New Testament in a Year

The Mission of the Twelve Apostles^(A)

9 Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases. ² And He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. ³ He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey: no staff, no bag, no bread, no money. And do not take two tunics apiece. ⁴ Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. ⁵ Whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” ⁶ So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

Herod’s Anxiety^(B)

⁷ Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him. And he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, ⁸ and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen. ⁹ But Herod said, “I have beheaded John. But who is this of whom I hear such things?” And he tried to see Him.

The Feeding of the Five Thousand^(C)

¹⁰ When the apostles returned, they told Jesus all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. ¹¹ But when the crowds knew it, they followed Him. And He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.

¹² When the day began to end, the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the crowds away, so they can go into the towns and surrounding countryside and lodge and get food. For we are in a deserted place here.”

¹³ He said to them, “You give them something to eat.”

They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people.” ¹⁴ There were about five thousand men.

But He said to His disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of fifty.” ¹⁵ They did so, and made them all sit down. ¹⁶ Then 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 to set before the crowd. ¹⁷ They all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of broken pieces that remained were collected.