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

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

Jesus Appoints the Twelve

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

The Twelve Disciples Sent Out

^5 (A)These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, “Do not ^[a]go ^[b]in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the ^(B)Samaritans; ⁶ but rather go to ^(C)the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ And as you go, ^[c]preach, saying, ‘^(D)The kingdom of heaven ^[d]is at hand.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. ^9 (E)Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, ¹⁰ or a ^[e]bag for your journey, or even two ^[f]tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for ^(F)the worker is worthy of his ^[g]support. ¹¹ And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay there until you leave. ¹² Now as you enter the ^[h]house, ^(G)give it your ^[i]greeting. ¹³ And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴ And whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you leave that house or that city, ^(H)shake the dust off your feet. ¹⁵ Truly I say to you, ^(I)it will be more tolerable for the land of ^(J)Sodom and Gomorrah in ^(K)the day of judgment than for that city.

The Promise of Persecution

¹⁶ “^(L)Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so ^[j]be ^(M)shrewd as serpents and ^(N)innocent as doves. ¹⁷ But beware of men, for they will deliver you over to the ^(O)courts and flog you ^(P)in their synagogues; ¹⁸ and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. ^19 (Q)But when they deliver you over, ^(R)do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given to you in that hour what you are to say. ²⁰ For ^(S)it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

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

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

The Meaning of Discipleship

²⁴ “^(Z)A ^[m]disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. ^(AA)If they have called the head of the house ^[n](AB)Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!

²⁶ “Therefore do not ^(AC)fear them, ^(AD)for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. ^27 (AE)What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim ^(AF)upon the housetops. ²⁸ And do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather ^(AG)fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in ^[o](AH)hell. ^29 (AI)Are not two sparrows sold for an ^[p]assarion? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰ But ^(AJ)the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ So do not fear; ^(AK)you are more valuable than many sparrows.

³² “Therefore ^(AL)everyone who ^[q]confesses Me before men, I will also confess ^[r]him before My Father who is in heaven. ³³ But ^(AM)whoever ^[s]denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

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

³⁷ “^(AQ)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 And ^(AR)he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. ^39 (AS)He who has found his ^[u]life will lose it, and he who has lost his ^[v]life for My sake will find it.

The Reward of Service

⁴⁰ “^(AT)He who receives you receives Me, and ^(AU)he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. ^41 (AV)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 And ^(AW)whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these ^[w]little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”