The Twelve Disciples; Instructions for Service

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

² Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; and ^[a]James the son of Zebedee, and ^[b]John his brother; ³ Philip and ^[c]Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; ^[d]James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; ⁴ Simon the ^[e]Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.

⁵ These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: “Do not ^[f]go ^[g]in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; ⁶ but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ And as you go, ^[h]preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven ^[i]is at hand.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. ⁹ Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, ¹⁰ or a ^[j]bag for your journey, or even two ^[k]coats, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his ^[l]support. ¹¹ And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay ^[m]at his house until you leave that city. ¹² As you enter the ^[n]house, give it your ^[o]greeting. ¹³ If the house is worthy, ^[p]give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, ^[q]take 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, shake the dust off your feet. ¹⁵ Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.

A Hard Road before Them

¹⁶ “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so ^[r]be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. ¹⁷ But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in 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 But when they hand you over, do 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 it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

²¹ “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and ^[s]cause them to be put to death. ²² You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

²³ “But whenever they persecute you in ^[t]one city, flee to ^[u]the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.

The Meaning of Discipleship

²⁴ “A ^[v]disciple 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. If they have called the head of the house ^[w]Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!

²⁶ “Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ²⁷ What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. ²⁸ Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in ^[x]hell. ²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a ^[y]cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰ But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.

³² “Therefore everyone who ^[z]confesses Me before men, I will also confess ^[aa]him before My Father who is in heaven. ³³ But whoever ^[ab]denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

³⁴ “Do not think that I came to ^[ac]bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I came 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 man’s enemies will be the members of his household.

³⁷ “He 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 he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁹ He who has found his ^[ad]life will lose it, and he who has lost his ^[ae]life for My sake will find it.

The Reward of Service

⁴⁰ “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. ⁴¹ He 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 whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these ^[af]little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”