Read the Gospels in 40 Days
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.
2 (C)Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, (D)Simon, who is called Peter, and (E)Andrew his brother; and (F)James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 (G)Philip and [a]Bartholomew; (H)Thomas and (I)Matthew the tax collector; (J)James the son of Alphaeus, and (K)Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the [b]Zealot, and (L)Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.
The Twelve Disciples Sent Out
5 (M)These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, “Do not [c]go [d]in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the (N)Samaritans; 6 but rather go to (O)the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, [e]preach, saying, ‘(P)The kingdom of heaven [f]is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. 9 (Q)Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, 10 or a [g]bag for your journey, or even two [h]tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for (R)the worker is worthy of his [i]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 [j]house, (S)give it your [k]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, (T)shake the dust off your feet. 15 Truly I say to you, (U)it will be more tolerable for the land of (V)Sodom and Gomorrah in (W)the day of judgment than for that city.
The Promise of Persecution
16 “(X)Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so [l]be (Y)shrewd as serpents and (Z)innocent as doves. 17 But beware of men, for they will deliver you over to the (AA)courts and flog you (AB)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 (AC)But when they deliver you over, (AD)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 (AE)it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
21 “(AF)And brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and (AG)children will rise up against parents and [m]cause them to be put to death. 22 (AH)And you will be hated by all because of My name, but (AI)it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.
23 “But whenever they (AJ)persecute you in this city, flee to [n]the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel (AK)until the Son of Man comes.
The Meaning of Discipleship
24 “(AL)A [o]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. (AM)If they have called the head of the house [p](AN)Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!
26 “Therefore do not (AO)fear them, (AP)for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 27 (AQ)What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim (AR)upon the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather (AS)fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in [q](AT)hell. 29 (AU)Are not two sparrows sold for an [r]assarion? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But (AV)the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So do not fear; (AW)you are more valuable than many sparrows.
32 “Therefore (AX)everyone who [s]confesses Me before men, I will also confess [t]him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But (AY)whoever [u]denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
34 “(AZ)Do not think that I came to [v]bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I came to (BA)set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and (BB)a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.
37 “(BC)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 (BD)he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 (BE)He who has found his [w]life will lose it, and he who has lost his [x]life for My sake will find it.
The Reward of Service
40 “(BF)He who receives you receives Me, and (BG)he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 41 (BH)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 (BI)whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these [y]little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”
Questions from John the Baptist
11 [z](BJ)Now it happened that when Jesus had finished [aa]giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there (BK)to teach and [ab]preach in their cities.
2 (BL)Now when (BM)John in prison heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You (BN)the One who is to come, or shall we look for someone else?” 4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 (BO)the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the (BP)poor have the [ac]gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he [ad]who (BQ)does not [ae]take offense at Me.”
Jesus’ Tribute to John the Baptist
7 Now as these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into (BR)the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 [af]But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ [ag]palaces! 9 [ah]But what did you go out to see? (BS)A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it [ai]is written,
11 Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is [ak]least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 (BU)And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven [al]suffers violence, and violent men [am]take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is (BV)Elijah who [an]was to come. 15 (BW)He who has ears to hear, [ao]let him hear.
16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces, who call out to the other children, 17 and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not [ap]mourn.’ 18 For John came neither (BX)eating nor (BY)drinking, and they say, ‘(BZ)He has a demon!’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a [aq]drunkard, (CA)a friend of tax collectors and [ar]sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated [as]by her deeds.”
Woe to Unrepentant Cities
20 Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His [at](CB)miracles were done, because they did not repent. 21 “(CC)Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, (CD)Bethsaida! For if the [au]miracles had occurred in (CE)Tyre and (CF)Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in [av](CG)sackcloth and ashes. 22 Nevertheless I say to you, (CH)it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in (CI)the day of judgment than for you. 23 And (CJ)Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will (CK)descend to (CL)Hades; for if the [aw]miracles had occurred in (CM)Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. 24 Nevertheless I say to you that (CN)it will be more tolerable for the land of (CO)Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.”
Come to Me
25 (CP)At that [ax]time Jesus said, “I praise You, (CQ)Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that (CR)You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. 26 Yes, (CS)Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. 27 (CT)All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father (CU)except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
28 “(CV)Come to Me, all [ay]who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and (CW)learn from Me, for I am [az]gentle and humble in heart, and (CX)you will find rest for your souls. 30 For (CY)My yoke is [ba]easy and My burden is light.”
Lord of the Sabbath
12 (CZ)At that [bb]time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to (DA)pick the heads of grain and eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what (DB)is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.” 3 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions, 4 how he entered the house of God, and (DC)they ate the [bc]consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? 5 Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple [bd]break the Sabbath and are innocent? 6 But I say to you that something (DD)greater than the temple is here. 7 But if you had known what this [be]means, ‘(DE)I desire [bf]compassion, and not a sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For (DF)the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
Jesus Heals a Man on the Sabbath
9 (DG)And departing from there, He went into their synagogue. 10 And behold, a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned [bg]Jesus, saying, “(DH)Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse Him. 11 And He said to them, “(DI)What man [bh]is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 (DJ)How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do [bi]good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then He *said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” (DK)He stretched it out, and it was restored to [bj]normal, like the other. 14 But going out, the Pharisees (DL)took counsel together against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.
15 But Jesus, [bk]aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and (DM)He healed them all, 16 and (DN)warned them not to make Him known, 17 in order that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled, saying,
18 “(DO)Behold, My [bl]Servant whom I [bm]have chosen;
(DP)My Beloved in whom My soul [bn]is well-pleased;
(DQ)I will put My Spirit upon Him,
(DR)And He shall proclaim [bo]justice to the [bp]Gentiles.
19 (DS)He will not quarrel, nor cry out;
Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
20 (DT)A battered reed He will not break off,
And a smoldering wick He will not put out,
Until He [bq]leads [br]justice to victory.
21 (DU)And in His name the [bs]Gentiles will hope.”
A Kingdom Divided
22 (DV)Then a (DW)demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to [bt]Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. 23 And all the crowds were astounded, and were saying, “Can this man really be the (DX)Son of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man does not (DY)cast out demons except by [bu]Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”
25 (DZ)And (EA)knowing their thoughts He said to them, “[bv]Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and [bw]any city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 And if (EB)Satan casts out Satan, he [bx]is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I (EC)by [by]Beelzebul cast out demons, (ED)by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. 28 But (EE)if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.
Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit
30 (EF)He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
31 “(EG)Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32 (EH)And whoever [bz]speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever [ca]speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in (EI)this age or in the age to come.
The Heart Is Revealed by Words
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for (EJ)the tree is known by its fruit. 34 (EK)You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak [cb]what is good? (EL)For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. 35 (EM)The good man brings out of his good treasure [cc]what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure [cd]what is evil. 36 But I tell you that every [ce]careless word that people [cf]speak, they shall give an accounting for it in (EN)the day of judgment. 37 For [cg]by your words you will be justified, and [ch]by your words you will be condemned.”
The Sign of Jonah
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered and said to Him, “Teacher, (EO)we want to see [ci]a sign from You.” 39 But He answered and said to them, “(EP)An evil and adulterous generation eagerly seeks for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; 40 for just as (EQ)Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will (ER)the Son of Man be (ES)three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 (ET)The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because (EU)they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, (EV)something greater than Jonah is here. 42 (EW)The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, (EX)something greater than Solomon is here.
43 “(EY)Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and (EZ)the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”
Jesus’ Mother and Brothers
46 (FA)While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His (FB)mother and (FC)brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. 47 [cj]Now someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.” 48 But [ck]Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”
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