Luke 9:28–62

THE TRANSFIGURATION

²⁸About eight days after this conversation,^s he took along Peter, John, and James^t and went up on the mountain to pray.^{u 29}As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed,^v and his clothes became dazzling white.^{w 30}Suddenly, two men were talking with him—Moses and Elijah. ³¹They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem.

³²Peter and those with him were in a deep sleep,^Dx and when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men who were standing with him. ³³As the two men were departing from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master,^y it’s good for us to be here. Let’s set up three shelters: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he was saying.^z

³⁴While he was saying this, a cloud appeared and overshadowed^aa them. They became afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵Then a voice came from the cloud,^ab saying, “This is my Son,^ac the Chosen One;^Ead listen to him!”^ae

³⁶After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They kept silent, and at that time told no one what they had seen.

THE POWER OF JESUS OVER A DEMON

³⁷The next day,^af when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. ³⁸Just then a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, because he’s my only child.^{ag 39}A spirit seizes him; suddenly he shrieks, and it throws him into convulsions until he foams at the mouth; severely bruising him, it scarcely ever leaves him. ⁴⁰I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn’t.”^ah

⁴¹Jesus replied, “You unbelieving and perverse generation,^ai how long will I be with you and put up with you?^aj Bring your son here.”

⁴²As the boy was still approaching, the demon knocked him down and threw him into severe convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy,^ak and gave him back to his father.^{al 43}And they were all astonished at the greatness of God.^am

THE SECOND PREDICTION OF HIS DEATH

While everyone was amazed at all the things he was doing,^an he told his disciples, ⁴⁴“Let these words sink in:^B The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.”^ao

⁴⁵But they did not understand this statement;^ap it was concealed from them so that they could not grasp it,^aq and they were afraid to ask him about it.

WHO IS THE GREATEST?

⁴⁶An argument started among them about who was the greatest of them.^{ar 47}But Jesus, knowing their inner thoughts,^Cas took a little child and had him stand next to him. ⁴⁸He told them, “Whoever welcomes^D this little child in my name welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me welcomes him who sent me.^at For whoever is least among you—this one is great.”^au

IN HIS NAME

⁴⁹John responded,^a “Master, we saw someone driving out demons in your name,^b and we tried to stop him because he does not follow us.”^c

⁵⁰“Don’t stop him,” Jesus told him, “because whoever is not against you is for you.”^Ed

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.”