Matthew 10:16-33

Amplified Bible

A Hard Road before Them

¹⁶ “Listen carefully: I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be wise as serpents, and innocent as doves [have no self-serving agenda].^{(A) 17} Beware of men [whose nature is to act in opposition to God], for they will hand you over to the courts and flog you in their synagogues; ¹⁸ and you will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given you within that [very] hour;^{(B) 20} for it is not you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

²¹ “Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; and children will rise up and rebel against their parents and cause them to be put death. ²² And you will be hated by everyone because of [your association with] My name, but it is the one who has patiently persevered and endured to the end who will be saved.

²³ “When they persecute you in one city [because of your faith in Me], flee to the next; for I assure you and most solemnly say to you, you will not finish going through all the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

The Meaning of Discipleship

²⁴ “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor is a bond-servant above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the bond-servant like his master. If they have called the head of the house ^[a]Beelzebul (Satan), how much more [will they speak evil of] the members of his household.^(C)

²⁶ “So do not be afraid of them, for nothing is hidden that will not be revealed [at the judgment], or kept secret that will not be made known [at the judgment].^{(D) 27} What I say to you in the dark (privately), tell in the light (publicly); and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops [to many people]. ²⁸ Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather be afraid of Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹ Are not two little sparrows sold for a ^[b]copper coin? And yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. ³⁰ But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered [for the Father is sovereign and has complete knowledge]. ³¹ So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.

³² “Therefore, the one who ^[c]confesses and acknowledges Me before men [as Lord and Savior, affirming a state of oneness with Me], that one I will also confess and acknowledge before My Father who is in heaven. ³³ But the one who denies and rejects Me before men, that one I will also deny and reject before My Father who is in heaven.