|
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
1 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave
them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure
diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of
God and to heal the sick. 3 He told them: “Take nothing for
the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra
shirt. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there until you
leave that town. 5 If people do not welcome you, shake the
dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony
against them.” 6 So they set out and went from village to
village, proclaiming the good news and healing people
everywhere.
7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going
on. And he was perplexed because some were saying that John
had been raised from the dead, 8 others that Elijah had
appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long
ago had come back to life. 9 But Herod said, “I beheaded
John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?” And he
tried to see him.
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
10 When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus
what they had done. Then he took them with him and they
withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, 11 but
the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed
them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed
those who needed healing.
12 Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and
said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding
villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because
we are in a remote place here.”
13 He replied, “You give them something to eat.” They
answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two
fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” 14
(About five thousand men were there.) But he said to his
disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty
each.” 15 The disciples did so, and everyone sat down. 16
Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to
heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to
the disciples to set before the people. 17 They all ate and
were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve
basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah
18 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his
disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds
say I am?”
19 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say
Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long
ago has come back to life.”
20 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I
am?” Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”
Jesus Predicts His Death
21 Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to
anyone. 22 And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many
things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and
the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the
third day be raised to life.”
23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my
disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily
and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will
lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.
25 What good is it for you to gain the whole world, and yet
lose or forfeit your very self? 26 If any of you are ashamed
of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of you
when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father
and of the holy angels.
27 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will
not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”
The Transfiguration
28 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took
Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain
to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face
changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of
lightning. 30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, 31 appeared in
glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his
departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at
Jerusalem. 32 Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but
when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two
men standing with him. 33 As the men were leaving Jesus,
Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here.
Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and
one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)
34 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered
them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 A
voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I
have chosen; listen to him.” 36 When the voice had spoken,
they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to
themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they
had seen.
Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy
37 The next day, when they came down from the mountain,
a large crowd met him. 38 A man in the crowd called out,
“Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only
child. 39 A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it
throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth.
It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. 40 I
begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.”
41 “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus
replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with
you? Bring your son here.”
42 Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him
to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the evil
spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 43
And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.
Jesus Predicts His Death a Second Time
While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said
to his disciples,
44 “Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you:
The Son of Man is going to be delivered over to human
hands.” 45 But they did not understand what this meant. It
was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and
they were afraid to ask him about it.
46 An argument started among the disciples as to which
of them would be the greatest. 47 Jesus, knowing their
thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him.
48 Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child
in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the
one who sent me. For whoever is least among you all is the
greatest.”
49 “Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out
demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is
not one of us.”
50 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not
against you is for you.”
Samaritan Opposition
51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to
heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 And he
sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village
to get things ready for him; 53 but the people there did not
welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. 54 When
the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do
you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?”
55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them. 56 Then he and his
disciples went to another village.
The Cost of Following Jesus
57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to
him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds have
nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
59 He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied,
“Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own
dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but
first let me go back and say good-by to my family.”
62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow
and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” |
Cults 
Why Did God Permit Sin?
