Chronological
Jesus Is Seen With Moses and Elijah(A)
17 Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John the brother of James and went up on a high mountain. They were all alone there. 2 While these followers watched him, Jesus was changed. His face became bright like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 Then two men were there, talking with him. They were Moses and Elijah.
4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you want, I will put three tents here—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5 While Peter was talking, a bright cloud came over them. A voice came from the cloud and said, “This is my Son, the one I love. I am very pleased with him. Obey him!”
6 The followers with Jesus heard this voice. They were very afraid, so they fell to the ground. 7 But Jesus came to them and touched them. He said, “Stand up. Don’t be afraid.” 8 The followers looked up, and they saw that Jesus was now alone.
9 As Jesus and the followers were coming down the mountain, he gave them this command: “Don’t tell anyone about what you saw on the mountain. Wait until the Son of Man has been raised from death. Then you can tell people about what you saw.”
10 The followers asked Jesus, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come[a] before the Messiah comes?”
11 Jesus answered, “They are right to say Elijah is coming. And it is true that Elijah will make all things the way they should be. 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come. People did not know who he was, and they treated him badly, doing whatever they wanted to do. It is the same with the Son of Man. Those same people will make the Son of Man suffer.” 13 Then the followers understood that when Jesus said Elijah, he was really talking about John the Baptizer.
Jesus Frees a Boy From an Evil Spirit(B)
14 Jesus and the followers went back to the people. A man came to Jesus and bowed before him. 15 The man said, “Lord, be kind to my son. He suffers so much from the seizures he has. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your followers, but they could not heal him.”
17 Jesus answered, “You people today have no faith. Your lives are so wrong! How long must I stay with you? How long must I continue to be patient with you? Bring the boy here.” 18 Jesus gave a strong command to the demon inside the boy. The demon came out of the boy, and the boy was healed.
19 Then the followers came to Jesus alone. They said, “We tried to force the demon out of the boy, but we could not. Why were we not able to make the demon go out?”
20 Jesus answered, “You were not able to make the demon go out, because your faith is too small. Believe me when I tell you, if your faith is only as big as a mustard seed you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. You will be able to do anything.” 21 [b]
Jesus Talks About His Death(C)
22 Later, the followers met together in Galilee. Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man will be handed over to the control of other men, 23 who will kill him. But on the third day he will be raised from death.” The followers were very sad to hear that Jesus would be killed.
Jesus Teaches About Paying Taxes
24 Jesus and his followers went to Capernaum. There the men who collect the two-drachma Temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Does your teacher pay the Temple tax?”
25 Peter answered, “Yes, he does.”
Peter went into the house where Jesus was. Before Peter could speak, Jesus said to him, “The kings on the earth get different kinds of taxes from people. But who are those who pay the taxes? Are they the king’s children? Or do other people pay the taxes? What do you think?”
26 Peter answered, “The other people pay the taxes.”
Jesus said, “Then the children of the king don’t have to pay taxes. 27 But we don’t want to upset these tax collectors. So do this: Go to the lake and fish. After you catch the first fish, open its mouth. Inside its mouth you will find a four-drachma coin. Take that coin and give it to the tax collectors. That will pay the tax for you and me.”
9 Then Jesus said, “Believe me when I say that some of you people standing here will see God’s kingdom come with power before you die.”
Jesus Is Seen With Moses and Elijah(A)
2 Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John and went up on a high mountain. They were all alone there. While these followers watched him, Jesus was changed. 3 His clothes became shining white—whiter than anyone on earth could make them. 4 Then two men were there talking with Jesus. They were Elijah and Moses.
5 Peter said to Jesus, “Teacher, it is good that we are here. We will put three tents here—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 Peter did not know what to say, because he and the other two followers were so afraid.
7 Then a cloud came and covered them. A voice came from the cloud and said, “This is my Son, the one I love. Obey him!”
8 The followers looked, but they saw only Jesus there alone with them.
9 As Jesus and the followers were walking back down the mountain, he gave them these instructions: “Don’t tell anyone about what you saw on the mountain. Wait until after the Son of Man rises from death. Then you can tell people what you saw.”
10 So the followers waited to say anything about what they saw. But they discussed among themselves what Jesus meant about rising from death. 11 They asked him, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come[a] first?”
12 Jesus answered, “They are right to say that Elijah must come first. Elijah makes all things the way they should be. But why do the Scriptures say that the Son of Man will suffer much and that people will think he is worth nothing? 13 I tell you that Elijah has already come. And people did to him all the bad things they wanted to do. The Scriptures said this would happen to him.”
Jesus Frees a Boy From an Evil Spirit(B)
14 Then Jesus, Peter, James, and John went to the other followers. They saw many people around them. The teachers of the law were arguing with the followers. 15 When the people saw Jesus, they were very surprised and ran to welcome him.
16 Jesus asked, “What are you arguing about with the teachers of the law?”
17 A man answered, “Teacher, I brought my son to you. He is controlled by an evil spirit that keeps him from talking. 18 The spirit attacks him and throws him on the ground. He foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes very stiff. I asked your followers to force the evil spirit out, but they could not.”
19 Jesus answered, “You people today don’t believe! How long must I stay with you? How long must I be patient with you? Bring the boy to me!”
20 So the followers brought the boy to Jesus. When the evil spirit saw Jesus, it attacked the boy. The boy fell down and rolled on the ground. He was foaming at the mouth.
21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has this been happening to him?”
The father answered, “Since he was very young. 22 The spirit often throws him into a fire or into water to kill him. If you can do anything, please have pity on us and help us.”
23 Jesus said to the father, “Why did you say ‘if you can’? All things are possible for the one who believes.”
24 Immediately the father shouted, “I do believe. Help me to believe more!”
25 Jesus saw that all the people were running there to see what was happening. So he spoke to the evil spirit. He said, “You evil spirit that makes this boy deaf and stops him from talking—I command you to come out of him and never enter him again!”
26 The evil spirit screamed. It caused the boy to fall on the ground again, and then it came out. The boy looked as if he was dead. Many people said, “He is dead!” 27 But Jesus took hold of his hand and helped him stand up.
28 Then Jesus went into the house. His followers were alone with him there. They said, “Why weren’t we able to force that evil spirit out?”
29 Jesus answered, “That kind of spirit can be forced out only with prayer.[b]”
Jesus Talks About His Death(C)
30 Then Jesus and his followers left there and went through Galilee. Jesus did not want the people to know where they were. 31 He wanted to teach his followers alone. He said to them, “The Son of Man will be handed over to the control of other men, who will kill him. After three days, he will rise from death.” 32 But the followers did not understand what he meant, and they were afraid to ask him.
Who Is the Greatest?(D)
33 Jesus and his followers went to Capernaum. They went into a house, and Jesus said to them, “I heard you arguing on the way here today. What were you arguing about?” 34 But the followers did not answer, because their argument on the road was about which one of them was the greatest.
35 Jesus sat down and called the twelve apostles to him. He said, “Whoever wants to be the most important must make others more important than themselves. They must serve everyone else.”
36 Then Jesus took a small child and stood the child in front of the followers. He held the child in his arms and said, 37 “Whoever accepts children like these in my name is accepting me. And anyone who accepts me is also accepting the one who sent me.”
Whoever Is Not Against Us Is For Us(E)
38 Then John said, “Teacher, we saw a man using your name to force demons out of someone. He is not one of us. So we told him to stop, because he does not belong to our group.”
39 Jesus said, “Don’t stop him. Whoever uses my name to do powerful things will not soon say bad things about me. 40 Whoever is not against us is with us. 41 I can assure you that anyone who helps you by giving you a drink of water because you belong to the Messiah will definitely get a reward.
Jesus Warns About Causes of Sin(F)
42 “If one of these little children believes in me, and someone causes that child to sin, it will be very bad for that person. It would be better for them to have a millstone tied around their neck and be drowned in the sea. 43 If your hand makes you sin, cut it off. It is better for you to lose part of your body and have eternal life than to have two hands and go to hell. There the fire never stops. 44 [c] 45 If your foot makes you sin, cut it off. It is better for you to lose part of your body and have eternal life than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. 46 [d] 47 If your eye makes you sin, take it out. It is better for you to have only one eye and enter God’s kingdom than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell. 48 The worms that eat the people in hell never die. The fire there is never stopped.
49 “Everyone will be salted with fire.[e]
50 “Salt is good. But if it loses its salty taste, you can’t make it good again. So, don’t lose that good quality of salt you have. And live in peace with each other.”
Jesus Is Seen With Moses and Elijah(A)
28 About eight days after Jesus said these things, he took Peter, John, and James and went up on a mountain to pray. 29 While Jesus was praying, his face began to change. His clothes became shining white. 30 Then two men were there, talking with him. They were Moses and Elijah. 31 They also looked bright and glorious. They were talking with Jesus about his death that would happen in Jerusalem. 32 Peter and the others were asleep. But they woke up and saw the glory of Jesus. They also saw the two men who were standing with him. 33 When Moses and Elijah were leaving, Peter said, “Master, it is good that we are here. We will put three tents here—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)
34 While Peter was saying these things, a cloud came all around them. Peter, John, and James were afraid when the cloud covered them. 35 A voice came from the cloud and said, “This is my Son. He is the one I have chosen. Obey him.”
36 When the voice stopped, only Jesus was there. Peter, John, and James said nothing. And for a long time after that, they told no one about what they had seen.
Jesus Frees a Boy From an Evil Spirit(B)
37 The next day, Jesus, Peter, John, and James came down from the mountain. A large group of people met Jesus. 38 A man in the group shouted to him, “Teacher, please come and look at my son. He is the only child I have. 39 An evil spirit comes into him, and then he shouts. He loses control of himself and foams at the mouth. The evil spirit continues to hurt him and almost never leaves him. 40 I begged your followers to make the evil spirit leave my son, but they could not do it.”
41 Jesus answered, “You people today have no faith. Your lives are all wrong. How long must I be with you and be patient with you?” Then Jesus said to the man, “Bring your son here.”
42 While the boy was coming, the demon threw the boy to the ground. The boy lost control of himself. But Jesus gave a strong command to the evil spirit. Then the boy was healed, and Jesus gave him back to his father. 43 All the people were amazed at the great power of God.
Jesus Talks About His Death(C)
The people were still amazed about all the things Jesus did. He said to his followers, 44 “Don’t forget what I will tell you now: The Son of Man will soon be handed over to the control of other men.” 45 But the followers did not understand what he meant. The meaning was hidden from them so that they could not understand it. But they were afraid to ask Jesus about what he said.
Who Is the Greatest?(D)
46 Jesus’ followers began to have an argument about which one of them was the greatest. 47 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he took a little child and stood the child beside him. 48 Then he said to the followers, “Whoever accepts a little child like this in my name is accepting me. And anyone who accepts me is also accepting the one who sent me. The one among you who is the most humble—this is the one who is great.”
Whoever Is Not Against You Is for You(E)
49 John answered, “Master, we saw someone using your name to force demons out of people. We told him to stop because he does not belong to our group.”
50 Jesus said to him, “Don’t stop him. Whoever is not against you is for you.”
A Samaritan Town
51 The time was coming near when Jesus would leave and go back to heaven. He decided to go to Jerusalem. 52 He sent some men ahead of him. They went into a town in Samaria to make everything ready for him. 53 But the people there would not welcome Jesus because he was going toward Jerusalem. 54 James and John, the followers of Jesus, saw this. They said, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven and destroy those people?”[a]
55 But Jesus turned and criticized them for saying this.[b] 56 Then he and his followers went to another town.
Following Jesus(F)
57 They were all traveling along the road. Someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you anywhere you go.”
58 He answered, “The foxes have holes to live in. The birds have nests. But the Son of Man has no place where he can rest his head.”
59 Jesus said to another man, “Follow me!”
But the man said, “Lord, let me go and bury my father first.”
60 But Jesus said to him, “Let the people who are dead bury their own dead. You must go and tell about God’s kingdom.”
61 Another man said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me go and say goodbye to my family.”
62 Jesus said, “Anyone who begins to plow a field but looks back is not prepared for God’s kingdom.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International