HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1240
MAT T H EW 1 1
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.
— promises —
from God
“And if you give even a cup
of cold water to one of the
least of my followers, you
will surely be rewarded.”
M AT T H EW 10:42
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
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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
36
‘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.
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.”
Jesus and John the Baptist
When Jesus had finished giving these instructions to his twelve disciples, he went
out to teach and preach in towns throughout the
region.
2 John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard
about all the things the Messiah was doing. So
he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, 3 “Are you the
Messiah we’ve been expecting,* or should we
keep looking for someone else?”
4 Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell
him what you have heard and seen—5 the blind
see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are
cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life,
and the Good News is being preached to the
poor.” 6 And he added, “God blesses those who
do not fall away because of me.*”
7 As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus
began talking about him to the crowds. “What
kind of man did you go into the wilderness
to see? Was he a weak reed, swayed by every
breath of wind? 8 Or were you expecting to see a
man dressed in expensive clothes? No, people
with expensive clothes live in palaces. 9 Were
11
10:18 Or But this will be your testimony against the rulers
and other unbelievers. 10:22 Greek on account of my name.
10:23 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself. 10:24 Or
Disciples. 10:25 Greek Beelzeboul; other manuscripts read
Beezeboul; Latin version reads Beelzebub. 10:28 Greek
Gehenna. 10:29 Greek one assarion [i.e., one “as,” a Roman
coin equal to 1⁄16 of a denarius]. 10:35-36 Mic 7:6.
10:41 Greek receive a prophet in the name of a prophet.
11:3 Greek Are you the one who is coming? 11:6 Or who are
not offended by me.