I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 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, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 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. The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. 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!

- Realistically, a sheep among wolves has no chance of survival. Is Jesus just sending His disciples on a doomed mission? No, He is sending them on the same mission that He is on. Later, He completes this mission by dying on the cross. At this point, the disciples do not fully understand what Jesus is talking about. We, however, know that Christ was hated, mocked, arrested, and flogged on His journey to the cross. And now, we are invited to walk that same path. The good news is that we will not be sheep without a shepherd, because we have Christ who promises to be with us wherever we go.

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 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 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. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.

- Because the pain of persecution is immediate, we are often more afraid of what others can do to us than of what will happen to our souls if we reject God. In this passage, Jesus reminds us that the soul is more important than our temporary bodies. There are greater things to fear than the hardships that threaten us in this life. Some people may ridicule us for our beliefs, or even hurt us, but we need not be afraid. Our God is an eternal God, and He promises to remember those who acknowledge His Son.