The Twelve Apostles

¹uAnd 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. ²vThe names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, wwho is called Peter, and xAndrew his brother; xJames the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; ³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and yMatthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;1 ⁴Simon the Zealot,2 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

⁵uThese twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of zthe Samaritans, ⁶abut go rather to bthe lost sheep of cthe house of Israel. ⁷And proclaim as you go, saying, d‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’3 ⁸eHeal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers,4 cast out demons. fYou received without paying; give without pay. ⁹gAcquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, ¹⁰no bag for your journey, or two tunics5 or sandals or a staff, for hthe 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, igreet it. ¹³And if the house is jworthy, let iyour peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let iyour peace return to you. ¹⁴And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, lshake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. ¹⁵Truly, I say to you, mit will be more bearable on the day of judgment for nthe land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

Persecution Will Come

¹⁶o“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be pwise as serpents and qinnocent as doves. ¹⁷Beware of men, for rthey will deliver you over to courts and flog you sin their synagogues, ¹⁸rand you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, tto bear witness before them and the Gentiles. ¹⁹rWhen uthey deliver you over, vdo not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for wwhat you are to say will be given to you in that hour. ²⁰xFor it is not you who speak, but ythe Spirit of your Father speaking through you. ²¹zBrother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, ²²aand you will be hated by all for my name's sake. bBut the one who endures to the end will be saved. ²³When they cpersecute you in one town, dflee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel ebefore the Son of Man comes.

²⁴f“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant6 above his master. ²⁵It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. gIf they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign7 those of his household.

Have No Fear

²⁶“So have no fear of them, ifor 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 jthe housetops. ²⁸And kdo not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him lwho can destroy both soul and body in hell.8 ²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?9 And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰But meven the hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹Fear not, therefore; nyou are of more value than many sparrows. ³²oSo everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, ³³but pwhoever denies me before men, qI also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Not Peace, but a Sword

³⁴r“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. sI have not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵rFor I have come tto set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ³⁶uAnd a person's enemies will be those of his own household. ³⁷vWhoever 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 wwhoever does not take his cross and xfollow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹yWhoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Rewards

⁴⁰z“Whoever receives you receives me, and awhoever receives me receives him who sent me. ⁴¹bThe 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 cwhoever gives one of dthese 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.”