Matthew 17; Mark 9; Luke 9:28-62
1 Six days
later, three of them saw that glory. Jesus took Peter and the brothers, James
and John, and led them up a high mountain. 2 His appearance changed
from the inside out, right before their eyes. Sunlight poured from his face.
His clothes were filled with light. 3 Then they realized that Moses
and Elijah were also there in deep conversation with him. 4 Peter
broke in, "Master, this is a great moment! What would you think if I built
three memorials here on the mountain - one for you, one for Moses, one for
Elijah?" 5 While he was going on like this, babbling, a
light-radiant cloud enveloped them, and sounding from deep in the cloud a
voice: "This is my Son, marked by my love, focus of my delight. Listen to
him." 6 When the disciples heard it, they fell flat on their
faces, scared to death. 7 But Jesus came over and touched them.
"Don't be afraid." 8 When they opened their eyes and looked
around all they saw was Jesus, only Jesus. 9 Coming down the
mountain, Jesus swore them to secrecy. "Don't breathe a word of what
you've seen. After the Son of Man is raised from the dead, you are free to
talk."10 The disciples, meanwhile, were asking questions. "Why
do the religion scholars say that Elijah has to come first?" 11 Jesus
answered, "Elijah does come and get everything ready. 12 I'm
telling you, Elijah has already come but they didn't know him when they saw
him. They treated him like dirt, the same way they are about to treat the Son
of Man." 13 That's when the disciples realized that all along he
had been talking about John the Baptizer. 14 At the bottom of the
mountain, they were met by a crowd of waiting people. As they approached, a man
came out of the crowd and fell to his knees begging, 15 "Master,
have mercy on my son. He goes out of his mind and suffers terribly, falling
into seizures. Frequently he is pitched into the fire, other times into the
river. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could do nothing
for him." 17 Jesus said, "What a generation! No sense of
God! No focus to your lives! How many times do I have to go over these things?
How much longer do I have to put up with this? Bring the boy
here." 18 He ordered the afflicting demon out - and it was out,
gone. From that moment on the boy was well. 19 When the disciples had
Jesus off to themselves, they asked, "Why couldn't we throw it
out?" 20 "Because you're not yet taking God
seriously," said Jesus. "The simple truth is that if you had a mere
kernel of faith, a poppy seed, say, you would tell this mountain, 'Move!' and
it would move. There is nothing you wouldn't be able to
tackle." 22 As they were regrouping in Galilee, Jesus told them,
"The Son of Man is about to be betrayed to some people who want nothing to
do with God. 23 They will murder him - and three days later he will
be raised alive." The disciples felt terrible. 24 When they
arrived at Capernaum, the tax men came to Peter and asked, "Does your
teacher pay taxes?" 25 Peter said, "Of course." But as
soon as they were in the house, Jesus confronted him. "Simon, what do you
think? When a king levies taxes, who pays - his children or his
subjects?" 26 He answered, “His subjects.” Jesus said, “Then the
children get off free, right? 27But so we don't upset them needlessly, go
down to the lake, cast a hook, and pull in the first fish that bites. Open its
mouth and you'll find a coin. Take it and give it to the tax men. It will be
enough for both of us."
1 Then he drove
it home by saying, "This isn't pie in the sky by and by. Some of you who
are standing here are going to see it happen, see the kingdom of God arrive in
full force." In a Light-Radiant Cloud 2Six days later, three of them
did see it. Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain.
His appearance changed from the inside out, right before their
eyes. 3 His clothes shimmered, glistening white, whiter than any
bleach could make them. 4 Elijah, along with Moses, came into view,
in deep conversation with Jesus. 5 Peter interrupted, "Rabbi,
this is a great moment! Let's build three memorials - one for you, one for
Moses, one for Elijah." 6 He blurted this out without thinking,
stunned as they all were by what they were seeing. 7 Just then a
light-radiant cloud enveloped them, and from deep in the cloud, a voice:
"This is my Son, marked by my love. Listen to him." 8 The
next minute the disciples were looking around, rubbing their eyes, seeing
nothing but Jesus, only Jesus. 9 Coming down the mountain, Jesus
swore them to secrecy. "Don't tell a soul what you saw. After the Son of
Man rises from the dead, you're free to talk." 10 They puzzled
over that, wondering what on earth "rising from the dead"
meant. 11 Meanwhile they were asking, "Why do the religion
scholars say that Elijah has to come first?" 12 Jesus replied,
"Elijah does come first and get everything ready for the coming of the Son
of Man. They treated this Elijah like dirt, much like they will treat the Son
of Man, who will, according to Scripture, suffer terribly and be kicked around
contemptibly." 13 14 When they came back down the mountain
to the other disciples, they saw a huge crowd around them, and the religion
scholars cross-examining them. 15 As soon as the people in the crowd
saw Jesus, admiring excitement stirred them. They ran and greeted
him. 16 He asked, "What's going on? What's all the
commotion?" 17 A man out of the crowd answered, "Teacher, I
brought my mute son, made speechless by a demon, to you. 18 Whenever
it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, grinds his
teeth, and goes stiff as a board. I told your disciples, hoping they could
deliver him, but they couldn't." 19 Jesus said, "What a
generation! No sense of God! How many times do I have to go over these things?
How much longer do I have to put up with this? Bring the boy
here." 20 They brought him. When the demon saw Jesus, it threw
the boy into a seizure, causing him to writhe on the ground and foam at the
mouth. 21 He asked the boy's father, "How long has this been
going on?" 22 Many times it pitches him into fire or the river
to do away with him. If you can do anything, do it. Have a heart and help
us!" 23 Jesus said, "If? There are no 'ifs' among
believers. Anything can happen." 24 No sooner were the words out
of his mouth than the father cried, "Then I believe. Help me with my
doubts!" 25 Seeing that the crowd was forming fast, Jesus gave
the vile spirit its marching orders: "Dumb and deaf spirit, I command you
- Out of him, and stay out!" 26Screaming, and with much thrashing
about, it left. The boy was pale as a corpse, so people started saying,
"He's dead." 27 But Jesus, taking his hand, raised him. The
boy stood up. 28 After arriving back home, his disciples cornered
Jesus and asked, "Why couldn't we throw the demon
out?" 29 He answered, "There is no way to get rid of this
kind of demon except by prayer." 30 Leaving there, they went
through Galilee. He didn't want anyone to know their
whereabouts, 31 for he wanted to teach his disciples. He told them,
"The Son of Man is about to be betrayed to some people who want nothing to
do with God. They will murder him. Three days after his murder, he will rise,
alive." 32 They didn't know what he was talking about, but were
afraid to ask him about it. 33 They came to Capernaum. When he was
safe at home, he asked them, "What were you discussing on the
road?" 34 The silence was deafening - they had been arguing with
one another over who among them was greatest. 35 He sat down and
summoned the Twelve. "So you want first place? Then take the last place.
Be the servant of all." 36 He put a child in the middle of the
room. Then, cradling the little one in his arms, he said, 37"Whoever
embraces one of these children as I do embraces me, and far more than me - God
who sent me." 38 John spoke up, "Teacher, we saw a man
using your name to expel demons and we stopped him because he wasn't in our
group." 39 Jesus wasn't pleased. "Don't stop him. No one
can use my name to do something good and powerful, and in the next breath cut
me down. 40 If he's not an enemy, he's an ally. 41 Why,
anyone by just giving you a cup of water in my name is on our side. Count on it
that God will notice. 42 "On the other hand, if you give one of
these simple, childlike believers a hard time, bullying or taking advantage of
their simple trust, you'll soon wish you hadn't. You'd be better off dropped in
the middle of the lake with a millstone around your neck. 43 "If
your hand or your foot gets in God's way, chop it off and throw it away. You're
better off maimed or lame and alive than the proud owner of two hands and two
feet, godless in a furnace of eternal fire. 44 45 47 And if
your eye distracts you from God, pull it out and throw it away. 48 You're
better off one-eyed and alive than exercising your twenty-twenty vision from
inside the fire of hell. 49 "Everyone's going through a refining
fire sooner or later, 50 but you'll be well-preserved, protected from
the eternal flames. Be preservatives yourselves. Preserve the peace."
28 About eight
days after saying this, he climbed the mountain to pray, taking Peter, John,
and James along. 29 While he was in prayer, the appearance of his
face changed and his clothes became blinding white. 30 At once two
men were there talking with him. They turned out to be Moses and Elijah
- 31and what a glorious appearance they made! They talked over his exodus,
the one Jesus was about to complete in Jerusalem. 32 Meanwhile, Peter
and those with him were slumped over in sleep. When they came to, rubbing their
eyes, they saw Jesus in his glory and the two men standing with
him. 33When Moses and Elijah had left, Peter said to Jesus, "Master,
this is a great moment! Let's build three memorials: one for you, one for
Moses, and one for Elijah." He blurted this out without thinking. 34While
he was babbling on like this, a light-radiant cloud enveloped them. As they
found themselves buried in the cloud, they became deeply aware of
God. 35 Then there was a voice out of the cloud: "This is my
Son, the Chosen! Listen to him." 36 When the sound of the voice
died away, they saw Jesus there alone. They were speechless. And they continued
speechless, said not one thing to anyone during those days of what they had
seen. 37 When they came down off the mountain the next day, a big
crowd was there to meet them. 38 A man called from out of the crowd,
"Please, please, Teacher, take a look at my son. He's my only
child. 39 Often a spirit seizes him. Suddenly he's screaming, thrown
into convulsions, his mouth foaming. And then it beats him black and blue
before it leaves. 40 I asked your disciples to deliver him but they
couldn't." 41 Jesus said, "What a generation! No sense of
God! No focus to your lives! How many times do I have to go over these things?
How much longer do I have to put up with this? Bring your son
here." 42 While he was coming, the demon slammed him to the
ground and threw him into convulsions. Jesus stepped in, ordered the vile
spirit gone, healed the boy, and handed him back to his
father. 43 They all shook their heads in wonder, astonished at God's
greatness, God's majestic greatness. 44 "Treasure and ponder
each of these next words: The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into human
hands." 45 They didn't get what he was saying. It was like he
was speaking a foreign language and they couldn't make heads or tails of it.
But they were embarrassed to ask him what he meant. 46 They started
arguing over which of them would be most famous. 47 When Jesus
realized how much this mattered to them, he brought a child to his
side. 48"Whoever accepts this child as if the child were me, accepts
me," he said. "And whoever accepts me, accepts the One who sent me.
You become great by accepting, not asserting. Your spirit, not your size, makes
the difference." 49 John spoke up, "Master, we saw a man
using your name to expel demons and we stopped him because he wasn't of our
group." 50 Jesus said, "Don't stop him. If he's not an
enemy, he's an ally." 51 When it came close to the time for his
Ascension, he gathered up his courage and steeled himself for the journey to
Jerusalem. 52 He sent messengers on ahead. They came to a Samaritan
village to make arrangements for his hospitality. 53 But when the
Samaritans learned that his destination was Jerusalem, they refused
hospitality. 54 When the disciples James and John learned of it, they
said, "Master, do you want us to call a bolt of lightning down out of the
sky and incinerate them?" 55 Jesus turned on them: "Of
course not!" 56 And they traveled on to another village. 57 On
the road someone asked if he could go along. "I'll go with you,
wherever," he said. 58Jesus was curt: "Are you ready to rough
it? We're not staying in the best inns, you know." 59 Jesus said
to another, "Follow me." He said, "Certainly, but first excuse
me for a couple of days, please. I have to make arrangements for my father's
funeral." 60 Jesus refused. "First things first. Your
business is life, not death. And life is urgent: Announce God's
kingdom!" 61 Then another said, "I'm ready to follow you,
Master, but first excuse me while I get things straightened out at
home." 62 Jesus said, "No procrastination. No backward
looks. You can't put God's kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day."
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