9
“He Sent Them Out to Proclaim the Kingdom of God and to Heal the Sick”
1 Now, calling together the Twelve, Jesus+ granted them power and authority over every kind of demon+ and power to heal diseases,
2 and he sent them out to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
3 He said to them, “Don’t take anything for the road—no staff, no traveler’s bag, no bread, no silver coins, not even an extra inner garment.+
4 And whatever home+ ᵖyou enter, in that same house+ you are to stay and from that same house you are to leave.
5 And if the people in a certain town+ refuse to welcome ᵖyou, as you are leaving that town, shake its very dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”
6 So the disciples+ set out and traveled from village to village, proclaiming the gospel and healing people everywhere.
“Who Is This Man about Whom I Keep Hearing Such Things?”
7 Herod, the regional governor over Galilee,+ heard about all the things that were happening, and he didn’t know what to think, because some people were saying+ that John had been raised from the dead,
8 while others said that it was Elijah who had appeared, and still others that there had risen to life one of the prophets of long ago.
9 “John I had beheaded,” Herod said. “Who is this man about whom I keep hearing such things?” And he wanted+ to see Jesus.+
“There Were About Five Thousand Men There”
10 When the apostles returned, they told Jesus+ everything they had done. Then he took them along with him and they withdrew from the crowds+ to a town called Bethsaida.
11 The crowds, however, when they found out about this, followed him. Welcoming them, Jesus began speaking to them about the Kingdom of God and healing those who were in need of healing.
12 Now, the day began to draw to a close. The Twelve came up to Jesus and said to him, “Please dismiss the crowd so that they can go into the surrounding villages and farms and find some food and lodging, because in this place we are way out in the wilderness.”
13 “ᵖYou yourselves give them something to eat,” Jesus+ said to them.
They replied, “But we have only
+ five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we ourselves are to go and buy all these people something to eat!”
14 (There were about five thousand men there, you see.)
“Have the people
+ sit down in groups of about fifty,” Jesus
+ said to his disciples.
15 The disciples did as Jesus instructed+ and had everyone sit down.
16 Now when he had taken the five small round+ loaves and the two cooked+ fish, Jesus+ looked up into the sky+ and gave thanks for them.+ Then he broke the loaves into pieces and kept giving them to the disciples to serve to the crowd.
17 They all ate as much as they wanted.+ Then the disciples received back from the people what was left over+— twelve baskets full of broken pieces.
“Who Is It You Say I Am?”
18 Now one day while Jesus+ was praying away from the crowds+ and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Exactly who do the crowds say I am?”
19 “Some say John the Baptizer,” they replied, “but others, Elijah, and still others, that there has risen to life one of the prophets of long ago.”
20 “And what about ᵖyou disciples? Who is it+ you say I am?” he asked them.
“The Messiah of God,” Peter answered.
21 Then Jesus+ gave them stern orders not to tell anyone about this.
22 He said, “It is God’s will+ for the Son of Man to suffer many, many things;+ and to be ‘examined and rejected as worthless’+ by the elders and chief priests and Torah-experts; and to be killed;+ and then on the third day,+ to be raised to life.”
23 Then he said to them all, “If someone wants to be a disciple of mine,+ he must deny himself and take up his cross every day+ and continue coming along with me.+
24 If someone is set on+ saving his life, you see, he will lose it. If someone is prepared to lose his life because of+ me, however, this person will save it.
25 Is it really worth it+ for a person if he gains all the riches in the world, yet loses or forfeits+ his very self?
26 If+ anyone is ashamed of me and these words of mine, you see, of this person the Son of Man will himself be ashamed when he comes in his glory and that of the Father+ and the holy angels.+
27 Now I tell ᵖyou the truth: There are some standing right here who will certainly not experience death while they have a glimpse of the Kingdom of God.”+
“The Appearance of His Face Changed, and His Clothing Became Gleaming White”
28 About eight days after Jesus said these things,+ he took along Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.
29 29
30 Suddenly, there talking with him were two men—Moses and Elijah.
31 Having appeared clothed in glory, they were talking about his exodus,+ which he was destined to accomplish+ in Jerusalem.
32 As for Peter and those with him, they were sound asleep.+ When they woke up, though, they saw his glory and the two men who were standing with him.
33 As Moses and Elijah were leaving Jesus,+ Peter said to him, “Master, how wonderful it is for us to be right here! Let us set up three tabernacles+—one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He didn’t know what he was saying.)
34 While he was still speaking, a cloud+ appeared and began to overshadow them; and the disciples+ were afraid as they went into the cloud.
35 Then there came from the cloud a voice: “This is my Son, my Chosen One.+ To him pay close attention, and obey what he says.+”+
36 When the voice finished speaking,+ Jesus was the only one there.+ The disciples+ kept quiet about all this and told no one at that time+ about any of the things they had seen.”
“Jesus Issued a Stern Command to the Unclean Spirit and Healed the Boy”
37 The next day, when Jesus and the three disciples+ had come down from the mountain, Jesus was met by a large crowd.+
38 Suddenly a man from the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to help+ my son; he’s my only child!
39 A spirit keeps attacking him. He screams without any warning at all, and it throws him into convulsions and causes him to foam at the mouth.+ It hardly ever leaves him, crushing him to pieces.
40 I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable to.”
41 “You faithless and twisted generation!” Jesus said in response. “How much longer must I be with ᵖyou and put up with ᵖyou? Bring your son here.”
42 As the boy+ was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in convulsions and shook him violently. But Jesus issued a stern command to the unclean spirit and healed the boy and gave him back to his father.
43 Everyone was in awe at the greatness of God.
“The Son of Man Is Destined to Be Betrayed into the Hands of Men”
While everyone was marveling at all the things Jesus
+ was doing, he said to his disciples,
44 “ᵖYou disciples listen carefully and remember these words:+ The Son of Man is destined to be betrayed into the hands of men.”
45 But the disciples+ didn’t understand what he meant;+ it was hidden from them, so that they didn’t grasp what he was telling them.++ And they were afraid to ask him about this statement.
“The One Who Is among All of You Least, You See, That’s Who Is Going to Be the Greatest”
46 Now an argument arose among the disciples+ as to which of them would be the greatest.
47 Jesus, however, knowing what they were thinking,+ took a child by the hand and had him stand beside him.
48 Then he said to them, “If someone welcomes this little child because he bears my name,+ it is me whom he is actually+ welcoming. And if someone welcomes me, he is actually welcoming the one who sent me. The one who is among all of you least, you see, that’s who is going to be the greatest.”
49 “Master,” John answered, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him since he isn’t traveling about with us as your disciple.+”
50 “Don’t stop him,” said Jesus, “because anyone who is not against ᵖyou is for you.”
“Lord, Do You Want Us to Call Down Fire from Heaven to Destroy Them?”
51 Now as the time+ drew near for Jesus to be taken up,+ he firmly resolved+ to go to Jerusalem.+
52 He sent some messengers on ahead of him.+ They set out and went into a Samaritan village in order to get things ready for him,
53 but the people there+ refused to welcome him, because he was set on going+ to Jerusalem.
54 Well, when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven+ to destroy them?”+
55 But Jesus+ turned and rebuked them,++
56 and they went on to another village.
“Leave the Dead to Bury Their Own Dead”
57 As they were traveling on the road, someone said to him, “I will go with ˢyou wherever you go.”
58 “Foxes have dens, and the wild birds+ have nests,” Jesus said to him. “The Son of Man, however, has nowhere to lie down and rest.+”+
59 He said to another man, “Come along with me as a disciple.”+
“Lord,” the man
+ said, “please let me first go and bury my father.”
60 “Leave the dead to bury their own dead,” Jesus+ said to him. “ˢYou, however, are to go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.”
61 Still another said, “I will go with you, Lord. First, though, let me say good-bye to those at my home.”
62 “Anyone who puts his hand to the plow but then keeps looking back,” Jesus said to him, “is to the Kingdom of God of no use.”