Jesus ^asummoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority and power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to ^bheal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Mark 6:7; Luke 9:1

2 ^aNow these are the names of the twelve ¹apostles (special messengers, personally chosen representatives) : first, ^bSimon, who is called Peter, and ^cAndrew, his brother; ^2dJames the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:13-16 3 ^aPhilip and Bartholomew (Nathanael) ; ^bThomas and ^cMatthew (Levi) the tax collector; ^1dJames the son of ²Alphaeus, and ^eThaddaeus (Judas, not Iscariot) ; 4 Simon the Cananaean (Zealot) , and ^aJudas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.

5 Jesus sent out ^athese twelve, instructing them: “Do not go among the Gentiles, and do not go into a city of the ^bSamaritans; 6 but rather go to ^athe lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘^aThe kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9 ^aDo not take gold, or silver, or even copper money in your money belt, 10 or a provision bag for your journey, or even two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for ^athe worker deserves his support. 11 Whatever city or village you enter, ask who in it is worthy who welcomes you and your message, and stay at his house until you leave that city. 12 As you go into the house, ^agive it your greeting that is, ‘Peace be to this house’. 13 If the family living in the house is worthy welcoming you and your message, give it your blessing of ¹peace that is, a blessing of well-being and prosperity, the favor of God. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. 14 Whoever does not welcome you, nor listen to your message, as you leave that house or city, ^1ashake the dust of it off your feet in contempt, breaking all ties. Mark 6:11; Acts 13:51 15 I assure you and most solemnly say to you, ^ait will be more tolerable on ^bthe day of judgment for the land of ^1cSodom and Gomorrah than for that city since it rejected the Messiah’s messenger.

16 “^aListen carefully: I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be ^bwise as serpents, and ^cinnocent as doves have no self-serving agenda. Gen 3:1 17 Beware of men whose nature is to act in opposition to God, for they will hand you over to the ^acourts and flog you ^bin their synagogues; 18 and you will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19 ^aBut when they hand you over, ^bdo not worry about how or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given you within that very hour; Mark 13:11-13; Luke 21:12-19 20 for ^ait is not you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

21 “^aBrother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; and ^bchildren will rise up and rebel against their parents and cause them to be put to death. 22 And ^ayou will be hated by everyone because of your association with My name, but it is ^bthe one who has patiently persevered and endured to the end who will be saved.

23 “When they ^apersecute you in one city because of your faith in Me, flee to the next; for I assure you and most solemnly say to you, you will not finish going through all the cities of Israel ^bbefore the Son of Man comes.

24 “^aA disciple is not above his teacher, nor is a bond-servant above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the bond-servant like his master. ^aIf they have called the head of the house ^1bBeelzebul (Satan) , how much more will they speak evil of the members of his household. 2+@Kin 1:2

26 “So do not be ^aafraid of them, ^bfor nothing is hidden that will not be revealed at the judgment, or kept secret that will not be made known at the judgment. Mark 4:22; Luke 12:2-9 27 ^aWhat I say to you in the dark (privately) , tell in the light (publicly) ; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim ^bfrom the housetops to many people. 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather ^abe afraid of Him who can destroy both soul and body in ^bhell. 29 ^aAre not two little sparrows sold for a ¹copper coin? And yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 30 But even ^athe very hairs of your head are all numbered for the Father is sovereign and has complete knowledge. 31 So do not fear; ^ayou are more valuable than many sparrows.

32 “Therefore, ^athe one who ¹confesses and acknowledges Me before men as Lord and Savior, affirming a state of oneness with Me, that one I will also confess and acknowledge before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But ^athe one who denies and rejects Me before men, that one I will also deny and reject before My Father who is in heaven.

34 “^aDo not think that I have come to bring peace on the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword of division between belief and unbelief. Luke 12:51-53 35 For I have come to ^aSET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; 36 and ^aA MAN’S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS own HOUSEHOLD when one believes and another does not. Mic 7:6

37 “^1aHe 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. Luke 14:26 38 And ^ahe who does not take his ¹cross expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come and follow Me believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me is not worthy of Me. 39 ^aWhoever finds his life in this world will eventually lose it through death, and whoever loses his life in this world for My sake will find it that is, life with Me for all eternity. Matt 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24; 17:33; John 12:25

40 “^aHe who receives and welcomes you receives Me, and ^bhe who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. Mark 9:37; Luke 10:16; John 13:20 41 ^aHe who receives and welcomes a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous (honorable) man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. 42 And ^awhoever gives to one of these little ones these who are humble in rank or influence even a cup of cold water to drink because he is my disciple, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.”