⁴⁶The disciples began to argue about which one of them would be the most important person. ⁴⁷Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he took a little child and had the child stand beside him.

⁴⁸Then he spoke to them. “Anyone who welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me,” he said. “And anyone who welcomes me welcomes the One who sent me. The least important person among all of you is the most important.”

⁴⁹“Master,” said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name. We tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.”

⁵⁰“Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “Anyone who is not against you is for you.”

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.”

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