171 Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother , and led them up on a high mountain by themselves . 2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun , and His garments became as white as light . 3 And behold , Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 Peter said to Jesus , "Lord , it is good for us to be here ; if You wish , I will make three tabernacles here , one for You, and one for Moses , and one for Elijah ." 5 While he was still speaking , a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold , a voice out of the cloud said , " This is My beloved Son , with whom I am well-pleased ; listen to Him!" 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified . 7 And Jesus came to them and touched them and said , "Get up, and do not be afraid ." 8 And lifting up their eyes , they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone . 9 As they were coming down from the mountain , Jesus commanded them, saying , " Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead ." 10 And His disciples asked Him, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first ?" 11 And He answered and said , "Elijah is coming and will restore all things ; 12 but I say to you that Elijah already came , and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished . So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands ." 13 Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist .
14 When they came to the crowd , a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying , 15 "Lord , have mercy on my son , for he is a lunatic and is very ill e ; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water . 16 "I brought him to Your disciples , and they could not cure him." 17 And Jesus answered and said , "You unbelieving and perverted generation , how long e shall I be with you? How long e shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me." 18 And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once e . 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately e and said , "Why e could we not drive it out?" 20 And He said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith ; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed , you will say to this mountain , 'Move from here to there ,' and it will move ; and nothing will be impossible to you. 21 [" But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting ."]
22 And while they were gathering together in Galilee , Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men ; 23 and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day ." And they were deeply grieved .
24 When they came to Capernaum , those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said , "Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?" 25 He said , "Yes ." And when he came into the house , Jesus spoke to him first , saying , "What do you think , Simon ? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax , from their sons or from strangers ?" 26 When Peter said , "From strangers ," Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are exempt . 27 "However , so e that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook , and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth , you will find a shekel . Take that and give it to them for you and Me."
91 And Jesus was saying to them, " Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power ."
2 Six days later , Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John , and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves e . And He was transfigured before them; 3 and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white , as no launderer on earth can whiten them. 4 Elijah appeared to them along with Moses ; and they were talking with Jesus . 5 Peter said to Jesus , " Rabbi , it is good for us to be here ; let us make three tabernacles , one for You, and one for Moses , and one for Elijah ." 6 For he did not know what to answer ; for they became terrified . 7 Then a cloud formed , overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud , " This is My beloved Son , listen to Him!" 8 All at once they looked around and saw no one with them anymore , except Jesus alone . 9 As they were coming down from the mountain , He gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen , until e e the Son of Man rose from the dead . 10 They seized upon that statement , discussing with one another what rising from the dead meant . 11 They asked Him, saying , "Why is it that the scribes say that Elijah must come first ?" 12 And He said to them, "Elijah does first come and restore all things . And yet how is it written of the Son of Man that He will suffer many things and be treated with contempt ? 13 "But I say to you that Elijah has indeed come , and they did to him whatever they wished , just as it is written of him."
14 When they came back to the disciples , they saw a large crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them. 15 Immediately , when the entire crowd saw Him, they were amazed and began running up to greet Him. 16 And He asked them, "What are you discussing with them?" 17 And one of the crowd answered Him, "Teacher , I brought You my son , possessed with a spirit which makes him mute ; 18 and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it." 19 And He answered them and said , "O unbelieving generation , how long e shall I be with you? How long e shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!" 20 They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion , and falling to the ground , he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. 21 And He asked his father , "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said , "From childhood . 22 "It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything , take pity on us and help us!" 23 And Jesus said to him, " 'If You can ?' All things are possible to him who believes ." 24 Immediately the boy's father cried out and said , "I do believe ; help my unbelief ." 25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering , He rebuked the unclean spirit , saying to it, "You deaf and mute spirit , I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again ." 26 After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions , it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said , "He is dead !" 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up. 28 When He came into the house , His disciples began questioning Him privately e , "Why e could we not drive it out?" 29 And He said to them, "This kind cannot e come out by anything but prayer ."
30 From there they went out and began to go through Galilee , and He did not want anyone to know about it. 31 For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, " The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men , and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed , He will rise three days later ." 32 But they did not understand this statement , and they were afraid to ask Him.
33 They came to Capernaum ; and when He was in the house , He began to question them, "What were you discussing on the way ?" 34 But they kept silent , for on the way they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest . 35 Sitting down , He called the twelve and said to them, " If anyone wants to be first , he shall be last of all and servant of all ." 36 Taking a child , He set him before e them, and taking him in His arms , He said to them, 37 " Whoever e receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever e receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me."
38 John said to Him, "Teacher , we saw someone casting out demons in Your name , and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us." 39 But Jesus said , "Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name , and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. 40 " For he who is not against us is for us.
41 "For whoever e gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ , truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward .
42 " Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble , it would be better e for him if , with a heavy millstone hung around his neck , he had been cast into the sea . 43 " If your hand causes you to stumble , cut it off ; it is better for you to enter life crippled , than , having your two hands , to go into hell , into the unquenchable fire , 44 [where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE , AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED .] 45 "If your foot causes you to stumble , cut it off ; it is better for you to enter life lame , than , having your two feet , to be cast into hell , 46 [where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE , AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED .] 47 " If your eye causes you to stumble , throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye , than , having two eyes , to be cast into hell , 48 where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE , AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED . 49 "For everyone will be salted with fire . 50 "Salt is good ; but if the salt becomes unsalty , with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves , and be at peace with one another ."
28 Some eight days after these sayings , He took along Peter and John and James , and went up on the mountain to pray . 29 And while He was praying , the appearance of His face became different , and His clothing became white and gleaming . 30 And behold , two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah , 31 who , appearing in glory , were speaking of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem . 32 Now Peter and his companions e had been overcome with sleep ; but when they were fully awake , they saw His glory and the two men standing with Him. 33 And as these were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus , " Master , it is good for us to be here ; let us make three tabernacles : one for You, and one for Moses , and one for Elijah "- not realizing what he was saying . 34 While he was saying this , a cloud formed and began to overshadow them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud . 35 Then a voice came out of the cloud , saying , " This is My Son , My Chosen One; listen to Him!" 36 And when the voice had spoken , Jesus was found alone . And they kept silent , and reported to no one in those days any of the things which they had seen .
37 On the next day , when they came down from the mountain , a large crowd met Him. 38 And a man from the crowd shouted , saying , "Teacher , I beg You to look at my son , for he is my only boy, 39 and a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly screams , and it throws him into a convulsion with foaming at the mouth; and only with difficulty does it leave him, mauling him as it leaves . 40 "I begged Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not." 41 And Jesus answered and said , "You unbelieving and perverted generation , how long e shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here ." 42 While he was still approaching , the demon slammed him to the ground and threw him into a convulsion . But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit , and healed the boy and gave him back to his father .
43 And they were all amazed at the greatness of God . But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing , He said to His disciples ,
44 "Let these words sink into your ears ; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men ." 45 But they did not understand this statement , and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement .
46 An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest . 47 But Jesus , knowing what they were thinking in their heart , took a child and stood him by His side , 48 and said to them, " Whoever e receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever e receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great ."
49 John answered and said , " Master , we saw someone casting out demons in Your name ; and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow along with us." 50 But Jesus said to him, "Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is for you."
51 When the days were approaching for His ascension , He was determined to go to Jerusalem ; 52 and He sent messengers on ahead e of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. 53 But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem . 54 When His disciples James and John saw this, they said , "Lord , do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" 55 But He turned and rebuked them, [and said , "You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; 56 for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives , but to save them."] And they went on to another village .
57 As they were going along the road , someone said to Him, "I will follow You wherever e You go ." 58 And Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests , but the Son of Man has nowhere e to lay His head ." 59 And He said to another , " Follow Me." But he said , "Lord , permit me first to go and bury my father ." 60 But He said to him, "Allow the dead to bury their own dead ; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God ." 61 Another also said , "I will follow You, Lord ; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home ." 62 But Jesus said to him, " No one , after putting his hand to the plow and looking back , is fit for the kingdom of God ."
(Read Luke 9:28-36)
Christ's transfiguration was a specimen of that glory in which he will come to judge the world; and was an encouragement to his disciples to suffer for him. Prayer is a transfiguring, transforming duty, which makes the face to shine. Our Lord Jesus, even in his transfiguration, was willing to speak concerning his death and sufferings. In our greatest glories on earth, let us remember that in this world we have no continuing city. What need we have to pray to God for quickening grace, to make us lively! Yet that the disciples might be witnesses of this sign from heaven, after awhile they became awake, so that they were able to give a full account of what passed. But those know not what they say, that talk of making tabernacles on earth for glorified saints in heaven.
(Read Luke 9:37-42)
How deplorable the case of this child! He was under the power of an evil spirit. Disease of that nature are more frightful than such as arise merely from natural causes. What mischief Satan does where he gets possession! But happy those that have access to Christ! He can do that for us which his disciples cannot. A word from Christ healed the child; and when our children recover from sickness, it is comfortable to receive them as healed by the hand of Christ.
(Read Luke 9:43-50)
This prediction of Christ's sufferings was plain enough, but the disciples would not understand it, because it agreed not with their notions. A little child is the emblem by which Christ teaches us simplicity and humility. What greater honour can any man attain to in this world, than to be received by men as a messenger of God and Christ; and to have God and Christ own themselves received and welcomed in him! If ever any society of Christians in this world, had reason to silence those not of their own communion, the twelve disciples at this time had; yet Christ warned them not to do the like again. Those may be found faithful followers of Christ, and may be accepted of him, who do not follow with us.
(Read Luke 9:51-56)
The disciples did not consider that the conduct of the Samaritans was rather the effect of national prejudices and bigotry, than of enmity to the word and worship of God; and through they refused to receive Christ and his disciples, they did not ill use or injure them, so that the case was widely different from that of Ahaziah and Elijah. Nor were they aware that the gospel dispensation was to be marked by miracles of mercy. But above all, they were ignorant of the prevailing motives of their own hearts, which were pride and carnal ambition. Of this our Lord warned them. It is easy for us to say, Come, see our zeal for the Lord! and to think we are very faithful in his cause, when we are seeking our own objects, and even doing harm instead of good to others.
(Read Luke 9:57-62)
Here is one that is forward to follow Christ, but seems to have been hasty and rash, and not to have counted the cost. If we mean to follow Christ, we must lay aside the thoughts of great things in the world. Let us not try to join the profession of Christianity, with seeking after worldly advantages. Here is another that seems resolved to follow Christ, but he begs a short delay. To this man Christ first gave the call; he said to him, Follow me. Religion teaches us to be kind and good, to show piety at home, and to requite our parents; but we must not make these an excuse for neglecting our duty to God. Here is another that is willing to follow Christ, but he must have a little time to talk with his friends about it, and to set in order his household affairs, and give directions concerning them. He seemed to have worldly concerns more upon his heart than he ought to have, and he was willing to enter into a temptation leading him from his purpose of following Christ. No one can do any business in a proper manner, if he is attending to other things. Those who begin with the work of God, must resolve to go on, or they will make nothing of it. Looking back, leads to drawing back, and drawing back is to perdition. He only that endures to the end shall be saved.
