The Gospels · Chapter 10 of 28
Matthew 10
Jesus gives his twelve apostles authority over sickness and unclean spirits and sends them to the lost sheep of Israel to preach that the kingdom is near. He instructs them about provision, hospitality, and rejection, then prepares them for persecution, warning of division and cost. He urges fearless confession, promising that the Father who numbers hairs and marks sparrows values them, and rewards even a cup of cold water given in his name.
What happens in Matthew 10
Jesus calls his twelve disciples and empowers them to heal and cast out spirits. Naming the apostles, he sends them not to Gentiles or Samaritans but to the lost sheep of Israel, to preach the kingdom, heal, and give freely as they have received. They are to travel light, depend on worthy hosts, and shake the dust off where they are rejected. He warns he sends them as sheep among wolves, to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves, expecting arrests, floggings, and betrayal even within families, yet promising the Spirit will speak through them and that endurance to the end brings salvation.
He urges them not to fear those who kill the body but only God, since the Father marks every sparrow and numbers their hairs. Confessing him before men brings his confession before the Father. He came bringing not easy peace but a sword, calling for love that puts him above family and life itself.
Matthew 10 in context
This is the second of Matthew's five great teaching blocks, the mission discourse. Having just shown the crowds harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd, Jesus now extends his own ministry through the twelve apostles he commissions.
The instructions reach beyond their immediate journey to the wider and costly witness that the whole church will carry to the nations after his death and resurrection.
Main themes of Matthew 10
Matthew 10 (KJV)
1And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. 2Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. 5These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: 6But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. 9Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, 10Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat. 11And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. 12And when ye come into an house, salute it. 13And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. 15Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city. 16Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 17But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; 18And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. 19But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. 20For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. 21And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. 22And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. 23But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. 24The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. 25It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? 26Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. 27What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. 28And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. 30But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. 32Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. 33But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. 34Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. 35For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 36And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. 37He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. 39He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. 40He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. 41He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. 42And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
Verses to carry from Matthew 10
“Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.”Matthew 10:8
“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”Matthew 10:28
“Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.”Matthew 10:32
Direct words of Jesus
How Matthew 10 points to Jesus
Jesus speaks here as one with authority to commission, to demand supreme allegiance, and to determine eternal outcomes before the Father. He asks his followers to love him more than father, mother, or their own lives, and to take up a cross and follow, a claim no mere teacher could rightly make. Yet the same One who warns of the sword also tenderly assures them the Father marks every falling sparrow and numbers their hairs.
His words look ahead to his own path: he too will be delivered up, hated, and killed, and he calls disciples to lose their lives for his sake in order to find them. To confess him before men is to be confessed before God, for he is the one at the center of the kingdom's whole story.
Questions about Matthew 10
Why did Jesus say he came to bring a sword, not peace?
He was not endorsing violence but warning honestly that loyalty to him would divide even families. Some in a household would follow him and some would refuse, and the split would run right through those relationships. The sword is the painful separation that faithfulness can bring, since putting Christ first sometimes costs the approval, understanding, or peace of those closest to us.
What did Jesus mean by taking up your cross?
In his day the cross meant a condemned person carrying the instrument of their own death, so taking it up meant a readiness to die to self and even to lose one's life for his sake. Jesus said whoever loses his life for him will actually find it. Discipleship is not casual admiration but wholehearted allegiance that counts him worth more than life itself.
Reflection
Jesus is honest that following him can cost comfort, approval, even safety, yet he never sends us out alone or unseen. The Father who numbers the sparrows numbers us. So we can confess Christ without fear, trusting that whatever we lose for his sake we finally find in him.
A prayer from Matthew 10
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