Luke 9:51–19:48

THE JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM

⁵¹When the days were coming to a close for him to be taken up,^e he determined^f to journey to Jerusalem.^{g 52}He sent messengers ahead of himself,^h and on the way they entered a village of the Samaritansⁱ to make preparations for him. ⁵³But they did not welcome him, because he determined to journey to Jerusalem.^{j 54}When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”^Gk

⁵⁵But he turned and rebuked them, ⁵⁶and they went to another village.

FOLLOWING JESUS

⁵⁷As they were traveling on the road someone said to him,^l “I will follow you wherever you go.”

⁵⁸Jesus told him, “Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” ⁵⁹Then he said to another, “Follow me.”

“Lord,” he said, “first let me go bury my father.”

⁶⁰But he told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and spread the news of the kingdom of God.”^m

⁶¹Another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me go and say good-bye to those at my house.”ⁿ

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

SENDING OUT THE SEVENTY-TWO

10After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two^A others, and he sent them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself was about to go. ²He told them,^o “The harvest^p is abundant, but the workers^q are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.^{r 3}Now go; I’m sending you out like lambs among wolves.^{s 4}Don’t carry a money-bag,^t traveling bag,^u or sandals;^v don’t greet anyone along the road. ⁵Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace^w to this household.’ ⁶If a person of peace is there, your peace^x will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. ⁷Remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they offer, for the worker is worthy of his wages.^y Don’t move from house to house. ⁸When you enter any town, and they welcome you, eat the things set before you.^{z 9}Heal the sick^aa who are there, and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God^ab has come near^ac you.’ ¹⁰When you enter any town, and they don’t welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ¹¹‘We are wiping off even the dust of your town that clings to our feet as a witness against you.^ad Know this for certain: The kingdom of God has come near.’ ¹²I tell you, on that day^ae it will be more tolerable for Sodom^af than for that town.^ag

UNREPENTANT TOWNS

¹³“Woe^ah to you,^ai Chorazin!^aj Woe to you, Bethsaida!^ak For if the miracles^al that were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon,^am they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.^{an 14}But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment^ao than for you. ¹⁵And you, Capernaum,^ap will you be exalted to heaven?^aq No, you will go down to Hades.^{ar 16}Whoever listens to you listens to me.^as Whoever rejects you rejects me.^at And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”^au

THE RETURN OF THE SEVENTY-TWO

¹⁷The seventy-two^Bav returned with joy, saying,^aw “Lord, even the demons^ax submit to us in your name.”^ay

¹⁸He said to them, “I watched Satan^az fall from heaven like lightning.^{ba 19}Look, I have given you the authority^bb to trample^bc on snakes^bd and scorpions^be and over all the power of the enemy;^bf nothing at all will harm you.^{bg 20}However, don’t rejoice that^C the spirits^bh submit to you,^bi but rejoice that your names are written^bj in heaven.”

THE SON REVEALS THE FATHER

²¹At that time^a he^D rejoiced in the Holy^E Spirit^b and said, “I praise^F you, Father,^c Lord of heaven and earth,^d because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent^e and revealed them to infants.^f Yes, Father, because this was your good pleasure.^{Ag 22}All things have^B been entrusted to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son desires^C to reveal him.”^h

²³Then turning to his disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see the things you see! ²⁴For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see the things you see but didn’t see them; to hear the things you hear but didn’t hear them.”ⁱ

THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN

²⁵Then^j an expert in the law^k stood up to test^l him, saying, “Teacher,^m what must I do to inherit eternal life?”ⁿ

²⁶“What is written in the law?” he asked him. “How do you read it?”

²⁷He answered, “Love the Lord your God^o with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,”^p and “your neighbor as yourself.”^Dq

²⁸“You’ve answered correctly,” he told him. “Do this and you will live.”^r

²⁹But wanting to justify himself,^s he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”^t

³⁰Jesus took up the question and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. ³¹A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. ³²In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³But a Samaritan^u on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion.^{v 34}He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on olive oil^w and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ³⁵The next day^E he took out two denarii, ^Fgave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. When I come back I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.’

³⁶“Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”

³⁷“The one who showed mercy^x to him,” he said.

Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.”

MARTHA AND MARY

³⁸While they were traveling, he entered a village, and a woman named Martha^y welcomed him into her home.^{G 39}She had a sister named Mary, who also sat at the Lord’s^H feet^z and was listening to what he said.^{I 40}But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, and she came up and asked, “Lord, don’t you care^aa that my sister has left me to serve alone? So tell her to give me a hand.”^Jab

⁴¹The Lord^D answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things,^{ac 42}but one thing is necessary.^Lad Mary has made the right choice,^A and it will not be taken away from her.”

THE LORD’S PRAYER

11He was praying^ae in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.”^af

²He said to them, “Whenever you pray, say,^ag

Father,^Bah

your name^ai be honored as holy.^aj

Your kingdom come.^Cak

³Give us each day our daily bread.^Dal

⁴And forgive us our sins,^am

for we ourselves also forgive everyone

in debt to us.^Ean

And do not bring us into temptation.”^Fao

ASK, SEARCH, KNOCK

⁵He also said to them, “Suppose one of you^G has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, ⁶because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I don’t have anything to offer him.’ ⁷Then he will answer from inside and say, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone to bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ ⁸I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend’s shameless boldness,^H he will get up and give him as much as he needs.^a

⁹“So^b I say to you, ask,^c and it will be given to you. Seek,^d and you will find. Knock,^e and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. ¹¹What father among you, if his son^I asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? ¹²Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³If you then, who are evil,^f know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father^g give the Holy Spirit^h to those who ask him?”

A HOUSE DIVIDED

¹⁴Nowⁱ he was driving out a demon^j that was mute.^k When the demon came out, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed. ¹⁵But some of them said, “He drives out demons by Beelzebul,^l the ruler^m of the demons.”^{n 16}And others, as a test,^o were demanding of him a sign^p from heaven.

¹⁷Knowing their thoughts,^q he told them, “Every kingdom divided^r against itself is headed for destruction, and a house divided against itself falls. ¹⁸If Satan^s also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom^t stand? For you say I drive out demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons^u drive them out? For this reason they will be your judges. ²⁰If I drive out demons by the finger of God,^v then the kingdom of God^w has come upon you. ²¹When a strong man, fully armed, guards his estate, his possessions are secure. ²²But when one stronger than he attacks and overpowers^x him, he takes from him all his weapons^y he trusted^z in, and divides up his plunder.^{aa 23}Anyone who is not with me is against me,^ab and anyone who does not gather with me scatters.

AN UNCLEAN SPIRIT’S RETURN

²⁴“When^ac an unclean spirit^ad comes out of a person, it roams through waterless places looking for rest,^ae and not finding rest, it then^B says, ‘I’ll go back to my house that I came from.’ ²⁵Returning, it finds the house swept and put in order. ²⁶Then it goes and brings seven other spirits^af more evil than itself, and they enter and settle down there. As a result, that person’s last condition is worse than the first.”^ag

TRUE BLESSEDNESS

²⁷As he was saying these things, a woman from the crowd^ah raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the one who nursed you!”^ai

²⁸He said, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God^aj and keep it.”^ak

THE SIGN OF JONAH

²⁹As the crowds were increasing, he began saying, “This generation^al is an evil generation.^am It demands a sign,^an but no sign…