14
He settled on twelve, and designated them apostles. The plan was that they would be with him, and he would send them out to proclaim the Word
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and give them authority to banish demons.
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These are the Twelve: Simon (Jesus later named him Peter, meaning "Rock"),
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James, son of Zebedee, John, brother of James (Jesus nicknamed the Zebedee brothers Boanerges, meaning "Sons of Thunder"),
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Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Canaanite,
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Judas Iscariot (who betrayed him).
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Jesus came home and, as usual, a crowd gathered - so many making demands on him that there wasn't even time to eat.
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His friends heard what was going on and went to rescue him, by force if necessary. They suspected he was getting carried away with himself.
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The religion scholars from Jerusalem came down spreading rumors that he was working black magic, using devil tricks to impress them with spiritual power.
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Jesus confronted their slander with a story: "Does it make sense to send a devil to catch a devil, to use Satan to get rid of Satan?
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A constantly squabbling family disintegrates. If Satan were fighting Satan, there soon wouldn't be any Satan left.