16 “Listen! I am sending you out just like sheep to a pack of wolves. You must be as cautious as snakes and as gentle as doves. 17 Watch out, for there will be those who will arrest you and take you to court, and they will whip you in the synagogues. 18 For my sake you will be brought to trial before rulers and kings, to tell the Good News to them and to the Gentiles. 19 When they bring you to trial, do not worry about what you are going to say or how you will say it; when the time comes, you will be given what you will say. 20 For the words you will speak will not be yours; they will come from the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
21 “People will hand over their own brothers to be put to death, and fathers will do the same to their children; children will turn against their parents and have them put to death. 22 Everyone will hate you because of me. But whoever holds out to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, run away to another one. I assure you that you will not finish your work in all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
24 “No pupil is greater than his teacher; no slave is greater than his master. 25 So a pupil should be satisfied to become like his teacher, and a slave like his master. If the head of the family is called Beelzebul, the members of the family will be called even worse names!
26 “So do not be afraid of people. Whatever is now covered up will be uncovered, and every secret will be made known. 27 What I am telling you in the dark you must repeat in broad daylight, and what you have heard in private you must announce from the housetops. 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather be afraid of God, who can destroy both body and soul in hell. 29 For only a penny you can buy two sparrows, yet not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father’s consent. 30 As for you, even the hairs of your head have all been counted. 31 So do not be afraid; you are worth much more than many sparrows!
32 “Those who declare publicly that they belong to me, I will do the same for them before my Father in heaven. 33 But those who reject me publicly, I will reject before my Father in heaven.
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the world. No, I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 I came to set sons against their fathers, daughters against their mothers, daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law; 36 your worst enemies will be the members of your own family.
37 “Those who love their father or mother more than me are not fit to be my disciples; those who love their son or daughter more than me are not fit to be my disciples. 38 Those who do not take up their cross and follow in my steps are not fit to be my disciples. 39 Those who try to gain their own life will lose it; but those who lose their life for my sake will gain it.
40 “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41 Whoever welcomes God’s messenger because he is God’s messenger, will share in his reward. And whoever welcomes a good man because he is good, will share in his reward. 42 You can be sure that whoever gives even a drink of cold water to one of the least of these my followers because he is my follower, will certainly receive a reward.”
Read Matthew 10:16-42 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
During one of Jesus’ earlier challenges to His disciples, it seems as though He foreshadows His second coming with some of the language He uses. Not only does Jesus say some challenging ideas in this discussion, He also gives hope through looking at the big picture.
In this early challenge, Jesus is preparing the disciples to go on what we might call a short term mission trip. The disciples were to travel to the nearby towns telling people about Jesus and helping those in need. But even though the disciples would be helping people, not everyone would approve of their actions.
Jesus warns them about what being a disciple will ultimately entail. He says, “People will hand over their own brothers to be put to death, and fathers will do the same to their children; children will turn against their parents and have them put to death. Everyone will hate you because of me. But whoever holds out to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, run away to another one. I assure you that you will not finish your work in all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.” (v. 21-23)
Before looking at exactly what Jesus said here, I find it interesting that this is His big challenge and warning for those He called to be His disciples. Matthew chapter 10 begins with Jesus choosing the 12 disciples, and then their first task is to travel to teach others about Him. In His words of caution for these disciples, Jesus seems to extend the warning to include their whole lives of following Him rather than just the immediate trip they were about to take.
However, in this warning are some troubling and challenging ideas. Jesus warns that family relations will be strained over a family member’s choice to follow Jesus, and when it is the least culturally accepted thing to do, family members will side with the enemy rather than their own family. “People will hand over their own brothers to be put to death, and fathers will do the same to their children; children will turn against their parents and have them put to death.” (v. 21)
In the past when I read this portion, I always saw the theme of choosing to follow Jesus as being more significant and important than simply following the family social script. This is definitely true, but even more disturbing is the opposite side of the equation that members of one’s family would turn against each other regarding Jesus – and even side with God’s enemies rather than with their own family.
Jesus tells us as His followers that “Everyone will hate you because of me. But whoever holds out to the end will be saved.” (v. 22)
Hate for Jesus is at the core of the enemy’s actions. His attack on Jesus’ followers will be one that has hate built into its identity. Hate is irrational. Hate affects every area of one’s life. Hate hurts everyone it comes in contact with – from the person hating to the person being hated and including everyone who is connected with these individuals.
But with the warning of hate, Jesus gives hope. He points us to the big picture. When we hold onto His promises, and remain loyal towards Him regardless of all the hate that the enemy sends our way, we will be saved. Eternity is longer than today’s trials, and when looking from eternity’s perspective, a world filled with hate is insignificant when compared with the love that God shows us and the future He has planned for His people.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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