LUKE 9 [†] m And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2 n and he sent them out to  o proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. 3[†] p And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey,  q no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. [1] 4[†]And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. 5[†]And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town  r shake off the dust from your feet  s as a testimony  t against them.” 6 u And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

7[†] v Now  w Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that  x John had been raised from the dead, 8[†] x by some that Elijah had appeared, and  x by others that one of the prophets of old had risen. 9[†]Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And  y he sought to see him.

10[†]On their return  z the apostles told him all that they had done.  a And he took them and withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida. 11[†]When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he  b welcomed them and  c spoke to them of the kingdom of God and  c cured those who had need of healing. 12[†]Now  d the day began to wear away, and the twelve came and said to him,  e “Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.” 13But he said to them,  f “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than  g five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” 14[†]For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15[†]And they did so, and had them all sit down. 16[†]And taking the five loaves and the two fish,  h he looked up to heaven and  i said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17[†]And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.

18[†] j Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 19And they answered,  k “John the Baptist. But others say,  l Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” 20Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered,  m “The Christ of God.”

21[†] n And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22 o saying,  p “The Son of Man must  q suffer many things and  r be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on  s the third day be raised.”

23[†]And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him  t deny himself and  u take up his cross  v daily and follow me. 24[†]For  u whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25[†] w For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26[†]For  x whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed  y when he comes in  z his glory and the glory of the Father and of  a the holy angels. 27[†]But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not  b taste death  c until they see the kingdom of God.”

28[†] d Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him  e Peter and John and James and  f went up on the mountain to pray. 29[†]And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was  g altered, and  h his clothing became dazzling white. 30[†]And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31[†]who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, [2] which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32Now Peter and those who were with him  i were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake  j they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33[†]And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three  k tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”— l not knowing what he said. 34As he was saying these things,  m a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35[†]And  m a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son,  n my Chosen One; [3]  o listen to him!” 36[†]And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.  p And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

37[†] q On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. 38And behold, a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for  r he is my only child. 39[†]And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out. It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and shatters him, and will hardly leave him. 40[†]And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but  s they could not.” 41[†]Jesus answered, “O  t faithless and twisted generation,  u how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” 42While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus  v rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and  w gave him back to his father. 43And all were astonished at  x the majesty of God.

 y But while they were all marveling at everything he was doing, Jesus [4] said  z to his disciples, 44[†]“Let these words sink into your ears:  z The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.” 45[†] a But they did not understand this saying, and  b it was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

46[†] c An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. 47[†]But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side 48[†]and said to them,  d “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and  d whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For  e he who is least among you all is the one who is great.”

49[†] f John answered, “Master, we saw someone  g casting out demons in your name, and  h we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” 50But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him,  i for the one who is not against you is for you.”

51[†]When the days drew near for  j him to be taken up,  k he set his face  l to go to Jerusalem. 52[†]And  m he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of  n the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. 53[†]But  o the people did not receive him, because  p his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54[†]And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell  q fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” [5] 55But he turned and rebuked them. [6] 56And they went on to another village.

57[†]As they were going  r along the road,  s someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58[†]And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59[†]To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60[†]And Jesus [7] said to him, “Leave  t the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and  u proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61[†]Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord,  v but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62[†]Jesus said to him,  w “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”