Luke 9

¹And he called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.

²And he sent them forth to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

³And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staff, nor wallet, nor bread, nor money; neither have two coats.

⁴And into whatsoever house ye enter, there abide, and thence depart.

⁵And as many as receive you not, when ye depart from that city, shake off the dust from your feet for a testimony against them.

⁶And they departed, and went throughout the villages, preaching the gospel, and healing everywhere.

⁷Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done: and he was much perplexed, because that it was said by some, that John was risen from the dead;

⁸and by some, that Elijah had appeared; and by others, that one of the old prophets was risen again.

⁹And Herod said, John I beheaded: but who is this, about whom I hear such things? And he sought to see him.

¹⁰And the apostles, when they were returned, declared unto him what things they had done. And he took them, and withdrew apart to a city called Bethsaida.

¹¹But the multitudes perceiving it followed him: and he welcomed them, and spake to them of the kingdom of God, and them that had need of healing he cured.

¹²And the day began to wear away; and the twelve came, and said unto him, Send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages and country round about, and lodge, and get provisions: for we are here in a desert place.

¹³But he said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they said, We have no more than five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy food for all this people.

¹⁴For they were about five thousand men. And he said unto his disciples, Make them sit down in companies, about fifty each.

¹⁵And they did so, and made them all sit down.

¹⁶And he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake; and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude.

¹⁷And they ate, and were all filled: and there was taken up that which remained over to them of broken pieces, twelve baskets.

¹⁸And it came to pass, as he was praying apart, the disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Who do the multitudes say that I am?

¹⁹And they answering said, John the Baptist; but others say, Elijah; and others, that one of the old prophets is risen again.

²⁰And he said unto them, But who say ye that I am? And Peter answering said, The Christ of God.

²¹But he charged them, and commanded them to tell this to no man;

²²saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up.

²³And he said unto all, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

²⁴For whosoever would save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

²⁵For what is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose or forfeit his own self?

²⁶For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in his own glory, and the glory of the Father, and of the holy angels.

²⁷But I tell you of a truth, There are some of them that stand here, who shall in no wise taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.

²⁸And it came to pass about eight days after these sayings, that he took with him Peter and John and James, and went up into the mountain to pray.

²⁹And as he was praying, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment became white and dazzling.

³⁰And behold, there talked with him two men, who were Moses and Elijah;

³¹who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

³²Now Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: but when they were fully awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him.

³³And it came to pass, as they were parting from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah: not knowing what he said.

³⁴And while he said these things, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud.

³⁵And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my Son, my chosen: hear ye him.

³⁶And when the voice came, Jesus was found alone. And they held their peace, and told no man in those days any of the things which they had seen.

³⁷And it came to pass, on the next day, when they were come down from the mountain, a great multitude met him.

³⁸And behold, a man from the multitude cried, saying, Teacher, I beseech thee to look upon my son; for he is mine only child:

³⁹and behold, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth, and it hardly departeth from him, bruising him sorely.

⁴⁰And I besought thy disciples to cast it out; and they could not.

⁴¹And Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and bear with you? bring hither thy son.

⁴²And as he was yet a coming, the demon dashed him down, and tare him grievously. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.

⁴³And they were all astonished at the majesty of God. But while all were marvelling at all the things which he did, he said unto his disciples,

⁴⁴Let these words sink into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered up into the hands of men.

⁴⁵But they understood not this saying, and it was concealed from them, that they should not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

⁴⁶And there arose a reasoning among them, which of them was the greatest.

⁴⁷But when Jesus saw the reasoning of their heart, he took a little child, and set him by his side,

⁴⁸and said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this little child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same is great.

⁴⁹And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out demons in thy name; and we forbade him, because he followeth not with us.

⁵⁰But Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against you is for you.

⁵¹And it came to pass, when the days were well-nigh come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,

⁵²and sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.

⁵³And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he were going to Jerusalem.

⁵⁴And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we bid fire to come down from heaven, and consume them?

⁵⁵But he turned, and rebuked them.

⁵⁶And they went to another village.

⁵⁷And as they went on the way, a certain man said unto him, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.

⁵⁸And Jesus said unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

⁵⁹And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

⁶⁰But he said unto him, Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but go thou and publish abroad the kingdom of God.

⁶¹And another also said, I will follow thee, Lord; but first suffer me to bid farewell to them that are at my house.

⁶²But Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Luke 9

¹Then Jesus called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and power to cure diseases.

²And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

³“Take nothing for the journey,” He told them, “no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no second tunic.

⁴Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that area.

⁵If anyone does not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that town, as a testimony against them.”

⁶So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.

⁷When Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, he was perplexed. For some were saying that John had risen from the dead,

⁸others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that a prophet of old had arisen.

⁹“I beheaded John,” Herod said, “but who is this man I hear such things about?” And he kept trying to see Jesus.

¹⁰Then the apostles returned and reported to Jesus all that they had done. Taking them away privately, He withdrew to a town called Bethsaida.

¹¹But the crowds found out and followed Him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and He healed those who needed healing.

¹²As the day neared its end, the Twelve came to Jesus and said, “Dismiss the crowd so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside for lodging and provisions. For we are in a desolate place here.”

¹³But Jesus told them, “You give them something to eat.” “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered, “unless we go and buy food for all these people.”

¹⁴(There were about five thousand men.) He told His disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.”

¹⁵They did so, and everyone was seated.

¹⁶Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, Jesus spoke a blessing and broke them. Then He gave them to the disciples to set before the people.

¹⁷They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

¹⁸One day as Jesus was praying in private and the disciples were with Him, He questioned them: “Who do the crowds say I am?”

¹⁹They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that a prophet of old has arisen.”

²⁰“But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

²¹Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.

²²“The Son of Man must suffer many things,” He said. “He must be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

²³Then Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.

²⁴For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.

²⁵What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose or forfeit his very self?

²⁶If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

²⁷But I tell you truthfully, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

²⁸About eight days after Jesus had said these things, He took with Him Peter, John, and James, and went up on a mountain to pray.

²⁹And as He was praying, the appearance of His face changed, and His clothes became radiantly white.

³⁰Suddenly two men, Moses and Elijah, began talking with Jesus.

³¹They appeared in glory and spoke about His departure, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

³²Meanwhile Peter and his companions were overcome by sleep, but when they awoke, they saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with Him.

³³As Moses and Elijah were leaving, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)

³⁴While Peter was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.

³⁵And a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, whom I have chosen. Listen to Him!”

³⁶After the voice had spoken, only Jesus was present with them. The disciples kept this to themselves, and in those days they did not tell anyone what they had seen.

³⁷The next day, when they came down from the mountain, Jesus was met by a large crowd.

³⁸Suddenly a man in the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my only child.

³⁹A spirit keeps seizing him, and he screams abruptly. It throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It keeps mauling him and rarely departs from him.

⁴⁰I begged Your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable.”

⁴¹“O unbelieving and perverse generation!” Jesus replied. “How long must I remain with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”

⁴²Even while the boy was approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.

⁴³And they were all astonished at the greatness of God. While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus was doing, He said to His disciples,

⁴⁴“Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.”

⁴⁵But they did not understand this statement. It was veiled from them so that they could not comprehend it, and they were afraid to ask Him about it.

⁴⁶Then an argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest.

⁴⁷But Jesus, knowing the thoughts of their hearts, had a little child stand beside Him.

⁴⁸And He said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in My name welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me welcomes the One who sent Me. For whoever is the least among all of you, he is the greatest.”

⁴⁹“Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not accompany us.”

⁵⁰“Do not stop him,” Jesus replied, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”

⁵¹As the day of His ascension approached, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.

⁵²He sent messengers on ahead, who went into a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him.

⁵³But the people there refused to welcome Him, because He was heading for Jerusalem.

⁵⁴When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”

⁵⁵But Jesus turned and rebuked them.

⁵⁶And He and His disciples went on to another village.

⁵⁷As they were walking along the road, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow You wherever You go.”

⁵⁸Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”

⁵⁹Then He said to another man, “Follow Me.” The man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

⁶⁰But Jesus told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead. You, however, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

⁶¹Still another said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first let me bid farewell to my family.”

⁶²Then Jesus declared, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and then looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”