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Luke 9

1 And he called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.2 And he sent them forth to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.3 And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staff, nor wallet, nor bread, nor money; neither have two coats.4 And into whatsoever house ye enter, there abide, and thence depart.5 And as many as receive you not, when ye depart from that city, shake off the dust from your feet for a testimony against them.6 And they departed, and went throughout the villages, preaching the gospel, and healing everywhere.7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done: and he was much perplexed, because that it was said by some, that John was risen from the dead;8 and by some, that Elijah had appeared; and by others, that one of the old prophets was risen again.9 And Herod said, John I beheaded: but who is this, about whom I hear such things? And he sought to see him.10 And the apostles, when they were returned, declared unto him what things they had done. And he took them, and withdrew apart to a city called Bethsaida.11 But the multitudes perceiving it followed him: and he welcomed them, and spake to them of the kingdom of God, and them that had need of healing he cured.12 And the day began to wear away; and the twelve came, and said unto him, Send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages and country round about, and lodge, and get provisions: for we are here in a desert place.13 But he said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they said, We have no more than five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy food for all this people.14 For they were about five thousand men. And he said unto his disciples, Make them sit down in companies, about fifty each.15 And they did so, and made them all sit down.16 And he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake; and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude.17 And they ate, and were all filled: and there was taken up that which remained over to them of broken pieces, twelve baskets.18 And it came to pass, as he was praying apart, the disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Who do the multitudes say that I am?19 And they answering said, John the Baptist; but others say, Elijah; and others, that one of the old prophets is risen again.20 And he said unto them, But who say ye that I am? And Peter answering said, The Christ of God.21 But he charged them, and commanded them to tell this to no man;22 saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up.23 And he said unto all, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.24 For whosoever would save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.25 For what is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose or forfeit his own self?26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in his own glory, and the glory of the Father, and of the holy angels.27 But I tell you of a truth, There are some of them that stand here, who shall in no wise taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.28 And it came to pass about eight days after these sayings, that he took with him Peter and John and James, and went up into the mountain to pray.29 And as he was praying, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment became white and dazzling.30 And behold, there talked with him two men, who were Moses and Elijah;31 who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.32 Now Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: but when they were fully awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him.33 And it came to pass, as they were parting from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah: not knowing what he said.34 And while he said these things, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud.35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my Son, my chosen: hear ye him.36 And when the voice came, Jesus was found alone. And they held their peace, and told no man in those days any of the things which they had seen.37 And it came to pass, on the next day, when they were come down from the mountain, a great multitude met him.38 And behold, a man from the multitude cried, saying, Teacher, I beseech thee to look upon my son; for he is mine only child:39 and behold, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth, and it hardly departeth from him, bruising him sorely.40 And I besought thy disciples to cast it out; and they could not.41 And Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and bear with you? bring hither thy son.42 And as he was yet a coming, the demon dashed him down, and tare him grievously. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.43 And they were all astonished at the majesty of God. But while all were marvelling at all the things which he did, he said unto his disciples,44 Let these words sink into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered up into the hands of men.45 But they understood not this saying, and it was concealed from them, that they should not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.46 And there arose a reasoning among them, which of them was the greatest.47 But when Jesus saw the reasoning of their heart, he took a little child, and set him by his side,48 and said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this little child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same is great.49 And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out demons in thy name; and we forbade him, because he followeth not with us.50 But Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against you is for you.51 And it came to pass, when the days were well-nigh come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,52 and sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.53 And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he were going to Jerusalem.54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we bid fire to come down from heaven, and consume them?55 But he turned, and rebuked them.56 And they went to another village.57 And as they went on the way, a certain man said unto him, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.58 And Jesus said unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.60 But he said unto him, Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but go thou and publish abroad the kingdom of God.61 And another also said, I will follow thee, Lord; but first suffer me to bid farewell to them that are at my house.62 But Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Luke 9

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Disciples

(Mt 10.5–15; Mk 6.7–13)

1 Jesus called the twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases. 2 Then he sent them out to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick, 3 after saying to them, “Take nothing with you for the journey: no stick, no beggar's bag, no food, no money, not even an extra shirt.t 4 Wherever you are welcomed, stay in the same house until you leave that town;

5 wherever people don't welcome you, leave that town and shake the dust off your feet as a warning to them.”

6 The disciples left and travelled through all the villages, preaching the Good News and healing people everywhere.

Herod's Confusion

(Mt 14.1–12; Mk 6.14–29)


7 When Herod, the ruler of Galilee, heard about all the things that were happening, he was very confused, because some people were saying that John the Baptist had come back to life.t 8 Others were saying that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life.

9 Herod said, “I had John's head cut off; but who is this man I hear these things about?” And he kept trying to see Jesus.

Jesus Feeds a Great Crowd

(Mt 14.13–21; Mk 6.30–44; Jn 6.1–14)


10 The apostles came back and told Jesus everything they had done. He took them with him, and they went off by themselves to a town called Bethsaida.

11 When the crowds heard about it, they followed him. He welcomed them, spoke to them about the Kingdom of God, and healed those who needed it.

12 When the sun was beginning to set, the twelve disciples came to him and said, “Send the people away so that they can go to the villages and farms round here and find food and lodging, because this is a lonely place.”

13 But Jesus said to them, “You yourselves give them something to eat.”
They answered, “All we have are five loaves and two fish. Do you want us to go and buy food for this whole crowd?”

14 (There were about 5,000 men there.)
Jesus said to his disciples, “Make the people sit down in groups of about fifty each.”
15 After the disciples had done so, 16 Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up to heaven, thanked God for them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people.

17 They all ate and had enough, and the disciples took up twelve baskets of what was left over.

Peter's Declaration about Jesus

(Mt 16.13–19; Mk 8.27–29)


18 One day when Jesus was praying alone, the disciples came to him. “Who do the crowds say I am?” he asked them.

19 “Some say that you are John the Baptist,” they answered. “Others say that you are Elijah, while others say that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”t

20  “What about you?” he asked them. “Who do you say I am?”t
Peter answered, “You are God's Messiah.”

Jesus Speaks about his Suffering and Death

(Mt 16.20–28; Mk 8.30—9.1)


21 Then Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell this to anyone.

22 He also said to them, “The Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. He will be put to death, but three days later he will be raised to life.”
23 And he said to them all, “Anyone who wants to come with me must forget self, take up their cross every day, and follow me.t 24 For whoever wants to save their own life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for my sake will save it.t 25 Will people gain anything if they win the whole world but are themselves lost or defeated? Of course not! 26 If people are ashamed of me and of my teaching, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

27 I assure you that there are some here who will not die until they have seen the Kingdom of God.”

The Transfiguration

(Mt 17.1–8; Mk 9.2–8)


28 About a week after he had said these things, Jesus took Peter, John, and James with him and went up a hill to pray.t 29 While he was praying, his face changed its appearance, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30 Suddenly two men were there talking with him. They were Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in heavenly glory and talked with Jesus about the way in which he would soon fulfil God's purpose by dying in Jerusalem. 32 Peter and his companions were sound asleep, but they woke up and saw Jesus' glory and the two men who were standing with him.

33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, how good it is that we are here! We will make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (He did not really know what he was saying.)
34 While he was still speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them with its shadow; and the disciples were afraid as the cloud came over them.

35 A voice said from the cloud, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen — listen to him!”t

36 When the voice stopped, there was Jesus all alone. The disciples kept quiet about all this, and told no one at that time anything they had seen.

Jesus Heals a Boy with an Evil Spirit

(Mt 17.14–18; Mk 9.14–27)


37 The next day Jesus and the three disciples went down from the hill, and a large crowd met Jesus. 38 A man shouted from the crowd, “Teacher! I beg you, look at my son — my only son! 39 A spirit attacks him with a sudden shout and throws him into a fit, so that he foams at the mouth; it keeps on hurting him and will hardly let him go!

40 I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn't.”

41 Jesus answered, “How unbelieving and wrong you people are! How long must I stay with you? How long do I have to put up with you?” Then he said to the man, “Bring your son here.”
42 As the boy was coming, the demon knocked him to the ground and threw him into a fit. Jesus gave a command to the evil spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.

43 All the people were amazed at the mighty power of God.

Jesus Speaks Again about his Death

(Mt 17.22–23; Mk 9.30–32)


The people were still marvelling at everything Jesus was doing, when he said to his disciples, 44 “Don't forget what I am about to tell you! The Son of Man is going to be handed over to the power of human beings.”

45 But the disciples did not know what this meant. It had been hidden from them so that they could not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about the matter.

Who is the Greatest?

(Mt 18.1–5; Mk 9.33–37)


46 An argument broke out among the disciples as to which one of them was the greatest.t 47 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he took a child, stood him by his side,

48 and said to them, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, also welcomes the one who sent me. For the one who is least among you all is the greatest.”t

Whoever is not Against You is For You

(Mk 9.38–40)


49 John spoke up, “Master, we saw a man driving out demons in your name, and we told him to stop, because he doesn't belong to our group.”

50  “Do not try to stop him,” Jesus said to him and to the other disciples, “because whoever is not against you is for you.”

A Samaritan Village Refuses to Receive Jesus


51 As the time drew near when Jesus would be taken up to heaven, he made up his mind and set out on his way to Jerusalem. 52 He sent messengers ahead of him, who went into a village in Samaria to get everything ready for him. 53 But the people there would not receive him, because it was clear that he was on his way to Jerusalem.

54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?”tt
55 Jesus turned and rebuked them.t

56 Then Jesus and his disciples went on to another village.

The Would-be Followers of Jesus

(Mt 8.19–22)


57 As they went on their way, a man said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

58 Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lie down and rest.”

59 He said to another man, “Follow me.”
But that man said, “Sir, first let me go back and bury my father.”

60 Jesus answered, “Let the dead bury their own dead. You go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.”

61 Someone else said, “I will follow you, sir; but first let me go and say goodbye to my family.”t
62 Jesus said to him, “Anyone who starts to plough and then keeps looking back is of no use to the Kingdom of God.”