Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately,
“Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?”
“You don’t have enough faith,”
Jesus told them.
“I tell you the truth,
if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed,
you could say to this mountain,
‘Move from here to there,’
and it would move.
Nothing would be impossible.”
Matthew 17:19-20
Then Jesus said to his disciples,
“If any of you wants to be my follower,
you must give up your own way,
take up your cross, and follow me.
If you try to hang on to your life,
you will lose it.
But if you give up your life for my sake,
you will save it.
And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world
but lose your own soul?
Is anything worth more than your soul?”
Matthew 16:24-26
Then he asked them,
“But who do you say I am?”
Simon Peter answered,
“You are the Messiah,
the Son of the living God.”
But Jesus spoke to them at once.
“Don’t be afraid,”
he said.
“Take courage.
I am here!”
Again,
the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant
on the lookout for choice pearls.
When he discovered a pearl of great value,
he sold everything he owned
and bought it!
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure
that a man discovered hidden in a field.
In his excitement,
he hid it again and sold everything he owned
to get enough money to buy the field.”
Then Jesus said,
“Come to me,
all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you.
Let me teach you,
because I am humble and gentle at heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy to bear,
and the burden I give you is light.”
…two blind men followed along behind him,
shouting,
“Son of David,
have mercy on us!”
They went right into the house where he was staying,
and Jesus asked them,
“Do you believe I can make you see?”
“Yes, Lord,”
they told him,
“we do.”
Then he touched their eyes and said,
“Because of your faith,
it will happen.”
Then their eyes were opened,
and they could see!
Large crowds followed Jesus
as he came down the mountainside.
Suddenly a man with leprosy approached him
and knelt before him.
“Lord,”
the man said,
“if you are willing,
you can heal me and make me clean.”
Jesus reached out and touched him.
“I am willing,”
he said.
“Be healed.”
And instantly the leprosy disappeared.
When the servant of the man of God
got up early the next morning and went outside,
there were troops,
horses,
and chariots everywhere.
“Oh, sir, what will we do now?”
the young man cried to Elisha.
“Don’t be afraid!”
Elisha told him.
“For there are more on our side than on theirs!”
Then Elisha prayed,
“O LORD,
open his eyes and let him see!”
The LORD opened the young man’s eyes,
and when he looked up,
he saw that the hillside around Elisha
was filled horses and chariots of fire.
