The Third Millennium
Gospel of Jesus Christ
(The Gospel of WorldPeace)
The designated Gospel of the Purple
Order of Spiritual Christians
Copyright 2009 by John WorldPeace All Rights Reserved
EDITING IN PROGRESS
Return to Main Index
TABLE OF CONTENTS
GOSPEL Part 6/9
HEALING FROM A DISTANCE
Jesus Heals an Official’s Son
Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant
The Canaanite Woman’s Faith
Jesus Heals the Gerasene Demoniac
The Man with an Unclean Spirit
Jesus and Beelzebul
Another Exorcist
The Healing of a Boy with a Spirit
The Return of the Unclean Spirit
A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed
Jesus Raises the Widow’s Son at Nain
VIII. Miracles
Jesus Stills a Storm
Jesus Walks on the Water
Feeding the Four Thousand
Jesus and the Temple Tax
IX. John the Baptist 2
The Question about Fasting
Messengers from John the Baptist
The Coming of Elijah
Jesus and John the Baptist
X. Disciples 2
The Twelve Apostles
The Mission of the Twelve
Coming Persecutions
Whom to Fear
Rewards
Feeding the Five Thousand
The Cost of Discipleship
The Mission of the Seventy
Woes to Unrepentant Cities
The Return of the Seventy
____________________________________________________
HEALING FROM A DISTANCE
Jesus Heals an Official’s Son
JN 4:46
46 Then he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had changed the
water into wine. Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill
in Capernaum. 47When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to
Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for
he was at the point of death. 48Then Jesus said to him, ‘Unless
you* see signs and wonders you will not believe.’ 49The official
said to him, ‘Sir, come down before my little boy dies.’
50Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your son will live.’ The man
believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way.
51As he was going down, his slaves met him and told him that his
child was alive. 52So he asked them the hour when he began to recover,
and they said to him, ‘Yesterday at one in the afternoon the
fever left him.’ 53The father realized that this was the hour
when Jesus had said to him, ‘Your son will live.’ So
he himself believed, along with his whole household. 54Now this
was the second sign that Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee.
Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant
MT 8:5 (LK 7:1-10)
5 When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing
to him 6and saying, ‘Lord, my servant is lying at home paralysed,
in terrible distress.’ 7And he said to him, ‘I will
come and cure him.’ 8The centurion answered, ‘Lord,
I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the
word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I also am a man under
authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, “Go”,
and he goes, and to another, “Come”, and he comes, and
to my slave, “Do this”, and the slave does it.’
10When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed
him, ‘Truly I tell you, in no one* in Israel have I found
such faith. 11I tell you, many will come from east and west and
will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,
12while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 13And
to the centurion Jesus said, ‘Go; let it be done for you according
to your faith.’ And the servant was healed in that hour.
The Canaanite Woman’s Faith
MT15:21 (MK 7:24)
21 Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and
Sidon. 22Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and
started shouting, ‘Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my
daughter is tormented by a demon.’ 23But he did not answer
her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, ‘Send
her away, for she keeps shouting after us.’ 24He answered,
‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’
25But she came and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’
26He answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s
food and throw it to the dogs.’ 27She said, ‘Yes, Lord,
yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’
table.’ 28Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, great is
your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.’ And her daughter
was healed instantly.
Jesus Heals the Gerasene Demoniac
MK 5:1 (MT 8:28-34, LK 8:26-39)
5They came to the other side of the lake, to the country of the
Gerasenes.* 2And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately
a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. 3He lived
among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with
a chain; 4for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains,
but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces;
and no one had the strength to subdue him. 5Night and day among
the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising
himself with stones. 6When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran
and bowed down before him; 7and he shouted at the top of his voice,
‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High
God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.’ 8For he had
said to him, ‘Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!’
9Then Jesus* asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He replied,
‘My name is Legion; for we are many.’ 10He begged him
earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11Now there on the
hillside a great herd of swine was feeding; 12and the unclean spirits*
begged him, ‘Send us into the swine; let us enter them.’
13So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and
entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed
down the steep bank into the lake, and were drowned in the lake.
14 The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country.
Then people came to see what it was that had happened. 15They came
to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his
right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid.
16Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the
swine reported it. 17Then they began to beg Jesus* to leave their
neighbourhood. 18As he was getting into the boat, the man who had
been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. 19But
Jesus* refused, and said to him, ‘Go home to your friends,
and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy
he has shown you.’ 20And he went away and began to proclaim
in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was
amazed.
The Man with an Unclean Spirit
MK 1:21 (LK 4:31)
21 They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered
the synagogue and taught. 22They were astounded at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
23Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit,
24and he cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of
Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy
One of God.’ 25But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent,
and come out of him!’ 26And the unclean spirit, throwing him
into convulsions and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.
27They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, ‘What
is this? A new teaching—with authority! He* commands even
the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’ 28At once his fame
began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
Jesus and Beelzebul
MT 12:22 (LK 11:14)
22 Then they brought to him a demoniac who was blind and mute; and
he cured him, so that the one who had been mute could speak and
see. 23All the crowds were amazed and said, ‘Can this be the
Son of David?’
MK 3:22
24But when the Pharisees heard it, they said,
‘It is only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons, that this
fellow casts out the demons.’ 25He knew what they were thinking
and said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is
laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.
26If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then
will his kingdom stand? 27If I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by
whom do your own exorcists* cast them out? Therefore they will be
your judges. 28But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out
demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you. 29Or how can one
enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property, without
first tying up the strong man? Then indeed the house can be plundered.
30Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather
with me scatters
Another Exorcist
MK 9:38 (LK 9:49)
38 John said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw someone* casting out
demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not
following us.’ 39But Jesus said, ‘Do not stop him; for
no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterwards
to speak evil of me. 40Whoever is not against us is for us. 41For
truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because
you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.
The Healing of a Boy with a Spirit
MK 9:14 (MT 17:14, LK 9:37)
14 When they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around
them, and some scribes arguing with them. 15When the whole crowd
saw him, they were immediately overcome with awe, and they ran forward
to greet him. 16He asked them, ‘What are you arguing about
with them?’ 17Someone from the crowd answered him, ‘Teacher,
I brought you my son; he has a spirit that makes him unable to speak;
18and whenever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams and
grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked your disciples to
cast it out, but they could not do so.’ 19He answered them,
‘You faithless generation, how much longer must I be among
you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him to me.’
20And they brought the boy* to him. When the spirit saw him, immediately
it threw the boy* into convulsions, and he fell on the ground and
rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21Jesus* asked the father, ‘How
long has this been happening to him?’ And he said, ‘From
childhood. 22It has often cast him into the fire and into the water,
to destroy him; but if you are able to do anything, have pity on
us and help us.’ 23Jesus said to him, ‘If you are able!—All
things can be done for the one who believes.’ 24Immediately
the father of the child cried out,* ‘I believe; help my unbelief!’
25When Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked
the unclean spirit, saying to it, ‘You spirit that keep this
boy from speaking and hearing, I command you, come out of him, and
never enter him again!’ 26After crying out and convulsing
him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that
most of them said, ‘He is dead.’ 27But Jesus took him
by the hand and lifted him up, and he was able to stand. 28When
he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, ‘Why
could we not cast it out?’ 29He said to them, ‘This
kind can come out only through prayer.’*
The Return of the Unclean Spirit
MT 12:43 (LK 11:24)
43 ‘When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders
through waterless regions looking for a resting-place, but it finds
none. 44Then it says, “I will return to my house from which
I came.” When it comes, it finds it empty, swept, and put
in order. 45Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more
evil than itself, and they enter and live there; and the last state
of that person is worse than the first. So will it be also with
this evil generation.’
A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed
MK 5:21 (MT 9:18-26, LK 8: 41-56)
21 When Jesus had crossed again in the boat* to the other side,
a great crowd gathered round him; and he was by the lake. 22Then
one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when
he saw him, fell at his feet 23and begged him repeatedly, ‘My
little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands
on her, so that she may be made well, and live.’ 24So he went
with him.
And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him.
MK 5:25
25Now there was a woman who had been suffering
from haemorrhages for twelve years. 26She had endured much under
many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no
better, but rather grew worse. 27She had heard about Jesus, and
came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28for she
said, ‘If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.’
29Immediately her haemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body
that she was healed of her disease. 30Immediately aware that power
had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said,
‘Who touched my clothes?’ 31And his disciples said to
him, ‘You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say,
“Who touched me?” ’ 32He looked all round to see
who had done it. 33But the woman, knowing what had happened to her,
came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the
whole truth. 34He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made
you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.’
35 While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s
house to say, ‘Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher
any further?’ 36But overhearing* what they said, Jesus said
to the leader of the synagogue, ‘Do not fear, only believe.’
37He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John,
the brother of James. 38When they came to the house of the leader
of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing
loudly. 39When he had entered, he said to them, ‘Why do you
make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.’
40And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took
the child’s father and mother and those who were with him,
and went in where the child was. 41He took her by the hand and said
to her, ‘Talitha cum’, which means, ‘Little girl,
get up!’ 42And immediately the girl got up and began to walk
about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome
with amazement. 43He strictly ordered them that no one should know
this, and told them to give her something to eat.
Jesus Raises the Widow’s Son at Nain
LK 7:11
11 Soon afterwards* he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples
and a large crowd went with him. 12As he approached the gate of
the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s
only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from
the town. 13When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and
said to her, ‘Do not weep.’ 14Then he came forward and
touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, ‘Young
man, I say to you, rise!’ 15The dead man sat up and began
to speak, and Jesus* gave him to his mother. 16Fear seized all of
them; and they glorified God, saying, ‘A great prophet has
risen among us!’ and ‘God has looked favourably on his
people!’ 17This word about him spread throughout Judea and
all the surrounding country.
VIII. Miracles
MIRACLES
Jesus Stills a Storm
MK 4:35 (LK 8:22, MT 8:23)
35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let
us go across to the other side.’ 36And leaving the crowd behind,
they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats
were with him. 37A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the
boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38But he was in
the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said
to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’
39He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace!
Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm.
40He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no
faith?’ 41And they were filled with great awe and said to
one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the
sea obey him?’
JN 6:1 (MK 6:34, LK 9:10)
. 34As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd;
and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without
a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. 35When it grew
late, his disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a deserted
place, and the hour is now very late; 36send them away so that they
may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy something
for themselves to eat.’ 37But he answered them, ‘You
give them something to eat.’ They said to him, ‘Are
we to go and buy two hundred denarii* worth of bread, and give it
to them to eat?’ 38And he said to them, ‘How many loaves
have you? Go and see.’ When they had found out, they said,
‘Five, and two fish.’ 39Then he ordered them to get
all the people to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40So they
sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. 41Taking the five
loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and
broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the
people; and he divided the two fish among them all. 42And all ate
and were filled; 43and they took up twelve baskets full of broken
pieces and of the fish. 44Those who had eaten the loaves numbered
five thousand men.
Jesus Walks on the Water
MT 14:27 (MK 6:45, JN 6:16)
22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on
ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23And after
he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself
to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24but by this time
the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land,* for the
wind was against them. 25And early in the morning he came walking
towards them on the lake. 26But when the disciples saw him walking
on the lake, they were terrified, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’
And they cried out in fear. 27But immediately Jesus spoke to them
and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’
28 Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to
come to you on the water.’ 29He said, ‘Come.’
So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and
came towards Jesus. 30But when he noticed the strong wind,* he became
frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save
me!’ 31Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him,
saying to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’
32When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33And those in the
boat worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’
Feeding the Four Thousand
MK 8:1 (MT 15:32)
8In those days when there was again a great crowd without anything
to eat, he called his disciples and said to them, 2‘I have
compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for
three days and have nothing to eat. 3If I send them away hungry
to their homes, they will faint on the way—and some of them
have come from a great distance.’ 4His disciples replied,
‘How can one feed these people with bread here in the desert?’
5He asked them, ‘How many loaves do you have?’ They
said, ‘Seven.’ 6Then he ordered the crowd to sit down
on the ground; and he took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks
he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute; and
they distributed them to the crowd. 7They had also a few small fish;
and after blessing them, he ordered that these too should be distributed.
8They ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left
over, seven baskets full. 9Now there were about four thousand people.
And he sent them away. 10And immediately he got into the boat with
his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.*
Jesus and the Temple Tax
MT 17:24
24 When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax*
came to Peter and said, ‘Does your teacher not pay the temple
tax?’* 25He said, ‘Yes, he does.’ And when he
came home, Jesus spoke of it first, asking, ‘What do you think,
Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From
their children or from others?’ 26When Peter* said, ‘From
others’, Jesus said to him, ‘Then the children are free.
27However, so that we do not give offence to them, go to the lake
and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up; and when you
open its mouth, you will find a coin;* take that and give it to
them for you and me.’
IX. John the Baptist 2
JOHN THE BAPTIST II
The Question about Fasting
MK 2:18 (LK 5:33, MT 9:14)
18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and
people* came and said to him, ‘Why do John’s disciples
and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not
fast?’ 19Jesus said to them, ‘The wedding-guests cannot
fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they
have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20The days will
come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they
will fast on that day.
21 ‘No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak;
otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and
a worse tear is made. 22And no one puts new wine into old wineskins;
otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost,
and so are the skins; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.’*
Messengers from John the Baptist
LK 7:18 (MT 11:2)
18 The disciples of John reported all these things to him. So John
summoned two of his disciples 19and sent them to the Lord to ask,
‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’
20When the men had come to him, they said, ‘John the Baptist
has sent us to you to ask, “Are you the one who is to come,
or are we to wait for another?” ’ 21Jesus* had just
then cured many people of diseases, plagues, and evil spirits, and
had given sight to many who were blind. 22And he answered them,
‘Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind
receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers* are cleansed, the
deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought
to them. 23And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me.’
LK 7:24 (MT 11:7)
24 When John’s messengers had gone,
Jesus* began to speak to the crowds about John:* ‘What did
you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the
wind? 25What then did you go out to see? Someone* dressed in soft
robes? Look, those who put on fine clothing and live in luxury are
in royal palaces. 26What then did you go out to see? A prophet?
Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27This is the one about
whom it is written,
“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.”
28I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John;
yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.’ 29(And
all the people who heard this, including the tax-collectors, acknowledged
the justice of God,* because they had been baptized with John’s
baptism. 30But by refusing to be baptized by him, the Pharisees
and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves.)
31 ‘To what then will I compare the people of this generation,
and what are they like? 32They are like children sitting in the
market-place and calling to one another,
“We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not weep.”
33For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no
wine, and you say, “He has a demon”; 34the Son of Man
has come eating and drinking, and you say, “Look, a glutton
and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!” 35Nevertheless,
wisdom is vindicated by all her children.’
The Coming of Elijah
MK 9:9 (MT 17:9)
9 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell
no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had
risen from the dead. 10So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning
what this rising from the dead could mean. 11Then they asked him,
‘Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?’
12He said to them, ‘Elijah is indeed coming first to restore
all things. How then is it written about the Son of Man, that he
is to go through many sufferings and be treated with contempt? 13But
I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they
pleased, as it is written about him.’
MT 11:14
14and if you are willing to accept it, he
is Elijah who is to come. 15Let anyone with ears* listen!
MT 14:3
’ 3For Herod had arrested John, bound
him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s
wife,* 4because John had been telling him, ‘It is not lawful
for you to have her.’ 5Though Herod* wanted to put him to
death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded him as a prophet.
6But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias
danced before the company, and she pleased Herod 7so much that he
promised on oath to grant her whatever she might ask. 8Prompted
by her mother, she said, ‘Give me the head of John the Baptist
here on a platter.’ 9The king was grieved, yet out of regard
for his oaths and for the guests, he commanded it to be given; 10he
sent and had John beheaded in the prison. 11The head was brought
on a platter and given to the girl, who brought it to her mother.
12His disciples came and took the body and buried it; then they
went and told Jesus.
Jesus and John the Baptist
JN 3:22
22 After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside,
and he spent some time there with them and baptized. 23John also
was baptizing at Aenon near Salim because water was abundant there;
and people kept coming and were being baptized— 24John, of
course, had not yet been thrown into prison.
25 Now a discussion about purification arose between John’s
disciples and a Jew.* 26They came to John and said to him, ‘Rabbi,
the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified,
here he is baptizing, and all are going to him.’ 27John answered,
‘No one can receive anything except what has been given from
heaven. 28You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, “I
am not the Messiah,* but I have been sent ahead of him.” 29He
who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom,
who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s
voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. 30He must increase,
but I must decrease.’*
X. Disciples 2
The Twelve Apostles
MT 10:1 (MK 3:14, LK 6:13)
10Then Jesus* summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority
over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease
and every sickness. 2These are the names of the twelve apostles:
first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James
son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas
and Matthew the tax-collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;*
4Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.
The Mission of the Twelve
MT 10:5 (MK 6:7, LK 9:1)
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: ‘Go
nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans,
6but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7As you
go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come
near.”* 8Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers,*
cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.
9Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, 10no bag for
your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for labourers
deserve their food. 11Whatever town or village you enter, find out
who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. 12As you enter
the house, greet it. 13If the house is worthy, let your peace come
upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.
14If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake
off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. 15Truly
I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and
Gomorrah on the day of judgement than for that town.
Coming Persecutions
MT 10:16 (MK 13:9, LK 21,12)
16 ‘See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of
wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17Beware of
them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their
synagogues; 18and you will be dragged before governors and kings
because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. 19When they
hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you
are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that
time; 20for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father
speaking through you. 21Brother will betray brother to death, and
a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have
them put to death; 22and you will be hated by all because of my
name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23When they
persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you,
you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the
Son of Man comes.
24 ‘A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above
the master; 25it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher,
and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of
the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his
household!
Whom to Fear
MT 10:26 (LK 12:2)
26 ‘So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that
will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known.
27What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you
hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. 28Do not fear those
who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who
can destroy both soul and body in hell.* 29Are not two sparrows
sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground unperceived
by your Father. 30And even the hairs of your head are all counted.
31So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
32 ‘Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others,
I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; 33but whoever
denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.
Rewards
MT 10:40
40 ‘Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes
me welcomes the one who sent me. 41Whoever welcomes a prophet in
the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and
whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person
will receive the reward of the righteous; 42and whoever gives even
a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a
disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.’
Feeding the Five Thousand
MK 6:30 (LK 9:12)
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they
had done and taught. 31He said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted
place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ For many were coming
and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32And they went
away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. 33Now many saw
them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from
all the towns and arrived ahead of them
The Cost of Discipleship
LK 14:24 (MT 10:37)
25 Now large crowds were travelling with him; and he turned and
said to them, 26‘Whoever comes to me and does not hate father
and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even
life itself, cannot be my disciple. 27Whoever does not carry the
cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28For which of you, intending
to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost,
to see whether he has enough to complete it? 29Otherwise, when he
has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it
will begin to ridicule him, 30saying, “This fellow began to
build and was not able to finish.” 31Or what king, going out
to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider
whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes
against him with twenty thousand? 32If he cannot, then, while the
other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the
terms of peace. 33So therefore, none of you can become my disciple
if you do not give up all your possessions.
The Mission of the Seventy
LK 10:1
10After this the Lord appointed seventy* others and sent them on
ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended
to go. 2He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the
labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send
out labourers into his harvest. 3Go on your way. See, I am sending
you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. 4Carry no purse, no
bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. 5Whatever house you
enter, first say, “Peace to this house!” 6And if anyone
is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person;
but if not, it will return to you. 7Remain in the same house, eating
and drinking whatever they provide, for the labourer deserves to
be paid. Do not move about from house to house. 8Whenever you enter
a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; 9cure
the sick who are there, and say to them, “The kingdom of God
has come near to you.”* 10But whenever you enter a town and
they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11“Even
the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest
against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.”*
12I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than
for that town.
Woes to Unrepentant Cities
LK 10:13 (MT:11-20)
13 ‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the
deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they
would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14But
at the judgement it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than
for you. 15And you, Capernaum,
will you be exalted to heaven?
No, you will be brought down to Hades.
16 ‘Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects
you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent
me.’
The Return of the Seventy
LK 10:17
17 The seventy* returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, in your
name even the demons submit to us!’ 18He said to them, ‘I
watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. 19See,
I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and
over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. 20Nevertheless,
do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice
that your names are written in heaven.’
|
In the Beginning was the Word
|