Chronological
The transfiguration
17 After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and James’s brother John, and led them off up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transformed in front of them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. 3 Then, astonishingly, Moses and Elijah appeared to them. They were talking with Jesus.
4 Peter just had to say something. “Master,” he said to Jesus, “it’s wonderful for us to be here! If you want, I’ll make three shelters here—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah!”
5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Then there came a voice out of the cloud. “This is my dear son,” said the voice, “and I’m delighted with him. Pay attention to him.”
6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were scared out of their wits. 7 Jesus came up and touched them.
“Get up,” he said, “and don’t be afraid.”
8 When they raised their eyes, they saw nobody except Jesus, all by himself.
The question about Elijah
9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them strict instructions. “Don’t tell anyone about the vision,” he said, “until the son of man has been raised from the dead.”
10 “So why,” asked the disciples, “do the scribes say that ‘Elijah must come first’?”
11 “Elijah does indeed come,” replied Jesus, “and ‘he will restore everything.’ 12 But let me tell you this: Elijah has already come, and they didn’t recognize him! They did to him whatever they wanted. That’s how the son of man, too, will suffer at their hands.”
13 Then the disciples realized that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.
Faith that moves mountains
14 When they came near the crowd, a man approached and knelt in front of him.
15 “Master,” he said, “take pity on my son! He suffers from awful fits which are frightful for him. He often falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t cure him.”
17 “You unbelieving and twisted generation!” responded Jesus. “How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.”
18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon and it came out of him. The boy was cured from that moment.
19 The disciples came to Jesus in private. “Why couldn’t we cast it out?” they asked.
20 “Because of your lack of faith,” Jesus replied. “I’m telling you the truth: if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
The Temple tax
22 As they regathered in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The son of man is going to be given over into human hands. 23 They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.” And they were very sad.
24 They came to Capernaum, where the officials who collected the Temple tax approached Peter.
“Your teacher pays the Temple tax, doesn’t he?” they asked.
25 “Yes,” he replied.
When he came into the house, Jesus spoke first, “What d’you think, Simon? When the kings of the world collect taxes or duties, who do they collect them from? From their own families, or from outsiders?”
26 “From outsiders,” he replied.
“Well then,” said Jesus, “that means the families are free. 27 But we don’t want to give them offense, do we? So why don’t you go down to the sea and cast out a hook? The first fish you catch, open its mouth and you’ll find a coin. Take that and give it to them for the two of us.”
9 “I’m telling you the truth,” he said; “some people standing here won’t experience death before they see God’s kingdom come in power.”
The transfiguration
2 A week later, Jesus took Peter, James and John away by themselves, and went up a high mountain. There he was transformed before their eyes. 3 His clothes shone with a whiteness that no laundry on earth could match. 4 Elijah appeared to them, and Moses too, and they were talking with Jesus.
5 “Teacher,” said Peter as he saw this, “it’s great to be here! Let’s make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah!” 6 (He didn’t know what to say; they were terrified.)
7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud: “This is my son, the one I love. Listen to him!”
8 Then, quite suddenly, they looked round and saw nobody there anymore, only Jesus with them.
9 As they came down the mountain, Jesus instructed them not to talk to anyone about what they had seen, “until,” he said, “the son of man has been raised from the dead.” 10 They held on to this saying among themselves, puzzling about what this “rising from the dead” might mean.
11 “Why then,” they asked him, “do the legal experts say ‘Elijah must come first’?”
12 “Elijah does come first,” he replied, “and his job is to put everything straight. But what do you think it means that ‘the son of man must suffer many things and be treated with contempt’? 13 Actually, listen to this: Elijah has already come, and they did to him whatever they wanted. That’s what scripture said about him.”
The demon-possessed boy
14 The four of them made their way back to the other disciples. There they saw a large crowd surrounding them, and legal experts arguing with them. 15 As soon as the crowd saw Jesus they were astounded, and they all ran up to greet him.
16 “What’s all the fuss about?” he asked.
17 “Teacher,” said someone from the crowd, “I brought my son to you. He’s got a spirit that stops him speaking. 18 Whenever it takes hold of him it throws him on the ground; he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth, and goes rigid. I spoke to your disciples about casting it out, but they couldn’t.”
19 “You unbelieving generation!” replied Jesus. “How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
20 They brought him to him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth.
21 “How long has it been like this with him?” asked Jesus.
“Since childhood,” replied the man. 22 “Often it even throws him into the fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything . . . please, please help us! Have pity on us!”
23 “What d’you mean, ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible to someone who believes.”
24 At this the father gave a great shout. “I do believe!” he roared. “Help me in my unbelief!”
25 Jesus saw that the crowd was getting bigger by the minute. He scolded the unclean spirit: “Speechless and deaf spirit,” he said, “I command you—come out of him, and never go back again!”
26 The spirit yelled, gave the boy a huge convulsion, and came out. The boy seemed to be dead; in fact, several people did say “He’s dead!” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up.
28 “Why couldn’t we cast it out?” asked his disciples, once they were back in the house by themselves.
29 “This sort,” replied Jesus, “can only be cast out by prayer.”
True greatness
30 They went away from there and were traveling through Galilee. Jesus didn’t want anyone to know, 31 because he was teaching his disciples.
“The ‘son of man,’ ” he was saying, “is to be given over into human hands. They will kill him; and, when he’s been killed, after three days he will rise again.”
32 They didn’t understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.
33 They came to Capernaum. When they got into the house he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?”
34 They said nothing, because on the road they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest.
35 Jesus sat down and called the Twelve. “If you want to be first,” he said, “you must be last of all, and servant of all.” 36 He took a small child, and stood it in the middle of them. Then he hugged the child, and said to them, 37 “If anyone welcomes one child like this in my name, they welcome me. And if anyone welcomes me, it isn’t me they welcome, but the one who sent me.”
Warnings about sin
38 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone casting out demons in your name. We stopped him, because he wasn’t following us.”
39 “Don’t stop him,” said Jesus. “No one who does powerful things by my name will be able to say bad things about me soon afterwards. 40 Anyone who’s not against us is on our side. 41 Anyone who even gives you a cup of water in my name, because you belong to the Messiah—I’m telling you the truth, that person won’t go unrewarded.
42 “Think about these little ones who believe in me,” he went on. “If anyone causes one of them to slip up, it would be much better for that person to have a huge millstone put around their neck, and be thrown into the sea.
43 “And if your hand causes you to slip up, cut it off. It’s better for you to go into life maimed than to have two hands and go into Gehenna, into the fire that never goes out.
45 “And if your foot causes you to slip up, cut it off. It’s better for you to go into life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into Gehenna.
47 “And if your eye causes you to slip up, throw it away. It’s better for you to go into the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into Gehenna, 48 where
their worm lives on forever
and the fire can never be quenched.
49 “You see, everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is great stuff; but if salt becomes unsalty, how can you make it salty again? You need salt among yourselves. Live at peace with each other.”
The transfiguration
28 About eight days after this conversation, Jesus took Peter, John and James and went up a mountain to pray. 29 And, as he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became shining white. 30 Two men appeared, talking with him: it was Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was going to fulfill in Jerusalem.
32 Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but they managed to stay awake. They saw his glory, and the two men who were standing there with him.
33 As they were going away from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah!” He didn’t know what he was saying; 34 but as the words were coming out of his mouth a cloud appeared and overshadowed them. They were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came from the cloud: “This is my son, my chosen one: listen to him.” 36 As the voice spoke, there was Jesus by himself. They kept silent, and told nobody at that time anything of what they had seen.
37 The next day, as they were going down from the mountain, a large crowd met them. 38 A man from the crowd shouted out, “Teacher! Please, please have a look at my son! He’s my only child, 39 and look what’s happening to him! A spirit seizes him, and suddenly it shrieks and convulses him, so that he foams at the mouth. It goes on savaging him, and it’s almost impossible to get it to leave him. 40 I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they couldn’t.”
41 “You faithless and depraved generation!” said Jesus in reply. “How long shall I be with you and have to put up with you? Bring your son here.”
42 While he was on the way, the demon tore at him and threw him into convulsions. Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father. 43 Everyone was astonished at the greatness of God.
While they were all still expressing amazement at everything he had done, Jesus said to his disciples, 44 “Let these words go right down into your ears: the son of man is to be given over into human hands.” 45 They had no idea what he was talking about. It was hidden from them, so that they wouldn’t perceive it, and they were afraid to ask him about what he had said.
The nature of discipleship
46 A dispute arose among them about which of them was the greatest. 47 Jesus knew this quarrel was going on in their hearts, so he took a child and stood it beside him.
48 “If you receive this child in my name,” he said, “you receive me. And anyone who receives me, receives the one who sent me. Whoever is the least among you—that’s the one who is great.”
49 “Master,” commented John, “we saw someone casting out demons in your name. We told him to stop, because he wasn’t part of our company.”
50 “Don’t stop him,” replied Jesus. “Anyone who isn’t against you is on your side.”
51 As the time came nearer for Jesus to be taken up, he settled it in his mind to go to Jerusalem. 52 He sent messengers ahead of him. They came into a Samaritan village to get them ready, 53 and they refused to receive him, because his mind was set on going to Jerusalem. 54 When the disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Master, do you want us to call down fire from heaven and burn them up?” 55 He turned and rebuked them, 56 and they went on to another village.
57 As they were going along the road a man addressed Jesus.
“Wherever you’re going,” he said, “I’ll follow you!”
58 “Foxes have lairs,” Jesus replied, “and the birds in the sky have nests; but the son of man doesn’t have anywhere to lay his head.”
59 To another person he said, “Follow me.”
“Master,” he replied, “let me first go and bury my father.”
60 “Let the dead bury their dead,” said Jesus. “You must go and announce God’s kingdom.”
61 “I will follow you, Master,” said another, “but first let me say goodbye to the people at home.”
62 “Nobody,” replied Jesus, “who begins to plow and then looks over his shoulder is fit for God’s kingdom.”
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.