Luke 9:51–19:44

The Samaritans Do Not Welcome Jesus

⁵¹The time grew near for Jesus to be taken up to heaven. So he made up his mind to go to Jerusalem. ⁵²He sent messengers on ahead. They went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him. ⁵³But the people there did not welcome Jesus. That was because he was heading for Jerusalem.

⁵⁴The disciples James and John saw this. They asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to destroy them?”

⁵⁵But Jesus turned and commanded them not to do it. ⁵⁶They went on to another village.

It Costs to Follow Jesus

⁵⁷Once Jesus and those who were with him were walking along the road. A man said to Jesus, “I will follow you no matter where you go.”

⁵⁸Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes. Birds of the air have nests. But the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

⁵⁹He said to another man, “Follow me.”

But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

⁶⁰Jesus said to him, “Let dead people bury their own dead. You go and tell others about God’s kingdom.”

⁶¹Still another man said, “I will follow you, Lord. But first let me go back and say good-by to my family.”

⁶²Jesus replied, “Suppose you start to plow and then look back. If you do, you are not fit for service in God’s kingdom.”

Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-two

10After this the Lord appointed 72 others. He sent them out two by two ahead of him. They went to every town and place where he was about to go.

²He told them, “The harvest is huge, but the workers are few. So ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest field.

³“Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. ⁴Do not take a purse or bag or sandals. And don’t greet anyone on the road.

⁵“When you enter a house, first say, ‘May this house be blessed with peace.’ ⁶If someone there loves peace, your blessing of peace will rest on him. If not, it will return to you. ⁷Stay in that house. Eat and drink anything they give you. Workers are worthy of their pay. Do not move around from house to house.

⁸“When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set down in front of you. ⁹Heal the sick people who are there. Tell them, ‘God’s kingdom is near you.’

¹⁰“But what if you enter a town and are not welcomed? Then go into its streets and say, ¹¹‘We wipe off even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet. We do it to show that God isn’t pleased with you. But here is what you can be sure of. God’s kingdom is near.’

¹²“I tell you this. On judgment day it will be easier for Sodom than for that town.

¹³“How terrible it will be for you, Korazin! How terrible for you, Bethsaida! Suppose the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon. They would have turned away from their sins long ago. They would have put on black clothes. They would have sat down in ashes. ¹⁴On judgment day it will be easier for Tyre and Sidon than for you.

¹⁵“And what about you, Capernaum? Will you be lifted up to heaven? No! You will go down to the place of the dead.

¹⁶“Anyone who listens to you listens to me. Anyone who does not accept you does not accept me. And anyone who does not accept me does not accept the One who sent me.”

¹⁷The 72 returned with joy. They said, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we speak in your name.”

¹⁸Jesus replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹I have given you authority to walk all over snakes and scorpions. You will be able to destroy all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you. ²⁰But do not be glad when the evil spirits obey you. Instead, be glad that your names are written in heaven.”

²¹At that time Jesus was full of joy through the Holy Spirit. He said, “I praise you, Father. You are Lord of heaven and earth. You have hidden these things from the wise and educated. But you have shown them to little children. Yes, Father. This is what you wanted.

²²“My Father has given all things to me. The Father is the only one who knows who the Son is. And the only ones who know the Father are the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to make the Father known.”

²³Then Jesus turned to his disciples. He said to them in private, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. ²⁴I tell you, many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see. But they didn’t see it. They wanted to hear what you hear. But they didn’t hear it.”

The Story of the Good Samaritan

²⁵One day an authority on the law stood up to put Jesus to the test. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to receive eternal life?”

²⁶“What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied. “How do you understand it?”

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

²⁸“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do that, and you will live.”

²⁹But the man wanted to make himself look good. So he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

³⁰Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. Robbers attacked him. They stripped off his clothes and beat him. Then they went away, leaving him almost dead. ³¹A priest happened to be going down that same road. When he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³²A Levite also came by. When he saw the man, he passed by on the other side too.

³³But a Samaritan came to the place where the man was. When he saw the man, he felt sorry for him. ³⁴He went to him, poured olive oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey. He took him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵The next day he took out two silver coins. He gave them to the owner of the inn. ‘Take care of him,’ he said. ‘When I return, I will pay you back for any extra expense you may have.’

³⁶“Which of the three do you think was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by robbers?”

³⁷The authority on the law replied, “The one who felt sorry for him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do as he did.”

Jesus at the Home of Martha and Mary

³⁸Jesus and his disciples went on their way. Jesus came to a village where a woman named Martha lived. She welcomed him into her home. ³⁹She had a sister named Mary.

Mary sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. ⁴⁰But Martha was busy with all the things that had to be done. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, my sister has left me to do the work by myself. Don’t you care? Tell her to help me!”

⁴¹“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered. “You are worried and upset about many things. ⁴²But only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better. And it will not be taken away from her.”

Jesus Teaches About Prayer

11One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples spoke to him. “Lord,” he said, “teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

²Jesus said to them, “When you pray, this is what you should say.

“ ‘Father,

may your name be honored.

May your kingdom come.

³Give us each day our daily bread.

⁴Forgive us our sins,

as we also forgive everyone who sins against us.

Keep us from falling into sin when we are tempted.’ ”

⁵Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose someone has a friend. He goes to him at midnight. He says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread. ⁶A friend of mine on a journey has come to stay with me. I have nothing for him to eat.’

⁷“Then the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked. My children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’

⁸“I tell you, that person will not get up. And he won’t give the man bread just because he is his friend. But because the man keeps on asking, he will get up. He will give him as much as he needs.

⁹“So here is what I say to you. Ask, and it will be given to you. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰Everyone who asks will receive. He who searches will find. And the door will be opened to the one who knocks.

¹¹“Fathers, suppose your son asks for a fish. Which of you will give him a snake instead? ¹²Or suppose he asks for an egg. Which of you will give him a scorpion? ¹³Even though you are evil, you know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more will your Father who is in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Jesus and Beelzebub

¹⁴Jesus was driving out a demon. The man who had the demon could not speak. When the demon left, the man began to speak. The crowd was amazed.

¹⁵But some of them said, “Jesus is driving out demons by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons.” ¹⁶Others put Jesus to the test by asking for a miraculous sign from heaven.

¹⁷Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said to them, “Any kingdom that fights against itself will be destroyed. A family that is divided against itself will fall. ¹⁸If Satan fights against himself, how can his kingdom stand?

“I say this because of what you claim. You say I drive out demons by the power of Beelzebub. ¹⁹Suppose I do drive out demons with Beelzebub’s help. With whose help do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. ²⁰But suppose I drive out demons with the help of God’s powerful finger. Then God’s kingdom has come to you.

²¹“When a strong man is completely armed and guards his house, what he owns is safe. ²²But when someone stronger attacks, he is overpowered. The attacker takes away the armor the man had trusted in. Then he divides up what he has stolen.

²³“Anyone who is not with me is against me. Anyone who does not gather sheep with me scatters them.

²⁴“What happens when an evil spirit comes out of a man? It goes through dry areas looking for a place to rest. But it doesn’t find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ ²⁵When it arrives there, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. ²⁶Then the evil spirit goes and takes seven other spirits more evil than itself. They go in and live there. That man is worse off than before.”

²⁷As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out. She shouted, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.”

²⁸He replied, “Instead, blessed are those who…