We’ve all been offered the “good news/bad news” option at one time or another. It goes like this: “Which do you want to hear first, the good news or the bad news?” Throughout Matthew 10, as Jesus prepares his disciples to head out on their maiden missionary journey, he moves back and forth between offering them the “good news” and the “bad news.”

The good news is Jesus gives all twelve of his disciples “authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness” (v.1). The bad news is “they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues” (v.17). Even more bad news follows, as Jesus warns his chosen ones that they must “take up the cross” and that they should expect to “lose their life for my sake.”

But Jesus’ final words to his mission-b…