New Testament Plan

¹And Jesus said to them, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste (experience) death before they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power."

²Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured (changed in form) before them [and began to shine brightly with divine and regal glory];

³and His clothes became radiant and dazzling, intensely white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them.

⁴Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were having a conversation with Jesus.

⁵Peter responded and said to Jesus, "Rabbi (Master), it is good for us to be here; let us make three [sacred] tents—one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

⁶For he did not [really] know what to say because they were terrified [and stunned by the miraculous sight].

⁷Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him and obey Him!"

⁸Suddenly they looked around and no longer saw anyone with them, except Jesus alone.

⁹As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus expressly ordered them not to tell anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

¹⁰So they [carefully and faithfully] kept the matter to themselves, discussing and questioning [with one another] what it meant to rise from the dead.

¹¹They asked Him, saying, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first [before the Messiah comes]?"

¹²He answered them, "Elijah does come first and restores and reestablishes all things. And yet how is it written of the Son of Man that He will suffer many things [grief and physical distress] and be treated with contempt [utterly despised and rejected]?

¹³But I say to you that Elijah has in fact come [already], and they did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written [in Scripture] of him."

¹⁴When they came [back] to the [other nine] disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and scribes questioning and arguing with them.

¹⁵Immediately, when the entire crowd saw Jesus, they were startled and began running up to greet Him.

¹⁶He asked them, "What are you discussing with them?"

¹⁷One of the crowd replied to Him, "Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him unable to speak;

¹⁸and whenever it seizes him [intending to do harm], it throws him down, and he foams [at the mouth], and grinds his teeth and becomes stiff. I told Your disciples to drive it out, and they could not do it."

¹⁹He replied, "O unbelieving (faithless) generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!"

²⁰They brought the boy to Him. When the [demonic] spirit saw Him, immediately it threw the boy into a convulsion, and falling to the ground he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth.

²¹Jesus asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he answered, "Since childhood.

²²The demon has often thrown him both into fire and into water, intending to kill him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!"

²³Jesus said to him, "[You say to Me,] 'If You can?' All things are possible for the one who believes and trusts [in Me]!"

²⁴Immediately the father of the boy cried out [with a desperate, piercing cry], saying, "I do believe; help [me overcome] my unbelief."

²⁵When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering [around them], He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again!"

²⁶After screaming out and throwing him into a terrible convulsion, it came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse [so still and pale] that many [of the spectators] said, "He is dead!"

²⁷But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he stood up.

²⁸When He had gone indoors, His disciples began asking Him privately, "Why were we unable to drive it out?"

²⁹He replied to them, "This kind [of unclean spirit] cannot come out by anything but prayer [to the Father]."

³⁰They went on from there and began to go through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know it,

³¹because He was teaching His disciples [and preparing them for the future]. He told them, "The Son of Man is to be betrayed and handed over to men [who are His enemies], and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise [from the dead] three days later."

³²But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him [what He meant].

³³They arrived at Capernaum; and when He was in the house, He asked them, "What were you discussing and arguing about on the road?"

³⁴But they kept quiet, because on the road they had discussed and debated with one another which one [of them] was the greatest.

³⁵Sitting down [to teach], He called the twelve [disciples] and said to them, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all [in importance] and a servant of all."

³⁶Taking a child, He set him before them; and taking him in His arms, He said to them,

³⁷"Whoever receives and welcomes one child such as this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives not [only] Me, but Him who sent Me."

³⁸John said to Him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him because he was not accompanying us [as Your disciple]."

³⁹But Jesus said, "Do not stop him; for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me.

⁴⁰For he who is not against us is for us.

⁴¹For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, I assure you and most solemnly say to you, he will not lose his reward.

⁴²"But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe and trust in Me to stumble [that is, to sin or lose faith], it would be better for him if a heavy millstone [one requiring a donkey's strength to turn it] were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.

⁴³If your hand causes you to stumble and sin, cut it off [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]! It is better for you to enter life crippled, than to have two hands and go into hell, into the unquenchable fire,

⁴⁴[where their worm does not die, and the fire is not put out.]

⁴⁵If your foot causes you to stumble and sin, cut it off [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]! It would be better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell,

⁴⁶[where their worm does not die, and the fire is not put out.]

⁴⁷If your eye causes you to stumble and sin, throw it out [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]! It would be better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,

⁴⁸where their worm [that feeds on the dead] does not die, and the fire is not put out.

⁴⁹"For everyone will be salted with fire.

⁵⁰Salt is good and useful; but if salt has lost its saltiness (purpose), how will you make it salty? Have salt within yourselves continually, and be at peace with one another."

¹Getting up, He left there (Capernaum) and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan; and crowds gathered around Him again and accompanied Him, and as was His custom, He once more began to teach them.

²Pharisees came to Jesus to test Him [intending to trick Him into saying something wrong], and asked Him, "Is it lawful [according to Scripture] for a man to divorce his wife and send her away?"

³He replied to them, "What did Moses command you?"

⁴They said, "Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away."

⁵But Jesus said to them, "Because of your hardness of hearts [your callousness and insensitivity toward your wives and theprovision of God] he wrote you this precept.

⁶But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female.

⁷For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother [to establish a home with his wife],

⁸and the two shall become one flesh; so that they are no longer two, but [are united as] one flesh.

⁹Therefore, what God has united and joined together, man must not separate [by divorce]."

¹⁰In the house the disciples began questioning Him again about this.

¹¹And He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her;

¹²and if a woman divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery."

¹³People were bringing children to Him so that He would touch and bless them, but the disciples reprimanded them and discouraged them [from coming].

¹⁴But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and He said to them, "Allow the children to come to Me; do not forbid them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

¹⁵I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whoever does not receive and welcome the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all."

¹⁶And He took the children [one by one] in His arms and blessed them [with kind, encouraging words], placing His hands on them.

¹⁷As He was leaving on His journey, a man ran up and knelt before Him and asked Him, "Good Teacher [You who are essentially good and morally perfect], what shall I do to inherit eternal life [that is, eternal salvation in the Messiah's kingdom]?"

¹⁸Jesus said to him, " Why do you call Me good? No one is [essentially] good [by nature] except God alone.

¹⁹You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not testify falsely, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'"

²⁰And he replied to Him, "Teacher, I have [carefully] kept all these [commandments] since my youth."

²¹Looking at him, Jesus felt a love (high regard, compassion) for him, and He said to him, "You lack one thing: go and sell all your property and give [the money] to the poor, and you will have [abundant] treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me [becoming My disciple, believing and trusting in Me and walking the same path of life that I walk]."

²²But the man was saddened at Jesus' words, and he left grieving, because he owned much property and had many possessions [which he treasured more than his relationship with God].

²³Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How difficult it will be for those who are wealthy [and cling to possessions and status as security] to enter the kingdom of God!"

²⁴The disciples were amazed and bewildered by His words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how difficult it is [for those who place their hope and confidence in riches] to enter the kingdom of God!

²⁵It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man [who places his faith in wealth or status] to enter the kingdom of God."

²⁶They were completely and utterly astonished, and said to Him, "Then who can be saved [from the wrath of God]?"

²⁷Looking at them, Jesus said, "With people [as far as it depends on them] it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God."

²⁸Peter started saying to Him, "Look, we have given up everything and followed You [becoming Your disciples and accepting You as Teacher and Lord]."

²⁹Jesus said, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, there is no one who has given up a house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel's sake,

³⁰who will not receive a hundred times as much now in the present age—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms—along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.

³¹But many who are first will be last, and the last, first."

³²Now they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were perplexed [at what Jesus had said], and those who were following were alarmed and afraid. And again He took the twelve [disciples] aside and began telling them what was going to happen to Him,

³³saying, "Listen very carefully: we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed and handed over to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and hand Him over to the Gentiles (Romans).

³⁴They will mock and ridicule Him and spit on Him, and whip (scourge) Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise [from the dead]."

³⁵James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You."

³⁶And He replied to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"

³⁷They said to Him, "Grant that we may sit [with You], one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory [Your majesty and splendor in Your kingdom]."

³⁸But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism [of suffering and death] with which I am baptized?"

³⁹And they replied to Him, "We are able." Jesus told them, "The cup that I drink you will drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized.

⁴⁰But to sit on My right or left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared [by My Father]."

⁴¹Hearing this, the [other] ten became indignant with James and John.

⁴²Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their powerful men exercise authority over them [tyrannizing them].

⁴³But this is not how it is among you; instead, whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant,

⁴⁴and whoever wishes to be first and most important among you must be slave of all.

⁴⁵For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many."

⁴⁶Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting beside the road [as was his custom].

⁴⁷When Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and say, "Jesus, Son of David (Messiah), have mercy on me!"

⁴⁸Many sternly rebuked him, telling him to keep still and be quiet; but he kept on shouting out all the more, "Son of David (Messiah), have mercy on me!"

⁴⁹Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called the blind man, telling him, "Take courage, get up! He is calling for you."

⁵⁰Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped up and came to Jesus.

⁵¹And Jesus said, "What do you want Me to do for you?" The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni (my Master), let me regain my sight."

⁵²Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith [and confident trust in My power] has made you well." Immediately he regained his sight and began following Jesus on the road.

¹When they were nearing Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of His disciples,

²saying to them, "Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a [donkey's] colt tied, which has never been ridden by anyone; untie it and bring it here.

³If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord needs it'; and immediately he will send it here."

⁴So they went away [to the village] and found a colt tied outside at a gate in the street, and they untied it.

⁵Some of the people who were standing there said to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?"

⁶They replied to them just as Jesus had directed, and they allowed them to go.

⁷They brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it, and He sat on it.

⁸And many [of the people] spread their coats on the road [as an act of tribute and homage before a new king], and others [scattered a layer of] leafy branches which they had cut from the fields [honoring Him as Messiah].

⁹Those who went in front and those who were following [Him] were shouting [in joy and praise], "Hosanna ( Save, I pray)! Blessed (praised, glorified) is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

¹⁰"Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest [heaven]!"

¹¹Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple [enclosure]; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve [disciples], because it was already late [in the day].

¹²On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He was hungry.

¹³Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if He would find anything on it. But He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.

¹⁴He said to it, "No one will ever eat fruit from you again!" And His disciples were listening [to what He said].

¹⁵Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple [grounds] and began driving out [with force] the people who were selling and buying [animals for sacrifice] in the temple area, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers [who made a profit exchanging foreign money for temple coinage] and the seats of those who were selling doves;

¹⁶and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise or household wares through the temple [grounds, using the temple area irreverently as a shortcut].

¹⁷He began to teach and say to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it a robbers' den."

¹⁸The chief priests and the scribes heard this and began searching for a way to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, since the entire crowd was struck with astonishment at His teaching.

¹⁹When evening came, Jesus and His disciples would leave the city.

²⁰In the morning, as they were passing by, the disciples saw that the fig tree had withered away from the roots up.

²¹And remembering, Peter said to Him, "Rabbi (Master), look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered!"

²²Jesus replied, "Have faith in God [constantly].

²³I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea!' and does not doubt in his heart [in God's unlimited power], but believes that what he says is going to take place, it will be done for him [in accordance with God's will].

²⁴For this reason I am telling you, whatever things you ask for in prayer [in accordance with God's will], believe [with confident trust] that you have received them, and they will be given to you.

²⁵Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him [drop the issue, let it go], so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions and wrongdoings [against Him and others].

²⁶["But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your transgressions."]

²⁷They came again to Jerusalem. And as Jesus was walking in the [courts and porches of the] temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him,

²⁸and began saying to Him, "By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?"

²⁹Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

³⁰Was the baptism of John [the Baptist] from heaven [that is, ordained by God] or from men? Answer Me."

³¹They began discussing it with each other, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Then why did you not believe him?'

³²But shall we say, 'From men?'" —they were afraid [to answer because] of the crowd, for everyone considered John to have been a real prophet.

³³So they replied to Jesus, "We do not know." And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."