Luke Nine

   Then Jesus called his twelve, and gave them power and authority over all the demons, and to cure diseases. And he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. And he said to them, Do not take anything for the journey, neither a staff, nor a bag, nor bread, nor money; nor have two shirts. And into whatever house you enter, remain there, and depart from thence. And whoever will not welcome you, when you leave that city, shake off even the sand from your feet for a testimony to them. And the apostles went out, and travelled in villages and cities, preaching the gospel, and healing everywhere.

    ¶ Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by his hand; and he was amazed, because some men said that John has risen from the dead. But others, that Elijah has appeared; and others, that one of the old prophets has risen. So Herod said, I have beheaded John; but who is this one concerning whom I hear these things? And he wanted to see him.

    ¶ When the apostles returned, they told Jesus everything which they had done. And he took them all alone to a lonely place in Bethsaida. When the people found it out, they went after him; and he received them, and spoke to them concerning the kingdom of God, and he healed those who were in need of healing.

   ¶ And when the day began to wane, his disciples came up and said to him, Dismiss the people, that they may go to the villages around us and to the farms, to lodge there, and find food for themselves; because we are in a lonely place. Jesus said to them, You give them to eat. But they said, We do not have more than five loaves of bread and two fish; unless we go and buy food for all this people; For there were about five thousand men. Jesus said to them, Make them sit down in
groups, fifty men in each group. The disciples did so, and made them all sit down. And Jesus took the five loaves of bread and the two fish, and looked up to heaven, and he blessed them, and broke and gave them to his disciples, to set before the people. And they all ate and were filled; and they
took up fragments of what was left over, twelve baskets.

    ¶ While he prayed by himself, and his disciples were with him, he asked them and said, What do the people say concerning me that I am? They answered and said to him, John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and others that one of the old prophets has risen. He said to them, But you, what do you say that I am? Simon answered and said, The Messiah (the anointed one of God). But he cautioned them, and warned them not to say this to anyone. And he said to them, The Son of man
must suffer a great many things, and he will be rejected by the elders and the high priests and the scribes, and they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.

    ¶ Then he said in the presence of everyone, He who wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross every day and follow me. For he who wishes to save his life, shall
lose it; but he who loses his life for my sake, he shall save it. For how can a man be benefited, if he
gain the whole world, but lose his own soul, or even weakens it? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of man will be ashamed of him, when he comes with the glory of his Father, accompanied by his holy angels. I tell you the truth, that there are men who stand here, who will not taste death, until they see the kingdom of God.

    ¶ And it came to pass about eight days after these words, Jesus took Simon, and James and John, and went up into a mountain to pray. And while he prayed, the appearance of his face was changed, and his clothes became white and dazzling. And behold, two men were speaking with
him, who were Moses and Elijah; Who appeared in glory, and spoke concerning his departure which was to end at Jerusalem. And Simon and those who were with him were heavy with sleep; and when they awoke they saw his glory, and the two men who stood with him. And when they began to leave him, Simon said to Jesus, Teacher, it is better for us to remain here; and let us make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah; but he did not know what he was saying. And when he had said these things, there came a cloud and overshadowed them; and
they were frightened when they saw Moses and Elijah enter into the cloud. And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son; hear him. And when the voice was heard, they
found Jesus alone. And they kept silent, and in those days they did not tell any man what they saw.
   
   ¶ And it came to pass the next day, as they came down from the mountain, they were met by many people. And one of the men of that crowd cried out and said, O teacher, I beg you to have
mercy on me. I have an only son, And a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out, and gnashes his teeth and foams; and it hardly leaves him when it has tormented him. And I besought your disciples to cast it out; and they could not. Jesus answered and said, O crooked and faithless generation, how long will I be with you, and preach to you? Bring your son here. And as he brought him, the demon attacked him and convulsed him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him to his father.

    ¶ And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. And while every man wondered at everything which Jesus did, he said to his disciples, Treasure these words in your ears; for the Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men. But they did not understand this word, because it was hidden from them so that they might not know it; and they were afraid to ask him concerning this word.

    ¶ Then a reasoning entered into their minds, as to who was the greatest among them. But Jesus knew the reasoning of their heart, and he took a boy and made him stand by him. And he said to them, Everyone who receives a little boy like this one in my name, receives me; and he who receives me receives him who sent me; for whoever is least among you, let him be great. And John answered and said, Teacher, we saw a man casting out demons in your name; and we forbad him, because he did not come with us, as your follower. Jesus said to them, Do not forbid; for he who is not against you is for you.

    ¶ And it happened, when the days to go up on his journey were fulfilled, he set his face to go
to Jerusalem. So he sent messengers ahead of him; and they went away and entered into a Samaritan village, to prepare for him. But they did not receive him, because his face was set to go straight to Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw it, they said to him, Our Lord, would you be willing that we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as
Elijah did? He turned and rebuked them and said, You do not know of what spirit you are. For the Son of man did not come to destroy lives, but to save. And they went to another village.

    ¶ And while they were on the journey, a man said to him, My Lord, I will follow you wherever you go. Jesus said to him, The foxes have holes, and the fowl of the sky a shelter; but the Son of man has no place even to lay his head. He said to another, Follow me; but he said to him, My Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said to him, Let the dead bury their own dead; but you go and preach the kingdom of God. Another one said to him, I will follow you, my Lord; but permit me first to entrust my household to some one, and then come. Jesus said to him, No man who puts his hand on the plough handle, and looks back, is fit for the kingdom of God.