Luke 9:51-62

The Journey to Jerusalem

51 When the days were coming to a close for Him to be taken up,^[a] He determined^[b] to journey to Jerusalem.

52 He sent messengers ahead of Him, and on the way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make preparations for Him.

53 But they did not welcome Him, because He determined to journey to Jerusalem.

54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?"^[c]

55 But He turned and rebuked them,^[d]

56 and they went to another village.

Following Jesus

57 As they were traveling on the road someone said to Him, "I will follow You wherever You go!"

58 Jesus told him, "Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky ^[e] have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head."

59 Then He said to another, "Follow Me." "Lord," he said, "first let me go bury my father."^[f]

60 But He told him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and spread the news of the kingdom of God."

61 Another also said, "I will follow You, Lord, but first let me go and say good-bye to those at my house."

62 But Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

Footnotes

• [a] His ascension
• [b] Lit He stiffened His face to go; Isaiah 50:7
• [c] Other mss add as Elijah also did
• [d] Other mss add and said, "You don't know what kind of spirit you belong to. Verse 56: For the Son of Man did not come to destroy people's lives but to save them."
• [e] Wild birds, as opposed to domestic birds
• [f] Not necessarily meaning his father was already dead