Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

9 ^(A)And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, ^2 (B)and he sent them out to ^(C)proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. ^3 (D)And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, ^(E)no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics.^{[a] 4} And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. ⁵ And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town ^(F)shake off the dust from your feet ^(G)as a testimony ^(H)against them.” ^6 (I)And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

Herod Is Perplexed by Jesus

^7 (J)Now ^(K)Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that ^(L)John had been raised from the dead, ^8 (M)by some that Elijah had appeared, and ^(N)by others that one of the prophets of old had risen. ⁹ Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And ^(O)he sought to see him.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

¹⁰ On their return ^(P)the apostles told him all that they had done. ^(Q)And he took them and withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida. ¹¹ When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he ^(R)welcomed them and ^(S)spoke to them of the kingdom of God and ^(T)cured those who had need of healing. ¹² Now ^(U)the day began to wear away, and the twelve came and said to him, ^(V)“Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.” ¹³ But he said to them, ^(W)“You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than ^(X)five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” ¹⁴ For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” ¹⁵ And they did so, and had them all sit down. ¹⁶ And taking the five loaves and the two fish, ^(Y)he looked up to heaven and ^(Z)said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. ¹⁷ And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

^18 (AA)Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” ¹⁹ And they answered, ^(AB)“John the Baptist. But others say, ^(AC)Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” ²⁰ Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, ^(AD)“The Christ of God.”

Jesus Foretells His Death

^21 (AE)And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, ^22 (AF)saying, ^(AG)“The Son of Man must ^(AH)suffer many things and ^(AI)be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on ^(AJ)the third day be raised.”

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

²³ And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him ^(AK)deny himself and ^(AL)take up his cross ^(AM)daily and follow me. ²⁴ For ^(AN)whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. ^25 (AO)For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? ²⁶ For ^(AP)whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed ^(AQ)when he comes in ^(AR)his glory and the glory of the Father and of ^(AS)the holy angels. ²⁷ But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not ^(AT)taste death ^(AU)until they see the kingdom of God.”

The Transfiguration

^28 (AV)Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him ^(AW)Peter and John and James and ^(AX)went up on the mountain to pray. ²⁹ And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was ^(AY)altered, and ^(AZ)his clothing became dazzling white. ³⁰ And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, ³¹ who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure,^[b] which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. ³² Now Peter and those who were with him ^(BA)were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake ^(BB)they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. ³³ And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three ^(BC)tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—^(BD)not knowing what he said. ³⁴ As he was saying these things, ^(BE)a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵ And ^(BF)a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, ^(BG)my Chosen One;^{[c] (BH)}listen to him!” ³⁶ And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. ^(BI)And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

Jesus Heals a Boy with an Unclean Spirit

^37 (BJ)On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. ³⁸ And behold, a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for ^(BK)he is my only child. ³⁹ And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out. It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and shatters him, and will hardly leave him. ⁴⁰ And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but ^(BL)they could not.” ⁴¹ Jesus answered, “O ^(BM)faithless and twisted generation, ^(BN)how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” ⁴² While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus ^(BO)rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and ^(BP)gave him back to his father. ⁴³ And all were astonished at ^(BQ)the majesty of God.

Jesus Again Foretells His Death

^(BR)But while they were all marveling at everything he was doing, Jesus^[d] said ^(BS)to his disciples, ⁴⁴ “Let these words sink into your ears: ^(BT)The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.” ^45 (BU)But they did not understand this saying, and ^(BV)it was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

Who Is the Greatest?

^46 (BW)An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. ⁴⁷ But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side ⁴⁸ and said to them, ^(BX)“Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and ^(BY)whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For ^(BZ)he who is least among you all is the one who is great.”

Anyone Not Against Us Is For Us

^49 (CA)John answered, “Master, we saw someone ^(CB)casting out demons in your name, and ^(CC)we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” ⁵⁰ But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, ^(CD)for the one who is not against you is for you.”

A Samaritan Village Rejects Jesus

⁵¹ When the days drew near for ^(CE)him to be taken up, ^(CF)he set his face ^(CG)to go to Jerusalem. ⁵² And ^(CH)he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of ^(CI)the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. ⁵³ But ^(CJ)the people did not receive him, because ^(CK)his face was set toward Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell ^(CL)fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”^{[e] 55} But he turned and rebuked them.^{[f] 56} And they went on to another village.

The Cost of Following Jesus

⁵⁷ As they were going ^(CM)along the road, ^(CN)someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” ⁵⁹ To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ And Jesus^[g] said to him, “Leave ^(CO)the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and ^(CP)proclaim the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, ^(CQ)but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” ⁶² Jesus said to him, ^(CR)“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two

10 After this the Lord appointed ^(CS)seventy-two^[h] others and ^(CT)sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. ^2 (CU)And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. ^(CV)Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. ³ Go your way; ^(CW)behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. ^4 (CX)Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and ^(CY)greet no one on the road. ⁵ Whatever house you enter, first say, ^(CZ)‘Peace be to this house!’ ⁶ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, ^(DA)it will return to you. ⁷ And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for ^(DB)the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. ⁸ Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. ⁹ Heal the sick in it and say to them, ^(DC)‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ ¹⁰ But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, ^11 (DD)‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that ^(DE)the kingdom of God has come near.’ ¹² I tell you, ^(DF)it will be more bearable on ^(DG)that day for Sodom than for that town.

Woe to Unrepentant Cities

^13 (DH)“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in ^(DI)Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. ^14 (DJ)But it will be more bearable in the judgment for ^(DK)Tyre and Sidon than for you. ¹⁵ And you, Capernaum, ^(DL)will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to ^(DM)Hades.

^16 (DN)“The one who hears you hears me, and ^(DO)the one who rejects you rejects me, and ^(DP)the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

The Return of the Seventy-Two

^17 (DQ)The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, ^(DR)even the demons are subject to us in your name!” ¹⁸ And he said to them, ^(DS)“I saw Satan ^(DT)fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹ Behold, I have given you authority ^(DU)to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of ^(DV)the enemy, and ^(DW)nothing shall hurt you. ^20 (DX)Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that ^(DY)your names are written in heaven.”

Jesus Rejoices in the Father's Will

^21 (DZ)In that same hour ^(EA)he rejoiced ^(EB)in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, ^(EC)Lord of heaven and earth, that ^(ED)you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and ^(EE)revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for ^(EF)such was your gracious will.^{[i] 22 (EG)}All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is ^(EH)except the Father, or who the Father is ^(EI)except the Son and anyone ^(EJ)to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

²³ Then turning to the disciples he said privately, ^(EK)“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! ²⁴ For I tell you ^(EL)that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

^25 (EM)And behold, a ^(EN)lawyer stood up to ^(EO)put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to ^(EP)inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” ²⁷ And he answered, ^(EQ)“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and ^(ER)your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸ And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; ^(ES)do this, and you will live.”

²⁹ But he, ^(ET)desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰ Jesus replied, “A man ^(EU)was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a ^(EV)priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. ³² So likewise ^(EW)a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a ^(EX)Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. ³⁴ He went to him and ^(EY)bound up his wounds, pouring on ^(EZ)oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ And the next day he took out two ^(FA)denarii^[j] and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ ³⁶ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” ³⁷ He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

Martha and Mary

³⁸ Now as they went on their way, Jesus^[k] entered a village. And a woman named ^(FB)Martha ^(FC)welcomed him into her house. ³⁹ And she had a sister called ^(FD)Mary, who ^(FE)sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” ⁴¹ But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are ^(FF)anxious and troubled about many things, ⁴² but one thing is necessary.^[l] Mary has chosen ^(FG)the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”