Matthew 10:1-42 TLB

[1] Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of sickness and disease. [2] Here are the names of his twelve disciples: Simon (also called Peter), Andrew (Peter's brother), James (Zebedee's son), John (James's brother), Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew (the tax collector), James (Alphaeus's son), Thaddaeus, Simon (a member of "The Zealots," a subversive political party), Judas Iscariot (the one who betrayed him). [5] Jesus sent them out with these instructions: "Don't go to the Gentiles or the Samaritans, [6] but only to the people of Israel-God's lost sheep. [7] Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. [8] Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure the lepers, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received! [9] "Don't take any money with you; [10] don't even carry a duffle bag with extra clothes and shoes, or even a walking stick; for those you help should feed and care for you. [11] Whenever you enter a city or village, search for a godly man and stay in his home until you leave for the next town. [12] When you ask permission to stay, be friendly, [13] and if it turns out to be a godly home, give it your blessing; if not, keep the blessing. [14] Any city or home that doesn't welcome you-shake off the dust of that place from your feet as you leave. [15] Truly, the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah will be better off at Judgment Day than they. [16] "I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. Be as wary as serpents and harmless as doves. [17] But beware! For you will be arrested and tried, and whipped in the synagogues. [18] Yes, and you must stand trial before governors and kings for my sake. This will give you the opportunity to tell them about me, yes, to witness to the world. [19] "When you are arrested, don't worry about what to say at your trial, for you will be given the right words at the right time. [20] For it won't be you doing the talking-it will be the Spirit of your heavenly Father speaking through you! [21] "Brother shall betray brother to death, and fathers shall betray their own children. And children shall rise against their parents and cause their deaths. [22] Everyone shall hate you because you belong to me. But all of you who endure to the end shall be saved. [23] "When you are persecuted in one city, flee to the next! I will return before you have reached them all! [24] A student is not greater than his teacher. A servant is not above his master. [25] The student shares his teacher's fate. The servant shares his master's! And since I, the master of the household, have been called 'Satan,' how much more will you! [26] But don't be afraid of those who threaten you. For the time is coming when the truth will be revealed: their secret plots will become public information. [27] "What I tell you now in the gloom, shout abroad when daybreak comes. What I whisper in your ears, proclaim from the housetops! [28] "Don't be afraid of those who can kill only your bodies-but can't touch your souls! Fear only God who can destroy both soul and body in hell. [29] Not one sparrow (What do they cost? Two for a penny?) can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. [30] And the very hairs of your head are all numbered. [31] So don't worry! You are more valuable to him than many sparrows. [32] "If anyone publicly acknowledges me as his friend, I will openly acknowledge him as my friend before my Father in heaven. [33] But if anyone publicly denies me, I will openly deny him before my Father in heaven. [34] "Don't imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! No, rather, a sword. [35] I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law- [36] a man's worst enemies will be right in his own home! [37] If you love your father and mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. [38] If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. [39] "If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give it up for me, you will save it. [40] "Those who welcome you are welcoming me. And when they welcome me they are welcoming God who sent me. [41] If you welcome a prophet because he is a man of God, you will be given the same reward a prophet gets. And if you welcome good and godly men because of their godliness, you will be given a reward like theirs. [42] "And if, as my representatives, you give even a cup of cold water to a little child, you will surely be rewarded."