^19 (A)And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

³³ Peter^[a] said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both ^(A)to prison and ^(B)to death.” ^34 (C)Jesus^[b] said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”

Jesus Foretells Peter's Denial

³⁶ Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” ^(A)Jesus answered him, “Where I am going ^(B)you cannot follow me now, ^(C)but you will follow afterward.” ^37 (D)Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” ³⁸ Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(E)the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.

^33 (A)So therefore, any one of you who ^(B)does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

³² And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that ^(A)he is one, and ^(B)there is no other besides him. ³³ And to love him with all the heart and with all ^(C)the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, ^(D)is much more than all ^(E)whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴ And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” ^(F)And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

^20 (A)Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? ^(B)Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

The Cost of Discipleship

²⁵ Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, ^26 (A)“If anyone comes to me and ^(B)does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, ^(C)yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. ^27 (D)Whoever does not ^(E)bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

The Cost of Following Jesus

⁵⁷ As they were going ^(A)along the road, ^(B)someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” ⁵⁹ To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ And Jesus^[a] said to him, “Leave ^(C)the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and ^(D)proclaim the kingdom of God.”

⁶ this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe ^(A)skilled in the Law of Moses that the Lord, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, ^(B)for the hand of the Lord his God was on him.