1 He called his twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over every demon and to heal diseases.
2 Then he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to cure the sick.
3 He told them, "Take nothing for the road: no staffs, no bag, no bread, no money; and do not each have two tunics.
4 Whatever house you go into, remain there and leave from there.
5 Wherever people do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake the very dust off your feet as a testimony against them."
6 So they left and traveled from village to village, announcing the gospel and healing people everywhere.
7 Herod the tetrarch heard about all that he was doing, and he was at a loss, because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead,
8 others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of old had come back to life.
9 Herod said, "John I had beheaded. So who is this about whom I hear such things?" And he kept trying to see him.
10 On their return the apostles gave him an account of all they had done. Taking them with him, he withdrew by themselves to a deserted place near a town called Bethsaida.
11 But the crowds found out and followed him. He welcomed them, spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and cured those who needed healing.
12 As the day began to wear away, the twelve came to him and said, "Dismiss the crowd so they can go to the villages and farms around here to find lodging and food, because here we are in a lonely place."
13 But he said to them, "You give them something to eat." They replied, "All we have is five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for this whole crowd."
14 For there were about five thousand men. He told his disciples, "Have them recline in groups of fifty."
15 They did this and had everyone recline.
16 Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he 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 had their fill, and what they had left over was gathered up: twelve baskets of pieces.
18 Once, when he was praying in private and the disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say I am?"
19 They replied, "John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and others, that one of the prophets of old has come back to life."
20 He asked them, "And you, who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "The Christ of God."
21 He gave them strict orders and instructed them not to tell this to anyone,
22 saying, "The Son of Man has to suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be put to death, and on the third day be raised."
23 Then he said to everyone, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must say no to himself, take up his cross each day, and follow me.
24 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
25 What good is it to a person to gain the whole world and 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 I tell you truthfully, some of those standing here will certainly not taste death before they see the kingdom of God."
28 About eight days after he said these things, he took Peter, John, and James with him and went up onto the mountain to pray.
29 While he was praying, the look of his face changed, and his clothes turned brilliant white, flashing like lightning.
30 And suddenly two men were talking with him: Moses and Elijah.
31 They appeared in glory and were speaking about his departure, which he was going to bring to fulfillment in Jerusalem.
32 Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep, but when they came 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 is good that we are here. Let us put up three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah"—not realizing what he was saying.
34 While he was still saying this, a cloud came and covered them with its shadow, and they became afraid as they went into the cloud.
35 A voice came from the cloud: "This is my Son, the beloved; listen to him!"
36 After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found to be alone. They kept quiet, and in those days they told no one anything of what they had seen.
37 On the following day, when they had come down from the mountain, a large crowd came to meet him.
38 A man in the crowd shouted, "Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only begotten child.
39 A spirit takes hold of him and all at once he screams; it throws him into convulsions with foaming at the mouth, and it leaves him only with difficulty, battering him.
40 I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they were not able."
41 Jesus answered, "You unbelieving and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here."
42 Even as the boy was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground and threw him into a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and handed him back to his father.
43 Everyone was overwhelmed at the greatness of God. While all were marveling at everything Jesus was doing, he said to his disciples,
44 "Let these words settle into your ears: the Son of Man is going to be handed over into the hands of men."
45 But they did not understand this statement; it was veiled from them so that they could not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.
46 A dispute came up among them about which of them might be the greatest.
47 Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took hold of a little child, stood him beside himself,
48 and said to them, "Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For the one who is least among all of you he will be great."
49 John spoke up: "Master, we saw a man driving out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow along with us."
50 Jesus told him, "Do not stop him; for whoever is not against us is on our side."
51 As the days drew near for him to be taken up, he firmly set his face to go to Jerusalem.
52 He sent messengers on ahead of him. They went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him,
53 but the people there would not welcome him, because his face was turned toward Jerusalem.
54 When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to destroy them, as Elijah also did?"
55 But he turned and rebuked them: "You do not know what kind of spirit you belong to.
56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy people's lives but to save them." And they went on to another village.
57 As they were traveling along the road, a man said to him, "Lord, I will follow you anywhere you go."
58 Jesus told him, "Foxes have dens and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
59 To another he said, "Follow me." But the man said, "Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father."
60 Jesus said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but you, go and spread the news of the kingdom of God."
61 Yet another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me say goodbye to the people at my home."
62 Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and then looks behind him is fit for the kingdom of God."