Book Order Plan

¹And 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.

²The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;

³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;

⁴Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

⁵These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans,

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

⁷And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’

⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.

⁹ Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts,

¹⁰no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food.

¹¹And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart.

¹²As you enter the house, greet it.

¹³And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.

¹⁴And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.

¹⁵Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

¹⁶ “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

¹⁷Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues,

¹⁸ and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.

¹⁹ When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour.

²⁰ For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

²¹ Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death,

²² and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

²³When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

²⁴ “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.

²⁵It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.

²⁶“So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.

²⁷What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.

²⁸And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.

³⁰But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.

³¹Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

³² So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,

³³but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

³⁴ “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

³⁵ For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

³⁶ And a person's enemies will be those of his own household.

³⁷ Whoever 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.

³⁸And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

³⁹ Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

⁴⁰ “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.

⁴¹ The 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.

⁴²And whoever gives one of these 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.”

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

²Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples

³and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

⁴And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see:

⁵ the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.

⁶And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

⁷As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

⁸What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.

⁹What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.

¹⁰This is he of whom it is written, “‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’

¹¹Truly, 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 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.

¹³ For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John,

¹⁴and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.

¹⁵ He who has ears to hear, 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,

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

¹⁸For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’

¹⁹The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”

²⁰Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent.

²¹ “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

²² But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.

²³And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

²⁴ But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

²⁵At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;

²⁶yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.

²⁷ All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

²⁸ Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

²⁹Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

³⁰For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”