The Mission of the Twelve.^* 12^h In those days he departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer^* to God. 13When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve,^* whom he also named apostles: 14ⁱ Simon, whom he named Peter,^* and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot,^* 16and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot,^* who became a traitor.

Ministering to a Great Multitude.^j 17^* And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon 18came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured. 19Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all.

Sermon on the Plain.^k 20^* And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said:

“Blessed are you who are poor,^*

for the kingdom of God is yours.

21Blessed are you who are now hungry,

for you will be satisfied.

Blessed are you who are now weeping,

for you will laugh.^l

22Blessed are you when people hate you,

and when they exclude and insult you,

and denounce your name as evil

on account of the Son of Man.^m

23Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.ⁿ

Prayer of the Community. 23After their release they went back to their own people and reported what the chief priests and elders had told them. 24And when they heard it, they raised their voices to God with one accord and said, “Sovereign Lord, maker of heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them, 25you said by the holy Spirit through the mouth of our father David, your servant:

‘Why did the Gentiles rage^g

and the peoples entertain folly?

26The kings of the earth took their stand

and the princes gathered together

against the Lord and against his anointed.’

27Indeed they gathered in this city against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed, Herod^* and Pontius Pilate, together with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,^h 28to do what your hand and [your] will had long ago planned to take place. 29And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and enable your servants to speak your word with all boldness, 30as you stretch forth [your] hand to heal, and signs and wonders are done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31^* As they prayed, the place where they were gathered shook, and they were all filled with the holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.ⁱ

Rewards. 40“Whoever receives you receives me,^* and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.^w 41^* Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is righteous will receive a righteous man’s reward. 42And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple—amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”^x