Matthew 10:24-42

“The student is not better than the teacher. A slave is not better than his master. It is enough for students to be like their teachers. And it is enough for slaves to be like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, what can the others who live there expect? “So don’t be afraid of your enemies. Everything that is secret will be brought out into the open. Everything that is hidden will be uncovered. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight. What is whispered in your ear, shout from the rooftops. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but can’t kill the soul. Instead, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Aren’t two sparrows sold for only a penny? But not one of them falls to the ground outside your Father’s care. He even counts every hair on your head! So don’t be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows. “What if someone says in front of others that they know me? I will also say in front of my Father who is in heaven that I know them. But what if someone says in front of others that they don’t know me? I will say in front of my Father who is in heaven that I don’t know them. “Do not think that I came to bring peace to the earth. I didn’t come to bring peace. I came to bring a sword. I have come to turn “ ‘sons against their fathers. Daughters will refuse to obey their mothers. Daughters-in-law will be against their mothers-in-law. A man’s enemies will be the members of his own family.’ “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. Whoever does not pick up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it. Whoever loses their life because of me will find it. “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me. And anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Suppose someone welcomes a prophet as a prophet. They will receive a prophet’s reward. And suppose someone welcomes a godly person as a godly person. They will receive a godly person’s reward. Suppose someone gives even a cup of cold water to a little one who follows me. What I’m about to tell you is true. That person will certainly be rewarded.”