²³ Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.^{(A) 24} For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.^{(B) 25} What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? ²⁶ Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them^(C) when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.^(D)

The Cost of Following Jesus^(A)

⁵⁷ As they were walking along the road,^(B) a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

⁵⁸ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man^(C) has no place to lay his head.”

⁵⁹ He said to another man, “Follow me.”^(D)

But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

⁶⁰ Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”^(E)

⁶¹ Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”^(F)

⁶² Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

¹³ “Woe to you,^(A) Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth^(B) and ashes. ¹⁴ But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. ¹⁵ And you, Capernaum,^(C) will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.^[a]

¹⁶ “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”^(D)

²⁷ As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.”^(A)

²⁸ He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God^(B) and obey it.”^(C)

The Sign of Jonah^(A)

²⁹ As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign,^(B) but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.^{(C) 30} For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. ³¹ The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom;^(D) and now something greater than Solomon is here. ³² The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah;^(E) and now something greater than Jonah is here.

⁴⁹ Because of this, God in his wisdom^(A) said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.’^{(B) 50} Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, ⁵¹ from the blood of Abel^(C) to the blood of Zechariah,^(D) who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.^(E)

⁵² “Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”^(F)

Warnings and Encouragements^(A)

12 Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be^[a] on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.^{(B) 2} There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.^{(C) 3} What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.

⁴ “I tell you, my friends,^(D) do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. ⁵ But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.^(E)

⁸ “I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God.^{(A) 9} But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned^(B) before the angels of God. ¹⁰ And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man^(C) will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.^(D)

¹⁶ And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. ¹⁷ He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

¹⁸ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. ¹⁹ And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘You fool!^(A) This very night your life will be demanded from you.^(B) Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’^(C)

²¹ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”^(D)