Chronological Plan

¹Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them out ahead of Him, two by two, into every city and place where He was about to go.

²He was saying to them, "The harvest is abundant [for there are many who need to hear the good news about salvation], but the workers [those available to proclaim the message of salvation] are few. Therefore, [prayerfully] ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.

³Go your way; listen carefully: I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.

⁴Do not carry a money belt, a provision bag, or [extra] sandals; and do not greet anyone along the way [who would delay you].

⁵Whatever house you enter, first say, ' Peace [that is, a blessing of well-being and prosperity, the favor of God] to this house.'

⁶And if anyone of peace is there [someone who is sweet-spirited and hospitable], your [blessing of] peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.

⁷Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not move from house to house.

⁸Whenever you go into a city and they welcome you, eat what is set before you;

⁹and heal those in it who are sick [authenticating your message], and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'

¹⁰But whatever city you enter and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say,

¹¹'Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you [breaking all ties]; yet understand this, that the kingdom of God has come near [and you rejected it].'

¹²I tell you, it will be more bearable in that day [of judgment] for Sodom than for that city.

¹³"Woe (judgment is coming) to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented and changed their minds long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes [to show deep regret for sin].

¹⁴However, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you.

¹⁵And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades (the realm of the dead).

¹⁶"The one who listens to you listens to Me; and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and the one who rejects Me rejects Him [My heavenly Father] who sent Me."

¹⁷The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."

¹⁸He said to them, "I watched Satan fall from heaven like [a flash of] lightning.

¹⁹Listen carefully: I have given you authority [that you now possess] to tread on serpents and scorpions, and [the ability to exercise authority] over all the power of the enemy (Satan); and nothing will [in any way] harm you.

²⁰Nevertheless do not rejoice at this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven."

²¹In that very hour He was overjoyed and rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and He said, "I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things [relating to salvation] from the wise and intelligent, and have revealed them to infants [the childlike and untaught]. Yes, Father, for this way was [Your gracious will and choice, and was] well-pleasing in Your sight.

²²All things have been transferred and turned over to Me by My Father and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him."

²³Then turning to His disciples, Jesus said privately, "Blessed [joyful, spiritually enlightened, and favored by God] are the eyes which see what you see,

²⁴for I say to you that many prophets and kings longed to see what you see, and they did not see it; and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."

²⁵And a certain lawyer [an expert in Mosaic Law] stood up to test Him, saying, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

²⁶Jesus said to him, "What is written in the Law? How do you read it?"

²⁷And he replied, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."

²⁸Jesus said to him, "You have answered correctly; do this habitually and you will live."

²⁹But he, wishing to justify and vindicate himself, asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

³⁰Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he encountered robbers, who stripped him of his clothes [and belongings], beat him, and went their way [unconcerned], leaving him half dead.

³¹Now by coincidence a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

³²Likewise a Levite also came down to the place and saw him, and passed by on the other side [of the road].

³³But a Samaritan (foreigner), who was traveling, came upon him; and when he saw him, he was deeply moved with compassion [for him],

³⁴and went to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them [to sooth and disinfect the injuries]; and he put him on his own pack-animal, and brought him to an inn and took care of him.

³⁵On the next day he took out two denarii (two days' wages) and gave them to the innkeeper, and said, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I return.'

³⁶Which of these three do you think proved himself a neighbor to the man who encountered the robbers?"

³⁷He answered, "The one who showed compassion and mercy to him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and constantly do the same."

³⁸Now while they were on their way, Jesus entered a village [called Bethany], and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.

³⁹She had a sister named Mary, who seated herself at the Lord's feet and was continually listening to His teaching.

⁴⁰But Martha was very busy and distracted with all of her serving responsibilities; and she approached Him and said, "Lord, is it of no concern to You that my sister has left me to do the serving alone? Tell her to help me and do her part."

⁴¹But the Lord replied to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered and anxious about so many things;

⁴²but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part [that which is to her advantage], which will not be taken away from her."

¹It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples."

²He said to them, "When you pray, say: ' Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come.

³'Give us each day our daily bread.

⁴'And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us [who has offended or wronged us]. And lead us not into temptation [ but rescue us from evil].'"

⁵Then He said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves [of bread];

⁶for a friend of mine who is on a journey has just come to visit me, and I have nothing to serve him';

⁷and from inside he answers, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.'

⁸I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything just because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence and boldness he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

⁹"So I say to you, ask and keep on asking, and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking, and you will find; knock and keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

¹⁰For everyone who keeps on asking [persistently], receives; and he who keeps on seeking [persistently], finds; and to him who keeps on knocking [persistently], the door will be opened.

¹¹What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish?

¹²Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?

¹³If you, then, being evil [that is, sinful by nature], know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask and continue to ask Him!"

¹⁴And [at another time] Jesus was casting out a demon, and it was [controlling a man so as to make him] mute; when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds were awed.

¹⁵But some of them said, "He drives out demons by [the power of] Beelzebul (Satan), the ruler of the demons."

¹⁶Others, trying to test Him, were demanding of Him a sign from heaven.

¹⁷But He, well aware of their thoughts and purpose, said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is doomed to destruction; and a house divided against itself falls.

¹⁸If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand and continue to survive? For you are saying that I drive out demons by [the power of] Beelzebul.

¹⁹Now if I drive out the demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons [the Jewish exorcists] drive them out? For this reason they will be your judges.

²⁰But if I drive out the demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has already come upon you.

²¹When the strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his belongings are undisturbed and secure.

²²But when someone stronger than he attacks and overpowers him, he robs him of all his armor on which he had relied and divides his [goods as] spoil.

²³He who is not with Me [believing in Me as Lord and Savior] is against Me [there is no impartial position]; and he who does not gather with Me [assisting in My ministry], scatters.

²⁴"When the unclean spirit comes out of a person, it roams through waterless places in search [of a place] of rest; and not finding any, it says, 'I will go back to my house (person) from which I came.'

²⁵And when it comes, it finds the place swept and put in order.

²⁶Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in [the person] and live there; and the last state of that person becomes worse than the first."

²⁷Now while Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed (happy, favored by God) is the womb that gave birth to You and the breasts at which You nursed!"

²⁸But He said, "On the contrary, blessed (happy, favored by God) are those who hear the word of God and continually observe it."

²⁹Now as the crowds were increasing [in number], He began to say, "This [present] generation is a wicked generation; it seeks a sign (attesting miracle), but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah [the prophet].

³⁰For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man also be [a sign] to this generation.

³¹The Queen of the South (the kingdom of Sheba) will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and look, something greater than Solomon is here.

³²The men of Nineveh will stand up [as witnesses] at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and look, something greater than Jonah is here.

³³"No one lights a lamp and then puts it in a cellar nor under a basket [hiding the light], but [instead it is put] on the lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light.

³⁴The eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is clear [spiritually perceptive, focused on God], your whole body also is full of light [benefiting from God's precepts]. But when it is bad [spiritually blind], your body also is full of darkness [devoid of God's word].

³⁵Be careful, therefore, that the light that is in you is not darkness.

³⁶So if your whole body is illuminated, with no dark part, it will be entirely bright [with light], as when the lamp gives you light with its bright rays."

³⁷Now after Jesus had spoken, a Pharisee asked Him to have lunch with him. He went in [the Pharisee's home] and reclined at the table [without ceremonially washing His hands].

³⁸The Pharisee noticed this and was surprised that Jesus did not first ceremonially wash before the meal.

³⁹But the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and plate [as required by tradition]; but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.

⁴⁰You foolish ones [acting without reflection or intelligence]! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?

⁴¹But give that which is within as charity [that is, acts of mercy and compassion, not as a public display, but as an expression of your faithfulness to God], and then indeed all things are clean for you.

⁴²"But woe (judgment is coming) to you Pharisees, because you [self-righteously] tithe mint and rue and every [little] garden herb [tending to all the minutiae], and yet disregard and neglect justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done, without neglecting the others.

⁴³Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the best seats in the synagogues and to be respectfully greeted in the market places.

⁴⁴Woe to you! For you are like graves which are unmarked, and people walk over them without being aware of it [and are ceremonially unclean]."

⁴⁵One of the lawyers [an expert in the Mosaic Law] answered Him, "Teacher, by saying this, You insult us too!"

⁴⁶But He said, "Woe to you lawyers as well, because you weigh men down with burdens [man-made rules, unreasonable requirements] which are hard to bear, and you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers [to lighten the load].

⁴⁷Woe to you! For you repair or build tombs for the prophets, and it was your fathers who killed them.

⁴⁸So you are witnesses and approve the deeds of your fathers, because they [actually] killed them, and you repair or build their tombs.

⁴⁹For this reason also the wisdom of God said [in the Scriptures], 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will put to death and some they will persecute,

⁵⁰so that charges may be brought against this generation [holding them responsible] for the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world,

⁵¹from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah [the priest], who was murdered between the altar and the house of God. Yes, I tell you, charges will be brought against this generation.'

⁵²Woe to you lawyers, because you have taken away the key to knowledge (scriptural truth). You yourselves did not enter, and you held back those who were entering [by your flawed interpretation of God's word and your man-made tradition]."

⁵³When He left there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile [toward Him] and to interrogate Him on many subjects,

⁵⁴plotting against Him to catch Him in something He might say.

²²At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem.

²³It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple [area] in Solomon's portico.

²⁴So the Jews surrounded Him and began saying to Him, "How long are You going to keep us in suspense? If You are [really] the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), tell us so plainly and openly."

²⁵Jesus answered them, "I have told you so, yet you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name testify concerning Me [they are My credentials and the evidence declaring who I am].

²⁶But you do not believe Me [so you do not trust and follow Me] because you are not My sheep.

²⁷The sheep that are My own hear My voice and listen to Me; I know them, and they follow Me.

²⁸And I give them eternal life, and they will never, ever [by any means] perish; and no one will ever snatch them out of My hand.

²⁹ My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater and mightier than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

³⁰I and the Father are One [in essence and nature]."

³¹Again the Jews picked up stones to stone Him.

³²Jesus answered them, "I showed you many good works [and many acts of mercy] from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?"

³³The Jews answered Him, "We are not going to stone You for a good work, but for blasphemy, because You, a mere man, make Yourself out to be God."

³⁴Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I said, you are gods [human judges representing God, not divine beings]'?

³⁵If He called them gods, men to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be undone or annulled or broken),

³⁶[if that is true] then do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and set apart for Himself and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?

³⁷If I do not do the works of My Father [that is, the miracles that only God could perform], then do not believe Me.

³⁸But if I am doing them, even if you do not believe Me or have faith in Me, [at least] believe the works [that I do—admit that they are the works of God], so that you may know and keep on knowing [clearly—without any doubt] that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father [that is, I am One with Him]."

³⁹So they tried again to seize Him, but He eluded their grasp.

⁴⁰He went back again across the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He was staying there.

⁴¹Many came to Him, and they were saying, "John did not perform a single sign (attesting miracle), but everything John said about this Man was true and accurate."

⁴²And many there believed and confidently trusted in Him [accepting Him as Savior, and following His teaching].