Read the Gospels in 40 Days
Chapter 10
The Mission of the Twelve. 1 [a]Then he summoned his twelve disciples[b] and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness.(A) 2 The names of the twelve apostles[c] are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; 4 Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.
The Commissioning of the Twelve. 5 (B)Jesus sent out these twelve[d] after instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. 6 (C)Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’(D) 8 [e]Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. 9 (E)Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; 10 (F)no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep. 11 (G)Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave. 12 As you enter a house, wish it peace. 13 If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you.[f] 14 [g](H)Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words—go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet. 15 Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.(I)
Coming Persecutions. 16 (J)“Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. 17 [h]But beware of people,(K) for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues,(L) 18 and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. 19 When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say.(M) 20 For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 [i](N)Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end[j] will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.[k] 24 (O)No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, for the slave that he become like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul,[l] how much more those of his household!
Courage Under Persecution. 26 (P)“Therefore do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known.[m](Q) 27 What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28 And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.(R) 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. 30 Even all the hairs of your head are counted. 31 So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. 32 [n]Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. 33 But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.(S)
Jesus: A Cause of Division. 34 (T)“Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. 35 For I have come to set
a man ‘against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
36 and one’s enemies will be those of his household.’
The Conditions of Discipleship. 37 (U)“Whoever 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; 38 and whoever does not take up his cross[o] and follow after me is not worthy of me. 39 [p](V)Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Rewards. 40 “Whoever receives you receives me,[q] and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.(W) 41 [r]Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is righteous will receive a righteous man’s reward. 42 And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple—amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”(X)
Chapter 11
1 When Jesus finished giving these commands to his twelve disciples,[s] he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.
IV. Opposition from Israel
The Messengers from John the Baptist. 2 [t](Y)When John heard in prison[u] of the works of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to him 3 [v]with this question, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” 4 Jesus said to them in reply, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 [w]the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.(Z) 6 And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”
Jesus’ Testimony to John.[x] 7 As they were going off, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out to the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind?(AA) 8 Then what did you go out to see? Someone dressed in fine clothing? Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces. 9 Then why did you go out? To see a prophet?[y] Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written:
‘Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way before you.’(AB)
11 Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.[z] 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence,[aa] and the violent are taking it by force.(AC) 13 All the prophets and the law[ab] prophesied up to the time of John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, the one who is to come.(AD) 15 Whoever has ears ought to hear.
16 (AE)“To what shall I compare this generation?[ac] It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, 17 ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’ 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’(AF) 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is vindicated by her works.”(AG)
Reproaches to Unrepentant Towns. 20 (AH)Then he began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon,[ad] they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes.(AI) 22 But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23 [ae]And as for you, Capernaum:
‘Will you be exalted to heaven?(AJ)
You will go down to the netherworld.’
For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”(AK)
The Praise of the Father. 25 (AL)At that time Jesus said in reply,[af] “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. 26 Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.(AM)
The Gentle Mastery of Christ. 28 [ag]“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,[ah] and I will give you rest. 29 [ai](AN)Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
Chapter 12
Picking Grain on the Sabbath. 1 [aj]At that time Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath.(AO) His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads[ak] of grain and eat them.(AP) 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath.” 3 He said to them,[al] “Have you not read what David(AQ) did when he and his companions were hungry, 4 how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering,(AR) which neither he nor his companions but only the priests could lawfully eat? 5 [am]Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath and are innocent?(AS) 6 I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. 7 [an]If you knew what this meant, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’(AT) you would not have condemned these innocent men. 8 [ao](AU)For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.”
The Man with a Withered Hand. 9 (AV)Moving on from there, he went into their synagogue. 10 And behold, there was a man there who had a withered hand. They questioned him, “Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath?”[ap] so that they might accuse him. 11 [aq]He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep that falls into a pit on the sabbath will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 How much more valuable a person is than a sheep. So it is lawful to do good on the sabbath.” 13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and it was restored as sound as the other. 14 But the Pharisees[ar] went out and took counsel against him to put him to death.(AW)
The Chosen Servant.[as] 15 When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place. Many [people] followed him, and he cured them all,[at] 16 but he warned them not to make him known. 17 This was to fulfill what had been spoken through Isaiah the prophet:
18 “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,(AX)
my beloved in whom I delight;
I shall place my spirit upon him,
and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
19 He will not contend[au] or cry out,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed he will not break,
a smoldering wick he will not quench,
until he brings justice to victory.
21 And in his name the Gentiles will hope.”[av]
Jesus and Beelzebul.[aw] 22 (AY)Then they brought to him a demoniac who was blind and mute. He cured the mute person so that he could speak and see. 23 [ax](AZ)All the crowd was astounded, and said, “Could this perhaps be the Son of David?” 24 [ay](BA)But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man drives out demons only by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons.” 25 (BB)But he knew what they were thinking and said to them,[az] “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and no town or house divided against itself will stand. 26 And if Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself; how, then, will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people[ba] drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28 [bb](BC)But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 [bc]How can anyone enter a strong man’s house and steal his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house. 30 [bd](BD)Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 (BE)Therefore, I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit[be] will not be forgiven. 32 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
A Tree and Its Fruits. 33 (BF)“Either declare[bf] the tree good and its fruit is good, or declare the tree rotten and its fruit is rotten, for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 [bg](BG)You brood of vipers, how can you say good things when you are evil? For from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 A good person brings forth good out of a store of goodness, but an evil person brings forth evil out of a store of evil. 36 [bh](BH)I tell you, on the day of judgment people will render an account for every careless word they speak. 37 By your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
The Demand for a Sign.[bi] 38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher,[bj] we wish to see a sign from you.”(BI) 39 He said to them in reply, “An evil and unfaithful[bk] generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. 40 Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights,[bl] so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. 41 [bm]At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and there is something greater than Jonah here. 42 At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here.(BJ)
The Return of the Unclean Spirit.[bn] 43 (BK)“When an unclean spirit goes out of a person it roams through arid regions searching for rest but finds none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my home from which I came.’ But upon returning, it finds it empty, swept clean, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings back with itself seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they move in and dwell there; and the last condition of that person is worse than the first. Thus it will be with this evil generation.”
The True Family of Jesus.[bo] 46 (BL)While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. 47 [Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.”][bp] 48 But he said in reply to the one who told him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.