Luke 9–19

Commissioning the Twelve

9Summoning the Twelve, ^rHe gave them power and authority over all the demons, and power to heal ^sdiseases. ^t2Then He sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. ^u

³“Take nothing for the road,” ^vHe told them, “no walking stick, ^wno traveling bag, no bread, no money; and don’t take an extra shirt. ⁴Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there. ⁵If they do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” ^x6So they went out and traveled from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing everywhere.

Herod’s Desire to See Jesus

⁷Herod the tetrarch ^yheard about everything that was going on. ^zHe was perplexed, because some said that John had been raised from the dead, ⁸some that Elijah had appeared, ^aand others that one of the ancient prophets had risen. ^b9“I beheaded John,” Herod said, “but who is this I hear such things about?” And he wanted to see Him. ^c

Feeding 5,000

¹⁰When the apostles returned, ^dthey reported to Jesus all that they had done. ^eHe took them along and withdrew privately to a ^ftown called Bethsaida. ^g11When the crowds found out, they followed Him. He welcomed them, ^hspoke to them about the kingdom of God, and cured ⁱthose who needed healing.

¹²Late in the day, ^jkthe Twelve approached and said to Him, “Send the crowd away, ^lso they can go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find food and lodging, because we are in a deserted place here.”

¹³“You give them something to eat,” He told them.

“We have no more than five loaves ^mand two fish,” they said, “unless we go and buy food for all these people.” ¹⁴(For about 5,000 men were there.)

Then He told His disciples, “Have them sit down ⁿin groups of about 50 each.” ¹⁵They did so, and had them all sit down. ¹⁶Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, ^oHe blessed and broke them. ^pHe kept giving them to the disciples to set before the crowd. ¹⁷Everyone ate and was filled. Then they picked up ^q12 baskets of leftover pieces.

Peter’s Confession of the Messiah

¹⁸While He was praying in private ^rand His disciples were with Him, He asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”

¹⁹They answered, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, that one of the ancient prophets has come back.” ^st

²⁰“But you,” He asked them, “who do you say that I am?”

Peter answered, “God’s Messiah!” ^u

His Death and Resurrection Predicted

²¹But He strictly warned and instructed them to tell this to no one, ^v22saying, ^w“The ^•Son of Man ^xmust suffer many things ^yand be rejected ^zby the elders, ^•chief priests, and ^•scribes, ^abe killed, and be raised the third day.” ^b

Take Up Your Cross

²³Then He said to them all, “If anyone wants to come with ^cMe, he must deny himself, ^dtake up his cross daily, ^eand follow Me. ^f24For whoever wants to save his ^•life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will save it. ^g25What is a man benefited if he gains the whole world, yet loses or forfeits himself? ^h26For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, ⁱthe Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory ^jand that of the Father and the holy angels. ^k27I tell you the truth: There are some standing here who will not taste death ^luntil they see the kingdom of God.” ^m

The Transfiguration

²⁸About eight days after these words, ⁿHe took along Peter, John, and James ^oand went up on the mountain to pray. ^p29As He was praying, the appearance of His face changed, ^qand His clothes became dazzling white. ^r30Suddenly, two men were talking with Him—Moses and Elijah. ³¹They appeared in glory and were speaking of His death, ^swhich He was about to accomplish in Jerusalem.

³²Peter and those with him were in a deep sleep, ^tuand 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, ^vit’s good for us to be here! Let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. ^w

³⁴While he was saying this, a cloud appeared and overshadowed ^xthem. They became afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵Then a voice came from the cloud, ^ysaying:

This is My Son, ^zthe Chosen One; ^ab

listen to Him! ^c

³⁶After the voice had spoken, only Jesus was found. They kept silent, and in those days told no one what they had seen.

The Power of Faith over a Demon

³⁷The next day, ^dwhen 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. ^e39Often a spirit seizes him; suddenly he shrieks, and it throws him into convulsions until he foams at the mouth; ^fwounding ^ghim, it hardly ever leaves him. ⁴⁰I begged Your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn’t.” ^h

⁴¹Jesus replied, “You unbelieving and rebellious ⁱgeneration! ^jHow long will I be with you and put up with you? ^kBring 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, cured the boy, ^land gave him back to his father. ^m43And they were all astonished at the greatness of God. ⁿ

The Second Prediction of His Death

While everyone was amazed at all the things He was doing, ^oHe told His disciples, ⁴⁴“Let these words sink in: ^pThe Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.” ^q

⁴⁵But they did not understand this statement; ^rit was concealed from them so that they could not grasp it, ^sand they were afraid to ask Him about it. ^t

Who Is the Greatest?

⁴⁶Then an argument started among them about who would be the greatest of them. ^u47But Jesus, knowing the thoughts of their hearts, ^vtook a little child and had him stand next to Him. ⁴⁸He told them, “Whoever welcomes ^wthis little child in My name welcomes Me. And whoever welcomes Me welcomes Him who sent Me. ^xFor whoever is least among you—this one is great.” ^y

In His Name

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

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

The Journey to Jerusalem

⁵¹When the days were coming to a close for Him to be taken up, ^efHe determined ^ghto journey to Jerusalem. ⁱ⁵²He sent messengers ahead of Him, ^jand on the way they entered a village of the Samaritans ^kto make preparations for Him. ⁵³But they did not welcome Him, because He determined to journey to Jerusalem. ^l54When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” ^mn

⁵⁵But He turned and rebuked them, ^o56and they went to another village.

Following Jesus

⁵⁷As they were traveling on the road someone said to Him, ^p“I will follow You wherever You go!”

⁵⁸Jesus told him, “Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky ^qhave 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.” ^r

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

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

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

10After this, the Lord appointed 70 ^uothers, and He sent them ahead of Him in pairs to every town and place where He Himself was about to go. ²He told them: ^v“The harvest ^wis abundant, but the workers ^xare few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest. ^y3Now go; I’m sending you out like lambs among wolves. ^z4Don’t carry a money-bag, ^atraveling bag, ^bor sandals; ^cdon’t greet anyone along the road. ⁵Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace ^dto this household.’ ⁶If a son of peace ^eis there, your peace ^fwill 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. ^gDon’t be moving from house to house. ⁸When you enter any town, and they welcome you, eat the things set before you. ^h9Heal the sick ⁱwho are there, and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God ^jhas come near ^kyou.’ ¹⁰When you enter any town, and they don’t welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ¹¹‘We are wiping off as a witness against you ^leven the dust of your town that clings to our feet. Know this for certain: The kingdom of God has come near.’ ¹²I tell you, on that day ^mit will be more tolerable for Sodom ⁿthan for that town. ^o

Unrepentant Towns

¹³“Woe ^pto you, ^qChorazin! ^rWoe to you, Bethsaida! ^sFor if the miracles ^tthat were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, ^uthey would have repented long ago, sitting in ^•sackcloth and ashes! ^v14But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment ^wthan for you. ¹⁵And you, Capernaum, ^xwill you be exalted to heaven? ^yNo, you will go down to ^•Hades! ^z16Whoever listens to you listens to Me. ^aWhoever rejects you rejects Me. ^bAnd whoever rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.” ^c

The Return of the Seventy

¹⁷The Seventy ^dereturned with joy, saying, ^f“Lord, even the demons ^gsubmit to us in Your name.” ^h

¹⁸He said to them, “I watched Satan ⁱfall from heaven like a lightning flash. ^j19Look, I have given you the authority ^kto trample ^lon snakes ^mand scorpions ⁿand over all the power of the enemy; ^onothing will ever harm you. ^p20However, don’t rejoice that ^qthe spirits ^rsubmit to you, ^sbut rejoice that your names are written ^tin heaven.”

The Son Reveals the Father

²¹In that same hour ^uHe ^vrejoiced in the Holy ^wSpirit ^xand said, “I praise ^yYou, Father, ^zLord of heaven and earth, ^abecause You have hidden these things from the wise and the learned ^band have revealed them to infants. ^c…