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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?"
4 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,