What does Matthew 10:18 mean?
Jesus is preparing His hand-picked group of twelve disciples to go out on their own into the world and preach His message about the coming of His kingdom (Matthew 10:1). He is warning them that it will be dangerous. They may not know it yet, but Jesus is pointing forward to a time of great persecution of Christians after His death, resurrection, and return to heaven. He said in the previous verse that persecution will include being flogged in the synagogues by the Jewish religious leaders after being tried before a Jewish court (Matthew 10:17).Now Jesus adds that substantial persecution will come from the Gentiles, as well. His followers will be "dragged" before governors and kings for His sake. These would include Jewish religious leaders (Acts 4:1–22), but also secular Jewish government authorities (Acts 12:1–4) and, eventually, Roman rulers (Acts 14:5).
This persecution before these authorities would serve a specific purpose, however. When standing trial, Jesus said His followers would continue to represent Him. In this way, they would have the opportunity to tell the message of Jesus to those at the highest levels of power, both Jews and Gentiles. The coming persecution would allow the good news of salvation through faith in Christ to reach even those who were doing the persecuting.
Matthew 10:16–25 follows Jesus' instructions to His twelve apostles, giving them guidance for their impending missionary journey. Here, He begins to describe events that will follow His own resurrection and return to heaven. When that time comes, the apostles will be arrested and dragged before various courts and officials because they represent Christ and insist that He is the Son of God. The Holy Spirit will speak through them about Jesus. They will run from one town to another to avoid persecution, spreading the good news about Christ as they go. Jesus was persecuted, so they will be, as well. Much as Jesus will do during the Last Supper (John 16:25–33), He will encourage these men to stand firm in their faith.
Jesus gives His authority over disease, demons, and even death to His twelve hand-picked apostles. He gives them instructions in preparation both for a short-term trip to the towns of Galilee and their ministry after He has left the earth. First, they will preach His message of the kingdom in Israelite towns as they heal and cast out demons to demonstrate His power. Later, they will suffer great persecution as they represent Him before both Jews and Gentiles. They should not be afraid, though, and trust their Father to be with them and to reward them.
