Matthew 10, Jesus Sends Out the Twelve

There came a day when I called my twelve disciples to me. And I gave them authority. Authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out. Authority to heal every disease and every sickness. What they had watched me do, they would now go and do.

Let me tell you their names, because I remember every one. Simon, the one I called Peter, and Andrew his brother. James, the son of Zebedee, and John his brother. Philip, and Bartholomew. Thomas, and Matthew, the tax collector. James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus. Simon the Zealot. And Judas Iscariot. The one who would betray me.

These twelve I sent out, and this is what I told them. Do not go among the Gentiles, and do not enter any town of the Samaritans. Go instead to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, proclaim this: the kingdom of heaven has come near.

Heal the sick. Raise the dead. Cleanse those with leprosy. Drive out demons. You received without paying. So give without charging.

Take no gold, no silver, no copper in your belts. No bag for the road. No second tunic, no sandals, no staff. For the worker deserves his food.

Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay with them until you leave. As you enter a house, greet it. If the house is worthy, let your peace rest upon it. If it is not, let your peace come back to you.

And if anyone will not welcome you, or will not listen to your words, shake the dust from your feet as you leave that house or that town. Truly, I tell you, it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

Then I told them the harder things. Look, I am sending you out like sheep into the middle of wolves. So be wise as serpents, and innocent as doves.

Beware of people. They will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues. You will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, to bear witness before them and before the Gentiles. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say. What you need to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak. It is the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise up against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. Truly, I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to become like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they slander those of his household.

So have no fear of them. Nothing is covered that will not be uncovered, and nothing hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light. What you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops.

Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father. Even the hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.

Everyone who acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies me before others, I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Do not think that I came to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter in law against her mother in law. A person's enemies will be those of his own household.

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it. And whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

And at the last, I told them this. Whoever receives you receives me. And whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward. Whoever receives a righteous person because he is righteous will receive a righteous person's reward.

And whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, because he is my disciple, truly, I tell you, he will by no means lose his reward.

That was how I sent them out. Twelve ordinary men, with empty hands, and my peace to give.