New Testament in a Year
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.[a]
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,[b] how much more those of his household?
26 The Conditions of Discipleship.[c]“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.[d]
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.[e]
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[f] 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.[g]
40 “Whoever receives you receives me; and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. 41 Whoever receives a prophet[h] 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.”
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