M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

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!”

Peter’s vision

10 In Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion with the cohort called “the Italian.” ² He was devout, and he and all his household revered God. He gave alms generously to the people, and constantly prayed to God.

³ He had a vision. Around three o’clock in the afternoon he saw, quite clearly, one of God’s angels coming to him.

“Cornelius!” said the angel.

⁴ He looked hard at him, terrified.

“What is it, Sir?” he said.

“Your prayers and your alms have come to God’s notice,” said the angel. ⁵ “What you must do is this. Send men to Joppa, and ask for someone called Simon, surnamed Peter. ⁶ He is staying with a man called Simon, a tanner, whose house is beside the sea.”

⁷ When the angel who had spoken with him went away, he called two of his household and a devout soldier from among his retinue. ⁸ He explained everything to them, and sent them off to Joppa.

⁹ The next day, as they were on their journey and getting near the town, Peter went up onto the roof of the house to pray. It was around midday; ¹⁰ he was hungry, and asked for something to eat. While they were preparing it, he fell into a trance. ¹¹ He saw heaven opened, and a vessel like a great sail coming down towards the earth, suspended by its four corners. ¹² In the sail there was every kind of four-footed creature, reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. ¹³ Then he heard a voice: “Get up, Peter!” said the voice. “Kill and eat!”

¹⁴ “Certainly not, Master!” said Peter. “I’ve never eaten anything common or unclean!”

¹⁵ “What God has made clean,” said the voice, coming now for a second time, “you must not regard as common.”

¹⁶ This all happened three times, and then suddenly the sail was whisked back up to heaven.

Peter goes to Cornelius

¹⁷ When Peter came to himself, he was puzzled as to what the vision he had seen was all about. Then, suddenly, the men sent by Cornelius appeared, standing by the gate. They had been asking for Simon’s house, ¹⁸ inquiring if someone by the name of Simon called Peter was staying there. ¹⁹ Peter was still pondering the vision, when the spirit spoke to him.

“Look,” said the spirit. “There are three men searching for you. ²⁰ It’s all right; get up, go down and go with them. Don’t be prejudiced; I have sent them.”

²¹ So Peter went down to the men.

“Here I am,” he said. “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come?”

²² “There is a man called Cornelius,” they replied. “He is a centurion, and he is a righteous and God-fearing man. The whole people of the Jews will testify to him. A holy angel told him in a vision to send for you to come to his house, so that he can hear any words you may have to say.”

²³ So he invited them in and put them up for the night.

In the morning he got up and went with them. Some of the believers from Joppa went with him. ²⁴ They reached Caesarea the following day. Cornelius had summoned his relatives and close friends and was waiting for him.

²⁵ When Peter came in, Cornelius went to meet him. He fell down at his feet and worshiped him.

²⁶ “Get up!” said Peter, lifting him up. “I’m just a man, too.”

²⁷ So they talked together, and Peter came in and found lots of people assembled.

²⁸ “You must know,” he said to them, “that it is forbidden for a Jewish man to mix with or visit a Gentile. But God showed me that I should call nobody ‘common’ or ‘unclean.’ ²⁹ So I came when I was asked, and raised no objections. Do tell me, then, the reason why you sent for me.”

³⁰ “Four days ago,” answered Cornelius, “I was praying in my house at around this time, about three o’clock, and suddenly a man stood beside me in shining clothes. ³¹ ‘Cornelius,’ he said, ‘your prayer has been heard, and your almsgiving has been remembered by God. ³² So send someone to Joppa and call Simon, who is named Peter; he is staying in the house of Simon the tanner, beside the sea.’ ³³ So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. So now we are all here, in God’s presence, to listen to everything which the Lord has told you to say.”

Telling the Gentiles about Jesus

³⁴ Peter took a deep breath and began.

“It’s become clear to me,” he said, “that God really does show no favoritism. ³⁵ No: in every race, people who fear him and do what is right are acceptable to him. ³⁶ He sent his word to the children of Israel, announcing peace through Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all! ³⁷ You know all about this, and how the word spread through all Judaea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism which John proclaimed.

³⁸ “God anointed this man, Jesus of Nazareth, with the holy spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were overpowered by the devil, since God was with him. ³⁹ We are witnesses of everything he did in the land of Judaea and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree; ⁴⁰ but God raised him on the third day, and allowed him to be seen, ⁴¹ not indeed by all the people, but by those of us whom God had appointed beforehand. We ate and drank with him after he had been raised from the dead. ⁴² And he commanded us to announce to the people, and to bear testimony, that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³ All the prophets give their witness: he is the one! Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his Name.”

⁴⁴ While Peter was still saying all this, the holy spirit fell on everyone who was listening to the word. ⁴⁵ The circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter were astonished, because the gift of the holy spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles too. ⁴⁶ They heard them speaking with tongues and praising God.

Then Peter spoke up.

⁴⁷ “Nobody can deny these people water to be baptized, can they?” he said. “They have received the holy spirit, just like we did!” ⁴⁸ So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus the Messiah.

Then they asked him to stay for a few days.