Parallel Bible results for "matthew 10"

Matthew 10

The Message Bible MSG

1 The prayer was no sooner prayed than it was answered. Jesus called twelve of his followers and sent them into the ripe fields. He gave them power to kick out the evil spirits and to tenderly care for the bruised and hurt lives.

2 This is the list of the twelve he sent: Simon (they called him Peter, or "Rock"), Andrew, his brother, James, Zebedee's son, John, his brother,

3 Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, the tax man, James, son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus,

4 Simon, the Canaanite, Judas Iscariot (who later turned on him).

5 Jesus sent his twelve harvest hands out with this charge:

6 Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood.

7 Tell them that the kingdom is here.

8 Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously.

9 "Don't think you have to put on a fund-raising campaign before you start.

10 You don't need a lot of equipment. You are the equipment, and all you need to keep that going is three meals a day. Travel light.

11 "When you enter a town or village, don't insist on staying in a luxury inn. Get a modest place with some modest people, and be content there until you leave.

12 "When you knock on a door, be courteous in your greeting.

13 If they welcome you, be gentle in your conversation.

14 If they don't welcome you, quietly withdraw. Don't make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way.

15 You can be sure that on Judgment Day they'll be mighty sorry - but it's no concern of yours now.

16 "Stay alert. This is hazardous work I'm assigning you. You're going to be like sheep running through a wolf pack, so don't call attention to yourselves. Be as cunning as a snake, inoffensive as a dove.

17 "Don't be naive. Some people will impugn your motives, others will smear your reputation - just because you believe in me.

18 Don't be upset when they haul you before the civil authorities. Without knowing it, they've done you - and me - a favor, given you a platform for preaching the kingdom news!

19 And don't worry about what you'll say or how you'll say it. The right words will be there;

20 the Spirit of your Father will supply the words.

21 "When people realize it is the living God you are presenting and not some idol that makes them feel good, they are going to turn on you, even people in your own family.

22 There is a great irony here: proclaiming so much love, experiencing so much hate! But don't quit. Don't cave in. It is all well worth it in the end.

23 It is not success you are after in such times but survival. Be survivors! Before you've run out of options, the Son of Man will have arrived.

24 "A student doesn't get a better desk than her teacher. A laborer doesn't make more money than his boss.

25 Be content - pleased, even - when you, my students, my harvest hands, get the same treatment I get. If they call me, the Master, 'Dungface,' what can the workers expect?

26 "Don't be intimidated. Eventually everything is going to be out in the open, and everyone will know how things really are.

27 So don't hesitate to go public now.

28 "Don't be bluffed into silence by the threats of bullies. There's nothing they can do to your soul, your core being. Save your fear for God, who holds your entire life - body and soul - in his hands.

29 "What's the price of a pet canary? Some loose change, right? And God cares what happens to it even more than you do.

30 He pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail - even numbering the hairs on your head!

31 So don't be intimidated by all this bully talk. You're worth more than a million canaries.

32 "Stand up for me against world opinion and I'll stand up for you before my Father in heaven.

33 If you turn tail and run, do you think I'll cover for you?

34 "Don't think I've come to make life cozy. I've come to cut -

35 make a sharp knife-cut between son and father, daughter and mother, bride and mother-in-law - cut through these cozy domestic arrangements and free you for God.

36 Well-meaning family members can be your worst enemies.

37 If you prefer father or mother over me, you don't deserve me. If you prefer son or daughter over me, you don't deserve me.

38 "If you don't go all the way with me, through thick and thin, you don't deserve me.

39 If your first concern is to look after yourself, you'll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you'll find both yourself and me.

40 "We are intimately linked in this harvest work. Anyone who accepts what you do, accepts me, the One who sent you. Anyone who accepts what I do accepts my Father, who sent me.

41 Accepting a messenger of God is as good as being God's messenger. Accepting someone's help is as good as giving someone help. This is a large work I've called you into, but don't be overwhelmed by it. It's best to start small.

42 Give a cool cup of water to someone who is thirsty, for instance. The smallest act of giving or receiving makes you a true apprentice. You won't lose out on a thing."

New Living Translation NLT

1 Jesus called his twelve disciples together and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and illness.

2 Here are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (also called Peter), then Andrew (Peter’s brother), James (son of Zebedee), John (James’s brother),

3 Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew (the tax collector), James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus,

4 Simon (the zealot ), Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).

5 Jesus sent out the twelve apostles 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 those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!

9 “Don’t take any money in your money belts—no gold, silver, or even copper coins.

10 Don’t carry a traveler’s bag with a change of clothes and sandals or even a walking stick. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve to be fed.

11 “Whenever you enter a city or village, search for a worthy person and stay in his home until you leave town.

12 When you enter the home, give it your blessing.

13 If it turns out to be a worthy home, let your blessing stand; if it is not, take back the blessing.

14 If any household or town refuses to welcome you or listen to your message, shake its dust from your feet as you leave.

15 I tell you the truth, the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah will be better off than such a town on the judgment day.

16 “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.

17 But beware! For you will be handed over to the courts and will be flogged with whips in the synagogues.

18 You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell the rulers and other unbelievers about me.

19 When you are arrested, don’t worry about how to respond or what to say. God will give you the right words at the right time.

20 For it is not you who will be speaking—it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

21 “A brother will betray his brother to death, a father will betray his own child, and children will rebel against their parents and cause them to be killed.

22 And all nations will hate you because you are my followers. But everyone who endures to the end will be saved.

23 When you are persecuted in one town, flee to the next. I tell you the truth, the Son of Man will return before you have reached all the towns of Israel.

24 “Students are not greater than their teacher, and slaves are not greater than their master.

25 Students are to be like their teacher, and slaves are to be like their master. And since I, the master of the household, have been called the prince of demons, the members of my household will be called by even worse names!

26 “But don’t be afraid of those who threaten you. For the time is coming when everything that is covered will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all.

27 What I tell you now in the darkness, shout abroad when daybreak comes. What I whisper in your ear, shout from the housetops for all to hear!

28 “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

29 What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin ? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.

30 And the very hairs on your head are all numbered.

31 So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.

32 “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.

33 But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.

34 “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.

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

36 Your enemies will be right in your own household!’

37 “If you love your father or 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 up your life for me, you will find it.

40 “Anyone who receives you receives me, and anyone who receives me receives the Father who sent me.

41 If you receive a prophet as one who speaks for God, you will be given the same reward as a prophet. And if you receive righteous people because of their righteousness, you will be given a reward like theirs.

42 And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded.”