²³ And after He had sent the crowds away, ^(A)He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.

¹⁶ But He Himself would often slip away ^[a]to the desolate regions and ^(A)pray.

Peter Confesses Jesus Is the Christ

^18 (A)And it happened that while He was ^(B)praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”

The Transfiguration

^28 (A)Now it happened some eight days after these words, that taking along ^(B)Peter and John and James, He ^(C)went up on the mountain ^(D)to pray. ²⁹ And it happened that while He was ^(E)praying, the appearance of His face ^(F)became different, and His clothing became white and ^[a]gleaming. ³⁰ And behold, two men were talking with Him, and they were Moses and Elijah, ³¹ who, appearing in ^[b]glory, were speaking of His ^[c](G)departure which He was about to fulfill at Jerusalem. ³² Now Peter and his companions ^(H)had been overcome with sleep, but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men standing with Him. ³³ And it happened that as they were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, “^(I)Master, it is good for us to be here; ^(J)let us make three ^[d]booths: one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—^(K)not realizing what he was saying. ³⁴ While he was saying this, a cloud ^[e]formed and began to overshadow them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵ Then ^(L)a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “^(M)This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!” ³⁶ And when the voice ^[f]had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And ^(N)they kept silent, and reported to no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.

Jesus Casts Out a Demon

^37 (O)Now it happened on the next day, that when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Him. ³⁸ And behold, a man from the crowd shouted, saying, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my ^[g]only one, ³⁹ and behold, 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 And I begged Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not.” ⁴¹ And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” ⁴² Now while he was still approaching, the demon ^[h]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 astonished at the ^(P)majesty of God.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

^(Q)But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples, ⁴⁴ “Put these words into your ears; ^(R)for the Son of Man is going to be ^[i]delivered into the hands of men.” ⁴⁵ But ^(S)they ^[j]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.

Who Is the Greatest?

^46 (T)Now an argument ^[k]started among them as to which of them might be the greatest. ⁴⁷ But Jesus, ^(U)knowing ^[l]what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side, ⁴⁸ and said to them, “^(V)Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; ^(W)for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.”

^49 (X)And John answered and said, “^(Y)Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to hinder him because he does not follow along with us.” ⁵⁰ But Jesus said to him, “Do not hinder him, ^(Z)for he who is not against you is ^[m]for you.”

⁵¹ Now it happened that when the days for ^(AA)Him to be taken up were soon to be fulfilled, He set His face ^(AB)to go to Jerusalem; ⁵² and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the ^(AC)Samaritans to ^[n]make arrangements for Him. ⁵³ But they did not receive Him, ^(AD)because ^[o]He was journeying with His face toward Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ And when His disciples ^(AE)James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to ^(AF)command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” ⁵⁵ But He turned and rebuked them, ^[p][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.

The Cost of Following Jesus

^57 (AG)And as they were going along the road, ^(AH)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 ^[q]air have ^[r]nests, but ^(AI)the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” ⁵⁹ And He said to another, “^(AJ)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 ^(AK)proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord, but ^(AL)first permit me to say farewell to those at home.” ⁶² But Jesus said to him, “^(AM)No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”