Luke 9:18-50

Peter’s Confession of Christ

18 One day as Jesus was praying in private and the disciples were with Him, He questioned them: “Who do the crowds say I am?” ¹

19 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that a prophet of old has arisen.”

20 “But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

Christ’s Passion Foretold

21 Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. ²

22 “The Son of Man must suffer many things,” He said. “He must be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

Take Up Your Cross

23 Then Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. ³

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

25 What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose or forfeit his very self?

26 If anyone 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 of the holy angels.

27 But I tell you truly, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

The Transfiguration

28 About eight days after Jesus had said these things, He took with Him Peter, John, and James, and went up on a mountain to pray. ⁴

29 And as He was praying, the appearance of His face changed, and His clothes became radiantly white.

30 Suddenly two men, Moses and Elijah, began talking with Jesus.

31 They appeared in glory and spoke about His departure, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

32 Meanwhile Peter and his companions were overcome by sleep, but when they awoke, they saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with Him.

33 As Moses and Elijah were leaving, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters ^[a]—one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)

34 While Peter was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.

35 And a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, whom I have chosen. ^[b] Listen to Him!”

36 After the voice had spoken, only Jesus was present with them. The disciples kept this to themselves, and in those days they did not tell anyone what they had seen.

The Boy with an Evil Spirit

37 The next day, when they came down from the mountain, Jesus was met by a large crowd. ⁵

38 Suddenly a man in the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my only child.

39 A spirit keeps seizing him, and he screams abruptly. It throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It keeps mauling him and rarely departs from him.

40 I begged Your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable.”

41 “O unbelieving and perverse generation!” Jesus replied. “How long must I remain with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”

42 Even while the boy was approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.

The Second Prediction of the Passion

43 And they were all astonished at the greatness of God. ⁶ While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus was doing, He said to His disciples,

44 “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.”

45 But they did not understand this statement. It was veiled from them so that they could not comprehend it, and they were afraid to ask Him about it.

The Greatest in the Kingdom

46 Then an argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. ⁷

47 But Jesus, knowing the thoughts of their hearts, had a little child stand beside Him.

48 And He said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in My name welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me welcomes the One who sent Me. For whoever is the least among all of you, he is the greatest.”

49 “Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not accompany us.”

50 “Do not stop him,” Jesus replied, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”

Cross References

• 1. (Matthew 16:13–20; Mark 8:27–30; John 6:67–71)
• 2. (Matthew 16:21–23; Mark 8:31–33)
• 3. (Matthew 16:24–28; Mark 8:34–38)
• 4. (Matthew 17:1–13; Mark 9:1–13; 2 Peter 1:16–21)
• 5. (Matthew 17:14–18; Mark 9:14–29)
• 6. (Matthew 17:22–23; Mark 9:30–32)
• 7. (Matthew 18:1–5; Mark 9:33–41)

Footnotes

• [a]. Or three tabernacles
• [b]. BYZ and TR This is My beloved Son; see Matthew 17:5.