And he called the Twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.
And he sent them out to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
And he said to them, “Do not take anything for your journey; no staff, nor traveler’s bag, nor bread, nor silver; and do not have two tunics.
And into whatever house you enter, stay there, and depart from there.
And as many as do not receive you, when you depart from that city, shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”
And they departed and went throughout the villages proclaiming good news and healing people everywhere.
Herod Is Perplexed by Jesus
Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was happening. And he was greatly perplexed because it was said by some that John had been raised from among the dead,
by some that Elijah had appeared, and yet by others that one of the prophets of old had risen.
And Herod said, “John I beheaded. Who, then, is this about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see him.
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
And when the apostles returned, they told him all that they had done. And taking them, he withdrew by himself to a city called Bethsaida.
But the multitudes, having learned this, followed him. And having welcomed them, he was speaking to them about the Kingdom of God, and those who had need of treatment he was healing.
Now the day began to draw to a close, and the Twelve came and said to him, “Send the multitude away so they can go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and somewhere to stay for the night, for we are here in a remote place.”
But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” But they said, “We do not have more than five loaves and two fish unless we go buy food for all these people.”
(For there were about 5,000 men). But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down to eat in groups, about 50 each.”
And they did so, and made them all sit down.
And he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and broke them, and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the multitude.
And they ate, and were all filled, and what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ
And it came to pass, as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, saying, “Who do the multitudes say that I am?”
And answering, they said, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; and others say that one of the prophets of old has risen.”
And he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”
Jesus Foretells His Death
Now he warned them and instructed them to tell this to no one,
saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and experts in the law, and be killed, and the third day be raised from the dead.”
Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus
And he said to them all, “If anyone wants to follow after me, he must deny himself and must take up his cross daily, and then follow me.
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake, he is the one who will save it.
For what does it profit a person if he gains the whole world and yet loses or forfeits himself?
For whoever is ashamed of me and of 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.
But I tell you truly, there are some of those who stand here who will absolutely not taste of death until they see the Kingdom of God.”
The Transfiguration
And it came to pass about eight days after these sayings, that he took with him Peter and John and James, and went up onto the mountain to pray.
And as he was praying, the appearance of his face became different, and his clothing became white and dazzling.
And Look! Two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah,
who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure that he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they were fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.
And it came to pass as they were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three tents: one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah,” not knowing what he said.
And while he said these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.
And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my chosen one. Listen to him!”
And when the voice came, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent, and told no one in those days any of the things that they had seen.
Jesus Heals a Boy with an Unclean Spirit
And it came to pass on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a large crowd met him.
And Look! A man from the crowd shouted out, saying, “Teacher, I implore you to look at my son, for he is my only child,
and Look! A spirit takes hold of him and he suddenly cries out, and it throws him into convulsions with foaming at the mouth, bruising him, and it scarcely ever leaves him.
And I implored your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able to.”
And Jesus answered and said, “O unbelieving and twisted generation, how much longer will I be with you and have to put up with you? Bring your son here.”
And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and made him have convulsions. But Jesus subdued the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
Jesus Again Foretells His Death
And they were all amazed at the majesty of God. But while they all were marveling at all the things that he did, he said to his disciples,
“Let these words sink into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be handed over into the hands of men.”
But they did not understand this saying and it remained hidden from them so they did not grasp its meaning and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
Who Is the Greatest?
And an argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest.
But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a little child and set him by his side
and said to them, “Whoever receives this little child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Indeed, the one who is least among you all, that same one is great.”
Anyone Not Against Us Is For Us
And John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he is not following you along with us.”
But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for whoever is not against you is for you.”
A Samaritan Village Rejects Jesus
And it came to pass, when the days were approaching for him to be taken up, that he firmly resolved to go to Jerusalem.
And he sent messengers ahead of him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make things ready for him.
But they did not receive him, because he was intent on going to Jerusalem.
And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”
But he turned and rebuked them.
And they went to another village.
The Cost of Following Jesus
And as they were going along the road, a certain man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have dens, and the birds of heaven have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
And he said to another, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
But he said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim everywhere the Kingdom of God.”
And another also said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say goodbye to those who are at my house.”
But Jesus said to him, “No one who has put his hand to the plow and yet continues to look behind him, is well suited for the Kingdom of God.”