¹⁶ I am sending you like lambs into a pack of wolves. So be as wise as snakes and as innocent as doves. ¹⁷ Watch out for people who will take you to court and have you beaten in their meeting places. ¹⁸ Because of me, you will be dragged before rulers and kings to tell them and the Gentiles about your faith. ¹⁹ But when someone arrests you, don’t worry about what you will say or how you will say it. At that time you will be given the words to say. ²⁰ But you will not really be the one speaking. The Spirit from your Father will tell you what to say.

²¹ Brothers and sisters will betray one another and have each other put to death. Parents will betray their own children, and children will turn against their parents and have them killed. ²² Everyone will hate you because of me. But if you remain faithful until the end, you will be saved. ²³ When people mistreat you in one town, hurry to another one. I promise you that before you have gone to all the towns of Israel, the Son of Man will come.

²⁴ Disciples are not better than their teacher, and slaves are not better than their master. ²⁵ It is enough for disciples to be like their teacher and for slaves to be like their master. If people call the head of the family Satan, what will they say about the rest of the family?

²⁶ Don’t be afraid of anyone! Everything that is hidden will be found out, and every secret will be known. ²⁷ Whatever I say to you in the dark, you must tell in the light. And you must announce from the housetops whatever I have whispered to you. ²⁸ Don’t be afraid of people. They can kill you, but they cannot harm your soul. Instead, you should fear God who can destroy both your body and your soul in hell. ²⁹ Aren’t two sparrows sold for only a penny? But your Father knows when any one of them falls to the ground. ³⁰ Even the hairs on your head are counted. ³¹ So don’t be afraid! You are worth much more than many sparrows.

³² If you tell others that you belong to me, I will tell my Father in heaven that you are my followers. ³³ But if you reject me, I will tell my Father in heaven that you don’t belong to me.

³⁴ Don’t think that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came to bring trouble, not peace. ³⁵ I came to turn sons against their fathers, daughters against their mothers, and daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law. ³⁶ Your worst enemies will be in your own family.

³⁷ If you love your father or mother or even your sons and daughters more than me, you are not fit to be my disciples. ³⁸ And unless you are willing to take up your cross and come with me, you are not fit to be my disciples. ³⁹ If you try to save your life, you will lose it. But if you give it up for me, you will surely find it.

⁴⁰ Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me. And anyone who welcomes me also welcomes the one who sent me. ⁴¹ Anyone who welcomes a prophet, just because that person is a prophet, will be given the same reward as a prophet. Anyone who welcomes a good person, just because that person is good, will be given the same reward as a good person. ⁴² And anyone who gives one of my most humble followers a cup of cool water, just because that person is my follower, will surely be rewarded.