Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹One day Jesus called together his twelve disciples and gave them power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases.

²Then he sent them out to tell everyone about the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

³“Take nothing for your journey,” he instructed them. “Don’t take a walking stick, a traveler’s bag, food, money, or even a change of clothes.

⁴Wherever you go, stay in the same house until you leave town.

⁵And if a town refuses to welcome you, shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have abandoned those people to their fate.”

⁶So they began their circuit of the villages, preaching the Good News and healing the sick.

⁷When Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, heard about everything Jesus was doing, he was puzzled. Some were saying that John the Baptist had been raised from the dead.

⁸Others thought Jesus was Elijah or one of the other prophets risen from the dead.

⁹“I beheaded John,” Herod said, “so who is this man about whom I hear such stories?” And he kept trying to see him.

¹⁰When the apostles returned, they told Jesus everything they had done. Then he slipped quietly away with them toward the town of Bethsaida.

¹¹But the crowds found out where he was going, and they followed him. He welcomed them and taught them about the Kingdom of God, and he healed those who were sick.

¹²Late in the afternoon the twelve disciples came to him and said, “Send the crowds away to the nearby villages and farms, so they can find food and lodging for the night. There is nothing to eat here in this remote place.”

¹³But Jesus said, “You feed them.” “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Or are you expecting us to go and buy enough food for this whole crowd?”

¹⁴For there were about 5,000 men there. Jesus replied, “Tell them to sit down in groups of about fifty each.”

¹⁵So the people all sat down.

¹⁶Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people.

¹⁷They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers!

¹⁸One day Jesus left the crowds to pray alone. Only his disciples were with him, and he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

¹⁹“Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other ancient prophets risen from the dead.”

²⁰Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Messiah sent from God!”

²¹Jesus warned his disciples not to tell anyone who he was.

²²“The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,” he said. “He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”

²³Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.

²⁴If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.

²⁵And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?

²⁶If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.

²⁷I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Kingdom of God.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

⁵⁵But Jesus turned and rebuked them.

⁵⁶So they went on to another village.

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

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

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

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

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

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

¹The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit.

²These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.

³Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves.

⁴Don’t take any money with you, nor a traveler’s bag, nor an extra pair of sandals. And don’t stop to greet anyone on the road.

⁵“Whenever you enter someone’s home, first say, ‘May God’s peace be on this house.’

⁶If those who live there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you.

⁷Don’t move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay.

⁸“If you enter a town and it welcomes you, eat whatever is set before you.

⁹Heal the sick, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now.’

¹⁰But if a town refuses to welcome you, go out into its streets and say,

¹¹‘We wipe even the dust of your town from our feet to show that we have abandoned you to your fate. And know this — the Kingdom of God is near!’

¹²I assure you, even wicked Sodom will be better off than such a town on judgment day.

¹³“What sorrow awaits you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse.

¹⁴Yes, Tyre and Sidon will be better off on judgment day than you.

¹⁵And you people of Capernaum, will you be honored in heaven? No, you will go down to the place of the dead. ”

¹⁶Then he said to the disciples, “Anyone who accepts your message is also accepting me. And anyone who rejects you is rejecting me. And anyone who rejects me is rejecting God, who sent me.”

¹⁷When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!”

¹⁸“Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning!

¹⁹Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you.

²⁰But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”

²¹At that same time Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and he said, “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way.

²²“My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

²³Then when they were alone, he turned to the disciples and said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you have seen.

²⁴I tell you, many prophets and kings longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.”

²⁵One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”

²⁶Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”

²⁷The man answered, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

²⁸“Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”

²⁹The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

³⁰Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

³¹“By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by.

³²A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

³³“Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him.

³⁴Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him.

³⁵The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

³⁶“Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.

³⁷The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

³⁸As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.

³⁹Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught.

⁴⁰But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”

⁴¹But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details!

⁴²There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

¹Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

²Jesus said, “This is how you should pray: “Father, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon.

³Give us each day the food we need,

⁴and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation. ”

⁵Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him,

⁶‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’

⁷And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’

⁸But I tell you this — though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.

⁹“And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

¹⁰For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

¹¹“You fathers — if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead?

¹²Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not!

¹³So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

¹⁴One day Jesus cast out a demon from a man who couldn’t speak, and when the demon was gone, the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed,

¹⁵but some of them said, “No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons.”

¹⁶Others, trying to test Jesus, demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.

¹⁷He knew their thoughts, so he said, “Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A family splintered by feuding will fall apart.

¹⁸You say I am empowered by Satan. But if Satan is divided and fighting against himself, how can his kingdom survive?

¹⁹And if I am empowered by Satan, what about your own exorcists? They cast out demons, too, so they will condemn you for what you have said.

²⁰But if I am casting out demons by the power of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you.

²¹For when a strong man is fully armed and guards his palace, his possessions are safe —

²²until someone even stronger attacks and overpowers him, strips him of his weapons, and carries off his belongings.

²³“Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.

²⁴“When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, searching for rest. But when it finds none, it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’

²⁵So it returns and finds that its former home is all swept and in order.

²⁶Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before.”

²⁷As he was speaking, a woman in the crowd called out, “God bless your mother — the womb from which you came, and the breasts that nursed you!”

²⁸Jesus replied, “But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.”

²⁹As the crowd pressed in on Jesus, he said, “This evil generation keeps asking me to show them a miraculous sign. But the only sign I will give them is the sign of Jonah.

³⁰What happened to him was a sign to the people of Nineveh that God had sent him. What happens to the Son of Man will be a sign to these people that he was sent by God.

³¹“The queen of Sheba will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomon is here — but you refuse to listen.

³²The people of Nineveh will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here — but you refuse to repent.

³³“No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where its light can be seen by all who enter the house.

³⁴“Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when it is unhealthy, your body is filled with darkness.

³⁵Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness.

³⁶If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight were filling you with light.”

³⁷As Jesus was speaking, one of the Pharisees invited him home for a meal. So he went in and took his place at the table.

³⁸His host was amazed to see that he sat down to eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony required by Jewish custom.

³⁹Then the Lord said to him, “You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy — full of greed and wickedness!

⁴⁰Fools! Didn’t God make the inside as well as the outside?

⁴¹So clean the inside by giving gifts to the poor, and you will be clean all over.

⁴²“What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.

⁴³“What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you love to sit in the seats of honor in the synagogues and receive respectful greetings as you walk in the marketplaces.

⁴⁴Yes, what sorrow awaits you! For you are like hidden graves in a field. People walk over them without knowing the corruption they are stepping on.”

⁴⁵“Teacher,” said an expert in religious law, “you have insulted us, too, in what you just said.”

⁴⁶“Yes,” said Jesus, “what sorrow also awaits you experts in religious law! For you crush people with unbearable religious demands, and you never lift a finger to ease the burden.

⁴⁷What sorrow awaits you! For you build monuments for the prophets your own ancestors killed long ago.

⁴⁸But in fact, you stand as witnesses who agree with what your ancestors did. They killed the prophets, and you join in their crime by building the monuments!

⁴⁹This is what God in his wisdom said about you: ‘I will send prophets and apostles to them, but they will kill some and persecute the others.’

⁵⁰“As a result, this generation will be held responsible for the murder of all God’s prophets from the creation of the world —

⁵¹from the murder of Abel to the murder of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, it will certainly be charged against this generation.

⁵²“What sorrow awaits you experts in religious law! For you remove the key to knowledge from the people. You don’t enter the Kingdom yourselves, and you prevent others from entering.”

⁵³As Jesus was leaving, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees became hostile and tried to provoke him with many questions.

⁵⁴They wanted to trap him into saying something they could use against him.

¹Meanwhile, the crowds grew until thousands were milling about and stepping on each other. Jesus turned first to his disciples and warned them, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees — their hypocrisy.

²The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all.

³Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear!

⁴“Dear friends, don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot do any more to you after that.

⁵But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he’s the one to fear.

⁶“What is the price of five sparrows — two copper coins ? Yet God does not forget a single one of them.

⁷And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.

⁸“I tell you the truth, everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, the Son of Man will also acknowledge in the presence of God’s angels.

⁹But anyone who denies me here on earth will be denied before God’s angels.

¹⁰Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

¹¹“And when you are brought to trial in the synagogues and before rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how to defend yourself or what to say,

¹²for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what needs to be said.”

¹³Then someone called from the crowd, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me.”

¹⁴Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?”

¹⁵Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”

¹⁶Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops.

¹⁷He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’

¹⁸Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods.

¹⁹And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’

²⁰“But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’

²¹“Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

²²Then, turning to his disciples, Jesus said, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life — whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear.

²³For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing.

²⁴Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds!

²⁵Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

²⁶And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?

²⁷“Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.

²⁸And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

²⁹“And don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things.

³⁰These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs.

³¹Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.

³²“So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom.

³³“Sell your possessions and give to those in need. This will store up treasure for you in heaven! And the purses of heaven never get old or develop holes. Your treasure will be safe; no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it.

³⁴Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

³⁵“Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning,

³⁶as though you were waiting for your master to return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks.

³⁷The servants who are ready and waiting for his return will be rewarded. I tell you the truth, he himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat!

³⁸He may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn. But whenever he comes, he will reward the servants who are ready.

³⁹“Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would not permit his house to be broken into.

⁴⁰You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.”

⁴¹Peter asked, “Lord, is that illustration just for us or for everyone?”

⁴²And the Lord replied, “A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them.

⁴³If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward.

⁴⁴I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns.

⁴⁵But what if the servant thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk?

⁴⁶The master will return unannounced and unexpected, and he will cut the servant in pieces and banish him with the unfaithful.

⁴⁷“And a servant who knows what the master wants, but isn’t prepared and doesn’t carry out those instructions, will be severely punished.

⁴⁸But someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be punished only lightly. When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.

⁴⁹“I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning!

⁵⁰I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished.

⁵¹Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other!

⁵²From now on families will be split apart, three in favor of me, and two against — or two in favor and three against.

⁵³‘Father will be divided against son and son against father; mother against daughter and daughter against mother; and mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’ ”

⁵⁴Then Jesus turned to the crowd and said, “When you see clouds beginning to form in the west, you say, ‘Here comes a shower.’ And you are right.

⁵⁵When the south wind blows, you say, ‘Today will be a scorcher.’ And it is.

⁵⁶You fools! You know how to interpret the weather signs of the earth and sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the present times.

⁵⁷“Why can’t you decide for yourselves what is right?

⁵⁸When you are on the way to court with your accuser, try to settle the matter before you get there. Otherwise, your accuser may drag you before the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, who will throw you into prison.

⁵⁹And if that happens, you won’t be free again until you have paid the very last penny. ”

¹About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple.

²“Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered?

³Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God.

⁴And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem?

⁵No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too.”

⁶Then Jesus told this story: “A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed.

⁷Finally, he said to his gardener, ‘I’ve waited three years, and there hasn’t been a single fig! Cut it down. It’s just taking up space in the garden.’

⁸“The gardener answered, ‘Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer.

⁹If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.’”

¹⁰One Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue,

¹¹he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for eighteen years and was unable to stand up straight.

¹²When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Dear woman, you are healed of your sickness!”

¹³Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised God!

¹⁴But the leader in charge of the synagogue was indignant that Jesus had healed her on the Sabbath day. “There are six days of the week for working,” he said to the crowd. “Come on those days to be healed, not on the Sabbath.”

¹⁵But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Each of you works on the Sabbath day! Don’t you untie your ox or your donkey from its stall on the Sabbath and lead it out for water?

¹⁶This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, has been held in bondage by Satan for eighteen years. Isn’t it right that she be released, even on the Sabbath?”

¹⁷This shamed his enemies, but all the people rejoiced at the wonderful things he did.

¹⁸Then Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it?

¹⁹It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden; it grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make nests in its branches.”

²⁰He also asked, “What else is the Kingdom of God like?

²¹It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”

²²Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he went, always pressing on toward Jerusalem.

²³Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?” He replied,

²⁴“Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail.

²⁵When the master of the house has locked the door, it will be too late. You will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Lord, open the door for us!’ But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’

²⁶Then you will say, ‘But we ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’

²⁷And he will reply, ‘I tell you, I don’t know you or where you come from. Get away from me, all you who do evil.’

²⁸“There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, for you will see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, but you will be thrown out.

²⁹And people will come from all over the world — from east and west, north and south — to take their places in the Kingdom of God.

³⁰And note this: Some who seem least important now will be the greatest then, and some who are the greatest now will be least important then. ”

³¹At that time some Pharisees said to him, “Get away from here if you want to live! Herod Antipas wants to kill you!”

³²Jesus replied, “Go tell that fox that I will keep on casting out demons and healing people today and tomorrow; and the third day I will accomplish my purpose.

³³Yes, today, tomorrow, and the next day I must proceed on my way. For it wouldn’t do for a prophet of God to be killed except in Jerusalem!

³⁴“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me.

³⁵And now, look, your house is abandoned. And you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD!’ ”

¹One Sabbath day Jesus went to eat dinner in the home of a leader of the Pharisees, and the people were watching him closely.

²There was a man there whose arms and legs were swollen.

³Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in religious law, “Is it permitted in the law to heal people on the Sabbath day, or not?”

⁴When they refused to answer, Jesus touched the sick man and healed him and sent him away.

⁵Then he turned to them and said, “Which of you doesn’t work on the Sabbath? If your son or your cow falls into a pit, don’t you rush to get him out?”

⁶Again they could not answer.

⁷When Jesus noticed that all who had come to the dinner were trying to sit in the seats of honor near the head of the table, he gave them this advice:

⁸“When you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the seat of honor. What if someone who is more distinguished than you has also been invited?

⁹The host will come and say, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then you will be embarrassed, and you will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table!

¹⁰“Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table. Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, ‘Friend, we have a better place for you!’ Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests.

¹¹For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

¹²Then he turned to his host. “When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,” he said, “don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward.

¹³Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.

¹⁴Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.”

¹⁵Hearing this, a man sitting at the table with Jesus exclaimed, “What a blessing it will be to attend a banquet in the Kingdom of God!”

¹⁶Jesus replied with this story: “A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations.

¹⁷When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come, the banquet is ready.’

¹⁸But they all began making excuses. One said, ‘I have just bought a field and must inspect it. Please excuse me.’

¹⁹Another said, ‘I have just bought five pairs of oxen, and I want to try them out. Please excuse me.’

²⁰Another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’

²¹“The servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master was furious and said, ‘Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’

²²After the servant had done this, he reported, ‘There is still room for more.’

²³So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full.

²⁴For none of those I first invited will get even the smallest taste of my banquet.’”

²⁵A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them,

²⁶“If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else — your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters — yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.

²⁷And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.

²⁸“But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it?

²⁹Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you.

³⁰They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’

³¹“Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him?

³²And if he can’t, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away.

³³So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.

³⁴“Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again?

³⁵Flavorless salt is good neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. It is thrown away. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!”

¹Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach.

²This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people — even eating with them!

³So Jesus told them this story:

⁴“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it?

⁵And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders.

⁶When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’

⁷In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!

⁸“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it?

⁹And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’

¹⁰In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

¹¹To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons.

¹²The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

¹³“A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living.

¹⁴About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve.

¹⁵He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs.

¹⁶The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

¹⁷“When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!

¹⁸I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you,

¹⁹and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’

²⁰“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.

²¹His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. ’

²²“But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet.

²³And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast,

²⁴for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.

²⁵“Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house,

²⁶and he asked one of the servants what was going on.

²⁷‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’

²⁸“The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him,

²⁹but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends.

³⁰Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’

³¹“His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours.

³²We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

¹Jesus told this story to his disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a manager handling his affairs. One day a report came that the manager was wasting his employer’s money.

²So the employer called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Get your report in order, because you are going to be fired.’

³“The manager thought to himself, ‘Now what? My boss has fired me. I don’t have the strength to dig ditches, and I’m too proud to beg.

⁴Ah, I know how to ensure that I’ll have plenty of friends who will give me a home when I am fired.’

⁵“So he invited each person who owed money to his employer to come and discuss the situation. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe him?’

⁶The man replied, ‘I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.’ So the manager told him, ‘Take the bill and quickly change it to 400 gallons. ’

⁷“‘And how much do you owe my employer?’ he asked the next man. ‘I owe him 1,000 bushels of wheat,’ was the reply. ‘Here,’ the manager said, ‘take the bill and change it to 800 bushels. ’

⁸“The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light.

⁹Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.

¹⁰“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.

¹¹And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?

¹²And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?

¹³“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”

¹⁴The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, heard all this and scoffed at him.

¹⁵Then he said to them, “You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.

¹⁶“Until John the Baptist, the law of Moses and the messages of the prophets were your guides. But now the Good News of the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is eager to get in.

¹⁷But that doesn’t mean that the law has lost its force. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest point of God’s law to be overturned.

¹⁸“For example, a man who divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery. And anyone who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.”

¹⁹Jesus said, “There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury.

²⁰At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores.

²¹As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores.

²²“Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the heavenly banquet. The rich man also died and was buried,

²³and he went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.

²⁴“The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’

²⁵“But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish.

²⁶And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’

²⁷“Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home.

²⁸For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.’

²⁹“But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.’

³⁰“The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’

³¹“But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”

¹One day Jesus said to his disciples, “There will always be temptations to sin, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting!

²It would be better to be thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around your neck than to cause one of these little ones to fall into sin.

³So watch yourselves! “If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive.

⁴Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive.”

⁵The apostles said to the Lord, “Show us how to increase our faith.”

⁶The Lord answered, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you!

⁷“When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, ‘Come in and eat with me’?

⁸No, he says, ‘Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later.’

⁹And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not.

¹⁰In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’”

¹¹As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria.

¹²As he entered a village there, ten men with leprosy stood at a distance,

¹³crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

¹⁴He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.

¹⁵One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!”

¹⁶He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.

¹⁷Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine?

¹⁸Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?”

¹⁹And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you. ”

²⁰One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?” Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs.

²¹You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you. ”

²²Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see the day when the Son of Man returns, but you won’t see it.

²³People will tell you, ‘Look, there is the Son of Man,’ or ‘Here he is,’ but don’t go out and follow them.

²⁴For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so it will be on the day when the Son of Man comes.

²⁵But first the Son of Man must suffer terribly and be rejected by this generation.

²⁶“When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day.

²⁷In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all.

²⁸“And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot. People went about their daily business — eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building —

²⁹until the morning Lot left Sodom. Then fire and burning sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

³⁰Yes, it will be ‘business as usual’ right up to the day when the Son of Man is revealed.

³¹On that day a person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. A person out in the field must not return home.

³²Remember what happened to Lot’s wife!

³³If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it.

³⁴That night two people will be asleep in one bed; one will be taken, the other left.

³⁵Two women will be grinding flour together at the mill; one will be taken, the other left. ”

³⁶

³⁷“Where will this happen, Lord?” the disciples asked. Jesus replied, “Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.”

¹One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.

²“There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people.

³A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’

⁴The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people,

⁵but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’”

⁶Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge.

⁷Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?

⁸I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”

⁹Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else:

¹⁰“Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector.

¹¹The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer : ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people — cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector!

¹²I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’

¹³“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’

¹⁴I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

¹⁵One day some parents brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But when the disciples saw this, they scolded the parents for bothering him.

¹⁶Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.

¹⁷I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

¹⁸Once a religious leader asked Jesus this question: “Good Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”

¹⁹“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “Only God is truly good.

²⁰But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother.’ ”

²¹The man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”

²²When Jesus heard his answer, he said, “There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

²³But when the man heard this he became very sad, for he was very rich.

²⁴When Jesus saw this, he said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!

²⁵In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”

²⁶Those who heard this said, “Then who in the world can be saved?”

²⁷He replied, “What is impossible for people is possible with God.”

²⁸Peter said, “We’ve left our homes to follow you.”

²⁹“Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the Kingdom of God,

³⁰will be repaid many times over in this life, and will have eternal life in the world to come.”

³¹Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus said, “Listen, we’re going up to Jerusalem, where all the predictions of the prophets concerning the Son of Man will come true.

³²He will be handed over to the Romans, and he will be mocked, treated shamefully, and spit upon.

³³They will flog him with a whip and kill him, but on the third day he will rise again.”

³⁴But they didn’t understand any of this. The significance of his words was hidden from them, and they failed to grasp what he was talking about.

³⁵As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road.

³⁶When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening.

³⁷They told him that Jesus the Nazarene was going by.

³⁸So he began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

³⁹“Be quiet!” the people in front yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁰When Jesus heard him, he stopped and ordered that the man be brought to him. As the man came near, Jesus asked him,

⁴¹“What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord,” he said, “I want to see!”

⁴²And Jesus said, “All right, receive your sight! Your faith has healed you.”

⁴³Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too.

¹Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town.

²There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich.

³He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd.

⁴So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way.

⁵When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”

⁶Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy.

⁷But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.

⁸Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”

⁹Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham.

¹⁰For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

¹¹The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away.

¹²He said, “A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return.

¹³Before he left, he called together ten of his servants and divided among them ten pounds of silver, saying, ‘Invest this for me while I am gone.’

¹⁴But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want him to be our king.’

¹⁵“After he was crowned king, he returned and called in the servants to whom he had given the money. He wanted to find out what their profits were.

¹⁶The first servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made ten times the original amount!’

¹⁷“‘Well done!’ the king exclaimed. ‘You are a good servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward.’

¹⁸“The next servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made five times the original amount.’

¹⁹“‘Well done!’ the king said. ‘You will be governor over five cities.’

²⁰“But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, ‘Master, I hid your money and kept it safe.

²¹I was afraid because you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn’t yours and harvesting crops you didn’t plant.’

²²“‘You wicked servant!’ the king roared. ‘Your own words condemn you. If you knew that I’m a hard man who takes what isn’t mine and harvests crops I didn’t plant,

²³why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’

²⁴“Then, turning to the others standing nearby, the king ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’

²⁵“‘But, master,’ they said, ‘he already has ten pounds!’

²⁶“‘Yes,’ the king replied, ‘and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.

²⁷And as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king — bring them in and execute them right here in front of me.’”

²⁸After telling this story, Jesus went on toward Jerusalem, walking ahead of his disciples.

²⁹As he came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples ahead.

³⁰“Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.

³¹If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying that colt?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

³²So they went and found the colt, just as Jesus had said.

³³And sure enough, as they were untying it, the owners asked them, “Why are you untying that colt?”

³⁴And the disciples simply replied, “The Lord needs it.”

³⁵So they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it for him to ride on.

³⁶As he rode along, the crowds spread out their garments on the road ahead of him.

³⁷When he reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen.

³⁸“Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the LORD! Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!”

³⁹But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!”

⁴⁰He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”

⁴¹But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep.

⁴²“How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes.

⁴³Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side.

⁴⁴They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not recognize it when God visited you. ”

⁴⁵Then Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people selling animals for sacrifices.

⁴⁶He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”

⁴⁷After that, he taught daily in the Temple, but the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the other leaders of the people began planning how to kill him.

⁴⁸But they could think of nothing, because all the people hung on every word he said.

¹One day as Jesus was teaching the people and preaching the Good News in the Temple, the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders came up to him.

²They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?”

³“Let me ask you a question first,” he replied.

⁴“Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?”

⁵They talked it over among themselves. “If we say it was from heaven, he will ask why we didn’t believe John.

⁶But if we say it was merely human, the people will stone us because they are convinced John was a prophet.”

⁷So they finally replied that they didn’t know.

⁸And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things.”

⁹Now Jesus turned to the people again and told them this story: “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and moved to another country to live for several years.

¹⁰At the time of the grape harvest, he sent one of his servants to collect his share of the crop. But the farmers attacked the servant, beat him up, and sent him back empty-handed.

¹¹So the owner sent another servant, but they also insulted him, beat him up, and sent him away empty-handed.

¹²A third man was sent, and they wounded him and chased him away.

¹³“‘What will I do?’ the owner asked himself. ‘I know! I’ll send my cherished son. Surely they will respect him.’

¹⁴“But when the tenant farmers saw his son, they said to each other, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’

¹⁵So they dragged him out of the vineyard and murdered him. “What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do to them?” Jesus asked.

¹⁶“I’ll tell you — he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others.” “How terrible that such a thing should ever happen,” his listeners protested.

¹⁷Jesus looked at them and said, “Then what does this Scripture mean? ‘The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’

¹⁸Everyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on.”

¹⁹The teachers of religious law and the leading priests wanted to arrest Jesus immediately because they realized he was telling the story against them — they were the wicked farmers. But they were afraid of the people’s reaction.

²⁰Watching for their opportunity, the leaders sent spies pretending to be honest men. They tried to get Jesus to say something that could be reported to the Roman governor so he would arrest Jesus.

²¹“Teacher,” they said, “we know that you speak and teach what is right and are not influenced by what others think. You teach the way of God truthfully.

²²Now tell us — is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

²³He saw through their trickery and said,

²⁴“Show me a Roman coin. Whose picture and title are stamped on it?” “Caesar’s,” they replied.

²⁵“Well then,” he said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”

²⁶So they failed to trap him by what he said in front of the people. Instead, they were amazed by his answer, and they became silent.

²⁷Then Jesus was approached by some Sadducees — religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead.

²⁸They posed this question: “Teacher, Moses gave us a law that if a man dies, leaving a wife but no children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name.

²⁹Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children.

³⁰So the second brother married the widow, but he also died.

³¹Then the third brother married her. This continued with all seven of them, who died without children.

³²Finally, the woman also died.

³³So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her!”

³⁴Jesus replied, “Marriage is for people here on earth.

³⁵But in the age to come, those worthy of being raised from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage.

³⁶And they will never die again. In this respect they will be like angels. They are children of God and children of the resurrection.

³⁷“But now, as to whether the dead will be raised — even Moses proved this when he wrote about the burning bush. Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, he referred to the Lord as ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’

³⁸So he is the God of the living, not the dead, for they are all alive to him.”

³⁹“Well said, Teacher!” remarked some of the teachers of religious law who were standing there.

⁴⁰And then no one dared to ask him any more questions.

⁴¹Then Jesus presented them with a question. “Why is it,” he asked, “that the Messiah is said to be the son of David?

⁴²For David himself wrote in the book of Psalms: ‘The LORD said to my Lord, Sit in the place of honor at my right hand

⁴³until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.’

⁴⁴Since David called the Messiah ‘Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?”

⁴⁵Then, with the crowds listening, he turned to his disciples and said,

⁴⁶“Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets.

⁴⁷Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be severely punished.”

¹While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box.

²Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins.

³“I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them.

⁴For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.”

⁵Some of his disciples began talking about the majestic stonework of the Temple and the memorial decorations on the walls. But Jesus said,

⁶“The time is coming when all these things will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!”

⁷“Teacher,” they asked, “when will all this happen? What sign will show us that these things are about to take place?”

⁸He replied, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and saying, ‘The time has come!’ But don’t believe them.

⁹And when you hear of wars and insurrections, don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place first, but the end won’t follow immediately.”

¹⁰Then he added, “Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

¹¹There will be great earthquakes, and there will be famines and plagues in many lands, and there will be terrifying things and great miraculous signs from heaven.

¹²“But before all this occurs, there will be a time of great persecution. You will be dragged into synagogues and prisons, and you will stand trial before kings and governors because you are my followers.

¹³But this will be your opportunity to tell them about me.

¹⁴So don’t worry in advance about how to answer the charges against you,

¹⁵for I will give you the right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply or refute you!

¹⁶Even those closest to you — your parents, brothers, relatives, and friends — will betray you. They will even kill some of you.

¹⁷And everyone will hate you because you are my followers.

¹⁸But not a hair of your head will perish!

¹⁹By standing firm, you will win your souls.

²⁰“And when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you will know that the time of its destruction has arrived.

²¹Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. Those in Jerusalem must get out, and those out in the country should not return to the city.

²²For those will be days of God’s vengeance, and the prophetic words of the Scriptures will be fulfilled.

²³How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days. For there will be disaster in the land and great anger against this people.

²⁴They will be killed by the sword or sent away as captives to all the nations of the world. And Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the period of the Gentiles comes to an end.

²⁵“And there will be strange signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And here on earth the nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides.

²⁶People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth, for the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

²⁷Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with power and great glory.

²⁸So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!”

²⁹Then he gave them this illustration: “Notice the fig tree, or any other tree.

³⁰When the leaves come out, you know without being told that summer is near.

³¹In the same way, when you see all these things taking place, you can know that the Kingdom of God is near.

³²I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things have taken place.

³³Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.

³⁴“Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware,

³⁵like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth.

³⁶Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.”

³⁷Every day Jesus went to the Temple to teach, and each evening he returned to spend the night on the Mount of Olives.

³⁸The crowds gathered at the Temple early each morning to hear him.