Chronological Plan

¹Six days later Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone.

²As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light.

³Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus.

⁴Peter exclaimed, “Lord, it’s wonderful for us to be here! If you want, I’ll make three shelters as memorials — one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

⁵But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.”

⁶The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground.

⁷Then Jesus came over and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.”

⁸And when they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus.

⁹As they went back down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

¹⁰Then his disciples asked him, “Why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes? ”

¹¹Jesus replied, “Elijah is indeed coming first to get everything ready.

¹²But I tell you, Elijah has already come, but he wasn’t recognized, and they chose to abuse him. And in the same way they will also make the Son of Man suffer.”

¹³Then the disciples realized he was talking about John the Baptist.

¹⁴At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said,

¹⁵“Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water.

¹⁶So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”

¹⁷Jesus said, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.”

¹⁸Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well.

¹⁹Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?”

²⁰“You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible. ”

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²²After they gathered again in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies.

²³He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” And the disciples were filled with grief.

²⁴On their arrival in Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax came to Peter and asked him, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the Temple tax?”

²⁵“Yes, he does,” Peter replied. Then he went into the house. But before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Peter? Do kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered? ”

²⁶“They tax the people they have conquered,” Peter replied. “Well, then,” Jesus said, “the citizens are free!

²⁷However, we don’t want to offend them, so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.”

¹Jesus went on to say, “I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Kingdom of God arrive in great power!”

²Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed,

³and his clothes became dazzling white, far whiter than any earthly bleach could ever make them.

⁴Then Elijah and Moses appeared and began talking with Jesus.

⁵Peter exclaimed, “Rabbi, it’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s make three shelters as memorials — one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

⁶He said this because he didn’t really know what else to say, for they were all terrified.

⁷Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him.”

⁸Suddenly, when they looked around, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus with them.

⁹As they went back down the mountain, he told them not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

¹⁰So they kept it to themselves, but they often asked each other what he meant by “rising from the dead.”

¹¹Then they asked him, “Why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes? ”

¹²Jesus responded, “Elijah is indeed coming first to get everything ready. Yet why do the Scriptures say that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be treated with utter contempt?

¹³But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they chose to abuse him, just as the Scriptures predicted.”

¹⁴When they returned to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd surrounding them, and some teachers of religious law were arguing with them.

¹⁵When the crowd saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with awe, and they ran to greet him.

¹⁶“What is all this arguing about?” Jesus asked.

¹⁷One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk.

¹⁸And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it.”

¹⁹Jesus said to them, “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

²⁰So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth.

²¹“How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy’s father. He replied, “Since he was a little boy.

²²The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.”

²³“What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”

²⁴The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”

²⁵When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, he rebuked the evil spirit. “Listen, you spirit that makes this boy unable to hear and speak,” he said. “I command you to come out of this child and never enter him again!”

²⁶Then the spirit screamed and threw the boy into another violent convulsion and left him. The boy appeared to be dead. A murmur ran through the crowd as people said, “He’s dead.”

²⁷But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up.

²⁸Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, “Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit?”

²⁹Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer. ”

³⁰Leaving that region, they traveled through Galilee. Jesus didn’t want anyone to know he was there,

³¹for he wanted to spend more time with his disciples and teach them. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies. He will be killed, but three days later he will rise from the dead.”

³²They didn’t understand what he was saying, however, and they were afraid to ask him what he meant.

³³After they arrived at Capernaum and settled in a house, Jesus asked his disciples, “What were you discussing out on the road?”

³⁴But they didn’t answer, because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest.

³⁵He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, “Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.”

³⁶Then he put a little child among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them,

³⁷“Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not only me but also my Father who sent me.”

³⁸John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn’t in our group.”

³⁹“Don’t stop him!” Jesus said. “No one who performs a miracle in my name will soon be able to speak evil of me.

⁴⁰Anyone who is not against us is for us.

⁴¹If anyone gives you even a cup of water because you belong to the Messiah, I tell you the truth, that person will surely be rewarded.

⁴²“But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone hung around your neck.

⁴³If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand than to go into the unquenchable fires of hell with two hands.

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⁴⁵If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one foot than to be thrown into hell with two feet.

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⁴⁷And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. It’s better to enter the Kingdom of God with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,

⁴⁸‘where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out.’

⁴⁹“For everyone will be tested with fire.

⁵⁰Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? You must have the qualities of salt among yourselves and live in peace with each other.”

²⁸About eight days later Jesus took Peter, John, and James up on a mountain to pray.

²⁹And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white.

³⁰Suddenly, two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus.

³¹They were glorious to see. And they were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem.

³²Peter and the others had fallen asleep. When they woke up, they saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with him.

³³As Moses and Elijah were starting to leave, Peter, not even knowing what he was saying, blurted out, “Master, it’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s make three shelters as memorials — one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

³⁴But even as he was saying this, a cloud overshadowed them, and terror gripped them as the cloud covered them.

³⁵Then a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him.”

³⁶When the voice finished, Jesus was there alone. They didn’t tell anyone at that time what they had seen.

³⁷The next day, after they had come down the mountain, a large crowd met Jesus.

³⁸A man in the crowd called out to him, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, my only child.

³⁹An evil spirit keeps seizing him, making him scream. It throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It batters him and hardly ever leaves him alone.

⁴⁰I begged your disciples to cast out the spirit, but they couldn’t do it.”

⁴¹Jesus said, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you and put up with you?” Then he said to the man, “Bring your son here.”

⁴²As the boy came forward, the demon knocked him to the ground and threw him into a violent convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit and healed the boy. Then he gave him back to his father.

⁴³Awe gripped the people as they saw this majestic display of God’s power. Jesus Again Predicts His Death While everyone was marveling at everything he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples,

⁴⁴“Listen to me and remember what I say. The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies.”

⁴⁵But they didn’t know what he meant. Its significance was hidden from them, so they couldn’t understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.

⁴⁶Then his disciples began arguing about which of them was the greatest.

⁴⁷But Jesus knew their thoughts, so he brought a little child to his side.

⁴⁸Then he said to them, “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me also welcomes my Father who sent me. Whoever is the least among you is the greatest.”

⁴⁹John said to Jesus, “Master, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he isn’t in our group.”

⁵⁰But Jesus said, “Don’t stop him! Anyone who is not against you is for you.”

⁵¹As the time drew near for him to ascend to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.

⁵²He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival.

⁵³But the people of the village did not welcome Jesus because he was on his way to Jerusalem.

⁵⁴When James and John saw this, they said to Jesus, “Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up ?”

⁵⁵But Jesus turned and rebuked them.

⁵⁶So they went on to another village.

⁵⁷As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

⁵⁸But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.”

⁵⁹He said to another person, “Come, follow me.” The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.”

⁶⁰But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.”

⁶¹Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.”

⁶²But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”