THE GOSPELS CONSOLIDATED
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[1] The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
[2] In the beginning was the Word (Jesus[3]), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He
was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him
nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the
light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not
understood it.
[4] In the time of Herod king of
Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before
God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go
into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning
of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside. Then an
angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of
incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.
But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been
heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the
name John.
“He will be a joy and delight to you,
and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight
of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be
filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of
Zechariah asked the
angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in
years.”
The angel answered,
“I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to
you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to
speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which
will come true at their proper time.”
Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so
long in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized
he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but
remained unable to speak. When his time of service was completed, he returned
home.
After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in
seclusion. “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has
shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”
In the sixth month,
God sent the angel Gabriel to
The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The
Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly
troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the
angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You
will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name
Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord
God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the
house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,”
Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will
overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even
Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who
was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with
God.”
“I am the Lord’s
servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.”
Then the angel left her.
At that time Mary got ready and hurried
to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and
greeted
And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful of the humble state of
his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
For the Mighty One has done great things for me
— holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their
inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant
remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants
forever,
even as he said to our fathers.”
Mary stayed with
When it was time for
They said to her,
“There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”
Then they made signs
to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. He asked for a
writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” Immediately
his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising
God. The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of
His father Zechariah
was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come and has redeemed his
people.
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house
of his servant David
(as he said through his holy prophets of long
ago),
salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who
hate us—
to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness
and righteousness before him all our days.
And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most
High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare
the way for him,
to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from
heaven
to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of
death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
And the child grew
and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly
to
[5] This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came
about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they
came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because
Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public
disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered
this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of
David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is
conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you
are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their
sins.”
All this took place to
fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with
child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” —which
means, “God with us.”
When Joseph woke up, he
did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his
wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth (to a son).
[6] In those days Caesar Augustus issued a
decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the
first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of
[8] And there were shepherds living out in
the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the
Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they
were terrified.
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great
joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of
Suddenly a great
company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor
rests.”
When the angels had
left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to
So they hurried off
and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they
had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about
this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to
them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had
heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
On the eighth day,
when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given
him before he had been conceived. When the time of their purification according
to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem
to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every
firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice in
keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young
pigeons.”
Now there was a man
in
The child’s father
and mother marveled at what was said about him.
Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined
to cause the falling and rising of many in
There was also a
prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very
old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then
was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped
night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she
gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to
the redemption of
When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they
returned to Galilee to their own town of
[9] After Jesus was born in
When King Herod heard
this he was disturbed, and all
“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has
written: ”‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least
among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the
shepherd of my people Israel.’”
Then Herod called the
Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He
sent them to
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had
seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the
child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house,
they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.
Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of
incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod,
they returned to their country by another route.
When they had gone, an
angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the
child and his mother and escape to
So he got up, took the
child and his mother during the night and left for
When Herod realized that
he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill
all the boys in
Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: “A voice is
heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and
refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
After Herod died, an
angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in
So he got up, took the
child and his mother and went to the
[10] Every year his parents went to
“Why were you
searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s
house?”
But they did not understand what he was saying to them. Then he went down to
[11] Now Jesus was the son, so it was
thought, of Joseph,
the son (in-law) of Heli, the son of Matthat, the son of
Levi,
the son of Melki, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,
the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum,
the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, the son of Maath,
the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of
Josech,
the son of Joda, the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa,
the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of
Neri,
the son of Melki, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam,
the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, the son of Joshua,
the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat,
the son of Levi, the son of Simeon, the son of
the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim,
the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha,
the son of Nathan, the son of David, the son of Jesse,
the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon,
the son of Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram,
the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of
the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham,
the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, the son of Serug,
the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber,
the son of Shelah, the son of Cainan, the son of
Arphaxad,
the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,
the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of
Jared,
the son of Mahalalel, the son of Kenan, the son of Enosh,
the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
[12] A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ
the son of David, the son of Abraham:
Abraham was the father of
Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of
Judah the father of
Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,
Perez the father of
Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram the father of
Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of
Salmon,
Salmon the father of
Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed,
whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of
Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David.
David was the father of
Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,
Solomon the father of
Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of
Asa, Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father
of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah,
Uzziah the father of
Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of
Hezekiah, Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of
Amon, Amon the father of Josiah,
and Josiah the father of
Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to
After the exile to
Jeconiah was the father
of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel the father of
Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of
Azor, Azor the father of Zadok,
Zadok the father of
Akim, Akim the father of Eliud,
Eliud the father of Eleazar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of
Jacob,
and Jacob the father of
Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
Thus there were fourteen
generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to
[13] Now Jesus himself was about thirty
years old when he began his ministry.
[14] There came a man who was sent from God;
his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so
that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came
only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man
was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made
through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his
own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who
believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children
born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but
born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen
his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of
grace and truth.
[15] From the fullness of his grace we have
all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses;
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God
the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.
[16] In the fifteenth year of the reign of
Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of
Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias
tetrarch of
[17] John the Baptist went into all the country around the
[18] This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way —
a voice of one calling in the desert,
Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.
[19] Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth.
And all mankind will see God’s salvation.”
[20] John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around
his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. [21] People
went out to him from
[23] “What should we do then?” the crowd
asked.
John answered, “The
man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has
food should do the same.”
Tax collectors also
came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”
“Don’t collect any
more than you are required to,” he told them.
Then some soldiers
asked him, “And what should we do?”
He replied, “Don’t
extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”
[24] At that time, when all the people were being baptized, Jesus came
from
[26] As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment, as he was praying heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending in bodily form like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
[27] At once Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the
He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. [28]The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
[29] Then the devil took him to the holy city,
Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
[30] Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you bow down and worship me, it will all be yours.”
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
[31] When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
[32] The people were waiting expectantly and
were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ.
[33] Now this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem
sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was.
He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Christ. ”
They asked him, “Then
who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
Finally they said,
“Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you
say about yourself?”
John replied in the
words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert,
‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’ ”
Now some Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, “Why then do you baptize
if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
[34] “I baptize with water for repentance,”
John replied, “but among you stands one you do not
know. He is the one who comes after me, more powerful than I, the thongs
of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down
and untie and whose sandals I am not fit to carry.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. [35] His
winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the
wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. [36] This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has
surpassed me because he was before me.’”
[37] And with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the
good news to them. [38] This all happened at
The next day John saw
Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the
sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after
me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but
the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to
Then John gave this
testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.
I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with
water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he
who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is
the Son of God.”
The next day John was
there again with two of his disciples.
When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
When the two
disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.
Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”
They said, “Rabbi”
(which means Teacher), “where are you staying?”
“Come,” he replied,
“and you will see.”
So they went and saw
where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.
Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said
and who had followed Jesus.
The first thing
Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the
Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called
Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).
The next day Jesus
decided to leave for
Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”
Philip, like Andrew
and Peter, was from the town of
Philip found Nathanael (Bartholomew) and told him, “We have found the one Moses
wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of
Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
“
“Come and see,” said
Philip.
When Jesus saw
Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there
is nothing false.”
“How do you know me?”
Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I
saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
Then Nathanael
declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”
Jesus said, “You
believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater
things than that.” He then added, “I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven
open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
[39] On the third day a wedding took place
at Cana in
When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
“Dear woman, why do
you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.”
His mother said to
the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Nearby stood six
stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each
holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the
jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. "
"Then he told
them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”
They did so, and the
master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did
not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water
knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the
choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much
to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”
This, the first of
his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in
[40] After this he went down to
When it was almost
time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to
To those who sold
doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into
a market!”
His disciples
remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
Then the Jews
demanded of him, “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority
to do all this?”
Jesus answered them,
“Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."
"The Jews replied,
“It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise
it in three days?”
But the temple he had
spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples
recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that
Jesus had spoken.
Now while he was in
[41] Now there was a man of the Pharisees
named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at
night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no
one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
In reply Jesus
declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the
“How can a man be
born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time
into his mother’s womb to be born!”
Jesus answered, “I
tell you the truth, no one can enter the
“How can this be?”
Nicodemus asked.
“You are
“For God so loved the
world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn
the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not
condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has
not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light
has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their
deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into
the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the
truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has
done has been done through God.”
After this, Jesus and
his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time
with them, and baptized. Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim,
because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be
baptized. (This was before John was put in prison.) An argument developed
between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of
ceremonial washing. They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was
with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—well, he
is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
To this John replied,
“A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can
testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride
belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and
listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That
joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become
less.
“The one who comes
from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth,
and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all.
He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony.
The man who has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. For the one
whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.
The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever
believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see
life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”
[42] When John rebuked Herod the tetrarch
because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had
done, Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.
[43] The Pharisees heard that Jesus was
gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, although in fact it was not
Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. [44] When the Lord learned of this and when he heard
that John had been put in prison, he left Judea and started back once more to
[46] Now he had to go through
Jesus answered her, “If
you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would
have asked him and he would have given you living water.”"
“Sir,” the woman
said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get
this living water?
Are you greater than
our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also
his sons and his flocks and herds?”
Jesus answered,
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the
water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in
him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
The woman said to
him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep
coming here to draw water.”
He told her, “Go,
call your husband and come back.”
“I have no husband,”
she replied.
Jesus said to her,
“You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five
husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said
is quite true.”
“Sir,” the woman
said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this
mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in
Jesus declared,
“Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither
on this mountain nor in
The woman said, “I
know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain
everything to us.”
Then Jesus declared,
“I who speak to you am he.”
Just then his
disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no
one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”
Then, leaving her
water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a
man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” They came out
of the town and made their way toward him.
Meanwhile his
disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”
But he said to them,
“I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
Then his disciples
said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”"
"“My food,” said
Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not
say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and
look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his
wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and
the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’
is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the
hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
Many of the
Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He
told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged
him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many
more became believers. They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just
because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that
this man really is the Savior of the world.”
After the two days he
left for
“Unless you people
see miraculous signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”
The royal official
said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”
Jesus replied, “You
may go. Your son will live.”
The man took Jesus at
his word and departed. While he was
still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was
living. When he inquired as to the time
when his son got better, they said to him, “The fever left him yesterday at the
seventh hour.”
Then the father
realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son
will live.” So he and all his household believed. This was the second miraculous sign that
Jesus performed, having come from Judea to
[47] Accompanied by his disciples he went to his hometown,
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me to preach good news to the
poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Then he rolled up the
scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the
synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, “Today this
scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
[49] All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that
came from his lips. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “Isn’t
this Joseph’s son? What’s this wisdom that has been given him, that he even
does miracles!
[50] Some said, “Isn’t this the carpenter?
Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t
his sisters here with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And
they took offense at him. And he was amazed at their lack of faith. Because of
this, he could not do any miracles there, except
lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.
[51] Jesus said to them, “Surely you will
quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown
what we have heard that you did in
All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
[54] Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in
Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— to
fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: “Land of Zebulun and land of
Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the
people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land
of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”
[55] From that time on Jesus began to proclaim the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The
[56] One day as Jesus was standing by the Sea of Galilee (
[57] Later he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the
fishermen, who were now washing their nets. He got into one of the
boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from
shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had
finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the
nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and
haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets
began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and
help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me,
Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all
his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
[58] Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.”
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said to them,
“and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they
pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
Going on a little farther from there, he saw James and his brother John. They
were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Without delay
Jesus called them, and immediately they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
[59] Jesus went throughout
[60] Then he went down to
“Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!”
Then the demon shook the man violently, threw the man down before them all and with a shriek came out without injuring him. The people were
all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and
with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.”
And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area of
[61] As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her and asked him to help her. So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she got up at once and began to wait on them.
That evening after sunset the people
brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed.
The whole town gathered at the door, and laying his hands on them, Jesus
healed many who had various diseases. Moreover, demons came out of many people,
shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow
them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ. [62] This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet
Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.”
When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he
gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. [63] At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The
people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to
keep him from leaving them. But he said, “I must preach the good news of the
[64] Very early in the morning, while it was
still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place,
where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they
found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”
Jesus replied, “Let
us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is
why I have come.” So he traveled throughout
[65] Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on
a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach
them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you
and falsely say all kinds of evil against you
because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven,
for in the same way they persecuted the prophets
who were before you.
“You are the salt of the
earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It
is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
“You are the light of
the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp
and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light
to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men,
that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
“Do not think that I
have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them
but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear,
not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means
disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one
of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be
called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these
commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that
unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of
the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
“You have heard that it
was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be
subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother
will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is
answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger
of the fire of hell.
“Therefore, if you are
offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has
something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go
and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.
“Settle matters quickly
with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with
him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand
you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the
truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
“You have heard that it
was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a
woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your
right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for
you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into
hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to
go into hell.
“It has been said,
‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his
wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress,
and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.
“Again, you have heard
that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths
you have made to the Lord.’ But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by
heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by
“You have heard that it
was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, Do not resist an evil
person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as
well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the
one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from
you.
“You have heard that it
was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your
enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your
Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends
rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what
reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you
greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even
pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
[66] “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of
righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no
reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not
announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the
streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their
reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know
what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your
Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
“And when you pray, do
not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues
and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have
received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the
door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is
done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling
like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do
not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. This,
then, is how you should pray:
‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’
“For if you forgive men
when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if
you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
“When you fast, do not
look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men
they are fasting. I tell you the truth; they have received their reward in
full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will
not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is
unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
“Do not store up for yourselves
treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and
steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do
not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also.
“The eye is the lamp of
the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body
will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great
is that darkness!
“No one can serve two
masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted
to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
“Therefore I tell you,
do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body,
what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more
important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap
or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not
much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to
his life?
“And why do you worry
about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.
Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one
of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here
today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O
you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What
shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these
things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his
kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own.
[67] “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in
the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you
use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in
your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can
you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the
time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out
of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your
brother’s eye.
“Do not give dogs what
is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them
under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.
“Ask and it will be
given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the
door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a
stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though
you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will
your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything,
do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and
the Prophets.
“Enter through the
narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to
destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the
road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
“Watch out for false
prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious
wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from
thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit,
but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad
tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut
down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
“Not everyone who says
to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the
will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord,
Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and
perform many miracles?’
Then I will tell them
plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
“Therefore everyone who
hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who
built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the
winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its
foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not
put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The
rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that
house, and it fell with a great crash.”
When Jesus had finished
saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught
as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law. [68]
When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him.
[69] While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was
covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus,
he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing,
you can make me clean.”
Filled with compassion, Jesus reached
out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And
immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. Then Jesus ordered him,
“Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the
sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”
[70] Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but often stayed outside in lonely places and prayed. Yet crowds of people still came to him from everywhere to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses.
[71] A few days later, Jesus stepped into a
boat, crossed over and came to his own town. When Jesus again entered
Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking, and he said to them, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’?
But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins....”
He said to the paralytic, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”
Immediately he got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all, and went home praising God. This amazed everyone and they praised God, who had given such authority to men. They were filled with awe and said; “We have seen remarkable things today. We have never seen anything like this!”
[72] Once again Jesus went out beside the
lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. [73] As
Jesus walked along from there, he saw a man named Levi (Matthew), son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax
collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up, left
everything and followed him. Then Matthew held a great banquet for Jesus at his
house. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors
and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.
When the teachers of the law who were
Pharisees saw this, they complained to his disciples, “Why does your teacher
eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”
On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not
the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire
mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call
the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
[74] Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Then John’s
disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but
your disciples go on eating and drinking?”
Jesus answered, “Can you make the guests
of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them;
in those days they will fast.”
He told them this parable: “No one tears
a patch from a new unshrunk garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, the
new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. He
will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the
old. Neither do men pour new wine into old
wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the
wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both
are preserved.
[75] And no one after drinking old wine
wants the new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’ ”
[76] At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath.
His disciples were hungry and as they
walked along began to pick some heads of grain, rub
them in their hands and eat the kernels. When the Pharisees saw this,
they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the
Sabbath.”
He answered, “Haven’t you read what David
did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God, and he ate the consecrated bread—which
was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. And he also gave some
to his companions. Or haven’t
you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the
day and yet are innocent? I tell you that one greater than the temple is here.
If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you
would not have condemned the innocent. Then he said
to them, “The Sabbath was
made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of
Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
[77] Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue and was
teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled.
They asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on
the Sabbath?”
He said to them, “If any of you has a
sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and
lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is
lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
The Pharisees and the teachers of the
law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to
see if he would heal on the Sabbath.
But Jesus knew what they were thinking
and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of
everyone.”
So he got up and stood there. Then Jesus
asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save
life or to destroy it?”
But they remained silent. He looked
around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said
to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”
He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored, just as sound as the other. Then the Pharisees were furious and went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.
[78] Aware of this, Jesus withdrew with his disciples from that place to
the lake, and a large crowd from
[79] This was to fulfill what was spoken
through the prophet Isaiah:
“Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
He will not quarrel or cry out;
no one will hear his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he leads justice to victory.
In his name the nations will put their hope.”
[80] Some time later, Jesus went up to
One who was there had
been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and
learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do
you want to get well?”
“Sir,” the invalid
replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred.
While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”
Then Jesus said to
him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”
At once the man was
cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a
Sabbath, and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the
Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”
But he replied, “The
man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”
So they asked him,
“Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”
The man who was
healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that
was there. Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are
well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” The man went
away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
So, because Jesus was
doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. Jesus said to them,
“My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” For
this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking
the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal
with God. Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do
nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because
whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and
shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater
things than these. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life,
even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. Moreover, the Father
judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor
the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not
honor the Father, who sent him.
“I tell you the
truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and
will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the
truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of
the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in
himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And he has given
him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.
“Do not be amazed at
this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice
and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have
done evil will rise to be condemned. By myself I can do nothing; I judge only
as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who
sent me.
“If I testify about
myself, my testimony is not valid. There is another who testifies in my favor,
and I know that his testimony about me is valid. You have sent to John and he
has testified to the truth. Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it
that you may be saved. John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you
chose for a time to enjoy his light.
“I have testimony
weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to
finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me. And the
Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard
his voice nor seen his form, nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not
believe the one he sent. You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that
by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about
me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
“I do not accept
praise from men, but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in
your hearts. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if
someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe if
you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise
that comes from the only God?
“But do not think I will
accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are
set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But
since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I
say?”
[82] One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons.
These are the twelve he appointed:
first, Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter) and his brother Andrew;
James son of Zebedee and his brother John
(to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder);
Philip, Bartholomew,
Matthew, Thomas,
James son of Alphaeus, Judas son of James (Thaddaeus),
Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
[83] He went down with them and stood on a
level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of
people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and
Sidon, who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those
troubled by evil spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him,
because power was coming from him and healing them all.
Looking at his
disciples, he said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the
Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of
Rejoice in that day and leap for joy,
because great is your reward in heaven.
For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.
But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for that is how their fathers treated the
false prophets.
“But I tell you who
hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who
curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one
cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him
from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what
belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do
to you.
“If you love those
who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love
them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you?
Even ‘sinners’ do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect
repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’
expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and
lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be
great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the
ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
“Do not judge, and
you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive,
and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure,
pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.
For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
He also told them
this parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a
pit? A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will
be like his teacher.
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
[84] “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.
Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from
thornbushes, or grapes from briers. You brood of vipers, how can you who are
evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.
The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the
evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. But I tell
you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every
careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by
your words you will be condemned.”
[85] “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and
do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears
my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who
dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent
struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the
one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who
built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck
that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”
[86] When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the
people, he entered
He was not far from the house when the
centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do
not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider
myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.
For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one,
‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do
this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and
turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such
great faith even in
[87] Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town
called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he
approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of
his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her.
When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”
Then he went up and touched the coffin,
and those carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!”
The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared
among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” This news about Jesus
spread throughout
[88] After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went
on from there to teach and preach in the towns of
Calling two of them, he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”
At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind.
So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”
As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in kings’ palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. [89] From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. He who has ears, let him hear. [90] (All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John. But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John).
[91] “To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other: ”‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.’ For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.” ’ But wisdom is proved right by all her children and by her actions.”
[92] Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus
to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the
table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus
was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume,
and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with
her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on
them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If
this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of
woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
Jesus answered him,
“Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,”
he said.
“Two men owed money
to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other
fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts
of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
Simon replied, “I
suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.”
“You have judged
correctly,” Jesus said.
Then he turned toward
the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house.
You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears
and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from
the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my
head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many
sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little
loves little.”
Then Jesus said to
her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
The other guests
began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
[93] Then Jesus entered a house, and again a
crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When
his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said,
“He is out of his mind.”
[94] Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he
could both talk and see. All the people were
astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”
But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who had come down from
Jesus knew their thoughts and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. How then can his kingdom stand?
I say this because you claim that I
drive out demons by Beelzebub. And if I drive out demons
by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be
your judges. But if I drive out demons by the finger
and Spirit of God, then the
“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe.
In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils.
“He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come; he is guilty of an eternal sin.”
He said this because
they were saying, “He has an evil spirit."
[95] “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”
[96] As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
[97] Some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law tested him by asking, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.”
As the crowds increased he answered, “A
wicked and adulterous generation asks for a
miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. As
Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this
generation. For as Jonah was three days and
three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days
and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of
[98] “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you.”
When Jesus had
finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and
reclined at the table. But the Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not first wash
before the meal, was surprised. Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside
of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You
foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But
give what is inside the dish to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.
[99] The
Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus and [100] saw some of his
disciples eating food with hands that were “unclean,” that is, unwashed. (The
Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial
washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. When they come from the
marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other
traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)
[101] So
the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples
live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with
‘unclean’ hands?”
[102] He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you
hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their
hearts are far from me. They worship me
in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’ You have let go of the commands of God and
are holding on to the traditions of men.”
[103] And
he said to them: “You have a fine way of setting aside and break the commands
of God in order to observe your own traditions! For Moses said, ‘Honor your
father and your mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be
put to death.’ But you say that if a man says to his father or mother:
‘Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban’ (that is, a gift devoted to God), he is
not to ‘honor his father’ with it and you no longer let him do anything for his
father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you
have handed down. And you do many things like that.”
[104] “Woe to you
Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds
of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced
the latter without leaving the former undone.
“Woe to you
Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and
greetings in the marketplaces. Woe to you, because you are like unmarked
graves, which men walk over without knowing it.”
One of the experts in
the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.”
Jesus replied, “And
you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they
can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.
“Woe to you, because you build tombs for the
prophets, and it was your forefathers who killed them. So you testify that you
approve of what your forefathers did; they killed the prophets, and you build
their tombs. Because of this, God in his wisdom said, ‘I will send them
prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will
persecute.’ Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of
all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, from the
blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and
the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it
all.
“Woe to you experts
in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves
have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”
When Jesus left
there, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely
and to besiege him with questions, waiting to catch him in something he might
say.
[105] Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him ‘unclean.’ ”
After he had left the
crowd and entered the house, his disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know
that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”
He replied, “Every plant
that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave
them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall
into a pit.”
Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”
“Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’? For whatever enters a man’s mouth doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods “clean.”) But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’ “
[106] Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.
[107] Someone in the crowd said to him,
“Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
Jesus replied, “Man,
who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them,
“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not
consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
And he told them this
parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to
himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
“Then he said, ‘This
is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I
will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty
of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be
merry.”’
“But God said to him,
‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will
get what you have prepared for yourself?’
“This is how it will
be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”
Then Jesus said to his
disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will
eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the
body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have
no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are
than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you
cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
“Consider how the
lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all
his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the
grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire,
how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not set your
heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such
things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will
be given to you as well.
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
[108] It is more blessed to give than to receive.
[109] He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud
rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. And
when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is.
Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky.
How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?
“Why don’t you judge
for yourselves what is right? As you are going with your adversary to the
magistrate, try hard to be reconciled to him on the way, or he may drag you off
to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw
you into prison. I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last
penny.”
[110] Now there were some present at that
time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their
sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse
sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell
you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who
died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty
than all the others living in
Then he told this
parable: “A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look
for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of
the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this
fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’
”‘Sir,’ the man
replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and
fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”
[111] After this, Jesus traveled about from
one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the
[112] While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers
arrived and stood outside. They wanted to speak to him, but they were not able
to get near him because of the crowd. Standing outside, they sent someone in to
call him.
A crowd was sitting around him, and they
told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”
He replied, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”
Pointing to his
disciples seated in a circle around him,
he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my
Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother. My mother and brothers
are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.”
[113] That same day Jesus went out of the house, sat by the lake and began to teach. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge.
He taught them many things by parables,
and in his teaching said: “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was
scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the
birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the
soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched,
and they withered because they had no root and no moisture. Other seed fell
among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other
seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop— multiplying thirty,
sixty, or even a hundred times what was sown.
When he said this, he called out, “He
who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
When he was alone, the Twelve and the
others around him asked him, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” He
told them, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been
given to you, but not to them. To those on the outside everything is said in
parables. Whoever has will be given more, and he
will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken
from him. This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do
not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: ‘You will be
ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never
perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with
their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with
their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn,
and I would heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes
because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth,
many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”
Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then
will you understand any parable? Listen then to what
the parable of the sower means. The seed is the
word of God. The farmer sows the word. Some
people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they
hear the message about the kingdom and do not
understand it, Satan (the devil or Evil
One) comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart, so that they may not believe and be saved. Others,
like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy.
But since they have no root, they last only a short time. They believe for a
while, but when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly
fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the
worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other
things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. As they go on their
way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not
mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with
a noble and good heart, who hear the word, understand, accept and
retain it. By persevering they produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a
hundred times what was sown.”
[114] Jesus told them another parable: “The
kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while
everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went
away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in
your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’” ‘An enemy did this,’ he
replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ ”‘No,’ he
answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat
with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell
the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned;
then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”
[115] He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand, so that those who come in can see the light? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be known or brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
“Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him.”
[116] He also said, “This is what the
[117] Again he said, “What shall we say the
[118] He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
[119] With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything. [120] So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”
[121] Then he left the crowd and went into the house.
His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in
the field.”
He answered, “The one
who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good
seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil
one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the
age, and the harvesters are angels.
“As the weeds are pulled
up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man
will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that
causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will
shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him
hear.
“The kingdom of heaven
is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and
then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
“Again, the kingdom of
heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great
value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
“Once again, the kingdom
of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of
fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat
down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is
how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the
wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there
will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
“Have you understood all
these things?” Jesus asked.
“Yes,” they replied.
He said to them,
“Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom
of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new
treasures as well as old.” When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on
from there.
[122] That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go
over to the other side of the lake.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him
along, just as he was, in the boat and set out.
There were also other boats with him. Without warning, a furious
storm came up on the lake. The waves broke over the boat so that it was nearly
swamped and they were in great danger. But
Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples went and woke him
saying. “Lord, save us! Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” Then he got up,
rebuked the wind and the raging waters and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be
still!” Then the wind died down; the storm subsided and it was completely calm.
He said to his disciples, “You of little
faith, why are you so afraid?”
In fear and amazement they asked one
another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the waves, and they obey
him.”
[123] They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes (or Gadarenes), which is across the lake from
Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.”
Both men shouted. “Have you come here to
torture us before the appointed time?” And they begged him repeatedly not to order them to go
into the Abyss or to send them out of
the area. A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside.
The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us among the pigs; allow us
to go into them.”
He said to them, “Go!” So the evil
spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number,
rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. Those tending the
pigs ran off, went into the town and countryside and reported all this,
including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the whole town
went out to meet Jesus and see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who
had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there at Jesus’ feet,
dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told
the people how the demon-possessed men had been cured —and told about the pigs
as well. Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to
leave their region, because they were overcome with fear.
As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, “Return home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”
So the man went away and began to tell all
over town and in the
[124] When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the
lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake and welcomed
him, for they were all expecting him. Then one of the synagogue rulers,
named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet and pleaded
earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your
hands on her so that she will be healed and live.”
So Jesus went with him, and so did his disciples. As Jesus was on his way, a large crowd followed and pressed around him almost crushing him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. At once Jesus turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you”.
“You see the people
crowding against you,” his disciples said, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched
me?’ ”
But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”
Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, and seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling with fear and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told him the whole truth why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed.
He said to her, “Take heart, daughter.
Your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher any more?”
Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.”
He did not let anyone follow him except
Peter, James, John the brother of James, and the
child’s father and mother. When he arrived at the house of Jairus,
Jesus saw a commotion, with flute players and a noisy crowd of people crying,
wailing loudly and mourning for her. He went in and said to them, “Why all this
commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.”
But they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and
the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which
means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately her spirit returned
and the girl stood up and walked around (she was
twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. He gave
strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and he told them to give her
something to eat. News of this spread through all that region.
[125] As Jesus went on from there, two blind men
followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” When he had gone
indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I
am able to do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they replied. Then he touched their eyes and
said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”; and their sight was
restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” But
they went out and spread the news about him all over that region. While they
were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to
Jesus. And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The
crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in
Jesus went through all
the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news
of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds,
he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep
without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful
but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out
workers into his harvest field.”
[126] Then Jesus went around teaching from
village to village. Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil
spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. He
sent them out to preach the
[127] These are the names of the twelve
apostles:
first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew;
James son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
Philip and Bartholomew (Nathanael);
Thomas and Matthew (Levi) the tax collector;
James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus (Judas);
Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
These twelve Jesus sent
out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any
town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of
[128] “Take nothing for the journey except
a staff—no bread and no bag. Do not take along any gold or silver or
copper in your belts. Wear sandals but
not an extra tunic; for the worker is worth his
keep. Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until
you leave. As you enter the home, give it your
greeting. If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not,
let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or
listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or
town as a testimony against them. [129] I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for
[130] “Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you and you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
[131] “Brother will betray brother to death, and
a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put
to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the
end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I
tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of
“A student is not above
his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be
like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has
been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!
“So do not be afraid of them. [132] There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.
“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny and five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God and will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before the angels of God and my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before the angels of God and my Father in heaven. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
[133] “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
Peter asked, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us,
or to everyone?”
The Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise
manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food
allowance at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whom the master
finds doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge
of all his possessions. But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is
taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the menservants and
maidservants and to eat and drink and get drunk. The master of that servant
will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware
of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.
“That servant who knows his master’s will and does not
get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows.
But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be
beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be
demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be
asked.
[134] “I have come to bring fire on the
earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!
But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is
completed! [135] Do not suppose that I have come to bring
peace to the earth. No, I tell you, I did not come to bring peace, but division
and a sword. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each
other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father
against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter
against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law
against mother-in-law— a man’s enemies will be the members of his own
household.’ [136]
Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is
not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not
worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not
worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life
for my sake will find it.
“He who receives you
receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. Anyone who
receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and
anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive
a righteous man’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one
of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will
certainly not lose his reward.”
[137] So they went out from village to village and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. [138] When the apostles returned, they gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.
[139] Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on, for Jesus’ name had become well known. And he was perplexed, because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead, others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life.
But when Herod heard this, he said to
his attendants, “I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?
This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous
powers are at work in him.” And
he tried to see him.
[140] For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had
him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother
Philip’s wife, whom he had married. For John had been saying to Herod, “It is
not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” So
Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not
able to, because although Herod wanted to kill John, he feared and protected
him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. He was also afraid of the people,
because they considered him a prophet. When
Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him.
Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military
commanders and the leading men of
She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” “The head of John the Baptist,” she answered. At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. Then they went and told Jesus.
[141] When Jesus heard what had happened to John the Baptist, and because so many people were coming and going that his disciples did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
So they withdrew by boat privately, crossing to the far
shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the
When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. He
welcomed them and spoke to them about the
By this time it was late in the afternoon, so the Twelve came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging.”
"Jesus replied, “They do not need
to go away. You give them something to eat.”
He said to Philip,
“Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”
He asked this only to
test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
Philip answered him, “Eight months of a man’s wages would not buy enough
bread for each one to have a bite!”
The disciples said,
“Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”
“How many loaves do
you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”
Andrew, Simon Peter’s
brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small
barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
“Bring them here to me,” he said. Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.”
There was plenty of grass in that place, and
everybody sat down in groups of hundreds and
fifties as Jesus had directed the disciples. Taking the five loaves and the
two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he
gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two
fish among them all.
They distributed to those who were
seated as much as they wanted. They all ate and were satisfied. When they had all had enough to eat, he said
to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be
wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces
of bread and fish left over by those who had eaten. The number of those who ate
was about five thousand men, besides women and
children. [142]
After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus
did, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the
world.” Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force,
withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
[143] Immediately Jesus made his disciples go on ahead of him to the
other side of the lake, while he dismissed the crowd. His disciples went down
to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off
for
After he had dismissed the crowd, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. The boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them.
About the fourth watch of the night, when they had rowed three or three and a half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out in fear, because they all saw him and were terrified.
But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take
courage! It is
Then they were
willing to take him into the boat.
[144] “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell
me to come to you on the water.”
“Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out
of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
But when he saw the
wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and
caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
[145] And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.
Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened. Immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading and they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. As soon as they got out of the boat, the men of that place recognized Jesus. They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.
[146] The next day the crowd that had stayed
on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there,
and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away
alone. Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had
eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. Once the crowd realized that
neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to
When they found him
on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
Jesus answered, “I
tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous
signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food
that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man
will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
Then they asked him,
“What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus answered, “The
work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
So they asked him,
“What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you?
What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is
written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Jesus said to them, “I tell
you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it
is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is
he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
“Sir,” they said,
“from now on give us this bread.” Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life.
He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never
be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will
never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do
the will of him who sent me.
And this is the will
of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but
raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks
to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up
at the last day.” At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said,
“I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is this not Jesus, the
son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came
down from heaven’?” “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. “No one
can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up
at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by
God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. No
one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the
Father. I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. I am the
bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But
here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread,
he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of
the world.”
Then the Jews began
to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son
of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and
drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For
my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and
drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me
and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because
of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna
and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.” He said this while
teaching in the synagogue in
On hearing it, many
of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” Aware that
his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend
you? What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit
gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are
spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For
Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would
betray him. He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to
me unless the Father has enabled him.”
From this time many
of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
“You do not want to
leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to
whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that
you are the Holy One of God.” Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the
Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot,
who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)
[147] After this, Jesus went around in
Galilee, purposely staying away from
[148] Jesus withdrew to the region of
Jesus did not answer a
word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps
crying out after us.”
“I was sent only to the lost
sheep of
“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted. For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”
And her daughter was healed from that very hour. She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
[149] Then Jesus left the vicinity of
“He even makes the
deaf hear and the mute speak.”
[150] Jesus left there and went along the
[151] Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”
His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”
“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”
He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people, and they did so. They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. The people all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. About four thousand men were present, besides women and children. And having sent them away, he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha in the vicinity of Magadan.
[152] The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus
and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven. He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation
ask for a miraculous sign? When evening comes,
you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning,
‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to
interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the
times. A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except
the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.
[153] When they went across the lake, the disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, Sadducees and Herod.”
They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.”
Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “You of little faith, why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
“Twelve,” they
replied.
“And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
They answered,
“Seven.”
He said to them, “How is it you don’t
understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But
be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
Then they understood
that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but
against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
[154] They came to
He looked up and
said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”
Once more Jesus put
his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored,
and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t go into the
village.”
[155] Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around
Caesarea Philippi. On the way when Jesus was praying in private he asked his
disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the
Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets of long ago come back to life.”
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do
you say I am?”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the
Christ, the Son of the
living God.”
Jesus replied, “Blessed
are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my
Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will
build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you
the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in
heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Then he warned his disciples not to tell
anyone that he was the Christ.
[156] From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that
the Son of Man must go to
[157] He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
“Never, Lord!” he said.
“This shall never happen to you!”
But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
[158] Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and
said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save
his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is
it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very soul?
Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and
my words in this adulterous and sinful generation,
the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory. For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory
with his holy angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he
has done. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not
taste death before they see the Son of Man coming
in his kingdom and the
[159] After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain to pray, and they were all alone. There he was
transfigured before them. As he was praying, the
appearance of his face changed and shone like
the sun. His clothes became dazzling white as the light, as bright
as a flash of lightning and whiter than
anyone in the world could bleach them. Just then two men, Moses and
Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking
with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to
fulfillment at
As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter
said to him, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up
three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
(He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)
While he was speaking, a cloud appeared
and enveloped them, and they
were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice came
from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I
love and have chosen; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
When the disciples heard
this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them.
“Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.”
When they looked up, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what “rising from the dead” meant.
[160] And they asked him, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”
Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.”
Then the disciples
understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.
[161] The next day, when they came down from the mountain, they came
to the other disciples. They saw a large crowd around them and the teachers
of the law arguing with them. As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were
overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.
“What are you arguing with them about?” he asked.
A man in the crowd approached Jesus and knelt before him, calling
out, “Lord, have mercy on my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of
speech.” he said.
“Teacher, I beg
you to look at him, for he is my only child. A spirit seizes him and he
suddenly screams. It throws him into convulsions on the ground, he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes
rigid. He is suffering greatly; it scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. I
brought him to your disciples and begged them to drive out the spirit, but they
could not heal him.”
“O unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay
with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
Jesus asked the boy’s
father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he
answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if
you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
“‘If you can’?” said
Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”
Immediately the boy’s
father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
When Jesus saw that a
crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil
spirit. “You deaf and mute
spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
The spirit shrieked,
convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that
many said, “He’s dead.”
But Jesus took him by
the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up. He was healed from that moment and Jesus gave him back to his father. And they were all
amazed at the greatness of God and everyone marvelled at all that Jesus did.
After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
He replied, “Because
you have so little faith. This kind can come
out only by prayer. I tell you the truth, if
you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move
from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
They left that place and passed through
[163] After Jesus and his disciples arrived in
“Yes, he does,” he
replied.
When Peter came into the
house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked.
“From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own sons
or from others?”
“From others,” Peter
answered.
“Then the sons are
exempt,” Jesus said to him. “But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake
and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you
will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and
yours.”
[164] They came to
[165] But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.
Knowing their thoughts, Jesus sat down and called the Twelve saying, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
The disciples asked,
“Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all—he is the greatest.”
[166] “Teacher,” said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.” “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. [167] I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.”
[168] “Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. So watch yourselves.
[169] “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you
to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot
causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than
to have two feet and be thrown into eternal fire
in hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away. It
is better for you to enter the
[171] “See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.”
[172] Now the tax collectors and “sinners”
were all gathering around to hear him.
But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
[173] Then Jesus told them this parable: “What do you think? Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away. Does he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. Likewise there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.
[174] “Or suppose a woman has ten silver
coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search
carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and
neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In
the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of
God over one sinner who repents.”
Jesus continued:
“There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father,
give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. “Not long
after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant
country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent
everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be
in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who
sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the
pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. “When he came to
his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and
here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to
him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer
worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’
So he got up and went
to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and
was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around
him and kissed him. “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven
and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father
said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring
on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it.
Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive
again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. “Meanwhile, the
older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and
dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on.
‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened
calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
“The older brother
became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him.
But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you
and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I
could celebrate with my friends. But
when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes
home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ ”‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are
always with me, and everything I have is
yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was
dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
[175] “If your brother sins against you, go show him his fault and rebuke him, just between the two of you. If he listens to you and repents, forgive him and you have won your brother over. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”
[176] But if he will not listen, take one or two
others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two
or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church;
and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan
or a tax collector.
[177] The apostles said to the Lord,
“Increase our faith!”
He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you."
[178] “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind
on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be
loosed in heaven. “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about
anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where
two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”
Then Peter came to Jesus
and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins
against me? Up to seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I tell
you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
“Therefore, the kingdom
of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he
began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to
him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and
his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. “The servant fell
on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back
everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let
him go. “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay
back what you owe me!’ he demanded. “His fellow servant fell to his knees and
begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
“But he refused.
Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the
debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly
distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You
wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged
me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on
you?’ In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until
he should pay back all he owed. “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each
of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”
[179] But when the Jewish Feast of
Tabernacles was near, Jesus’ brothers said to him, “You ought to leave here and
go to
However, after his
brothers had left for the Feast, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. [180]
As the time approached for him to be taken up to
heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for
[181] As they were walking along the road, a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
He said to another disciple “Follow me.”
But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to
him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go
and proclaim the
[182] Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go
back and say good-by to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to
the plow and looks back is fit for service in the
[183] Now at the Feast the Jews were watching
for him and asking, “Where is that man?”
Among the crowds
there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.”
Others replied, “No, he
deceives the people.” But no one would say
anything publicly about him for fear of the Jews. Not until halfway
through the Feast did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. The
Jews were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having
studied?”
Jesus answered, “My
teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. If anyone chooses to do
God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I
speak on my own. He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself,
but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there
is nothing false about him. Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you
keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”
“You are
demon-possessed,” the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?”"
Jesus said to them,
“I did one miracle, and you are all astonished. Yet, because Moses gave you
circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the
patriarchs), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath. Now if a child can be
circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are
you angry with me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath? Stop judging by
mere appearances, and make a right judgment.”
At that point some of
the people of
Then Jesus, still
teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where
I am from. I am not here on my own, but he who sent me is true. You do not know
him, but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”
At this they tried to
seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.
Still, many in the crowd put their faith in him. They said, “When the Christ
comes, will he do more miraculous signs than this man?”
The Pharisees heard
the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the
Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.
Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the
one who sent me. You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I
am, you cannot come.”
The Jews said to one
another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go
where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? What
did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and
‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”
On the last and
greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is
thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture
has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant
the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that
time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
On hearing his words,
some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”
Others said, “He is
the Christ.”
Still others asked,
“How can the Christ come from
Finally the temple
guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why
didn’t you bring him in?”
“No one ever spoke
the way this man does,” the guards declared.
“You mean he has
deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. “Has any of the rulers or of the
Pharisees believed in him? No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there
is a curse on them.”
Nicodemus, who had
gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, “Does our law
condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?”
They replied, “Are
you from
Then each went to his
own home.
[184] But Jesus went to the
Jesus straightened up
and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she
said.
“Then neither do I
condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
[185] When Jesus spoke again to the people,
he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in
darkness, but will have the light of life.”
The Pharisees
challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is
not valid.”
Jesus answered, “Even
if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came
from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am
going. You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do
judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father,
who sent me. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is
valid. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who
sent me.”
Then they asked him,
“Where is your father?”
“You do not know me
or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”
He spoke these words while teaching in the temple area near the place where the
offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his time had not yet come.
Once more Jesus said
to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your
sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”
This made the Jews
ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot
come’?”
But he continued,
“You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this
world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I
am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.”
“Who are you?” they
asked.
“Just what I have
been claiming all along,” Jesus replied. “I have much to say in judgment of
you. But he who sent me is reliable, and what I have heard from him I tell the
world.”
They did not
understand that he was telling them about his Father. So Jesus said, “When you
have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to
be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught
me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do
what pleases him.” Even as he spoke, many put their faith in him.
To the Jews who had
believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
They answered him,
“We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you
say that we shall be set free?”
Jesus replied, “I
tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no
permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son
sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know you are Abraham’s descendants.
Yet you are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word. I am
telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you do what you have
heard from your father.”
“Abraham is our
father,” they answered.
“If you were
Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do the things Abraham did. As
it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I
heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the things your
own father does.”
“We are not
illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”
Jesus said to them,
“If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am
here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to
you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the
devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from
the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he
lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me
guilty of sin?
If I am telling the
truth, why don’t you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. The
reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
The Jews answered
him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”
“I am not possessed by
a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. I am not
seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. I
tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”
At this the Jews
exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did
the prophets, yet you say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste
death. Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the
prophets. Who do you think you are?”
Jesus replied, “If I
glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God,
is the one who glorifies me. Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said
I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word. Your
father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was
glad.”
“You are not yet
fifty years old,” the Jews said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
“I tell you the
truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” At this, they picked
up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple
grounds.
[186] As he went along, he saw a man blind
from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his
parents, that he was born blind?”
“Neither this man nor
his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God
might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of
him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the
world, I am the light of the world.”
Having said this, he
spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s
eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means Sent).
So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. His neighbors and those who
had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit
and beg?” Some claimed that he was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”
But he himself
insisted, “I am the man.”
“How then were your
eyes opened?” they demanded. He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud
and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and
washed, and then I could see.”
“Where is this man?”
they asked him.
“I don’t know,” he
said.
They brought to the
Pharisees the man who had been blind. Now the day on which Jesus had made the
mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. Therefore the Pharisees also asked
him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied,
“and I washed, and now I see.”
Some of the Pharisees
said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”
But others asked,
“How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?” So they were divided.
Finally they turned
again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he
opened.”
The man replied, “He
is a prophet.”
The Jews still did
not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent
for the man’s parents. “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say
was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”
“We know he is our
son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. But how he can see now, or who opened his
eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” His
parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews
had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put
out of the synagogue. That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
A second time they
summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God,” they said. “We know
this man is a sinner.”
He replied, “Whether
he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I
see!”
Then they asked him,
“What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
He answered, “I have
told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again?
Do you want to become
his disciples, too?”
Then they hurled insults
at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! We
know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where
he comes from.”
The man answered,
“Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my
eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man
who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born
blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
To this they replied,
“You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him
out.
Jesus heard that they
had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son
of Man?”
“Who is he, sir?” the
man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”
Jesus said, “You have
now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
Then the man said,
“Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
Jesus said, “For
judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who
see will become blind.”
Some Pharisees who
were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”
Jesus said, “If you
were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see,
your guilt remains.
[187] “I tell you the truth, the man who does
not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a
thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his
sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice.
He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all
his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know
his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away
from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this
figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.
Therefore Jesus said
again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came
before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am
the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out,
and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have
come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
“I am the good
shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is
not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he
abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters
it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the
sheep.
“I am the good
shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and
I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that
are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my
voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father
loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it
from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down
and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
At these words the
Jews were again divided. Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving
mad. Why listen to him?”
But others said,
“These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the
eyes of the blind?”
[188] After this the Lord appointed
seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and
place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but
the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out
workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among
wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the
road.
“When you enter a
house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If a man of peace is there, your peace
will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and
drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move
around from house to house.
“When you enter a
town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick who are there
and tell them, ‘The
[189] Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his
miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Korazin!
Woe to you,
[190] “He who listens to you listens to me;
he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
The seventy-two
returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”
He replied, “I saw
Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on
snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will
harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice
that your names are written in heaven.”
[191] At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
[192] Then he turned to his disciples and
said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you
that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and
to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”
[193] “Come to me, all you who are weary and
burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For
my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
[194] On one occasion an expert in the law
stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal
life?”
“What is written in
the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
He answered: “‘Love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
strength and with all your mind’; and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“You have answered
correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
But he wanted to
justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
In reply Jesus said:
“A man was going down from
“Which of these three
do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
The expert in the law
replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go
and do likewise.”
[195] As Jesus and his disciples were on
their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to
him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what
he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.
She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to
do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
“Martha, Martha,” the
Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing
is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from
her.”
[196] One day Jesus was praying in a certain
place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray,
just as John taught his disciples.”
He said to them,
“When you pray, say:
‘Father, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who
sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.’”
Then he said to them,
“Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says,
‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey
has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’
“Then the one inside
answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with
me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, though he will
not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the
man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
“So I say to you: Ask
and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be
opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him
who knocks, the door will be opened.
“Which of you
fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he
asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil,
know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in
heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
[197] On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one
of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for
eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When
Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free
from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she
straightened up and praised God. Indignant because Jesus had healed on the
Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, “There are six days for work.
So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”
The Lord answered
him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey
from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a
daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set
free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”
When he said this, all
his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the
wonderful things he was doing.
[198] Then Jesus went through the towns and
villages, teaching as he made his way to
He said to them,
“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you,
will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up
and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open
the door for us.’
“But he will answer,
‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’
“Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’
“But he will reply,
‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’
“There will be
weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and
all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. People
will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at
the feast in the
At that time some Pharisees
came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod
wants to kill you.”
He replied, “Go tell
that fox, ‘I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on
the third day I will reach my goal.’ In any case, I must keep going today and
tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside
“O Jerusalem,
[199] Then came the Feast of Dedication at
Jesus answered, “I
did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name
speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep
listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life,
and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father,
who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my
Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
Again the Jews picked
up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many great
miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”
“We are not stoning
you for any of these,” replied the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because you, a
mere man, claim to be God.”
Jesus answered them,
“Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are gods’? If he called them
‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken— what
about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the
world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’?
Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though
you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand
that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”
Again they tried to
seize him, but he escaped their grasp. Then Jesus went back across the
[200] One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in
the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. There in
front of him was a man suffering from dropsy. Jesus asked the Pharisees and
experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” But they
remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him away.
Then he asked them, “If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on
the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?” And they had nothing
to say.
When he noticed how
the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable:
“When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor,
for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host
who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your seat.’
Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you
are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say
to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the
presence of all your fellow guests. For everyone who exalts himself will be
humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Then Jesus said to
his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your
brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you
back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor,
the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they
cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
When one of those at
the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the man who will
eat at the feast in the
Jesus replied: “A
certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time
of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come,
for everything is now ready.’
“But they all alike
began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must
go and see it. Please excuse me.’
“Another said, ‘I
have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please
excuse me.’
“Still another said,
‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’
“The servant came
back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry
and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the
town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’
“‘Sir,’ the servant
said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’
“Then the master told
his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so
that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those men who were invited
will get a taste of my banquet.’”
Large crowds were
traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does
not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and
sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does
not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
“Suppose one of you
wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see
if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not
able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow
began to build and was not able to finish.’
“Or suppose a king is
about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and
consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming
against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation
while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the
same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my
disciple.
“Salt is good, but if
it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for
the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.
“He who has ears to
hear, let him hear.”
[201] Jesus told his disciples: “There was a
rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him
in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your
management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’
“The manager said to
himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong
enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose
my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’
“So he called in each
one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my
master?’
“‘Eight hundred
gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.
“The manager told
him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.’
“Then he asked the
second, ‘And how much do you owe?’
”‘A thousand bushels
of wheat,’ he replied.
“He told him, ‘Take
your bill and make it eight hundred.’
“The master commended
the dishonest manager because he had acted
shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with
their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth
to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed
into eternal dwellings.
“Whoever can be
trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is
dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not
been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true
riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who
will give you property of your own?
“No servant can serve
two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be
devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
The Pharisees, who
loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, “You
are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your
hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.
[202] “There was a rich man who was dressed
in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a
beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores
and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs
came and licked his sores.
“The time came when
the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also
died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw
Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father
Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water
and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
“But Abraham replied,
‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while
Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.
And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that
those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from
there to us.’
“He answered, ‘Then I
beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, for I have five brothers.
Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
“Abraham replied,
‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
“ ‘No, father
Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will
repent.’
“He said to him, ‘If
they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if
someone rises from the dead.’ ”
[203] “Suppose one of you had a servant
plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes
in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Would he not rather
say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and
drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Would he thank the servant because he
did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were
told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’
”
[204] Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He
was from Bethany, the
When he heard this,
Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so
that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Jesus loved Martha and her sister
and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was
two more days.
Then he said to his
disciples, “Let us go back to
“But Rabbi,” they
said, “a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going
back there?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who
walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world’s light. It is when he
walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light.”
After he had said this,
he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going
there to wake him up.” His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get
better.” Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he
meant natural sleep. So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for
your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to
him.” Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us
also go, that we may die with him.”
On his arrival, Jesus
found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.
“Lord,” Martha said
to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know
that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
Jesus said to her,
“Your brother will rise again.”
Martha answered, “I
know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
Jesus said to her, “I
am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though
he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe
this?”
“Yes, Lord,” she told
him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into
the world.”
And after she had
said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is
here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” When Mary heard this, she got up
quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was
still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who had been with
Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out,
they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
When Mary reached the
place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you
had been here, my brother would not have died.”
When Jesus saw her
weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply
moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,”
they replied.
Jesus wept.
Then the Jews said,
“See how he loved him!”
But some of them
said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man
from dying?”
Jesus, once more
deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.
“Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said
Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he
has been there four days.”
Then Jesus said, “Did
I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”
So they took away the
stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard
me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the
people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
When he had said
this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out,
his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
Therefore many of the
Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith
in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had
done. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the
Sanhedrin.
“What are we
accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many miraculous signs.
If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the
Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
Then one of them,
named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at
all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the
people than that the whole nation perish.”
He did not say this
on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for
the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered
children of God, to bring them together and make them one. So from that day on
they plotted to take his life. Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly
among the Jews. Instead he withdrew to a region near the desert, to a village
called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.
[205] Now on his way to
When he saw them, he
said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were
cleansed.
One of them, when he
saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at
Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
Jesus asked, “Were
not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and
give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go;
your faith has made you well.”
Once, having been
asked by the Pharisees when the
Then he said to his
disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the
Son of Man, but you will not see it. Men will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here
he is!’ Do not go running off after them. For the Son of Man in his day will be
like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the
other. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
“Just as it was in
the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and
being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came
and destroyed them all.
“It was the same in
the days of
“It will be just like
this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on the
roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise,
no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember
“Where, Lord?” they
asked.
He replied, “Where
there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.”
[206] Then Jesus told his disciples a parable
to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain
town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there
was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me
justice against my adversary.’
“For some time he
refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care
about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets
justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’”
And the Lord said,
“Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for
his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them
off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when
the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
To some who were
confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus
told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and
the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself:
‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers,
adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a
tenth of all I get.’
“But the tax
collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat
his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
“I tell you that this
man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who
exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
[207] When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and
went into the region of Judea to the other side of the
“What did Moses
command you?” he replied.
They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”
“It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law permitting you to divorce. But it was not this way from the beginning.” Jesus replied. “Haven’t you read that at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
[208] When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this.
He answered, “The
Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news
of the
[209] The disciples said to him, “If this is the
situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”
Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”
[210] People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him place
his hands on them and pray for them. When
the disciples saw this, they rebuked those who brought them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant.
But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the
He took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them. After this he went on from there.
[211] As Jesus started on his way, a certain ruler ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,”
he asked, “what good thing must I do to
inherit eternal life?”
“Why do you call me good and ask me about what is good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”
“Which ones?” the man
inquired.
Jesus replied, ”Do not murder, do not commit
adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor
your father and mother,’ and
‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I
have kept since I was a boy. What do I still lack?”
Jesus looked at him and
loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “If you want to be perfect, go, sell everything
you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come,
follow me.”
At this the man’s face fell. He went
away sad, because he was a man of great wealth.
Jesus looked around and said to his
disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the
The disciples were
amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter
the
When the disciples heard this, they were
even more amazed and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked
at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things
are possible with God.”
Peter said to him, “We have left
everything to follow you! What
then will there be for us?”
“I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “at the renewal of all things, when the Son of
Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on
twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of
[212] But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.
[213] “For the kingdom of heaven is like a
landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his
vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his
vineyard.
“About the third hour he
went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told
them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is
right.’ So they went. “He went out again
about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. About the
eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked
them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
“‘Because no one has
hired us,’ they answered.
“He said to them, ‘You
also go and work in my vineyard.’
“When evening came, the
owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their
wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
“The workers who were
hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when those
came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them
also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against
the landowner. ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said,
‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and
the heat of the day.’
“But he answered one of
them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a
denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the
same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money?
Or are you envious because I am generous?’
“So the last will be
first, and the first will be last.”
[214] They were on their way up to
“We are going up to
[215] The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.
[216] Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons James and John and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
“What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”
“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
“We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
[217] Then they came to
When the blind men heard that it was
Jesus of
Jesus stopped and ordered them to be
brought to him. So they
called to the blind men, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing
his cloak aside, Bartimaeus jumped to his feet and
both of the blind men came to Jesus.
When they came near, Jesus asked them,
“What do you want me to do for you?”
“Rabbi,” they answered, “we want our sight.” Jesus had compassion on
them and touched their eyes. “Go,” said Jesus,
“receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” Immediately they received
their sight and followed Jesus along the road, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.
[218] Jesus entered
When Jesus reached
the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I
must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him
gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest
of a ‘sinner.’”
But Zacchaeus stood
up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my
possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will
pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come
to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man
came to seek and to save what was lost."
[219] When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover,
many went up from the country to
But the chief priests
and Pharisees had given orders that if anyone found out where Jesus was, he
should report it so that they might arrest him.
[220] Six days before the Passover, Jesus
arrived at
But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.”
He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the moneybag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. And some of those present were indignant and they rebuked her harshly.
“Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. [222] I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
[223] Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found
out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see
Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to
kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to
Jesus and putting their faith in him.
[224] He went on to tell them a parable,
because he was near
“But his subjects
hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be
our king.’
“He was made king,
however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given
the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.
“The first one came
and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’
”‘Well done, my good
servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very
small matter, take charge of ten cities.’
“The second came and
said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’
“His master answered,
‘You take charge of five cities.’
“Then another servant
came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of
cloth. I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did
not put in and reap what you did not sow.’
“His master replied,
‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you,
that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did
not sow? Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back,
I could have collected it with interest?’
“Then he said to
those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has
ten minas.’
“‘Sir,’ they said,
‘he already has ten!’
“He replied, ‘I tell
you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has
nothing, even what he has will be taken away. But those enemies of mine who did
not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of
me.’”
[225] After Jesus had said this, he went on
ahead, going up to
[226] This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
“Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘Do not be afraid. See,
your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ” [227] At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only
after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written
about him and that they had done these things to him. [228] The
disciples who were sent ahead did as Jesus had instructed them, and went and
found a colt tied at a doorway outside in the
street. [229] As
they were untying the colt, its owners standing there asked them, “Why are you
untying the colt?” As Jesus had instructed them, they replied, “The Lord needs
it”, and the people let them go. [230] They brought the donkey and the colt,
threw their cloaks on them, and put Jesus on the young colt.
[231] The great crowd that had come for the
Feast had heard that Jesus was on his way to
As he went along, many people spread
their cloaks on the road, while others took
branches from the trees they had cut in the fields and spread them on the road.
When he came near the place where the road goes
down the
[232] Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said
to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
“I tell you,” he
replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
[233] Now the crowd that was with him when he
called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread
the word. Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous
sign, went out to meet him. So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is
getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”
[234] As he approached
[235] He went to the temple and looked around
at everything, but since it was already late, he went out of the city to
[236] The next day as they were leaving
Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.
[237] When Jesus entered
The crowds answered,
“This is Jesus, the prophet from
Jesus entered the temple area and began
driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of
those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to
carry merchandise through the temple courts.
Every day he was
teaching at the temple. And as he
taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ”‘My house
will be called a house of prayer for all
nations’ ? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’ ”
The chief priests and the teachers of
the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him. Yet they could not
find any way to do it for they feared him, because all the people hung on his
words and were amazed at his teaching.
[238] The blind and the lame came to him at the
temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did
and the children shouting in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,”
they were indignant. “Do you hear what
these children are saying?” they asked him.
“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, ”‘From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise’?”
[239] When evening came, they went out of the city to
Peter remembered and
said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”
When the disciples saw
this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.
“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “I tell you the truth, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree. If anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. [240] And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
[241] They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while
Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and preaching the gospel,
the chief priests, the teachers of the law, together with the elders,
came up to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked.
“And who gave you authority to do this?”
Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one
question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these
things. John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or from men? Tell me!”
They discussed it among themselves and
said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe
him?’ But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, because they are
persuaded that John was a prophet.” (They feared the people, for everyone held
that John really was a prophet.)
So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know where it was from.” Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
[242] “What do you think? There was a man who
had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the
vineyard.’
“‘I will not,’ he
answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
“Then the father went to
the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did
not go.
“Which of the two did
what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “I tell
you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the
[243] He then began to speak to them in parables: “There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away for a long time on a journey. When the harvest time approached, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head, treated him shamefully and sent away empty-handed. He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out. He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others and the tenants treated them the same way; some of them they beat, others they stoned and killed.
“Then the owner of the vineyard said,
‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect
him.’
“But when the tenants saw him, they
talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Come, let’s kill him,
and the inheritance will be ours.’
“So they took him and killed him, and
threw him out of the vineyard. Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes,
what will he do to those tenants?
“He will bring those wretches to a
wretched end and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at
harvest time.”
When the people heard
this, they said, “May this never be!”
Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written in the Scriptures: ” ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone’; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
“Therefore I tell you
that the
The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet; so they left him and went away.
[244] Jesus spoke to them again in parables,
saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet
for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet
to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
“Then he sent some more
servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my
dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is
ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
“But they paid no
attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest
seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He
sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
“Then he said to his
servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to
come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ So
the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could
find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
“But when the king came in
to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.
‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man
was speechless.
“Then the king told the
attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
“For many are invited,
but few are chosen.”
[245] Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his
words. Keeping a close watch on him, they sent their disciples to him along with the
Herodians. These spies pretended to be honest, but hoped to catch Jesus in
something he said so that they might hand him over to the power and authority
of the governor.
So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we
know you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no
attention to who they are. We know that you speak
and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but
teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Tell us then, what is your
opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t
we?”
But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, saw
through their duplicity and hypocrisy. “You hypocrites, why are you trying to
trap me?” he asked. “Show me the coin used for paying the tax and let me
look at it.”
They brought him a denarius, and he
asked them,
“Whose portrait is this? And whose
inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
Then Jesus said to them, “Then give to Caesar
what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
When they heard this, they were amazed
at him and astonished by his answer,
They were unable to trap him in what he
had said there in public. So
they left him and went away.
[246] That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection,
came to him with a question. “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if
a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the
widow and have children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and
since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. The second one
married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the
third. In fact, none of the seven left any children. Finally, the woman died
too. Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since
all of them were married to her?”
Jesus replied, “You are in error because
you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. The
people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are
considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the
dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels in heaven. They are God’s
children, since they are children of the resurrection.”
Now about the dead rising—have you not read what God said to you in the book of Moses. In the
account of the bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the
Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ He is
not the God of the dead, but of the living, for
to him all are alive. You are badly
mistaken!”
[247] When
the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.
[248] Some of the teachers of the law responded, “Well said, teacher!”
[249] Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. [250] One of them, an expert in the law, came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Teacher, of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these. [251] All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
[252] “Well said, teacher,” the man replied.
“You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love
him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt
offerings and sacrifices.”
When Jesus saw that
he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the
[253] While the Pharisees were gathered together in the temple courts,
Jesus asked them, “How is it that the teachers of the law say that the Christ
is the son of David? David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, calls
him ‘Lord’? For he says in the Book of Psalms: ”‘The
Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right
hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’
David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”
The large crowd listened to him with delight. No one could say a word in reply, [254] and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.
[255] Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. [256] They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely.”
[257] While
all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Beware of the
teachers of the law. Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their
phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long. They like to walk
around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces, [258] and have the most important seats in the
synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. [259] they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men
call them ‘Rabbi.’
“But you are not to be
called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do
not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in
heaven. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the
Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself
will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
“Woe to you, teachers of
the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s
faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying
to.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.
“Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
“Woe to you, teachers of
the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and
dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the
cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and
Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the
graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our
forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of
the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants
of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of
your forefathers!
“You snakes! You brood
of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? Therefore I am sending
you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify;
others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. And so
upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from
the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you
murdered between the temple and the altar. I tell you the truth, all this will
come upon this generation.
“O Jerusalem,
[260] Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
[261] As he was leaving the temple and walking away his disciples came
up to him to call his attention to its buildings, remarking about how the
temple was adorned with beautiful stones and
with gifts dedicated to God. One of his
disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent
buildings!”
“Do you see all these great buildings?”
replied Jesus. “I tell you the truth, as for what you see here, the time will
come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be
thrown down.”
As Jesus was sitting on the
Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no
one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near’, and will deceive many. Do not follow
them. When you hear of revolutions, wars and rumors of wars, see to
it that you are not alarmed or frightened. Such things must happen first, but
the end will not come right away. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom
against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. All
these are the beginning of birth pains.
[262] You must be on your guard. Before all this,
they will lay hands on you, persecute you and put
you to death. You will be hated by all nations because of me and many false
prophets will appear and deceive many people. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
They will deliver you to prisons, hand you over to the local councils and flog you in the synagogues. You will stand before
governors and kings and governors as witnesses to them, and all on account
of my name. But make up your mind
not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves whenever you are
arrested and brought to trial. Do not worry about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not
you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. For I
will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to
resist or contradict.
At that time many will
turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other. You will even be betrayed by parents, relatives and friends. Brother
will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel
against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because
of me but not a hair of your head will perish.
Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of
most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will gain life and be
saved."
[263] When you see
[264] How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath, because those will be days of great distress in the land and wrath against this people unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again. If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them.
At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look,
here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will
appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that
were possible. So be on your guard; I have
told you everything ahead of time. So if anyone tells
you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the
inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is
visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever
there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
This people will fall by the sword and
will be taken as prisoners to all the nations.
Immediately after the distress of those
days there will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its
light; the stars will fall from the sky.’ On the earth, nations will be in
anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint
from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly
bodies will be shaken.
[265] “At that time the sign of the Son
of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations
of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the
clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his
elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the
heavens. When these things begin to take place,
stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.
“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree and all the trees: As soon as their twigs get tender and
they sprout leaves, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these
things happening, you know that the
[266] “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”
[267] No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven,
nor the Son, but only the Father. [268] As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming
of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;
and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took
them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two
men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will
be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
“Therefore keep watch,
because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this:
If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming,
he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So
you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do
not expect him.
[269] Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when
that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts
his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the
door to keep watch. [270] “Who
then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the
servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will
be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I
tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But
suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away
a long time,’ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and
drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he
does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to
pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth.
[271]
“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the
house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the
rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you
sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”
[272] “At that time the kingdom of heaven will
be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps
but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along
with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became
drowsy and fell asleep.
“At midnight the cry
rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
“Then all the virgins
woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us
some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
“‘No,’ they replied,
‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil
and buy some for yourselves.’
“But while they were on
their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready
went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
“Later the others also
came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’
“But he replied, ‘I tell
you the truth, I don’t know you.’
“Therefore keep watch,
because you do not know the day or the hour.”
[273] “Again, it will be like a man going on a
journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he
gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent,
each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had
received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained
five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man
who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his
master’s money.
“After a long time the
master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who
had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you
entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’
“His master replied,
‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few
things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s
happiness!’
“The man with the two
talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see,
I have gained two more.’
“His master replied,
‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few
things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s
happiness!’
“Then the man who had
received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard
man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not
scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground.
See, here is what belongs to you.’
“His master replied,
‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and
gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money
on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it
back with interest.
“‘Take the talent from
him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will
be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what
he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into
the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
“When the Son of Man
comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in
heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will
separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the
goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“Then the King will say
to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your
inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For
I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me
something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes
and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you
came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will
answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give
you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or
needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to
visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘I
tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of
mine, you did for me.’
“Then he will say to
those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire
prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing
to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and
you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was
sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
“They also will answer,
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes
or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
“He will reply, ‘I tell
you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did
not do for me.’
“Then they will go away
to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
[274] When Jesus had finished saying all these
things, he said to his disciples, “As you know, the Passover is two days
away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
Then the chief priests
and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose
name was Caiaphas, and they plotted to arrest Jesus in some sly way and kill
him. “But not during the Feast,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the
people.”
[275] Each day Jesus was teaching at the
temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the
[276] Now there were some Greeks among those
who went up to worship at the Feast. They came to Philip, who was from
Jesus replied, “The
hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless
a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.
But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose
it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal
life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will
be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
“Now my heart is
troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was
for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”
Then a voice came
from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” "
The crowd that was
there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to
him.
Jesus said, “This
voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgment on this
world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted
up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” He said this to show the kind
of death he was going to die. The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law
that the Christ will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must
be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”
Then Jesus told them,
“You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you
have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark
does not know where he is going. Put your trust in the light while you have it,
so that you may become sons of light.”
When he had finished
speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.
Even after Jesus had
done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe
in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: “Lord, who has
believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
For this reason they
could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:
“He has blinded their eyes
and deadened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
nor understand with their hearts,
nor turn—and I would heal them.”
Isaiah said this
because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him. Yet at the same time many even
among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not
confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they
loved praise from men more than praise from God.
Then Jesus cried out,
“When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who
sent me. When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. I have come into the
world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
“As for the person
who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not
come to judge the world, but to save it. There is a judge for the one who
rejects me and does not accept my words;
that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. For I did not
speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and
how to say it. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say
is just what the Father has told me to say.”
[277] Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread was approaching. Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they plotted to arrest and kill Jesus in some sly way for they were afraid of the people. “But not during the Feast,” they said, “or the people may riot.”
Jesus said to his
disciples, “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will
be handed over to be crucified.”
[278] Then Satan entered Judas, called
Iscariot, one of the Twelve. And he went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and
discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. He asked, “What are you willing
to give me if I hand him over to you?”
They were delighted to hear this and
promised to give him money, counting
out for him thirty silver coins. Judas consented,
and from then on watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.
[279] It was just before the Passover Feast. [280] On the
first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to
sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus sent Peter and
John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”
“Where do you want us to prepare for
it?” they asked.
So he sent them, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. [281] Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”
[282] The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as
Jesus had told them. So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and
prepared the Passover. [283] When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve.
[284] Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. [285] And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this
Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again
until it finds fulfillment in the
[286] And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his
disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way, after the supper he
took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This cup is the new
covenant in my blood, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins; do this, whenever
you drink it, in remembrance of me. [287] I tell
you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine from now until
that day when I drink it anew with you in the
[288] Also a dispute arose among them as to
which of them was considered to be greatest. Jesus said to them, “The kings of
the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call
themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest
among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who
serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves?
Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.
You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom,
just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my
table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of
[289] Jesus knew that the time had come for
him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in
the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. The evening meal was
being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon,
to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power,
and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the
meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After
that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet,
drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter,
who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
Jesus replied, “You
do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
“No,” said Peter,
“you shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered,
“Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
“Then, Lord,” Simon
Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
Jesus answered, “A
person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean.
And you are clean, though not every one of you.” For he knew who was going to
betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. When he had
finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place.
“Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me
‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your
Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s
feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I
tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger
greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be
blessed if you do them.
“I am not referring
to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the
scripture: ‘He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.’
“I am telling you now
before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He. I
tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever
accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”
[290] After he had said this and while
they were eating, Jesus was troubled in spirit and
testified, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me —one who is eating with me.
His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. They were saddened and began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this. One by one they said to him, “Surely not I, Lord?”
“It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me; the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table.” The Son of Man will go just as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born."
[291] One of them, the disciple whom Jesus
loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and
said, “Ask him which one he means.”
Leaning back against
Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”
Jesus answered, “It
is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the
dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of
Simon.
[292] Then Judas, the one who would betray him,
said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?”
Jesus answered, “Yes, it
is you.”
[293] As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan
entered into him.
“What you are about
to do, do quickly,” Jesus told him, but no one at the meal understood why Jesus
said this to him. Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling
him to buy what was needed for the Feast, or to give something to the poor. As
soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.
When he was gone,
Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. If
God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify
him at once. My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will
look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going,
you cannot come. A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved
you, so you must love one another. By
this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Simon Peter asked
him, “Lord, where are you going?”
Jesus replied, “Where
I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”
[294] Peter asked, “Lord,
why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life
for you.”
Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows twice you will
disown me and deny three times that you know me.”
[295] Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on
account of me, for it is written: ”‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep
of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you
into
Peter declared, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”
[296] Jesus said “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
[297] But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you. Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”
And all the other disciples said the same.
[298] Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you
without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?”
“Nothing,” they
answered.
He said to them, “But
now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a
sword, sell your cloak and buy one. It is written: ‘And he was numbered with
the transgressors’; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what
is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.”
The disciples said,
“See, Lord, here are two swords.”
“That is enough,” he
replied.
[299] “Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Trust in God a; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it
were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for
you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to
be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where
I am going.”
Thomas said to him,
“Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
Jesus answered, “I am
the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through
me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you
do know him and have seen him.”
Philip said, “Lord,
show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”"
Jesus answered:
“Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time?
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the
Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in
me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father,
living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the
Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the
miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do
what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am
going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son
may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I
will do it.
“If you love me, you
will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you
another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot
accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he
lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come
to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.
Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in
my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and
obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my
Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”
Then Judas (not Judas
Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to
the world?”
Jesus replied, “If
anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will
come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey
my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who
sent me.
“All this I have
spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the
Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of
everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I
do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and
do not be afraid.
“You heard me say, ‘I
am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad
that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told
you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. I will
not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has
no hold on me, but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do
exactly what my Father has commanded me.
“Come now; let us
leave.
[300] “I am the true vine, and my Father is
the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every
branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me,
and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in
the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
“I am the vine; you
are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit;
apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a
branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown
into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask
whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that
you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
“As the Father has
loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands,
you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and
remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that
your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved
you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his
friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you
servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I
have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have
made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to
go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever
you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other.
“If the world hates
you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it
would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have
chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the
words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they
persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they
will obey yours also. They will treat
you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. If I
had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however,
they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates me hates my Father as well. If
I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of
sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and
my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me
without reason.’
“When the Counselor
comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes
out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for
you have been with me from the beginning.
[301] “All this I have told you so that you will
not go astray. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is
coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.
They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. I have
told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you.
I did not tell you this at first because I was with you.
“Now I am going to
him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Because I have
said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is
for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not
come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will
convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in
regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because
I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to
judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
“I have much more to
say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth,
comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will
speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will
bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All
that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take
from what is mine and make it known to you.
“In a little while
you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”
Some of his disciples
said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will
see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I
am going to the Father’?” They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little
while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”
Jesus saw that they
wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another
what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then
after a little while you will see me’? I tell you the truth, you will weep and
mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to
joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but
when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child
is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see
you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. In that day
you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give
you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in
my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
“Though I have been
speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of
language but will tell you plainly about my Father. In that day you will ask in
my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the
Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I
came from God. I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving
the world and going back to the Father.”
Then Jesus’ disciples
said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. Now we can
see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask
you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.”
“You believe at
last!” Jesus answered. “But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be
scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not
alone, for my Father is with me.
“I have told you
these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have
trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
[302] After Jesus said this, he looked toward
heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son
may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might
give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life:
that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have
sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to
do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you
before the world began.
“I have revealed you
to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to
me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given
me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted
them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you
sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you
have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is
mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no
longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father,
protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be
one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe
by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to
destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
“I am coming to you
now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have
the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the
world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the
world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you
protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of
it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the
world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they
too may be truly sanctified.
“My prayer is not for
them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May
they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have
given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in
them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know
that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
“Father, I want those
you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you
have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
“Righteous Father,
though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have
sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in
order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in
them.”
[303] When he had finished praying, they
sang a hymn. Then Jesus went out as usual to
the
[304] On reaching the place, Jesus said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” [305] Then he said, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”
He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch with me.”
[306] Going a little farther he withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond
them. He fell with his face to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour
might pass from him. “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you.
If you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. When he rose from prayer he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping, exhausted from sorrow. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? “Why are you sleeping?” Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. [307] The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
Once more he went away and prayed the same thing, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
[308] Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. [309] While Jesus was still speaking, Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials sent from the chief priests, Pharisees, teachers of the law, and the elders of the people. They were carrying torches and lanterns and were armed with swords and clubs.
[310] Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I
kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away
under guard.”
Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him.
Jesus asked him,
“Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” Friend, do what you came for.”
[311] Jesus, knowing all that was going to
happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”
“Jesus of Nazareth,”
they replied.
“I am he,” Jesus
said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.)
When Jesus said, “I
am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. Again he asked them, “Who is it
you want?”
And they said, “Jesus
of Nazareth.”
“I told you that I am
he,” Jesus answered. “If you are looking for me, then let these men go.”
This happened so that
the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you
gave me.”
[312] When Jesus’ followers saw what was
going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?”
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword,
drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)
Jesus commanded Peter, “No more of this! Shall
I not drink the cup the Father has given me? Put your sword away for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you
think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more
than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be
fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”
And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.
[313] Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple
guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that
you have come with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I was with you,
teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But this is your
hour—when darkness reigns. This has all taken
place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.”
Then all the disciples deserted him and
fled. [314]
A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment,
was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment
behind.
[315] Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials stepped forward ,seized Jesus, arrested him and bound him.
They led him away and took him into the house of Caiaphas, where the chief priests, teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. Caiaphas, the high priest that year, was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be good if one man died for the people.
Jesus was brought first to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas.
But Simon Peter and another disciple (John) followed
him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. Because this disciple (John) was known to the
high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, but Peter had
to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high
priest, came back, spoke to the girl on duty there and brought Peter in.
It was cold, and the servants and officials kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and stood around it to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself. The guards sat down together and Peter sat down with them to see the outcome. While Peter was sitting below in the courtyard, a servant girl of the High Priest came by. When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him.
”You are not one of
his disciples, are you? You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus of
But he denied it before them all. ”I am not.”
“Woman, I don’t know him and I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about,” he said, and went out into the entryway.
Meanwhile, the high priest
questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. “I have spoken openly to
the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple,
where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. Why question me?
Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.”
When Jesus said this,
one of the officials nearby struck him in the face. “Is this the way you answer
the high priest?” he demanded.
“If I said something
wrong,” Jesus replied, “testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth,
why did you strike me?”
Then Annas sent him, still bound, to Caiaphas the high priest.
When Peter went out to the gateway another
girl (the one who had let him in the door) said
to him “You also are one of his disciples”
She said to the people
there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
The same servant girl (who had seen him at the fire) also
saw him there and said again to those standing around, “This fellow is one of
them.”
He denied it again, with an oath: “I am not! I don’t know the man!”
About an hour later one of the high priest’s
servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him,
“Didn’t I see you with him in the olive grove?”
Those standing there went up to Peter
and asserted, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean. Your accent gives you away.” Peter denied it, began to call down curses on himself, and swore to
them, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about.”
Immediately the rooster crowed the second time. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then
Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times.” And he
went outside, broke down and wept bitterly.
At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.
Finally two came forward and gave this
false testimony against him: “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this man-made
temple and in three days will build another, not made by man.’ “ Yet even then their testimony did not agree.
Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.
The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?”
Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe me, and if I asked you, you would not answer.
They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?”
“Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy from his own lips. What do you think?”
“He is worthy of death,” they answered.
The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him and struck him with their fists.
Others slapped him and said, “Prophesy to us, Christ. Who hit you?”
And they said many other insulting things to him.
[316] Early in the morning, all the chief
priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to
death. They bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate, the
governor. When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he
was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief
priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent
blood.”
“What is that to us?”
they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”
So Judas threw the money
into the temple and left. The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It
is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” So
they decided to use the reward he got for his wickedness to buy the potter’s
field. Then Judas went away and hanged himself in that field. He fell headlong
and his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in
[317] Very early in the morning, the chief
priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin,
reached a decision. Then the whole assembly rose, bound Jesus, led him from
Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor, Pilate and handed him
over. By now it was early morning, and to avoid
ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be
able to eat the Passover.
So Pilate came out to
them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”
“If he were not a
criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”
Pilate said, “Take
him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”
“But we have no right
to execute anyone,” the Jews objected. This happened so that the words Jesus
had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled.
They began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king.”
Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked
him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“Is that your own
idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”
“Am I a Jew?” Pilate
replied. “It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me.
What is it you have done?”
Jesus said, “My
kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my
arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
“You are a king,
then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “Yes, it is as you say. You are right in saying I am a king. In
fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to
testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
“What is truth?” Pilate asked.
[318] The chief priests and the elders accused him of many things, but he gave no answer.
Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you? Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”
But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor. [319] With this Pilate went out again to the Jews and announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”
[320] But they insisted, “He stirs up the
people all over
On hearing this, Pilate
asked if the man was a Galilean. When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s
jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in
The chief priests and
the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. Then
Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant
robe, they sent him back to Pilate. That day Herod and Pilate became
friends—before this they had been enemies.
Pilate called
together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You
brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have
examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against
him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done
nothing to deserve death. Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.””
[321] Now it was the custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by
the crowd. At that time they had a notorious
prisoner, called Barabbas who had taken part
in a rebellion in the city. He was in prison with the
insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he
usually did.
“Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”
For he knew it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him.
[322] While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent
him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have
suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”
[323] But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for
Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. Pilate asked
them, “It is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of
the Passover. Which of the two do you want me to release to you? Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”
With one voice they cried out, “No, not him! Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!”
“What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
They all answered, “Crucify him!"
Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
For the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the
death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.”
But they shouted all the louder and
insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed.
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.
[324] The governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. They went up to him again and again, paying homage to him saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!”
And they struck him in the face. They spit
on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. [325] Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I
am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge
against him.”
When Jesus came out
wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is
the man!”
As soon as the chief
priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
But Pilate answered,
“You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against
him.”
The Jews insisted, “We
have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the
Son of God.”
When Pilate heard
this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. “Where do
you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. “Do you refuse to
speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you
or to crucify you?”
Jesus answered, “You
would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore
the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
From then on, Pilate
tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you let this man go,
you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”
When Pilate heard
this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as
the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). It was the day of
Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour.
“Here is your king,”
Pilate said to the Jews.
But they shouted,
“Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”
“Shall I crucify your
king?” Pilate asked.
“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.
[326] When Pilate saw that he was getting
nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his
hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It
is your responsibility!”
All the people answered,
“Let his blood be on us and on our children!”
[327] Wanting to satisfy the crowd Pilate finally decided to grant their demand.
He released the man, Barabbas (the man who had been thrown into prison for
insurrection and murder, the one they asked for) and
surrendered Jesus to
their will.
They took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
[328] So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.
Carrying his own cross, he went out to
[329] A certain man from
[330] A large number of people followed him,
including women who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to them,
“Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your
children. For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the barren
women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then
”‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’
For if men do these
things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
[331] They brought Jesus to the place which in Aramaic is called
[332] Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
[333] When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took
his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the
undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top
to bottom.
“Let’s not tear it,”
they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”
This happened that
the scripture might be fulfilled which said, “They divided my garments among
them and cast lots for my clothing.”
So this is what the
soldiers did, [334] dividing
up his clothes by casting lots. And sitting down,
they kept watch over him there.
Pilate had a written
notice of the charge against him prepared and fastened to the cross above him. It read: JESUS OF
NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. [335] Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where
Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic,
Latin and Greek.
The chief priests of
the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that
this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”
Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
[336] Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his
mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw
his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to
his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your
mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
[337] The people stood watching and [338] those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself, if you are the Son of God!”
[339] In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and
the elders mocked him among themselves, sneering, “He saved others but he
can’t save himself! Let him save himself if he is
the Christ of God, the Chosen One. Let this
Christ, this King of
[341] The soldiers also came up and mocked
him saying, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
[342] One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: [343] “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
Then he said, “Jesus,
remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Jesus answered him,
“I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
[344] It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the
whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun
stopped shining.
[345] About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, a lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”
[346] Knowing that all was now completed, and
so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”
[347] A jar of wine vinegar was there, so one man soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.
The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down and save him.”
When he had received
the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.”
[348] Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this,
he bowed his head, gave up his spirit and breathed
his last.
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. [349] The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
[350] The centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, and they were terrified. And when the centurion heard his cry and saw how he died, he praised God and said, “Surely this man was a righteous man, the Son of God!”
When all the people
who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their
breasts and went away. But all those who knew him,
including the women who had followed him from
[351] Now it was the day of Preparation, and
the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the
bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the
legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke
the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of
the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they
did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a
spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. (The man who saw it [352]
has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the
truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe.) These things happened so
that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,”
and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”
[353] Now there was a rich man named Joseph, a prominent member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their
decision and action. He came from the Judean
town of
At the place where
Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden Joseph’s own new tomb that he had cut
out of the rock and in which no one had ever been laid. Because it
was the Jewish day of Preparation (and the Sabbath was about to begin) and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. Then
they rolled a big stone in front of the
entrance to the tomb and went away. The women who had come with Jesus from
[354] The next day, the one after Preparation
Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. “Sir,” they said, “we
remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I
will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the
third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the
people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse
than the first.”
“Take a guard,” Pilate
answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure by
putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.
[355] When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body.
Early on the first day of the week, [356]
there was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the
Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and
sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as
snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead
men.
[357] While it was still dark, Mary Magdalene
went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So
she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved,
and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where
they have put him!”
[358] So Peter and the other disciple started
for the tomb. Both were running, but the other
disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at
the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was
behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He
saw the strips of linen lying there, as well
as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up
by itself, separate from the linen and he
wondered to himself what had happened. [359] Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb
first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand
from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) Then the disciples went
back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she
bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where
Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked
her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my
Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she
turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was
Jesus.
“Woman,” he said,
“why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the
gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have
put him, and I will get him.”
Jesus said to her,
“Mary.”
She turned toward him
and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said, “Do not
hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my
brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God
and your God.’”
[360] (Thus when Jesus rose, he
appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.) She went and
told the disciples who had been with him
(and who were mourning and weeping), the
news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things
to her. When they heard that Jesus was alive
and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.
[361] Very early, just after sunrise,
the woman (Mary the mother of James, Salome, Joanna
and the others with them) took the spices they had
prepared and went to the tomb. On their way
to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the
entrance of the tomb?”
[362] But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As
they entered the tomb they did not find the body of
the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside
them, and they were alarmed. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to
the ground, but the men said to them, “Don’t be alarmed
or afraid,” he said, “for I know that
you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who
was crucified. “Why do you look for the living
among the dead? He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.
Come and see the place where they laid him. But go quickly and tell his
disciples and Peter, ‘He has risen from the
dead and is going ahead of you into
Remember how he told
you, while he was still with you in
Then they remembered his words.
[363] Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the
tomb, afraid yet filled with joy. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
Suddenly Jesus met them.
“Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped
him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be
afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to
[364] When they came back, they told all
these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene,
Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the
apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to
them like nonsense.
[365] While the women were on their way, some of
the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that
had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a
plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, “You are to
say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were
asleep.’ If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you
out of trouble.” So the soldiers took the money and did as they were
instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this
very day.
[366] Later on the first day of the week Jesus appeared to Peter.
[367] Now that same day two of them were walking in the country going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from
They stood still,
their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you only a
visitor to
“What things?” he
asked.
“About Jesus of
Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before
God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be
sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the
one who was going to redeem
He said to them, “How
foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have
spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his
glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them
what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. As they approached the
village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. But
they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is
almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with
them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then
their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their
sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he
talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” They
got up and returned at once to
Then the two reported to them what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was
recognized by them when he broke the bread.
[368] This was on the evening of that first
day of the week and the Eleven were together, with the doors locked for fear of
the Jews. While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself came and stood among them and said to them,
“Peace be with you!”
They were eating at
the time; and he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn
refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. They
were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why
are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my
feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones,
as you see I have.”
When he had said this,
he showed them his hands, feet and side. The
disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. [369] And while they still did not believe it
because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to
eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their
presence.
He said to them,
“This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be
fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the
Psalms.” Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He
told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the
dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached
in his name to all nations, beginning at
[370] Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you!
As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
And with that he
breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his
sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.
[371] “Go into all the world and preach the
good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but
whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany
those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in
new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink
deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on
sick people, and they will get well.”
[372] Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the
Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told
him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them,
“Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails
were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”
A week later his
disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors
were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your
hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
Thomas said to him,
“My Lord and my God!”
Then Jesus told him,
“Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not
seen and yet have believed.”
Jesus did many other
miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in
this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
[373] Afterward Jesus appeared again to his
disciples, by the
“No,” they answered.
He said, “Throw your
net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they
were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. Then the
disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon
Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him
(for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.
The other disciples
followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from
shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning
coals there with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of
the fish you have just caught.”
Simon Peter climbed
aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even
with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have
breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it
was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same
with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples
after he was raised from the dead.
When they had
finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly
love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said,
“you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my
lambs.”
Again Jesus said,
“Simon son of John, do you truly love me?”
He answered, “Yes,
Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take
care of my sheep.”
The third time he
said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt
because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you
know all things; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my
sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and
went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands,
and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death
by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
Peter turned and saw
that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who
had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going
to betray you?”)
When Peter saw him,
he asked, “Lord, what about him?”
Jesus answered, “If I
want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow
me.” Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple
would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I
want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”
This is the disciple
who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his
testimony is true Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them
were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for
the books that would be written.
[374] After this, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time. Then he appeared to James (his brother).
[375] Then the eleven disciples went to the mountain
in
[376] Until the day he was taken up to
heaven, Jesus taught and gave instructions through the Holy Spirit to the
apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and
gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a
period of forty days and spoke about the
He appeared to them
over a period of forty days and spoke about the
Then he led them out to the vicinity of
He said to them: “It
is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own
authority. But you will receive power
when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in
He lifted up his
hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken
up into heaven before their very
eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
They were looking
intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in
white stood beside them. “Men of
Then the Lord Jesus was
taken up into heaven he sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples worshiped him and returned to
And they stayed
continually at the temple, praising God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the
Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.
[1] Mark 1:1
[2] John 1:1-5
[3] A title of Jesus used by John:
John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
1 John 1:1-3 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard,
which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have
touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we
have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which
was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen
and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is
with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
[4] Luke 1:5-80
[5] Matthew 1:18-25
[6] Luke 2:1-7
[7] Matthew 1:25
[8] Luke 2:8-40
[9] Matthew 2:1-23
[10] Luke 2:41-52
[11] Luke 3:23-38
[12] Matthew 1:1-17
[13] Luke 3:23
[14] John 1:6-14
[15] John 1:16-18
[16] Luke 3:1-2
[17] Matthew 3:1-2, Mark 1:4, Luke 3:3
[18] Matthew 3:3, Mark 1:2-3, Luke 3:4
[19] Luke 3:5-6
[20] Matthew 3:4, Mark 1:6
[21] Matthew 3:5-6, Mark 1:5
[22] Matthew 3:7-10, Luke 3:7-9
[23] Luke 3:10-14
[24] Matthew 3:13, Mark 1:9, Luke 3:21
[25] Matthew 3:14-15
[26] Matthew 3:16-17, Mark 1:10-11, Luke 3:21-22
[27] Matthew 4:1-2, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-2
[28] Matthew 4:3-4, Luke 4:3-4
[29] Matthew 4:5-7, Luke 4:9-12
[30] Matthew 4:8-10, Luke 4:5-8
[31] Matthew 4:11, Mark 1:13, Luke 4:13
[32] Luke 3:15
[33] John 1:19-25
[34] Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:7-8, Luke 3:16, John 1:26-27
[35] Matthew 3:12, Luke 3:17
[36] John 1:15
[37] Luke 3:18
[38] John 1:28-51
[39] John 2:1-11
[40] John 2:12-25
[41] John 3:1-36
[42] Luke 3:19-20
[43] John 4:1-2
[44] Matthew 4:12, Mark 1:14, Luke 4:14
[45] Luke 4:14-15
[46] John 4:4-54
[47] Matthew 13:54, Mark 6:1-2, Luke 4:16
[48] Luke 4:17-22
[49] Matthew 13:54-55, Mark 6:2, Luke 4:22
[50] Matthew 13:55-58, Mark 6:3-6
[51] Luke 4:23
[52] Matthew 13:57, Mark 6:4, Luke 4:24
[53] Luke 4:25-30
[54] Matthew 4:13-16
[55] Matthew 4:17, Mark 1:14-15
[56] Matthew 4:18, Mark 1:16, Luke 5:1
[57] Luke 5:2-10
[58] Matthew 4:19-22, Mark 1:17-20, Luke 5:10-11
[59] Matthew 4:23-25
[60] Mark 1:21-28, Luke 4:31-37
[61] Matthew 8:14-16, Mark 1:29-34, Luke 4:38-41
[62] Matthew 8:18
[63] Luke 4:42-44
[64] Mark 1:35-39
[65] Matthew 5:1-48
[66] Matthew 6:1-34
[67] Matthew 7:1-29
[68] Matthew 8:1
[69] Matthew 8:2-4, Mark 1:4-44, Luke 5:12-14
[70] Mark 1:4-45, Luke 5:15-16
[71] Matthew 9:1-8, Mark 2:1-12, Luke 5:17-26
[72] Mark 2:13
[73] Matthew 9:9-13, Mark 2:14-17, Luke 5:27-32
[74] Matthew 9:14-17, Mark 2:18-22, Luke 5:33-38
[75] Luke 5:39
[76] Matthew 12:1-8, Mark 2:23-28, Luke 6:1-5
[77] Matthew 12:9-14, Mark 3:1-6, Luke 6:6-11
[78] Matthew 12:15-16, Mark 3:7-12
[79] Matthew 12:17-21
[80] John 5:1-47
[81] Some important manuscripts exclude this
[82] Mark 3:13-18, Luke 6:12-16
[83] Luke 6:17-42
[84] Matthew 12:33-37, Luke 6:43-45
[85] Luke 6:46-49
[86] Matthew 8:5-13, Luke 7:1-10
[87] Luke 7:11-17
[88] Matthew 11:1-11, Luke 7:18-28
[89] Matthew 11:12-15
[90] Luke 7:29-30
[91] Matthew 11:16-19, Luke 7:31-35
[92] Luke 7:36-50
[93] Mark 3:20-21
[94] Matthew 12:22-32, Mark 3:22-30, Luke 11:14-23
[95] Matthew 12:43-45, Luke 11:24-26
[96] Luke 11:27-28
[97] Matthew 12:38-42, Luke 11:29-32
[98] Luke 11:33-41
[99] Matthew 15:1, Mark 7:1
[100] Mark 7:2-4
[101] Matthew 15:2, Mark 7:5
[102] Matthew 15:7-9, Mark 7:6-8
[103] Matthew 15:3-6, Mark 7:9-13
[104] Luke 11:42-53
[105] Matthew 15:10-20, Mark 7:14-23
[106] Luke 12:1-3
[107] Luke 12:13-34
[108] Acts 20:35
[109] Luke 12:54-59
[110] Luke 13:1-9
[111] Luke 8:1-3
[112] Matthew 12:46-50, Mark 3:31-35, Luke 8:19-21
[113] Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, Luke 8:4-15
[114] Matthew 13:24-30
[115] Mark 4:21-25, Luke 8:16-18
[116] Mark 4:26-29
[117] Matthew 13:31-35, Mark 4:30-34, Luke 13:18-19
[118] Matthew 13:33, Luke 13:20-21
[119] Matthew 13:34, Mark 4:30-34
[120] Matthew 13:35
[121] Matthew 13:36-53
[122] Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:35-41, Luke 8:22-25
[123] Matthew 8:28-34, Mark 5:1-20, Luke 8:26-39
[124] Matthew 9:18-26, Mark 5:21-43, Luke 8:40-56
[125] Matthew 9:27-38
[126] Matthew 10:1, Mark 6:6-7, Luke 9:1-2
[127] Matthew 10:2-8
[128] Matthew 10:9-14, Mark 6:8-11, Luke 9:3-5
[129] Matthew 10:15-16
[130] Matthew 10:17-20, Luke 12:11-12
[131] Matthew 10:21-26
[132] Matthew 10:26-33, Luke 12:4-10
[133] Luke 12:35-38
[134] Luke 12:49-50
[135] Matthew 10:34-36, Luke 12:51-53
[136] Matthew 10:37-42
[137] Mark 6:12-13, Luke 9:6
[138] Mark 6:30, Luke 9:10
[139] Matthew 14:1-2, Mark 6:14-16, Luke 9:7-9
[140] Matthew 14:3-12, Mark 6:17-29
[141] Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:31-44, Luke 9:10-17, John 6:1-13
[142] John 6:14-15
[143] Matthew 14:22-27, Mark 6:45-50, John 6:16-20
[144] Matthew 14:28-31
[145] Matthew 14:32-36, Mark 6:51-56, John 6:21
[146] John 6:22-70
[147] John 7:1
[148] Matthew 15:29-39, Mark 7:24-30
[149] Mark 7:31-37
[150] Matthew 15:29-31
[151] Matthew 15:32-39, Mark 8:1-10
[152] Matthew 16:1-4, Mark 8:11-13
[153] Matthew 16:5-12, Mark 8:14-21
[154] Mark 7:22-26
[155] Matthew 16:13-20, Mark 8:27-30, Luke 9:18-21
[156] Matthew 16:21, Mark 8:31, Luke 9:22
[157] Matthew 16:22-24, Mark 8:32-33
[158] Matthew 16:25-28, Mark 8:34-38, 9:1, Luke 9:23-27
[159] Matthew 17:1-10, Mark 9:2-11, Luke 9:28-36, 1 Peter 1:16-18
[160] Matthew 17:11-13, Mark 9:12-13
[161] Matthew 17:14-23, Mark 9:14-31, Luke 9:37-44
[162] Mark 9:32, Luke 9:45
[163] Matthew 17:24-27
[164] Mark 9:33
[165] Matthew 18:1-5, Mark 9:34-37, Luke 9:46-48
[166] Mark 9:38-40, Luke 9:49-50
[167] Mark 9:41
[168] Matthew 18:6-7, Mark 9:42, Luke 17:1-3
[169] Matthew 18:8-9, Mark 9:43-47
[170] Mark 9:48-50
[171] Matthew 18:10
[172] Luke 15:1-2
[173] Matthew 18:12-14, Luke 15:3-7
[174] Luke 15:8-32
[175] Matthew 18:15, Luke 17:3-4
[176] Matthew 18:16-17
[177] Luke 17:5-6
[178] Matthew 18:18-35
[179] John 7:2-10
[180] Luke 9:51-55
[181] Matthew 8:19-22, Luke 9:57-60
[182] Luke 9:61-62
[183] John 7:11-53
[184] John 8:1-11
[185] John 7:12-59
[186] John 9:1-41
[187] John 10:1-21
[188] Luke 10:1-12
[189] Matthew 11:20-24, Luke 10:13-15
[190] Luke 10:16-20
[191] Matthew 11:25-27, Luke 10:20-22
[192] Luke 10:23-24
[193] Matthew 11:28-30
[194] Luke 10:25-37
[195] Luke 10:38-42
[196] Luke 11:1-13
[197] Luke 13:10-17
[198] Luke 13:22-35
[199] John 10:22-42
[200] Luke 14:1-35
[201] Luke 16:1-15
[202] Luke 16:19-31
[203] Luke 17:7-10
[204] John 11:1-54
[205] Luke 17:11-37
[206] Luke 18:1-14
[207] Matthew 19:1-8, Mark 10:1-9
[208] Matthew 19:9, Mark 10:10-12, Luke 16:16-18
[209] Matthew 19:10-12
[210] Matthew 19:13-15, Mark 10:13-16, Luke 18:15-17
[211] Matthew 19:16-29, Mark 10:17-30, Luke 18:18-30
[212] Matthew 19:30, Mark 10:31
[213] Matthew 20:1-16
[214] Matthew 20:17-19, Mark 10:32-34, Luke 18:31-34
[215] Luke 18:34
[216] Matthew 20:20-28, Mark 10:35-45
[217] Matthew 20:29-34, Mark 10:46-52, Luke 18:35-43
[218] Luke 19:1-10
[219] John 11:55-57
[220] John 12:1
[221] Matthew 26:6-12, Mark 14:3-8, John 12:2-8
[222] Matthew 26:13, Mark 14:9,
[223] John 12:9-11
[224] Luke 19:11-27
[225] Matthew 21:1-3, Mark 11:1-3, Luke 19:30-31
[226] Matthew 21:4-5, John 12:14-15
[227] John 12:16
[228] Matthew 21:6, Mark 11:4, Luke 19:32-35
[229] Mark 11:4-6, Luke 19:33-34
[230] Matthew 21:7, Mark 11:7, Luke 19:35, John 12:14
[231] Matthew 21:8-9, Mark 11:8-10, Luke 19:28-38, John 12:13
[232] Luke 19:39-40
[233] John 12:17-19
[234] Luke 19:41-44
[235] Matthew 21:17, Mark 11:11
[236] Matthew 21:18-19, Mark 11:12-14
[237] Matthew 21:10-17, Mark 11:15-18, Luke 19:45-48
[238] Matthew 21:14-16
[239] Matthew 21:20-22, Mark 11:19-24
[240] Mark 11:25
[241] Matthew 21:23-27, Mark 11:27-33, Luke 20:1-8
[242] Matthew 21:28-32
[243] Matthew 21:33-46, Mark 12:1-12, Luke 20:9-19
[244] Matthew 22:1-14
[245] Matthew 22:15-22, Mark 12:13-17, Luke 20:20-26
[246] Matthew 22:23-32, Mark 12:18-27, Luke 20:27-38
[247] Matthew 22:33
[248] Luke 20:39
[249] Matthew 22:34
[250] Matthew 22:35-39, Mark 12:28-31
[251] Matthew 22:40
[252] Mark 12:32-34
[253] Matthew 22:41-46, Mark 12:34-37, Luke 20:41-44
[254] Matthew 22:46, Mark 12:34, Luke 20:40
[255] Matthew 23:1-4
[256] Mark 12:40, Luke 20:47
[257] Matthew 23:5, Mark 12:38, Luke 20:45-46
[258] Matthew 23:6, Mark 12:39, Luke 20:46
[259] Matthew 23:7-39
[260] Mark 12:41-44, Luke 21:1-4
[261] Matthew 24:1-8, Mark 13:1-8, Luke 21:5-11
[262] Matthew 24:9-14, Mark 13:9-13, Luke 21:12-19
[263] Matthew 24:15-18, Mark 13:14-16, Luke 21:20-22
[264] Matthew 24:19-29, Mark 13:17-25, Luke 21:23-26
[265] Matthew 24:30-35, Mark 13:26-31, Luke 21:27-33
[266] Luke 21:34-36
[267] Matthew 24:36, Mark 13:32
[268] Matthew 24:37-44
[269] Mark 13:33-34
[270] Matthew 24:45-51
[271] Mark 13:35-37
[272] Matthew 25:1-13
[273] Matthew 25:14-46
[274] Matthew 26:1-5
[275] Luke 21:37-38
[276] John 12:20-50
[277] Matthew 26:1-3, Mark 14:1-2, Luke 22:1-2
[278] Matthew 26:14-16, Mark 14:10-11, Luke 22:3-6
[279] John 13:1
[280] Matthew 26:17-18, Mark 14:12-13, Luke 22:7-10
[281] Mark 14:14-15, Luke 22:11-12
[282] Matthew 26:19, Mark 14:16, Luke 22:13
[283] Mark 14:17
[284] Matthew 26:20, Mark 14:18, Luke 22:14
[285] Luke 22:15-18
[286] Matthew 26:26-28, Mark 14:19-24, Luke 22:14-23, 1 Cor 11:23-26
[287] Matthew 26:29, Mark 14:25, Luke 22:14-23
[288] Luke 22:24-30
[289] John 13:1-20
[290] Matthew 26:21-24, Mark 14:18-21, Luke 22:21-23, John 13:21-22
[291] John 13:23-26
[292] Matthew 26:25
[293] John 13:27-36
[294] Matthew 26:34, Mark 14:30, Luke 22:34, John 13:37-38
[295] Matthew 26:31-33, Mark 14:27-29
[296] Luke 22:31-32
[297] Matthew 26:35, Mark 14:31, Luke 22:33
[298] Luke 22:35-38
[299] John 14:1-31
[300] John 15:1-27
[301] John 16:1-33
[302] John 17:1-26
[303] Matthew 26:30, Mark 14:26, Luke 22:39, John 18:1
[304] Luke 22:40
[305] Matthew 26:36-38, Mark 14:32-34
[306] Matthew 26:39-40, Mark 14:35-37, Luke 22:41-46
[307] Matthew 26:41-46, Mark 14:38-42
[308] John 18:2
[309] Matthew 26:47, Mark 14:43-44, Luke 22:47, John 18:3
[310] Matthew 26:48-50, Mark 14:45, Luke 22:48-49
[311] John 18:4-9
[312] Matthew 26:51-52, Mark 14:46-47, Luke 22:49-51, John 18:10-11
[313] Matthew 26:50,53-56, Mark 14:46,48-50, Luke 22:52-53
[314] Mark 14:51-52
[315] Matthew 26:57-75, Mark 14:53-72, Luke 22:54-71, John 18:12-27
[316] Matthew 27:1-10, Acts 1:18-19
[317] Matthew 27:11, Mark 15:1-2, Luke 23:1-3, John 18:28-38
[318] Matthew 27:12-18, Mark 15:16-20
[319] Luke 23:4, John 18:38
[320] Luke 23:5-16
[321] Matthew 27:11-18, Mark 15:1-10, John 18:38-40, 19:1-16
[322] Matthew 27:19
[323] Matthew 27:20-23, Mark 15:11-15, Luke 23:16-25, John 18:28-40, 19:1
[324] Matthew 27:27-30, Mark 15:16-19, John 19:2-3
[325] John 19:4-15
[326] Matthew 27:24-25
[327] Matthew 27:31, Mark 15:20, John 19:16
[328] John 18:16-17
[329] Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26
[330] Luke 23:27-31
[331] Matthew 27:33-38, Mark 15:22-28, Luke 23:32-34, John 18:17-18
[332] Luke 23:34
[333] John 18:23-24
[334] Matthew 27:33-38, Mark 15:22-28, Luke 23:32-34, John 18:19
[335] John 18:20-22
[336] John 18:25-27
[337] Luke 23:35
[338] Matthew 27:39-40, Mark 15:29-30
[339] Matthew 27:41-42, Mark 15:31-32, Luke 23:35
[340] Matthew 27:43
[341] Luke 23:36-37
[342] Matthew 27:42, Mark 15:32, Luke 23:39-43
[343] Luke 23:39-43
[344] Matthew 27:45, Mark 15:33, Luke 23:44
[345] Matthew 27:46-47, Mark 15:34-35
[346] John 18:28
[347] Matthew 27:48-49, Mark 15:36, John 18:29-30
[348] Matthew 27:50-51, Mark 15:37-38, Luke 23:45-46, John 18:30
[349] Matthew 27:51-53
[350] Matthew 27:54-56, Mark 15:39-41, Luke 23:46-49
[351] John 18:31-37
[352] i.e. John
[353] Matthew 27:57-61, Mark 15:42-47, Luke 23:50-56, John 18:38-42
[354] Matthew 27:62-66
[355] Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:1
[356] Matthew 28:2-4
[357] John 20:1-2
[358] Luke 24:12, John 20:3-7
[359] John 20:8-17
[360] Mark 16:9-11, John 20:18
[361] Mark 16:2, Luke 24:1
[362] Matthew 28:5-7, Mark 16:4-7, Luke 24:2-8
[363] Matthew 28:8-10, Mark 16:8
[364] Luke 24:9-11
[365] Matthew 28:11-15
[366] 1 Cor 15:3
[367] Mark 16:12-13, Luke 24:13-35
[368] Mark 16:14, Luke 24:36-40, John 20:19-20
[369] Luke 24:41-49
[370] John 20:21-23
[371] Mark 16:15-18
[372] John 20:24-31
[373] John 21:1-25
[374] 1 Cor 15:6-7
[375] Matthew 28:16-20
[376] Mark 16:19-20, Luke 24-50-53, Acts 1:2-11