Chapter 10

The Twelve Disciples; Instructions for Service

1 Jesus asummoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to bheal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

2 aNow the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, bSimon, who is called Peter, and bAndrew his brother; and 1cJames the son of Zebedee, and 2John his brother;

3 aPhilip and 1Bartholomew; bThomas and cMatthew the tax collector; 2dJames the son of Alphaeus, and eThaddaeus;

4 Simon the 1Zealot, and aJudas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.

5 aThese twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: “Do not 1go 2in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the bSamaritans;

6 but rather go to athe lost sheep of the house of Israel.

7 “And as you go, 1preach, saying, ‘aThe kingdom of heaven 2is at hand.’

8 “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.

9 “aDo not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts,

10 or a 1bag for your journey, or even two 2coats, or sandals, or a staff; for athe worker is worthy of his 3support.

11 “And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay 1at his house until you leave that city.

12 “As you enter the 1house, agive it your 2greeting.

13 “If the house is worthy, 1give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, 2take back your blessing of peace.

14 “Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, ashake the dust off your feet.

15 “Truly I say to you, ait will be more tolerable for the land of bSodom and Gomorrah in cthe day of judgment than for that city.

A Hard Road before Them

16 “aBehold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so 1be bshrewd as serpents and cinnocent as doves.

17 “But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the acourts and scourge you bin their synagogues;

18 and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.

19 “aBut when they hand you over, bdo not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say.

20 “For ait is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

21 “aBrother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and bchildren will rise up against parents and 1cause them to be put to death.

22 “aYou will be hated by all because of My name, but bit is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

23 “But whenever they apersecute you in 1one city, flee to 2the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel buntil the Son of Man comes.

The Meaning of Discipleship

24 “aA 1disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master.

25 “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. aIf they have called the head of the house 1bBeelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!

26 “Therefore do not afear them, bfor there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.

27 “aWhat I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim bupon the housetops.

28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather afear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in 1bhell.

29 “aAre not two sparrows sold for a 1cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.

30 “But athe very hairs of your head are all numbered.

31 “So do not fear; ayou are more valuable than many sparrows.

32 “Therefore aeveryone who 1confesses Me before men, I will also confess 2him before My Father who is in heaven.

33 “But awhoever 1denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

34 “aDo not think that I came to 1bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

35 “For I came to aset a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

36 and aa man’s enemies will be the members of his household.

37 “aHe who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

38 “And ahe who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.

39 “aHe who has found his 1life will lose it, and he who has lost his 1life for My sake will find it.

The Reward of Service

40 “aHe who receives you receives Me, and bhe who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.

41 “aHe who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.

42 “And awhoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these 1little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”

Chapter 11

John’s Questions

1 aWhen Jesus had finished 1giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there bto teach and 2preach in their cities.

2 aNow when bJohn, 1while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples

3 and said to Him, “Are You athe 1Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?”

4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see:

5 athe blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the bpoor have the 1gospel preached to them.

6 “And blessed is he 1who adoes not 2take offense at Me.”

Jesus’ Tribute to John

7 As these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into athe wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

8 “1But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ 2palaces!

9 “1But what did you go out to see? aA prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet.

10 “This is the one about whom it 1is written,

‘aBehold, I send My messenger 2ahead of You,

Who will prepare Your way before You.’

11 “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is 1least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

12 “aFrom the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven 1suffers violence, and violent men 2take it by force.

13 “For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John.

14 “And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is aElijah who 1was to come.

15 “aHe who has ears to hear, 1let him hear.

16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children,

17 and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not 1mourn.’

18 “For John came neither aeating nor bdrinking, and they say, ‘cHe has a demon!’

19 “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a 1drunkard, aa friend of tax collectors and 2sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

The Unrepenting Cities

20 Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His 1amiracles were done, because they did not repent.

21 “aWoe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, bBethsaida! For if the 1miracles had occurred in cTyre and cSidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in 2dsackcloth and ashes.

22 “Nevertheless I say to you, ait will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in bthe day of judgment than for you.

23 “And you, aCapernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will bdescend to cHades; for if the 1miracles had occurred in dSodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day.

24 “Nevertheless I say to you that ait will be more tolerable for the land of bSodom in the day of judgment, than for you.”

Come to Me

25 aAt that 1time Jesus said, “I praise You, bFather, Lord of heaven and earth, that cYou have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.

26 “Yes, aFather, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.

27 “aAll things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father bexcept the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

28 “aCome to Me, all 1who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

29 “Take My yoke upon you and alearn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and byou will find rest for your souls.

30 “For aMy yoke is 1easy and My burden is light.”

Chapter 12

Sabbath Questions

1 aAt that 1time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to bpick the heads of grain and eat.

2 But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what ais not lawful to do on a Sabbath.”

3 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions,

4 how he entered the house of God, and athey ate the 1consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone?

5 “Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple 1break the Sabbath and are innocent?

6 “But I say to you that something agreater than the temple is here.

7 “But if you had known what this 1means, ‘aI desire 2compassion, and not a sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

Lord of the Sabbath

8 “For athe Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

9 aDeparting from there, He went into their synagogue.

10 And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned 1Jesus, asking, “aIs it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse Him.

11 And He said to them, “aWhat man 1is there among you who 2has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out?

12 “aHow much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do 1good on the Sabbath.”

13 Then He * said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” aHe stretched it out, and it was restored to 1normal, like the other.

14 But the Pharisees went out and 1aconspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

15 But Jesus, 1aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and aHe healed them all,

16 and awarned them not to 1tell who He was.

17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

18 “aBehold, My 1Servant whom I 2have chosen;

bMy Beloved in whom My soul 3is well-pleased;

cI will put My Spirit upon Him,

aAnd He shall proclaim 4justice to the 5Gentiles.

19 “aHe will not quarrel, nor cry out;

Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.

20 “aA battered reed He will not break off,

And a smoldering wick He will not put out,

Until He 1leads 2justice to victory.

21 “aAnd in His name the 1Gentiles will hope.”

The Pharisees Rebuked

22 aThen a bdemon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to 1Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw.

23 All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the aSon of David, can he?”

24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man acasts out demons only by 1Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

25 aAnd bknowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “1Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and 1any city or house divided against itself will not stand.

26 “If aSatan casts out Satan, he 1is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?

27 “If I aby 1Beelzebul cast out demons, bby whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges.

28 “But aif I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

29 “Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

The Unpardonable Sin

30 “aHe who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

31 “aTherefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.

32 “aWhoever 1speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever 1speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in bthis age or in the age to come.

Words Reveal Character

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for athe tree is known by its fruit.

34 “aYou brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak 1what is good? bFor the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.

35 “aThe good man brings out of his good treasure 1what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure 2what is evil.

36 “But I tell you that every 1careless word that people 2speak, they shall give an accounting for it in athe day of judgment.

37 “For 1by your words you will be justified, and 1by your words you will be condemned.”

The Desire for Signs

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, awe want to see a 1sign from You.”

39 But He answered and said to them, “aAn evil and adulterous generation craves for a 1sign; and yet no 1sign will be given to it but the 1sign of Jonah the prophet;

40 for just as aJonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will bthe Son of Man be cthree days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

41 “aThe men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because bthey repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, csomething greater than Jonah is here.

42 “aThe Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, bsomething greater than Solomon is here.

43 “aNow when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it.

44 “Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order.

45 “Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and athe last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

Changed Relationships

46 aWhile He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His bmother and cbrothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him.

47 Someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.”1

48 But 1Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?”

49 And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers!

50 “For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”