The Compassion of Jesus^(A)

³⁵ Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, ^(B)teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease ^[a]among the people. ^36 (C)But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were ^[b]weary and scattered, ^(D)like sheep having no shepherd. ³⁷ Then He said to His disciples, ^(E)“The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. ^38 (F)Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

The Twelve Apostles^(A)

10 And ^(B)when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. ² Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, ^(C)who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; ³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and ^[a]Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; ^4 (D)Simon the ^[b]Cananite, and Judas ^(E)Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

Sending Out the Twelve^(A)

^7 (B)And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out ^(C)two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.

Sending Out the Twelve^(A)

⁵ These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: ^(B)“Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of ^(C)the Samaritans. ^6 (D)But go rather to the ^(E)lost sheep of the house of Israel. ^7 (F)And as you go, preach, saying, ^(G)‘The kingdom of heaven ^[a]is at hand.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, ^[b]cleanse the lepers, ^[c]raise the dead, cast out demons. ^(H)Freely you have received, freely give. ^9 (I)Provide neither gold nor silver nor ^(J)copper in your money belts, ¹⁰ nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; ^(K)for a worker is worthy of his food.

^11 (L)“Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. ¹² And when you go into a household, greet it. ^13 (M)If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. ^(N)But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. ^14 (O)And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, ^(P)shake off the dust from your feet. ¹⁵ Assuredly, I say to you, ^(Q)it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!

Persecutions Are Coming^(R)

^16 (S)“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. ^(T)Therefore be wise as serpents and ^(U)harmless^[d] as doves. ¹⁷ But beware of men, for ^(V)they will deliver you up to councils and ^(W)scourge you in their synagogues. ^18 (X)You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. ^19 (Y)But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For ^(Z)it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; ^20 (AA)for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

^21 (AB)“Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. ²² And ^(AC)you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. ^(AD)But he who endures to the end will be saved. ^23 (AE)When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have ^(AF)gone through the cities of Israel ^(AG)before the Son of Man comes.

^24 (AH)“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If ^(AI)they have called the master of the house ^[e]Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! ²⁶ Therefore do not fear them. ^(AJ)For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.

Jesus Teaches the Fear of God^(AK)

²⁷ “Whatever I tell you in the dark, ^(AL)speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. ^28 (AM)And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather ^(AN)fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in ^[f]hell. ²⁹ Are not two ^(AO)sparrows sold for a ^[g]copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. ^30 (AP)But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Confess Christ Before Men^(AQ)

^32 (AR)“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, ^(AS)him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. ^33 (AT)But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

Christ Brings Division^(AU)

^34 (AV)“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to ^(AW)‘set^[h] a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; ³⁶ and ^(AX)‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ ^37 (AY)He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ^38 (AZ)And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. ^39 (BA)He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

A Cup of Cold Water^(BB)

^40 (BC)“He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. ^41 (BD)He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. ^42 (BE)And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”

John the Baptist Sends Messengers to Jesus^(A)

11 Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to ^(B)teach and to preach in their cities.

John the Baptist Beheaded^(A)

^14 (B)Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known. And he said, “John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore ^(C)these powers are at work in him.”

^15 (D)Others said, “It is Elijah.”

And others said, “It is ^[a]the Prophet, ^(E)or like one of the prophets.”

^16 (F)But when Herod heard, he said, “This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!”

^3 (A)For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. ⁴ Because John had said to him, ^(B)“It is not lawful for you to have her.” ⁵ And although he wanted to put him to death, he feared the multitude, ^(C)because they counted him as a prophet.

⁶ But when Herod’s birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod. ⁷ Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.

⁸ So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, “Give me John the Baptist’s head here on a platter.”

⁹ And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he commanded it to be given to her. ¹⁰ So he sent and had John beheaded in prison. ¹¹ And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. ¹² Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus.

¹⁷ For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; for he had married her. ¹⁸ Because John had said to Herod, ^(A)“It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”

¹⁹ Therefore Herodias ^[a]held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; ²⁰ for Herod ^(B)feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he ^[b]did many things, and heard him gladly.

^21 (C)Then an opportune day came when Herod ^(D)on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee. ²² And when Herodias’ daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, “Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you.” ²³ He also swore to her, ^(E)“Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”

²⁴ So she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask?”

And she said, “The head of John the Baptist!”

²⁵ Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”

^26 (F)And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her. ²⁷ Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought. And he went and beheaded him in prison, ²⁸ brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹ When his disciples heard of it, they came and ^(G)took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.

Feeding the Five Thousand^(H)

^30 (I)Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. ^31 (J)And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For ^(K)there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. ^32 (L)So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.

³³ But ^[c]the multitudes saw them departing, and many ^(M)knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to Him.

Feeding the Five Thousand^(A)

^10 (B)And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. ^(C)Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. ¹¹ But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.