Luke 9:51–19:44

People from a Samaritan Village Reject Jesus

⁵¹The time was coming closer for Jesus to be taken to heaven. So he was determined to go to Jerusalem. ⁵²He sent messengers ahead of him. They went into a Samaritan village to arrange a place for him to stay. ⁵³But the people didn’t welcome him, because he was on his way to Jerusalem. ⁵⁴James and John, his disciples, saw this. They asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to burn them up?” 

⁵⁵But he turned and corrected them.^a56So they went to another village. 

What It Takes to Be a Disciple—Matthew 8:19–22

⁵⁷As they were walking along the road, a man said to Jesus, “I’ll follow you wherever you go.” 

⁵⁸Jesus told him, “Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to sleep.” 

⁵⁹He told another man, “Follow me!” 

But the man said, “Sir, first let me go to bury my father.” 

⁶⁰But Jesus told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead. You must go everywhere and tell about God’s kingdom.” 

⁶¹Another said, “I’ll follow you, sir, but first let me tell my family goodbye.” 

⁶²Jesus said to him, “Whoever starts to plow and looks back is not fit for God’s kingdom.” 

10TH CHAPTER

Jesus Sends Disciples to Do Mission Work

¹After this, the Lord appointed 70^aother disciples to go ahead of him to every city and place that he intended to go. They were to travel in pairs. 

²He told them, “The harvest is large, but the workers are few. So ask the Lord who gives this harvest to send workers to harvest his crops. ³Go! I’m sending you out like lambs among wolves. ⁴Don’t carry a wallet, a traveling bag, or sandals, and don’t stop to greet anyone on the way. ⁵Whenever you go into a house, greet the family right away with the words, ‘May there be peace in this house.’ ⁶If a peaceful person lives there, your greeting will be accepted. But if that’s not the case, your greeting will be rejected. ⁷Stay with the family that accepts you. Eat and drink whatever they offer you. After all, the worker deserves his pay. Do not move around from one house to another. ⁸Whenever you go into a city and the people welcome you, eat whatever they serve you. ⁹Heal the sick that are there, and tell the people, ‘God’s kingdom is near you!’ 

¹⁰“But whenever you go into a city and people don’t welcome you, leave. Announce in its streets, ¹¹‘We are wiping your city’s dust from our feet in protest against you! But realize that God’s kingdom is near you!’ ¹²I can guarantee that judgment day will be easier for Sodom than for that city. 

¹³“How horrible it will be for you, Chorazin! How horrible it will be for you, Bethsaida! If the miracles worked in your cities had been worked in Tyre and Sidon, they would have changed the way they thought and acted. Long ago they would have worn sackcloth and sat in ashes. ¹⁴Judgment day will be better for Tyre and Sidon than for you. ¹⁵And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to heaven? No, you will go to hell! 

¹⁶“The person who hears you hears me, and the person who rejects you rejects me. The person who rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” 

¹⁷The 70 disciples came back very happy. They said, “Lord, even demons obey us when we use the power and authority of your name!” 

¹⁸Jesus said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like lightning. ¹⁹I have given you the authority to trample snakes and scorpions and to destroy the enemy’s power. Nothing will hurt you. ²⁰However, don’t be happy that evil spirits obey you. Be happy that your names are written in heaven.” 

²¹In that hour the Holy Spirit filled Jesus with joy. Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from wise and intelligent people and revealing them to little children. Yes, Father, this is what pleased you. 

²²“My Father has turned everything over to me. Only the Father knows who the Son is. And no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son is willing to reveal him.” 

²³He turned to his disciples in private and said to them, “How blessed you are to see what you’ve seen. ²⁴I can guarantee that many prophets and kings wanted to see and hear what you’ve seen and heard, but they didn’t.” 

A Story about a Good Samaritan

²⁵Then an expert in Moses’ Teachings stood up to test Jesus. He asked, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 

²⁶Jesus answered him, “What is written in Moses’ Teachings? What do you read there?” 

²⁷He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ ” 

²⁸Jesus told him, “You’re right! Do this, and life will be yours.” 

²⁹But the man wanted to justify his question. So he asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” 

³⁰Jesus replied, “A man went from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way robbers stripped him, beat him, and left him for dead. 

³¹“By chance, a priest was traveling along that road. When he saw the man, he went around him and continued on his way. ³²Then a Levite came to that place. When he saw the man, he, too, went around him and continued on his way. 

³³“But a Samaritan, as he was traveling along, came across the man. When the Samaritan saw him, he felt sorry for the man, ³⁴went to him, and cleaned and bandaged his wounds. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ³⁵The next day the Samaritan took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. He told the innkeeper, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than that, I’ll pay you on my return trip.’ 

³⁶“Of these three men, who do you think was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by robbers?” 

³⁷The expert said, “The one who was kind enough to help him.” 

Jesus told him, “Go and imitate his example!” 

Mary Listens to Jesus

³⁸As they were traveling along, Jesus went into a village. A woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. ³⁹She had a sister named Mary. Mary sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to him talk. 

⁴⁰But Martha was upset about all the work she had to do. So she asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work all by myself? Tell her to help me.” 

⁴¹The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha! You worry and fuss about a lot of things. ⁴²There’s only one thing you need.^bMary has made the right choice, and that one thing will not be taken away from her.” 

11TH CHAPTER

The Lord’s Prayer—Matthew 6:9–13

¹Once Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he stopped praying, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray as John taught his disciples.” 

²Jesus told them, “When you pray, say this: 

Father, 

let your name be kept holy. 

Let your kingdom come. 

³Give us our bread day by day. 

⁴Forgive us as we forgive everyone else. 

Don’t allow us to be tempted.” 

The Power of Prayer—Matthew 7:7–11

⁵Jesus said to his disciples, “Suppose one of you has a friend. Suppose you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, let me borrow three loaves of bread. ⁶A friend of mine on a trip has dropped in on me, and I don’t have anything to serve him.’ ⁷Your friend might answer you from inside his house, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children are in bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ ⁸I can guarantee that although he doesn’t want to get up to give you anything, he will get up and give you whatever you need because he is your friend and because you were so bold. 

⁹“So I tell you to ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened for you. ¹⁰Everyone who asks will receive. The one who searches will find, and for the person who knocks, the door will be opened. 

¹¹“If your child asks you, his father, for a fish, would you give him a snake instead? ¹²Or if your child asks you for an egg, would you give him a scorpion? ¹³Even though you’re evil, you know how to give good gifts to your children. So how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” 

Jesus Is Accused of Working with Beelzebul—Matthew 12:22–32, 43–45; Mark 3:20–30

¹⁴Jesus was forcing a demon out of a man. The demon had made the man unable to talk. When the demon had gone out, the man began to talk. 

The people were amazed. ¹⁵But some of them said, “He can force demons out of people only with the help of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons.” ¹⁶Others wanted to test Jesus and demanded that he show them some miraculous sign from heaven. 

¹⁷Since Jesus knew what they were thinking, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is ruined. A house divided against itself falls. ¹⁸Now, if Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom last? I say this because you say Beelzebul helps me force demons out of people. ¹⁹If I force demons out with the help of Beelzebul, who helps your followers force them out? That’s why they will be your judges. ²⁰But if I force out demons with the help of God’s power, then God’s kingdom has come to you. 

²¹“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own mansion, his property is safe. ²²But a stronger man than he may attack him and defeat him. Then the stronger man will take away all the weapons in which the strong man trusted and will divide the loot. 

²³“Whoever isn’t with me is against me. Whoever doesn’t gather with me scatters. 

²⁴“When an evil spirit comes out of a person, it goes through dry places looking for a place to rest. But it doesn’t find any. Then it says, ‘I’ll go back to the home I left.’ ²⁵When it comes, it finds the house swept clean and in order. ²⁶Then the spirit goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself. They enter and take up permanent residence there. In the end the condition of that person is worse than it was before.” 

The Sign of Jonah—Matthew 12:38–42

²⁷While Jesus was speaking, a woman in the crowd shouted, “How blessed is the mother who gave birth to you and the breasts that nursed you.” 

²⁸Jesus replied, “Rather, how blessed are those who hear and obey God’s word.” 

²⁹As the people were gathering…