Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

1Then Jesus called ¹³⁷the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to heal diseases,

2and he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

3He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey—no ¹³⁸staffs, no knapsack, no bread, no money—and ¹³⁹bring only one tunic each.

4Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that place.

5If any will not receive you, shake off the very dust from your feet as you leave that town, as a testimony against them.”

6So they set out and went throughout the villages, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.

Herod is Perplexed About Jesus

7Now Herod the tetrarch heard about everything that ¹⁴⁰Jesus was doing, and he was greatly perplexed, because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead,

8others were saying that Elijah had appeared, and others were saying that one of the ancient prophets had risen.

9But Herod said, “John I beheaded; who then is this man about whom I hear such things?” So he was looking for an opportunity to see him.

The Feeding of the Five Thousand

10When the apostles returned, they told Jesus about all they had done. Then he took them and withdrew privately to ¹⁴¹a desolate place belonging to a town called Bethsaida.

11But when the crowds found out about it, they followed him. So he welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and cured those who had need of healing.

12As the day began to draw to a close, the twelve came up and said to Jesus, “Send the crowd away so that they can go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging and provisions, for we are in a desolate place here.”

13But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have only five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for this entire group of people.”

14(For there were about five thousand men.) Then he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of ¹⁴²fifty each.”

15The disciples did so, and had everyone sit down.

16Then Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and fish into pieces and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.

17They all ate and were filled, and what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.

Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Christ

18Once when Jesus was praying in private and the disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”

19They answered, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others say that one of the ancient prophets has risen.”

20Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection

21Jesus then warned them and instructed them to tell this to no one,

22saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and he must be killed and on the third day ¹⁴³rise again.”

23Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to be one of my disciples, he must deny himself, take up his ¹⁴⁴cross, and follow me.

24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

25For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but loses or forfeits himself?

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 of the Father and the holy angels.

27But truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will certainly not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

The Transfiguration

28About eight days after he had spoken these words, he took Peter, John, and James, and went up on a mountain to pray.

29As he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white.

30And behold, two men were talking with him; they were Moses and Elijah,

31who appeared in glory and were speaking about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment in Jerusalem.

32Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.

33As the men were parting from Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three shelters, one for yoʋ, one for Moses, and one for Elijah,” not knowing what he was saying.

34But as he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.

35Then a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my ¹⁴⁵beloved Son; listen to him!”

36When the voice finished speaking, they found that Jesus was alone. And the disciples kept silent, not telling anyone in those days about any of the things they had seen.

Jesus Heals a Boy with an Unclean Spirit

37On the next day, when they came down from the mountain, Jesus was met by a large crowd.

38And behold, a man from among the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg ¹⁴⁶yoʋ to look at my son, for he is my one and only child.

39A spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth. It hardly ever leaves him alone, bruising him severely.

40I begged yoʋr disciples to cast it out, but they could not.”

41Jesus answered, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring yoʋr son here.”

42Now as the boy was approaching, the demon threw him down and shook him with convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.

43And they were all astonished at the majesty of God. Jesus Predicts His Death a Second Time But while everyone was marveling at all that Jesus ¹⁴⁷had done, he said to his disciples,

44“Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered up into the hands of men.”

45But they did not understand what this meant. It was concealed from them, so that they could not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.

True Greatness

46Now an argument arose among the disciples as to which of them was greater.

47But Jesus, ¹⁴⁸perceiving the thoughts of their hearts, took a child and placed him by his side.

48Then he said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who ¹⁴⁹will be great.”

Whoever Is Not Against Us Is for Us

49John responded, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in yoʋr name, and we told him to stop because he does not follow us.”

50But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop ¹⁵⁰him, for whoever is not against ¹⁵¹us is for us.”

A Samaritan Village Refuses to Receive Jesus

51Now when the days were approaching for Jesus' ascension, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.

52He sent messengers on ahead, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make preparations for him.

53But the people there refused to welcome him, because his face was set to go to Jerusalem.

54When ¹⁵²his disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do yoʋ want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume ¹⁵³them, just like Elijah did?”

55But he turned and rebuked ¹⁵⁴them, saying, “You do not know what kind of spirit you belong to.

56¹⁵⁵For the Son of Man did not come to destroy people's lives but to save them.” And they went on to another village.

Would-Be Followers of Jesus

57As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow yoʋ wherever yoʋ ¹⁵⁶go, Lord.”

58Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

59Then Jesus said to another man, “Follow me.” But the man said, “ ¹⁵⁷Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”

60Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead. But yoʋ go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

61Still another said, “I will follow yoʋ, Lord, but first let me say goodbye to my family.”

62But Jesus said ¹⁵⁸to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”