Luke 9:1-36

Instructions for the Twelve Apostles

 ¹Jesus called together his twelve apostles and gave them complete power over all demons and diseases. ²Then he sent them to tell about God's kingdom and to heal the sick. ³He told them, "Don't take anything with you! Don't take a walking stick or a traveling bag or food or money or even a change of clothes. ⁴When you are welcomed into a home, stay there until you leave that town. ⁵If people won't welcome you, leave the town and shake the dust from your feet as a warning to them." ⁶The apostles left and went from village to village, telling the good news and healing people everywhere.

   

Herod Is Worried

 ⁷Herod the ruler heard about all that was happening, and he was worried. Some people were saying that John the Baptist had come back to life. ⁸Others were saying that Elijah had come or that one of the prophets from long ago had come back to life. ⁹But Herod said, "I had John's head cut off! Who is this I hear so much about?" Herod was eager to meet Jesus.

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand

 ¹⁰The apostles came back and told Jesus everything they had done. He then took them with him to the village of Bethsaida, where they could be alone. ¹¹But a lot of people found out about this and followed him. Jesus welcomed them. He spoke to them about God's kingdom and healed everyone who was sick.

    ¹²Late in the afternoon the twelve apostles came to Jesus and said, "Send the crowd to the villages and farms around here. They need to find a place to stay and something to eat. There is nothing in this place. It is like a desert!"

    ¹³Jesus answered, "You give them something to eat."

   But they replied, "We have only five small loaves of bread and two fish. If we are going to feed all these people, we will have to go and buy food." ¹⁴There were about five thousand men in the crowd. Jesus said to his disciples, "Have the people sit in groups of fifty." ¹⁵They did this, and all the people sat down. ¹⁶Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up toward heaven and blessed the food. Then he broke the bread and fish and handed them to his disciples to give to the people.

    ¹⁷Everyone ate all they wanted. What was left over filled twelve baskets.

   

Who Is Jesus?

 ¹⁸When Jesus was alone praying, his disciples came to him, and he asked them, "What do people say about me?"

    ¹⁹They answered, "Some say that you are John the Baptist or Elijah or a prophet from long ago who has come back to life." ²⁰Jesus then asked them, "But who do you say I am?"

   Peter answered, "You are the Messiah sent from God."

    ²¹Jesus strictly warned his disciples not to tell anyone about this.

   

Jesus Speaks about His Suffering and Death

 ²²Jesus told his disciples, "The nation's leaders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law of Moses will make the Son of Man suffer terribly. They will reject him and kill him, but three days later he will rise to life."

    ²³Then Jesus said to all the people:

   If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross each day and follow me. ²⁴If you want to save your life, you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me, you will save it. ²⁵What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself or waste your life? ²⁶If you are ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in his glory and in the glory of his Father and the holy angels. ²⁷You can be sure that some of the people standing here will not die before they see God's kingdom.

The True Glory of Jesus

 ²⁸About eight days later Jesus took Peter, John, and James with him and went up on a mountain to pray. ²⁹While he was praying, his face changed, and his clothes became shining white. ³⁰Suddenly Moses and Elijah were there speaking with him. ³¹They appeared in heavenly glory and talked about all that Jesus' death in Jerusalem would mean. ³²Peter and the other two disciples had been sound asleep. All at once they woke up and saw how glorious Jesus was. They also saw the two men who were with him.

    ³³Moses and Elijah were about to leave, when Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here! Let us make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." But Peter did not know what he was talking about.

    ³⁴While Peter was still speaking, a shadow from a cloud passed over them, and they were frightened as the cloud covered them. ³⁵From the cloud a voice spoke, "This is my chosen Son. Listen to what he says!"

    ³⁶After the voice had spoken, Peter, John, and James saw only Jesus. For some time they kept quiet and did not say anything about what they had seen.