Jesus called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to heal diseases. 2 Then he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 He told them, “Take nothing for the journey — no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, and don’t take a second tunic. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there, and leave from there. 5 And wherever they won’t welcome you, when you leave that town shake the dust off your feet as a witness against them.”[1] 6 So they set out and went through the villages, telling the good news and healing people everywhere.
7 Now Herod the ruler heard about everything that was happening, and he was deeply puzzled because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead,[2] 8 and some that Elijah had appeared, and others that one of the ancient prophets had risen. 9 Herod said, “I beheaded John. So who is this I keep hearing such things about?” And he kept trying to see him.
10 When the messengers returned, they told Jesus everything they had done. He took them and withdrew privately to a town called Bethsaida.[3] 11 But the crowds found out and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and he healed those who needed healing.
12 As the day began to fade, the Twelve came and said to him, “Send the crowd away so they can go into the surrounding villages and farms to find lodging and food, because we’re out here in a deserted place.” 13 But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have nothing more than five loaves and two fish — unless we go and buy food for all these people ourselves.” 14 (There were about five thousand men.) He said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty.” 15 They did this, and had everyone sit down. 16 Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, blessed them, broke them, and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 They all ate and were satisfied, and what was left over of the broken pieces was picked up — twelve baskets full.[4]
18 One time when Jesus was praying alone and the disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?” 19 They answered, “John the Baptist. But others say Elijah, and others that one of the ancient prophets has risen.” 20 He said to them, “But you — who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “The Anointed One of God.”
21 Jesus warned them sharply and commanded them not to tell this to anyone, 22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”
23 Then he said to everyone, “If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake — that person will save it. 25 What good does it do a person to gain the whole world but lose or forfeit himself? 26 Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 Truly, I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”
28 About eight days after these words, Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up on a mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 And look — two men were talking with him. They were Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and were speaking about his departure, which he was about to fulfill in Jerusalem.[5]
32 Now Peter and those with him were weighed down with sleep. But when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 33 As the men were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it’s good for us to be here. Let’s make three shelters — one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He didn’t know what he was saying.
34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 Then a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.” 36 When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.
37 The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. 38 And look — a man from the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you, look at my son — he’s my only child. 39 A spirit seizes him, and suddenly he screams. It throws him into convulsions with foaming at the mouth, and it hardly ever leaves him alone — it’s destroying him. 40 I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn’t.”
41 Jesus answered, “You unbelieving and twisted generation — how long must I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” 42 Even as the boy was coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 43 And everyone was astonished at the greatness of God.
While they were all marveling at everything he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples, 44 “Let these words sink into your ears: the Son of Man is about to be handed over into the hands of men.” 45 But they didn’t understand this saying. It was hidden from them so that they couldn’t grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.
46 An argument arose among them about which of them was the greatest. 47 Jesus, knowing the thought in their hearts, took a little child and stood the child beside him. 48 Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For the one who is least among you all — that one is great.”
49 John spoke up and said, “Master, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he doesn’t follow with us.” 50 But Jesus said to him, “Don’t stop him — for whoever is not against you is for you.”
51 As the days were drawing near for him to be taken up, Jesus set his face firmly to go to Jerusalem. 52 He sent messengers ahead of him. They went and entered a Samaritan village to prepare for him, 53 but the people there wouldn’t welcome him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to destroy them?” 55 But he turned and rebuked them. 56 And they went on to another village.
57 As they were walking along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
59 He said to another, “Follow me.” But the man said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead. But you — go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me go and say goodbye to those at my house.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Notes
Note 1. In the ancient Jewish world, travelers returning from Gentile lands would sometimes shake the dust from their feet so as not to track pagan soil into the holy land. ↩
Note 2. The word rendered “ruler” is “tetrarch,” literally “ruler of a quarter” — the title Rome gave Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great, who governed Galilee and Perea. He was not a king in Rome’s eyes, though the Gospels sometimes call him one. This is the same Antipas who had beheaded John. ↩
Note 3. Bethsaida — the name means roughly “house of fishing” — sat near where the Jordan enters the Sea of Galilee. Around this period Philip the tetrarch elevated the fishing village to the rank of a city, renaming it Julias in honor of the emperor’s family. ↩
Note 4. The word here, kophinos, is a small stiff-walled wicker basket — the kind Jewish travelers commonly carried their own food in. The leftovers filled twelve of these ordinary carrying-baskets. ↩
Note 5. The Greek word is exodos — literally “the way out.” It could plainly mean death. It is also the word the Greek scriptures use for Israel’s departure from Egypt. ↩