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Read (and listen!) through the amazing story of Luke and Acts!
Immerse: Luke and Acts is part of Immerse: The Reading Bible, which takes you on a new and unique journey through the books of Luke and Acts in the New Testament. This fresh arrangement of the books highlights the depth of the New Testament’s fourfold witness to Jesus the Messiah. The Son of God, who fulfills all the longings and promises of the collected Scriptures. The goal of Bible reading is to understand the sacred writings in depth so we can learn to live with them. Using the text of the New Living Translation (NLT) from Tyndale Publishing, now you can experience Luke and Acts the same way the original readers did and be fully immersed in the most amazing story of all time!
Alan: Welcome to Immerse Luke
and Acts, Day five, Week one
.
One day, Jesus called together
his twelve disciples and gave them
power and authority to cast out all
demons and to heal all diseases.
Then he sent them out to tell
everyone about the kingdom
of God and to heal the sick.
Take nothing for your
journey, he instructed them.
Don't take a walking stick, a
traveler's bag, food, money,
or even a change of clothes.
Wherever you go, stay in the
same house until you leave town.
And if a town refuses to welcome
you, shake its dust from your feet
as you leave, to show that you have
abandoned those people to their fate.
So they began their circuit
of the villages, preaching the
good news and healing the sick.
When Herod Antipas, the ruler of
Galilee, heard about everything
Jesus was doing, he was puzzled.
Some were saying that John the
Baptist had been raised from the dead.
Others thought Jesus was Elijah or one of
the other prophets risen from the dead.
I beheaded John, Herod said.
So who is this man about
whom I hear such stories?
And he kept trying to see him.
When the apostles returned, they
told Jesus everything they had done.
Then he slipped quietly away with
them toward the town of Bethsaida.
But the crowds found out where he
was going, and they followed him.
He welcomed them and taught
them about the kingdom of God.
And he healed those who were sick.
Late in the afternoon, the
twelve disciples came to him and
said, Send the crowds away to
the nearby villages and farms.
So they can find food and
lodging for the night.
There was nothing to eat
here in this remote place.
But Jesus said, You feed them, but we have
only five loaves of bread and two fish.
They answered, Or are you
expecting us to go and buy
enough food for this whole crowd?
For there were about
five thousand men there.
Jesus replied, Tell them to sit
down in groups of about fifty each.
So the people all sat down.
Jesus took the five loaves and two fish.
Looked up toward heaven and blessed
them, then breaking the loaves into
pieces, he kept giving the bread
and fish to the disciples so they
could distribute it to the people.
They all ate as much as they wanted,
and afterward the disciples picked
up twelve baskets of leftovers.
One day, Jesus left the
crowds to pray alone.
Only His disciples were with Him.
And He asked them, Who do people say I am?
Well, they replied, Some say John
the Baptist, some say Elijah, and
others say you are one of the other
ancient prophets risen from the dead.
Then He asked them, But
who do you say I am?
Peter replied, You are
the Messiah sent from God.
Jesus warned his disciples
not to tell anyone who he was.
The Son of Man must suffer
many terrible things, he said.
He will be rejected by the
elders, the leading priests, and
the teachers of religious law.
He will be killed.
But on the third day, he
will be raised from the dead.
Then he said to the crowd, If any
of you wants to be my follower, you
must give up your own way, take up
your cross daily, 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 are
yourself lost or destroyed?
If anyone is ashamed of me and my
message, the Son of Man will be
ashamed of that person when He returns
in His glory, and in the glory of
the Father and the holy angels.
I tell you the truth, some standing
here right now will not die before
they see the Kingdom of God.
About eight days later, Jesus took Peter,
John, and James up on a mountain to pray.
And as he was praying, the appearance
of his face was transformed.
And his clothes became dazzling white.
Suddenly two men, Moses and Elijah,
appeared and began talking with Jesus.
They were glorious to see.
And they were speaking about his
exodus from this world, which was
about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem.
Peter and the others had fallen asleep.
When they woke up, they saw Jesus glory
and the two men standing with him.
As Moses and Elijah were starting to
leave, Peter, not even knowing what
he was saying, blurted out, Master,
it's wonderful for us to be here.
Let's make three shelters as
memorials, one for you, one
for Moses, and one for Elijah.
But even as he was saying this, a
cloud overshadowed them, a terror
gripped them as the cloud covered them.
Then a voice from the cloud said, This
is my son, my chosen one, listen to him.
When the voice finished,
Jesus was there alone.
They didn't tell anyone at
that time what they had seen.
The next day after they had come down
the mountain, a large crowd met Jesus.
A man in the crowd called out
to him, Teacher, I beg you to
look at my son, my only child.
An evil spirit keeps seizing
him, making him scream.
It throws him into convulsions
so that he foams at the mouth.
It batters him and hardly
ever leaves him alone.
I begged your disciples to cast out
the spirit, but they couldn't do it.
Jesus said, You faithless
and corrupt people.
How long must I be with
you and put up with you?
Then he said to the man,
Bring your son here.
As the boy came forward, the demon
knocked him to the ground and threw
him into a violent convulsion.
But Jesus rebuked the evil
spirit and healed the boy.
Then he gave him back to his father.
All gripped the people as they saw
this majestic display of God's power.
While everyone was marveling at everything
he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples,
Listen to me, and remember what I say.
The Son of Man is going to be betrayed
into the hands of his enemies.
But they didn't know what he meant.
Its significance was hidden from them,
so they couldn't understand it, and
they were afraid to ask him about it.
Then his disciples began arguing
about which of them was the greatest.
But Jesus knew their thoughts, so he
brought a little child to his side.
Then he said to them, Anyone
who welcomes a little child like
this on my behalf welcomes me.
And anyone who welcomes me also
welcomes my Father who sent me.
Whoever is the least
among you is the greatest.
John said to Jesus, Master, we saw
someone using your name to cast
out demons, but we told him to
stop because he isn't in our group.
But Jesus said, Don't stop him.
Anyone who is not against you is for you.
As the time drew near for him
to ascend to heaven, Jesus
resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan
village to prepare for his arrival.
But the people of the village
did not welcome Jesus, because
he was on his way to Jerusalem.
When James and John saw this, they
said to Jesus, Lord, should we call
down fire from heaven to burn them up?
But Jesus turned and rebuked them,
so they went on to another village.
As they were walking along,
someone said to Jesus, I will
follow you wherever you go.
But Jesus replied, Foxes have dens to live
in, and birds have nests, but the Son of
Man has no place even to lay his head.
He said to another
person, Come, follow me.
The man agreed, but he said, Lord, first
let me return home and bury my father.
But Jesus told him, Let the
spiritually dead bury their own dead.
Your duty is to go and preach
about the kingdom of God.
Another said, Yes, Lord, I
will follow you, but first let
me say goodbye to my family.
But Jesus told him, Anyone who puts a
hand to the plow and then looks back
is not fit for the kingdom of God.
The Lord now chose seventy two
other disciples and sent them
ahead in pairs to all the towns
and places He planned to visit.
These were His instructions to them.
The harvest is great,
but the workers are few.
So pray to the Lord, who is
in charge of the harvest.
Ask Him to send more
workers into His fields.
Now go, and remember that I am
sending you out as lambs among wolves.
Don't take any money with
you, nor a traveler's bag.
Nor an extra pair of sandals, and
don't stop to greet anyone on the road.
Whenever you enter someone's home first,
say, may God's peace beyond this house.
If those who live there are
peaceful, the blessing will stand.
If they are not, the
blessing will return to you.
Don't move around from home to home.
Stay in one place eating and
drinking what they provide.
Don't hesitate to accept hospitality
because those who work deserve their pay.
If you enter a town and it welcomes
you, eat whatever is set before
you, heal the sick and tell them,
The kingdom of God is near you now.
But if a town refuses to welcome
you, go out into its streets and
say, We wipe even the dust of your
town from our feet, to show that
we have abandoned you to your fate.
And know this, the kingdom of God is near.
I assure you, even wicked
Sodom will be better off than
such a town on Judgment Day.
What sorrow awaits you, Chorazin and
Bethsaida, for if the miracles I did
and you had been done in wicked Tyre
and Sidon, their people would have
repented of their sins long ago, clothing
themselves in burlap and throwing ashes
on their heads to show their remorse.
Yes, Tyre and Sidon will be better
off on Judgment Day than you.
And you people of Capernaum,
will you be honored in heaven?
No, you will go down to
the place of the dead.
Then he said to the disciples, Anyone
who accepts your message is also
accepting me, and anyone who rejects
you is rejecting me, and anyone who
rejects me is rejecting God who sent me.
When the Seventy Two Disciples returned,
they joyfully reported to him, Lord, even
the demons obey us when we use your name.
Yes, he told them, I saw Satan
fall from heaven like lightning.
Look, I have given you authority over all
the power of the enemy, and you can walk
among snakes and scorpions and crush them.
Nothing will injure you, but don't
rejoice because evil spirits obey you.
Rejoice because your names
are registered in heaven.
At that same time, Jesus was filled with
the joy of the Holy Spirit, and he said,
O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank
you for hiding these things from those
who think themselves wise and clever,
and for revealing them to the childlike.
Yes, Father, it pleased
you to do it this way.
My father has entrusted everything to me.
No one truly knows the
son except the father.
And no one truly knows the father
except the son, and those to whom
the son chooses to reveal him.
Then when they were alone, he turned
to the disciples and said, Blessed are
the eyes that see what you have seen.
I tell you, many prophets and
kings longed to see what you
see, but they didn't see it.
And they longed to hear what you
hear, but they didn't hear it.
One day, an expert in religious
law stood up to test Jesus
by asking him this question.
Teacher, what should I do
to inherit eternal life?
Jesus replied, What does
the law of Moses say?
How do you read it?
The man answered, You must love the Lord
your God with all your heart, all your
soul, all your strength, and all your
mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.
Right, Jesus told him.
Do this and you will live.
The man wanted to justify his actions, so
he asked Jesus, And who is my neighbor?
Jesus replied with a story.
A Jewish man was traveling from
Jerusalem down to Jericho, and
he was attacked by bandits.
They stripped him of his
clothes, beat him up, and left
him half dead beside the road.
By chance, a priest came along,
but when he saw the man lying
there, he crossed to the other
side of the road and passed him by.
A temple assistant walked over and
looked at him lying there, but he
also passed by on the other side.
Then a despised Samaritan came
along, and when he saw the man,
he felt compassion for him.
Going over to him, the Samaritan
soothed his wounds with olive
oil and wine and bandaged them.
Then he put the man on his own
donkey and took him to an inn,
where he took care of him.
The next day he handed the
innkeeper two silver coins,
telling him, Take care of this man.
If his bill runs higher than this,
I'll pay you the next time I'm here.
Now which of these three would
you say was a neighbor to the
man who was attacked by bandits?
Jesus asked.
The man replied, The one
who showed him mercy.
Then Jesus said, Yes.
Now go and do the same.
As Jesus and the disciples continued
on their way to Jerusalem, They came to
a certain village where a woman named
Martha welcomed him into her home.
Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord's
feet, listening to what he taught.
But Martha was distracted by the
big dinner she was preparing.
She came to Jesus and said, Lord, doesn't
it seem unfair to you that my sister
just sits here while I do all the work?
Tell her to come and help me.
But the Lord said to her, My dear Martha.
You are worried and upset
over all these details.
There is only one thing
worth being concerned about.
Mary has discovered it, and it
will not be taken away from her.
Once Jesus was in a
certain place, praying.
As he finished, one of his disciples
came to him and said, Lord, teach us to
pray, just as John taught his disciples.
Jesus said, This is how you should pray.
Father, may your name be kept holy.
May your kingdom come soon.
Give us each day the food we need,
and forgive us our sins, as we
forgive those who sin against us.
And don't let us yield to temptation.
Then teaching them more about
prayer, he used this story.
Suppose you went to a friend's
house at midnight, wanting to
borrow three loaves of bread.
You say to him, A friend of mine
has just arrived for a visit, and
I have nothing for him to eat.
And suppose he calls out from
his bedroom, Don't bother me.
The door is locked for the night,
and my family and I are all in bed.
I can't help you.
But I tell you this, Though he won't
do it for friendship's sake, If you
keep knocking long enough, he will
get up and give you whatever you need,
Because of your shameless persistence.
And so I tell you, keep on asking,
and you will receive what you ask for.
Keep on seeking, and you will find.
Keep on knocking, and the
door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives.
Everyone who seeks, finds.
And to everyone who knocks,
the door will be opened.
You fathers, if your children ask for a
fish, do you give them a snake instead?
Or if they ask for an egg,
do you give them a scorpion?
Of course not.
So if you sinful people know how to
give good gifts to your children, how
much more will your Heavenly Father
give the Holy Spirit to those who ask
Oliver: This concludes today's
Immerse Reading Experience.
Thank you for joining us.