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 Disciples; Instructions for Service

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

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

^5 (Q)These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, “Do not go on a road ^[h]to Gentiles, and do not enter a city of ^(R)Samaritans; ⁶ but rather go to ^(S)the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ And as you go, ^[i]preach, saying, ‘^(T)The kingdom of heaven ^[j]has come near.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. ^9 (U)Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, ¹⁰ or a ^[k]bag for your journey, or even two ^[l]tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for ^(V)the worker is deserving of his ^[m]support. ¹¹ And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay ^[n]at his house until you leave that city. ¹² As you enter the ^[o]house, ^(W)give it your ^[p]greeting. ¹³ If the house is worthy, see that your blessing of peace comes upon it. But if it is not worthy, ^[q]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, ^(X)shake the dust off your feet. ¹⁵ Truly I say to you, ^(Y)it will be more tolerable for the land of ^(Z)Sodom and Gomorrah on ^(AA)the day of judgment, than for that city.

A Hard Road Ahead of Them

¹⁶ “^(AB)Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be as ^(AC)wary as serpents, and as ^(AD)innocent as doves. ¹⁷ But be on guard against people, for they will hand you over to the ^(AE)courts and flog you ^(AF)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 (AG)But when they hand you over, ^(AH)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 ^(AI)it is not you who are speaking, but it is the Spirit of your Father who is speaking ^[r]in you.

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

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

The Meaning of Discipleship

²⁴ “^(AP)A ^[v]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. ^(AQ)If they have called the head of the house ^[w](AR)Beelzebul, how much more will they insult the members of his household!

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

³² “Therefore, ^(BB)everyone who ^[z]confesses Me before people, I will also confess ^[aa]him before My Father who is in heaven. ³³ But ^(BC)whoever denies Me before people, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

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

³⁷ “^(BG)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 ^(BH)the one who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. ^39 (BI)The one who has found his ^[ad]life will lose it, and the one who has lost his ^[ae]life on My account will find it.

The Reward for Service

⁴⁰ “^(BJ)The one who ^[af]receives you ^[ag]receives Me, and ^(BK)the one who ^[ah]receives Me ^[ai]receives Him who sent Me. ^41 (BL)The one who ^[aj]receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and the one who ^[ak]receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person shall receive a righteous person’s reward. ⁴² And ^(BM)whoever gives one of these ^[al]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.”

John’s Questions

11 ^(BN)When Jesus had finished ^[am]giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He went on from there ^(BO)to teach and ^[an]preach in their cities.

⁶ And He was amazed at their unbelief.

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

The Twelve Sent Out

^7 (B)And ^(C)He *summoned the twelve and began to send them out ^(D)in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits; ^8 (E)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, ^(F)shake the dust ^[e]off the soles of your feet as a testimony against them.” ^12 (G)And they went out and ^[f]preached that people are to repent. ¹³ And they were casting out many demons and ^(H)were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.

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.