Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

1 ^mAnd he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2 ⁿand he sent them out to ^oproclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. 3 ^pAnd he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, ^qno staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics.¹ 4 And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. 5 And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town ^rshake off the dust from your feet ^sas a testimony ^tagainst them.” 6 ^uAnd they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

Herod Is Perplexed by Jesus

7 ^vNow ^wHerod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that ^xJohn had been raised from the dead, 8 ^xby some that Elijah had appeared, and ^xby others that one of the prophets of old had risen. 9 Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And ^yhe sought to see him.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

10 On their return ^zthe apostles told him all that they had done. ^aAnd he took them and withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida. 11 When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he ^bwelcomed them and ^cspoke to them of the kingdom of God and ^ccured those who had need of healing. 12 Now ^dthe day began to wear away, and the twelve came and said to him, ^e“Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.” 13 But he said to them, ^f“You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than ^gfive loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” 14 For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 And they did so, and had them all sit down. 16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, ^hhe looked up to heaven and ⁱsaid a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

18 ^jNow it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 19 And they answered, ^k“John the Baptist. But others say, ^lElijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” 20 Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, ^m“The Christ of God.”

Jesus Foretells His Death

21 ⁿAnd he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22 ^osaying, ^p“The Son of Man must ^qsuffer many things and ^rbe rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on ^sthe third day be raised.”

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him ^tdeny himself and ^utake up his cross ^vdaily and follow me. 24 For ^uwhoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 ^wFor what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26 For ^xwhoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed ^ywhen he comes in ^zhis glory and the glory of the Father and of ^athe holy angels. 27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not ^btaste death ^cuntil they see the kingdom of God.”

The Transfiguration

28 ^dNow about eight days after these sayings he took with him ^ePeter and John and James and ^fwent up on the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was ^galtered, and ^hhis clothing became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure,² which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who were with him ⁱwere heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake ^jthey saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three ^ktents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—^lnot knowing what he said. 34 As he was saying these things, ^ma cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 And ^ma voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, ⁿmy Chosen One;^{3 o}listen to him!” 36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. ^pAnd they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

Jesus Heals a Boy with an Unclean Spirit

37 ^qOn the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. 38 And behold, a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for ^rhe is my only child. 39 And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out. It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and shatters him, and will hardly leave him. 40 And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but ^sthey could not.” 41 Jesus answered, “O ^tfaithless and twisted generation, ^uhow long am I to be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” 42 While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus ^vrebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and ^wgave him back to his father. 43 And all were astonished at ^xthe majesty of God.

Jesus Again Foretells His Death

^yBut while they were all marveling at everything he was doing, Jesus⁴ said ^zto his disciples, 44 “Let these words sink into your ears: ^zThe Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.” 45 ^aBut they did not understand this saying, and ^bit was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

Who Is the Greatest?

46 ^cAn argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. 47 But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side 48 and said to them, ^d“Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and ^dwhoever receives me receives him who sent me. For ^ehe who is least among you all is the one who is great.”

Anyone Not Against Us Is For Us

49 ^fJohn answered, “Master, we saw someone ^gcasting out demons in your name, and ^hwe tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” 50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, ⁱfor the one who is not against you is for you.”

A Samaritan Village Rejects Jesus

51 When the days drew near for ^jhim to be taken up, ^khe set his face ^lto go to Jerusalem. 52 And ^mhe sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of ⁿthe Samaritans, to make preparations for him. 53 But ^othe people did not receive him, because ^phis face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell ^qfire to come down from heaven and consume them?”⁵ 55 But he turned and rebuked them.⁶ 56 And they went on to another village.

The Cost of Following Jesus

57 As they were going ^ralong the road, ^ssomeone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus⁷ said to him, “Leave ^tthe dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and ^uproclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, ^vbut let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, ^w“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

How Shall We Sing the Lord’s Song?