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Jesus is touched by the people's need
9:35-36 - Jesus now travelled through all the towns and villages, teaching in
their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds
of illness and disability. As he looked at the vast crowds he was deeply moved
with pity for them, for they were as bewildered and miserable as a flock of
sheep with no shepherd.
9:37-38 - "The harvest is great enough," he remarked to his disciples, "but
the reapers are few. So you must pray to the Lord of the harvest to send men
out to reap it."
CHAPTER 10
Jesus sends out the twelve with divine power
10:1-4 - Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to
expel evil spirits and heal all kinds of disease and infirmity. The names of
the twelve apostles were: First, Simon, called Peter, with his brother Andrew;
James, and his brother John, sons of Zebedee; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas,
and Matthew the tax-collector, James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus,
Simon the Patriot, and Judas Iscariot, who later turned traitor.
10:5-8 - These were the twelve whom Jesus sent out, with the instructions:
"Don't turn off into any of the heathen roads, and don't go into any Samaritan
town. Concentrate on the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go proclaim
that the kingdom of Heaven has arrived. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure
the lepers, drive out devils - give, as you have received, without any charge
whatever.
10:9-10 - "Don't take any gold or silver or even coppers to put in your purse;
nor a knapsack for the journey, nor even a change of clothes, or sandals or a
staff - the workman is worth his keep!
10:11-13 - "Wherever you go, whether it is into a town or a village, find out
someone who is respected, and stay with him until you leave. As you enter his
house give it your blessing. If the house deserves it, the peace of your
blessing will come to it. But if it doesn't, your peace will return to you.
10:14-15 - "And if no one will welcome you or even listen to what you have to
say, leave that house or town, and once outside it shake off the dust of that
place from your feet. Believe me, Sodom and Gomorrah will fare better in the
day of judgment than that town."
He warns them of troubles that lie ahead
10:16-18 - "Here I am sending you out like sheep with wolves all round you; so
be as wise as serpents and yet as harmless as doves. But be on your guard
against men. For they will take you to the court and flog you in their
synagogues. You will be brought into the presence of governors and kings
because of me - to give your witness to them and to the heathen.
10:19-20 - "But when they do arrest you, never worry about how you are to
speak or what you are to say. You will be told at the time what you are to
say. For it will not be really you who are speaking but the Spirit of your
Father speaking through you.
10:21-22 - "Brothers are going to betray their brothers to death, and fathers
their children. Children are going to betray their parents and have them
executed. You yourselves will be universally hated because of my name. But the
man who endures to the very end will be safe and sound.
10:23-27 - "But when they persecute you in one town make your escape to the
next. Believe me, you will not have covered the towns of Israel before the Son
of Man arrives. The disciple is not superior to his teacher any more than the
servant is superior to his master, for what is good enough for the teacher is
good enough for the disciple as well, and the servant will not fare better
than his master. If men call the master of the household the 'Prince of Evil',
what sort of names will they give to his Servants? But never let them frighten
you, for there is nothing covered up which is not going to be exposed nor
anything private which will not be made public. The things I tell you in the
dark you must say in the daylight, and the things you hear in your private ear
you must proclaim from the house-tops.
They should reverence God but have no fear of man
10:28 - "Never be afraid of those who can kill the body but are powerless to
kill the soul! Far better to stand in awe of the one who has the power to
destroy body and soul in the fires of destruction!
10:29-31 - "Two sparrows sell for a farthing, don't they? Yet not a single
sparrow falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge. The very hairs of
your head are all numbered. Never be afraid, then - you are far more valuable
than sparrows.
10:32-33 - "Every man who publicly acknowledges me I shall acknowledge in the
presence of my Father in Heaven, but the man who disowns me before men I shall
disown before my Father in Heaven.
The Prince of Peace comes to bring division
10:34-36 - "Never think I have come to bring peace upon the earth. No, I have