Luke
Chapter 9
1 He gathered his twelve followers and gave them the power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal sicknesses.
2 He sent them to tell about God’s kingdom and heal the sick.
3 He told them, “Don’t take anything for your trip, not a walking stick, not a bag, not bread, not money, and don’t have two shirts each.”
4 When you enter a house, stay there until you leave.
5 If anyone does not welcome you, leave that town and shake the dust off your feet as a warning to them.
6 They left and traveled through the towns, sharing the good news and healing everywhere.
7 Herod the ruler heard about everything Jesus did. He was confused because some people said that John had come back to life.
8 Some people thought Elijah had appeared, while others believed one of the past prophets had come back to life.
9 Herod said, “I beheaded John, but who is this I hear about?” And he wanted to see him.
10 The apostles came back and told Jesus everything they did. He took them to a quiet place in the desert near Bethsaida.
11 When the people found out, they followed him. He welcomed them, talked to them about God’s kingdom, and healed those who needed healing.
12 As the day was ending, the twelve disciples came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the nearby towns and countryside to find places to stay and get food, because we are in a remote place.”
13 He said to them, “You give them something to eat.” But they replied, “We only have five loaves of bread and two fish, unless we go and buy food for everyone.”
14 There were about five thousand men. He told his disciples to have them sit down in groups of fifty.
15 They did as told and had everyone sit down.
16 He took the five loaves and two fish, looked up to heaven, blessed them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to give to all the people.
17 They ate, were all satisfied, and collected twelve baskets of leftover pieces.
18 While he was praying alone, his disciples joined him. He asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
19 They replied, “John the Baptist; but some think Elijah; and others that a prophet from long ago has come back to life.”
20 He asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Peter replied, “The Messiah of God.”
21 He strictly told them and ordered them not to tell anyone about that thing.
22 The Son of Man must go through a lot of suffering, be turned away by the elders, the top priests, and the teachers of the law, be killed, and come back to life on the third day.
23 He told everyone, “If anyone wants to follow me, they must forget about their own needs, carry their cross every day, and come with me.”
24 Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.
25 What good is it for a person to get the whole world, but lose themselves or be thrown away?
26 Whoever feels ashamed of me and my teachings, the Son of Man will feel ashamed of that person when he comes in his glory, his Father’s glory, and the glory of the holy angels.
27 I tell you the truth, some standing here will not die before they see God’s kingdom.
28 About eight days after saying this, he took Peter, John, and James and went up a mountain to pray.
29 While he was praying, his face changed, and his clothes became very white and shiny.
30 Two men, Moses and Elias, talked with him.
31 Who appeared in glory and talked about his death that he would complete in Jerusalem.
32 Peter and his friends were very sleepy, but when they woke up, they saw his brightness and the two men with him.
33 After they left him, Peter said to Jesus, “Teacher, it’s good for us to be here. Let’s make three shelters: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah,” without understanding what he was saying.
34 While he was speaking, a cloud came and covered them, and they were afraid as they went into the cloud.
35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my dear Son: listen to him.”
36 After the voice ended, only Jesus was there. They kept quiet about it and didn’t tell anyone at that time what they had seen.
37 The next day, when they came down from the hill, many people met him.
38 Look, a man in the crowd shouted, “Teacher, please pay attention to my son because he is my only child.”
39 Suddenly, a spirit seizes him, and he cries out loudly; it shakes him violently, makes him foam at the mouth, hurts him badly, and only leaves after a struggle.
40 I asked your followers to drive him out, but they couldn’t.
41 Jesus answered, “You unbelieving and wrong-thinking people, how long must I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”
42 As he was still approaching, the devil knocked him down and attacked him. Jesus scolded the evil spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
43 Everyone was amazed at the great power of God. But as they were all wondering about everything Jesus did, he spoke to his disciples.
44 Listen carefully to these words: the Son of Man will be handed over to people.
45 They did not understand what he meant, and it was kept secret from them so they could not realize it; and they were afraid to ask him about it.
46 They started to argue about which one of them was the most important.
47 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he took a child and had him stand next to him.
48 Jesus told them, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me also welcomes the one who sent me. The least one among you all will be the greatest.”
49 John replied, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons using your name; we tried to stop him because he is not one of us.”
50 Jesus said to him, “Don’t stop him, because if he is not against us, he is with us.”
51 When the time came for him to be taken up to heaven, he firmly decided to go to Jerusalem.
52 He sent messengers ahead of him, and they went to a Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival.
53 They did not welcome him because he looked like he was headed for Jerusalem.
54 When James and John, his followers, saw this, they asked, “Do you want us to call down fire from heaven to destroy them, like Elijah did?”
55 He turned, corrected them, and said, “You don’t know what kind of spirit you belong to.”
56 The Son of man did not come to end people’s lives, but to rescue them. Then they moved on to another town.
57 As they traveled, a man said to him, “Lord, I will follow you wherever you go.”
58 Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds in the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to rest his head.”
59 He said to another, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Please let me go and bury my father first.”
60 Jesus told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead. Instead, go and spread the message of God’s kingdom.”
61 Someone else said, “God, I will follow you, but first let me say goodbye to those at my home.”
62 Jesus said to him, “Anyone who starts to plow but keeps looking back isn’t ready for God’s kingdom.”