Luke 9

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.”