Matthew 10:34-41
New Catholic Bible
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace but a sword.[a]
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[b] 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.[c]
40 “Whoever receives you receives me; and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. 41 Whoever receives a prophet[d] 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.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 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.
