Luke 9:18-45

18Once when Jesus was praying by himself, and his disciples were nearby, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”

19They answered, “John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others that one of the prophets of long ago has risen.”

20Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

21But he forcefully commanded them not to tell this to anyone,

22saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

23Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.

24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

25For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but loses or forfeits himself?

26For whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

27But I tell you most certainly, there are some standing here who will not experience death before they see the kingdom of God.”

28Now about eight days after these sayings, Jesus took with him Peter, John, and James, and went up the mountain to pray.

29As he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became very bright, a brilliant white.

30Then two men, Moses and Elijah, began talking with him.

31They appeared in glorious splendor and spoke about his departure that he was about to carry out at Jerusalem.

32Now Peter and those with him were quite sleepy, but as they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.

33Then as the men were starting to leave, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three shelters, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah” – not knowing what he was saying.

34As he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.

35Then a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him!”

36After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. So they kept silent and told no one at that time anything of what they had seen.

37Now on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a large crowd met him.

38Then a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son – he is my only child!

39A spirit seizes him, and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions and causes him to foam at the mouth. It hardly ever leaves him alone, torturing him severely.

40I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not do so.”

41Jesus answered, “You unbelieving and perverse generation! How much longer must I be with you and endure you? Bring your son here.”

42As the boy was approaching, the demon threw him to the ground and shook him with convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.

43Then they were all astonished at the mighty power of God. But while the entire crowd was amazed at everything Jesus was doing, he said to his disciples,

44“Take these words to heart, for the Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.”

45But they did not understand this statement; its meaning had been concealed from them, so that they could not grasp it. Yet they were afraid to ask him about this statement.