Luke 9:18-50

English Standard Version

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

¹⁸^(A)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, ^(B)“John the Baptist. But others say, ^(C)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, ^(D)“The Christ of God.”

Jesus Foretells His Death

²¹^(E)And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, ²²^(F)saying, ^(G)“The Son of Man must ^(H)suffer many things and ^(I)be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on ^(J)the third day be raised.”

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

²³And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him ^(K)deny himself and ^(L)take up his cross ^(M)daily and follow me. ²⁴For ^(N)whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. ²⁵^(O)For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? ²⁶For ^(P)whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed ^(Q)when he comes in ^(R)his glory and the glory of the Father and of ^(S)the holy angels. ²⁷But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not ^(T)taste death ^(U)until they see the kingdom of God.”

The Transfiguration

²⁸^(V)Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him ^(W)Peter and John and James and ^(X)went up on the mountain to pray. ²⁹And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was ^(Y)altered, and ^(Z)his clothing became dazzling white. ³⁰And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, ³¹who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure,^[a] which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. ³²Now Peter and those who were with him ^(AA)were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake ^(AB)they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. ³³And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three ^(AC)tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—^(AD)not knowing what he said. ³⁴As he was saying these things, ^(AE)a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵And ^(AF)a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, ^(AG)my Chosen One;^[b] ^(AH)listen to him!” ³⁶And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. ^(AI)And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

Jesus Heals a Boy with an Unclean Spirit

³⁷^(AJ)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 ^(AK)he is my only child. ³⁹And 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. ⁴⁰And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but ^(AL)they could not.” ⁴¹Jesus answered, “O ^(AM)faithless and twisted generation, ^(AN)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 ^(AO)rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and ^(AP)gave him back to his father. ⁴³And all were astonished at ^(AQ)the majesty of God.

Jesus Again Foretells His Death

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

Who Is the Greatest?

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

Anyone Not Against Us Is For Us

⁴⁹^(BA)John answered, “Master, we saw someone ^(BB)casting out demons in your name, and ^(BC)we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” ⁵⁰But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, ^(BD)for the one who is not against you is for you.”