Luke
Chapter 1
Luke’s introduction
1 Dear Mr. Theophilus, [1] Many people have worked to write reports about the different events that happened among us. 2 They wrote their reports according to what they had been told by the people who witnessed these events for themselves from the beginning. Those eyewitnesses have served the Lord by telling that news everywhere. 3 So because I have very carefully investigated all of these events from the eyewitnesses since the beginning, I thought, “It would be good to write an orderly report to Mr. Theophilus.” 4 In that way, Sir, you’ll know that what you were taught is really true.
The angel Gabriel tells about the birth of John the Baptist
5 At the time Herod was ruling as king in the province of Judea under the government of the great king of Rome, there was a priest named Zechariah. He was one of the members of a group of priests that was named the Abijah group. [2] His wife’s name was Elizabeth. She also came from the descendants of Aaron, the first priest. 6 Zechariah and his wife's lives pleased God because they always lived right according to the will of God, that is they always obeyed all of the Lord’s commands and regulations without fault. 7 But they didn’t have any children because Elizabeth was barren and they were already very old, too.
8 One day when the Abijah group got their turn to serve in God’s House, Zechariah carried out his task before God as priest. 9 And as was the custom of the priests, they cast lots to determine who would burn incense in the part of God’s House called the Holy Room. So it happened that Zechariah was chosen for that task. 10 When the time came to burn incense and Zechariah had gone into the Holy Room, there were many people praying outside in the courtyard of God's House according to the custom for the hour of prayer.
11 Then suddenly he saw an angel standing to the right of the altar, which was the place for burning incense. 12 When Zechariah saw the angel he was shocked and very frightened. 13 But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah. God has heard your prayer. Your wife Elizabeth will give birth to a son for you. You should name him John. 14 You’ll rejoice and be happy because of your son. And many people will also rejoice with you because of his birth. 15 For he’ll become a great man before God. As a sign that he's been set apart for God, he can’t drink wine or other strong drinks. [3] He’ll always be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from within his mother’s womb. 16 He’ll lead many Israelites to return to the Lord their God. 17 He’ll prepare God’s people before the Lord comes to earth. God’s Spirit will give him power to work like the prophet Elijah. As a result of his ministry parents will love their children again, and he’ll lead people who don’t obey the Lord to become obedient again. And their way of thinking will become wise again so they’ll want to live right.
18 Then Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be certain that what you say will actually happen? My wife and I are too old to have a child of our own!”
19 Then the angel answered, “My name is Gabriel. I always stand before God, and I’m always ready to bring His news. He’s the one who ordered me to give you this good news. 20 Listen! What I told you will definitely happen in its time. But because you don’t believe what I say, you’ll become mute and unable to speak until the moment all of this becomes reality.”
21 Meanwhile, the crowd was still waiting for Zechariah outside. They were amazed because he was in the Holy Room so long. 22 When he came out, he had already become mute and couldn’t speak to them anymore. He could only give signs to them with his hands. Finally they realized that he had seen a vision in the Holy Room. 23 After finishing his turn of duty, Zechariah went back to his home in the village.
24 Not long after that his wife Elizabeth got pregnant. For five months Elizabeth didn’t go anywhere and didn’t show herself to other people 25 because she thought, “People have already insulted me for so long because of being barren. But the Lord has finally had compassion on me. So let people know that I’m pregnant when they see me!”
The angel Gabriel tells Mary about the birth of Jesus
26-27 When Elizabeth was six months pregnant, God sent the angel Gabriel to a young virgin named Mary, who lived in the city of Nazareth, in the province of Galilee. Mary was engaged to Joseph, a descendant of David. 28 As soon as the angel arrived, he said, “Greetings! The Lord is really kind to you. He’s with you!”
29 Mary was really shocked to hear what the angel said and she asked in her heart what that greeting meant.
30 Then the angel spoke to her again, “Don’t be afraid, Mary. God is very kind to you. 31 Listen! You’ll get pregnant and give birth to a boy Child. You should name Him Jesus. 32 He’ll become a Great Man, and He’ll be called the Son of the Most High God. And the Lord God will raise Him up to become King like David, His forefather. 33 And He’ll rule the Jews who are the descendants of Jacob forever. And His kingdom will never end.”
34 Then Mary said to the angel, “What?! How can all that possibly happen, because I've never been married?!”
35 And the angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come to you, and the power of the Most High will come upon you so that the holy Child whom you will give birth to will be called God’s Son. 36 Your relative Elizabeth is now six months pregnant too, and she’ll give birth to a boy, even though she’s very old and people say that she’s barren. 37 Nothing is impossible for God.
38 Mary said, “I’m a lowly servant of the Lord. May what you’ve said happen to me.” Then the angel went and left her.
Mary visits Elizabeth
39 Not long after that, Mary hurried to get ready and went to a village in the mountain region of the province of Judea 40 to visit Elizabeth and Zechariah. When Mary went into their house she greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child in Elizabeth’s womb kicked for joy. Then Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 She said in a loud voice, “Mary, you of all women are the most blessed by God! And the Child who’s now in your womb is also very blessed! 43 Now I’ve received a very great honor because the mother who will give birth to my Lord has come to visit me. 44 For as soon as I heard your greeting, the child in my womb kicked for joy. 45 You’re so joyful because you believed that what the Lord told you will be fulfilled!”
Mary praises God
46 Then Mary said,
“I praise the Lord God with all my heart,
47 and I really rejoice because God is my Savior.
48 For He has paid attention to me,
even though I’m the Lord’s lowly servant.
So from now on and forever,
everyone will remember how the Lord blessed me
49 because the Almighty has done amazing things for me.
Praise God, for He is holy!
50 And from age to age, God always has compassion on everyone
who fears and respects Him.
51 In this age, as in ages past,
God has once more begun to stretch out His hand and show His power.
In times past He scattered the people who were conceited,
and confused all of their plans.
52 In times past God also brought down kings from their positions,
and He raised up people who were humble.
53 And in times past God gave delicious food to hungry people, until they were full,
but He ordered rich people to go away empty-handed.
54 So once more as in times past, God is helping Israel,
His chosen people, so that we sincerely serve Him.
He didn’t forget His promise to have compassion on us,
55 like His promise to our forefathers,
beginning with Abraham up to us descendants of his,
and forever.”
56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months, and then she went home to Nazareth.
John the Baptist is born
57 When her time was complete, Elizabeth gave birth to a boy. 58 Then all of her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had such compassion on Elizabeth, and they rejoiced with her.
59 When the child was one week old, [4] many guests came to attend the child’s circumcision ceremony. They wanted to give him the name Zechariah according to his father’s name. 60 But Elizabeth said, “No! He has to be given the name John.”
61 Then they answered, “But there’s no one in either of your families who has that name! 62 So they gave a sign to the boy’s father to ask, “Sir, what name do you want to give him?”
63 Then Zechariah asked for a writing stone and wrote, “His name is John.” So they were all amazed. 64 And at that very moment Zechariah could speak again, and he began to praise God. 65 Their neighbors were all amazed and afraid. And the news about all of these events spread everywhere in the whole mountainous region of Judea. 66 Everyone who heard about these things asked in their hearts, “Will this child be an important person?” They asked that because the Lord was obviously with him.
Zechariah praises God and prophesies
67 Then Zechariah, John’s father, was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied like this,
68 “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel.
For He has come back to help His people
and to free us from our enemies.
69 God has given us a Savior
who is ready to rule with full authority,
who comes from the descendants of His servant David.
70 This is according to God's plan
which was given by the prophets who served Him in times past.
71 They foretold that God would save us from our enemies
and from the power of those who hate us.
72 And now it’s proven that God didn’t forget to do according to His holy promises
which He promised to our forefathers,
which was to show His kindness to us.
73 For God already promised with an oath to Abraham our forefather
74 that we would be freed from the power of our enemies
so that we could serve God without fear.
75 And in that way we can live holy and right before Him for as long as we live.
76 And regarding you, my little child,
you’ll be called a prophet of the Most High God, and you’ll go before the Lord
preparing everything for His coming.
77 This means that you’ll tell His people how they can be saved
through forgiveness of their sins.
78 So because of the kindness of our God,
a new day, the Day of Salvation from heaven will shine on us.
79 In that way, God will help us who live in darkness
and in fear of death.
The light of the Lord will lead us to the Lord’s way
so that we live with a feeling of calm in His protection.”
80 John grew bigger and his spirit grew strong. When he was old enough, he lived in the desert until the time came for him to reveal himself to the people of Israel.
Chapter 2
The birth of Christ Jesus
1 At that time, the high king of the Roman kingdom named Augustus gave a command to hold a census of the residents of every Roman province, in order to make all residents pay taxes. 2 This was the first census of residents which was held while Quirinius was the governor of the province of Syria. 3 So each person went to the city of his origin to register.
4-5 Because of that, Joseph went to register too. He went with Mary, his fiancee, from the city of Nazareth in the province of Galilee. Since Joseph was a descendant of David they went to the province of Judea, and to the city of Bethlehem, which is also called the “city of David.” Mary was pregnant at the time. 6 While they were there, the time came for Mary to give birth. 7 She gave birth to a Son, her firstborn Child. Mary wrapped Him with a long cloth diaper and laid Him in a wooden box for feeding cattle. They stayed there for a short time because it happened that all of the rooming houses were full at the time.
The shepherds hear about Jesus
8 That night some shepherds were guarding their flocks of sheep in a field outside the city of Bethlehem. 9 An angel suddenly appeared before them. The light of the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they became very frightened. 10 The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid! I’m giving you good news, that is news which brings much joy to everyone. 11 Today in the city of David, your Savior has been born. He is the Lord who is also called the Christ. [1] 12 And this will be a sign for you: you’ll find a Son who is wrapped in a long cloth diaper, lying in a wooden box for feeding cattle.” 13 Suddenly many other angels, who were troops of heavenly soldiers, appeared along with that angel. They were praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven!
And everyone who pleases Him on earth should feel calm in His protection!”
15 When the angels left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem now to see what happened, that the Lord told us about.”
16 Then they went there quickly and met Mary and Joseph. They also saw the Child lying in the wooden box. 17 While the shepherds were visiting the Baby, they told everyone who was present what the angel had told them about the Child. 18 Everyone who heard the story of the shepherds was amazed. 19 But Mary kept all of those things in her heart and kept thinking about the meaning of it all. 20 Then the shepherds returned to their flocks, glorifying and praising God because of what they saw and heard. Everything was exactly as the angel had told them.
21 When the Child was one week old, [2] He was circumcised and given the name Jesus, which is the name that the angel gave Him before Mary became pregnant with Him.
The ceremony of Mary’s cleansing and surrendering of Jesus at God’s House in Jerusalem
22 Forty days after Jesus was born, the time came for Mary and Joseph to give the sacrifice of cleansing at God’s House, like the Law of Moses commanded. [1] At that time, they also brought Jesus to Jerusalem and surrendered Him to God, 23 according to the regulations written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn boy child has to be surrendered to the Lord.” [2] 24 So while they were there, they also offered a sacrifice of “a pair of turtle doves or two young doves” as the requirement for Mary’s cleansing after giving birth, according to what the Law of the Lord specified. [3]
Simeon prophesies about Jesus
25-26 At the time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was a man who lived right and wholeheartedly obeyed the Lord. The Holy Spirit was with him. He had already waited a long time for God to restore the people of Israel through the work of the Christ, like what was prophesied by the prophets. The Holy Spirit had shown him that he wouldn’t die before he saw the Christ. 27 So when Mary and Joseph took Jesus into the courtyard of God’s House to surrender their Son to the Lord, according to the regulations of the Law, the Holy Spirit had already moved in Simeon’s heart so that he entered the courtyard earlier. 28 Then Simeon held Him while praising God, saying,
29 “Oh Lord, now let Your servant
die feeling calm
because You’ve fulfilled Your promise to me.
30 With my own eyes I’ve seen
how You’ll save Your people
31 and the way You’ll save people of every tribe and people group.
32 This Boy is like a light that will enlighten the non-Jewish people groups who live in darkness,
and He’ll bring glory to Your people Israel.”
33 Joseph and Mary were amazed to hear the things that Simeon said about their Son. 34 Then Simeon prayed that God would bless them. Then he said to Mary, “Listen! According to God’s plan, many people of Israel will fall and be punished by God through this Child. And many will also be made right before God through this Child. Even though He was sent by God, many people will reject Him. 35 And through Him, the thoughts that are in many people’s hearts will become obvious. And the time will come when your heart will feel pain as if it was stabbed by a sharp sword.”
Hannah sees Jesus
36-37 There was also a female prophet there named Hannah, the daughter of Phanuel, from the tribe of Asher. Hannah was a widow who was very old, eighty four years old. When she had been married just seven years, her husband died. [3] After that Hannah was almost always in the courtyard of God’s House. She worshiped there day and night while praying and fasting. 38 At that time also, Hannah came into the courtyard and praised God. She spoke about that Child to the crowd that was there, who were longing for the moment God would send the Savior who was promised to free Jerusalem. [4]
Joseph and Mary return to Nazareth
39 After Joseph and Mary finished all of the regulations of the Lord’s Law, they returned to the city of Nazareth in the province of Galilee. 40 The Child grew bigger and stronger. He was full of wisdom, and the kindness of God was always with Him.
Jesus’ childhood
41 Every year, Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem to join in the celebration of Passover. 42 When Jesus was twelve years old, they went to the celebration as usual. 43-44 After the celebration was over, Joseph and Mary left to return to Nazareth. They thought that Jesus was also in the middle of the group of people who were going home. But He was still in Jerusalem. When their group had traveled for a day, Joseph and Mary began to look for Him among their family group and acquaintances. 45 When they didn’t find Him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for Him.
46 After three days they found Him in the courtyard of God’s House. He was sitting among the Law experts, [5] while listening to them and presenting questions to them. 47 Everyone who heard Him was really amazed because of His knowledge and wise answers when He answered the questions of the Law experts. 48 When His parents saw Him, they were amazed too. Mary said to Him, “Why did You do this to us, Son?! For several days Your father and I have been so worried, looking for You everywhere!”
49 Jesus said to them, “Why were you looking for Me? You should have known that I would be in My Father’s House, of course.” 50 But they didn’t understand His answer.
51 Then He went home with them to Nazareth, and He always obeyed His parents. But His mother kept and meditated on all of those things in her heart. 52 Jesus grew older and wiser, as well as more pleasing before God and also before man.
Chapter 3
John the Baptist prepares God’s people for the coming of Jesus
1-2 When Tiberius’ had been the high king of the Roman kingdom for fifteen years, God led John, the son of Zechariah, to begin his ministry. At the same time,
Pontius Pilate held the position as governor of the province of Judea,
Herod ruled as king in the province of Galilee,
Philip, his brother, was king in the provinces of Iturea and Trachonitis,
and Lysanius ruled as king in the province of Abilene.
And in Jerusalem, Annas and Caiaphas held the position of high priest.
At that time, God began to give His message through John, who lived in the desert. 3 John went around to the whole region of the Jordan River and announced this, “Each of you have to repent of your sins so that God will forgive you. And to show that you want to keep following the Lord, come to me so that I can baptize you.” 4 So this John is the one God meant in the prophecy of Isaiah’s book where he wrote,
“Later on a man will cry out in the desert like this,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Make the way straight for Him!’” [4]
5 “Every valley should be filled in,
and every mountain and hill should be leveled.
Every road that zig-zags should be straightened,
and every road that is full of holes should be repaired.
6 In that way, everyone will get the opportunity to understand
how he can be saved by God.” [1]
7 Many people came to John to be baptized. He said to them, “Hey, you descendants of poisonous snakes! Don’t think that you can free yourself from God's punishment which will come! 8 For that reason, show by your actions that you’ve sincerely repented. And don’t say in your heart, ‘I won’t be punished by God because I’m a descendant of Abraham.’ I’m telling you that God is able to change these stones to become descendants of Abraham! 9 Like a farmer who cuts down a tree that never bears fruit and burns it, God is also ready now to do away with our people and throw them into the fire!” [2]
10 Then the crowd asked him, “So what should we do so that God doesn’t punish us?”
11 He answered them, “Whoever has two shirts should give one to a person who doesn’t have any. If you have food, share it with people who’re hungry too.”
12 Some tax collectors [3] came to be baptized. They asked John, “Teacher, what should we do?”
13 He answered them, “Stop collecting more taxes than what the Roman government determines.”
14 There were even some soldiers who asked him, “And what about us? What should we do?”
He answered them, “Don’t use force, threats or false accusations against a person in order to get money from him. Be satisfied with your wages.”
15 Because of John’s ministry, people waited full of hope and asked in their hearts, “Is John the Christ [4] whom we’re waiting for?”
16 John answered all of them, “I’m baptizing you with water, but a Man will come who has more authority than I do. I’m not worthy to serve Him, not even to untie the strings of His sandals. He’ll baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17 Repent, because this world is like a field which is ready to be harvested, and the good produce will be separated from the bad! For He who is coming after me will judge this world and separate all of you who are evil from the righteous people. The righteous will live with Him, but all the evil people will be thrown into the fire of hell which will never be extinguished. [5] 18 John told the Good News to the crowd by giving much advice like that.
John’s work ends
19 John rebuked King Herod because he had taken off with Herodiana, his brother’s wife, [6] and because he had done other evil things too. 20 Then Herod added even more to his evil deeds by putting John in prison.
John baptizes Jesus
21 While John was baptizing the crowd, he also baptized Jesus. And while Jesus was praying the sky opened up, 22 and the Holy Spirit came down on Him in the form of a dove. Then a voice from the sky was heard which said, “You’re My Son whom I love very much, and You please My heart.”
Geneology of Jesus
23 Jesus was thirty years old when He started His work. People thought he was the son of Joseph.
Joseph was the son of Heli,
24 Heli was the son of Matthat,
Matthat was the son of Levi,
Levi was the son of Melki,
Melki was the son of Jannai,
Jannai was the son of Joseph,
25 Joseph was the son of Mattathias,
Mattathias was the son of Amos,
Amos was the son of Nahum,
Nahum was the son of Esli,
Esli was the son of Naggai,
26 Naggai was the son of Maath,
Maath was the son of Mattathias,
Mattathias was the son of Semein,
Semein was the son of Josech,
Josech was the son of Joda.
27 Joda was the son of Joanan,
Joanan was the son of Rhesa,
Rhesa was the son of Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel was the son of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel was the son of Neri,
28 Neri was the son of Melki,
Melki was the son of Addi,
Addi was the son of Cosam,
Cosam was the son of Elmadam,
Elmadam was the son of Er,
29 Er was the son of Joshua,
Joshua was the son of Eliezer,
Eliezer was the son of Jorim,
Jorim was the son of Matthat,
Matthat was the son of Levi.
30 Levi was the son of Simeon,
Simeon was the son of Judah,
Judah was the son of Joseph,
Joseph was the son of Jonam,
Jonam was the son of Eliakim,
31 Eliakim was the son of Melea,
Melea was the son of Menna,
Menna was the son of Mattatha,
Mattatha was the son of Nathan,
Nathan was the son of David,
32 David was the son of Jesse,
Jesse was the son of Obed,
Obed was the son of Boaz,
Boaz was the son of Salmon,
Salmon was the son of Nahshon.
33 Nahshon was the son of Amminadab,
Amminadab was the son of Admin,
Admin was the son of Arni,
Arni was the son of Hezron,
Hezron was the son of Perez,
Perez was the son of Judah,
34 Judah was the son of Jacob,
Jacob was the son of Isaac,
Isaac was the son of Abraham,
Abraham was the son of Terah,
Terah was the son of Nahor,
35 Nahor was the son of Serug,
Serug was the son of Reu,
Reu was the son of Peleg,
Peleg was the son of Eber,
Eber was the son of Shelah.
36 Shelah was the son of Cainan,
Cainan was the son of Arphaxad,
Arphaxad was the son of Shem,
Shem was the son of Noah,
Noah was the son of Lamech,
37 Lamech was the son of Methuselah,
Methuselah was the son of Enoch,
Enoch was the son of Jared,
Jared was the son of Mahalalel,
Mahalalel was the son of Kenan,
38 Kenan was the son of Enosh,
Enosh was the son of Seth,
Seth was the son of Adam,
and Adam was the son of God.
Chapter 4
Jesus is tested by the devil
1 When Jesus left the Jordan River, God’s Spirit had filled Him. And God’s Spirit led Him to go and stay in the desert. 2 Jesus was tested there by the devil for forty days. During all of that time He didn’t eat at all, and after that He was very hungry. 3 Then the devil said to Him, “You’re God’s Son, [1] right?! So make this rock become bread!”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written in the Holy Bible,
‘A man’s life doesn’t depend only on bread.’” [5]
5 Then in an amazing way, the devil took Jesus to a high place and in the blink of an eye showed Him all the kingdoms that are in the world. 6 The devil said to Him, “I'll give you all of the authority and glory of this, because all of it was given to me, and I can give it to anyone that I want. 7 So if you [2] kneel and worship me now, all of this will become Your possession.” 8 Jesus answered him, “It's written in the Holy Bible,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and He is the only one you must serve.’” [6]
9 Then in just a short time the devil carried Jesus to Jerusalem and put Him on the highest point of God’s House. He said, “If you really are God’s Son, jump down! 10 For it's written in the Holy Bible,
‘God will order the angels to guard you.’ [7]
11 And it also says,
‘They’ll catch you in their hands
so that your foot won’t get cut by hitting a stone.’” [8]
12 But Jesus answered him, “It's also written in the Holy Bible,
‘Don’t intentionally test the Lord your God by doing something that opposes His will.’” [9]
13 After Jesus was tested in various ways like that, the devil went and left Him. But the devil was looking for another opportunity to test Him.
Jesus teaches the crowd
14 Then Jesus returned to Galilee. He was full of the Holy Spirit’s power, and the news about Him spread to the whole region. 15 He taught in the Jewish synagogues [3] which were there, and He was praised by everyone as being a good man.
Jesus is rejected in the village He came from
16 Then Jesus went to Nazareth, the place He grew up. He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath Day as he usually did. Then He was given the opportunity to stand before the congregation to read God’s Word. 17 It happened that the scrolled book which was given to Him contained the writing of the Prophet Isaiah. Then Jesus opened the scrolled book and found the verses written like this,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me,
and God has commissioned [4] Me to tell the good news to poor people.
I'm also sent by Him to tell the good news to prisoners
so that through My ministry they’ll soon be set free,
and to blind people
so that their eyes will be healed,
and to those who are oppressed
so that they’ll be set free.
19 And the Lord sent Me to announce this:
‘It's now the time God promised to show His kindness to us!’” [10]
20 Then Jesus rolled up the book and returned it to the official, and He sat down. Everyone present in that meeting house paid serious attention to Him. 21 Then He began to speak to them, saying, “Today, the prophecy in that text was fulfilled when you heard Me read it.”
22 In the beginning everyone said good things about Jesus. Some people said, “All of his lessons are very good and enjoyable to hear.” And there were also those who were amazed and said, “Wow, how can a son of Joseph possibly teach like this?!” [5]
23 Then He said to them, “You will certainly say to Me what people often say, which is ‘Doctor, heal yourself.’ And by that saying you mean to ask this, ‘We’ve heard that you did miracles in Capernaum. Do the same things here in your own village.’” 24 Then Jesus said, “What I’m telling you is true. No prophet is appreciated in his own home town. 25 And this is also very true. There were many widows in Israel at the time of the Prophet Elijah, that is when rain didn’t fall for three and a half years and a famine happened in this whole land. 26 But Elijah wasn’t sent to a single one of the widows of his own land and people, but just to help a widow in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. 27 And at the time of the Prophet Elisha, there were many people who were sick with leprosy in Israel, but Elisha didn’t heal even one of them. Only Naaman, a man from the land of Syria, was healed by him.”
28 When they heard Jesus teach that, they realized that He wasn’t going to do any miracles for them. Then the crowd in that synagogue became very angry. 29 They stood up and chased Him out of the village. The city of Nazareth was built on a hill, so they drove Him to the edge of a cliff and wanted to push Him over the edge. 30 But Jesus just passed through the middle of them and left.
Jesus drives an evil spirit out of a man of Capernaum
31 Jesus went to Capernaum, a city in the province of Galilee. On the Sabbath Day He taught the people in the synagogue there. 32 When they heard His teaching, they were amazed because He spoke like a king who has the authority to rule. 33 There was a man at the synagogue who was possessed by a demon. The man cried out loudly, 34 “Hey you, Jesus the Nazarene! Don’t bother us! Oh, you’ve [6] come to destroy us, have you?! I know who you are! You’re the holy messenger from God.” 35 Jesus immediately ordered the demon, “Be quiet! Come out of that man!” Then the evil spirit threw the man to the floor in front of the people who were present, and it went out of the man without hurting him.
36 Everyone there was very amazed and said to each other, “Wow! Jesus’ teaching is really extraordinary! Like a king who gives commands with full authority, Jesus orders the evil spirits to come out and they come out.” 37 So news about Jesus spread to the whole region and the surrounding area.
Jesus heals many people
38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to Peter’s house. [7] Peter’s mother-in-law was sick with a high fever, and they asked Jesus to heal her. 39 Then He stood next to her and ordered the fever harshly, “Be healed.” And at that moment the woman was healed. Then she got up and served them.
40 When the sun began to set, [8] every sick person in the city was brought to Jesus by their family members. He healed the sick people of whatever sickness they were suffering from by putting His hand on each of them. 41 And demons also came out of many people. The demons cried out, “You’re God’s Son!” But Jesus harshly rebuked them. He didn’t permit [9] them to speak because they knew that He was the Christ. [10]
Jesus goes to other cities
42 The next morning Jesus went to a guiet place, but the crowd looked for Him. And when they found Him they tried to restrain Him so that He wouldn’t leave them. 43 But He said to them, “I have to take the Good News about God’s kingdom [11] to other cities too, because I was sent into this world for that reason.” 44 So he went and told the Good News in the synagogues in the province of Judea.
Chapter 5
Peter, James and John follow Jesus
1 One day, Jesus stood on the shore of Lake Galilee, [1] and many people gathered and pushed against each other around Him because they wanted to hear His teaching about God’s Word. 2 He saw two boats on the edge of the shore. The fishermen had gotten out of the boats and were cleaning their nets. 3 Jesus got into one of those boats, which was Simon’s boat. He suggested to Simon to push out a little farther from the shore for a short distance. Then He sat in the boat and taught the crowd from there.
4 After He finished teaching, He said to Simon, “Move this boat to a deeper place. Then spread out your nets there to catch fish.”
5 Simon answered Him, “Teacher, we’ve worked hard all night long and didn’t get anything. But since You say so, I’ll spread out our nets.” 6 When they did that, they got so many fish that their nets almost broke. 7 Then they called to their friends, who had another boat, to come and help. So their friends came with that boat and helped them put the fish into the two boats until they were full and about to sink.
8 After Simon Peter saw that, he knelt down in front of Jesus and said, “Lord, leave me because I’m a sinful man.” 9 He said that because he, and everyone with him, was amazed at seeing the number of fish they caught. 10 Simon’s coworkers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you won’t be catching fish anymore but I'll teach you to catch people so that they become My followers.
11 After they pulled their boats up to the shore of the lake, they left everything and followed Him.
Jesus heals a man suffering from a contagious skin desease
12 One day, Jesus was in a city where a man was living whose body was covered with a contageous skin disease. [2] When he saw Jesus, he knelt down to worship Him and begged, “Sir! If you want to, You can heal me.”
13 Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him while saying, “I want to, be healed!” And at that very moment his disease disappeared. 14 Then Jesus said, “Don’t tell anyone what happened, but go and show yourself to the priest. And offer the sacrifice for your healing, like what Moses commanded. [3] Do that as proof to everyone that you're well.”
15 But the news about Jesus spread farther so that a crowd came thronging to hear Him and asked to be healed of their sicknesses. 16 But He often went alone to a quiet place to pray.
Jesus heals a paralyzed man
17 One day, Jesus was teaching a crowd. And there were also men there from the religious group called the Pharisees, [4] and some Law experts. [5] Those religious leaders had come from every city in the provinces of Galilee and Judea and from the city of Jerusalem. That day, the power of God was on Jesus to heal sick people. 18 Then several people came bringing a totally paralyzed man who was lying on his mattress. They tried to bring him inside and place him before Jesus. 19 But they couldn’t bring him inside because of the crowd that was there. So they climbed up on the roof of the house, opened up the roof and lowered the paralyzed man on his mattress into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. 20 When Jesus noticed that they believed completely that He had power to heal the paralyzed man, He said, “Brother, I’ve forgiven your sins.”
21 The Law experts and the Pharisees began to say in their hearts, “This man is too daring to say that! He has insulted God! No man can forgive the sins of man except God Himself.” [6]
22 At that very moment Jesus knew what they were thinking. So He rebuked them, “I know that you have doubts in your hearts about what I said! 23 Of course it was hard for you to accept it when I said to this paralyzed man, ‘I’ve forgiven your sins.’ Will it be easier for you to accept if I say to him, ‘Get up, pick up your mattress and go home’? 24 But by saying this, I’m proving to you that I the Son of Man [7] have the right to forgive the sin of man!” Then Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your mattress and go home!”
25 At that very moment, the man stood up in front of them. He took his mattress and then went home praising God. 26 Everyone was really amazed and praised God. Full of respect and fear for God, they said, “Today we've witnessed extraordinary things!”
Matthew follows Jesus
27 After that, Jesus went out and saw a government official who was sitting in his booth. The man's job was to collect taxes [8] from the people to give to the Roman government. His name was Matthew. [9] Jesus said to him, “Come, and follow Me.” 28 Matthew just stood, left everything in his booth and followed Jesus as He went on His the way.
29 Matthew held a big dinner for Jesus at his home. Many tax collectors and other people ate with them. 30 On seeing that the Pharisees and Law experts complained to His disciples, “Why do you eat with tax collectors and other sinful people?”
31 Jesus answered them, “People who are healthy don’t need to go to a doctor. Sick people are the ones who need to go to a doctor. 32 It’s like that with Me too. I came to call sinful people to repent, not people who think that they're righteous!”
Regarding fasting
33 Then there were some people who said to Jesus, “John’s disciples often pray and fast. The members of the Pharisee group do too. But your disciples keep eating and drinking.”
34 Jesus answered them by giving an example that illustrates something similar, “The guests at a wedding feast are never ordered to fast as long as the groom is still with them, of course! In the same way, as long as I’m with My disciples they won’t fast. 35 But just think what will happen if the groom is captured by His enemies. That’s what will happen to Me, and at that time My disciples will fast.”
36 Jesus also gave these two examples to them: “If a person has an old tunic that’s torn, there’s no way he would patch it with cloth taken from a new tunic because he doesn’t want to ruin the new tunic, and the new cloth won’t work to patch the old tunic. 37 It’s the same with new wine. [10] There’s no way new wine would be put into an old skin bag, because when the wine expands and the gas can’t get out, the bag will burst. In the end, the wine will spill out, and the skin bag will just be thrown away. 38 Because of that new wine has to be put into a new skin bag too. 39 But a person who has tasted old wine won’t want to drink new wine anymore because he’ll say, ‘The old wine tastes better.’” [11]
Chapter 6
Jesus is Lord over the Sabbath Day
1 Once when it was the Sabbath Day, Jesus and His disciples walked through a broad field of wheat. As they walked, the disciples picked several stalks of wheat and then rubbed them in their hands to take off the husk, and then ate the seeds. 2 Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing that?! You’re breaking the Sabbath Day regulations.”
3 Jesus answered, “Of course you know the story about David, when he and the men who were with him were hungry and needed food. 4 He entered God’s Holy Tabernacle and accepted the bread which was always placed in the Holy Room in God’s Tabernacle. David took it to the men who were with him, then he ate the bread with them even though according to the Law of Moses only the priests could eat it. [11] Even so, no one considers what David did to be a sin.” 5 Jesus said to the Pharisees again, “I the Son of Man [1] am the Lord who has the right to determine what may or may not be done on the Sabbath Day.”
Jesus heals a sick man on the Sabbath Day
6 On another Sabbath Day, Jesus went to teach at a Jewish synagogue. There was a man there whose right hand was paralyzed. 7 There were also some Law experts and Pharisees there who were watching Jesus closely because they were looking for a reason to be able to report Him to the Jewish leaders. So they wanted to know if He would heal a person on the Sabbath Day. 8 Jesus knew what was in their minds so He said to the man whose hand was paralyzed, “Get up and stand here in front.” The man just got up and stood there. 9 Jesus said to them, “Think about this, according to Moses’ Law, what may we do on the Sabbath Day? Are we allowed to do good or to do evil? Or are we allowed to save someone’s life or to kill someone?”
10 He looked around at the people and finally said to the sick man, “Straighten your hand out in front.” He did it, and his hand was immediately healed. 11 The Law experts and the Pharisees were very angry. Then they said to each other, “What should we do to Jesus?”
Jesus chooses twelve apostles
12 One day, Jesus went up on a hill to pray. He prayed all night there. 13 The next morning, He called the crowd that was following Him, then chose twelve of them to become His disciples. He also appointed them as His apostles. [2] Their names were:
14 Simon, to whom Jesus gave the new name “Peter,”
Andrew, the biological younger brother of Peter,
James, John,
Philip, Bartholomew,
15 Matthew, Thomas,
James, the son of Alphaeus,
and Simon who had followed the movement of people who fought to free Israel from the colonization of Rome.
16 There were also two men named Judas. The first was Judas, the son of James,
and Judas who came from the village of Cariot. He was the one who would later betray Jesus.
Jesus teaches, and heals sick people
17 Then Jesus went down the hill with His disciples and stopped at a level place. A large number of people who followed Him were already there and many other people too, who came from all of the province of Judea, Jerusalem and the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon. 18 They came to hear Jesus and to ask to be healed from their diseases. And there were many people who were healed of being bothered by evil spirits. 19 All of those people tried to touch Jesus because power went out from Him so that they were all healed.
20 He looked especially at His disciples and said,
“All of you who are poor are truly blessed by God
because you’re the ones who will become citizens of God’s kingdom.
21 You who are hungry now are truly blessed by God
because you’ll be satisfied.
You who are crying now are truly blessed by God
because you will laugh.
22 You who are hated, insulted, rejected and slandered because you become followers of Me, the Son of Man, are truly blessed by God. 23 When you’re made to suffer like that, rejoice and dance for joy because your reward in heaven will be great!
For remember the prophets who lived in times past were also persecuted like that by the forefathers of the people who are making you suffer now.”
24 But all of you who are rich now are unfortunate
because the pleasure you enjoy in the world won’t be repeated again in God’s kingdom.
25 You who are satisfied now are unfortunate
because you’ll experience hunger.
You who laugh now are unfortunate
because you’ll mourn and cry.
26 If everyone praises you, you’re unfortunate.
For remember the false prophets who lived in times past were also praised like that by the forefathers of people who are now praising you.”
Love your enemies
27 “But this is My command to each of you who hear this teaching of Mine, love the people who oppose you and do good to those who hate you. 28 Ask God to bless those who curse you and pray for those who do evil to you. 29 For example, if someone slaps your left cheek, give him your right cheek too. And if someone takes away your robe, let him take your tunic too. 30 If someone asks you for something, give it to him. And if someone takes away your possessions, don’t ask for them back. 31 And treat other people the way that you want other people to treat you.
32 If you just show love to your friends who love you, don’t hope that God will bless you because you showed them love. For even sinful people show love to those who love them. 33 Or if you just do good to your friends who do good to you, don’t hope that God will bless you because of your good deeds. For even sinful people do the same thing. 34 And if you just loan money to people who can repay it, don’t hope that God will bless you because of doing that. For even sinful people give loans to fellow sinners, that is to people who’ll be able to return the loan in the same amount.
35 Instead, you should love those who oppose you, do good to them, and loan money without hoping it will be returned. In that way, God will give you a great reward, and all your deeds will prove that you are worthy to call Almighty God your Father. For He’s also kind to people who never say thanks and to evil people. 36 You should show compassion, just like our Father in heaven shows compassion.”
Examine yourself
37 “Don’t make yourself a judge of the wrongs of others, so that you won’t be judged in the same way too. [3] Forgive other people, then God will forgive you. 38 Help other people, then God will also help you. And God will add more when He repays you for your kindness. He’ll use a standard of measure that’s greater and make that container full and really pressed down to the point that the excess spills out to the right and left. For the standard of measure that you use to give to other people will be remembered by God when He repays you for your kindness.”
39 Jesus told them this example, “If a blind man leads a fellow blind man, they’ll definitely both fall into a hole. [12] 40 A student can’t be greater than his teacher, but the student who finishes all of his training will become like his teacher.
41-42 “Don’t accuse another person for a small fault. Whoever does that is like someone who notices sand in his brother’s eye while he doesn’t notice the beam of wood in his own eye. Then he arrogantly says to his brother, ‘Come here and I’ll remove the sand from your eye!’ Hey, you who only pretend to be good people! First remove the beam that’s in your own eye, and after that you can see clearly to remove the sand that’s in your brother’s eye.”
Example of two kinds of trees
43 “A good tree can’t possibly produce fruit that isn’t good, right? In the same way a tree that’s known to produce fruit that can’t be eaten won’t produce delicious fruit. 44 For every tree is known by its fruit. A thorn bush can’t possibly produce figs and other thorny plants can’t possibly produce grapes. 45 People are also like trees. A good person always produces good deeds because all of his deeds come from what’s kept in his heart. But an evil person always produces evil deeds because of the evil that’s kept in his heart. For whatever is kept in the heart and continually thought about will come out of the mouth, for sure.”
Example of two kinds of people
46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, but you don’t do what I command! 47 Let Me give this example to illustrate everyone who comes to Me, hears My teaching and does it: 48 They’re just like a man who builds a house. First he digs a deep hole in the ground until he finds a large, solid rock. That rock is used as the foundation for other stones. When there’s a flood and the river overflows and crashes into that house, the house isn’t shaken because it was built on a foundation of solid rock. 49 However, a person who hears My teaching but doesn’t do it is like a man who builds a house without a foundation just on top of the ground. When there’s a flood and the river overflows and crashes into that house, it’ll fall apart and be severly ruined.”
Chapter 7
Jesus heals a slave
1 After Jesus finished teaching all of those things to the crowd, He and His disciples went to the city of Capernaum. 2 There was a Roman officer [1] there who had a slave that was very sick and almost dead. That slave was loved deeply by the officer. 3 When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent several Jewish elders to meet Jesus and ask Him to come and heal his slave. 4 After they met Jesus, they earnestly pleaded with Him to help the officer. They said, “Sir, that man deserves to receive your help 5 because he loves our people and is generous to us. And he’s the one who funded the building of our synagogue.”
6 Then Jesus went with them. When they were almost at the house, the officer sent several of his close friends to meet Jesus with this message, “Sir, you don’t need to bother coming to my house. I’m not worthy to receive you in my house, Sir. 7 In fact, I myself feel I’m not worthy to come and meet you, Sir, but I ask that you just say, ‘Be healed,’ and my slave will certainly get well. 8 For I am also an underling who submits to the commands of a superior, and there are also many soldiers under my command. If I say to one of them, ‘Go there,’ then he goes, and if I say to another, ‘Come here,’ he comes. And if I say to my slave, ‘Do this,’ then he does it. I have faith in you like that too, that all you command will happen.”
9 When Jesus heard his answer, He was really amazed. Then He said to the crowd who was following Him, “Pay attention to what I’m saying. I’ve never met anyone among the people of Israel who has faith as great as this man.”
10 When those who were sent returned to the officer’s house, they found the slave was already well.
Jesus brings the son of a widow back to life
11 Not long after that, Jesus went to a village called Nain. His disciples and many other people also went with him on that trip. 12 When Jesus was near the village gate, there was a group of people going out, carrying the dead body of a young man. [2] The young man was the only son of a widow. Many people from that village were with the widow. 13 When the Lord saw the widow, He felt compassion and then said to the woman, “Don’t cry.” 14 Then he came close to the stretcher and touched it. Those who carried the stretcher stopped, and then He said, “Hey young man, I’m telling you, come back to life!” 15 And the dead man came alive again and sat up and began to talk. Then Jesus handed him over to his mother.
16 Everyone who was there was very amazed and afraid, while praising God. There were some who said, “Obviously this Jesus is a great prophet who has been sent by God to us!” And there were others who said, “God has begun to help us His people like in times past!”
17 So the news about what Jesus had done spread to all Judea and the region around it.
John the Baptist presents a question, and Jesus teaches about the ministry of John
18 John the Baptist’s disciples told all of those things to John. Then John called two of his disciples 19 and sent them to meet the Lord to ask, “Sir, are You the Messenger whose coming was promised or should we still wait for another person?”
20 After they met Jesus they said, “Sir, John the Baptist ordered us to meet You to ask, ‘Are You the Messenger whose coming was promised or should we wait for another person?’”
21 At the time, Jesus was healing many people from various diseases and sufferings, driving evil spirits out of people who were possessed and making many blind people able to see. 22 So Jesus answered them, “Go back to John and tell him what you yourselves have witnessed and heard today, which is that now many blind people can see, lame people walk, people with contagious skin diseases are healed, deaf people can hear, dead people are being raised up and the Good News from God is being told to poor people. 23 And tell John that everyone who isn’t disappointed in Me or who doesn’t doubt Me is truly blessed.”
24 After John’s two messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John. He said, “Before My ministry began, why did you often travel far out into the desert? Was it just to see something normal, like seeing a blade of grass moving because the wind blows? Certainly not! 25 What were you actually looking for at that time? You certainly didn’t go to see a person who was beautifully dressed, because people who live luxuriously and wear clothing like that aren’t in the desert but in a king’s palace. 26 So what did you look for there? A prophet, right?! Yes, I’m telling you that the status of John is far more important than a prophet. 27 For he’s the one who was meant by the verse in the Holy Bible which says,
‘Pay attention. I'll send My messenger first
so that he’ll prepare the way before I send You.’ [13]
28 What I’m telling you is true. John is greater than everyone who has ever been born. But in the new kingdom which God has begun to set up, everyone who becomes a citizen of His kingdom will be considered to be greater than John, even those of the lowest status.
29 Most of the crowd who heard those words of Jesus, including the tax collectors, praised God by saying, “If that’s so, God truly sent John the Baptist, and what John taught was also true!” For they had obeyed God’s will when they were baptized by John. 30 But the Pharisees and the Law experts disregarded God’s will for themselves when they refused to be baptized by John.
31 Jesus said, “I'll use an example to illustrate most of the people who live in this age. 32 They’re like two groups of children playing in a yard. One group calls to the other group,
‘Every time we invite you to play something, you don’t want to! If we play a dance tune with a flute,
you don’t want to dance.
But if we pretend that we’re mourning,
you don’t want to pretend you’re crying.’
33 It means this: you always reject the work of God whatever its form. For when John the Baptist was serving the Lord among you, he often fasted and didn’t drink strong drinks, but you said, ‘He’s demon possessed.’ 34 Then the I Son of Man came too, and I eat and drink strong drinks like people in general. But you say, ‘Look! He eats and drinks greedily! He’s also a friend of tax collectors and other sinful people.’ 35 Even so, the wisdom of God is always proven to be true through its results.”
Jesus is anointed by a prostitute woman
36 Then a Pharisee named Simon invited Jesus to eat with him at his house. So Jesus went and took His place at the dinner table.
37 There was a woman prostitute in that city. When the woman heard that Jesus was eating at Simon’s home, she came to the house bringing a very beautiful bottle [3] which was filled with fragrant oil. 38 As Simon and the guests were eating, the woman came and knelt behind Jesus near His feet, while crying with regret for her sins. The woman’s tears fell and made His feet wet, and she wiped Jesus’ feet with her hair. Then the woman repeatedly kissed and anointed His feet with that fragrant oil.
39 When Simon the Pharisee saw that, he said in his heart, “If Jesus really was a prophet, he would certainly know what kind of woman is touching him! That woman is a prostitute!”
40 Then Jesus said to him, “Simon, I want to tell you something.”
Simon answered, “Say it, Teacher!”
41 Then Jesus told this parable. “There were two men who were in debt to a man who often loaned money with interest. The one man owed five hundred silver coins, whereas the other man owed fifty silver coins. [4] 42 Because the two men weren’t able to pay their debts, the lender generously erased their debts. Which of the two men will love him more?”
43 Simon answered, “In my opinion, it's the person whose larger debt was erased.”
Jesus said to Simon, “Your opinion is correct.” 44 While looking at the woman, Jesus said to Simon, “You’ve seen what this woman has been doing, of course! When I entered your house, you didn’t give Me water to wash My feet, but this woman washed My feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. 45 When I entered your house, you didn’t greet Me warmly. [5] But since I came in here, this woman hasn’t stopped kissing My feet. 46 You didn’t anoint My head with olive oil, but she anointed My feet with fragrant oil. 47 Because of that I say to you that her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, and that’s why she showed her love for Me in such an extraordinary way. But a person who has just a few sins forgiven loves just a little too.”
48 Then Jesus said to the woman, “I’ve forgiven your sins.”
49 Then the other guests who were eating together there began to say in their hearts, “He’s too daring in saying that! No one may forgive man’s sins except God Himself.” [6]
50 But Jesus said to the woman again, “It’s because you believe in Me that you’ve been saved. Go with the feeling of calm under God’s protection.”
Chapter 8
Women were also involved in Jesus’ ministry
1 Not long after that Jesus went around to many cities and villages to preach and announce the news of salvation from God, which is the Good News about God’s kingdom. And His twelve disciples went with Him. 2 There were some women with them whom Jesus had healed from various diseases and freed from evil spirits. Among them were
Mary, who came from the village of Magdala and who had been set free from seven demons, [1]
3 Johanna, the wife of Chuza (Chuza was Herod’s head of palace operations),
Susannah
and still many other woman.
All of those women often used their own money to help the needs of Jesus and His disciples.
The parable about the seeds that were scattered
4 When a great number of people from every city just kept coming to Jesus, He told them this parable.
5 “One day, a farmer went to scatter seeds in a field. While he was scattering the seeds, some fell on the road. Then they were stepped on by people and eaten by birds until they were gone. 6 And some others fell on rocky ground. As soon as they sprouted, they quickly wilted because the layer of soil there was dry. 7 Some others fell among thorny weeds. When the seeds grew and sprouted with the weeds, then the weeds choked them so that they died. 8 Whereas some others fell on ground that was fertile, then grew well, and from one seed, one hundred seeds were produced.”
After Jesus finished telling that parable, He cried out, “You have ears, don’t you?! So listen well!”
Jesus explains the meaning of the parable of the seeds that were scattered
9 After that Jesus' disciples asked Him, “What’s the meaning of that parable?”
10 Then He said, “Before now man wasn’t permitted to understand the teachings about God’s kingdom. [2] But now you’ve been given permission to understand such secret things. But I teach those things in parables to the others because God wants what was written by the prophet to happen, when God said,
‘Even though they see miracles,
they won’t realize what happened.
And even though they keep hearing lessons,
they won’t understand.’” [14]
11 “This is the meaning of the similarities in that parable:
the seeds represent teachings from God.
12 And the seeds that fell on the road illustrate people who hear God’s teachings, but the devil comes and steals those teachings from their hearts so that they won’t believe them and won’t be saved.
13 The seeds that fell on the rocky ground illustrate people who hear God’s teachings and accept them with glad hearts. But those teachings can’t grow in their hearts. They believe for just a short time. When they have troubles in their lives they leave the teachings behind.
14 The seeds that fell among thorny weeds illustrate the people who’ve heard God’s teachings, but in living out their daily lives they worry and chase after the wealth of the world and worldly pleasure. All of those things choke the growth of those teachings so that they can’t produce anything good in their lives.
15 And the seeds that fell on fertile ground illustrate those who hear God’s teaching and keep it carefully in their sincere hearts. Then they obey while continuing to persevere in those teachings. They’re like fertile ground that produces much fruit.” [3]
We should understand Jesus' teachings
16 Then Jesus added this parable, “A person would never light a lamp and then cover it with a bucket! He would never put it under a bed either. But a lamp is always put in a high place so that those who come into the house can see by its light. 17 It’s the same with all of the lessons that I teach in parables to the crowd. The meaning is kept secret now, but everything will be opened up later on. What isn’t clear now will become clear later on. 18 For that reason, pay close attention to the way you listen to My teachings. Because God will add ability to everyone who accepts My teachings so that they understand more. But God will take away the ability to understand from anyone who doesn’t accept My teachings, even though he thinks he understands a little.”
The character of people whom Jesus considers to be His family
19 Then Jesus' mother and brothers came to meet Him, but they couldn’t meet with Him because of the crowd that was surrounding Him. 20 So a person told Him, “Sir, your mother and brothers and sisters are waiting outside. They want to talk to you.”
21 But Jesus said to them, “I consider everyone who hears God’s teachings and does them to be my mother and my brothers and sisters.”
Jesus stops a storm
22 One day, Jesus said to His disciples, “Come, let’s go across to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and left. 23 While they were sailing, Jesus fell asleep. Suddenly a stormy wind blew up on the lake. A lot of water poured into the boat so that they were in danger and were almost sinking. 24 Then His disciples approached Jesus and woke Him up, saying, “Teacher, Teacher! We’re going to die!”
Jesus just got up and with a loud voice said to the stormy wind and the waves, “Be quiet!” Then the stormy wind and waves became quiet, and the lake became calm again. 25 Jesus said to them, “Why did you doubt Me?!”
They were amazed and afraid of Jesus. Then they said to each other, “Wow, what kind of a Man is He?! Even the wind and the lake obey His commands.”
Jesus drives demons out of a man from Gerasa
26 They continued to sail and reached the region of the city of Gerasa, which is located on the southeast side of Lake Galilee. 27 As soon as Jesus got out of the boat, a man from that city who was controlled by many demons met Him. The man had been naked for a long time, and didn’t want to live in a house. He just lived in the caves in the graveyard. [4]
28-29 The evil spirits often dragged the man around. When the people of the city still tried to protect him they chained his hands, and his two feet were bound together. But he could always break all of those bonds. Then he went to lonely places under the influence of the demons. When the man met Jesus, he cried out and knelt down in front of Him. Then Jesus ordered the evil spirits to come out of him. And the man said with a loud voice, “Hey, Jesus, Son of Almighty God! What do you want to do with me? I beg you not to torture me!”
30 Then Jesus said to him, “What’s your name?”
He answered, “Battalion.” [5] He answered that waybecause there were so many demons in him. 31 Then the demons repeatedly begged Jesus not to drive them into the pit of death.
32 Not far from there, there was a large group of domesticated pigs eating on the side of a steep hill. Then the demons begged Jesus to allow them to enter the pigs. Jesus agreed. 33 And the demons immediately left the man and entered those pigs. Then the pigs quickly ran and fell off the edge of the cliff into the lake and were drowned.
34 After the pig herders saw what had happened, they ran and told about it in the city of Gerasa and in the region around it. 35 Then the people who heard the news went to see what had happened. When they arrived at the place where Jesus was, they saw the man whom the demons had left already clothed and sitting calmly near Jesus, listening to Him. [6] His mind was also already sane too. On seeing that, they became afraid of Jesus. 36 And the pig herders, who had seen this happen themselves, told the people again who had just come about how the man who was possessed by demons was healed. 37 Then the residents of the region of Gerasa asked Jesus to leave their region because they were really afraid.
Because of that, Jesus and His disciples got back into the boat and left that region. 38 The man who had been set free from demons repeatedly asked Jesus if he could go along with Him. But Jesus sent the man home saying, 39 “Go home and tell how God has helped you.” The man, in fact, went to the whole city of Gerasa and told how Jesus had helped him in an extraordinary way.
Jesus heals a woman who was sick with a bleeding disorder and brings Jairus’ daughter to life
40 When Jesus returned from the other side of the lake, the crowd welcomed Him because they were waiting for Him. 41 Then the head of the Jewish synagogue who was named Jairus came. He immediately knelt down before Jesus and begged Him to come to his house 42 because his only child, a girl, was very sick and almost dead. She was twelve years old.
On the way to Jairus’ home, the crowd pressed in around Him. 43 There was also a woman there who had suffered from a bleeding disorder for twelve years, [7] and couldn’t be cured by anyone. 44 Then she approached Jesus from behind and touched the fringe of His robe. [8] And at that very moment, her bleeding stopped.
45 Jesus said, “Who touched Me?”
When no one wanted to admit it, Peter said, “Teacher, there are many people who are pressing in around You.”
46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched Me, because I felt power go out from Me.” 47 When the woman saw that what she had done had become known, she came forward shaking and knelt down in front of Him. Then in front of everyone who was there she told why she had touched His robe and how she became well at that very moment. 48 Jesus said to her, “My child, because you’ve believed in Me you’ve become well. Now go home with a calm heart.”
49 While Jesus was still talking to the woman, someone came from Jairus’ home and said to him, “Your child has died, Sir, so you don’t need to bother the Teacher any more.”
50 But when Jesus heard that, He said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid! Just keep believing in Me and your child will be saved.”
51 After Jesus arrived at Jairus’ home He didn’t allow others to enter the house with Him except Peter, John, James and the child’s mother and father. 52 Everyone was crying and mourning for the child. But Jesus said to them, “Stop crying for her because she isn’t dead! She’s just sleeping.”
53 The people laughed at Him because they knew that the girl had already died. 54 But Jesus held the girl’s hand and said, “Hey, My child, get up.” 55 The child came alive again, and at that very moment she stood up. Then Jesus ordered the child’s parents to give her some food. 56 They were really amazed at seeing what happened to their child, but Jesus forbid them to tell anyone about it.
Chapter 9
Jesus sends out His followers
1 Jesus called His twelve disciples together. Then He gave authority to each of them to drive out demons and to heal various sicknesses. 2 Then He sent them out to tell the news about God’s kingdom and to heal sick people with the Lord’s power. 3 He said to them, “Don’t take anything at all on the trip, including a walking stick, a bag, bread, money or even a change of clothes. 4 When you enter a town or village and a family allows you to stay in their house, stay in that house only until you continue on your trip again. 5 But if you come to another town or village and the people there don’t want to receive you, leave that place and remove its dirt from your feet and sandals as a warning sign to them.” [1]
6 Then they left and went around to the villages. They told the Good News from God and healed sick people with the Lord’s power in every place they visited.
Herod is confused about Jesus
7 When King Herod heard the news about all of the miracles that were done by Jesus, he became confused and nervous. Some people said, “John the Baptist has come back to life from the dead but now he’s calling himself Jesus.” [2] 8 But there were other people who said, “He’s the Prophet Elijah, who was previously taken up alive into heaven and now he has returned and calls himself Jesus.” And yet others said that Jesus was one of the prophets from times past who had come back to life after death. 9 But Herod said, “I ordered John’s neck to be cut off, so who actually is that man whom I often hear is doing extraordinary things?!” For that reason, Herod tried again and again to see Jesus.
Jesus feeds five thousand people
10 After the disciples returned, they told Jesus all that they had done. Then Jesus invited them to go to a city named Bethsaida, to be alone with Him. 11 But the crowd learned about it so they followed Him. Then Jesus welcomed them and spoke to them about God’s kingdom and healed everyone who was sick.
12 When it was already late afternoon, His twelve disciples came to Him and said, “Order the crowd to go to the villages and to the houses of the residents around here so that they can get food and a place to sleep, because this is a remote and lonely place.”
13 But Jesus said, “You’re the ones who have to give them food.”
The disciples answered, “Whoa, if we’re the ones who have to give them food, that means we have to go buy food for them because we only have five pieces of bread and two fish.” 14 (There were about five thousand men there.)
Then Jesus said, “Order them to sit down in groups, each a group of about fifty people.”
15 The disciples did what He commanded, then everyone sat down. 16 While holding the five pieces of bread and the two fish, Jesus looked up to the sky and gave thanks to God for that food. Then He broke the bread and tore the fish, and He gave it to His disciples repeatedly while they distributed it to the crowd. 17 Everyone ate until satisfied. And when the disciples gathered the extra bread and fish, it turned out that there were twelve baskets full.
Peter said to Jesus, “You’re the King of Salvation!”
18 One day, while Jesus was praying alone and His disciples were also around there, He asked them, “According to the crowd, what position am I ministering in?” [3]
19 Then they answered, “There are those who say that You’re like a replacement for John the Baptist, and there are those who say You’re the Prophet Elijah who has come back to life. And other people also say that You’re one of the prophets from times past who has come back to life.”
20 And He asked, “But what's your opinion about Me?”
Peter answered, “You’re the Christ [4] who was sent by God.”
21 And Jesus strictly forbade them not to tell anyone about that.
Jesus begins to teach that He’ll suffer and be killed
22 Then Jesus said, “I the Son of Man [5] have been appointed by God to suffer much and to be rejected by the Jewish leaders, the chief priests and the Law experts. Then I'll be killed, but on the third day I'll be made alive again.”
23 Then He said to all of His disciples again, “Everyone who wants to follow Me has to leave his own self interests behind [6] and follow Me every day, thinking like this, 'I will keep following the Lord to the point of death, even if I die by crucifixion!’ [7] 24 For everyone who fights to keep his life will still die and leave this world. But whoever is killed because of following Me will live forever. 25 Think about this, what good is it for you to be rich, even to the point of owning all the wealth of this world, if you don’t possess eternal life and are destroyed? 26 When I come in My glory and the glory of My Father and in the glory of the heavenly angels later on, I won’t say anyone is my follower if he's ashamed to say that he follows me and my teaching. 27 What I’m saying is true. Among those of you who are here, some people won’t die before they see God begin to set up His kingdom on this earth.” [8]
Jesus appears to be shining on the mountaintop
28 About one week later, after Jesus spoke about those things, He climbed up a mountain with Peter, John and James to pray., 29 While He was praying, His face changed, and His clothes became shining white. 30 And suddenly two people appeared talking to Him who were Moses and Elijah. 31 They appeared to be shining with heavenly glory and were talking to Jesus about how He would fulfill God’s plan by His death in Jerusalem. 32 At that time, Peter and the other two disciples were sleeping soundly. [9] When they awakened, they saw Jesus shining in heavenly glory and two people who stood near Him. 33 When Moses and Elijah were leaving Jesus, Peter said to Him, “Wow Teacher, it’s really wonderful that we’re here! We’ll make three shelters here, one for You, one for Moses and one more for Elijah.” (Peter said that without thinking what was appropriate for him to say.)
34 While Peter was still talking, a cloud came down and covered them. Then they became afraid when the cloud covered them. 35 Then a voice was heard from the cloud, which said, “This is My Son whom I’ve chosen. Listen carefully to Him.”
36 After the voice was quiet, they only saw Jesus alone there. After that event and for a long time to come, the three disciples didn’t tell anyone about what they had witnessed there.
Jesus drives an evil spirit out of a boy
37 The next day, when Jesus and His three disciples had gone down from the mountain, a crowd came thronging to meet Jesus. 38 Suddenly a man from among the crowd cried out, “Teacher, help my son! He’s my only child. 39 He is repeatedly attacked by an evil spirit so that he screams, his body convulses and his mouth foams. The evil spirit rarely leaves him and just keeps torturing him. 40 I’ve asked Your disciples to drive out the spirit but they couldn’t drive it out.”
41 Then Jesus said to them, “You are terribly misled and don’t believe in God! How long do I have to be patient with you! Haven’t I been with you long enough! Bring your son here.”
42 When the child approached Jesus, the evil spirit threw him to the ground and made him convulse. But Jesus ordered the evil spirit to leave the child, and He healed him, then handed him back to his father. 43 Everyone was really amazed because they realized they had seen the extraordinary power of God.
Jesus speaks about His death
While the people were still amazed about all that He had done, Jesus spoke to His disciples, 44 “Tune in your ears carefully. The I the Son of Man will soon be turned over to the powers of this world.” 45 But His disciples didn’t understand the point of Jesus’ words. Of course it was God who hid it from them and because of that they couldn’t understand it. But they were also afraid to ask Jesus about the meaning of His words.
The character of people who become the most important in God’s kingdom
46 One day a disagreement happened among Jesus’ disciples about which one of them would be number. 47 But Jesus knew what was in their hearts, so He invited a child to stand next to Him. 48 Then He said to them, “If you receive and serve [10] a small child like this for the purpose of glorifying My name, it means you’ve received and served Me. And if you serve Me, it means you’ve served God who sent Me to earth. For whoever is in the last place among you will become number one.”
49 John said, “Teacher, we saw a person who drove out demons using Your name so we forbade him because he isn’t part of our group.”
50 But Jesus said to him, “Don’t forbid him, because whoever doesn’t oppose us is on our side.”
Jesus decides to go to Jerusalem through the province of Samaria
51 When it was close to the time for Jesus to be taken up to heaven, His decision to go to Jerusalem was still firm. 52 Then Jesus sent some people ahead of Him to prepare several things for Him. So they went. But when they entered a village in the region of Samaria 53 the people of that village didn’t want to receive Jesus because He was obviously going to Jerusalem. [11] 54 When two of His disciples, that is James and John, saw that, they said, “Lord, do You want us to order fire to come down from the sky to destroy them?” [12]
55 Then Jesus turned around and rebuked them. [13] 56 Then Jesus and His disciples continued their trip to another village.
Regarding the decision to follow Jesus
57 One day, while they were on their trip, a person said to Jesus, “Sir, I’ll follow you, wherever you go.”
58 Jesus said to him, “Jungle dogs have holes and birds have nests, but I the Son of Man don’t have a place to rest.”
59 And He said to another person, “Follow Me!”
But the person answered, “Sir, allow me to go home first. After my father dies and is buried [14] I will follow you.”
60 Then Jesus said to the man, “Let the people who are spiritually dead wait for the death of their fellowman! But you go and keep telling about God’s kingdom everywhere.”
61 Another man said, “Sir, I want to follow You, but let me say goodbye to my family first.”
62 But Jesus said to him, “A person who has begun to plow a field, yet looks back, isn’t useful in God’s kingdom.”
Chapter 10
Jesus sends out seventy two of His followers
1 After that, Jesus chose seventy two [1] other followers. Then He sent them to go out in pairs to every city and place that He would visit. 2 Jesus said to them, “All of these wheat fields are ready to be harvested, but there are few people to harvest them. Because of that, pray that the Lord who owns these fields will send out workers to harvest all of this wheat. [2]
3 “Now go! And pay attention! I’m sending each of you into a dangerous situation, like when sheep are attacked by a group of wolves. 4 Don’t take a wallet, a bag or an extra pair of sandals. And don’t stop to talk with people you meet on the way. 5 Before you enter a person's house, first say, ‘Greetings everyone! May you as a family feel calm in the protection of the Lord!’ 6 If there is a person in that house who desires the calmness of the Lord, then he’ll receive you, and the Lord will bless him and his family according to those words. But if there isn’t a person there who wants the calmness of the Lord, then your blessing won’t happen for them. 7 Just stay with that family until you leave that village. Don’t move around. Eat and drink whatever they serve you, because every worker has a right to get his pay.
8 “If you enter a city and the people there receive you, eat whatever they serve you. 9 Heal the sick people in that city and tell its residents, ‘In a short time God will come and set up His kingdom in this world.’
10 “But if you enter a city and the people don’t receive you, go to the main streets of that city and shout, 11 ‘We’re removing even the dust of this city that sticks to our feet as a warning to you that God will punish you! But know this, in just a short time God will come and set up His kingdom on this earth!’ 12 I’m telling you the truth, on the Judgment Day, the punishment that will fall on the residents of that city will be far greater than the punishment that will fall on the residents of the city of Sodom!”
People who don’t want to believe better watch out
13 “You people of Chorazin are so unfortunate! You people of Bethsaida are so unfortunate! God’s judgment will be so horrible for you. For if the miracles that I’ve done among you had happened in the past in Tyre and Sidon too, then they would have repented long ago and shown their sincerity by sitting, wearing mourning cloth and putting ashes on their heads. 14 On the Judgment Day, the residents of Tyre and Sidon will get a lighter punishment than you. 15 And you residents of Capernaum too, you think that you’ll be raised up to get great honor in heaven. No! You’ll be thrown into hell! [3]
16 “In God’s considers everyone who hears you as My messengers to be hearing Me. Everyone who rejects you when you give My message is considered to be rejecting Me. And everyone who rejects Me rejects God who sent Me.”
The seventy two messengers of Jesus return
17 Not long after that, the seventy two followers returned to Jesus. They said gladly, “Lord, by Your name even the demons obeyed us.”
18 And Jesus said to them, “That’s true! At the time you drove out demons, it was as if I saw the devil fall from the sky like lightning. [4] 19 Pay attention! I’ve given you authority so that when you step on snakes or scorpions or even face the powers of darkness, nothing will harm you. 20 Even so, don’t rejoice because the evil spirits obey your commands. But rejoice because your names are listed in heaven.”
21 At the same time, the Holy Spirit gave extraordinary joy to Jesus. Then He said, “I praise You Oh Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You’ve hidden the teachings about Your kingdom from people who are wise and have much knowledge! But You reveal those things to whoever is ready to accept the true teaching with hearts that are receptive like small children. Yes that’s true, Father, because that’s what pleases Your heart!
22 “Everything has been turned over to Me by My Father. No one knows Me His Son except the Father. And no one knows My Father except Me and the people that I will introduce to Him.”
23 Then Jesus turned away from the crowd and said to His disciples only, “You’ve each been truly blessed by God because you’ve been given the opportunity to see what’s happening now with your own eyes. 24 I’m telling you the truth. Many prophets and kings wanted to see and hear what you’re seeing and hearing now. But that blessing wasn’t given to them.”
The parable about the kind-hearted Samaritan
25 Then a Law expert stood up among the crowd. He intended to test Jesus with his question. He said, “Teacher, what must I do in order to have eternal life?”
26 Jesus answered him, “What’s written in the Law? What answer do you see there?”
27 The man answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with your whole heart, with all your life, [5] with all your thoughts and with all your strength.’ And ‘Love your fellowman just like you love yourself.’” [15]
28 And Jesus said, “Your answer is correct. Do those things and then you’ll have eternal life.”
29 But because the man wanted to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “Who is my fellowman?”
30 Then Jesus answered him with this parable. “There was a man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by some robbers who took all of his possessions, even his clothes. They beat him till he was half dead. After that they went away and left him alone there.
31 There happened to be a priest, one of those who worked in God’s House, who was going down the road. When he saw the man he avoided him and passed by him on the other side of the road. 32 It was the same with a man from the tribe of Levi who was a servant in God’s House. He passed by and saw the man. Then he also avoided him and went past on the other side of the road.
33 Then a Samaritan man was traveling on that road. When he saw the man he had compassion on him. 34 He approached the man, cleaned his wounds by pouring wine on them, poured on olive oil as an ointment and then bandaged them. After that he put the man on his donkey and brought him to a rooming house and took care of him there. 35 The next day, the Samaritan gave two silver coins [6] to the owner of the rooming house. He said, ‘Take care of him. If the payment is still not enough, I’ll pay when I come back.’”
36 Jesus ended His story by asking him, “In your opinion, which one of those three men was a fellowman to the victim of that robbery?”
37 The Law expert said, “The man who had compassion on him and helped him.”
Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same thing.”
Jesus visits Mary and Martha
38 While Jesus and His disciples were on a trip, they arrived in a village. A woman of that village named Martha received Him into her home. 39 The sister of Martha, named Mary, sat near Jesus’ feet and kept listening to His teaching 40 whereas Martha was continually busy because she was doing so much serving. So she came to Jesus and said, “Lord, don’t You care that this woman is letting me work alone?! Please tell her to help me.”
41 Then the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you’re making trouble for yourself,and you worry about many things! 42 However only one thing is important. Mary has chosen the thing that’s best and most important. That’s a blessing that no one can take away from her.”
Chapter 11
Jesus teaches about how to pray
1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. After He finished praying, one of His disciples said, “Lord, teach us to pray like John also taught his disciples.”
2 Jesus said to them, “You should pray like this,
‘Our [1] Father, may everyone honor You [2] as Holy God.
May You come and rule as King.
3 Give us the food that we need each day.
4 And forgive each of us for our sins
because we also forgive everyone who does wrong to us.
And don’t let us be tempted to do evil.’”
Jesus’ advice to be diligent in prayer
5 Then Jesus gave this example to them, “For example, if you have a close friend and in the middle of the night you go to his house and say to him, ‘Friend, give me three pieces of bread. I’ll repay you later. 6 A close friend of mine who’s traveling has come to my house but I don’t have anything to serve him.’ 7 And if your close friend answers from inside his house, ‘Please don’t bother me! The door is locked. My children and I are in bed and I can’t get up to give you anything!’ 8 I’m telling you the truth, even though that close friend of yours doesn’t want to get up to give you bread, because you keep on shamelessly asking based on your relationship, he’ll get up and give you whatever you need.
9 “For that reason I’m telling you to keep on asking God, then you’ll receive it. Keep seeking, then you’ll find it. Keep knocking on the door, then the door will be opened for you. 10 For everyone who keeps asking will receive what he asks for. Everyone who keeps seeking will find what he’s seeking. And the door will be opened for everyone who knocks on the door.
11 If you’re a father and your child asks for a fish, you wouldn't give him a poisonous snake, would you?! 12 Or if he asks for an egg you wouldn't give him a scorpion, would you?! 13 So if you who are evil know how to give what’s good to your children, your Father in heaven will do so even more! He’ll even give the Holy Spirit to everyone who asks Him.”
According to what people say, Jesus works by the power of the devil
14 One day Jesus drove out a demon who made a man unable to speak. When the demon left, the man could speak. Then the crowd who saw that happen was amazed. 15 But some of the people among them said, “The devil, the leader of all types of evil spirits, who’s also called Beelzebul, [3] gives power to Jesus so that he can drive out demons.”
16 And some other people looked for a reason to find fault with Him. So they ordered Him to do a miraculous sign to prove that God had sent Him. [4] 17-18 But Jesus knew what they were thinking. So He said to them, “The devil would never drive out the spirits who are on his side. If the devil’s cohorts split up and oppose each other, the devil’s kingdom will be destroyed. It’s the same for a country. If the residents of a country oppose each other and go to war, that country will be destroyed. It’s the same if a split up happens between family members too. So it doesn’t make sense to say that I drive out demons by the power of Beelzebul. 19 But if it’s true that I drive out demons by the power of the devil, that means we have to ask, ‘By whose power do other members of your group drive out demons?’ Fellow members of your group will certainly say that your accusation of Me is wrong. 20 But if I drive out demons by the power of God, it means that God has already begun to set up His kingdom among you with full power.
21-22 “The devil can be illustrated by a strong home owner who always guards his house fully armed. He trusts in his weapons to keep all his possessions safe and to defeat the One who opposes him, who is Me. But I’m stronger than he is! When I attack him, I will certainly defeat him, take all of his weapons, carry away his possessions and distribute them according to My will.
23 “Whoever isn’t on My side opposes Me. And whoever doesn’t help shepherd the flock of sheep scatters them.”
A warning about people who oppose Jesus
24 “Remember this example, if an evil spirit leaves a person, the spirit is forced to look for another person here and there, even going into the desert so that it can enter a person, because the evil spirit wants to enter someone so that it can be calm. When it doesn’t succeed in finding someone else whom it can enter, then it thinks, ‘I’ll just return to the person I left the other day.’ 25 When it returns, it finds that person has become like a house that has been swept clean and is neatly organized. 26 So it goes and invites seven other spirits that are more evil than itself to join with it. When they enter and possess that person, the situation of that person becomes much worse than the situation used to be.” [5]
People who are truly blessed
27 While Jesus was speaking about those things, a woman from among the crowd shouted to Him, “Your mother is truly blessed by God because she gave birth to you!” [6]
28 But He said, “The people who hear God’s Word and do it are far more blessed!”
The miraculous sign that will be given to people of this evil age
29 While more and more people were gathering, Jesus said, “You people who live in this age are so evil! Even though you’ve seen everything that I’ve done, you keep saying that you need a miraculous sign in order to believe in Me. But no sign at all will be given to you except this sign, the miraculous sign that happened to the Prophet Jonah. [7] 30 For just like what happened to Jonah became a miraculous sign to the residents of Nineveh, so also what happens to Me the Son of Man, will become a miraculous sign for each of you who live in this present age. [8]
31 And on the Judgment Day, the queen of the south [9] will stand to testify against most of you who live in this present age. For that queen came from a very distant place to study the wisdom of Solomon. Pay attention, I who am greater than Solomon am here in front of you! But most of you don’t want to listen to Me.
32 On the Judgment Day the residents of the city of Nineveh will stand to testify against most of you who live in this present age, because when Jonah told God’s message to them, they repented. Even though I, who am greater than Jonah, am here, you still don’t want to repent.”
Guard your spiritual eyes so that they remain open to the light
33 “No one lights a lamp and then hides it or covers it with a clay pot. But a lamp is always put in a high place so that it gives light to everyone who comes into the house. 34 Your eyes are like windows through which light enters a house, which is your body. If your eyes function well, then each part of your life will be given light. But if your eyes are bad, [10] not every part of your life will be given light and will become very dark. 35 For that reason beware! Don’t let the light inside you become dark. 36 So if the eyes of your heart aren’t blind your whole life will become very bright and no longer be dark. This means that your life is light like the light of a very bright lamp.”
Jesus teaches not to copy the deeds of the Law experts
37 After He gave His teaching, a Pharisee invited Jesus to eat at his house. Then Jesus entered the man’s house and ate with him and also with other Pharisees and some of the Law experts. [11] 38 The Pharisee was amazed when he saw that Jesus didn’t wash His hands first according to the custom of the Pharisees. [12] 39 But the Lord said to him, “The way you Pharisees follow God’s commands can be illustrated by a person who only washes the outside of a cup and plate but forgets to wash the inside which is very dirty. In the same way, each of your hearts are full of filth, that is various greedy thoughts and evil desires! 40 Hey you stupid people! The One who created the outside of man also knows what’s in your hearts! 41 So give your wealth that has taken control of you to poor people. Only then will you be like a clean cup in the eyes of God, both on the inside and outside.
42 “You Pharisees are so unfortunate! You just follow all of the easier regulations of the Law but forget to keep the most important commands of God. For example, each of you gives ten percent of the harvest of garden herbs to God's House, such as basil, rue and other kinds of spice crops. [13] But you forget to follow the most important commands of God to do what’s just to your fellowman, and love God. You should do the most important things and not forget to do the easy things either.
43 “You Pharisees are so unfortunate! You like to sit in the front row seats of the synagogues and like to receive respectful greetings from people while walking in the market. 44 You’re so unfortunate because each of you are like unmarked graves! People who walk over those graves don’t realize that they’ve become unholy because of touching those graves. It’s the same way with you. When others follow you, without realizing it ,they’re infected by your character, which is like unholiness in God’s eyes.” [14]
45 Then a Law expert said to Jesus, “Teacher, when you say things like that to the Pharisees you make us embarrassed too!”
46 He said, “You Law experts are so unfortunate too! You burden other people with religious regulations that are so difficult to follow. But you yourselves only pretend to be good people and don’t even try to follow those regulations. 47 You’re so unfortunate because you rebuild and decorate the graves of the prophets, even though it’s your own forefathers who killed them! 48 In that way you show that you actually approve of the deeds of your forefathers. They were the ones who killed the prophets, and you return and rebuild the graves of those prophets.
49 “For that reason, from long ago God in His wisdom had decided, ‘I will repeatedly send prophets and apostles to the Jews. And that hard-headed people group will kill some of them and torture others.’ 50-51 As a result, God has also decided now to lay the worst punishment on you Jewish people because of the blood of all of His messengers whom you’ve killed. You who are living now and have witnessed My ministry will bear the punishment for all the murders of the prophets of all history, beginning with the murder of Abel until the murder of Zechariah! [15] (Zechariah was the man killed between the Holy Room and the altar in God’s House.)
52 “You Law experts are so unfortunate! You’ve been given the knowledge of how people can please God, which is teaching that is illustrated by a key. But you yourselves don’t use that teaching! In fact you hide it and hinder everyone who wants to learn that teaching!”
53 After Jesus left that place, the Pharisees and Law experts held a huge grudge against Him so they often pressed Him with various questions. 54 They pretended to listen to His teaching, but they actually wanted to trap Him. If Jesus taught something wrong, they planned to accuse Him before the Jewish leaders.
Chapter 12
Fear and respect God, not man
1 Then thousands of people gathered and pressed around Jesus so that people’s feet were stepped on. So Jesus began to teach mainly His disciples by saying, “Be careful! Don’t be affected by the yeast of the Pharisee group, which is like doing things to pretend to be good people. 2 Everything that man tries to hide now will be revealed at some later time. And everything that man tries to keep secret now will become known at some later time. 3 So what each of you tells others secretly will be heard clearly. And what you whisper to another person in a private room will be broadcast everywhere.
4 “My good friends, I’m telling you not to be afraid of men because they can only kill your body. After that there isn’t any other evil thing that they can do to you. 5 But now I’m telling you whom you should fear. Fear and respect God. He’s the One who has the power not only to kill your body, but He has authority to throw you into hell too. Yes, He’s the One you should fear and respect!
6 “Remember this example: five sparrows are sold for the price of two coins of the smallest value. Even so not one of them will ever be forgotten by God. 7 For that reason, don’t be afraid! You are far more valuable than many sparrows. In fact the Lord knows the number of hairs on your heads.”
8 “Whoever admits that he’s My follower before other people, I the Son of Man will also admit he’s My follower before the angels in heaven. 9 But whoever denies that he’s My follower before other people, I won’t admit that he’s My follower before the angels in heaven either. 10 Everyone who says something that opposes the Son of Man, who I am, can still be forgiven. But a person who insults the Holy Spirit [1] will never be forgiven.
11 “When you’re arrested and brought to face the leaders of synagogues or government officials, don’t worry about how you should defend yourself before them or how you’ll answer all of their questions. 12 For at that very moment the Holy Spirit will tell you what you should say.”
The parable of a rich man
13 Then a man in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, please order my brother to share the inheritance with me which was left by our father.”
14 But Jesus said to him, “I’ve never been appointed to be a judge over our people group or a middle-man to settle the case between you two.” 15 Then he said to them, “Beware and be on guard! Don’t be greedy for money or for treasures. For your life doesn’t depend on just money or rich possessions.”
16 Then Jesus told this parable, “There was a rich man who owned a number of wheat fields that produced huge crops. 17 Then he thought, ‘There isn’t enough space anymore to keep all of my great harvest. What should I do?’
18 “So he thought some more, ‘I know what I’ll do! I’ll tear down my old wheat barns and build even bigger barns so that I can keep all my wheat and my other possessions. 19 After that I’ll be satisfied and say, “My wealth is so great and it won’t be used up as long as I live, so I don’t need to work anymore but can just eat, drink and be happy!”’
20 “But God said to him, ‘Hey, you stupid person! How useless for you to pile up possessions for yourself alone because this very night I will take your life!’
21 “The same thing will happen to everyone who gathers rich treasures for himself in this world but doesn’t try to gather heavenly treasure and doesn’t want to be rich in God’s sight.”
Put God’s kingdom first
22 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “For that reason I’m telling you, don’t worry about the daily needs of life like food and clothing. 23 For the direction of your life [2] is actually far more important than the problem of food and clothing. 24 Pay attention to the way of life of the ravens. They don’t need to plant or harvest, and they don’t need to build storehouses or barns. But God prepares food for those birds. So know this, in the eyes of God you’re far more valuable than those birds! 25 Why are you always worried?! The person who worries isn’t even able to add just one minute to his lifespan. 26 So if you aren’t even able to do such a little thing, then it’s no use for you to worry about anything at all!
27 “Pay attention to the wild flowers. Those flowers grow without working and without making clothes for themselves. But I’m telling you the truth, even though King Solomon was the richest of all kings who’ve ever lived, he didn’t wear clothing as beautiful as even one of those flowers. 28 If God gives beauty like that to wild flowers, even though those plants just live briefly, then they wilt and are thrown into the fire, then God certainly pays more attention to you than to those plants. And He’ll also give you clothing, oh you who're lacking faith!
29 So don’t be anxious about what you’ll eat or drink 30 because those who don’t know God are always worried about those things. But our Father who is in heaven knows that you need all those things. 31 For that reason live in a way that’s proper for citizens of God’s kingdom, and everything that you need will be given to you too.”
How we should live while waiting for God’s kingdom
32 “Hey, all of you followers of Mine, don’t worry, even though you’re like a small flock of My sheep in My sight! Don’t worry because our heavenly Father will gladly welcome each of you as citizens of His kingdom. 33 Sell all of your possessions and donate the money to poor people. In that way you’ll prepare rich treasures for yourselves that won’t ever rot, that is heavenly treasures that won’t ever run out. Your treasures will be safe there, because thieves can’t steal them and moths can’t destroy them. 34 For where your treasure is, your heart and thoughts will be there too.
35-36 “You should always be ready to serve God! You should be like servants who are waiting for their master to come home from a wedding feast. They’re always ready to welcome him day and night with lamps that remain lit. In that way when the master arrives home and knocks on the door, they’re ready and quickly open the door for him. 37 The servants whose master finds them on guard when he returns are truly blessed! What I’m telling you is true. The master will invite them to sit and eat. Then he himself will put on ordinary clothes, like a servant and will serve them. 38 Those servants will be even more blessed if the master comes in the middle of the night or in the dark hours of the morning and still finds them on guard!
39 “And remember this example, if the master of the house knows what time a thief will come, he’ll always be ready so that the thief can’t manage to break into his house. 40 It’s the same for you! You should keep ready because I the Son of Man will come at a moment you don’t expect.”
The parable about the faithful servant and the unfaithful servant
41 Then Peter asked “Lord, in the last parable, did You mean that the servants who have to stay on guard are just us disciples of Yours or all of Your followers?”
42 The Lord answered, “Become a servant who is faithful and wise, because before his Master goes on a long trip, his Master will raise up a servant like that and entrust him with a special task which is to give food to the other servants at the right time. [3] 43 If his Master comes suddenly and finds him still doing his job, the Master will be very happy with his servant and bless him. 44 What I’m telling you is true. The Master will entrust all of his possessions to the servant who is wise and faithful.
45 “But what if the servant says in his heart, ‘My Master won’t return for a long time yet,’ and then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women. And then he doesn’t work anymore but just eats and drinks and gets drunk. 46 So when his Master suddenly comes home without giving notice ahead of time and on a day and hour which isn’t expected, then the Master of that evil servant will destroy him and make his fate the same as the people who refuse to believe in Him.
47 “Every servant who knows his Master’s will and doesn’t prepare himself or do the will of his Master will be beaten many times. 48 But every servant who doesn’t know the will of his Master and does something wrong will be beaten just a few times. Every servant who is entrusted by his Master to undertake many things will be examined in regard to all of his responsibilities. And every servant who is given great responsibility will be held accountable for that great responsibility.”
Difficulties that will be experienced by followers of Jesus
49 “My coming to this world can be illustrated by fire, that is a fire which will burn this world. [4] How good it would be if that fire was already hot! 50 But before that happens, it has been determined that I will suffer great difficulties. [5] And until the time comes for Me to experience that, My heart is very distressed! 51 Don’t think that I came to this earth to bring peace. I’m telling you the truth, I’m not bringing peace! But My coming actually brings much opposition. 52 So from now on there will be opposition toward Me among families. If a family consists of five people, then three people will oppose two other people or two people will oppose the other three people in agreement with what was prophesied in the Holy Bible:
53 ‘A son and his father will oppose each other,
a daughter and her mother will oppose each other
and a daughter-in-law and her mother-in-law will oppose each other.” [16]
We are responsible to pay attention to the signs of the times
54 On another day Jesus also used this example when teaching a crowd, “When you see a dark cloud appear in the west you say, ‘Oh, it will rain soon,’ and of course that happens. 55 And when the wind blows from the south you say, ‘It’ll be hot today,’ and of course that happens. 56 Hey, you who only pretend to be good! You can predict the weather by just looking at the sky and the land so why are you blind to the signs of the times that are happening now?!”
Make peace with God because He’s ready to judge
57 “And why don’t each of you open your own eyes and choose the right path?! 58 If your enemy brings a case against you to court, then while you two are still on the way to the courtroom try hard to settle your problem with him. If not he’ll drag you into court, then the judge will hand you over to the jailer so that you’ll be imprisoned. 59 I’m telling you the truth, you won’t get out of prison until you pay all of your debts in full and pay the fines which the judge has determined!”
Chapter 13
Repent
1 At the time Jesus was teaching these things, there were people present who told Jesus about some people from the province of Galilee who were killed by Pilate. They were killed while they were offering animal sacrifices to God, and their own blood was mixed with the blood from the animal sacrifices which they were offering. 2 On hearing that news, Jesus said to them, “So because they were killed like that, do you think that their sins were greater than the sins of all the other Galileans? 3 That’s not so! I’m telling you the truth. If you don’t repent, you won’t just experience a disaster like them but you’ll go to hell! 4 Or take for example when the guard tower of Siloam collapsed and eighteen people were crushed to death, you probably think that their sins were greater than the sins of all the other people of Jerusalem. 5 That’s not true at all! I’m telling all of you the truth again. If you don’t repent, you won’t just experience a disaster like them but you’ll go to hell!”
The parable about the fig tree that’s slow to bear fruit
6 Then Jesus told this parable, “A man owned a fig tree which was planted in his vineyard, and he had come several times to look for fruit on the tree but there was none. 7 So he said to his gardener, ‘Look, I’ve come looking for fruit on this fig tree for three years but there has never been any. Because of that chop it down. There’s no use in having that tree grow on this land.
8 “But the gardener answered, ‘Sir, let the tree grow for one more year. I’ll dig up the ground around it and bury fertilizer from the pen there. 9 Hopefully the tree will bear fruit next year. If not we’ll just chop it down.’”
On the Sabbath Day Jesus heals a woman who has a hunched back
10 One Sabbath Day Jesus was teaching in a synagogue. 11 There was a woman there who for had been hunch-backed for eighteen years and couldn’t stand up straight anymore. An evil spirit made her sick like that. 12 When Jesus saw the woman, He invited her to come to him and said, “Ma’am, you’ve been healed of your sickness.” 13 Then He put His hand on the woman and she quickly stood up straight and praised God.
14 But the leader of the synagogue was angry because Jesus healed a sick person on the Sabbath Day. So the leader said to the crowd, “There are six days to work, so come on those days to be healed, not on the Sabbath Day!”
15 But the Lord said to him, “Hey, you people who only pretend to be good! Each of you unties your cow or donkey from its stall everyday and takes it to let it drink, even on the Sabbath Day. 16 This woman is a descendant of Abraham who has suffered because of the work of a demon as if being bound with an iron chain for eighteen years. It certainly isn’t wrong to release her from her suffering even though today is the Sabbath Day!” 17 When Jesus said that, all of those who were opposing Him were ashamed, whereas all the other people rejoiced because of the amazing thing that He had done.
The parables about a mustard seed and yeast
18 Jesus said, “In order to make it even clearer I’m giving you two parables which illustrate God’s kingdom. 19 God’s kingdom is like a mustard seed. [1] There was a mustard seed that someone took and planted in his garden, then the seed grew until it became a tree and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”
20 Jesus said again, “I'll also illustrate God’s kingdom like this. 21 God’s kingdom is like yeast which is mixed into a large amount of flour by a woman. [2] Even though there was a small amount of yeast and the mixture of flour was great, the flour expanded so that it was made into bread.”
Enter through the narrow gate
22 Jesus continued His trip heading to Jerusalem through cities and villages. He gave His teaching in every place He passed. 23 Then a person asked Him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?”
Jesus said to everyone there, 24 “Keep on trying to enter God’s kingdom through the narrow gate. I’m telling you the truth. Many people will try to enter there but won’t be able to do it. 25 On a later day the Owner of the house, who I am, will close the door of My house, which is the opportunity to enter God’s kingdom. All of you who are still standing outside will begin knocking on the door saying, ‘Sir, please open the door for me.’ But I'll tell you, ‘I’ve never said that you were My close friend.’ 26 Then you’ll say, ‘But, Sir, I ate and drank with You. I’ve also heard Your teaching in our city streets!’ 27 And I'll say to you, ‘I’ve never said that you were My close friend. Hey you and all who do evil, get away from Me!’
28 “You’ll cry and suffer terribly outside there, [3] when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob along with all the prophets enjoying eternal life in God’s kingdom, while you yourselves are forbidden to enter. 29 And many non-Jews will come from the east, west, north and south too. Then they’ll all join in celebrating the opening feast of God’s kingdom. 30 And know this, people who have low status now will have high status later on. And people who have high status now will have low status later on.”
Jesus feels compassion for the residents of Jerusalem
31 At the same time, some Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Go away and leave this place because King Herod wants to kill you.”
32 Then Jesus said to them, “Go and tell that fox, [4] ‘Today and tomorrow I'll carry out My job to drive out demons and heal sick people. And My duties will be finished on the third day.’ 33 But today, tomorrow and the next day, I'll continue to carry out My job until I arrive in Jerusalem because it’s not proper for Me to be killed in some other city since prophets are always killed in Jerusalem.
34 “Hey you residents of Jerusalem. You’re the ones who always kill the prophets and God’s messengers who come and prophesy in the name of My Father! There are those you kill with the sword and those you stone to death. I’ve often stretched out My hands to hug you and protect you, like a mother hen gathers and protects her chicks under her wings. But you don’t want Me to hug you. 35 Remember this, the time has almost come when God will no longer live there in His House. Believe Me that from now on you won’t see Me again until the moment I return and you say, ‘Blessed is our King who comes to represent the Lord!’” [17]
Chapter 14
Jesus heals another sick person on the Sabbath Day
1 One Sabbath Day Jesus went to the house of a prominent Pharisee and ate there. The members of the Pharisee group kept watching Him closely because they wanted to find some fault so that they could accuse Him of breaking the Sabbath Day regulations. 2 Then something unusual happened. A man who was bloated, whose hands and feet were swollen, was sitting right in front of Jesus! 3 Then Jesus asked the Law experts and the Pharisees who were present, “According to the Law, is it permisable to heal a sick person on the Sabbath Day or not?” 4 But they were just silent. Then Jesus touched and healed the sick man and ordered him to go. 5 Then He said to each of them, “If your child or your cow falls into a well on the Sabbath Day, you would lift it out of the well too, right?!” 6 None of them was able to oppose what Jesus said.
Don’t be conceited
7 Jesus saw how all of those who were invited tried to sit in the most honored places. Because of that He told them all this parable. 8 “When a person invites you to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the most honored place. For it’s possible that the master of the house has invited a person who has more honor than you. 9 If that happens, the master of the house will come and say, ‘Please give this place to my close friend.’ And you’ll be ashamed and move to a place that’s the farthest from the honored place.
10 But when you’re invited to a wedding feast, sit in a place that’s far from the most honored place. Then the person who invited you might come and say to you, ‘Friend, sit in a place that’s more honored!’ In that way you’ll gain respect before everyone who’s present there. 11 For whoever elevates himself will be humbled by God. And whoever humbles his heart will be elevated by Him.”
12 Then Jesus said to the Pharisee who had invited Him, “When you hold a dinner party, don’t just invite your friends, your brothers, your relatives or your neighbors who are rich because some other time they’ll pay you back by inviting you to their party in return. 13 But when you hold a party, invite the poor, disabled, paralyzed and blind. 14 They won’t be able to repay you, but God is the one who’ll repay you and bless you. And you’ll also be repayed when the righteous are brought back to life.”
The parable of a huge dinner party
15 When one of the guests who sat there eating heard this, he said to Jesus, “Everyone who’s invited to the dinner party that will be held later on in God’s kingdom is truly blessed by God.”
16 Then Jesus said to him, “Once there was a rich man who invited many people to a huge dinner party. 17 When the party was ready to begin he ordered his slave to go to each of the invited guests saying, ‘Come, everything’s ready.’ 18 But each of them had an excuse so that they couldn’t come. The first person said, ‘I’ve bought a field and have to go see it. I’m sorry.’ 19 Another one said, ‘I’ve bought ten bulls. [1] Now I want to go try them out. Sorry!’ 20 And another one said, ‘I’ve just gotten married so I can’t come. Sorry!’
21 The slave returned and told all of that to his master. The master was angry and said to him, ‘Go quickly to the roads and alleys of this city. Invite the poor people, the disabled, the blind and the paralyzed to come here.’
22 Not long after that the slave came and reported, ‘Master, I’ve done what you ordered me to do, but there are still empty places.’ 23 Then the master said to him, ‘Go to the main streets and the small roads outside the city. Urge everyone to come here so that my house is full. 24 And I swear that those who’ve rejected my invitation won’t come and won’t eat any of the food that was prepared for my party!’”
Consequences for people who want to become followers of Jesus
25 After that, many people walked along with Jesus. He turned around and saw them and said, 26 “Everyone who comes to Me and wants to become My follower has to love Me more than [2] his mother and father, his children and wife, all of his brothers and sisters and even himself. 27 You can’t possibly become My followers if you don’t keep following me with thoughts like this, ‘I will keep following the Lord to the point of death, even if I die by crucifixion." [3]
28 “Your decision to follow Me can be illustrated by the following example. If a person plans to build a tower, he’ll count the cost first, of course, so that he knows if he has enough funds to finish the job. 29 He doesn’t just want to build the foundation and not be able to finish it, because everyone who sees it will make fun of him: 30 ‘That man began to build but he wasn’t able to finish it!’
31 Or for example if a king has ten thousand soldiers but another king who has twenty thousand soldiers plans to attack him, the first king will consider carefully beforehand like this, of course, ‘Am I able to oppose that enemy?’ 32 If he feels that his soldiers aren’t able to oppose his enemy’s army, then while the enemy is still far away he’ll send some important people to discuss the conditions for peace.
33 “It’s the same with each of you! If your possessions are more important than Me, then you aren’t My follower.” [4]
34 “Each of you who follows Me is like salt. Salt is used to make food tastier, of course. But if its taste has disappeared that salt won’t be useful at all, 35 either for the field or as fertilizer. In the end the salt is just thrown out.
“You have ears, don’t you?! So listen well!”
Chapter 15
The parable about the lost sheep
1 One day tax collectors and many other people who were also known as sinners were coming to Jesus to hear His teachings. 2 On seeing that, the Law experts and the Pharisees complained. They said, “Eeww, he receives sinful people and even eats with them!”
3 Because of that Jesus told them this parable. 4 “If one of you has a hundred sheep and then one of the sheep gets lost, he’ll leave the other ninety-nine sheep in the meadow, of course, and go look for the lost sheep until he finds it. 5 When he has found it, he’ll gladly pick it up, put it on his shoulders and carry it home. 6 After arriving home he’ll call his friends and neighbors and say to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I’ve found my lost sheep!’ 7 I’m telling you that in the same way God and all the residents of heaven will be more joyful when they see a sinful person repent than for ninety-nine righteous people who don’t need to repent.”
The parable about the lost silver coin
8 “Or if a woman has ten silver coins and one coin gets lost, she will light a lamp, of course, and sweep her house in order to search carefully for it until she finds it. 9 After she finds it, she’ll call her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I’ve found the money that I lost!’ 10 I’m telling you that in the same way the angels always rejoice before God the Father when they witness a sinful person repent!”
The parable about the lost younger brother and the very compassionate father
11 Jesus said again, “There was a father who had two sons. 12 The younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the inheritance. I don’t need to wait until you die.’ So the father divided his inheritance between his two sons.
13 “Several days later, the youngest son sold all of his treasure and then went off to a faraway land. He squandered his money there on every kind of worldly pleasure. 14 Finally all of the money was gone. Then a severe famine happened in the land, and he became poor and hungry. 15 Then the youngest son went to a resident of the land to ask for work. The man gave him work, which was ordering him to feed the pigs in the field. 16 And the youngest son was so hungry that he wanted to eat the pig food, the hard plants given to the pigs, because no one gave him any food.
17 “He finally realized his situation and said in his heart, ‘All of my father’s servants get enough food, even more than enough, while I’m almost starving to death here! 18 I’ll get up and return to my father and say to him, “Father, forgive me! I’ve wronged you and have sinned against God. 19 I don’t deserve to be called your son anymore. I’m asking you to receive me as just one of your servants.’ 20 Then he got up and returned to his father.
“But when the youngest son was still far from his father’s house, his father saw him coming and had compassion on him. That very moment the father ran to meet his son and then hugged and kissed him. 21 Then the youngest son said to his father, ‘Father, forgive me! I’ve wronged you and sinned against God. I don’t deserve to be called your son anymore.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quickly get my best robe and put it on him! Put one of my rings on his finger and a pair of sandals on his feet. 23 Then bring the fattened calf and butcher it. Let’s eat it and rejoice 24 because it’s as if this son of mine was lost and dead. But he’s obviously still alive and has returned to me!’ So they began to party.
25 “While this was happening the oldest son was working in the field. When he went home and got near the house, he heard the sound of music and the noise of people dancing. 26 Then he called one of the servants who worked in his house and asked him, ‘Why is there a party going on in the house?’ 27 The servant answered, ‘Your younger brother has returned, master. And your father ordered us to butcher the fattened calf because he’s gotten his son back safely.’
28 “The oldest son was very angry and didn’t want to go into the house. Then his father went out and urged him to come in. 29 But the son answered his father, ‘I don’t want to! For years I’ve worked for you and always obeyed your commands, yet you’ve never even given me a goat so that I could have a good time with my friends! 30 But now your youngest son, who wasted your wealth on prostitutes, has come back, so you immediately butcher the best calf for him!’
31 “Then the father said, ‘That’s true, son. You’re always with me and everything I own is yours too. 32 But we should rejoice and celebrate your younger brother’s homecoming, because I thought your younger brother was lost and dead. But it turns out that he’s still alive and has come back to us.’”
Chapter 16
The parable of the dishonest treasurer
1 Jesus said to His disciples again, “There was a rich man who had a treasurer who managed his property. The rich man heard the news that his treasurer was squandering his wealth. 2 So the rich man called his treasurer and said, ‘I’ve heard ugly reports about your work. Because of that I’m going to fire you as my treasurer. But before that, give me a report about all my property that you’ve managed.’
3 Then the treasurer said in his heart, ‘What should I do now?! My master is going to fire me, for sure! I can’t become a gardener because I’m not strong enough. It would be too embarrassing to become a beggar! 4 Well, I know now what I’ll do! I have to act cleverly with some people so that they’ll be ready to receive me into their homes when I’m fired as treasurer.’
5 Then he called everyone who was indebted to his master. He said to the first man, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He answered, ‘One hundred jars [1] of olive oil.’
“Then the treasurer said, ‘Friend, this is your debt statement. Sit down and quickly write that it’s just fifty jars!’
7 “The treasurer said to the next man, ‘How much do you owe?’
“He said, ‘One thousand bushels [2] of wheat.’
“He said to the person, ‘Friend, this is your debt statement. Write here that it’s just eight hundred!’
8 “Then when the rich man found out about the actions of his dishonest treasurer, he said, ‘Wow, he’s clever too, isn’t he?!’”
Then Jesus explained to His disciples, “The people who live thinking only about this world are usually more clever at managing their worldly problems, of course, than people who’ve become citizens of the Kingdom of the Light, which is God’s kingdom. 9 So I’m telling each of you honestly, use the riches of this world to find friends, that is worldly friends and heavenly friends. Then when your wealth is gone you’ll be received into various homes forever.
10 “Everyone who can be trusted in small things can also be trusted in big things. And everyone who isn’t honest in small things won’t be honest in big things either. 11 So if it’s obvious that you can’t be trusted to honestly manage worldly wealth, then God won’t trust you with heavenly wealth either. 12 And if it’s obvious that you can’t be trusted to manage treasure that isn’t actually yours but belongs to God, then you won’t be allowed to own anything in heaven either.
13 “Pay attention to this example. It isn’t good for a person to have two masters because it isn’t possible for him to serve both well. He’ll certainly love and be faithful to one master but hate and not take care of the other master. In the same way you can’t be God’s servant and at the same time serve money.”
Jesus points out several faults of the Pharisees
14 When the Pharisees heard His teaching they made fun of Jesus because they craved money. 15 Then Jesus said to them, “You always try to get others to praise you as good people but God knows what’s in your hearts! For whatever in this world is praised by man is hated by God.
16 “The Law and the writings of the prophets were in effect to teach the will of God about the way man should live up to the time John the Baptist began to teach. Since that time the Good News about God’s kingdom has been told and everyone should try hard to enter into God’s kingdom. 17 But the heavens and the earth will more easily disappear than for even one dot in the Law to be cancelled.
18 “Every husband who divorces his wife and has sex with or marries another woman again commits adultery. And the man who has sex with or marries a woman who’s divorced by her husband also commits adultery.”
The parable of the rich man and Lazarus
19 Jesus also taught them using this parable, “There was a rich man who always wore beautiful robes made of fine cloth. He satisfied all of his desires everyday with luxurious living. 20 And there was also a beggar named Lazarus. [3] He lay by the gate of that rich man’s house everyday. Lazarus’ body was covered with pussy, rotten sores. 21 Lazarus was very hungry and only hoped to eat the leftovers which were thrown away from the rich man’s table. But the thing that was even more horrifying was that dogs often came and licked his sores.
22 “Then Lazarus died, so the angels took him to the most honored place next to Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 While the rich man was being tormented in hell, he looked up and saw Abraham and Lazarus from far away. Lazarus was sitting in the most honored place next to Abraham. 24 Then the rich man cried out saying, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me! I’m terribly tortured by this fire so help me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and come here to wet my tongue.’
25 “But Abraham answered, ‘My son, remember! You were satisfied with good things when you lived on earth, whereas Lazarus only had bad things. It’s only fair that he’s comforted here now, while you’re tormented there. 26 Besides that, a deep chasm was made between you and us so that no one can cross over from here to there or from there to here.’
27 “The rich man said, ‘If that’s so I beg you, Sir, send Lazarus to the home of my parents 28 because my five brothers are there. Send Lazarus to warn them so that they don’t join me in this place full of suffering!’
29 “But Abraham said, ‘They have the books of the Law of Moses and the prophets’. They should obey what’s written in there.’
30 “The rich man said, ‘Father Abraham, that alone isn’t enough! But if someone goes to them from the dead they’ll repent.’
31 “But Abraham answered him, ‘If they won’t obey what’s written in the books of the Law of Moses and the prophets, they still won’t believe even if a dead man comes back to life and goes to warn them.’”
Chapter 17
Some advice
1 Jesus said to His disciples, “In this world there will always be temptations for people to fall into sin, of course. But the person who causes those things to happen is unfortunate. 2 If a person causes someone else who isn’t yet spiritually mature like these children to sin, that person will get a very harsh punishment from God. Instead of committing that great of a sin, it would be better if a huge rock was tied around his neck [1] and he be thrown into the deepest ocean. That trouble would be far less than the eternal punishment from God that he would experience if he caused a person who isn’t yet spiritually mature to fall into sin! 3 So guard yourselves! Don’t do something like that!
“If your brother in the faith does wrong to you rebuke him. If he regrets his wrong forgive him. 4 In fact if he does wrong to you seven times a day, and he also comes to you seven times and says, ‘I regret doing wrong to you, so I'm asking for your forgiveness,’ you should forgive him.”
Faith that can move a tree
5 Then the twelve apostles said to the Lord, “Help us to believe in God more.”
6 Then the Lord said, “If your faith is only as big as a mustard seed you can say to this tree, [2] ‘Be pulled out of the ground and be planted in the ocean,’ and the tree will obey your command.”
Become a humble slave of God
7 “If one of you has a slave who plows in the field or shepherds your sheep, when that slave comes home from the field, you wouldn’t say to him, ‘Come in and eat,' of course. 8 Instead you would say to the slave, ‘Prepare food for me. Put on clothes for working in the house and serve me at the dinner table until I’m done eating. After that you may eat.’ 9 And you don’t need to say thanks to the slave when he has finished doing the things you commanded. 10 Each of you should be like that too. When you’ve done everything that God has commanded you, you should say, ‘I’m just an ordinary slave. I’m just doing my job.’”
Ten men were healed but only one expressed thanks
11 While Jesus was traveling to Jerusalem He walked through a region on the border of Samaria and Galilee. 12 When He entered a village, ten men who were sick with a contagious skin disease came to Him but they stood some distance away. 13 Then they cried out to Him, “Lord Jesus, have pity on us.”
14 While looking at them Jesus said, “Each of you go and show yourselves to a priest.”
Then they went, and while they were on their way they were healed. 15 But when one of them saw that he had been healed, he returned to Jesus while praising God with a loud voice. 16 Then he knelt down in front of Jesus’ feet and thanked Him. That man wasn’t a Jew, but a Samaritan. [3] 17 Then Jesus said, “I healed ten men, right?! So why didn’t the other nine men return? 18 How sad! Only the man who isn’t a Jew returned to thank God.” 19 Then Jesus said to him, “Stand up and go. Because you believed in Me, you’ve become well.”
God’s kingdom and Christ’s coming
20 Some of the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will God come to set up His kingdom?”
Jesus answered, “God’s kingdom won’t begin to be set up with signs that can be seen. 21 People won’t say, ‘The capitol of God’s kingdom is here!’ or ‘God has set up His kingdom there!’ For God’s government has already begun among us.” [4]
22 Then He said to His disciples, “A time will come later on when you’ll really long for Me like this, ‘Oh, wouldn't it be wonderful if Jesus returned today and ruled as the Son of Man!’ [5] But that won’t happen. 23 People will say to you, ‘Look, Jesus is here now!’ or ‘He’s there!’ But don’t believe it or go where they say. 24 For on the day that I the Son of Man return, it will be like lightning flashing and lighting up the sky from one point to another. 25 But before that, I have to suffer much, and people living at this time will reject Me.
26 “On the day I return it will be just like it was for the people who lived in Noah’s time. 27 They didn’t think that a disaster would fall on them. They were busy eating and drinking, men were marrying women and women were being married by men. They kept on living as usual until the time came when Noah entered the huge boat and the great flood came and destroyed them all.
28 “The day of My return will also come like the disaster that happened during Lot’s time. The residents of Sodom were living as usual. There were those who were busy eating and drinking and those who were busy buying and selling. There were those who were tilling the ground and those who were building houses. 29 But suddenly, the moment Lot went out of that city, a rain of fire and sulfur fell from the sky and destroyed all of them. 30 In the same way, without people realizing it, the day when I come to rule as the Son of Man will happen suddenly.
31 “On that day, a person who is on his terrace [6] must not go back inside to take some of his possessions. The same is true for someone who is in a field. He must not go back to his house. 32 Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! [18]
33 “Each one who struggles to keep his life in this world will still lose his life. But each one who is ready to sacrifice his life because of following Me will gain eternal life.
34 “I’m telling you honestly, at the time of My return things like this will happen. That night two people will be sleeping in the same bed, one will be taken by an angel and the other will be left behind. 35-36 And in another place two women will be grinding wheat with a grinding stone. One will be taken and the other one will be left behind.” [7]
37 Then Jesus’ disciples said to Him, “Where will that happen, Lord?”
He answered, “The situation later on will be like what’s often said, ‘Wherever there’s a carcass, the birds of prey will always gather there too.’” [8]
Chapter 18
God will definitely answer His people’s prayers
1 Jesus told his disciples a parable that illustrates how important it was for them to keep praying and not give up. 2 He said, “There was a judge in a certain city who didn’t respect God and didn’t care about anyone at all. 3 There was also a widow in that city who often went to the judge and said, ‘Defend my case against the man who wants to take advantage of me.’ 4 For quite a long time the judge refused to help the widow. But then he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t respect God or care about anyone at all, 5 because this widow just keeps coming to bother me, it would be better to decide her case with justice. Then she won’t come and bother me anymore.’”
6 Then the Lord said, “Pay attention to what the unjust judge said! 7 If that judge would help the widow’s case, God will certainly help His people whom He Himself has chosen who keep on making their requests day and night. He’ll answer their prayers without delay! 8 I’m telling you honestly. God will quickly decide all of their cases with justice. Even so, when I the Son of Man come back it isn’t certain that I will find people on this earth who still believe in Me.”
The parable of how the Pharisee and the tax collector prayed
9 Some people who were present felt they were righteous in God’s sight and because of that they considered themselves to be better than others. So Jesus told the following parable: 10 “There were two men who went into the courtyard of God’s House to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other one was a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed, bragging about himself, ‘Oh Lord, I’m thankful that I’m not sinful like other people, especially not like that tax collector over there. I don’t steal, I don’t deceive and I don’t commit adultery. 12 I fast two times a week and I give a tithe of all my income.’
13 “But the tax collector stood somewhat far off from the other people. He didn’t even dare look up to heaven like the Jewish custom was when praying, [1] but with a very sad and regretful heart [2] he prayed, ‘Oh God, have compassion on this sinful man!’ 14 I’m telling you honestly, when those two men went home to their own houses, the prayer of the tax collector was accepted by God, not the prayer of the Pharisee. For whoever raises himself up will be humbled by God, and whoever humbles his heart will be raised up by Him.”
Jesus welcomes the children
15 People brought their young children to Jesus so that He would touch the children and bless them. But when His disciples saw that they forbid the people harshly. 16 But Jesus called to the children and said, “Allow those children to come to Me and don’t forbid them. For the people who become citizens of God’s kingdom are like them. 17 What I’m saying is true. You must accept God’s kingdom like a child accepts something from his parents. If not, you won’t enter it.”
It’s very difficult for rich people to enter God’s kingdom
18 A Jewish leader asked Jesus, “Good teacher, what do I have to do to have eternal life?”
19 But Jesus asked him in return, “Why do you say that I’m good? Only God is good. No one else is. 20 Of course you already know these commands, ‘Don’t commit adultery, don’t murder, don’t steal, don’t give a false testimony and honor your father and mother.’” [19]
21 Then the Jewish leader said, “I’ve obeyed all of those commands since the time I was young until now.”
22 On hearing him say that Jesus said to him, “There’s still one more thing that you need to do. Go home and sell all of your possessions, then distribute the money to poor people. In that way you’ll have treasure in heaven and then come and follow Me.” 23 When he heard what Jesus said he became very sad because he was really rich and didn’t want to sell his possessions.
24 When Jesus saw how the rich man reacted to His words He said, “It's very difficult for rich people to become citizens of God’s kingdom! 25 It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle [3] than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom.”
26 On hearing that those present there said, “Wow! If that’s true, then who can be saved and enter heaven?”
27 But Jesus answered, “God is able to do what can’t be done by man.”
28 Then Peter said to Him, “How about us? We’ve left all of our possessions and followed You.”
29 Jesus answered them, “What I’m telling each of you is really true. To everyone who leaves his house, his wife, his brothers and sisters, his parents or his children for the sake of God’s kingdom, 30 God will give him many times more of the same things in exchange in this life now. And God will give him eternal life in the age to come.”
Jesus tells about His death
31 Jesus gathered His twelve disciples in a private way and said to them, “We’re heading to Jerusalem now. Everything that was formerly written by the prophets about Me, the Son of Man, will happen there. 32 So according to what has been prophesied I'll be turned over to non-Jewish leaders. And they’ll insult Me, torture Me and spit on Me. 33 After they whip Me, they’ll kill Me. But I'll come back to life on the third day after I die.” 34 But His disciples didn’t understand what Jesus said at all. The meaning of His words was hidden from them.
Jesus makes a blind man able to see
35 When Jesus and His disciples were almost at the city of Jericho, there was a blind man sitting and begging at the side of the road. 36 Because he heard the voices of the crowd passing by on the road, he asked the people there, “What’s happening?”
37 They told him, “Jesus the Nazarene is passing by.”
38 So he cried out, “Jesus, Descendant of David, [4] have compassion on me!”
39 But the people who were walking in front of Jesus ordered him to be quiet. So he cried out even louder, “Jesus, Descendant of David, have compassion on me!”
40 Then Jesus stopped and ordered that the blind man be led to Him. When the blind man approched, Jesus asked, 41 “What do you want Me to do for you?”
The man said, “Lord, help me be able to see again.”
42 Jesus said to him, “If that’s so, see! Because you believe in Me you can see now.”
43 At that very moment the man could see again, then he followed Jesus while praising God. And the crowd who saw what happened also praised God.
Chapter 19
Zacchaeus meets Jesus and repents
1 Then Jesus and His disciples entered the city of Jerico and continued their journey through that city. 2 There was a head tax collector in that city named Zacchaeus, who was rich. 3 He wanted to see Jesus’ face but he couldn’t because too many people were pressing in around Him, and he was also short. 4 So he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed a fig tree in order to see Jesus who was going by on the road under that tree. 5 When Jesus came to that place, He looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, get down quickly because God wants me to stay at your house today!”
6 He got down from the tree quickly and received Jesus with gladness at his house. 7 On seeing that happen, everyone complained and said, “Eeew! He’s going to stay at the home of a sinner.” [1]
8 But Zacchaeus stood and said to Jesus, “Oh Lord, I'll give half of my possessions to the poor. And I’ll return four times more to whoever I’ve cheated of his taxes.
9 Then while the crowd was still listening, Jesus said to him, “Today God is working to save you and your family. Now it has become clear that you’re also a descendant of Abraham! 10 For of course I, the Son of Man, was sent by God to seek and save people who’ve wandered off.”
The parable about faithful and unfaithful slaves
11 At Jericho, Jesus’ group was nearing their destination because Jerusalem is close to Jericho. Many people thought that when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem He would quickly set up God’s kingdom and the land of Israel would be free from the colonization of Rome. Because of that, He told this parable, 12 “There was a nobleman who went far away to the capital of the kingdom to be appointed as king over his district. After that He would return to rule there. 13 Before he left, he called ten of his slaves and gave each of them one large gold coin. [2] He said to them, ‘While I’m gone, use this coin as your capital to do business.’ 14 But the residents of that land hated the nobleman. After he left they sent messengers to the high king who planned to appoint him as regional king to say, ‘We don’t want this man to become king over us.’
15 Even so, the nobleman was still appointed king. When he returned to his district he ordered someone to call his slaves who had received that money so that he could hear each of their reports about how much profit they had gotten from their business ventures. 16 The first slave came and said, ‘Oh king, I started business with the one gold coin that you gave me and I’ve produced ten more gold coins.’ 17 The king said to him, ‘Great! You’re a good slave! Because you can be trusted with a small responsibility you’ll rule over ten cities.’
18 Then the second slave came and said, ‘Oh king, I started a business with the gold coin that you gave me. I’ve produced five more gold coins.’ 19 The king also said to him, ‘You’ll rule over five cities.’
20 Then another slave came and said, ‘Oh king, this is the gold coin that you gave me. I kept it in a piece of cloth. 21 I was afraid of you because you’re a harsh man who gains much from the labor of other people. For example you harvest in places that you’ve never planted and you take produce from places where you’ve never scattered seed.’
22 The king said to him, ‘Hey you useless slave! I'll judge you according to your own words. You know that I’m a ‘harsh’ man who gains much from the labor of other people. 23 If so, you should have saved my money in the bank so that when I returned I could get my money back with interest.’ 24 Then the king said to the people standing near him, ‘Take that money from him and give it to my slave who produced ten gold coins.’
25 But the people said to the king, ‘Whoa, king, don’t do that! That man already has ten gold coins!’
26 The king answered, ‘I’m telling you honestly, everyone who faithfully uses what God has given to him will be given more. But from everyone who doesn’t faithfully use what was given to him, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But now regarding those who hate me and who didn’t want me to become king, bring all of them here in front of me and kill them!’”
Jesus is welcomed in Jerusalem as a king
28 After telling that parable, Jesus walked in front of them and continued the trip heading to Jerusalem. 29 When they were near the villages of Bethphage and Bethany on the hill that’s named the Mount of Olives, He ordered two of His disciples saying, 30 “Go to that village up ahead there. As soon as you enter it you’ll find a young donkey that has never been ridden on by anyone. It is tied up near a person’s house. Untie its rope and bring it here. 31 If a person says, ‘Why are you untying its rope?’, answer him, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
32 Then the two messengers left and found it exactly as He told them. 33 While they were untying the donkey’s rope some members of the family who owned the donkey asked them, “Why are you untying the donkey?”
34 They answered, “The Lord needs it.” 35 They led the donkey and took it to Jesus. Then the two of them covered the back of the donkey with their robes and helped Jesus climb onto its back. 36 And the crowd who saw Him riding on the donkey and leaving for Jerusalem kept spreading their robes all along the road on which Jesus was traveling.
37 When Jesus was almost to Jerusalem, on the road going down from the Mount of Olives, His disciples and the whole crowd who followed Him were joyfully praising God with loud voices. They praised God because of all of the miraculous signs which they had seen Jesus do. 38 They cried out,
“May God bless this new king of Israel!
This king of ours comes representing the Lord! [20]
Now we’ll be at peace with God in heaven!
Glory to God in the highest level of heaven!”
39 Some of the Pharisees among the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, order your followers to be quiet!”
40 But He answered, “I’m telling you the truth. If they were quiet, then the rocks that are all along this road would shout the same words.”
Jesus mourns the destruction of Jerusalem
41 As Jesus got closer to Jerusalem, He saw the city and mourned for it, 42 “How very sad you residents of Jerusalem! How good it would be if today you knew the way to make peace with God, but it’s impossible for you to understand it now! 43 For the time will come when your enemies will surround this city, pile up dirt to enter its walls and will continually attack you from all sides. 44 They’ll kill all of the residents of your city and destroy all of its walls until they’re level with the ground, so there won’t be one stone left on top of another. That will happen because you didn’t recognize the meaning of the days that are now happening, that is the time when I, as God’s representative, visited you.”
Jesus in the courtyard of God’s House
45 Then Jesus entered the courtyard of God's House and drove out all the merchants who were selling there. 46 He said to them, “In the Holy Bible God says,
‘My House will be made a special place for prayer.’ [21]
But you’ve changed it into ‘a hiding place for thieves!’” [22]
47 After that, Jesus taught in the courtyard of God’s House every day, while the chief priests, Law experts and the leaders of the Jews were trying to find a way to kill Him. 48 But they didn’t find any way that they could do it because there were always a lot of people around Him who were very interested in hearing every word of His teachings.
Chapter 20
Jesus is asked about His right to change the traditions of the Jews
1 While Jesus was giving His teachings and telling the Good News about God’s kingdom to the crowd in the courtyard of God’s House, the chief priests, Law experts and leaders of the Jews came to Him. 2 They said to Him, “Tell us who gave you the right to teach and change our traditions? In whose name are you doing all of this?”
3 He answered them, “I want to ask you something too. Try to answer my question. 4 Who gave John the Baptist the right to baptize? Was it God who gave it [1] or did he work of his own will? [2]
5 Then they talked this over among themselves, “If we say, ‘God,’ then he’ll say, ‘If so, why didn’t you believe in John?’ 6 But if we say, ‘He worked of his own will,’ then all of these people will throw stones at us because they believe that John was a prophet!” 7 So in the end they answered, “We don’t know.”
8 Then Jesus said to them, “If so, I won’t tell you Who gave me the right to do these things either.”
A parable which shows that the Jews always reject God’s messengers
9 Jesus told this parable to the crowd. He said, “One day a land owner ordered his servants to plant a grape vine in his large vineyard. Then he rented out the garden to some tenant farmers, and he and his servants went to another land for quite a long time. 10 When the season to harvest grapes had come, the owner of the garden ordered one of his servants to go collect the produce from the tenants so that they would give the owner his share of the garden produce. But when he got there, the tenants beat the servant and drove him away, and he went home empty-handed. 11 Then the owner of the garden sent another of his servants. But once again they made fun of him and beat him and drove him away, and he went home empty-handed. 12 Yet again the garden owner sent his third servant. But they beat him too, to the point of wounding him. Then they dragged him out of the garden.
13 “Finally the garden owner thought, ‘Now what am I going to do? I'll send my one and only son whom I really love. Maybe they’ll have awe and respect for my own son.’ 14 But when the tenants saw the garden owner’s son coming, they said to each other, ‘Look! The one coming is his own son! He’s the one who will become heir of this garden when his father dies. Let’s kill him so that the garden will be ours!’ 15 Then they dragged his son out of the garden and killed him.
So just think. If that's what happened, what more will the garden owner do to them? 16 He himself will come, of course, and kill those tenants. Then he’ll rent out the garden to other tenants.”
Then the people who were listening to Jesus said, “Wow! Don’t let that happen!” 17 But Jesus looked at them and said, “If so, try to figure out the meaning of this verse from the Holy Bible,
‘God has made the stone that was considered to be useless by the builders
to be the most important foundation stone.’ [23]
18 And I’m telling you, everyone who trips on that stone will be destroyed. And everyone on whom the stone falls will be completely crushed.”
19 Then the Law experts and the chief priests who were listening to Jesus realized that through this parable Jesus had said, “You Jewish leaders are like those evil tenant farmers!” So they wanted to arrest Jesus that very moment. But they were afraid of the crowd because the crowd who admired Jesus could get angry and take direct action against them.
The Jewish leaders try to persuade Jesus to oppose the government of Rome
20 So the Jewish leaders watched Jesus carefully because they planned to persuade Him to say something to oppose the Roman government. They sent some spies who pretended to be good people in order to present some questions to Him. If Jesus’ answer opposed the government of Rome, they planned to arrest Him immediately and hand Him over to the authority of the governor appointed by the Roman government. 21 The spies said to Him, “Teacher, we know that all of your teachings and statements are always true. You, Sir, aren’t afraid of anyone’s opinion but always teach honestly what God desires us to do. 22 So our question is, according to the Law, are we allowed to pay taxes to the government of Rome or not?”
23 But Jesus knew that they had evil plans. So He said to them, 24 “Please show me a silver coin that’s usually used to pay taxes.” When they showed it to Him, He asked, “Whose face is engraved here? And whose name is written here?”
They answered, “The king of Rome.”
25 Then He said to them, “If that’s so, whatever you should give to the king, give it to him! And whatever you should give to God, give it to Him!”
26 So the spies didn’t succeed in trapping Him through His own words in front of the crowd. All of them were so amazed at hearing His answer that they just became silent.
People from the Sadducee group ask about coming alive again after death
27 Some members of the Sadducee group [3] also came to Jesus. (The Sadducee group believed that no one who dies will live again.) Then they asked Him, 28 “Teacher, Moses wrote this regulation for us, ‘If a husband dies and doesn’t yet have children, then his brother should marry the widow to provide descendants to carry on for his brother who died. [24] 29 There were seven brothers. The first man married a woman, then he died and didn’t have any children. 30 Then the second brother married the widow of his older brother, and he died. 31 Then the third brother married the widow of his older brother. The same thing happened up to the seventh brother. And all of them died without having children by that widow. 32 In the end the widow also died. 33 So if it’s true that people who die will be brought back to life, then the widow will be the wife of which man? Because the seven brothers had each married that woman.”
34 Jesus said to them, “People in this age marry and are married, of course. 35 In the age to come it won’t be like that. Because people who are considered to be worthy to have eternal life won’t marry or be married. 36 They’ll never die again either, because they’ll live forever like the angels. They’ll also be considered to be children of God because He’s the one who resurrected them.
37 But the resurrection of man after death was revealed in the story about the flaming bush. For the Lord said to Moses, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ [25] 38 God spoke of our three forefathers as men who are still alive and worshiping Him. Even though dead people aren’t on earth anymore, they’re still alive before God. For before Him, everyone remains alive.”
39 Then some of the Law experts said, “Teacher, your answer was very correct!” 40 And after that no one dared to test Him with questions like that anymore.
Jesus shows that He isn’t just a descendant of David
41 Jesus said to them, “Why is it always taught that the Christ will come as a descendant of David? 42 For David himself said in the book of Psalms,
‘The Lord God said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right side and rule as King,
43 and I'll defeat all of Your enemies and make them Your slaves.” [26]
44 So David himself truly respected the Christ by calling Him ‘my Lord.’ If so, why is it always taught that the King of Salvation just comes from the descendants of David?”
Jesus teaches not to imitate the Law experts
45 While the crowd was still listening to Jesus, He said to His disciples, 46 “Watch out! Don’t imitate the Law experts. They like to walk around and show off in public wearing beautiful clothes. And while walking in the market they like it when people give them respectful greetings. And in the synagogues or at dinner parties they also like to sit in the front row seats. 47 But they usually deceive widows too, using this excuse, ‘I'll help you manage your deceased husband’s wealth.’ But they actually only pretend to help because they want to steal a lot of that wealth. And in order to cover up their evil, they pray long prayers in the synagogue so that people think they are good people. As a result of deeds like that, God will give them a very harsh punishment, for sure.”
Chapter 21
A poor widow gives all of her money to God
1 While Jesus was in the courtyard of God’s House, He observed rich people who were putting money in the offering box. 2 He also noticed a poor widow putting in two metal coins of the least value. 3 Then Jesus said, “I’m telling you the truth. The value of the offering of this poor widow is greater than the offerings of all of the other people! 4 All of those people gave a small part of the excess of their wealth, whereas this widow who is very poor gave everything she owned. She doesn’t have anything left to buy food.”
Jesus teaches about the end of the age
5 At that time there were some people talking about the complex of God’s House. They were in awe looking at the huge and wonderful stones of the building and the things offered which decorated the building. 6 Then Jesus said to them, “The time will come when all that you see will be torn down until there won’t even be one stone left on top of another stone.” 7 Then they asked Him, “Teacher, when will those things happen, and what will be the sign that those things will soon happen?”
8 Then Jesus answered, “Be careful so that you don’t get deceived too! Because many people will rise up and say, ‘I’m the Christ and the final age will soon happen!’ Don’t become their followers. 9 And don’t be afraid if you hear all kinds of news of wars and disturbances. For all of this must happen first, but those aren’t the only things that show you’ve entered the final age of the world.”
10 Then Jesus spoke again, “There will be wars between different ethnic groups and between countries. 11 And later on earthquakes and famines will also happen in various places. Great disasters and terrifying signs will occur in the sky.
12 But before all of that happens people will arrest you and persecute you. And some of you will be tried in Jewish synagogues and some will be imprisoned. And because you believe in Me, some of you will be dragged off and presented before kings and authorities. 13 Those events are opportunities given to you by the Lord so that you can testify to them about Me. 14 For that reason, before you’re tried in a courtroom don’t worry thinking, “What should I say to defend myself?” 15 For I Myself will enable you to speak with wise words so that those who oppose you won’t be able to dispute or argue with what you say. 16 Even parents, brothers and sisters, family and close friends of yours will betray you. And they'll kill many of you. 17 And wherever you go there’ll be people who hate you because you believe in Me. 18 Even though they can kill your body, they really can’t do anything to you. Not even one strand of your hair will be lost! 19 You’ll gain eternal life by continuing to endure in that trouble.”
The city of Jerusalem will be destroyed
20 “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by soldiers, you'll know that the time has come for the city to be destroyed. 21 At that time you who are still in the province of Judea must run away to the mountains. And you who are in the city of Jerusalem must get out of the city quickly. And you who are outside of the city, don’t enter it again. 22 For that’s the time God will repay the evil of these people so that everything written by the prophets about that time of punishment is fulfilled. 23 At the time that disaster happens, what a pity for pregnant women and those who nurse! They’ll really suffer because it’ll be hard for them to run away. Great trouble will fall on all of the residents of this land because the Lord will show His wrath toward this people group. 24 Many will be killed with the sword, and many will be taken as captives to every land of non-Jewish people too. Then those people groups will overpower Jerusalem until the time that the Lord determined for them is finished.”
Jesus teaches about His return from heaven
25 “There’ll be miracles in the sun, moon and stars. And all the people groups on earth will be afraid and confused because of the violence of the ocean waves which will make a loud noise like thunder. 26 People will be very frightened because of worrying about all that’s happening on this earth because the spiritual powers that manage the objects in the sky will become chaotic. 27 Then people on earth will see Me, the Son of Man, coming in the clouds full of power and with brilliantly shining rays. 28 And at the time those things begin to happen, get up and encourage your hearts, for God will quickly save you!”
29 Then Jesus told this parable, “Pay attention to the fig tree and to other trees. 30 When you see those trees begin to get buds, you know that summer is near. 31 In the same way, if you see those signs happening, you'll know that the time for God to set up His kingdom on earth is near.
32 What I’m telling you is true. All of those signs will happen while people of this age are still living. 33 All of those things will definitely take place. The sky and earth will disappear, but My teachings will last forever.”
Always be ready
34 “Be on guard! Don’t be too engrossed in wild parties and drunkenness. And don’t keep worrying about daily necessities so that on the last day you’re trapped! 35 Because the last day will come suddenly on all the people on earth. 36 So stay on guard! And always pray that you’re able to endure and can escape from all the things that will happen so that you can welcome My coming with joy and without shame.”
37 Every day of that week, Jesus gave His teachings in the courtyard of God’s House. And in the evenings He went and spend the night on the Mount of Olives. 38 Then very early in the morning the whole crowd would get up and come to the courtyard of God’s House to hear Him teach.
Chapter 22
The Jewish leaders plan to kill Jesus
1 When the Passover Celebration [1] was near, 2 the chief priests and Law experts secretly looked for a way to kill Jesus without the crowd knowing it. They were afraid of the crowd because the crowd liked Jesus and might take direct action against them.
Judas sells Jesus
3 Then the devil took control of Judas’ heart. He was the one from the village of Kariot who was one of Jesus' twelve disciples. 4 Because of that he met with the chief priests and the head guards of God’s House to talk about how to turn Jesus over to them. 5 They were very happy to hear that, so they agreed to give him a sum of money. 6 Judas agreed and looked for a good opportunity to turn Jesus over to them without the crowd knowing it.
Passover preparations
7 Then the first day of the Celebration of Passover came, [2] which was the day when all the Passover lambs were killed. 8 So Jesus told Peter and John, “Go and prepare the food for the Passover dinner for us.”
9 And they asked, “Where do you want us to prepare it, Sir?”
10 Jesus answered, “As soon as you enter Jerusalem you’ll meet a male slave who’s carrying a jug filled with water. Follow him until you reach the house he enters. 11 Then say to the owner of that house, ‘Sir, our Teacher wants to know where there is a place for Him and His disciples to eat the Passover meal.’ 12 Then that person will show you a large room on an upper floor which is already complete with a table and other furnishings. Prepare the Passover meal for us there.”
13 So Peter and John went to Jerusalem, and they found it to be just like Jesus had told them. Then they prepared the Passover meal there.
Jesus gives food to remember His body and blood
14 When the time came, Jesus and His disciples, who were also called His apostles, sat together to celebrate the Passover meal. 15 He said to them, “I’ve really longed for us to celebrate this Passover meal together before the time comes for Me to face My suffering. 16 For that reason I’m telling you honestly that I won’t eat the Passover meal again until the meaning of this celebration becomes reality in God’s kingdom.” [3]
17 He took the cup full of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. 18 For I’m telling you honestly that after this I won’t drink wine again until God establishes His kingdom in reality on earth.”
19 So He took the bread and gave thanks to God for the bread. Then He tore the bread into pieces and gave it to His disciples while saying, “This is My body which has been sacrificed to God for you. Do this to remember Me.”
20 After they ate, Jesus did the same thing with the cup filled with wine. As He gave it to them He said, “This wine reveals the new promise between God and man in which the blood from My death which is poured out for you becomes a sign that the promise is official.
21 “But pay attention! The man who’s turning Me over to the people who oppose me is now sitting at this table with Me. 22 I, as the Son of Man, will die of course, like what God has determined. But the man who turns Me over to those who oppose Me is unfortunate!”
23 Then His disciples were very angry and began to ask each other, “Which one of us has the heart to do that?!”
Leaders should be like servants
24 Then they argued with each other about who was the number one disciple among them. 25 Because of that, Jesus said to them, “In this world all kings and other rulers are happy to oppress and enslave their citizens. And even though a king oppresses his citizens, his citizens must always call him ‘the people's’ helper.’ 26 But you must not be like that. Whoever wants to be number one among you should become like the lowliest person. And whoever wants to be a leader among you should become like a servant. 27 Think about this example. There are two people in a room. The first person is serving food to the second person who’s at the table. Of the two of them, which one is more important? The one sitting at the table, right?! But remember My example among you. I’ve done everything like a servant.
28 You’re the ones who’ve stood firmly with Me in all the troubles that I’ve experienced. 29 Because of that I'll give you authority to rule with Me in the kingdom given to Me by My Father. 30 So you’ll eat and drink with Me in My kingdom, and each of you will sit on a throne to rule with Me over the twelve tribes of Israel.” [4]
Peter will deny Jesus
31 Then Jesus said, “Simon, Simon, listen well! The devil has asked permission from God to test all of you like a farmer separates the wheat from the chaff. 32 But I’ve prayed for you, Simon, so that you'll keep believing in Me. And after that test, when you believe in Me again you should encourage the faith of your brothers and sisters.”
33 Then Peter said to Him, “But Lord, I’ll keep following You even if I go to prison or am killed with You.”
34 But Jesus said, “Peter, I’m telling you honestly that early in the morning, before the rooster crows, you’ll already have denied Me three times.”
Be ready to face trouble
35 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Try to remember when I sent you to tell the Good News without taking a purse with money, a bag or shoes. Did you experience any lack?”
They answered, “No.”
36 Then He said to them, “But now if each of you has a purse with money or a bag, you should bring it. And if you don’t have a sword you should buy one, even if you have to sell your robe in order to own one. 37 For I’m telling you honestly that right now the prophecies about Me are being fulfilled. Everything must happen according to what has been prophesied about Me, including this prophecy,
‘He’ll be treated like a criminal.’” [27]
38 Then they said, “Oh Lord, look! There are two swords here.”
So He said, “That’s enough.”
Jesus prays alone in the garden of Gethsemane
39 Then as was Jesus usually did, He and His disciples left Jerusalem and went to the Mount of Olives. 40 After arriving there He ordered them, “Pray so that none of you commits sin when tempted by the devil.”
41 Then Jesus went a little farther from them, approximately thirty meters. There He knelt down to pray, saying, 42 “Oh Father! I beg of You. If You want Father, don’t let Me go through this suffering! [5] But don’t let it happen according to My will. Instead may Your will alone be done.” 43 [Then an angel showed himself to Jesus and strengthened Him so that He could face the suffering that He would soon experience. 44 Because of the weight of that suffering, Jesus prayed even more sincerely, until His sweat was like drops of blood that fell to the ground.] [6] 45 After He finished praying, He stood up and returned to His disciples and found them sleeping. They were very sad so it was hard for them to keep their eyes open. 46 Then He said to them, “Why are you sleeping?! Wake up and pray so that none of you commits sin when tempted by the devil.”
Jesus is arrested
47 While Jesus was still speaking, a crowd came. And Judas, one of His twelve disciples, led them as their guide. He came close to Jesus and hugged Him. [7]
48 But Jesus said to him, “Judas! Why are You betraying Me with your hug!” 49 When the other disciples saw what was happening they said, “Lord, we’re ready to oppose them with swords!” 50 Then one of the disciples attacked a slave of the high priest with a sword. But he only succeeded in cutting off his right ear. [28]
51 But Jesus said, “Stop it!” Then Jesus touched the man's ear and healed it.
52 Jesus said to the chief priests, the head guards of God's House and the Jewish leaders who came to arrest Him, “You think I’m an evil person, huh, so you have to bring swords and clubs here! 53 But I was there with you everyday in the courtyard of God’s House. Why weren’t you bold enough to arrest Me there?! But of course the time of darkness agrees with you because you carry out the desires of the powers of darkness.”
Peter says that he doesn’t know Jesus
54 After they arrested Jesus, they took Him to the house of the high priest, while Peter followed them from a distance. 55 People had lit a fire in the middle of the yard of that house and were sitting, warming themselves around it. So Peter also sat with them there. 56 A woman helper saw Peter sitting near the fire. She looked at Peter and said, “This man is also a follower of Jesus.”
57 But Peter denied it, saying, “Ma’am, I don’t know that man.” 58 Not long after that a man saw Peter and said, “You’re a follower of that man too.”
But Peter said, “That’s not so, Sir!”
59 About one hour later, another person said with certainty, “This man really is a follower of Jesus because he’s also a Galilean.”
60 But Peter said, “Sir, I don’t understand what you mean.” That very moment, as he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. 61 Then the Lord Jesus turned and looked at Peter, so he remembered that the Lord had said to him, “Early in the morning, before the rooster crows you’ll have denied Me three times.” 62 Then Peter went out of the yard of that house and wept with great sadness.
The guards of God's House make fun of Jesus
63 Then the guards of God’s House who were detaining Jesus made fun of Him by insulting and hitting Him. 64 They covered His face with a cloth and repeatedly said, “If you’re really a prophet, tell us who hit you.” 65 And there were many other words they said to insult Him.
Jesus is brought to face the council of the Jewish Religious Court
66 In the morning, the members of the Religious Court gathered, including the Jewish leaders, chief priests and Law experts. Then Jesus was brought before them.
67 They said, “Tell us, is it true that you’re the Christ?” [8]
Then Jesus answered, “If I say that I’m the Christ, you won’t believe Me. 68 And if I ask you something, you won’t answer Me either. 69 But it won’t be long until I, the Son of Man, will sit in the place of highest honor by the right side of God Almighty.” [29]
70 Then they all said, “If that’s so, are you really God’s Son?”
Jesus answered them, “It’s as you say.”
71 Then they all said, “We don’t need to find any other witnesses because he himself has just now admitted it, and we heard it directly for ourselves!”
Chapter 23
Govenor Pilate examines Jesus
1 Then all the members of the council stood up and took Jesus to present Him to Pilate. 2 They began to accuse Jesus there by saying, “This man is leading our people astray, stirring up the people so that they won’t pay taxes to the Roman kingdom and claiming that he’s the Christ who is the king of the Jews.”
3 Then Pilate asked Jesus, “Is it true that you’re the king of the Jews?”
Jesus answered, “It’s as you say.”
4 Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, “I don’t find any fault in this man at all.”
5 But they pressured Pilate even more by saying, “Through his teaching he has stirred up the citizens in all of Judea to revolt, starting in Galilee. And now it has reached here.”
6 On hearing that, Pilate asked, “Is this man a Galilean?” 7 When he knew that Jesus came from the district of King Herod’s authority, he ordered someone to take Jesus to Herod who happened to be in Jerusalem at that time.
King Herod examines Jesus
8 Herod had wanted to see Jesus for a long time because he had heard many things about Jesus. So he was very glad to see Jesus and hoped to see Him do some miracle. 9 Herod asked Him many questions but Jesus didn’t answer him at all. 10 But at the same time the chief priests and experts of the Law stood near Jesus and kept throwing accusations at Him. 11 So Herod and His soldiers also insulted Him and made fun of Him. While Herod was making fun of Jesus being a king, he ordered them to put a beautiful robe on Jesus. So while He was still wearing that robe, Herod ordered his soldiers to take Jesus back to Pilate. 12 And from that time Herod and Pilate became close friends. Before that they had hated each other.
Pilate turns Jesus over to be sentenced to death
13 Then Pilate gathered the chief priests, members of the Religious Council and the people. 14 He said to them, “You brought this man to me with the accusation that he stirs up the people to revolt. But when I examined him in front of you I didn’t find anything wrong that you had accused him of. 15 And Herod also didn’t find any fault with him. That’s why Herod ordered that Jesus be brought back here to us. Jesus has really done no wrong at all which makes him deserve the death penalty. 16-17 So I’ll order my soldiers to whip him. After that I’ll release him.” [1]
18 However, all the people who were gathered there cried out, “Kill him! Release Barabbas for us!” 19 (Barabbas was in prison because he’d caused a revolt and a riot in that city, and because he was involved in killing someone in that riot.)
20 Pilate wanted to release Jesus, so he spoke to the crowd again in a loud voice. 21 But they kept crying more and more loudly, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” [2]
22 So for the third time, Pilate asked them, “What evil did this man do?! He’s done nothing wrong that makes him deserve the death penalty. So I’ll order my soldiers to whip him, and after that I’ll release him.”
23 But they cried more loudly to urge and demand that Jesus be crucified. And they finally won because they shouted so loudly. 24 Pilate did, in fact, give the death sentence to Jesus according to the crowd’s demand. 25 The decision wasn’t really fair, of course, because he released Barabbas, who was imprisoned for causing a riot and being involved in a murder, based only on their demands. But he turned Yesus over to them to do according to their hearts’ desire.
Jesus is crucified
26 After Jesus was whipped, [3] the Roman soldiers took Him out of the city of Jerusalem. Jesus himself was carrying His cross. But when the soldiers saw someone named Simon, who came from the city of Cyrene and just happened to enter the city, they forced [4] him to carry Jesus’ cross while walking behind Jesus. 27 A large crowd followed behind Jesus, among whom were women who cried and mourned because of His suffering. 28 But Jesus turned to them and said, “You women of Jerusalem, don’t cry for Me but cry for yourselves and for your children. 29 For the time will come when God will punish this city. And at that time, people will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women who were never pregnant, never gave birth and never nursed.’ 30 For the suffering that will happen at that time will be so awful that all the residents of this region will cry out, ‘Oh mountains and hills, collapse and fall on us quickly!’ [30] 31 For if the people treat Me like this now, just imagine the evil things that will be done by man when that time comes!” [5]
32 The soldiers also brought two criminals who were sentenced to death in order to crucify the two of them with Jesus. 33 After arriving at the place called, “The Skull,” [6] the soldiers crucified Jesus and the two criminals also, one on His right side and the other on His left side.
34 [Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive these people, because they don’t know what they’re doing.”] [7]
Then the soldiers divided His clothes by casting lots. [8] 35 The crowd standing there witnessed all of those events. The Jewish leaders kept making fun of Him by saying, “He saved other people. If he’s really the Christ who was chosen and sent by God let him save himself now.”
36 The soldiers also mocked Him. They approached Him several times and offered Him sour wine 37 while saying, “If you’re really the king of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 Also at the top of the cross, above His head, the soldiers had attached a notice, “This is the king of the Jews.”
39 One of the criminals who was crucified there also began to insult Jesus by saying, “You’re the Christ, right? Save yourself and us!”
40 The other criminal rebuked him saying, “Why do you say that?! You obviously don’t fear and respect God! Even though the three of us have received the same death sentence, 41 only two of us deserve that punishment because of the evil we’ve done. However Jesus didn’t do anything wrong at all!” 42 Then he said to Jesus, “Oh Jesus, please remember me when You begin to rule as King!”
43 Jesus answered him, “I’m telling you honestly, as of today you’ll be with Me in heaven.”
Jesus dies
44-45 At about twelve o’clock noon, the sun suddenly stopped shining so that the whole land became dark until three o’clock in the afternoon. Another miracle that happened is that the curtain which always hung in the doorway of the Holy Room [9] in God's House tore in two by itself from top to bottom. 46 Then Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Father, I surrender Myself to You.” [31] After saying that He let out his last breath.
47 When the officer who led the soldiers mentioned above saw that happen, he praised God by saying, “This man really wasn't guilty.”
48 On seeing those things, the whole crowd that had gathered to watch the death of the three men went home with very sad and regretful. [10] 49 But all of His close friends, including the women who accompanied Him from Galilee, stood far off while witnessing all of those events.
Jesus’ body is buried
50-51 There was a man named Joseph who came from the city of Arimathea in the province of Judea. He was a good and honest man, and he was waiting for the time when God would set up His kingdom in reality on this earth. He was a member of the Jewish Religious Council, but he hadn’t agreed with the decision and actions of that council against Jesus. 52 So soon after Jesus died, Joseph went before Pilate in order to be permitted to bury the body of Jesus. 53 With Pilate’s permission, Joseph and some other people took His body down and wrapped it with a cloth shroud that was made from linen. Then they placed it in a tomb which was made like a cave in the hill of rock. The tomb was still new and had never been used. 54 Those things were done when the Sabbath Day had almost begun.
55 The women, who had come with Jesus from Galilee, followed Joseph from a distance, saw Jesus’ tomb, and also saw how Joseph laid the body of Jesus there. 56 Then they returned to Jerusalem to prepare fragrant spices and oil of myrrh for wrapping the body of Jesus properly, according to Jewish custom. And on the Sabbath day they rested in obedience to the Law.
Chapter 24
Jesus comes back to life
1 Early in the morning on the first day of the week, the women went to Jesus’ tomb taking fragrant spices and perfumed oils which they had prepared. 2 After arriving there, they found that the stone closing the tomb had been rolled away. 3 When they entered the tomb, they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus there. 4 While they were still confused about what had happened, two angels suddenly appeared who stood near them. The two of them looked like men with shining clothes. 5 The women knelt down in worship, full of fear, with their faces to the ground. Then the two said to them, “You don’t need to look for the Man who’s alive in the place of dead people! 6 Jesus isn’t here any longer. He’s alive again. Remember what He told you while you were still with Him in Galilee, 7 which was, ‘In order that the prophecies of the prophets be fulfilled, I the Son of Man will be turned over to the hands of sinful people, die by crucifixion and come back to life on the third day.’” [32] 8 Then they remembered Jesus’ words.
9 So they left the tomb and went to tell His eleven disciples and all of the other followers about all that had happened. 10 The women were Mary from the village of Magdala, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and other women. They were the ones who told Jesus’ apostles, [1] that is His disciples, the things that had happened. 11 But to His disciples the news seemed like empty talk. They didn’t believe what the women told them. 12 Even so, Peter got up and ran to the tomb. While stooping down he looked into the tomb but only saw the cloth that had been wrapped around His body. Then he went home in amazement, wondering in his heart what had happened.
Jesus shows Himself to two of His followers on the way to Emmaus
13 On the same day, two of Jesus’ followers were on a trip to the village of Emmaus, which was a distance of about eleven kilometers [2] from Jerusalem. 14 As they walked, they talked about everything that had happened. 15 And while they were talking and exchanging thoughts about those events, Jesus Himself came near and walked with them. 16 Of course the two of them saw Him, but it was as if there was something that prevented them from recognizing Him.
17 Then Jesus asked them, “What are you discussing with each other on this trip?”
With sad faces they just stopped walking. 18 One of them whose name was Cleopas answered, “Sir, you may be the only foreigner in Jerusalem who doesn’t yet know about the events that happened these past few days.”
19 Then He said again, “What’s it all about?”
They answered, “About Jesus the Nazarene. He was proven to be a prophet who was powerful in his words and deeds before God and before all people. 20 But the chief priests and the members of our Religious Court turned him over to the Roman rulers to be sentenced to death, and then he was crucified. 21 However before that, we had hoped that he was the one who would free us Israelites from the colonization of the Roman kingdom. Obviously he wasn’t the King of Salvation we’ve been waiting for because today is the third day since those events happened. 22 And also earlier this morning there were some women from our group who shocked us because they went to the tomb early in the morning 23 but they didn’t find his body there. Then they came back and told us that they had seen two angels in a vision, and the angels said that Jesus had come back to life. 24 Then some of our close friends also went to the tomb. As it turns out, they didn’t see the body of Jesus there either, just like the women had said.”
25 Then Jesus said to the two of them, “Wow! How can you two not yet understand and why do you find it so hard to believe every prophecy of the prophets! 26 You should know that before the Christ could enter His glory it was determined that He would suffer first.” 27 Then Jesus explained everything that was written in the Holy Bible about Himself, beginning with the books of Moses through all of the books of the prophets.
28 It was late afternoon when the three of them approached the village of Emmaus. Jesus acted as if He wanted to continue His trip, 29 but the two men pressured Him by saying, “Stay with us because the sun has almost set and it’s getting dark.” Then Jesus went with them into the village as if He intended to stay overnight with them.
30 When they sat down to eat together, He took bread and gave thanks to God for the bread. Then He tore the bread and gave it to them. 31 At that very moment their eyes were suddenly opened and they recognized Jesus. But immediately He was no longer seen by them. 32 Then the two men talked about what had happened and said, “Oh, our spirits really burned while He spoke on the way earlier and explained the contents of the Holy Bible to us!”
33 And at that very moment, even though it was already night, they got up and returned to Jerusalem. There they met His eleven disciples who were gathered with Jesus' other followers. 34 Then those who were in Jerusalem told the two followers, “The Lord Jesus really has come back to life and has shown Himself to Peter!” [3] 35 Then the two followers also told those in Jerusalem what they had experienced while they were on their way to Emmaus and how they recognized Jesus when He tore the bread.
Jesus shows Himself to His followers
36 While the two followers were still talking about those things, Jesus suddenly stood among them and greeted them saying, “May you feel calm at heart!” [4]
37 They were all shocked and afraid because they thought they were seeing a ghost. 38 But Jesus said to them, “You don’t need to be shocked and doubt! 39 It’s Me, Myself! See My two hands and My two feet! Touch them and see for yourselves. I have flesh and bones so I’m not a ghost!”
40 After saying that, Jesus showed His two hands and His two feet to them. 41 But they still didn’t yet completely believe because they were so joyful and surprised to see Jesus. For that reason Jesus said to them, “Do you have any food here?” 42 Then they gave Him a piece of roasted fish. 43 He took it and ate it in front of all of them.
44 Then He said to them, “Now I’ll repeat what I said to you while I was still with you. All of the prophesies that were written about Me in the books of the Law of Moses, the books of the prophets and the book of Psalms had to be fulfilled.”
45 Then Jesus helped shed light on it so they could understand the contents of the Holy Bible. 46 Then He said to them, “This is what was prophesied in the Holy Bible about Me, ‘According to God’s plan the Christ will suffer and on the third day will come back to life after death. 47 Then My messengers will announce the news of salvation to every people group, starting in Jerusalem, so that they repent and their sins are forgiven.’ 48 You are the ones who’ve become the eyewitnesses whom I'll send to tell about all of those things. 49 And I'll send Him who was promised by My Father to you. [33] Stay in this city until God equips you with power from heaven.”
Jesus is raised up to heaven
50 Then He invited them to go out of the city of Jerusalem, and they all went near to Bethany. Then He raised His two hands to bless them. 51 While He was blessing them, He was separated from them and was raised up to heaven. 52 They all bowed down worshiping Him and then returned to Jerusalem full of joy. 53 They were always praising God, and because of that they hardly ever left the courtyard of God’s House.