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Matthew 10

Jesus sends his disciples with his authority, preparing them for costly witness under the Father’s care.

Jesus calls his twelve disciples, gives them authority to heal and cast out unclean spirits, and sends them to Israel to announce the Kingdom of Heaven. He tells them to depend on hospitality and explains how to respond to rejection. His instructions then look ahead to trials before rulers, betrayal within families, and hatred for his name. He speaks of the Father’s care while demanding allegiance above family and life itself, and closes with promises for those who receive his messengers.

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1He called to himself his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness.
2Now the names of the twelve apostles are these. The first, Simon, who is called Peter; Andrew, his brother; James the son of Zebedee; John, his brother;
3Philip; Bartholomew; Thomas; Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus; Lebbaeus, who was also called Thaddaeus;
4Simon the Zealot; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
5Jesus sent these twelve out and commanded them, saying, “Don’t go among the Gentiles, and don’t enter into any city of the Samaritans.
6Rather, go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7As you go, preach, saying, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!’
8Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons. Freely you received, so freely give.
9Don’t take any gold, silver, or brass in your money belts.
10Take no bag for your journey, neither two coats, nor sandals, nor staff: for the laborer is worthy of his food.
11Into whatever city or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you go on.
12As you enter into the household, greet it.
13If the household is worthy, let your peace come on it, but if it isn’t worthy, let your peace return to you.
14Whoever doesn’t receive you or hear your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet.
15Most certainly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.
16“Behold, I send you out as sheep among wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.
17But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils, and in their synagogues they will scourge you.
18Yes, and you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony to them and to the nations.
19But when they deliver you up, don’t be anxious how or what you will say, for it will be given you in that hour what you will say.
20For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
21“Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child. Children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.
22You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved.
23But when they persecute you in this city, flee into the next, for most certainly I tell you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man has come.
24“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his lord.
25It is enough for the disciple that he be like his teacher, and the servant like his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household!
26Therefore don’t be afraid of them, for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.
27What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in the ear, proclaim on the housetops.
28Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.
29“Aren’t two sparrows sold for an assarion coin? Not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.
30But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31Therefore don’t be afraid. You are of more value than many sparrows.
32Everyone therefore who confesses me before men, I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven.
33But whoever denies me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven.
34“Don’t think that I came to send peace on the earth. I didn’t come to send peace, but a sword.
35For I came to set a man at odds against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
36A man’s foes will be those of his own household.
37He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me isn’t worthy of me.
38He who doesn’t take his cross and follow after me isn’t worthy of me.
39He who seeks his life will lose it; and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.
40“He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me.
41He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. He who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward.
42Whoever gives one of these little ones just a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple, most certainly I tell you, he will in no way lose his reward.”
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Matthew 10:22Jesus places the promise of salvation alongside hatred for his name, making endurance central to his disciples’ witness.
Matthew 10:28God’s authority over body and soul sets the limits of human threats and establishes whom the disciples must fear.
Matthew 10:37Jesus claims allegiance above the closest family bonds, bringing the cost of following him into the household.
Where this chapter reaches

Luke and Mark share accounts of Jesus sending the Twelve with authority and instructions about hospitality, provision, and rejection. John shares Jesus’ warnings that his followers will face hatred, while Acts recounts opposition before rulers and the Spirit’s help in bearing witness.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

How does the Father’s care for sparrows shape your reading of Jesus’ warnings about persecution?

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Which part of Jesus’ command to place him above family raises questions for you?

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Questions people ask about Matthew 10

Why does Jesus say he came to bring a sword in Matthew 10?

The following verses explain the sword through conflict within households over allegiance to Jesus. His coming brings division even among close relatives. The passage contains no command to attack others: Jesus tells his messengers to be harmless and to flee when persecuted. The image describes the conflict his mission provokes.

What does “until the Son of Man has come” mean in Matthew 10:23?

Jesus connects this saying with persecution and the disciples’ unfinished work among Israel’s cities. Christians differ over whether the coming refers to an act of judgment within history or his final return. The verse gives no date. Its immediate instruction is clear: persecuted messengers should flee to another city.

Who should be feared in Matthew 10:28?

The contrast points to God, whose authority extends beyond bodily death to judgment over the whole person. Human persecutors can kill the body, yet their power has limits. Jesus follows this warning with the Father’s care for sparrows and his knowledge of every hair on the disciples’ heads.

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What the Bible says about fear →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).