²⁷ As Jesus went on from there, two men who were blind followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, ^(A)Son of David!” ²⁸ And after He entered the house, the men who were blind came up to Him, and Jesus *said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They *said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” ²⁹ Then He touched their eyes, saying, “^[a]It shall be done for you ^(B)according to your faith.” ³⁰ And their eyes were opened. And Jesus ^(C)sternly warned them, saying, “See that no one knows about this!” ³¹ But they went out and ^(D)spread the news about Him throughout that land.

³² And as they were going out, behold, ^(E)a ^(F)demon-possessed man who was unable to speak ^[b]was brought to Him. ³³ And after the demon was cast out, the man who was previously unable to speak talked; and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “^(G)Nothing like this has ever ^[c]been seen in Israel.” ³⁴ But the Pharisees were saying, “He ^(H)casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”

Teaching at Nazareth

6 ^(A)Jesus went out from there and *came into ^[a](B)His hometown; and His disciples *followed Him. ² And when the Sabbath came, He began ^(C)to teach in the synagogue; and ^[b]the ^(D)many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man learn these things, and what is this wisdom that has been given to Him, and such ^[c]miracles as these performed by His hands? ³ Is this not ^(E)the carpenter, ^(F)the son of Mary and brother of ^[d]James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are ^(G)His sisters not here with us?” And they took ^(H)offense at Him. ⁴ Jesus said to them, “^(I)A prophet is not dishonored except in ^[e](J)his hometown and among his own relatives, and in his own household.” ⁵ And He could not do any ^[f]miracle there except that He ^(K)laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶ And He was amazed at their unbelief.

^(L)And He was going around the villages, teaching.

Jesus Revisits Nazareth

^53 (A)When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. ⁵⁴ And ^(B)He came to ^[a]His hometown and ^(C)began teaching them in their synagogue, with the result that ^(D)they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man acquire this wisdom and these ^[b]miraculous powers? ⁵⁵ Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is ^(E)His mother not called Mary, and His ^(F)brothers, James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? ⁵⁶ And ^(G)His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man acquire all these things?” ⁵⁷ And they took ^(H)offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “^(I)A prophet is not dishonored except in his ^[c]hometown and in his own household.” ⁵⁸ And He did not do many ^[d]miracles there because of their unbelief.

³⁵ Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, ^(A)teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness.

^36 (B)Seeing the crowds, He felt compassion for them, ^(C)because they were ^[a]distressed and downcast, like sheep ^[b]without a shepherd. ³⁷ Then He *said to His disciples, “^(D)The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. ³⁸ Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

The Twelve Sent Out

^7 (A)And ^(B)He *summoned the twelve and began to send them out ^(C)in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits; ^8 (D)and He instructed them that they were to take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff—no bread, no ^[a]bag, no money in their belt— ⁹ but ^[b]to wear sandals; and He added, “Do not wear two ^[c]tunics.” ¹⁰ And He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you ^[d]leave town. ¹¹ Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, ^(E)shake the dust ^[e]off the soles of your feet as a testimony against them.” ^12 (F)And they went out and ^[f]preached that people are to repent. ¹³ And they were casting out many demons and ^(G)were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.

The Twelve Disciples; Instructions for Service

10 Jesus ^(A)summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to ^(B)heal every disease and every sickness.

^2 (C)Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, ^(D)Simon, who is called Peter, and his brother ^(E)Andrew; and ^[a](F)James the son of Zebedee, and his brother ^[b]John; ^3 (G)Philip and ^[c]Bartholomew; ^(H)Thomas and ^(I)Matthew the tax collector; ^[d](J)James the son of Alphaeus, and ^(K)Thaddaeus; ⁴ Simon the ^[e]Zealot, and ^(L)Judas Iscariot, the one who also betrayed Him.

^5 (M)These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, “Do not go on a road ^[f]to Gentiles, and do not enter a city of ^(N)Samaritans; ⁶ but rather go to ^(O)the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ And as you go, ^[g]preach, saying, ‘^(P)The kingdom of heaven ^[h]has come near.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. ^9 (Q)Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, ¹⁰ or a ^[i]bag for your journey, or even two ^[j]tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for ^(R)the worker is deserving of his ^[k]support. ¹¹ And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay ^[l]at his house until you leave that city. ¹² As you enter the ^[m]house, ^(S)give it your ^[n]greeting. ¹³ If the house is worthy, see that your blessing of peace comes upon it. But if it is not worthy, ^[o]take back your blessing of peace. ¹⁴ And whoever does not receive you nor listen to your words, as you leave that house or city, ^(T)shake the dust off your feet. ¹⁵ Truly I say to you, ^(U)it will be more tolerable for the land of ^(V)Sodom and Gomorrah on ^(W)the day of judgment, than for that city.

A Hard Road Ahead of Them

¹⁶ “^(X)Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be as ^(Y)wary as serpents, and as ^(Z)innocent as doves. ¹⁷ But be on guard against people, for they will hand you over to the ^(AA)courts and flog you ^(AB)in their synagogues; ¹⁸ and you will even be brought before governors and kings on My account, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. ^19 (AC)But when they hand you over, ^(AD)do not worry about how or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given you in that hour. ²⁰ For ^(AE)it is not you who are speaking, but it is the Spirit of your Father who is speaking ^[p]in you.

²¹ “Now ^(AF)brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and ^(AG)children will rise up against parents and ^[q]cause them to be put to death. ²² And ^(AH)you will be hated by all because of My name, but ^(AI)it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

²³ “But whenever they ^(AJ)persecute you in ^[r]one city, flee to the ^[s]next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel ^(AK)until the Son of Man comes.

The Meaning of Discipleship

²⁴ “^(AL)A ^[t]disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for the disciple that he may become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. ^(AM)If they have called the head of the house ^[u](AN)Beelzebul, how much more will they insult the members of his household!

²⁶ “So do not ^(AO)fear them, ^(AP)for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ^27 (AQ)What I tell you in the darkness, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim ^(AR)on the housetops. ²⁸ And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather ^(AS)fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in ^[v](AT)hell. ^29 (AU)Are two sparrows not sold for an ^[w]assarion? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰ But ^(AV)even the hairs of your head are all counted. ³¹ So do not fear; ^(AW)you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.

³² “Therefore, ^(AX)everyone who ^[x]confesses Me before people, I will also confess ^[y]him before My Father who is in heaven. ³³ But ^(AY)whoever denies Me before people, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

³⁴ “^(AZ)Do not think that I came to ^[z]bring peace on the earth; I did not come to ^[aa]bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I came to ^(BA)turn a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; ³⁶ and ^(BB)a person’s enemies will be the members of his household.

³⁷ “^(BC)The one who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and the one who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁸ And ^(BD)the one who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. ^39 (BE)The one who has found his ^[ab]life will lose it, and the one who has lost his ^[ac]life on My account will find it.

The Reward for Service

⁴⁰ “^(BF)The one who ^[ad]receives you ^[ae]receives Me, and ^(BG)the one who ^[af]receives Me ^[ag]receives Him who sent Me. ^41 (BH)The one who ^[ah]receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and the one who ^[ai]receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person shall receive a righteous person’s reward. ⁴² And ^(BI)whoever gives one of these ^[aj]little ones just a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple, truly I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”

Ministry of the Twelve

9 ^(A)Now He called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all the demons, and the power to heal diseases. ² And He sent them out to ^(B)proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing. ³ And He said to them, “^(C)Take nothing for your journey, ^(D)neither a staff, nor a ^[a]bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have two ^[b]tunics. ⁴ And whatever house you enter, stay there ^[c]until you leave that city. ⁵ And as for all who do not receive you, when you leave that city, ^(E)shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” ⁶ And as they were leaving, they began going ^[d]throughout the villages, ^(F)preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.