Read the Gospels in 40 Days

The Twelve are sent out

10 Jesus called his twelve disciples to him, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out and to heal every disease and every sickness.

² These are the names of the twelve apostles. First, Simon, who is called Peter (“the rock”), and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; ³ Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax-collector, James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; ⁴ Simon the Cananaean; and Judas Iscariot (who betrayed him).

⁵ Jesus sent these Twelve off with the following instructions.

“Don’t go into Gentile territory,” he said, “and don’t go into a Samaritan town. ⁶ Go instead to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ As you go, declare publicly that the kingdom of heaven has arrived. ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse people with skin diseases, cast out demons.

“You received without cost; give without charge. ⁹ Don’t take any gold or silver or copper in your belts; ¹⁰ no bag for the road, no second cloak, no sandals, no stick. Workers deserve their keep.

¹¹ “When you go into a town or village, make careful inquiry for someone who is good and trustworthy, and stay there until you leave. ¹² When you go into the house give a solemn greeting. ¹³ If the house is trustworthy, let your blessing of peace rest upon it, but if not, let it return to you. ¹⁴ If anyone won’t welcome you or listen to your message, go out of the house or the town and shake the dust off your feet. ¹⁵ I’m telling you the truth: it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.”

Sheep among wolves

¹⁶ “See here,” Jesus continued, “I’m sending you out like sheep surrounded by wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes, and as innocent as doves.

¹⁷ “Watch out for danger from people around you. They will hand you over to councils, and flog you in their synagogues. ¹⁸ You will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as evidence to them and to the nations. ¹⁹ But when they hand you over, don’t worry how to speak or what to say. What you have to say will be given to you at that moment. ²⁰ It won’t be you speaking, you see; it will be the spirit of your father speaking in you.

²¹ “One brother will betray another to death; fathers will betray children, and children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. ²² You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who holds out to the end will be delivered.

²³ “When they persecute you in one town, run off to the next one. I’m telling you the truth: you won’t have gone through all the towns of Israel before the son of man comes.”

Warnings and encouragements

²⁴ “The disciple isn’t greater than the teacher; the slave isn’t greater than the master. ²⁵ It’s quite enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave to be like the master. If they called the master of the house ‘Beelzebul,’ think what they’re going to call his family!

²⁶ “Don’t be afraid of them. Nothing is hidden, you see, that won’t come to light; nothing is secret that won’t be made known. ²⁷ What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light, and what you hear whispered in your ears, announce from the roofs of the houses.

²⁸ “Don’t be afraid of people who can kill the body, but can’t kill the soul. The one you should be afraid of is the one who can destroy both body and soul in Gehenna. ²⁹ How much would you get for a couple of sparrows? A single copper coin if you’re lucky? And not one of them falls to the ground without your father knowing about it. ³⁰ When it comes to you—why, every hair on your head is counted. ³¹ So don’t be afraid! You’re worth much more than a great many sparrows.”

Jesus causes division

³² “So: everyone who owns up in front of others to being on my side, I will own them before my father in heaven. ³³ But anyone who disowns me in front of others, I will disown that person before my father in heaven.

³⁴ “Don’t think it’s my job to bring peace on the earth. I didn’t come to bring peace—I came to bring a sword! ³⁵ I came to divide a man from his father, a daughter from her mother, and a daughter-in-law from her mother-in-law. ³⁶ Yes, you’ll find your enemies inside your own front door.

³⁷ “If you love your father or mother more than me, you don’t deserve me. If you love your son or daughter more than me, you don’t deserve me. ³⁸ Anyone who doesn’t pick up their cross and follow after me doesn’t deserve me. ³⁹ If you find your life you’ll lose it, and if you lose your life because of me you’ll find it.

⁴⁰ “Anyone who welcomes you, welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me, welcomes the one who sent me. ⁴¹ Anyone who welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and anyone who receives an upright person in the name of an upright person will receive an upright person’s reward. ⁴² Anyone who gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, in the name of a disciple—I’m telling you the truth, they won’t go short of their reward!”

Jesus and John the Baptist

11 So when Jesus had finished giving instructions to the twelve disciples, he moved on from there to teach and preach in their towns.

² Meanwhile, John, who was in prison, heard about these messianic goings-on. He sent word through his followers.

³ “Are you the one who is coming?” he asked. “Or should we be looking for someone else?”

⁴ “Go and tell John what you’ve seen and heard,” replied Jesus. ⁵ “Blind people are seeing! Lame people are walking! People with virulent skin diseases are being cleansed! Deaf people can hear again! The dead are being raised to life! And—the poor are hearing the good news! ⁶ And God bless you if you’re not upset by what I’m doing.”

The identity of John the Baptist

⁷ As the messengers were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John.

“What were you expecting to see,” he asked, “when you went out into the desert? A reed wobbling in the wind? ⁸ No? Then, what were you expecting to see? Someone dressed in silks and satins? If you want to see people like that you’d have to go to somebody’s royal palace. ⁹ All right, so what were you expecting to see? A prophet? Ah, now we’re getting there: yes indeed, and much more than a prophet! ¹⁰ This is the one the Bible was talking about when it says,

¹¹ “I’m telling you the truth: John the Baptist is the greatest mother’s son there ever was. But even the least significant person in heaven’s kingdom is greater than he is. ¹² From the time of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been forcing its way in—and the men of force are trying to grab it! ¹³ All the prophets and the law, you see, made their prophecies up to the time of John. ¹⁴ In fact, if you’ll believe it, he is Elijah, the one who was to come. ¹⁵ If you’ve got ears, then listen!”

Jesus condemns the cities

¹⁶ “What picture shall I give you for this generation?” asked Jesus. “It’s like a bunch of children sitting in the town square, and singing songs to each other. ¹⁷ This is how it goes:

¹⁸ “What do I mean? When John appeared, he didn’t have any normal food or drink—and people said ‘What’s got into him, then? Some demon?’ ¹⁹ Then along comes the son of man, eating and drinking normally, and people say, ‘Ooh, look at him—guzzling and boozing, hanging around with tax-collectors and other riff-raff.’ But, you know, wisdom is as wisdom does—and wisdom will be vindicated!”

²⁰ Then he began to berate the towns where he’d done most of his powerful deeds, because they hadn’t repented.

²¹ “A curse on you, Chorazin!” he said. “A curse on you, Bethsaida! If Tyre and Sidon had seen the kind of powerful things you saw, they would have repented long ago with hairshirts and ashes. ²² But I can tell you this: on the day of judgment Tyre and Sidon will have a better time of it than you will. ²³ And what about you, Capernaum? You think you’re going to be exalted to heaven, do you? No—you’ll be sent down to Hades! If the powerful works that happened in you had happened in Sodom, it would still be standing today. ²⁴ But I can tell you this: on the day of judgment the land of Sodom will have a better time of it than you will!”

Jesus’ invitation

²⁵ At that time Jesus turned to God with this prayer: “I give you my praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth! You hid these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to children! ²⁶ Yes, Father, that’s the way you decided to do it! ²⁷ My father gave me everything: nobody knows the son except the father, and nobody knows the father except the son—and anyone the son wants to reveal him to.

²⁸ “Are you having a real struggle? Come to me! Are you carrying a big load on your back? Come to me—I’ll give you a rest! ²⁹ Pick up my yoke and put it on; take lessons from me! My heart is gentle, not arrogant. You’ll find the rest you deeply need. ³⁰ My yoke is easy to wear, my load is easy to bear.”

Lord of the sabbath

12 At that time Jesus went through the cornfields on the sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck ears of corn and eat them. ² When the Pharisees observed this they said to him, “Look here! Your disciples are doing something that’s not permitted on the sabbath!”

³ “Did you never read what David did?” replied Jesus. “When he and his men were hungry, ⁴ they went into God’s house and ate the holy bread which neither he nor his men were allowed to eat—only the priests had that right. ⁵ Or didn’t you read in the law that the priests in the Temple do things on the sabbath which are against sabbath law—and they aren’t guilty? ⁶ Let me tell you this: something greater than the Temple is here. ⁷ If you’d known what this saying means:

you wouldn’t have passed judgment on blameless people. ⁸ Yes, you see: the son of man is master of the sabbath, too.”

⁹ He left the place and went into their synagogue, ¹⁰ where there was a man with a withered hand.

They put the question to him: “Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath?”

(They asked this so that they could frame a charge against him.)

¹¹ “Supposing one of you has just one sheep,” replied Jesus, “and it falls into a ditch on the sabbath. You’ll grab it and haul it out, won’t you? ¹² Well then, think how much more important a human being is than a sheep! So, you see, it is permitted to do good on the sabbath.”

¹³ Then he said to the man, “Stretch your hand out.” He stretched it out, and it was restored to health, just like the other one. ¹⁴ But the Pharisees went off and plotted against him, with the intention of doing away with him.

The servant

¹⁵ Jesus discovered the plots against him, and left the district. Large crowds followed him, and he healed them all, ¹⁶ giving them strict instructions not to tell people about him. ¹⁷ This was so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet might come true:

Jesus and Beelzebul

²² They brought to Jesus a man who was possessed by a demon that made him unable to see or speak. Jesus healed him, so that the sick man was able to talk and see. ²³ All the crowds were astonished.

“He can’t be David’s Son, can he?” they said.

²⁴ The Pharisees heard this.

“The fellow can only cast out demons,” they said, “because he’s in league with Beelzebul, the prince of demons!”

²⁵ Jesus knew their thoughts. “Suppose a kingdom is split down the middle,” he said to them. “It’ll go to rack and ruin! If a city or a household is split down the middle, it’s doomed! ²⁶ And if the satan drives out the satan, he’s split down the middle—so how can his kingdom stay standing?

²⁷ “What’s more, if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, whose power are your people channeling when they cast them out? Yes, they’ll tell you what’s what! ²⁸ But if I’m casting out demons because I’m in league with God’s spirit—well, then, God’s kingdom has arrived on your doorstep!

²⁹ “Look at it like this. Suppose you want to break into a strong man’s house and steal his belongings. How are you going to do that unless you first tie up the strong man? Then you can plunder his house to your heart’s content. ³⁰ If you’re not with me, you’re against me. Unless you’re gathering the flock with me, you’re scattering it.

³¹ “So let me tell you this: people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy; but blasphemy against the spirit will not be forgiven. ³² If anyone speaks a word against the son of man, it will be forgiven. But if anyone speaks a word against the holy spirit, it won’t be forgiven, either in the present age or in the age to come.”

The sign of Jonah

³³ “You must make up your mind between two possibilities,” Jesus went on. “Either the tree is good, in which case its fruit is good; or the tree is bad, in which case its fruit is bad. You can tell the tree by its fruits, after all.

³⁴ “You’re a family of snakes! How can you say good things when you’re bad inside? What the mouth speaks is what fills the heart. ³⁵ A good person produces good things from a good storeroom; an evil person produces evil things from an evil storeroom. ³⁶ Let me tell you this: on judgment day people will have to own up to every trivial word they say. ³⁷ Yes: you will be vindicated by your own words—and you will be condemned by your own words.”

³⁸ “Teacher,” responded some of the scribes and Pharisees. “We would like to see a sign from you.”

³⁹ “This wicked and immoral generation is looking for a sign,” replied Jesus. “But no sign will be given to it—except the sign of Jonah. ⁴⁰ Jonah, you see, was in the stomach of the sea-monster for three days and three nights—and in the same way the son of man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. ⁴¹ The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment along with this generation and will condemn it. They, after all, repented when they heard Jonah’s warnings! And, in case you hadn’t noticed, something greater than Jonah is here. ⁴² The Queen of the South will be raised at the judgment with this generation and will condemn it. She, after all, came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon! And, in case you hadn’t noticed, something greater than Solomon is here.”

Jesus’ true family

⁴³ “When the unclean spirit goes out of a person,” Jesus continued, “it goes wandering through waterless places looking for somewhere to rest, and doesn’t find anywhere. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I’ll go back to my house, the one I left.’ When it gets there it finds it standing empty, clean and tidy. ⁴⁵ Then it goes out and collects seven other spirits to join it, spirits worse than itself. They go in and take up residence there. The poor person ends up worse off than they were to start with! And that’s what will happen with this wicked generation.”

⁴⁶ Suddenly, while he was speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers came and stood outside, hoping for a chance to speak to him.

⁴⁷ “Look,” someone said to him, “your mother and your brothers are standing outside wanting to speak to you.”

⁴⁸ “Who is my mother?” said Jesus to the person who had spoken to him. “Who are my brothers?”

⁴⁹ Then he stretched out his hand towards his disciples.

“Look!” he said. “Here are my mother and my brothers. ⁵⁰ Yes; anyone who does what my heavenly father wants is my brother, and my sister, and my mother.”