Luke 9:51–19:44

Samaritan Opposition

⁵¹As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven,^f Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.^{g 52}And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan^h village to get things ready for him; ⁵³but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. ⁵⁴When the disciples James and Johnⁱ saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them^b?”^{j 55}But Jesus turned and rebuked them. ⁵⁶Then he and his disciples went to another village.

The Cost of Following Jesus

9:57–60pp—Mt 8:19–22

⁵⁷As they were walking along the road,^k a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

⁵⁸Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man^l has no place to lay his head.”

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

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

⁶⁰Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”ⁿ

⁶¹Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”^o

⁶²Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two

10:4–12pp—Lk 9:3–5 10:13–15,21,22pp—Mt 11:21–23,25–27 10:23,24pp—Mt 13:16,17

10After this the Lord^p appointed seventy-two^a others^q and sent them two by two^r ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.^{s 2}He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.^{t 3}Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.^{u 4}Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.

⁵“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ ⁶If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. ⁷Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages.^v Do not move around from house to house.

⁸“When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you.^{w 9}Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God^x has come near to you.’ ¹⁰But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ¹¹‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you.^y Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’^{z 12}I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom^a than for that town.^b

¹³“Woe to you,^c Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth^d and ashes. ¹⁴But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. ¹⁵And you, Capernaum,^e will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.^b

¹⁶“Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”^f

¹⁷The seventy-two^g returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”^h

¹⁸He replied, “I saw Satanⁱ fall like lightning from heaven.^{j 19}I have given you authority to trample on snakes^k and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. ²⁰However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”^l

²¹At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.^m Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.

²²“All things have been committed to me by my Father.ⁿ No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”^o

²³Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. ²⁴For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”^p

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

10:25–28pp—Mt 22:34–40; Mk 12:28–31

²⁵On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”^q

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

²⁷He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’^c;^r and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^d”^s

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

²⁹But he wanted to justify himself,^u so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

³⁰In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.^{v 32}So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³But a Samaritan,^w as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵The next day he took out two denarii^e and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

³⁶“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

³⁷The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

At the Home of Martha and Mary

³⁸As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha^x opened her home to him. ³⁹She had a sister called Mary,^y who sat at the Lord’s feet^z listening to what he said. ⁴⁰But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care^a that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

⁴¹“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried^b and upset about many things, ⁴²but few things are needed—or indeed only one.^fc Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Jesus’ Teaching on Prayer

11:2–4pp—Mt 6:9–13 11:9–13pp—Mt 7:7–11

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

²He said to them, “When you pray, say:

“ ‘Father,^a

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom^f come.^b

³Give us each day our daily bread.

⁴Forgive us our sins,

for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.^cg

And lead us not into temptation.^d’ ”^h

⁵Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; ⁶a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ ⁷And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ ⁸I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity^e he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.ⁱ

⁹“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you;^j seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

¹¹“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for^f a fish, will give him a snake instead? ¹²Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Jesus and Beelzebul

11:14,15,17–22,24–26pp—Mt 12:22,24–29,43–45 11:17–22pp—Mk 3:23–27

¹⁴Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed.^{k 15}But some of them said, “By Beelzebul,^l the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.”^{m 16}Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.ⁿ

¹⁷Jesus knew their thoughts^o and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. ¹⁸If Satan^p is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. ²⁰But if I drive out demons by the finger of God,^q then the kingdom of God^r has come upon you.

²¹“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. ²²But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder.

²³“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.^s

²⁴“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ ²⁵When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. ²⁶Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”^t

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

²⁸He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God^v and obey it.”^w

The Sign of Jonah

11:29–32pp—Mt 12:39–42

²⁹As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign,^x but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.^{y 30}For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the…