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.

^7 (G)Now ^(H)Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening; and he was greatly perplexed, because it was said by some that ^(I)John had risen from the dead, ⁸ and by some that ^(J)Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen. ⁹ Herod said, “I myself had John beheaded; but who is this Man about whom I hear such things?” And ^(K)he kept trying to see Him.

^10 (L)When the apostles returned, they gave an account to Him of all that they had done. ^(M)And taking them with Him, He withdrew privately to a city called ^(N)Bethsaida. ¹¹ But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and He welcomed them and began speaking to them about the kingdom of God, and curing those who had need of healing.

Five Thousand Men Fed

¹² Now the day ^[e]was ending, and the twelve came up and said to Him, “Dismiss the crowd, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging and get ^[f]something to eat; because here, we are in a secluded place.” ¹³ But He said to them, “You give them something to eat!” But they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go and buy food for all these people.” ¹⁴ (For there were about five thousand men.) But He said to His disciples, “Have them recline to eat ^(O)in groups of about fifty each.” ¹⁵ They did so, and had them all recline. ¹⁶ And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and, looking up to heaven, He blessed them and broke them, and gave them to the disciples again and again, to serve the crowd. ¹⁷ And they all ate and were satisfied; and ^[g]the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up, twelve ^(P)baskets full.

Peter Says Jesus Is The Christ

^18 (Q)And it happened that while He was ^(R)praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, “Who do the ^[h]people say that I am?” ¹⁹ They answered and said, “John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” ²⁰ And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “^(S)The ^[i]Christ of God.” ²¹ But He ^[j](T)warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone, ^22 (U)saying, “^(V)The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised on the third day.”

²³ And He was saying to them all, “^(W)If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. ²⁴ For ^(X)whoever wants to save his ^[k]life will lose it, but whoever loses his ^[l]life for My sake, this is the one who will save it. ²⁵ For what good does it do a person if he gains the whole world, but ^(Y)loses or forfeits himself? ^26 (Z)For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and the glory of the Father and the holy angels. ²⁷ But I say to you truthfully, ^(AA)there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

The Transfiguration

^28 (AB)About eight days after these sayings, He took along ^(AC)Peter, John, and James, and ^(AD)went up on the mountain ^(AE)to pray. ²⁹ And while He was ^(AF)praying, the appearance of His face ^(AG)became different, and His clothing became white and ^[m]gleaming. ³⁰ And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, ³¹ who, appearing in ^[n]glory, were speaking of His ^(AH)departure, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. ³² Now Peter and his companions ^(AI)had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who were standing with Him. ³³ And as ^[o]these two men were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, “^(AJ)Master, it is good that we are here; and ^(AK)let’s make three ^[p]tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—^(AL)not realizing what he was saying. ³⁴ But while he was saying this, a cloud ^[q]formed and began to overshadow them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵ And then ^(AM)a voice came from the cloud, saying, “^(AN)This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!” ³⁶ And when the voice ^[r]had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And ^(AO)they kept silent, and reported to no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.

^37 (AP)On the next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Him. ³⁸ And a man from the crowd shouted, saying, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, because he is my only son, ³⁹ and a spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams, and it throws him into a convulsion with foaming at the mouth; and only with difficulty does it leave him, mauling him as it leaves. ⁴⁰ And I begged Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not.” ⁴¹ And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” ⁴² Now while he was still approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground and threw him into a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy and gave him back to his father. ⁴³ And they were all amazed at the ^[s](AQ)greatness of God.

^(AR)But while everyone was astonished at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples, ⁴⁴ “As for you, let these words sink into your ears: ^(AS)for the Son of Man is going to be ^[t]handed over to men.” ⁴⁵ But ^(AT)they ^[u]did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they would not comprehend it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.

The Test of Greatness

^46 (AU)Now an argument ^[v]started among them as to which of them might be the greatest. ⁴⁷ But Jesus, ^(AV)knowing ^[w]what they were thinking in their hearts, took a child and had him stand by His side, ⁴⁸ and He said to them, “^(AW)Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; ^(AX)for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.”

^49 (AY)John answered and said, “^(AZ)Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we tried to prevent him, because he does not follow along with us.” ⁵⁰ But Jesus said to him, “Do not hinder him; ^(BA)for the one who is not against you is ^[x]for you.”

⁵¹ When the days were approaching for ^(BB)His ^[y]ascension, He ^[z]was determined ^(BC)to go to Jerusalem; ⁵² and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the ^(BD)Samaritans to ^[aa]make arrangements for Him. ⁵³ And they did not receive Him, ^(BE)because ^[ab]He was traveling toward Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ When His disciples ^(BF)James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to ^(BG)command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” ⁵⁵ But He turned and rebuked them.^{[ac] 56} And they went on to another village.

Exacting Discipleship

^57 (BH)As they were going on the road, ^(BI)someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” ⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but ^(BJ)the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” ⁵⁹ And He said to another, “^(BK)Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and ^(BL)proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but ^(BM)first permit me to say goodbye to those at my home.” ⁶² But Jesus said to him, “^(BN)No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

The Blessings of Redemption

1 Paul, ^(A)an apostle of ^(B)Christ Jesus ^[a](C)by the will of God,

To the ^[b](D)saints who are ^[c]at ^(E)Ephesus and ^(F)are faithful in ^(G)Christ Jesus: ^2 (H)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

^3 (I)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in ^(J)the heavenly places in Christ, ⁴ just as ^(K)He chose us in Him before ^(L)the foundation of the world, that we would be ^(M)holy and blameless before ^[d]Him. ^(N)In love ^5 [e]He ^(O)predestined us to ^(P)adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself, ^(Q)according to the good pleasure of His will, ^6 (R)to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He favored us in ^(S)the Beloved. ^7 (T)In ^[f]Him we have ^(U)redemption ^(V)through His blood, the ^(W)forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to ^(X)the riches of His grace ⁸ which He ^[g]lavished on ^[h]us. In all wisdom and insight ⁹ He ^[i](Y)made known to us the mystery of His will, ^(Z)according to His good pleasure which He ^(AA)set forth in Him, ¹⁰ regarding His plan of ^(AB)the fullness of the times, ^(AC)to bring all things together in Christ, things ^[j]in the heavens and things on the earth. ^11 [k]In Him we also ^(AD)have obtained an inheritance, having been ^(AE)predestined ^(AF)according to the purpose of Him who works all things ^(AG)in accordance with the plan of His will, ¹² to the end that ^[l]we who were the first to hope in the ^[m]Christ would be ^(AH)to the praise of His glory. ¹³ In ^[n]Him, ^[o]you also, after listening to ^(AI)the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also ^[p]believed, you were ^(AJ)sealed in ^[q]Him with ^(AK)the Holy Spirit of the promise, ¹⁴ who is a ^(AL)first installment of ^(AM)our inheritance, in regard to the ^(AN)redemption of ^(AO)God’s own possession, ^(AP)to the praise of His glory.

¹⁵ For this reason I too, ^(AQ)having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and ^[r]your love for ^(AR)all the ^[s]saints, ^16 (AS)do not cease giving thanks for you, ^(AT)while making mention of you in my prayers; ¹⁷ that the ^(AU)God of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^(AV)the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of ^(AW)wisdom and of ^(AX)revelation in the ^[t]knowledge of Him. ¹⁸ I pray that ^(AY)the eyes of your heart ^[u]may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the ^(AZ)hope of His ^(BA)calling, what are ^(BB)the riches of the glory of ^(BC)His inheritance in ^(BD)the ^[v]saints, ¹⁹ and what is the ^[w]boundless greatness of His power toward us who believe. ^(BE)These are in accordance with the working of the ^(BF)strength of His might ²⁰ which He brought about in Christ, when He ^(BG)raised Him from the dead and ^(BH)seated Him at His right hand in ^(BI)the heavenly places, ²¹ far above ^(BJ)all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every ^(BK)name that is named, not only in ^(BL)this age but also in the one to come. ²² And He ^(BM)put all things in subjection under His feet, and made Him ^(BN)head over all things to the church, ²³ which is His ^(BO)body, the ^(BP)fullness of Him who ^(BQ)fills ^(BR)all in all.

Made Alive in Christ

2 And ^[x]you ^[y]were ^(BS)dead ^[z]in your offenses and sins, ² in which you ^(BT)previously walked according to the ^[aa]course of ^(BU)this world, according to ^(BV)the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in ^(BW)the ^[ab]sons of disobedience. ³ Among them ^[ac]we too all ^(BX)previously lived in ^(BY)the lusts of our flesh, ^[ad]indulging the desires of the flesh and of the ^[ae]mind, and were ^(BZ)by nature ^(CA)children of wrath, ^(CB)just as the rest. ⁴ But God, being ^(CC)rich in mercy, because of ^(CD)His great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were ^(CE)dead ^[af]in our wrongdoings, made us alive together ^[ag]with Christ (^(CF)by grace you have been saved), ⁶ and ^(CG)raised us up with Him, and ^(CH)seated us with Him in ^(CI)the heavenly places in ^(CJ)Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the ages to come He might show the ^[ah]boundless ^(CK)riches of His grace in ^(CL)kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For ^(CM)by grace you have been saved ^(CN)through faith; and ^[ai]this is not of yourselves, it is ^(CO)the gift of God; ^9 (CP)not a result of works, so that ^(CQ)no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, ^(CR)created in ^(CS)Christ Jesus for ^(CT)good works, which God ^(CU)prepared beforehand so that we would ^(CV)walk in them.

¹¹ Therefore remember that ^(CW)previously ^(CX)you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “^(CY)Uncircumcision” by the so-called “^(CZ)Circumcision” which is performed in the flesh by human hands— ¹² remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, ^[aj](DA)excluded from ^[ak]the people of Israel, and strangers to ^(DB)the covenants of the promise, having ^(DC)no hope and ^(DD)without God in the world. ¹³ But now in ^(DE)Christ Jesus you who ^(DF)previously were ^(DG)far away ^[al]have ^(DH)been brought near ^[am](DI)by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For He Himself is ^(DJ)our peace, ^(DK)who made both groups into one and broke down the ^[an]barrier of the dividing wall, ^15 [ao]by ^(DL)abolishing ^[ap]in His flesh the hostility, which is ^(DM)the Law composed of commandments expressed in ordinances, so that in Himself He might ^[aq](DN)make the two ^(DO)one new person, in this way establishing ^(DP)peace; ¹⁶ and that He might ^(DQ)reconcile them both in ^(DR)one body to God through the cross, ^[ar]by it having ^(DS)put to death the hostility. ¹⁷ And ^(DT)He came and preached ^(DU)peace to you who were ^(DV)far away, and peace to those who were ^(DW)near; ¹⁸ for through Him we both have ^(DX)our access in ^(DY)one Spirit to ^(DZ)the Father. ¹⁹ So then you are no longer ^(EA)strangers and foreigners, but you are ^(EB)fellow citizens with the ^[as]saints, and are of ^(EC)God’s household, ²⁰ having been ^(ED)built on ^(EE)the foundation of ^(EF)the apostles and prophets, ^(EG)Christ Jesus Himself being the ^(EH)cornerstone, ^21 (EI)in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into ^(EJ)a holy ^[at]temple in the Lord, ²² in whom you also are being ^(EK)built together into a ^(EL)dwelling of God in the Spirit.

Paul’s Stewardship

3 For this reason I, Paul, ^(EM)the prisoner of ^(EN)Christ Jesus ^(EO)for the sake of you ^(EP)Gentiles— ² if indeed you have heard of the ^(EQ)administration of God’s grace which was given to me for you; ^3 (ER)that ^(ES)by revelation there was ^(ET)made known to me ^(EU)the mystery, ^(EV)as I wrote before briefly. ^4 [au]By referring to this, when you read you can understand ^(EW)my insight ^[av]into the ^(EX)mystery of Christ, ⁵ which in other generations was not made known to ^[aw]mankind, as it has now been revealed to His holy ^(EY)apostles and prophets ^[ax]in the Spirit; ⁶ to be specific, that the Gentiles are ^(EZ)fellow heirs and ^(FA)fellow members of the body, and ^(FB)fellow partakers of the promise in ^(FC)Christ Jesus through the gospel, ^7 (FD)of which I was made a ^(FE)minister, according to the gift of ^(FF)God’s grace which was given to me ^(FG)according to the working of His power. ⁸ To me, ^(FH)the very least of all ^[ay]saints, this grace was given, to ^(FI)preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable ^(FJ)riches of Christ, ⁹ and to ^[az]enlighten all people as to what the plan of the ^(FK)mystery is which for ages has been ^(FL)hidden in God, ^(FM)who created all things; ¹⁰ so that the multifaceted ^(FN)wisdom of God might now be ^(FO)made known through the church to the ^(FP)rulers and the authorities in ^(FQ)the heavenly places. ¹¹ This was in ^(FR)accordance with the ^[ba]eternal purpose which He ^[bb]carried out in ^(FS)Christ Jesus our Lord, ¹² in whom we have boldness and ^[bc](FT)confident ^(FU)access through faith ^[bd]in Him. ¹³ Therefore I ask ^[be]you not ^(FV)to become discouraged about my tribulations ^(FW)in your behalf, ^[bf]since they are your glory.

¹⁴ For this reason I ^(FX)bend my knees before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom ^[bg]every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, ¹⁶ that He would grant you, according to ^(FY)the riches of His glory, to be ^(FZ)strengthened with power through His Spirit in ^(GA)the inner ^[bh]self, ¹⁷ so that ^(GB)Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being ^(GC)rooted and ^(GD)grounded in love, ¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with ^(GE)all the ^[bi]saints what is ^(GF)the width and length and height and depth, ¹⁹ and to know ^(GG)the love of Christ which ^(GH)surpasses knowledge, that you may be ^(GI)filled to all the ^(GJ)fullness of God.

^20 (GK)Now to Him who is ^(GL)able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, ^(GM)according to the power that works within us, ^21 (GN)to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations ^[bj]forever and ever. Amen.