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9
The Sending of the Twelve Apostles
1 And having called together the twelve, He gave them power and authority over all demons, and to heal diseases. 2 And He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 And He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor knapsack nor bread nor silver; and do not have two tunics apiece.
4 “Whatever house you may enter, stay there, and from there go out. 5 And as many as will not receive you, when you go out from that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”
6 As they went out, they were going about village by village, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
Herod Seeks to See Jesus
7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all the things being done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, 8 and by others that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the ancient prophets had arisen. 9 And Herod said, “John I have beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he was seeking to see Him.
The Feeding of the Five Thousand
10 And the apostles, when they had returned, recounted to Him all that they had done. And taking them along, He withdrew privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. 11 But when the crowds found out, they followed Him; and He welcomed them, and was speaking to them about the kingdom of God, and He cured those who needed healing. 12 Now when the day began to decline, the twelve came and said to Him, “Dismiss the crowd, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and farms, and they may find lodging and find provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.”
13 But He said to them, “You give them something to eat.”
And they said, “We have no more than five loaves of bread and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people.” 14 For there were about five thousand men.
And He said to His disciples, “Make them recline in groups of fifty.” 15 And they did so, and made them all recline.
16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 So they all ate and were satisfied, and twelve baskets of the remaining fragments were taken up by them.
The Confession of Peter
18 And it came to pass, while He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He questioned them, saying, “Who do the crowds pronounce Me to be?”
19 So they answered and said, “John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.”
20 He said to them, “But who do you pronounce Me to be?”
Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”
Jesus Foretells of His Death and Resurrection
21 And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and to be killed, and to be raised on the third day.”
A Call to Discipleship
23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 24 For whoever desires to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake shall save it. 25 For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? 26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels. 27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will by no means taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”
Jesus Transfigured on the Mount
28 Now it came to pass, about eight days after these words, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and glistening. 30 And behold, two men were talking with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, 31 who appearing in glory were talking about His decease which He was about to accomplish in Jerusalem. 32 But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; but becoming fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. 33 And it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tents: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah,” not knowing what he was saying.
34 Now as he said these things, a cloud appeared and overshadowed them; and they were afraid as they entered into the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him!” 36 When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. But they kept silent, and reported to no one in those days any of the things they had seen.
A Boy is Healed
37 Now it happened on the next day, when they came down from the mountain, that a great crowd met Him. 38 And behold, a man from the crowd cried out, saying, “Teacher, I beg You, look upon my son, for he is my only child. 39 And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out, and it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him. 40 So I begged Your disciples that they might cast it out, but they could not.”
41 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” 42 And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him. Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and gave him back to his father.
Jesus Again Foretells of His Death
43 And they were all amazed at the majesty of God. But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples, 44 “Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.” 45 But they did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.
Who is the Greatest?
46 Then a dispute came up among them as to which of them might be the greatest. 47 But Jesus, having seen the thought of their heart, taking a little child, He stood him beside Himself, 48 and said to them, “Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all shall be great.”
49 Now John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us.”
50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is for us.”
A Samaritan Village Rejects the Savior
51 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, 52 and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, so they might prepare for Him. 53 But they did not receive Him, because He was determined to go to Jerusalem. 54 And when they saw this, James and John His disciples said, “Lord, do You wish that we should call down fire from heaven and consume them, as Elijah did?”
55 But turning, He rebuked them, and said, “You do not know of what sort of spirit you are. 56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.
The Cost of Discipleship
57 Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, 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 Then He said to another, “Follow Me.”
But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.”
60 Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
61 And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but first permit me to say farewell to those who are at my house.”
62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

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© 2014 Dr. Paul W. Esposito