Luke 9:28-62

28About eight days after Jesus had said these things, he went up a mountain to pray. He took Peter, John and James with him.

29While Jesus was praying, his face became different to look at. His clothes also became very white. They were shining brightly.

30Then two men appeared and they were talking with him. They were Moses and Elijah.

31They were very bright to look at. They talked with Jesus about how he would soon die in Jerusalem. This was how God wanted him to leave this world.

32While this was happening, Peter and his friends were sleeping. Then they really woke up and they saw that Jesus was very great and beautiful. They also saw the two men that were standing near to him.

33Then the two men began to leave. So Peter said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, it is good that we are here. Please, let us build three huts. One hut will be for you. One hut will be for Moses and one hut will be for Elijah.’ But Peter did not really know what he was saying.

34While Peter was speaking, a cloud appeared. It covered them all. When the cloud came over them, the three disciples were afraid.

35Then a voice spoke from the cloud and it said, ‘This is my Son. He is the one that I have chosen. Listen to him.’

36The voice stopped speaking. Then the three disciples saw that only Jesus was there with them now. They did not tell anyone at this time about what they had seen.

37The next day Jesus came down from the mountain with the three disciples. A large crowd met him.

38A man from the crowd shouted to him. ‘Teacher, please, I ask you to help my son. He is my only child.

39Sometimes a bad spirit takes hold of him and then he screams. The spirit throws his body first one way then another and water comes out of his mouth. The spirit gives him a lot of pain and it does not leave him alone very much.

40I asked your disciples to send the bad spirit out of him. But they could not do it.’

41Jesus said, ‘You people today still do not believe in God. You have turned away from him. I have been with you for a long time and still you do not believe. It is difficult for me to be patient with you.’ Then Jesus said to the man, ‘Bring your son here.’

42While the boy was coming, the bad spirit threw him to the ground. It threw the boy first one way and then the other. ‘Stop!’ Jesus said to it. He then made the boy well and he gave him back to his father.

43Everybody was very surprised at what they saw. They knew that God was very powerful. The people were still thinking with surprise about everything that Jesus was doing. Then he began to talk to his disciples.

44He said to them, ‘Do not forget what I am telling you now. Soon they will deliver the Son of Man to powerful people to kill him.’

45But they did not understand what Jesus had said. Its meaning was a secret to them, so they could not understand. But they were afraid to ask Jesus, ‘What do you mean?’

46Then the disciples began to argue with each other. They argued about which of them was the most important.

47Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he took a child and he made him stand there at his side.

48Jesus said, ‘If someone accepts this child because of me, then he also accepts me. And anyone who accepts me also accepts my Father God, who sent me. The person who makes himself the least important among you is really the greatest.’

49John then said, ‘Teacher, we saw a man who was speaking to people that had bad spirits in them. He was saying, “Jesus says that you must come out.” We told the man that he must not do this. We said that because he is not in our group.’

50‘Do not try to stop him,’ Jesus said, ‘If someone is not against you, he is working to help you.’

51The time came when God would soon take Jesus up to heaven. Jesus knew this, so he began to go towards Jerusalem.

52He arrived near a village in the country of Samaria. He sent some people into the village with a message. They went to ask for a place to stay for the night.

53But the people in the village would not let him stay there. This was because he was going to Jerusalem.

54Then James and John heard about what had happened. They asked Jesus, ‘Master, do you want us to ask God to send fire down from the sky? Do you want us to kill these people?’

55Jesus turned round. ‘No!’ he said, ‘Do not do that. That would be wrong.’

56Then they all went on to another village.

57They continued on their journey. A man came and spoke to Jesus. He said, ‘I will go with you. And I will go with you everywhere that you go.’

58Jesus replied, ‘Wild animals and birds have their own places to live. But I, the Son of Man, have no place of my own to lie down and rest.’

59Then Jesus said to another man, ‘Come with me!’ The man replied, ‘First let me go home and bury my father. Then I will come with you.’

60‘No!’ Jesus said, ‘Let people who are dead themselves bury their own dead people. You should go and tell people about the kingdom of God.’

61Another man said, ‘Sir, I will come with you. But please let me first go home to say “Goodbye” to my family.’

62Jesus replied, ‘A man that ploughs a field must continue to look straight in front of him. If he looks behind him, he cannot plough well. People that look back behind them cannot work well for the kingdom of God.’