Luke 9:51–19:44

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. ^cYes, Father, because this was Your good pleasure. ^de22All things have ^fbeen 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 ^gto reveal Him.” ^h

²³Then turning to His disciples He said privately, “The eyes that see the things you see are blessed! ²⁴For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see the things you see yet didn’t see them; to hear the things you hear yet didn’t hear them.” ⁱ

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

²⁵Just ^jthen an expert in the law ^kstood up to test ^lHim, saying, “Teacher, ^mwhat 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 ^owith all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; ^pand your neighbor as yourself. ^qr

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

²⁹But wanting to justify himself, ^the asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ^u

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 ^von his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion. ^w34He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on olive oil ^xand wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ³⁵The next day ^yhe took out two ^•denarii, gave 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 ^zto 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 ^awelcomed Him into her home. ^b39She had a sister named Mary, who also sat at the Lord’s ^cfeet ^dand was listening to what He said. ^e40But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, and she came up and asked, “Lord, don’t You care ^fthat my sister has left me to serve alone? So tell her to give me a hand.” ^gh

⁴¹The Lord ⁱanswered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, ^j42but one thing is necessary. ^kMary has made the right choice, ^land it will not be taken away from her.”

The Model Prayer

11He was praying ^min 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.” ⁿ

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

Father, ^pq

Your name ^rbe honored as holy. ^s

Your kingdom come. ^tu

³Give us each day our daily bread. ^vw

⁴And forgive us our sins, ^x

for we ourselves also forgive everyone

in debt to us. ^yz

And do not bring us into temptation.” ^ab

Keep Asking, Searching, Knocking

⁵He also said to them: “Suppose one of you ^chas 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.’ ^d7Then 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 persistence, ^ehe will get up and give him as much as he needs. ^f

⁹“So ^gI say to you, keep asking, ^hiand it will be given to you. Keep searching, ^jkand you will find. Keep knocking, ^lmand the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. ¹¹What father among you, if his son ⁿasks 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, ^oknow how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father ^pgive ^qthe Holy Spirit ^rto those who ask Him?”

A House Divided

¹⁴Now ^sHe was driving out a demon ^tthat was mute. ^uvWhen 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, ^wthe ruler ^xof the demons!” ^y16And others, as a test, ^zwere demanding of Him a sign ^afrom heaven.

¹⁷Knowing their thoughts, ^bHe told them: “Every kingdom divided ^cagainst itself is headed for destruction, and a house divided against itself falls. ¹⁸If Satan ^dalso is divided against himself, how will his kingdom ^estand? For you say I drive out demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, who is it your sons ^fgdrive them out by? For this reason they will be your judges. ²⁰If I drive out demons by the finger of God, ^hthen the kingdom of God ⁱhas come to you. ²¹When a strong man, fully armed, guards his estate, his possessions are secure. ^j22But when one stronger than he attacks and overpowers ^khim, he takes from him all his weapons ^lmhe trusted ⁿin, and divides up his plunder. ^o23Anyone who is not with Me is against Me, ^pand anyone who does not gather with Me scatters.

An Unclean Spirit’s Return

²⁴“When ^qan ^•unclean spirit ^rcomes out of a man, it roams through waterless places looking for rest, ^sand not finding rest, it then ^tsays, ‘I’ll go back to my house where I came from.’ ²⁵And returning, it finds the house swept and put in order. ²⁶Then it goes and brings seven other spirits ^umore evil than itself, and they enter and settle down there. As a result, that man’s last condition is worse than the first.” ^v

True Blessedness

²⁷As He was saying these things, a woman from the crowd ^wraised her voice and said to Him, “The womb that bore You and the one who nursed You ^xare blessed!”

²⁸He said, “Even more, those who hear the word of God ^yand keep it ^zare blessed!”

The Sign of Jonah

²⁹As the crowds were increasing, He began saying: “This generation ^ais an evil…