Matthew 10:24-25 "Disciples are not better than their teacher, and slaves are not better than their master. It is enough for disciples to be like their teacher and for slaves to be like their master. If people call the head of the family Satan, what will they say about the rest of the family?"
These texts come in the middle of a conversation Jesus is having with His disciples. He is warning them that being a disciple of Jesus will not be easy. People will dislike them. Their own families may turn against them. In the above texts Jesus is saying His disciples are not better than He is and should not expect better treatment than He received. The church leaders had accused Jesus of being a demon or Satan. (Matthew 12:24, Mark 3:22, Luke 11:15) Jesus said that if they said that about Him, then His disciples should expect the same type of things said about them. This is true for anyone who is a follower of Christ. There will always be opposition or unkind treatment. Sometimes the opposition will come from our own families or church leaders. However, it is good to remember that there is always a danger of creating our own persecution by being obnoxious or pushy about our beliefs. When Jesus sent out the disciples, He told them to be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. (Matthew 19:16) They were to be wise as serpent so they would be aware of persecution coming their way and remove themselves from danger if necessary. They were to be harmless as doves so as not to make a situation worse.
Another reason for being harmless as doves is to make the disciples desirable to be around. Through their gentleness they could attract people and be able to present the message of the Gospel to the people. Even though Jesus was mistreated and called names, people were drawn to him. Children were drawn to Jesus. Crowds followed Him. He showed love, compassion, and acceptance, to everyone. He set the example for every follower of Jesus. A Christian shows love and compassion to all they meet. They accept others regardless of their differences. A Christian will not try to force a belief onto another person. Neither will they reject a person for not believing as they do. They will simply present a truth and then let God convict the heart.
Christians should not be afraid or surprised when they are mistreated for following Jesus. In Matthew 10:26 Jesus said that everything would be revealed and made known. People may try to cover up their unkind words or deed, but all of it is revealed to God, and often it has a way of coming to light to everyone else eventually. Instead of being afraid the Christian should boldly present the Gospel (verse 27). They should not be afraid of what someone will do to them. A person may harm their body, but no one can take their soul. Only God can destroy both body and soul. Which is something that can happen if a person lets fear of others cause them to stop them from telling others about Jesus. In verses 32-33 Jesus said that whoever admits, to others, that they belong to Him, He will tell God that person belongs to Him. But, whoever denies belonging to Jesus, He will deny to God that they belong to Him. The possibility losing one's soul is much more serious than temporarily losing one's life.
In verse 29-31 Jesus shows how important we are to God and how He will watch over us. God knows the number of hairs we have. Jesus said we are much more important than a sparrow, yet one of those cannot fall to the ground apart from the will of God. Therefore, no one should be afraid to admit they are a disciple of Jesus. No good or bad will happen to them without God's permission.