Jesus Sends Out the Twelve

(Matthew 10:5-15; Mark 6:7-13)

1Jesusa called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. 2Then he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3He told them, “Don’t take anything along on your trip—no walking stick, traveling bag, bread, money, or even an extra shirt.b 4When you visit a home and stay there, and go out from there, 5if people don’t welcome you, when you leave that city, shake its dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” 6So they left and went from village to village, spreading the good news and healing diseases everywhere.

Herod Tries to See Jesus

(Matthew 14:1-12; Mark 6:14-29)

7Now Herod the tetrarch heard about everything that was happening. He was puzzled because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, 8by others that Elijah had appeared, and by still others that one of the ancient prophets had come back to life. 9Herod said, “I beheaded John. But who is this man I’m hearing so much about?” So Herodc kept trying to see Jesus.d

Jesus Feeds More than Five Thousand People

(Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; John 6:1-14)

10The apostles came back and told Jesuse everything they had done. Then he took them away with him privately to a city called Bethsaida. 11But the crowds found out about this and followed him. He welcomed them and began to speak to them about the kingdom of God and to heal those who needed healing.

12As the day was drawing to a close, the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away to the neighboring villages and farms so they can rest and get some food, because we are here in a deserted place.”

13But he told them, “You give them something to eat.”

They replied, “We have nothing more than five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all these people.”

14Now there were about 5,000 men. So he told his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about 50.” 15They did this and got all of them seated. 16Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed them. Then he broke the loaves in pieces and kept giving them to the disciples to pass on to the crowd. 17All of them ate and were filled. When they collected the leftover pieces, there were twelve baskets.

Peter Declares His Faith in Jesus

(Matthew 16:13-19; Mark 8:27-29)

18One day, while Jesusf was praying privately and the disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”

19They answered, “Some sayg John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others one of the ancient prophets who has come back to life.”

20He asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

“God’s Messiah,”h Peter replied.

Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection

(Matthew 16:21-28; Mark 8:31-9:1)

21He gave them strict orders, commanding them not to tell this to anyone. 22He said, “The Son of Man must suffer a great deal and be rejected by the elders, the high priests, and the scribes. Then he must be killed, but on the third day he will be raised.”

23Then he told all of them, “If anyone wants to come with me, he must deny himself, pick up his cross every day, and follow me continuously, 24because whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25What profit will a person have if he gains the whole world, but destroys himself or is lost? 26If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and the glory ofi the Father and the holy angels. 27I tell you with certainty, some people who are standing here wom’t experiencej death until they see the kingdom of God.”

Jesus’ Appearance is Changed

(Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8)

28Now about eight days after Jesus said this,k he took Peter, John, and James with him and went up on a mountain to pray. 29While he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes turned dazzling white. 30Suddenly, two men were talking with him. They were Moses and Elijah. 31They had a glorified appearance, and were discussing Jesus’l departure that he would shortly bring about in Jerusalem.

32Now Peter and the men with him had been overcome by sleep. When they woke up, they saw Jesus’m glory and the two men standing with him. 33Just as Moses and Elijahn were leaving,o Peter told Jesus, “Master, it’s good that we’re here! Let’s set up three sheltersp —one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (Peterq didn’t know what he was saying.) 34But while he was saying this, a cloud appeared and surrounded them, and they became terrified as they were being overshadowed by the cloud.

35Then a voice came out of the cloud and said, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen.r Keep listening to him!” 36After the voice had spoken, Jesus wass alone. The disciplest kept silent and at that timeu told no one about what they had seen.

Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon

(Matthew 17:14-18; Mark 9:14-27)

37The next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a large crowd met Jesus.v 38Suddenly, a man in the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, because he is my only child.w 39Without warning a spirit takes control of him, and he suddenly screams, goes into convulsions, and foams at the mouth. The spiritx mauls him and refuses to leave him. 40I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn’t.”

41Jesus answered, “You unbelieving and perverted generation! How much longer must I be with youy and put up with you?z Bring youraa son here!” 42Even while the boybb was coming, the demon knocked him to the ground and threw him into convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.

Jesus Again Predicts His Death and Resurrection

(Matthew 17:22-23; Mark 9:30-32)

43All the people continued to be amazed at the greatness of God. Indeed, everyone was astonished at all the things Jesuscc was doing. So he told his disciples, 44“Listen carefully to these words.dd The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands.” 45But they didn’t know what this meant. Indeed, the meaning was hidden from them so that they didn’t understand it; and they were afraid to ask him about this statement.

True Greatness

(Matthew 18:1-5; Mark 9:33-37)

46Later, an argument started among the disciplesee as to which of them might be the greatest. 47But Jesus, knowing their inner thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. 48Then he told them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me, because the one who is least among all of you is the one who is greatest.”

The Person who is Not against You is for You

(Mark 9:38-40)

49John said, “Master, we saw someone driving out demons in your name. We tried to stop him, because he wasn’t a follower like us.”

50Jesus told him, “Don’t stop him! Because whoever is not against you is for you.”

A Samaritan Village Refuses to Welcome Jesus

51When the days grew closer for Jesusff to be taken up to heaven,gg he was determined to continue his journey to Jerusalem. 52So he sent messengers on ahead of him. On their way they went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him. 53But the peoplehh would not welcome him, because he was determined to go to Jerusalem. 54When his disciples James and John observed this rejection,ii they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?”jj 55But he turned and rebuked them,kk 56and they allll went on to another village.

The Would-be Followers of Jesus

(Matthew 8:19-22)

57While they were walking along the road, a man told him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

58Jesus told him,

“Foxes have holes and birdsmm have nests,

but the Son of Man has no place to rest.”nn

59He told another man, “Follow me.”

But he said, “Lord,oo first let me go and bury my father.”

60But he told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead. But you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

61Still another man said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say goodbye to those at home.”

62Jesus told him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”