9 1Jesus called his twelve apostlesa together. He gave them power to heal sicknesses and power to force demonsb out of people. 2He sent them to tell about God's kingdomc and to heal the sick. 3He said to them, "When you travel, don't take a walking stick. Also, don't carry a bag, food, or money. Take for your trip only the clothes you are wearing. 4When you go into a house, stay there until it is time to leave. 5If the people in the town will not welcome you, go outside the town and shake the dust off your feet as a warning to them."6So the apostles went out. They traveled through all the towns. They told the Good Newsd and healed people everywhere. 12Late in the afternoon, the twelve apostles came to Jesus and said, "No one lives in this place. Send the people away. They need to find food and places to sleep in the farms and towns around here." 13But Jesus said to the apostles, "You give them something to eat." , They said, "We have only five loaves of bread and two fish. Do you want us to go buy food for all these people?" There are too many! 14(There were about 5000 men there.) Jesus said to his followers, "Tell the people to sit in groups of about 50 people." 15So the followers did this and everyone sat down. 16Then Jesus took the five loaves of bread and two fish. He looked up into the sky and thanked God for the food. Then he broke it into pieces, which he gave to the followers to give to the people. 17They all ate until they were full. And there was a lot of food left. Twelve baskets were filled with the pieces of food that were not eaten. 19They answered, "Some people say you are John the Baptizer. Others say you are Elijahf. And some people say you are one of the prophetsg from long ago that has come back to life." 20Then Jesus said to his followers, "And who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Messiahh from God." 21Jesus warned them not to tell anyone. 23Jesus continued to say to all of them, "Any of you who want to be my follower must stop thinking about yourself and what you want. You must be willing to carry the crossj that is given to you every day for following me. 24Any of you who try to save the life you have will lose it. But you who give up your life for me will save it. 25It is worth nothing for you to have the whole world if you yourself are destroyed or lost. 26Don't be ashamed of me and my teaching. If that happens, Ik will be ashamed of you when I come with my divine greatnessl and that of the Father and the holy angels. 27Believe me when I say that some of you people standing here will see God's kingdomc before you die." 34While Peter was saying these things, a cloud came all around them. Peter, John, and James were afraid when the cloud covered them. 35A voice came from the cloud and said, "This is my Son. He is the one I have chosen. Obey him." 36When the voice stopped, only Jesus was there. Peter, John, and James said nothing. And for a long time after that, they told no one about what they had seen. 41Jesus answered, "You people today have no faith. Your lives are all wrong. How long must I be with you and be patient with you?" Then Jesus said to the man, "Bring your son here." 42While the boy was coming, the demonb threw the boy to the ground. The boy lost control of himself. But Jesus gave a strong command to the evil spirit. Then the boy was healed, and Jesus gave him back to his father. 43All the people were amazed at the great power of God. 50Jesus said to him, "Don't stop him. Whoever is not against you is for you." 55But Jesus turned and criticized them for saying this.p 56Then he and his followers went to another town. 58He answered, "The foxes have holes to live in. The birds have nests. But the Son of Mani has no place where he can rest his head." 59Jesus said to another man, "Follow me!" But the man said, "Lord, let me go and bury my father first." 60But Jesus said to him, "Let the people who are dead bury their own dead. You must go and tell about God's kingdomc." 61Another man said, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me go and say goodbye to my family." 62Jesus said, "Anyone who begins to plow a field but looks back is not prepared for God's kingdom." aapostle A follower of Jesus chosen to represent him in a special way. During his earthly ministry, Jesus named twelve men as apostles. They had the specific responsibility and authority to represent him and proclaim his message throughout the world. Later, he appeared to Paul and gave him a similar commission, especially to non-Jewish people. Barnabas, Paul¡¯s missionary companion, and James, the brother of Jesus, are also called apostles, as well as several others in the New Testament. Some of these occurrences of the word, however, have the more general sense of ¡°messenger¡± or ¡°representative.¡± bdemon An evil spirit from the devil. cGod¡¯s kingdom The ¡°reign¡± or ¡°rule¡± of God over all people who submit to him by accepting Jesus as the Messiah (the appointed king), who represents God¡¯s kingdom on earth. Jesus was the perfect example of submission to the will of God. When people give control of their lives to Jesus, they become part of God¡¯s kingdom and begin to enjoy the blessings he has promised his people from the beginning. (Note that in Matthew this term also translates the Greek word ¡°kingdom¡± by itself or the phrase, ¡°the kingdom of the heavens,¡± which was used by Jews as a way to avoid saying the divine name.) dGood News In the Gospels this is usually the news about the coming of God¡¯s kingdom (see above) or its representative Jesus the Messiah. In other places it is, more specifically, the news or message of God¡¯s grace - that he has made a way through Jesus Christ for people to be made right with him and enjoy his blessings now and forever. eHerod (1) Herod I (the Great), king of Judea and all of Palestine (40-4 b.c.), Mt. 2:1-22; Lk. 1:5; Acts 23:35. (2) Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, tetrarch (ruler) of Galilee and Perea (4 b.c.-39 a.d.), Mt. 14:1-6; Mk. 6:14-22; 8:15; Lk. 3:1, 19; 8:3; 9:7, 9; 13:31; 23:7-15; Acts 4:27; 13:1. (3) Herod Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great, king of Palestine (37-44 a.d.), Acts 12:1, 6-21. fElijah A very important Israelite leader and prophet who spoke for God during a 25-year period ending about 850 b.c. In the time of Jesus, the Jews were expecting Elijah to come again before the Messiah. See Mal. 4:5-6. gprophet A person who speaks a message from God. Many of the books in the Old Testament are messages spoken or written by ¡°the prophets,¡± who were some of those God chose to speak for him. God often used dreams or visions to tell or show his prophets what they should say. hMessiah A Hebrew word that has the same meaning as the Greek word Christ (see ¡°Christ¡±). It was a title for the kings of God¡¯s people in the Old Testament and for the special king God promised to send as a ¡°savior¡± to defeat evil and establish the reign of God. Many prophets made it clear that this new kingdom would be eternal; that is, not only would the promised Messiah bring about a time of justice and right living among God¡¯s people here on earth, but also his kingdom would extend beyond this world to life forever with God. However, most Jews of the first century expected the Messiah to be a political ruler here on earth who would defeat the other nations and return the nation of Israel to a position of great glory and power. But God intended his Messiah to establish a new ¡°Israel,¡± an eternal kingdom that would bless all the nations. iSon of Man The name that Jesus most often used for himself. The phrase in Hebrew or Aramaic means ¡°human being¡± or ¡°mankind,¡± but in Dan. 7:13-14 it is used of a future savior and king, and this was later understood to be the Messiah, the one God would send to save his people. jcross The wooden post that Romans used to execute criminals. It is a symbol of shame, suffering and death. Just as Jesus was willing to suffer death on a cross for all people, so he asks his followers to be willing to give up their lives for him. k9:26 I Literally, ¡°the Son of Man¡± (Jesus). ldivine greatness Literally, ¡°glory,¡± a word that refers to the special qualities of God. See ¡°glory.¡± mMoses One of the most important leaders of the Israelites during the time of the Old Testament. God used him to give the people his law, which is often called ¡°the Law of Moses.¡± nglory A word that refers to the special qualities of God. Often it means brightness, referring to the way he appears to people. Sometimes it means majesty or power, referring to a kind of greatness that cannot be compared to anything in human experience. It can also include the ideas of wealth, honor, fame, or respect, especially in expressions of praise. o9:54 Some Greek copies add ¡°as Elijah did?¡± p9:55 Some Greek copies add ¡°And he said, ¡®You don¡¯t know what kind of spirit you belong to. 56The Son of Man did not come to destroy people¡¯s lives but to save them.¡¯¡± |