Luke 9

1 And calling the twelve together, he gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 And he said to them, “Take nothing for the road — no staff, no bag, no bread, no silver; and do not have two tunics each. [a] 4 And whatever house you go into, stay there, and go out from there. 5 And as for all who do not welcome you, as you go out from that city shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” 6 And going out they were passing through the villages, bringing the good news and healing everywhere.

7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was happening, and he was at a loss, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, 8 and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen. 9 And Herod said, “John I beheaded; but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he was seeking to see him.

10 And when the apostles returned they told him all that they had done. And taking them along he withdrew privately to a city called Bethsaida. 11 But the crowds found out and followed him. And he welcomed them and was speaking to them about the kingdom of God, and he cured those who had need of healing.

12 And the day began to decline. And the twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the villages and farms round about and find lodging and provisions, because here we are in a deserted place.” 13 But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish — unless we go and buy food for all this people.” 14 For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Have them recline in groups of about fifty.” 15 And they did so, and had them all recline.

16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them and broke them, and was giving them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 And they all ate and were filled; and what was left over to them was taken up — twelve baskets of broken pieces. [b]

18 And it happened, while he was praying alone, that the disciples were with him; and he questioned them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 19 And they answered and said, “John the Immerser; but others, Elijah; and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” 20 And he said to them, “But you — who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.” [c]

21 But he warned them and charged them to tell this to no one, 22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” [d] †

23 And he was saying to them all, “If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow me. [e] 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake, this one will save it. 25 For what does it profit a person to gain the whole world but lose or forfeit himself? [f] 26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy messengers. [g] 27 But I tell you truly, there are some of those standing here who will certainly not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

28 Now it happened about eight days after these words that he took along Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And it happened, while he was praying, that the appearance of his face became different and his clothing a flashing white. 30 And look, two men were talking with him, who were Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and were speaking of his going out, which he was about to bring to completion at Jerusalem. [h] 32 But Peter and those with him were weighed down with sleep; and when they had come fully awake they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.

33 And it happened, as they were being parted from him, that Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah” — not knowing what he was saying. [i] 34 And while he was saying these things a cloud came and was overshadowing them; and they were afraid as they entered into the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.” [j] 36 And when the voice had come, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent, and in those days they reported to no one anything of what they had seen.

37 And it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a large crowd met him. 38 And look, a man from the crowd shouted, saying, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, because he is my only child. 39 And look, a spirit takes him, and suddenly he cries out, and it convulses him with foaming, and it hardly goes away from him, wearing him down. 40 And I begged your disciples to throw it out, and they were not able.” 41 And Jesus answered and said, “Faithless and twisted generation, how long will I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” 42 And while he was still coming, the demon dashed him down and convulsed him violently. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy and gave him back to his father.

43 And they were all astounded at the majesty of God. And while everyone was marveling at all the things he was doing, he said to his disciples, 44 “You — put these words into your ears: the Son of Man is about to be handed over into the hands of men.” [k] 45 But they did not understand this saying, and it was veiled from them so that they would not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

46 And a reasoning came in among them, as to which of them might be greatest. 47 But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their heart, took hold of a child and stood it beside himself, 48 and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. For the one who is least among you all — this one is great.” [l]

49 And John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone throwing out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow along with us.” 50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him; for whoever is not against you is for you.” [m]

51 Now it happened, as the days of his being taken up were being completed, that he himself set his face to go to Jerusalem. [n] 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him. And they went and entered a village of Samaritans, to make ready for him; 53 and they did not receive him, because his face was set as going to Jerusalem. 54 And when the disciples James and John saw it they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” [o] 55 But he turned and rebuked them. [p] 56 And they went to another village.

57 And as they were going on the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have dens and the birds of the sky have roosts, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” [q] 59 And he said to another, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go away and bury my father.” 60 But he said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but you — go and announce the kingdom of God.”

61 And another also said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me say goodbye to those in my house.” 62 But Jesus said, “No one who has put his hand to a plow and looks at what is behind is fit for the kingdom of God.”