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evil spirits and  to heal every disease and every sickness. These are the names
of the  twelve apostles: first, Simon (Called  Peter) and  his brother  Andrew;
James and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas
and Matthew, the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the
Patriot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus.

These twelve  men were sent  out by Jesus with the  following instructions: "Do
not  go to any Gentile  territory or any Samarian towns. Instead, you are to go
to  the lost  sheep of the  people of  Israel.  Go and preach, 'The  Kingdom of
heaven  is near!' Heal  the sick, bring  the dead back to  life, heal those who
suffer from  dreaded skin-diseases,  and  drive  out demons.  You have received
without paying, so give  without being paid. Do not carry any  gold, silver, or
copper money in your pockets; do not carry a beggar's bag for the journey or an
extra shirt or shoes or a stick. A worker should be given  what he needs. "When
you come to a town  or village,  go in and look  for someone  who is willing to
welcome you, and stay with him until you  leave that  place. When you go into a
house,  say, 'Peace be  with you.' If the people in that house welcome you, let
your greeting  of peace remain; but if they do not welcome you,  then take back
your greeting. And if some home or town will not  welcome you or listen to you,
then leave  that place and shake  the dust off your feet.  I assure you that on
the Judgement Day God will show more mercy to the  people of Sodom and Gomorrah
than to the people of that town!

"Listen! I am sending you out just  like sheep to a pack of wolves. You must be
as cautious as  snakes and as gentle as doves. Watch out, for there will be men
who  will arrest you and take you to court, and they will whip you in the syna-
gogues.  For my sake you will be  brought to trial before rulers and kings,  to
tell the Good News  to them and to the  Gentiles. When they bring you to trial,
do not worry about what you are going to say. For the words you will speak will
not be  yours; they  will come from the  Spirit of your Father speaking through
you. "Men  will hand over their own brothers to  be put to  death, and  fathers
will do the same  to their children;  children will  turn against their parents
and have them  put to death.  Everyone will hate you because of me. But whoever
holds out  to the end will be saved.  When they persecute you  in one town, run
away to another one. I assure you that you will not finish your work in all the
towns of Israel  before the  Son of Man comes.  "No pupil is  greater  than his
teacher; no slave is greater than his master. So a pupil should be satisfied to
become like his teacher, and a slave like his master. If the head of the family
is called Beelzebul, the members of the family will be called even worse names!

"So do not be afraid of people.  Whatever is now  covered up will be uncovered,
and every secret will be made known. What I am telling you in the dark you must
repeat in broad  daylight, and what you have heard in private you must announce
from the housetops. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill
the soul; rahter be afraid of God,  who can destroy both body and soul in hell.
For only a penny you can  buy two sparrows, yet  not one sparrow  falls  to the
ground  without your Father's consent.  As for you, even the hairs of your head
have all been counted.  So do not be afraid; you are worth  much more than many
sparrows!

(Matthew 10)
