Matthew 10:1-42
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
1 Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
9 “Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts— 10 no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep. 11 Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. 12 As you enter the home, give it your greeting. 13 If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 17 Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. 18 On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
21 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 23 When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
24 “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!
26 “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.
34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn
“‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
40 “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41 Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”
Throughout His Divine ministry, Jesus Christ consistently and unequivocally called His followers to a radical reorientation of their lives: to put God first, above all else...This was not a mere suggestion but a Divine Imperative, a foundational principle for living in His Kingdom and for participating in His mission to the world...Jesus' teachings, often paradoxical and challenging, demanded an absolute and unwavering commitment to the Father, revealing that True Life and purpose are found only when God holds the Supreme Position in our hearts and lives...This radical prioritization was evident not only in His personal teachings but also in the very instructions He gave when sending out His Disciples to proclaim the Good News, expecting them to embody this God-first principle in every aspect of their journey and message...
One of the most comforting yet challenging instances where Jesus emphasizes this priority is in His Sermon on the Mount, when He speaks of the lilies of the field and the birds of the air (Matthew 6:25-34)...He tells His disciples not to worry about what they will eat, drink, or wear, for their Heavenly Father knows their needs...Instead of being consumed by worldly anxieties and material pursuits, Jesus commands, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33)...This teaching is a direct call to put God first in our daily anxieties, our financial concerns, and our very outlook on life...It means trusting God's Divine provision and prioritizing His Kingdom's values—His Righteousness, His Will, His Truth—above the fleeting worries and demands of the material world...When God is first, our anxieties diminish, for our ultimate security rests in His Divine LOVE and care...
Jesus' call to prioritize God extended even to the most sacred of human bonds: family...In what might seem like a harsh statement, He declared, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:26)...Similarly, He warned, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth...I did not come to bring peace, but a sword...For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a person’s enemies will be the members of their own household’" (Matthew 10:34-36)...These are not literal calls to despise one's family, but rather a powerful, paradoxical emphasis on the Absolute and Supreme Priority of God in a disciple's life...This challenging statement from Jesus in Luke 14:26 emphasizes that our love for God must be so overwhelmingly great that, by comparison, our love for even our closest family members seems like "hate."...It signifies that when the demands of God's Kingdom conflict with family expectations or traditions, God must always come first...
The urgency of this priority was further underscored by Jesus' immediate call to follow Him...In Luke 9:57-62, we encounter individuals who expressed a desire to follow Jesus, yet sought to delay for seemingly legitimate family obligations...One said, "LORD, first let me go and bury my father."...Jesus' response was stark: "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the Kingdom of God" (Luke 9:59-60)...Another wished to say goodbye to his family, to which Jesus replied, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62)...These encounters reveal that making God number one means an immediate, unreserved, and unwavering commitment...No earthly duty, no matter how culturally significant or personally weighty, could take precedence over the Divine call to follow Christ and proclaim His Kingdom...
Ultimately, the epitome of putting God first is found in Jesus' teaching on taking up the cross...He declared, "Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me...For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will save it" (Luke 9:23-24; also Matthew 16:24-26, Mark 8:34-37)...The cross, in Jesus' time, was a symbol of agonizing death, humiliation, and ultimate self-sacrifice...To "take up one's cross daily" means a continual, conscious denial of self-will, self-ambition, and self-preservation in favor of God's Will and His Divine Purpose...It is the ultimate act of putting God first, even if it means personal suffering, rejection, or death...This radical call to self-sacrifice is the path to true Eternal Life and genuine Divine honor...
In conclusion, Jesus' consistent message across His teachings is clear: God demands and deserves the absolute first priority in every aspect of our lives...From our daily worries to our deepest family loyalties, from our immediate responses to His call to the ultimate act of self-denial, Jesus teaches that a life truly lived for God is one where He is unequivocally number one...This Divine prioritization is not a burden, but the very key to unlocking God's blessings, experiencing His peace, and participating fully in His Glorious Kingdom...