greater than John the Immerser. Yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹² From the days of John the Immerser until now, the kingdom of heaven is treated with violence, and the violent grasp hold of it. ¹³ For all the prophets and the Torah prophesied until the time of John. ¹⁴ And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. ¹⁵ He who has ears, let him hear!

¹⁶ “But to what shall I compare this generation? It’s like children sitting in the marketplaces who call to one other, saying,

¹⁸ “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ ¹⁹ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”^[k]

²⁰ Then Yeshua began to denounce the towns where most of His miracles had happened, because they did not turn from their sins. ²¹ “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon,^[l] they would have turned long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ²² Nevertheless I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the Day of Judgment than for you. ²³ And you, Capernaum? Will you be lifted up to heaven? No, you will go down to Sheol! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. ²⁴ Nevertheless I tell you that it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom on the Day of Judgment than for you.”

Yeshua Teaches the Ways of His Father

²⁵ At that time Yeshua said in response, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and discerning and revealed them to infants. ²⁶ Yes, Father, for this way was pleasing to You.

²⁷ “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son^[m] and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. ²⁸ Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and ‘you will find rest for your souls.’ ^{[n] 30} For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”