Luke 9
1 Jesus gathered the Twelve and gave them power and authority over all demons and to heal diseases.
2 He sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal.
3 He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey: no staff, no bag, no bread, no money; and do not take two tunics each.
4 Whatever house you enter, stay there, and leave from there.
5 As for those who do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”
6 They set out and went through the villages, announcing the good news and healing everywhere.
7 Herod the tetrarch heard about everything that was happening and was perplexed, because some were saying that John had risen from the dead.
8 Others said that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the ancient prophets had risen.
9 Herod said, “I had John beheaded. But who is this man I hear such things about?” And he kept trying to see him.
10 When the apostles returned, they told Jesus everything they had done. He took them with him and withdrew privately to a town called Bethsaida.
11 But the crowds found out and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the Kingdom of God, and he healed those who needed healing.
12 The day was beginning to draw to a close. The Twelve came up and said to him, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and farms, find lodging and food, because we are here in a deserted place.”
13 He said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we go ourselves and buy food for all these people.”
14 For there were about five thousand men. He said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty.”
15 They did so, and everyone sat down.
16 Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, blessed them, broke them, and kept giving them to the disciples to serve to the crowd.
17 Everyone ate and was satisfied, and the disciples gathered twelve baskets of leftover pieces.
18 Once, while Jesus was praying by himself, the disciples were with him. He asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”
19 They replied, “John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others that one of the ancient prophets has risen.”
20 He said to them, “And you, who do you say I am?” Peter replied, “The Christ of God.”
21 He warned them and ordered them not to tell anyone.
22 He also said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law, be killed, and rise on the third day.”
23 And he said to everyone, “If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross each day, and follow me.
24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
25 For what does a person gain by winning the whole world if he loses or ruins himself?
26 For whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory, and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.
27 And I tell you truly, some of those standing here will not taste death before they see the Kingdom of God.”
28 About eight days after saying these things, Jesus took Peter, John, and James with him and went up the mountain to pray.
29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothing became white and dazzling.
30 Two men were talking with him: they were Moses and Elijah.
31 They appeared in glory and spoke about his departure, which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem.
32 Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep, but when they had fully awakened, they saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with him.
33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let’s make three shelters: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not know what he was saying.
34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.
35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, the Chosen One; listen to him.”
36 After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They kept silent and, in those days, told no one anything about what they had seen.
37 The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Jesus.
38 Then a man from the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you, look at my son, because he is my only child.
39 A spirit seizes him, and suddenly he cries out. The spirit shakes him until he foams at the mouth, and, injuring him, only with great difficulty does it leave him.
40 I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.”
41 Jesus replied, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”
42 While the boy was still approaching, the demon threw him down and violently shook him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and returned him to his father.
43 Everyone was amazed at the greatness of God. While they were all marveling at everything he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples:
44 “Take these words to heart: the Son of Man is going to be handed over into human hands.”
45 But they did not understand this saying. It was concealed from them so they would not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.
46 An argument arose among them about which of them would be the greatest.
47 Jesus, knowing the thought in their hearts, took a child and stood him beside himself.
48 He said to them, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For the one who is least among all of you is the one who is great.”
49 John replied, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he does not follow along with us.”
50 Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, because whoever is not against you is for you.”
51 As the days drew near for his being taken up, Jesus firmly set out for Jerusalem.
52 He sent messengers ahead of him. They went and entered a Samaritan village to make preparations for him.
53 But they did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem.
54 When his disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”
55 But he turned and rebuked them.
56 And they went to another village.
57 As they were going along the road, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
58 Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Let me go first and bury my father.”
60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but you, go and announce the Kingdom of God.”
61 Another still said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say goodbye to those at my home.”
62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God.”
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