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Jesus gave his disciples warnings and assurances to help them as they confronted opposition. He warned them about the Pharisees, whose harmful influence could expand as rapidly as yeast (v.1). But he assured them that his message, which they were proclaiming in comparative obscurity, would in the future be given widespread publicity (vv.2-3). He exhorted them to fear God rather than human beings and assured them of God’s genuine care for them (vv.4-7). The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which he denounced (vv.8-10), was the accusation made by his critics that the healing activity of the Spirit was in fact the work of demons. He promised his disciples that the Spirit would teach them what to say in time of persecution (vv.11-12), and in that way he prepared them for the experiences described in Acts.