Luke 9:46-10:29

New American Standard Bible

The Test of Greatness

^46 (A)Now an argument ^[a]started among them as to which of them might be the greatest. ⁴⁷ But Jesus, ^(B)knowing ^[b]what they were thinking in their hearts, took a child and had him stand by His side, ⁴⁸ and He said to them, “^(C)Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; ^(D)for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.”

^49 (E)John answered and said, “^(F)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; ^(G)for the one who is not against you is ^[c]for you.”

⁵¹ When the days were approaching for ^(H)His ^[d]ascension, He ^[e]was determined ^(I)to go to Jerusalem; ⁵² and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the ^(J)Samaritans to ^[f]make arrangements for Him. ⁵³ And they did not receive Him, ^(K)because ^[g]He was traveling toward Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ When His disciples ^(L)James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to ^(M)command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” ⁵⁵ But He turned and rebuked them.^{[h] 56} And they went on to another village.

Exacting Discipleship

^57 (N)As they were going on the road, ^(O)someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” ⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but ^(P)the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” ⁵⁹ And He said to another, “^(Q)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 ^(R)proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but ^(S)first permit me to say goodbye to those at my home.” ⁶² But Jesus said to him, “^(T)No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

The Seventy-two Sent Out

10 Now after this ^(U)the Lord appointed ^[i]seventy-two ^(V)others, and sent them ^(W)in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. ² And He was saying to them, “^(X)The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. ³ Go; ^(Y)behold, I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves. ^4 (Z)Carry no money belt, no ^[j]bag, no sandals, and greet no one along the way. ⁵ And whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ ⁶ And if a ^[k]man of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, it will return to you. ⁷ Stay in ^[l]that house, eating and drinking ^[m]what they provide; for ^(AA)the laborer is deserving of his wages. Do not move from house to house. ⁸ Whatever city you enter and they receive you, ^(AB)eat what is served to you; ⁹ and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘^(AC)The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ ¹⁰ But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ¹¹ ‘^(AD)Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet ^[n]be sure of this, that ^(AE)the kingdom of God has come near.’ ¹² I say to you, ^(AF)it will be more tolerable on that day for ^(AG)Sodom than for that city.

¹³ “^(AH)Woe to you, ^(AI)Chorazin! Woe to you, ^(AJ)Bethsaida! For if the ^[o]miracles that occurred in you had occurred in ^(AK)Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in ^[p](AL)sackcloth and ashes. ¹⁴ But it will be more tolerable for ^(AM)Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you. ¹⁵ And you, ^(AN)Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!

¹⁶ “^(AO)The one who listens to you listens to Me, and ^(AP)the one who rejects you rejects Me; but the one who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”

The Joyful Results

¹⁷ Now the ^[q]seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even ^(AQ)the demons are subject to us ^[r]in Your name!” ¹⁸ And He said to them, “I watched ^(AR)Satan fall from heaven like lightning. ¹⁹ Behold, I have given you authority to ^(AS)walk on snakes and scorpions, and authority over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. ²⁰ Nevertheless, do not ^[s]rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that ^(AT)your names are recorded in heaven.”

^21 (AU)At that very ^[t]time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I ^[u]praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for doing so was well pleasing in Your sight. ^22 (AV)All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and ^(AW)no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son determines to reveal Him.”

^23 (AX)Turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see the things you see; ²⁴ for I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see the things that you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things that you hear, and did not hear them.”

^25 (AY)And behold, a ^[v](AZ)lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? ^[w]How does it read to you?” ²⁷ And he answered, “^(BA)You shall love the Lord your God ^[x]with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸ And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; ^(BB)do this and you will live.” ²⁹ But wanting ^(BC)to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”