Text -- Matthew 10:16-42 (NET)

Persecution of Disciples

10:16 “I am sending you out like sheep surrounded by wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 10:17 Beware of people, because they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues. 10:18 And you will be brought before governors and kings because of me, as a witness to them and the Gentiles. 10:19 Whenever they hand you over for trial, do not worry about how to speak or what to say, for what you should say will be given to you at that time. 10:20 For it is not you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 10:21 “Brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise against parents and have them put to death. 10:22 And you will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 10:23 Whenever they persecute you in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. 10:24 “A disciple is not greater than his teacher, nor a slave greater than his master. 10:25 It is enough for the disciple to become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house ‘Beelzebul,’ how much more will they defame the members of his household!

Fear God, Not Man

10:26 “Do not be afraid of them, for nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing is secret that will not be made known. 10:27 What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light, and what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops. 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 10:29 Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 10:30 Even all the hairs on your head are numbered. 10:31 So do not be afraid; you are more valuable than many sparrows. 10:32 “Whoever, then, acknowledges me before people, I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 10:33 But whoever denies me before people, I will deny him also before my Father in heaven.

Not Peace, but a Sword

10:34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace but a sword. 10:35 For 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, 10:36 and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. 10:37 “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 10:38 And whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 10:39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life because of me will find it.

Rewards

10:40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. 10:41 Whoever receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. Whoever receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 10:42 And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple, I tell you the truth, he will never lose his reward.”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Mat 10:16

¹ tn Grk “Behold I.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

² sn This imagery of wolves is found in intertestamental Judaism; see Pss. Sol. 8:23, 30.

NET Notes: Mat 10:17

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

² sn Councils in this context refers to local judicial bodies attached to the Jewish synagogue. This group would be responsible for meting out justice and discipline within the Jewish community.

³ tn BDAG 620 s.v. μαστιγόω 1.a states, “of flogging as a punishment decreed by the synagogue (Dt 25:2f; s. the Mishna Tractate Sanhedrin-Makkoth, edited w. notes by SKrauss ’33) w. acc. of pers. Mt 10:17; 23:34.”

⁴ sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23.

NET Notes: Mat 10:18

¹ sn These statements look at persecution both from a Jewish context as the mention of courts and synagogues suggests, and from a Gentile one as the reference to governors and kings suggests. Some fulfillment of Jewish persecution can be seen in Acts.

NET Notes: Mat 10:19

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

² tn Grk “how or what you might speak.”

³ tn Grk “in that hour.”

NET Notes: Mat 10:21

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

² tn Or “will rebel against.”

NET Notes: Mat 10:23

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

² tn The Greek word here is πόλις (polis), which can mean either “town” or “city.”

³ tn Grk “For truly (ἀμήν, amhn) I say to you.” Here γάρ (gar, “for”) has not been translated.

⁴ tn The Greek word here is πόλις (polis), which can mean either “town” or “city.” “Town” was chosen here to emphasize the extensive nature of the disciples’ ministry. The same word is translated earlier in the verse as “place.”

NET Notes: Mat 10:24

¹ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.

NET Notes: Mat 10:26

¹ tn Grk “Therefore do not.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated.

² tn Or “concealed.”

³ sn I.e., be revealed by God. The passive voice here and in the next verb see the revelation as coming from God. The text is both a warning about bad things being revealed and an encouragement that good things will be made known.

NET Notes: Mat 10:27

¹ tn Grk “what you hear in the ear,” an idiom.

² tn The expression “proclaim from the housetops” is an idiom for proclaiming something publicly (L&N 7.51). Roofs of many first century Jewish houses in Judea and Galilee were flat and had access either from outside or from within the house. Something shouted from atop a house would be heard by everyone in the street below.

NET Notes: Mat 10:28

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

² sn Judaism had a similar exhortation in 4 Macc 13:14-15.

³ sn See the note on the word hell in 5:22.

NET Notes: Mat 10:29

¹ sn The penny refers to an assarion, a small Roman copper coin. One of them was worth one-sixteenth of a denarius or less than a half hour’s average wage. Sparrows were the cheapest items sold in the market. God knows about even the most financially insignificant things; see Isa 49:15.

² tn Or “to the ground without the knowledge and consent of your Father.”

NET Notes: Mat 10:31

¹ sn Do not be afraid. One should respect and show reverence to God, but need not fear his tender care.

NET Notes: Mat 10:32

¹ tn Or “confesses.”

² tn Grk “I will acknowledge him also.”

sn This acknowledgment will take place at the judgment. On Jesus and judgment, see Luke 22:69; Acts 10:42-43; 17:31.

NET Notes: Mat 10:34

¹ tn Grk “cast.” For βάλλω (ballw) in the sense of causing a state or condition, see L&N 13.14.

NET Notes: Mat 10:36

¹ tn Matt 10:35-36 are an allusion to Mic 7:6.

NET Notes: Mat 10:38

¹ sn It was customary practice in a Roman crucifixion for the prisoner to be made to carry his own cross. Jesus is speaking figuratively here in the context of rejection. If the priority is not one’s allegiance to Jesus, then one will not follow him in the face of possible rejection.

NET Notes: Mat 10:39

¹ tn Grk “his soul,” but ψυχή (yuch) is frequently used of one’s physical life. It clearly has that meaning in this context.

² sn If there is no willingness to suffer the world’s rejection at this point, then one will not respond to Jesus (which is trying to find life) and then will be subject to this judgment (which is losing it).

³ tn Or “for my sake.” The traditional rendering “for my sake” can be understood in the sense of “for my benefit,” but the Greek term ἕνεκα indicates the cause or reason for something (BDAG 334 s.v. 1).

NET Notes: Mat 10:40

¹ sn The one who sent me refers to God.

NET Notes: Mat 10:41

¹ tn Grk “And whoever.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

NET Notes: Mat 10:42

¹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”