₅₁As the time drew near when Jesus would be taken up to heaven, he made up his mind and set out on his way to Jerusalem. ₅₂He sent messengers ahead of him, who went into a village in Samaria to get everything ready for him. ₅₃But the people there would not receive him, because it was clear that he was on his way to Jerusalem. ₅₄When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?”

₅₅Jesus turned and rebuked them. ₅₆Then Jesus and his disciples went on to another village.

₅₇As they went on their way, a man said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

₅₈Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lie down and rest.”

₅₉He said to another man, “Follow me.”

But that man said, “Sir, first let me go back and bury my father.”

₆₀Jesus answered, “Let the dead bury their own dead. You go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.”

₆₁Someone else said, “I will follow you, sir; but first let me go and say goodbye to my family.”

₆₂Jesus said to him, “Anyone who starts to plough and then keeps looking back is of no use to the Kingdom of God.”