The Sacred Scripture

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Matthew 10

1 And calling·​·for His twelve disciples, He gave them authority over unclean spirits, so as to cast· them ·out, and to cure every disease and every malady.
2 And the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, also called Thaddaeus;
4 Simon the Kananite1, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent·​·out, charging them, saying, Into the way of the nations go ye not, and into a city of the Samaritans enter ye not.
6 But go ye rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7 And as you go, preach, saying that the kingdom of the heavens is near.
8 Cure the·​·sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast·​·out demons; freely you have received, freely give.
9 Possess not gold, nor silver, nor bronze for your belts,
10 nor pack for a journey, nor two tunics, nor shoes, nor a staff; for the worker is worthy of his food.
11 And into whatever city or village you enter, search out who in it is worthy, and·​·there remain until you go out.
12 And when you come into the house, greet it.
13 And if indeed the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
14 And if· anyone shall ·not receive you, nor hear your words, when you go·​·out of that house or city, shake·​·off the dust of your feet.
15 Amen I say to·​·you, it shall 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 in the midst of wolves; be ye therefore prudent as serpents, and simple2 as doves.
17 And beware of men; for they will deliver you up to councils, and will scourge you in their synagogues.
18 And you shall be led before governors and also kings on account of Me, for a witness to them and to the nations.
19 But when they shall deliver· you ·up, be· not ·anxious about how or what you shall speak, for it shall be given to you in that hour what you shall speak.
20 For you are not they who speak, but the spirit of your Father is what speaks in you.
21 And a brother shall deliver up a brother to death, and a father a child; and children shall rise up against parents, and put· them ·to·​·death.
22 And you shall be hated by all on account of My | name; but he who endures to the end, he shall be saved.
23 And when they persecute you in this city, flee into the other; for amen I say to you, You shall not have finished the cities3 of Israel until the Son of Man has come.
24 The disciple is not above the teacher, nor the servant above his lord.
25 It is sufficient for the disciple that he become as his teacher, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the householder Beelzeboul4, how·​·much more them of his household?
26 Fear them not therefore; for there is nothing covered, that shall not be uncovered, and secret, that shall not be known.
27 What I say to you in the darkness, say ye in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach ye upon the housetops.
28 And be not afraid of those who kill the body, but are· not ·able to kill the soul; but rather be afraid of Him who is·​·able to destroy both soul and body in gehenna5.
29 Are not two sparrows sold for an assarion6? And not one of them shall fall upon the earth without your Father.
30 And of you, even the hairs of the head are all numbered.
31 Fear not therefore; you are·​·of· more ·value than many sparrows.
32 Whoever therefore shall profess Me before men, I also will profess him before My Father who is in the heavens.
33 But whoever shall deny Me before men, I also will deny him before My Father who is in the heavens.
34 Suppose not that I am come to cast peace upon earth; I am not come to cast peace, but a sword.
35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law7 against her mother-in-law.8
36 And the man’s enemies shall be they of his own house.
37 He who loves father or mother above Me is not worthy of Me, and he who loves son or daughter above Me is not worthy of Me.
38 And whoever does not take his cross, and follow after Me, is not worthy of Me.
39 He who finds his soul shall lose it, and he who loses his soul for My sake shall find it.
40 He who receives you, receives Me, and he who receives Me, receives Him who sent Me.
41 He who accepts a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive the reward of a prophet; and he who accepts someone just in the name of someone just shall receive the reward of someone just.
42 And whoever shall give· a cup of cold water to one of these little·​·ones ·to·​·drink in the name of a disciple, amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.

1or “Zealot” (see Luke 6:15), not the same word as is translated “Canaanite” in Matthew 15:22

2as in AC 197, 3900, and elsewhere, but literally, “not·​·mixed

3i.e., gone through all the cities

4“‘Beelzebul,’ who was the god of Ekron, means the god of all falsities, for ‘Beelzebul’ by derivation means the god of flies, and ‘flies’ signify the falsities of the sensual man, thus falsities of every kind” (AE 740:10).

5“Gehenna” is a hell (see AC 826 and elsewhere). The name comes from Hebrew, Ge Hinnom, a deep ravine just south of Jerusalem, where there was a leper colony.

6An “assarion” was a small bronze or copper coin worth a tenth of a drachma (see Luke 12:6).

7The Greek word means “bride,” but see AC 4843:4 and 10490:4.

8Micah 7:6