LukeChapter 9

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¹Then Jesus called the Twelve together. He gave them power and authority over all demons. He also gave them power to cure diseases. ²He sent them out to tell about the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. ³He told them, "Take nothing for the trip. Take no walking stick, no bag, no bread, no money, and no extra shirt.a ⁴When you go into a house, stay there until you leave that area. ⁵If people don't welcome you, shake the dust off your feet as you leave that town. That will be a warning against them." ⁶So they set out. They went from village to village. They preached the good news and healed people everywhere. ⁷Herod the ruler heard about all that was happening, and he was puzzled. Some people were saying that John had risen from the dead.b ⁸Others said that Elijah had appeared. Still others said that a prophet from long ago had come back to life. ⁹Herod said, "I had John's head cut off. So who is this man I keep hearing about?" And he kept trying to see Jesus. ¹⁰Then the apostles came back and told Jesus all they had done. He took them with him and went off alone with them to a town called Bethsaida. ¹¹But the crowds found out and followed him. Jesus welcomed them. He talked to them about the kingdom of God, and he healed those who needed healing. ¹²Late in the day, the Twelve came to Jesus. They said, "Send the crowd away. Then they can go to the villages and farms nearby to find a place to stay and food to eat. For we're out here in a lonely place." ¹³But Jesus told them, "You give them something to eat." They answered, "We have only five loaves of bread and two fish. That is all we have, unless we go and buy food for all these people." ¹⁴(There were about 5,000 men there.) Jesus told his disciples, "Have them sit down in groups of about fifty." ¹⁵The disciples did this, and everyone sat down. ¹⁶Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up to heaven and gave thanks, and he broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to hand out to the people. ¹⁷They all ate and were full. Then the disciples picked up twelve baskets full of leftover pieces. ¹⁸One day Jesus was praying alone, and his disciples were with him. He asked them, "Who do the crowds say I am?" ¹⁹They answered, "Some say John the Baptist. Others say Elijah. Still others say a prophet from long ago has come back to life." ²⁰Jesus asked, "But what about you? Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are God's Messiah."c ²¹Jesus gave them a strong warning not to tell this to anyone. ²²He said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things. He must be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of the law. He must be killed, and on the third day he must be raised to life." ²³Then Jesus said to all of them, "If anyone wants to follow me, he must say no to himself. He must pick up his cross every day and follow me. ²⁴For whoever wants to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for me will save it. ²⁵What good is it for a man to gain the whole world but lose or give up his own self? ²⁶Someone may be ashamed of me and my words. If so, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes. He will come in his glory, in the glory of the Father, and in the glory of the holy angels. ²⁷I tell you the truth, some people standing here will not die before they see the kingdom of God."d ²⁸About eight days after Jesus said these things, he took Peter, John, and James with him. They went up on a mountain to pray. ²⁹While Jesus was praying, the look of his face changed. His clothes became a shining, bright white. ³⁰All at once two men, Moses and Elijah, were talking with Jesus. ³¹They appeared in glory. They talked about his departure, which he was about to carry out in Jerusalem.e ³²Meanwhile Peter and the others with him had fallen into a deep sleep. But when they woke up, they saw the glory of Jesus and the two men standing with him. ³³As Moses and Elijah were leaving, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it's good for us to be here. Let's set up three shelters. One will be for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." (He didn't know what he was saying.) ³⁴While Peter was speaking, a cloud came and covered them. They were afraid as they went into the cloud. ³⁵A voice came from the cloud. It said, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen. Listen to him!" ³⁶After the voice spoke, they saw that Jesus was there alone with them. The disciples kept quiet about this. In those days they didn't tell anyone what they had seen. ³⁷The next day they came down from the mountain, and a large crowd met Jesus. ³⁸All at once a man in the crowd shouted, "Teacher, please look at my son! He's my only child. ³⁹A spirit keeps grabbing him, and all of a sudden he screams. It throws him into fits, and he foams at the mouth. It keeps hurting him and hardly ever leaves him alone. ⁴⁰I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn't do it." ⁴¹Jesus answered, "You people of today have no faith, and you have turned from what is right! How long must I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here." ⁴²Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a fit. But Jesus ordered the evil spirit to stop. He healed the boy and gave him back to his father.f ⁴³Everyone was amazed at how great God is. While they were all amazed at everything Jesus was doing, he spoke to his disciples. ⁴⁴He said, "Listen closely to what I'm about to tell you. The Son of Man is about to be handed over to men." ⁴⁵But they didn't understand what he meant. It was hidden from them, so they could not grasp it. And they were afraid to ask him about it. ⁴⁶Then the disciples began to argue about which of them would be the greatest. ⁴⁷But Jesus knew what they were thinking in their hearts. So he had a little child stand beside him. ⁴⁸He said to them, "Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me welcomes the One who sent me. For the one who is least among all of you is the greatest." ⁴⁹John said, "Master, we saw someone driving out demons in your name. We tried to stop him, because he isn't one of our group." ⁵⁰Jesus answered, "Don't stop him. For whoever is not against you is for you." ⁵¹The time was coming near for Jesus to be taken up to heaven. So he made up his mind and set out for Jerusalem. ⁵²He sent messengers ahead of him. They went into a village of the Samaritans to get things ready for him. ⁵³But the people there would not welcome him, because he was on his way to Jerusalem. ⁵⁴The disciples James and John saw this. They asked, "Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to burn them up?"g ⁵⁵But Jesus turned and scolded them.h ⁵⁶Then he and his disciples went on to another village. ⁵⁷As they were walking along the road, a man said to Jesus, "I will follow you anywhere you go." ⁵⁸Jesus answered, "Foxes have holes to live in, and birds have nests. But the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." ⁵⁹Jesus said to another man, "Follow me." But the man said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." ⁶⁰Jesus told him, "Let the dead bury their own dead. But you go and tell everyone about the kingdom of God." ⁶¹Still another man said, "Lord, I will follow you. But first let me go and say goodbye to my family." ⁶²Jesus said, "No one who starts to plow and then looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."i