Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Disciples

(Matthew 10.5-15; Mark 6.7-13)

1Jesus called the twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases. 2Then he sent them out to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick, 3 after saying to them, “Take nothing with you for the trip: no walking stick, no beggar's bag, no food, no money, not even an extra shirt. 4Wherever you are welcomed, stay in the same house until you leave that town; 5 wherever people don't welcome you, leave that town and shake the dust off your feet as a warning to them.”

6The disciples left and traveled through all the villages, preaching the Good News and healing people everywhere.

Herod's Confusion

(Matthew 14.1-12; Mark 6.14-29)

7 When Herod, the ruler of Galilee, heard about all the things that were happening, he was very confused, because some people were saying that John the Baptist had come back to life. 8Others were saying that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. 9Herod said, “I had John's head cut off; but who is this man I hear these things about?” And he kept trying to see Jesus.

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand

(Matthew 14.13-21; Mark 6.30-44; John 6.1-14)

10The apostles came back and told Jesus everything they had done. He took them with him, and they went off by themselves to a town named Bethsaida. 11When the crowds heard about it, they followed him. He welcomed them, spoke to them about the Kingdom of God, and healed those who needed it.

12When the sun was beginning to set, the twelve disciples came to him and said, “Send the people away so that they can go to the villages and farms around here and find food and lodging, because this is a lonely place.”

13But Jesus said to them, “You yourselves give them something to eat.”

They answered, “All we have are five loaves and two fish. Do you want us to go and buy food for this whole crowd?” 14(There were about five thousand men there.)

Jesus said to his disciples, “Make the people sit down in groups of about fifty each.”

15After the disciples had done so, 16Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up to heaven, thanked God for them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. 17They all ate and had enough, and the disciples took up twelve baskets of what was left over.

Peter's Declaration about Jesus

(Matthew 16.13-19; Mark 8.27-29)

18One day when Jesus was praying alone, the disciples came to him. “Who do the crowds say I am?” he asked them.

19 “Some say that you are John the Baptist,” they answered. “Others say that you are Elijah, while others say that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”

20 “What about you?” he asked them. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are God's Messiah.”

Jesus Speaks about His Suffering and Death

(Matthew 16.20-28; Mark 8.30—9.1)

21Then Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell this to anyone. 22He also told them, “The Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. He will be put to death, but three days later he will be raised to life.”

23 And he said to them all, “If you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, take up your cross every day, and follow me. 24 For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it, but if you lose your life for my sake, you will save it. 25Will you gain anything if you win the whole world but are yourself lost or defeated? Of course not! 26If you are ashamed of me and of my teaching, then 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. 27I assure you that there are some here who will not die until they have seen the Kingdom of God.”

The Transfiguration

(Matthew 17.1-8; Mark 9.2-8)

28 About a week after he had said these things, Jesus took Peter, John, and James with him and went up a hill to pray. 29While he was praying, his face changed its appearance, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30Suddenly two men were there talking with him. They were Moses and Elijah, 31who appeared in heavenly glory and talked with Jesus about the way in which he would soon fulfill God's purpose by dying in Jerusalem. 32Peter and his companions were sound asleep, but they woke up and saw Jesus' glory and the two men who were standing with him. 33As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, how good it is that we are here! We will make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (He did not really know what he was saying.)

34While he was still speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them with its shadow; and the disciples were afraid as the cloud came over them. 35 A voice said from the cloud, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen—listen to him!”

36When the voice stopped, there was Jesus all alone. The disciples kept quiet about all this and told no one at that time anything they had seen.

Jesus Heals a Boy with an Evil Spirit

(Matthew 17.14-18; Mark 9.14-27)

37The next day Jesus and the three disciples went down from the hill, and a large crowd met Jesus. 38A man shouted from the crowd, “Teacher! I beg you, look at my son—my only son! 39A spirit attacks him with a sudden shout and throws him into a fit, so that he foams at the mouth; it keeps on hurting him and will hardly let him go! 40I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn't.”

41Jesus answered, “How unbelieving and wrong you people are! How long must I stay with you? How long do I have to put up with you?” Then he said to the man, “Bring your son here.”

42As the boy was coming, the demon knocked him to the ground and threw him into a fit. Jesus gave a command to the evil spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 43All the people were amazed at the mighty power of God.

Jesus Speaks Again about His Death

(Matthew 17.22,23; Mark 9.30-32)

The people were still marveling at everything Jesus was doing, when he said to his disciples, 44“Don't forget what I am about to tell you! The Son of Man is going to be handed over to the power of human beings.” 45But the disciples did not know what this meant. It had been hidden from them so that they could not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about the matter.

Who Is the Greatest?

(Matthew 18.1-5; Mark 9.33-37)

46 An argument broke out among the disciples as to which one of them was the greatest. 47Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he took a child, stood him by his side, 48 and said to them, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, also welcomes the one who sent me. For the one who is least among you all is the greatest.”

Whoever Is Not against You Is for You

(Mark 9.38-40)

49John spoke up, “Master, we saw a man driving out demons in your name, and we told him to stop, because he doesn't belong to our group.”

50“Do not try to stop him,” Jesus said to him and to the other disciples, “because whoever is not against you is for you.”

A Samaritan Village Refuses to Receive Jesus

51As the time drew near when Jesus would be taken up to heaven, he made up his mind and set out on his way to Jerusalem. 52He sent messengers ahead of him, who went into a village in Samaria to get everything ready for him. 53But the people there would not receive him, because it was clear that he was on his way to Jerusalem. 54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?”+

55Jesus turned and rebuked them.+ 56Then Jesus and his disciples went on to another village.

The Would-Be Followers of Jesus

(Matthew 8.19-22)

57As they went on their way, a man said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

58Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lie down and rest.”

59He said to another man, “Follow me.”

But that man said, “Sir, first let me go back and bury my father.”

60Jesus answered, “Let the dead bury their own dead. You go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.”

61 Someone else said, “I will follow you, sir; but first let me go and say good-bye to my family.”

62Jesus said to him, “Anyone who starts to plow and then keeps looking back is of no use for the Kingdom of God.”