Sending out the Twelve
- And having called together the twelve, He gave them power and authority over all the demons and to cure diseases.
- And He sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
- And He said to them: “Take nothing for the journey; not even a staff, nor a traveler’s bag, nor bread, nor silver, nor are you to have two tunics apiece.
- “And whatever house you enter into, remain there, and depart from that place when you leave the city.”
- “And however many don’t welcome you, then while departing from that city, shake off its dust from your feet for a testimony against them.”
- And departing, they were traveling through the villages, proclaiming the good news and healing everywhere.
Herod hears of these things
- Now, Herod the tetrarch heard of all the things happening and he was thoroughly perplexed because it was said by some that John was raised from the dead,
- and by some that Elijah appeared, and by others that one of the ancient prophets rose up.
- And Herod said: “I myself beheaded John, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he was seeking to see Him.
Feeding the Five Thousand
- And having returned, the apostles described to Him how much they did. And having taken them with Himself, He retreated in private into a town called Bethsaida.
- And having known this, the crowds followed Him. And having welcomed them, He was talking to them about the kingdom of God, and He was healing the men having a need of healing.
- And as the day began to approach its end, the twelve approached and said to Him: “Dismiss the crowd so that having traveled into the surrounding villages and fields, they might lodge somewhere and might find provisions, because we’re in a desolate place here.
- But He told them: “You give them something to eat.” But they said: “There aren’t more than five loaves and two fish for us. Even if we traveled, we couldn’t buy food for every one of the people, could we?”
- (For there were about five thousand men.) And He said to His disciples: “Make them recline to eat in dining groups of about fifty.
- And they did so, and made all of them recline.
- And having taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed them, and broke them into pieces. And He was giving them to the disciples to set them before the crowd.
- And they ate and all were satisfied, and the excess pieces were picked up by them, twelve baskets.
Jesus is the Anointed, the Son of God
- And it happened at the time He planned to be praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying: “Who do the common people declare Me to be?”
- And answering, they said: “Some say John the Baptizer, and others say Elijah, and others say that one of the ancient prophets rose up.”
- And He said to them: “But who do you declare Me to be?” And answering, Peter said: “The Anointed, the son of God.”
- And having severely warned them, He charged them to tell this to no one,
- having said that: “It’s necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things, and to be rejected by the elders, and chief priests and scribes, and to be killed, and to be raised on the third day.
- And He was saying to all of them: “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take his cross every day, and follow Me.
- “For whoever wants to save his life will ruin it, but whoever ruins his life on account of Me, this man will save it.
- “For how does a man benefit if he gained the whole world, but ruined himself or suffered loss?
- “For whoever might be ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of this man when He comes in the glory of Himself, and the Father, and the holy angels.
- “And truly I tell you, some are *standing here who definitely won’t taste death until they see the kingdom of God.
The transfiguration
- Now, it happened after these sayings, about eight days later, that having taken Peter, and John, and James, He went up to the mountain to pray.
- And it happened during His praying that the appearance of His face became different and His clothing became a gleaming white.
- And behold, two men were talking with Him, (who were Moses and Elijah,
- who were seen in glory). They were speaking of His departure, which He was about to fulfill in Jerusalem.
- And Peter and the men with him were *burdened with sleep. But having fully awakened, they saw His glory and the two men *standing with Him.
- And it happened during their departure from Him, Peter said to Jesus: “Master, it’s good for us to be here. And let us make three tabernacles; one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”, not *knowing what he’s saying.
- But while he’s saying these things, a cloud formed and it was overshadowing them. And they were frightened during their entering into the cloud.
- And a voice came from the cloud, saying: “This is My Son, the *chosen One; listen to Him.”
- And at the time the voice happened, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and reported nothing of what they *saw to anyone in those days.
Casting out a demon
- And it happened on the next day, with them having descended from the mountain, that a numerous crowd met Him.
- And behold, a man from the crowd shouted, saying: “Teacher, I’m begging you to look on my son with favor because he is my only son.
- “And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he unexpectedly cries out, and it makes him convulse with foaming, and it rarely departs from him, and only then with great difficulty, while bruising him.”
- “And I begged your disciples so they might cast it out, and they weren’t able to.”
- And answering, Jesus said: “O, you unbelieving and *perverted generation; how long will I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.”
- And with him still approaching, the demon threw him down and made him convulse. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
- And all were stunned on account of the majesty of God. And with all marveling on account of all the things that He did, He said to His disciples:
- “You 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 weren’t knowing what this statement meant, and it was *veiled from them so that they wouldn’t understand it. And they were frightened to ask Him about this statement.
How to be a great disciple
- And an inward reasoning entered in among them about who may be greater among them.
- But *knowing the inward reasoning of their heart, Jesus took hold of a young child and set it beside Him.
- And He told them: “Whoever welcomes this child in My name welcomes Me. And whoever welcomes Me, welcomes the One who sent Me. For the man who is lesser among all of you, this man is great.”
- And answering, John said: “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we were hindering him because he doesn’t follow with us.”
- And Jesus said to him: “Don’t hinder that, for whoever isn’t against you is for you.”
The Samaritans reject Jesus
- And it happened during the time that the days to complete His ascension were near, He also set His face resolutely to travel into Jerusalem,
- and He sent messengers ahead of His face. And having traveled, they entered into a Samaritan village so as to prepare for Him.
- And the Samaritans didn’t welcome Him because His face was set on traveling into Jerusalem.
- And having seen this, the disciples James and John said: “Lord, is your desire that we should call fire to descend from heaven and to consume them?”
- And having turned around, He rebuked them [and said: “You don’t *know what kind of spirit you are,
- for the Son of Man didn’t come to destroy the lives of men, but to save.] And they traveled into another village.
The cost of following Jesus
- And during their traveling on the road, someone said to Him: “I will follow you wherever you go.”
- And Jesus told him: “The foxes have dens, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man doesn’t have a place where He could lay His head.
- And He said to another man: “Follow Me.” But he said: “Lord, first let me depart to bury my father.”
- But He told him: “Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but having departed, you publicly proclaim the kingdom of God.”
- And another also said: “I will follow you Lord. But first allow me to bid farewell to the men in my home.”
- But Jesus said to him: “No one who put his hand on the plow while also looking to the things behind him is fit for the kingdom of God.”