Episode 238: Not peace, but a sword

Matthew 10-11

The twelve apostles

10 ¹ Jesus called his twelve disciples, and gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease.

^2-4 Here is a list of the twelve apostles:

Simon, who is called Peter;
Andrew, Peter's brother;
James, the son of Zebedee;
John, James's brother;
Philip; Bartholomew; Thomas;
Matthew, the publican;
James, the son of Alphaeus;
Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddeus;
Simon, the Canaanite;
and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus.

The mission of the apostles

⁵ Jesus sent out the apostles, saying,

Stay away from the Gentiles and Samaritans.

⁶ Go only to the people of Israel.

⁷ Preach to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is near."

⁸ Heal the sick, clean lepers, raise the dead, and cast out devils.

⁹ Don't take any gold, silver, or brass with you.

¹⁰ Don't take a bag, two coats, shoes, or staves.

It'll be worse than Sodom and Gomorrah

¹¹ When you enter a city, find out who is worthy and stay with them.

^14-15 If a house or city won't receive you, it will be worse for that city on the day of judgment than it was for Sodom and Gomorrah

You'll be hated by everyone

¹⁶ I send you out as sheep among wolves. So be as wise as serpents, and as harmless as doves.

^17-18 You’ll be delivered to councils, scourged in synagogues, and brought before governors and kings.

¹⁹ But don't worry about what to say

²⁰ The Spirit of God will speak for you.

²¹ Brothers will condemn their own brothers to death; fathers, their children; children will revolt against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.

²² You’ll be hated by everyone because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.

²³ When you're persecuted in one city, go to another. You won't have gone to all the cities of Israel before the Son of man comes.

Whom you should fear (the one who can send you to hell)

²⁸ Don't be afraid of those who can kill your body, but who can't kill the soul.

Rather, fear him who can destroy both body and soul in hell.

²⁹ Aren't two sparrows sold for a penny?

And yet no sparrow falls to the ground without your Father.

³⁰ The hairs on your head are numbered.

³¹ So don't worry; you are worth more than many sparrows.

If you deny Jesus, he'll deny you

³² If you tell others that you follow me, I’ll put in a good word for you with my Father.

³³ But if you deny me to men, I'll deny you before my Father in heaven.

I didn’t come to bring peace (but the sword)

³⁴ Don't think I have come to bring peace on earth. I haven't come to bring peace, but the sword.

Don't love your family (more than Jesus)

³⁵ I have come to set a father against his son, the daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

³⁶ And a man's enemies shall be in his own family.

³⁷ Whoever loves his father or mother, son or daughter, more than me is not worthy of me.

³⁹ Whoever finds his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Be nice to Jesus's followers, and he'll be nice to you

⁴⁰ Whoever receives you, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives him that sent me.

⁴² Whoever gives a drink of cold water to one of my disciples, will not lose his reward.

John the Baptist: Should we look for another?

11 ² While John the Baptist was in prison, he heard about the works of Jesus, and he sent two of his disciples to ask him,

³ Are you the one that is supposed to come, or should we look for another?

^4-5 Jesus said to them,

Tell John that the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are clean, the deaf hear, the dead live, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

⁶ And blessed are those who are not offended by me.

Jesus: John the Baptist is Elijah

⁷ As John's disciples left, Jesus said,

¹¹ John the Baptist is the greatest person to ever be born from a woman. But the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

¹² From the time of John the Baptist until now, there was violence in the kingdom of heaven, and the violent take it by force.

^13-14 John the Baptist is Elijah.

¹⁸ John the Baptist didn't eat or drink, and they said, "He has a devil."

¹⁹ The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, "He is a gluttonous drunk, a friend of publicans and sinners." But wisdom is justified by her children.

Jesus condemns the cities that didn't like his preaching

²⁰ Jesus then began to condemn the cities where he did most of his mighty works, because they didn't repent, saying

^21-23 Woe to you Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. You will go to hell.

²⁴ It’ll be better for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.

Jesus: Thanks Father for hiding things from the wise (and revealing them to babies)

²⁵ Thank you, Father, for hiding these things from the wise and revealing them to babies.

²⁷ The Father has given me everything. No one knows the Son but the Father; and no one knows the Father but the Son.

Come to Jesus

²⁸ Come to me if you are tired of working, and I'll give you rest.

²⁹ Put on my yoke, and you'll find rest for your souls.

³⁰ Because my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.