Luke 9:1–10

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Disciples

9Jesus called the twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases. ²Then he sent them out to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick, ^3*after saying to them, “Take nothing with you for the journey: no stick, no beggar’s bag, no food, no money, not even an extra shirt. ^4*Wherever you are welcomed, stay in the same house until you leave that town; ^5*wherever people don’t welcome you, leave that town and shake the dust off your feet as a warning to them.”

⁶The disciples left and travelled through all the villages, preaching the Good News and healing people everywhere.

Herod’s Confusion

^7*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. ^8*Others were saying that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. ⁹Herod 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.

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand Men

¹⁰The apostles came back and told Jesus everything they had done. He took them with him, and they went off by themselves to a town called Bethsaida.