Bible Society of South Africa

Bible Reading Plan – Day 296

Bible text(s)

Sin

1Jesus said to his disciples, “Things that make people fall into sin are bound to happen, but how terrible for the one who makes them happen! 2It would be better for him if a large millstone were tied round his neck and he were thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. 3So watch what you do!

“If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4If he sins against you seven times in one day, and each time he comes to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Faith

5The apostles said to the Lord, “Make our faith greater.”

6The Lord answered, “If you had faith as big as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Pull yourself up by the roots and plant yourself in the sea!’ and it would obey you.

A Servant's Duty

7“Suppose one of you has a servant who is ploughing or looking after the sheep. When he comes in from the field, do you tell him to hurry and eat his meal? 8Of course not! Instead, you say to him, ‘Get my supper ready, then put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may have your meal.’ 9The servant does not deserve thanks for obeying orders, does he? 10It is the same with you; when you have done all you have been told to do, say, ‘We are ordinary servants; we have only done our duty.’ ”

Jesus Heals Ten Men

11As Jesus made his way to Jerusalem, he went along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12He was going into a village when he was met by ten men suffering from a dreaded skin disease. They stood at a distance 13and shouted, “Jesus! Master! Take pity on us!”

14Jesus saw them and said to them, “Go and let the priests examine you.”

On the way they were made clean. 15When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16He threw himself to the ground at Jesus' feet and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan. 17Jesus said, “There were ten men who were healed; where are the other nine? 18Why is this foreigner the only one who came back to give thanks to God?” 19And Jesus said to him, “Get up and go; your faith has made you well.”

The Coming of the Kingdom

20Some Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come. His answer was, “The Kingdom of God does not come in such a way as to be seen. 21No one will say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’; because the Kingdom of God is within you.”

22Then he said to the disciples, “The time will come when you will wish you could see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. 23There will be those who will say to you, ‘Look, over there!’ or, ‘Look, over here!’ But don't go out looking for it. 24As the lightning flashes across the sky and lights it up from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. 25But first he must suffer much and be rejected by the people of this day. 26As it was in the time of Noah so shall it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27Everybody kept on eating and drinking, and men and women married, up to the very day Noah went into the boat and the flood came and killed them all. 28It will be as it was in the time of Lot. Everybody kept on eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29On the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulphur rained down from heaven and killed them all. 30That is how it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.

31“On that day someone who is on the roof of his house must not go down into the house to get any belongings; in the same way anyone who is out in the field must not go back to the house. 32Remember Lot's wife! 33Whoever tries to save his own life will lose it; whoever loses his life will save it. 34On that night, I tell you, there will be two people sleeping in the same bed: one will be taken away, the other will be left behind. 35Two women will be grinding corn together: one will be taken away, the other will be left behind.”

37The disciples asked him, “Where, Lord?”

Jesus answered, “Wherever there is a dead body, the vultures will gather.”

The Parable of the Widow and the Judge

1Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to teach them that they should always pray and never become discouraged. 2“In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected people. 3And there was a widow in that same town who kept coming to him and pleading for her rights, saying, ‘Help me against my opponent!’ 4For a long time the judge refused to act, but at last he said to himself, ‘Even though I don't fear God or respect people, 5yet because of all the trouble this widow is giving me, I will see to it that she gets her rights. If I don't, she will keep on coming and finally wear me out!’ ”

6And the Lord continued, “Listen to what that corrupt judge said. 7Now, will God not judge in favour of his own people who cry to him day and night for help? Will he be slow to help them? 8I tell you, he will judge in their favour and do it quickly. But will the Son of Man find faith on earth when he comes?”

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

9Jesus also told this parable to people who were sure of their own goodness and despised everybody else. 10“Once there were two men who went up to the Temple to pray: one was a Pharisee, the other a tax collector.

11“The Pharisee stood apart by himself and prayed, ‘I thank you, God, that I am not greedy, dishonest, or an adulterer, like everybody else. I thank you that I am not like that tax collector over there. 12I fast two days a week, and I give you a tenth of all my income.’

13“But the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even raise his face to heaven, but beat on his breast and said, ‘God, have pity on me, a sinner!’ 14I tell you,” said Jesus, “the tax collector, and not the Pharisee, was in the right with God when he went home. For all who make themselves great will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be made great.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children

15Some people brought their babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. The disciples saw them and scolded them for doing so, 16but Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the children come to me and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17Remember this! Whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

The Rich Man

18A Jewish leader asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life?”

19“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good except God alone. 20You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery; do not commit murder; do not steal; do not accuse anyone falsely; respect your father and your mother.’ ”

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

22When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “There is still one more thing you need to do. Sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow me.” 23But when the man heard this, he became very sad, because he was very rich.

24Jesus saw that he was sad and said, “How hard it is for rich people to enter the Kingdom of God! 25It is much harder for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.”

26The people who heard him asked, “Who, then, can be saved?”

27Jesus answered, “What is humanly impossible is possible for God.”

28Then Peter said, “Look! We have left our homes to follow you.”

29“Yes,” Jesus said to them, “and I assure you that anyone who leaves home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the Kingdom of God 30will receive much more in this present age and eternal life in the age to come.”

Jesus Speaks a Third Time about his Death

31Jesus took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, “Listen! We are going to Jerusalem where everything the prophets wrote about the Son of Man will come true. 32He will be handed over to the Gentiles, who will mock him, insult him, and spit on him. 33They will whip him and kill him, but three days later he will rise to life.”

34But the disciples did not understand any of these things; the meaning of the words was hidden from them, and they did not know what Jesus was talking about.

Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar

35As Jesus was coming near Jericho, there was a blind man sitting by the road, begging. 36When he heard the crowd passing by, he asked, “What is this?”

37“Jesus of Nazareth is passing by,” they told him.

38He cried out, “Jesus! Son of David! Take pity on me!”

39The people in front scolded him and told him to be quiet. But he shouted even more loudly, “Son of David! Take pity on me!”

40So Jesus stopped and ordered the blind man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, 41“What do you want me to do for you?”

“Sir,” he answered, “I want to see again.”

42Jesus said to him, “Then see! Your faith has made you well.”

43At once he was able to see, and he followed Jesus, giving thanks to God. When the crowd saw it, they all praised God.

Luke 17:1-18:43GNBOpen in Bible reader
Bible Society of South Africav.4.17.10
Find us on