Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

^18 (A)Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” ¹⁹ And they answered, ^(B)“John the Baptist. But others say, ^(C)Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” ²⁰ Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, ^(D)“The Christ of God.”

Jesus Foretells His Death

^21 (E)And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, ^22 (F)saying, ^(G)“The Son of Man must ^(H)suffer many things and ^(I)be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on ^(J)the third day be raised.”

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

²³ And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him ^(K)deny himself and ^(L)take up his cross ^(M)daily and follow me. ²⁴ For ^(N)whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. ^25 (O)For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? ²⁶ For ^(P)whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed ^(Q)when he comes in ^(R)his glory and the glory of the Father and of ^(S)the holy angels. ²⁷ But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not ^(T)taste death ^(U)until they see the kingdom of God.”

The Transfiguration

^28 (V)Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him ^(W)Peter and John and James and ^(X)went up on the mountain to pray. ²⁹ And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was ^(Y)altered, and ^(Z)his clothing became dazzling white. ³⁰ And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, ³¹ who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure,^[a] which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. ³² Now Peter and those who were with him ^(AA)were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake ^(AB)they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. ³³ And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three ^(AC)tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—^(AD)not knowing what he said.

³ When we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload its cargo. ⁴ And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven days. And ^(A)through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. ⁵ When our days there were ended, we departed and went on our journey, and they all, with wives and children, ^(B)accompanied us until we were outside the city. And ^(C)kneeling down on the beach, we prayed ⁶ and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.

⁷ When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and we greeted ^(D)the brothers^[a] and stayed with them for one day. ⁸ On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of ^(E)Philip ^(F)the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. ⁹ He had four unmarried daughters, ^(G)who prophesied. ¹⁰ While we were staying for many days, a prophet named ^(H)Agabus came down from Judea. ¹¹ And coming to us, he ^(I)took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, ^(J)“Thus says the Holy Spirit, ^(K)‘This is how the Jews^[b] at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and ^(L)deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” ¹² When we heard this, we and the people there ^(M)urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³ Then Paul answered, ^(N)“What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For ^(O)I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem ^(P)for the name of the Lord Jesus.” ¹⁴ And since he would not be persuaded, ^(Q)we ceased and said, ^(R)“Let the will of the Lord be done.”

¹⁵ After these days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁶ And some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, bringing us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge.

Paul Visits James

¹⁷ When we had come to Jerusalem, ^(S)the brothers received us gladly. ¹⁸ On the following day Paul went in with us to ^(T)James, and all ^(U)the elders were present. ¹⁹ After greeting them, ^(V)he related one by one ^(W)the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ^(X)ministry.