Matthew 10

Jesus chooses twelve apostles, gives them His own authority, and sends them out to announce that the kingdom of heaven is near. He tells them plainly what to expect: rejection, hardship and even family division. He also tells them that the Father cares for them and that anyone who welcomes His messengers welcomes Him.

Matthew 10:1

Jesus calls the Twelve to Himself and shares His own power with them. They are to do what He has been doing: drive out unclean spirits and heal every disease. Their strength is not their own. It is given to them by Jesus.

BSA: authority (“power, freedom to act”): Jesus gives them the right to act in His name, not just a feeling of strength.

Greek: ἐξουσίαν (exousian, G1849) — “authority, the right to act.” This is delegated authority, like an ambassador speaking with the backing of the one who sent him. It is not a power the disciples own.

Matthew 10:2-4

Matthew lists the twelve apostles, probably in pairs. They are ordinary men: fishermen, a hated tax collector, and a Zealot, whose party was known for passionate zeal for Israel. The list ends sadly with Judas, who would betray Jesus. Jesus builds His mission on such people.

BSA: apostles (“messengers, delegates of Jesus Christ”): An apostle speaks for the One who sent him.

Greek: ἀποστόλων (apostolōn, G652) — “sent ones.” The word comes from the verb ’to send out’. These men are defined by being sent, and that fits the mission that follows.

Matthew 10:5-6

For this first mission, Jesus sends the Twelve only to the Jewish people, not to Gentile roads or Samaritan towns. They are to seek God’s own people, who are like sheep wandering without a shepherd. The door to all nations opens wider after the resurrection.

BSA: lost (“spiritually wandering”): These sheep are not hopeless but straying, and they need a shepherd to find them.

See also: Matthew 15:24; Matthew 28:19.

Matthew 10:7-8

The message is short: the kingdom of heaven is near. The healings show what that kingdom is like, because sickness, death and demons retreat when the King draws close. Then comes a principle for all ministry. The disciples received everything as a gift, so they must give it away as a gift.

BSA: near (“at hand, has arrived, come nigh”): God’s rule is not far off. It is pressing in right now through Jesus.

Greek: δωρεάν (dōrean, G1432) — “as a gift, without payment.” It is used twice here, once for receiving and once for giving, so grace received is to be passed on in the same way.

See also: Luke 10:9.

Matthew 10:9-10

The disciples are to travel light, with no money stored up and no spare clothes. They are to depend on God and on the hospitality of those they serve. Jesus gives the reason: a worker deserves his keep. God supplies needs through the people who receive the message.

BSA: worker (“laborer or servant”): The disciples are laborers in God’s field, and a laborer’s needs are met.

See also: Luke 10:7; 1 Timothy 5:18.

Matthew 10:11-13

In each town the disciples look for a household open to them and stay there. They greet the home with peace, which was the ordinary Jewish greeting but here carries real blessing. If the household welcomes them, the blessing rests there. If not, it comes back to them, and nothing is lost.

BSA: peace (“state of harmony, spiritual well-being”): This is the full peace of well-being that God gives, not just a polite hello.

Matthew 10:14-15

Some will refuse the message. The disciples are not to argue or linger but to move on, shaking off the dust as a sign that the town has rejected God’s offer. Jesus warns that rejecting this message is serious. Judgment will fall harder on such a town than on Sodom.

BSA: shake (“violently shake out/off, remove”): The gesture is deliberate and strong. It marks a clear break and leaves the town in God’s hands.

Greek: ἐκτινάξατε (ektinaxate, G1621) — “shake off, shake out.” It is a vigorous shake, as if you meant to throw something off completely. It is a visible act of leaving a place behind.

See also: Genesis 19:24-25.

Matthew 10:16

Jesus is honest about the danger. He sends His followers out as sheep among wolves, so they need both wisdom and purity. They must be careful not to walk into trouble needlessly, and they must never become deceitful or cruel themselves.

BSA: sheep (“defenseless, vulnerable”): The disciples have no weapons of their own. Their safety lies in the Shepherd who sends them.

Greek: ἀκέραιοι (akeraioi, G185) — “unmixed, pure, guileless.” The word is used of something with nothing added, like unalloyed metal or undiluted wine. The disciples are to be shrewd without any mixture of deceit.

Matthew 10:17-18

Opposition will come first from religious and then from political authorities. These disciples will be tried in local councils, beaten in synagogues and brought before governors and kings. Jesus sees even this as an opportunity: standing before rulers will make them His witnesses to Jews and Gentiles alike.

BSA: witnesses (“to testify, to give evidence”): Their trials become a courtroom where they speak for Jesus.

Matthew 10:19-20

Facing trial, the disciples need not panic or rehearse speeches. In the moment itself, God will give them the words. Jesus says the Father’s Spirit will speak through them. It is a promise of help in hard hours.

BSA: worry (“be anxious, be troubled”): Jesus wants them free of anxious dread, because the help they need will come when they need it.

See also: Luke 12:11-12.

Matthew 10:21-22

The hatred will reach into families, and the pain will be great. But Jesus gives a promise: the one who holds firm to the end will be saved. Faithfulness that lasts is the mark of a true disciple.

BSA: perseveres (“endures, remains”): The picture is of staying put and not giving way under pressure.

Greek: ὑπομείνας (hypomeinas, G5278) — “having remained under, endured.” The word pictures someone staying under a heavy load instead of running from it. It means patient, steady endurance.

See also: Matthew 24:13.

Matthew 10:23

Fleeing is allowed. Jesus does not ask His followers to seek out suffering. When one town drives them out, they move to the next and keep preaching. The coming of the Son of Man here is a hard saying, and Christians have understood it in different ways. The plain point is that the work is urgent and the Lord is in charge of it.

BSA: flee (“run away, escape”): Moving on to safety is wise obedience, not cowardice, because the mission must continue.

Matthew 10:24-25

A follower should expect to be treated as his Master is. Jesus had been called Beelzebul, a name for the prince of demons, so His household should not be surprised by insults. Sharing His reproach is part of belonging to Him.

BSA: Beelzebul (“lord of the flies, Satan”): It was a name for the prince of demons, and the accusation against Jesus was that He served the evil one.

See also: John 15:20.

Matthew 10:26-27

Do not be afraid, because the truth will not stay buried. What Jesus teaches privately, the disciples must now announce in the open. Roofs in that land were flat and people called out from them to be heard. He wants His message spoken clearly and boldly.

BSA: disclosed (“revealed, made known”): God will bring hidden things to light, so the disciples need not fear threats that depend on secrecy. housetops (“the highest point, for all to hear”): The message is to be made as public as possible.

Matthew 10:28

People can threaten the body, but they cannot touch the soul. The One truly to be revered is God, who holds the final judgment. Jesus is setting fears in order: a healthy awe of God drives out the fear of people.

BSA: fear (“reverence or have awe of”): This is deep respect for God’s authority, not a cringing terror.

Greek: γεέννῃ (geennē, G1067) — “Gehenna, the Valley of Hinnom.” It is named after a valley outside Jerusalem. Jesus uses it as a picture of God’s final judgment.

Matthew 10:29-31

Sparrows were the cheapest food in the market, yet not one falls without the Father knowing. Even the hairs of your head are counted. If God watches over small things so closely, His people can be sure He is watching over them.

BSA: numbered (“counted and known”): God’s knowledge of each person reaches to the smallest detail.

See also: Luke 12:6-7.

Matthew 10:32-33

Faith in Jesus is meant to be spoken openly. Those who acknowledge Him before others will be acknowledged by Him before the Father. Those who disown Him will be disowned. This warns against hiding our loyalty, and it promises that Jesus will stand with those who stand with Him.

BSA: confesses (“acknowledges, professes”): It means publicly owning Jesus as Lord, not just believing quietly.

Greek: ὁμολογήσει (homologēsei, G3670) — “will confess, will say the same thing.” The word means ’to say the same thing’. To confess Jesus is to agree openly with God about who He is.

See also: 2 Timothy 2:12.

Matthew 10:34-36

Jesus did not come to give a comfortable, trouble-free peace. His call forces a choice, and families may split over it. He borrows the words of an old prophecy to show that division follows when one person follows Him and others do not.

BSA: sword (“conflict, division”): The sword is a picture of the division that follows when people must decide about Jesus.

See also: Micah 7:6.

Matthew 10:37

Jesus does not say to love family less in a cold way. He says that nothing and no one may take first place over Him. Our dearest relationships are good gifts, but only Jesus deserves our highest loyalty. Loving Him first is what makes all other love rightly ordered.

BSA: worthy (“deserving, suitable”): A disciple who puts anyone first does not fit the One he claims to follow.

Matthew 10:38

To take up the cross meant to carry the instrument of one’s own execution. Jesus’s listeners knew what it meant when a condemned man carried his cross. He calls His followers to the same readiness to give up everything, and to walk behind Him as they do it.

BSA: cross (“instrument of death”): The cross means surrender, giving up one’s own way.

Greek: σταυρὸν (stauron, G4716) — “cross, a stake for execution.” To Jesus’s hearers this was a cruel Roman punishment. Jesus uses it as a picture of total surrender to Him.

See also: Luke 9:23.

Matthew 10:39

This is the great paradox of discipleship. Someone who clings to his own life and keeps it for himself loses what matters most. Someone who gives it up for Jesus finds real life. Surrender to Christ is not loss but gain.

Greek: ψυχήν (psychēn, G5590) — “life, soul, the self.” The word can mean both physical life and the whole inner person. So Jesus is speaking about our true self, not just survival.

See also: John 12:25.

Matthew 10:40

The disciples go as Jesus’s representatives. To welcome them is to welcome Jesus, and to welcome Jesus is to welcome the Father who sent Him. A chain of sending joins the Father, the Son, the apostles and everyone who receives them.

BSA: receives (“welcomes, gives honor to”): Welcoming here means open hospitality and honor, not just putting up with someone.

See also: John 13:20.

Matthew 10:41

God notices how people treat those who speak and live for Him. Someone who welcomes a prophet because he is God’s messenger shares in the prophet’s reward, and the same is true for a righteous person. Those who support God’s work share in its blessing.

BSA: reward (“a wage, payment for service”): God treats hospitality to His servants as real service, and He pays it back.

Matthew 10:42

The smallest kindness counts. A cup of cold water given to one of Jesus’s humble followers, because he belongs to Him, will not be forgotten. In God’s eyes nothing is too small when it is done for Jesus.

BSA: little ones (“humble, lowly followers”): Jesus means the least noticed of His disciples, and they are precious to Him.

See also: Mark 9:41.