10:14
(Verse 14.) And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. The dust is shaken off the feet as a testimony of their labor, that they have entered the city and the apostolic preaching has reached them. Whether the dust is shaken off so that they receive nothing from them, not even necessary food, those who have rejected the Gospel.
10:15
(v. 15) Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that city. If it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah ((or Gomorheis)) than for that city which did not receive the Gospel, and therefore more tolerable, because to Sodom and Gomorrah the preaching was not given, but to this city it was given, and yet it did not receive the Gospel: therefore among sinners there are different punishments.
10:16
(Verse 16) Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. He calls them wolves, scribes, and Pharisees, who are the Jewish clerics.
10:17-18
(Verse 17, 18.) Be therefore wise as serpents, and innocent as doves. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up in councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues. And you shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. So that by prudence they may avoid snares, and by simplicity they may not do evil. The cleverness of the serpent is set as an example: because it hides its head with its whole body, and it protects the part where life is. And so, let us also, at the risk of our whole body, guard our head, who is Christ. The simplicity of doves is demonstrated by the appearance of the Holy Spirit. Hence, the Apostle also says: Be little children in malice (1 Corinthians 14:20).
10:19-20
(Verse 19, 20.) But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you should say. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should say. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. Above, he said: For they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake. Therefore, when we are brought before judges because of Christ, we should only offer our own will for Christ. Moreover, Christ himself, who dwells within us, will speak for himself, and the grace of the Holy Spirit will be ministered in answering.
10:21
(Verse 21) But brother will betray brother to death, and father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. And you will be hated by all because of my name. We frequently see this happening in persecutions: there is no loyal affection among them, for they have different beliefs.
10:22
(Verse 22.) But whoever perseveres until the end, he will be saved. For it is not to begin, but to complete virtue.
10:23-24
(Verse 23, 24.) But when they persecute you in this city, flee to another. Amen I say to you, you will not have finished going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes. A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. This refers to that time when the apostles were sent for preaching, to whom it is specifically said: Do not go into the way of the gentiles, and do not enter the cities of the Samaritans (Above, same.), they should not fear persecution, but should avoid it. Indeed, we see (or rather, we saw) that in the beginning, believers did this: when the persecution of Jerusalem arose, they were scattered throughout all Judea, so that the occasion of tribulation would become the seedbed of the Gospel. However, we can say spiritually: when they persecuted us in one city, that is, in one book of Scripture or testimony, we fled to other cities, that is, to other volumes. Although the persecutor may be contentious, the Savior's protection will come before victory is granted to our adversaries.
10:25
(Verse 25) If they called the head of the household Beelzebub, how much more his household members! Therefore, do not fear them. Beelzebub is an idol of Accaron, which is called the idol of flies in the book of Kings (2 Kings 1). Beel is the same as Baal: Zebub means fly. Thus, they called the prince of demons by the filthy name of the most impure idol, which means fly, because of the filth that destroys the sweetness of oil (Ecclesiastes 10).
10:26
(Verse 26) For nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing secret that will not be known. And how in the present age the vices of many are not known? But about the future time it is written, when God will judge the secrets of men, and will illuminate the hiding places of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of hearts. And the meaning is: Do not fear the cruelty of persecutors, and the rage of blasphemers, for the day of judgment will come, in which both your virtue and their wickedness will be demonstrated.
10:27
(Verse 27.) What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. What you have heard in secret, declare openly; what you have learned in private, speak publicly: what I have taught you in the small place of Judea, proclaim boldly in all cities and throughout the world.
10:28
(Verse 28) And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Truly, the soul is invisible and incorporeal, according to the denser substance of our body. And it will certainly be punished and feel torments when it receives its original body, so that it may be punished with the one with whom it sinned.
But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. The name Gehenna is not found in the old books, but is first mentioned by the Savior. Let us therefore inquire what is the occasion of this statement. We have read more than once that there was an idol of Baal near Jerusalem, at the roots of Mount Moriah, where the Siloam flows. This valley and plain of small fields was irrigated and wooded, full of delights, and a grove consecrated to the idol. But the people of Israel had fallen into such great madness, that they sacrificed in the desolate vicinity of the temple, surpassing the strictness of religion with their delights, and they burned or initiated their sons into demons. And that place was called Gehenna, that is, the Valley of the Sons of Hinnom. This is written in the Book of Kings (2 Kings 23), Chronicles (2 Chronicles 28), and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 7, 19, and 32) in great detail. And God threatens that He will fill the place itself with the bodies of the dead, so that it may never be called Topheth and Baal, but may be called Polyandrium, that is, a burial mound of the dead. Therefore, the future punishments and eternal torments by which sinners are tormented are denoted by the name of this place. Moreover, we read in the book of Job (Job 24) that there are two hells, one of excessive heat and one of cold.