Matthew 10:16-25 - Persecution Of Disciples Predicted

¹⁶ "Pay attention, now! I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. So be as cunning as serpents and as innocent as doves. ¹⁷ Watch out for people who will hand you over to the local councils and whip you in their synagogues. ¹⁸ You will be brought before governors and kings because of me, to testify to them and to unbelievers. ¹⁹ When they hand you over, don't worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say, because in that hour what you are to say will be given to you. ²⁰ It won't be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

²¹ "Brother will hand brother over for execution, and a father his child. Children will rebel against parents and have them put to death. ²² You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the person who endures to the end will be saved. ²³ So when they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, because I tell all of you with certainty that you will not have gone through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. ²⁴ "A disciple is not above his teacher, and a slave is not above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for a disciple to be like his teacher and a slave to be like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they do the same to those of his household!"

⁹ "Then they'll hand you over to suffer and will kill you, and you'll be hated by all the nations because of my name. ¹⁰ Then many people will fall away, will betray one another, and will hate one another. ¹¹ Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people, ¹² and because lawlessness will increase, the love of many people will grow cold. ¹³ But the person who endures to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."

⁹ "As for yourselves, be on your guard! People will hand you over to local councils, and you will be beaten in their synagogues. You will stand before governors and kings to testify to them because of me. ¹⁰ But first, the gospel must be proclaimed to all nations. ¹¹ When they take you away and hand you over for trial, don't worry ahead of time about what you will say. Instead, say whatever is given to you at that time, because it won't be you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. ¹² Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. ¹³ You will be hated continuously by everyone because of my name. But the person who endures to the end will be saved."

¹² "But before all these things take place, people will arrest you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. ¹³ It will give you an opportunity to testify. ¹⁴ So purpose in your hearts not to prepare your defense ahead of time, ¹⁵ because I will give you the ability to speak, along with wisdom, that none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. ¹⁶ You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. ¹⁷ You will be hated continuously by everyone because of my name. ¹⁸ And yet not a hair on your head will be lost. ¹⁹ By your endurance you will protect your lives."

¹ "I have told you this to keep you from falling away. ² You'll be thrown out of the synagogues. Yes, a time is coming when the one who kills you will think he's serving God. ³ They'll do this because they haven't known the Father or me. ⁴ But I've told you this, so that when the time comes you'll remember that I told you about them. I didn't tell you this in the beginning, because I was still with you."