1
When Jesus had finished saying all these things to the people, he went to Capernaum.
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A Roman officer there had a servant who was very dear to him; the man was sick and about to die.
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When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his servant.
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They came to Jesus and begged him earnestly, "This man really deserves your help.
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He loves our people and he himself built a synagogue for us."
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So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the officer sent friends to tell him, "Sir, don't trouble yourself. I do not deserve to have you come into my house,
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neither do I consider myself worthy to come to you in person. Just give the order, and my servant will get well.
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I, too, am a man placed under the authority of superior officers, and I have soldiers under me. I order this one, 'Go!' and he goes; I order that one, 'Come!' and he comes; and I order my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it."
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Jesus was surprised when he heard this; he turned around and said to the crowd following him, "I tell you, I have never found faith like this, not even in Israel!"
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The messengers went back to the officer's house and found his servant well.
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Soon afterward Jesus went to a town named Nain, accompanied by his disciples and a large crowd.
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Just as he arrived at the gate of the town, a funeral procession was coming out. The dead man was the only son of a woman who was a widow, and a large crowd from the town was with her.
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When the Lord saw her, his heart was filled with pity for her, and he said to her, "Don't cry."
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Then he walked over and touched the coffin, and the men carrying it stopped. Jesus said, "Young man! Get up, I tell you!"
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The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
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They all were filled with fear and praised God. "A great prophet has appeared among us!" they said; "God has come to save his people!"
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This news about Jesus went out through all the country and the surrounding territory.
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When John's disciples told him about all these things, he called two of them
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and sent them to the Lord to ask him, "Are you the one John said was going to come, or should we expect someone else?"
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When they came to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist sent us to ask if you are the one he said was going to come, or should we expect someone else?"
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At that very time Jesus healed many people from their sicknesses, diseases, and evil spirits, and gave sight to many blind people.
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He answered John's messengers, "Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind can see, the lame can walk, those who suffer from dreaded skin diseases are made clean, the deaf can hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is preached to the poor.
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How happy are those who have no doubts about me!"
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After John's messengers had left, Jesus began to speak about him to the crowds: "When you went out to John in the desert, what did you expect to see? A blade of grass bending in the wind?
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What did you go out to see? A man dressed up in fancy clothes? People who dress like that and live in luxury are found in palaces!
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Tell me, what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes indeed, but you saw much more than a prophet.
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For John is the one of whom the scripture says: 'God said, I will send my messenger ahead of you to open the way for you.'
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I tell you," Jesus added, "John is greater than anyone who has ever lived. But the one who is least in the Kingdom of God is greater than John."
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All the people heard him; they and especially the tax collectors were the ones who had obeyed God's righteous demands and had been baptized by John.
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But the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law rejected God's purpose for themselves and refused to be baptized by John.
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Jesus continued, "Now to what can I compare the people of this day? What are they like?
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They are like children sitting in the marketplace. One group shouts to the other, 'We played wedding music for you, but you wouldn't dance! We sang funeral songs, but you wouldn't cry!'
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John the Baptist came, and he fasted and drank no wine, and you said, 'He has a demon in him!'
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The Son of Man came, and he ate and drank, and you said, 'Look at this man! He is a glutton and wine drinker, a friend of tax collectors and other outcasts!'
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God's wisdom, however, is shown to be true by all who accept it."
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A Pharisee invited Jesus to have dinner with him, and Jesus went to his house and sat down to eat.
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In that town was a woman who lived a sinful life. She heard that Jesus was eating in the Pharisee's house, so she brought an alabaster jar full of perfume
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and stood behind Jesus, by his feet, crying and wetting his feet with her tears. Then she dried his feet with her hair, kissed them, and poured the perfume on them.
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When the Pharisee saw this, he said to himself, "If this man really were a prophet, he would know who this woman is who is touching him; he would know what kind of sinful life she lives!"
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Jesus spoke up and said to him, "Simon, I have something to tell you." "Yes, Teacher," he said, "tell me."
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"There were two men who owed money to a moneylender," Jesus began. "One owed him five hundred silver coins, and the other owed him fifty.
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Neither of them could pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Which one, then, will love him more?"
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"I suppose," answered Simon, "that it would be the one who was forgiven more." "You are right," said Jesus.
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Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your home, and you gave me no water for my feet, but she has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.
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You did not welcome me with a kiss, but she has not stopped kissing my feet since I came.
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You provided no olive oil for my head, but she has covered my feet with perfume.
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I tell you, then, the great love she has shown proves that her many sins have been forgiven. But whoever has been forgiven little shows only a little love."
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Then Jesus said to the woman, "Your sins are forgiven."
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The others sitting at the table began to say to themselves, "Who is this, who even forgives sins?"
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But Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
1
Some time later Jesus traveled through towns and villages, preaching the Good News about the Kingdom of God. The twelve disciples went with him,
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and so did some women who had been healed of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (who was called Magdalene), from whom seven demons had been driven out;
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Joanna, whose husband Chuza was an officer in Herod's court; and Susanna, and many other women who used their own resources to help Jesus and his disciples.
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People kept coming to Jesus from one town after another; and when a great crowd gathered, Jesus told this parable:
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"Once there was a man who went out to sow grain. As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it up.
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Some of it fell on rocky ground, and when the plants sprouted, they dried up because the soil had no moisture.
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Some of the seed fell among thorn bushes, which grew up with the plants and choked them.
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And some seeds fell in good soil; the plants grew and bore grain, one hundred grains each." And Jesus concluded, "Listen, then, if you have ears!"
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His disciples asked Jesus what this parable meant,
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and he answered, "The knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom of God has been given to you, but to the rest it comes by means of parables, so that they may look but not see, and listen but not understand.
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"This is what the parable means: the seed is the word of God.
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The seeds that fell along the path stand for those who hear; but the Devil comes and takes the message away from their hearts in order to keep them from believing and being saved.
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The seeds that fell on rocky ground stand for those who hear the message and receive it gladly. But it does not sink deep into them; they believe only for a while but when the time of testing comes, they fall away.
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The seeds that fell among thorn bushes stand for those who hear; but the worries and riches and pleasures of this life crowd in and choke them, and their fruit never ripens.
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The seeds that fell in good soil stand for those who hear the message and retain it in a good and obedient heart, and they persist until they bear fruit.
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"No one lights a lamp and covers it with a bowl or puts it under a bed. Instead, it is put on the lampstand, so that people will see the light as they come in.
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"Whatever is hidden away will be brought out into the open, and whatever is covered up will be found and brought to light.
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"Be careful, then, how you listen; because those who have something will be given more, but whoever has nothing will have taken away from them even the little they think they have."
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Jesus' mother and brothers came to him, but were unable to join him because of the crowd.
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Someone said to Jesus, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside and want to see you."
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Jesus said to them all, "My mother and brothers are those who hear the word of God and obey it."
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One day Jesus got into a boat with his disciples and said to them, "Let us go across to the other side of the lake." So they started out.
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As they were sailing, Jesus fell asleep. Suddenly a strong wind blew down on the lake, and the boat began to fill with water, so that they were all in great danger.
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The disciples went to Jesus and woke him up, saying, "Master, Master! We are about to die!" Jesus got up and gave an order to the wind and to the stormy water; they quieted down, and there was a great calm.
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Then he said to the disciples, "Where is your faith?" But they were amazed and afraid, and said to one another, "Who is this man? He gives orders to the winds and waves, and they obey him!"
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Jesus and his disciples sailed on over to the territory of Gerasa, which is across the lake from Galilee.
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As Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a man from the town who had demons in him. For a long time this man had gone without clothes and would not stay at home, but spent his time in the burial caves.
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When he saw Jesus, he gave a loud cry, threw himself down at his feet, and shouted, "Jesus, Son of the Most High God! What do you want with me? I beg you, don't punish me!"
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He said this because Jesus had ordered the evil spirit to go out of him. Many times it had seized him, and even though he was kept a prisoner, his hands and feet tied with chains, he would break the chains and be driven by the demon out into the desert.
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Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" "My name is 'Mob,' " he answered---because many demons had gone into him.
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The demons begged Jesus not to send them into the abyss.
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There was a large herd of pigs near by, feeding on a hillside. So the demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he let them.
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They went out of the man and into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the side of the cliff into the lake and was drowned.
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The men who had been taking care of the pigs saw what happened, so they ran off and spread the news in the town and among the farms.
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People went out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they were all afraid.
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Those who had seen it told the people how the man had been cured.
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Then all the people from that territory asked Jesus to go away, because they were terribly afraid. So Jesus got into the boat and left.
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The man from whom the demons had gone out begged Jesus, "Let me go with you." But Jesus sent him away, saying,
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"Go back home and tell what God has done for you." The man went through the town, telling what Jesus had done for him.
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When Jesus returned to the other side of the lake, the people welcomed him, because they had all been waiting for him.
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Then a man named Jairus arrived; he was an official in the local synagogue. He threw himself down at Jesus' feet and begged him to go to his home,
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because his only daughter, who was twelve years old, was dying. As Jesus went along, the people were crowding him from every side.
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Among them was a woman who had suffered from severe bleeding for twelve years; she had spent all she had on doctors, but no one had been able to cure her.
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She came up in the crowd behind Jesus and touched the edge of his cloak, and her bleeding stopped at once.
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Jesus asked, "Who touched me?" Everyone denied it, and Peter said, "Master, the people are all around you and crowding in on you."
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But Jesus said, "Someone touched me, for I knew it when power went out of me."
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The woman saw that she had been found out, so she came trembling and threw herself at Jesus' feet. There in front of everybody, she told him why she had touched him and how she had been healed at once.
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Jesus said to her, "My daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace."
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While Jesus was saying this, a messenger came from the official's house. "Your daughter has died," he told Jairus; "don't bother the Teacher any longer."
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But Jesus heard it and said to Jairus, "Don't be afraid; only believe, and she will be well."
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When he arrived at the house, he would not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John, and James, and the child's father and mother.
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Everyone there was crying and mourning for the child. Jesus said, "Don't cry; the child is not dead---she is only sleeping!"
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They all made fun of him, because they knew that she was dead.
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But Jesus took her by the hand and called out, "Get up, child!"
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Her life returned, and she got up at once, and Jesus ordered them to give her something to eat.
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Her parents were astounded, but Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone what had happened.
1
Jesus called the twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases.
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Then he sent them out to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick,
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after saying to them, "Take nothing with you for the trip: no walking stick, no beggar's bag, no food, no money, not even an extra shirt.
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Wherever you are welcomed, stay in the same house until you leave that town;
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wherever people don't welcome you, leave that town and shake the dust off your feet as a warning to them."
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The disciples left and traveled through all the villages, preaching the Good News and healing people everywhere.
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When Herod, the ruler of Galilee, heard about all the things that were happening, he was very confused, because some people were saying that John the Baptist had come back to life.
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Others were saying that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life.
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Herod said, "I had John's head cut off; but who is this man I hear these things about?" And he kept trying to see Jesus.
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The apostles came back and told Jesus everything they had done. He took them with him, and they went off by themselves to a town named Bethsaida.
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When the crowds heard about it, they followed him. He welcomed them, spoke to them about the Kingdom of God, and healed those who needed it.
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When the sun was beginning to set, the twelve disciples came to him and said, "Send the people away so that they can go to the villages and farms around here and find food and lodging, because this is a lonely place."
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But Jesus said to them, "You yourselves give them something to eat." They answered, "All we have are five loaves and two fish. Do you want us to go and buy food for this whole crowd?"
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(There were about five thousand men there.) Jesus said to his disciples, "Make the people sit down in groups of about fifty each."
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After the disciples had done so,
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Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up to heaven, thanked God for them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people.
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They all ate and had enough, and the disciples took up twelve baskets of what was left over.
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One day when Jesus was praying alone, the disciples came to him. "Who do the crowds say I am?" he asked them.
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"Some say that you are John the Baptist," they answered. "Others say that you are Elijah, while others say that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life."
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"What about you?" he asked them. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are God's Messiah."
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Then Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell this to anyone.
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He also told them, "The Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. He will be put to death, but three days later he will be raised to life."
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And he said to them all, "If you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, take up your cross every day, and follow me.
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For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it, but if you lose your life for my sake, you will save it.
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Will you gain anything if you win the whole world but are yourself lost or defeated? Of course not!
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If you are ashamed of me and of my teaching, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
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I assure you that there are some here who will not die until they have seen the Kingdom of God."
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About a week after he had said these things, Jesus took Peter, John, and James with him and went up a hill to pray.
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While he was praying, his face changed its appearance, and his clothes became dazzling white.
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Suddenly two men were there talking with him. They were Moses and Elijah,
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who appeared in heavenly glory and talked with Jesus about the way in which he would soon fulfill God's purpose by dying in Jerusalem.
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Peter and his companions were sound asleep, but they woke up and saw Jesus' glory and the two men who were standing with him.
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As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, "Master, how good it is that we are here! We will make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." (He did not really know what he was saying.)
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While he was still speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them with its shadow; and the disciples were afraid as the cloud came over them.
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A voice said from the cloud, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen---listen to him!"
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When the voice stopped, there was Jesus all alone. The disciples kept quiet about all this and told no one at that time anything they had seen.
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The next day Jesus and the three disciples went down from the hill, and a large crowd met Jesus.
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A man shouted from the crowd, "Teacher! I beg you, look at my son---my only son!
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A spirit attacks him with a sudden shout and throws him into a fit, so that he foams at the mouth; it keeps on hurting him and will hardly let him go!
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I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn't."
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Jesus answered, "How unbelieving and wrong you people are! How long must I stay with you? How long do I have to put up with you?" Then he said to the man, "Bring your son here."
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As the boy was coming, the demon knocked him to the ground and threw him into a fit. Jesus gave a command to the evil spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
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All the people were amazed at the mighty power of God. The people were still marveling at everything Jesus was doing, when he said to his disciples,
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"Don't forget what I am about to tell you! The Son of Man is going to be handed over to the power of human beings."
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But the disciples did not know what this meant. It had been hidden from them so that they could not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about the matter.
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An argument broke out among the disciples as to which one of them was the greatest.
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Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he took a child, stood him by his side,
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and said to them, "Whoever welcomes this child in my name, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, also welcomes the one who sent me. For the one who is least among you all is the greatest."
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John spoke up, "Master, we saw a man driving out demons in your name, and we told him to stop, because he doesn't belong to our group."
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"Do not try to stop him," Jesus said to him and to the other disciples, "because whoever is not against you is for you."
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As the time drew near when Jesus would be taken up to heaven, he made up his mind and set out on his way to Jerusalem.
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He sent messengers ahead of him, who went into a village in Samaria to get everything ready for him.
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But the people there would not receive him, because it was clear that he was on his way to Jerusalem.
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When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?"
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Jesus turned and rebuked them.
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Then Jesus and his disciples went on to another village.
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As they went on their way, a man said to Jesus, "I will follow you wherever you go."
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Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lie down and rest."
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He said to another man, "Follow me." But that man said, "Sir, first let me go back and bury my father."
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Jesus answered, "Let the dead bury their own dead. You go and proclaim the Kingdom of God."
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Someone else said, "I will follow you, sir; but first let me go and say good-bye to my family."
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Jesus said to him, "Anyone who starts to plow and then keeps looking back is of no use for the Kingdom of God."
