The Twelve Apostles

1 ^uAnd he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. 2 ^vThe names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, ^wwho is called Peter, and ^xAndrew his brother; ^xJames the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and ^yMatthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;¹ 4 Simon the Zealot,² and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

5 ^uThese twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of ^zthe Samaritans, 6 ^abut go rather to ^bthe lost sheep of ^cthe house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ^d‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’³ 8 ^eHeal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers,⁴ cast out demons. ^fYou received without paying; give without pay. 9 ^gAcquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics⁵ or sandals or a staff, for ^hthe laborer deserves his food. 11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. 12 As you enter the house, ⁱgreet it. 13 And if the house is ^jworthy, let ⁱyour peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let ⁱyour peace return to you. 14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, ^lshake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, ^mit will be more bearable on the day of judgment for ⁿthe land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

Persecution Will Come

16 ^o“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be ^pwise as serpents and ^qinnocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for ^rthey will deliver you over to courts and flog you ^sin their synagogues, 18 ^rand you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, ^tto bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19 ^rWhen ^uthey deliver you over, ^vdo not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for ^wwhat you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 ^xFor it is not you who speak, but ^ythe Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 ^zBrother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 ^aand you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. ^bBut the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they ^cpersecute you in one town, ^dflee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel ^ebefore the Son of Man comes.

24 ^f“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant⁶ above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. ^gIf they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign⁷ those of his household.

Have No Fear

26 “So have no fear of them, ⁱfor nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on ^jthe housetops. 28 And ^kdo not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him ^lwho can destroy both soul and body in hell.⁸ 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?⁹ And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But ^meven the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; ⁿyou are of more value than many sparrows. 32 ^oSo everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but ^pwhoever denies me before men, ^qI also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Not Peace, but a Sword

34 ^r“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. ^sI have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 ^rFor I have come ^tto set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 ^uAnd a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 ^vWhoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And ^wwhoever does not take his cross and ^xfollow me is not worthy of me. 39 ^yWhoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Rewards

40 ^z“Whoever receives you receives me, and ^awhoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41 ^bThe one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And ^cwhoever gives one of ^dthese little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

Messengers from John the Baptist

1 When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.

2 ^eNow when John heard ^fin prison about the deeds of ^gthe Christ, he sent word by ^hhis disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you ⁱthe one who is to come, or shall we ^jlook for another?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 ^kthe blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers¹ are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and ^lthe poor have good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is the one who ^mis not offended by me.”

7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out ⁿinto the wilderness to see? ^oA reed shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? A man² dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 What then did you go out to see? ^pA prophet?³ Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written,

11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 ^rFrom the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,⁴ and the violent take it by force. 13 ^rFor all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is ^sElijah who is to come. 15 ^tHe who has ears to hear,⁵ let him hear.

16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,

18 For John came ^uneither eating ^vnor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came ^weating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, ^xa friend of ^ytax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”⁶

Woe to Unrepentant Cities

20 ^zThen he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. 21 ^a“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in ^bTyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 ^cBut I tell you, it will be more bearable on ^dthe day of judgment for ^bTyre and Sidon than for you. 23 And you, ^eCapernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to ^fHades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 ^cBut I tell you that ^git will be more tolerable on ^dthe day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest

25 ^hAt that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, ⁱLord of heaven and earth, that ^jyou have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and ^krevealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your ^lgracious will.⁷ 27 ^mAll things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son ⁿexcept the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone ^oto whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 ^pCome to ^qme, all who labor and are ^rheavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and ^slearn from me, for I am ^tgentle and lowly in heart, and ^uyou will find rest for your souls. 30 For ^vmy yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”