²³ 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 Jesus Himself would often slip away ^[a]to the ^[b]wilderness and ^(A)pray.

^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 ^[a]people say that I am?”

The Transfiguration

^28 (A)Some eight days after these sayings, He took along ^(B)Peter and John and James, and ^(C)went up on the mountain ^(D)to pray. ²⁹ And 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 ^(G)departure which He was about to accomplish 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 as ^[c]these were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, “^(I)Master, it is good for us to be here; ^(J)let us make three ^[d]tabernacles: 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.

^37 (O)On the next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Him. ³⁸ And a man from the crowd shouted, saying, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my ^[g]only boy, ³⁹ and 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 I begged Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not.” ⁴¹ And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” ⁴² 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 amazed at the ^[i](P)greatness of God.

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

The Test of Greatness

^46 (T)An argument ^[l]started among them as to which of them might be the greatest. ⁴⁷ But Jesus, ^(U)knowing ^[m]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)John answered and said, “^(Y)Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we tried to prevent 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 ^[n]for you.”

⁵¹ When the days were approaching for ^(AA)His ^[o]ascension, He ^[p]was determined ^(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 ^[q]make arrangements for Him. ⁵³ But they did not receive Him, ^(AD)because ^[r]He was traveling toward Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ 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, [^[s]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.

Exacting Discipleship

^57 (AG)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 ^[t]air have ^[u]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 good-bye 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.”