Don’t be frightened of people that will hurt you because you follow Jesus

24Jesus told his followers, “You know about students and teachers. The teacher is more important than any of the students. The students have to learn to be like their teacher. And I am your teacher, so you have to learn to be like me. And you know about workers and their boss. The boss is more important than any of the workers. The workers have to learn to be like their boss. And I am your boss, so you have to learn to be like me. People will treat you the same way as they treat me. I am your leader, and they lie about me. They call me the boss over the bad spirits. And you are my followers, so they will say bad things about you too, more than they say about me.

26But don’t be frightened of them. You see, people might do things secretly now, but later God will let everyone know what they do. People hide things now, but later God will show them to everybody.

27And think about the message I tell you now. Sometimes I tell you something when nobody else is here. I might even just say it quietly in your ear. But later on, I want you to tell my message to everyone in the world. If you can, get up on a high place, and shout my words out loud, for lots of people to hear.

28Don’t be frightened of those people that can only kill your body. They can’t kill your soul. But you have to listen to God. If you don’t do what he says, you have to be frightened. He can finish up your body, and then he can also finish up your soul too, in that bad place called hell.

29Think about those little birds called sparrows. They don’t cost very much. You can buy them for a few dollars. But God remembers each one of them anyway. And if one of them falls down to the ground, God knows about it.

30Well, you are more important to God than a big mob of those birds, so don’t be frightened. He knows you properly. He even knows how many hairs you have on your head. So he will only let things happen to you that will be good for you.”

Follow Jesus properly

32Jesus said, “If you tell everyone that you are one of my followers, I will tell God, my father in heaven, that you are one of my followers.

33But if you tell everyone that you are not one of my followers, I will tell God, my father in heaven, that I don’t know you, and I will tell him that you are not one of my followers.

34Don’t think that I came into the world to get everyone to agree with each other. No. People will not agree about me, and some people will fight the people that they don’t agree with. It will be like this,

35Maybe your own family will not want me, and they will turn against you and be your enemies.
A man will be the enemy of his father.
A daughter will be the enemy of her mother.
A woman will be the enemy of her mother-in-law.

37You see, you have to love me more than you love your own father and mother. Then it is all right for you to be my follower. And you have to love me more than you love your own son or daughter. Then it is all right for you to be my follower. If you don’t love me like that, you are not the right person to be my follower.

38If you want to follow me properly, you have to stop thinking only about yourself. You have to live like me. You have to be ready to die, yes, to die like a criminal on a cross, just like me.

39If you only want to look after your own life here on earth, you will lose it. You will not live with me for ever. But if you are ready to give up your life here, then you will find real life, and you will live with me for ever.”