To The Word – Day 87

₁When Jesus had finished saying all these things to the people, he went to Capernaum. ₂A Roman officer there had a servant who was very dear to him; the man was sick and about to die. ₃When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his servant. ₄They came to Jesus and begged him earnestly, “This man really deserves your help. ₅He loves our people and he himself built a synagogue for us.”

₆So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the officer sent friends to tell him, “Sir, don't trouble yourself. I do not deserve to have you come into my house, ₇neither do I consider myself worthy to come to you in person. Just give the order, and my servant will get well. ₈I, too, am a man placed under the authority of superior officers, and I have soldiers under me. I order this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; I order that one, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and I order my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

₉Jesus was surprised when he heard this; he turned round and said to the crowd following him, “I tell you, I have never found faith like this, not even in Israel!”

₁₀The messengers went back to the officer's house and found his servant well.

₁₁Soon afterwards Jesus went to a town called Nain, accompanied by his disciples and a large crowd. ₁₂Just as he arrived at the gate of the town, a funeral procession was coming out. The dead man was the only son of a woman who was a widow, and a large crowd from the town was with her. ₁₃When the Lord saw her, his heart was filled with pity for her, and he said to her, “Don't cry.” ₁₄Then he walked over and touched the coffin, and the men carrying it stopped. Jesus said, “Young man! Get up, I tell you!” ₁₅The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

₁₆They all were filled with fear and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us!” they said; “God has come to save his people!”

₁₇This news about Jesus went out through all the country and the surrounding territory.

₁₈When John's disciples told him about all these things, he called two of them ₁₉and sent them to the Lord to ask him, “Are you the one John said was going to come, or should we expect someone else?”

₂₀When they came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to ask if you are the one he said was going to come, or if we should expect someone else.”

₂₁At that very time Jesus cured many people of their sicknesses, diseases, and evil spirits, and gave sight to many blind people. ₂₂He answered John's messengers, “Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind can see, the lame can walk, those who suffer from dreaded skin diseases are made clean, the deaf can hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is preached to the poor. ₂₃How happy are those who have no doubts about me!”

₂₄After John's messengers had left, Jesus began to speak about him to the crowds: “When you went out to John in the desert, what did you expect to see? A blade of grass bending in the wind? ₂₅What did you go out to see? A man dressed up in fancy clothes? People who dress like that and live in luxury are found in palaces! ₂₆Tell me, what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes indeed, but you saw much more than a prophet. ₂₇For John is the one of whom the scripture says: ‘God said, I will send my messenger ahead of you to open the way for you.’ ₂₈I tell you,” Jesus added, “John is greater than anyone who has ever lived. But the one who is least in the Kingdom of God is greater than John.”

₂₉All the people heard him; they and especially the tax collectors were the ones who had obeyed God's righteous demands and had been baptized by John. ₃₀But the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law rejected God's purpose for themselves and refused to be baptized by John.

₃₁Jesus continued, “Now to what can I compare the people of this day? What are they like? ₃₂They are like children sitting in the market place. One group shouts to the other, ‘We played wedding music for you, but you wouldn't dance! We sang funeral songs, but you wouldn't cry!’ ₃₃John the Baptist came, and he fasted and drank no wine, and you said, ‘He has a demon in him!’ ₃₄The Son of Man came, and he ate and drank, and you said, ‘Look at this man! He is a glutton and a drinker, a friend of tax collectors and other outcasts!’ ₃₅God's wisdom, however, is shown to be true by all who accept it.”

₃₆A Pharisee invited Jesus to have dinner with him, and Jesus went to his house and sat down to eat. ₃₇In that town was a woman who lived a sinful life. She heard that Jesus was eating in the Pharisee's house, so she brought an alabaster jar full of perfume ₃₈and stood behind Jesus, by his feet, crying and wetting his feet with her tears. Then she dried his feet with her hair, kissed them, and poured the perfume on them. ₃₉When the Pharisee saw this, he said to himself, “If this man really were a prophet, he would know who this woman is who is touching him; he would know what kind of sinful life she lives!”

₄₀Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Yes, Teacher,” he said, “tell me.”

₄₁“There were two men who owed money to a moneylender,” Jesus began. “One owed him 500 silver coins, and the other owed him fifty. ₄₂Neither of them could pay him back, so he cancelled the debts of both. Which one, then, will love him more?”

₄₃“I suppose,” answered Simon, “that it would be the one who was forgiven more.”

“You are right,” said Jesus. ₄₄Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your home, and you gave me no water for my feet, but she has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. ₄₅You did not welcome me with a kiss, but she has not stopped kissing my feet since I came. ₄₆You provided no olive oil for my head, but she has covered my feet with perfume. ₄₇I tell you, then, the great love she has shown proves that her many sins have been forgiven. But whoever has been forgiven little shows only a little love.”

₄₈Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”

₄₉The others sitting at the table began to say to themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”

₅₀But Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

₁Some time later Jesus travelled through towns and villages, preaching the Good News about the Kingdom of God. The twelve disciples went with him, ₂and so did some women who had been healed of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (who was called Magdalene), from whom seven demons had been driven out; ₃Joanna, whose husband Chuza was an officer in Herod's court; and Susanna, and many other women who used their own resources to help Jesus and his disciples.

₄People kept coming to Jesus from one town after another; and when a great crowd gathered, Jesus told this parable:

₅“Once there was a man who went out to sow corn. As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it up. ₆Some of it fell on rocky ground, and when the plants sprouted, they dried up because the soil had no moisture. ₇Some of the seed fell among thorn bushes, which grew up with the plants and choked them. ₈And some seeds fell in good soil; the plants grew and produced corn, a hundred each.”

And Jesus concluded, “Listen, then, if you have ears!”

₉His disciples asked Jesus what this parable meant, ₁₀and he answered, “The knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom of God has been given to you, but to the rest it comes by means of parables, so that they may look but not see, and listen but not understand.

₁₁“This is what the parable means: the seed is the word of God. ₁₂The seeds that fell along the path stand for those who hear; but the Devil comes and takes the message away from their hearts in order to keep them from believing and being saved. ₁₃The seeds that fell on rocky ground stand for those who hear the message and receive it gladly. But it does not sink deep into them; they believe only for a while but when the time of testing comes, they fall away. ₁₄The seeds that fell among thorn bushes stand for those who hear; but the worries and riches and pleasures of this life crowd in and choke them, and their fruit never ripens. ₁₅The seeds that fell in good soil stand for those who hear the message and retain it in a good and obedient heart, and they persist until they bear fruit.

₁₆“People do not light a lamp and cover it with a bowl or put it under a bed. Instead, they put it on the lampstand, so that people will see the light as they come in.

₁₇“Whatever is hidden away will be brought out into the open, and whatever is covered up will be found and brought to light.

₁₈“Be careful, then, how you listen; because those who have something will be given more, but those who have nothing will have taken away from them even the little they think they have.”

₁₉Jesus' mother and brothers came to him, but were unable to join him because of the crowd. ₂₀Someone said to Jesus, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside and want to see you.”

₂₁Jesus said to them all, “My mother and brothers are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

₂₂One day Jesus got into a boat with his disciples and said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they started out. ₂₃As they were sailing, Jesus fell asleep. Suddenly a strong wind blew down on the lake, and the boat began to fill with water, so that they were all in great danger. ₂₄The disciples went to Jesus and woke him up, saying, “Master, Master! We are about to die!”

Jesus got up and gave an order to the wind and the stormy water; they died down, and there was a great calm. ₂₅Then he said to the disciples, “Where is your faith?”

But they were amazed and afraid, and said to one another, “Who is this man? He gives orders to the winds and waves, and they obey him!”

₂₆Jesus and his disciples sailed on over to the territory of Gerasa, which is across the lake from Galilee. ₂₇As Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a man from the town who had demons in him. For a long time this man had gone without clothes and would not stay at home, but spent his time in the burial caves. ₂₈When he saw Jesus, he gave a loud cry, threw himself down at his feet, and shouted, “Jesus, Son of the Most High God! What do you want with me? I beg you, don't punish me!” ₂₉He said this because Jesus had ordered the evil spirit to go out of him. Many times it had seized him, and even though he was kept a prisoner, his hands and feet fastened with chains, he would break the chains and be driven by the demon out into the desert.

₃₀Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“My name is ‘Mob’,” he answered — because many demons had gone into him. ₃₁The demons begged Jesus not to send them into the abyss.

₃₂There was a large herd of pigs near by, feeding on a hillside. So the demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he let them. ₃₃They went out of the man and into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the side of the cliff into the lake and was drowned.

₃₄The men who had been taking care of the pigs saw what happened, so they ran off and spread the news in the town and among the farms. ₃₅People went out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they were all afraid. ₃₆Those who had seen it told the people how the man had been cured. ₃₇Then all the people from that territory asked Jesus to go away, because they were terribly afraid. So Jesus got into the boat and left. ₃₈The man from whom the demons had gone out begged Jesus, “Let me go with you.”

But Jesus sent him away, saying, ₃₉“Go back home and tell what God has done for you.”

The man went through the town, telling what Jesus had done for him.

₄₀When Jesus returned to the other side of the lake, the people welcomed him, because they had all been waiting for him. ₄₁Then a man named Jairus arrived; he was an official in the local synagogue. He threw himself down at Jesus' feet and begged him to go to his home, ₄₂because his only daughter, who was twelve years old, was dying.

As Jesus went along, the people were crowding him from every side. ₄₃Among them was a woman who had suffered from severe bleeding for twelve years; she had spent all she had on doctors, but no one had been able to cure her. ₄₄She came up in the crowd behind Jesus and touched the edge of his cloak, and her bleeding stopped at once. ₄₅Jesus asked, “Who touched me?”

Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, the people are all round you and crowding in on you.”

₄₆But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I knew it when power went out of me.” ₄₇The woman saw that she had been found out, so she came trembling and threw herself at Jesus' feet. There in front of everybody, she told him why she had touched him and how she had been healed at once. ₄₈Jesus said to her, “My daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

₄₉While Jesus was saying this, a messenger came from the official's house. “Your daughter has died,” he told Jairus; “don't bother the Teacher any longer.”

₅₀But Jesus heard it and said to Jairus, “Don't be afraid; only believe, and she will be well.”

₅₁When he arrived at the house, he would not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John, and James, and the child's father and mother. ₅₂Everyone there was crying and mourning for the child. Jesus said, “Don't cry; the child is not dead — she is only sleeping!”

₅₃They all laughed at him, because they knew that she was dead. ₅₄But Jesus took her by the hand and called out, “Get up, my child!” ₅₅Her life returned, and she got up at once, and Jesus ordered them to give her something to eat. ₅₆Her parents were astounded, but Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone what had happened.

₁Jesus called the twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases. ₂Then he sent them out to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick, ₃after saying to them, “Take nothing with you for the journey: no stick, no beggar's bag, no food, no money, not even an extra shirt. ₄Wherever you are welcomed, stay in the same house until you leave that town; ₅wherever people don't welcome you, leave that town and shake the dust off your feet as a warning to them.”

₆The disciples left and travelled through all the villages, preaching the Good News and healing people everywhere.

₇When Herod, the ruler of Galilee, heard about all the things that were happening, he was very confused, because some people were saying that John the Baptist had come back to life. ₈Others were saying that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. ₉Herod said, “I had John's head cut off; but who is this man I hear these things about?” And he kept trying to see Jesus.

₁₀The apostles came back and told Jesus everything they had done. He took them with him, and they went off by themselves to a town called Bethsaida. ₁₁When the crowds heard about it, they followed him. He welcomed them, spoke to them about the Kingdom of God, and healed those who needed it.

₁₂When the sun was beginning to set, the twelve disciples came to him and said, “Send the people away so that they can go to the villages and farms round here and find food and lodging, because this is a lonely place.”

₁₃But Jesus said to them, “You yourselves give them something to eat.”

They answered, “All we have are five loaves and two fish. Do you want us to go and buy food for this whole crowd?” ₁₄(There were about 5,000 men there.)

Jesus said to his disciples, “Make the people sit down in groups of about fifty each.”

₁₅After the disciples had done so, ₁₆Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up to heaven, thanked God for them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. ₁₇They all ate and had enough, and the disciples took up twelve baskets of what was left over.

₁₈One day when Jesus was praying alone, the disciples came to him. “Who do the crowds say I am?” he asked them.

₁₉“Some say that you are John the Baptist,” they answered. “Others say that you are Elijah, while others say that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”

₂₀“What about you?” he asked them. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are God's Messiah.”

₂₁Then Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell this to anyone. ₂₂He also said to them, “The Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. He will be put to death, but three days later he will be raised to life.”

₂₃And he said to them all, “Anyone who wants to come with me must forget self, take up their cross every day, and follow me. ₂₄For whoever wants to save their own life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for my sake will save it. ₂₅Will people gain anything if they win the whole world but are themselves lost or defeated? Of course not! ₂₆If people are ashamed of me and of my teaching, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. ₂₇I assure you that there are some here who will not die until they have seen the Kingdom of God.”

₂₈About a week after he had said these things, Jesus took Peter, John, and James with him and went up a hill to pray. ₂₉While he was praying, his face changed its appearance, and his clothes became dazzling white. ₃₀Suddenly two men were there talking with him. They were Moses and Elijah, ₃₁who appeared in heavenly glory and talked with Jesus about the way in which he would soon fulfil God's purpose by dying in Jerusalem. ₃₂Peter and his companions were sound asleep, but they woke up and saw Jesus' glory and the two men who were standing with him. ₃₃As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, how good it is that we are here! We will make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (He did not really know what he was saying.)

₃₄While he was still speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them with its shadow; and the disciples were afraid as the cloud came over them. ₃₅A voice said from the cloud, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen — listen to him!”

₃₆When the voice stopped, there was Jesus all alone. The disciples kept quiet about all this, and told no one at that time anything they had seen.

₃₇The next day Jesus and the three disciples went down from the hill, and a large crowd met Jesus. ₃₈A man shouted from the crowd, “Teacher! I beg you, look at my son — my only son! ₃₉A spirit attacks him with a sudden shout and throws him into a fit, so that he foams at the mouth; it keeps on hurting him and will hardly let him go! ₄₀I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn't.”

₄₁Jesus answered, “How unbelieving and wrong you people are! How long must I stay with you? How long do I have to put up with you?” Then he said to the man, “Bring your son here.”

₄₂As the boy was coming, the demon knocked him to the ground and threw him into a fit. Jesus gave a command to the evil spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. ₄₃All the people were amazed at the mighty power of God.

The people were still marvelling at everything Jesus was doing, when he said to his disciples, ₄₄“Don't forget what I am about to tell you! The Son of Man is going to be handed over to the power of human beings.” ₄₅But the disciples did not know what this meant. It had been hidden from them so that they could not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about the matter.

₄₆An argument broke out among the disciples as to which one of them was the greatest. ₄₇Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he took a child, stood him by his side, ₄₈and said to them, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, also welcomes the one who sent me. For the one who is least among you all is the greatest.”

₄₉John spoke up, “Master, we saw a man driving out demons in your name, and we told him to stop, because he doesn't belong to our group.”

₅₀“Do not try to stop him,” Jesus said to him and to the other disciples, “because whoever is not against you is for you.”

₅₁As the time drew near when Jesus would be taken up to heaven, he made up his mind and set out on his way to Jerusalem. ₅₂He sent messengers ahead of him, who went into a village in Samaria to get everything ready for him. ₅₃But the people there would not receive him, because it was clear that he was on his way to Jerusalem. ₅₄When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?”

₅₅Jesus turned and rebuked them. ₅₆Then Jesus and his disciples went on to another village.

₅₇As they went on their way, a man said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

₅₈Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lie down and rest.”

₅₉He said to another man, “Follow me.”

But that man said, “Sir, first let me go back and bury my father.”

₆₀Jesus answered, “Let the dead bury their own dead. You go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.”

₆₁Someone else said, “I will follow you, sir; but first let me go and say goodbye to my family.”

₆₂Jesus said to him, “Anyone who starts to plough and then keeps looking back is of no use to the Kingdom of God.”

₁After this the Lord chose another 72 men and sent them out two by two, to go ahead of him to every town and place where he himself was about to go. ₂He said to them, “There is a large harvest, but few workers to gather it in. Pray to the owner of the harvest that he will send out workers to gather in his harvest. ₃Go! I am sending you like lambs among wolves. ₄Don't take a purse or a beggar's bag or shoes; don't stop to greet anyone on the road. ₅Whenever you go into a house, first say, ‘Peace be with this house.’ ₆If a peace-loving person lives there, let your greeting of peace remain on him; if not, take back your greeting of peace. ₇Stay in that same house, eating and drinking whatever they offer you, for workers should be given their pay. Don't move round from one house to another. ₈Whenever you go into a town and are made welcome, eat what is set before you, ₉heal the sick in that town, and say to the people there, ‘The Kingdom of God has come near you.’ ₁₀But whenever you go into a town and are not welcomed, go out in the streets and say, ₁₁‘Even the dust from your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. But remember that the Kingdom of God has come near you!’ ₁₂I assure you that on Judgement Day God will show more mercy to Sodom than to that town!

₁₃“How terrible it will be for you, Chorazin! How terrible for you too, Bethsaida! If the miracles which were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, the people there would long ago have sat down, put on sackcloth, and sprinkled ashes on themselves, to show that they had turned from their sins! ₁₄God will show more mercy on Judgement Day to Tyre and Sidon than to you. ₁₅And as for you, Capernaum! Did you want to lift yourself up to heaven? You will be thrown down to hell!”

₁₆Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”

₁₇The 72 men came back in great joy. “Lord,” they said, “even the demons obeyed us when we gave them a command in your name!”

₁₈Jesus answered them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. ₁₉Listen! I have given you authority, so that you can walk on snakes and scorpions and overcome all the power of the Enemy, and nothing will hurt you. ₂₀But don't be glad because the evil spirits obey you; rather be glad because your names are written in heaven.”

₂₁At that time Jesus was filled with joy by the Holy Spirit and said, “Father, Lord of heaven and earth! I thank you because you have shown to the unlearned what you have hidden from the wise and learned. Yes, Father, this was how you wanted it to happen.

₂₂“My Father has given me all things. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

₂₃Then Jesus turned to the disciples and said to them privately, “How fortunate you are to see the things you see! ₂₄I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, but they could not, and to hear what you hear, but they did not.”

₂₅A teacher of the Law came up and tried to trap Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to receive eternal life?”

₂₆Jesus answered him, “What do the Scriptures say? How do you interpret them?”

₂₇The man answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind’; and ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself.’ ”

₂₈“You are right,” Jesus replied; “do this and you will live.”

₂₉But the teacher of the Law wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbour?”

₃₀Jesus answered, “There was once a man who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when robbers attacked him, stripped him, and beat him up, leaving him half dead. ₃₁It so happened that a priest was going down that road; but when he saw the man, he walked on by, on the other side. ₃₂In the same way a Levite also came along, went over and looked at the man, and then walked on by, on the other side. ₃₃But a Samaritan who was travelling that way came upon the man, and when he saw him, his heart was filled with pity. ₃₄He went over to him, poured oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them; then he put the man on his own animal and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. ₃₅The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Take care of him,’ he told the innkeeper, ‘and when I come back this way, I will pay you whatever else you spend on him.’ ”

₃₆And Jesus concluded, “In your opinion, which one of these three acted like a neighbour towards the man attacked by the robbers?”

₃₇The teacher of the Law answered, “The one who was kind to him.”

Jesus replied, “You go, then, and do the same.”

₃₈As Jesus and his disciples went on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha welcomed him in her home. ₃₉She had a sister named Mary, who sat down at the feet of the Lord and listened to his teaching. ₄₀Martha was upset over all the work she had to do, so she came and said, “Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to come and help me!”

₄₁The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha! You are worried and troubled over so many things, ₄₂but just one is needed. Mary has chosen the right thing, and it will not be taken away from her.”

₁One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

₂Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say this:

₅And Jesus said to his disciples, “Suppose one of you should go to a friend's house at midnight and say, ‘Friend, let me borrow three loaves of bread. ₆A friend of mine who is on a journey has just come to my house, and I haven't got any food for him!’ ₇And suppose your friend should answer from inside, ‘Don't bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.’ ₈Well, what then? I tell you that even if he will not get up and give you the bread because you are his friend, yet he will get up and give you everything you need because you are not ashamed to keep on asking.

₉“And so I say to you: ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. ₁₀For all those who ask will receive, and those who seek will find, and the door will be opened to anyone who knocks. ₁₁Would any of you who are fathers give your son a snake when he asks for fish? ₁₂Or would you give him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? ₁₃Bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

₁₄Jesus was driving out a demon that could not talk; and when the demon went out, the man began to talk. The crowds were amazed, ₁₅but some of the people said, “It is Beelzebul, the chief of the demons, who gives him the power to drive them out.”

₁₆Others wanted to trap Jesus, so they asked him to perform a miracle to show that God approved of him. ₁₇But Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he said to them, “Any country that divides itself into groups which fight each other will not last very long; a family divided against itself falls apart. ₁₈So if Satan's kingdom has groups fighting each other, how can it last? You say that I drive out demons because Beelzebul gives me the power to do so. ₁₉If this is how I drive them out, how do your followers drive them out? Your own followers prove that you are wrong! ₂₀No, it is rather by means of God's power that I drive out demons, and this proves that the Kingdom of God has already come to you.

₂₁“When a strong man, with all his weapons ready, guards his own house, all his belongings are safe. ₂₂But when a stronger man attacks him and defeats him, he carries away all the weapons the owner was depending on and divides up what he stole.

₂₃“Anyone who is not for me is really against me; anyone who does not help me gather is really scattering.

₂₄“When an evil spirit goes out of a person, it travels over dry country looking for a place to rest. If it can't find one, it says to itself, ‘I will go back to my house.’ ₂₅So it goes back and finds the house clean and tidy. ₂₆Then it goes out and brings seven other spirits even worse than itself, and they come and live there. So when it is all over, that person is in a worse state than he was at the beginning.”

₂₇When Jesus had said this, a woman spoke up from the crowd and said to him, “How happy is the woman who bore you and nursed you!”

₂₈But Jesus answered, “Rather, how happy are those who hear the word of God and obey it!”

₂₉As the people crowded round Jesus, he went on to say, “How evil are the people of this day! They ask for a miracle, but none will be given them except the miracle of Jonah. ₃₀In the same way that the prophet Jonah was a sign for the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be a sign for the people of this day. ₃₁On Judgement Day the Queen of Sheba will stand up and accuse the people of today, because she travelled all the way from her country to listen to King Solomon's wise teaching; and I tell you there is something here greater than Solomon. ₃₂On Judgement Day the people of Nineveh will stand up and accuse you, because they turned from their sins when they heard Jonah preach; and I assure you that there is something here greater than Jonah!

₃₃“No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a bowl; instead, he puts it on the lampstand, so that people may see the light as they come in. ₃₄Your eyes are like a lamp for the body. When your eyes are sound, your whole body is full of light; but when your eyes are no good, your whole body will be in darkness. ₃₅Make certain, then, that the light in you is not darkness. ₃₆If your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be bright all over, as when a lamp shines on you with its brightness.”

₃₇When Jesus finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and sat down to eat. ₃₈The Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus had not washed before eating. ₃₉So the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of your cup and plate, but inside you are full of violence and evil. ₄₀Fools! Did not God, who made the outside, also make the inside? ₄₁But give what is in your cups and plates to the poor, and everything will be ritually clean for you.

₄₂“How terrible for you Pharisees! You give God a tenth of the seasoning herbs, such as mint and rue and all the other herbs, but you neglect justice and love for God. These you should practise, without neglecting the others.

₄₃“How terrible for you Pharisees! You love the reserved seats in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the market places. ₄₄How terrible for you! You are like unmarked graves which people walk on without knowing it.”

₄₅One of the teachers of the Law said to him, “Teacher, when you say this, you insult us too!”

₄₆Jesus answered, “How terrible also for you teachers of the Law! You put loads on people's backs which are hard to carry, but you yourselves will not stretch out a finger to help them carry those loads. ₄₇How terrible for you! You make fine tombs for the prophets — the very prophets your ancestors murdered. ₄₈You yourselves admit, then, that you approve of what your ancestors did; they murdered the prophets, and you build their tombs. ₄₉For this reason the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and messengers; they will kill some of them and persecute others.’ ₅₀So the people of this time will be punished for the murder of all the prophets killed since the creation of the world, ₅₁from the murder of Abel to the murder of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the Holy Place. Yes, I tell you, the people of this time will be punished for them all!

₅₂“How terrible for you teachers of the Law! You have kept the key that opens the door to the house of knowledge; you yourselves will not go in, and you stop those who are trying to go in!”

₅₃When Jesus left that place, the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees began to criticize him bitterly and ask him questions about many things, ₅₄trying to lay traps for him and catch him saying something wrong.

₁As thousands of people crowded together, so that they were stepping on each other, Jesus said first to his disciples, “Be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees — I mean their hypocrisy. ₂Whatever is covered up will be uncovered, and every secret will be made known. ₃So then, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in broad daylight, and whatever you have whispered in private in a closed room will be shouted from the housetops.

₄“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot afterwards do anything worse. ₅I will show you whom to fear: fear God, who, after killing, has the authority to throw into hell. Believe me, he is the one you must fear!

₆“Aren't five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one sparrow is forgotten by God. ₇Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth much more than many sparrows!

₈“I assure you that for those who declare publicly that they belong to me, the Son of Man will do the same before the angels of God. ₉But those who reject me publicly, the Son of Man will also reject before the angels of God.

₁₀“Whoever says a word against the Son of Man can be forgiven; but those who say evil things against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

₁₁“When they bring you to be tried in the synagogues or before governors or rulers, do not be worried about how you will defend yourself or what you will say. ₁₂For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”

₁₃A man in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide with me the property our father left us.”

₁₄Jesus answered him, “My friend, who gave me the right to judge or to divide the property between you two?” ₁₅And he went on to say to them all, “Watch out and guard yourselves from every kind of greed; because a person's true life is not made up of the things he owns, no matter how rich he may be.”

₁₆Then Jesus told them this parable: “There was once a rich man who had land which bore good crops. ₁₇He began to think to himself, ‘I haven't anywhere to keep all my crops. What can I do? ₁₈This is what I will do,’ he told himself; ‘I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, where I will store my corn and all my other goods. ₁₉Then I will say to myself, Lucky man! You have all the good things you need for many years. Take life easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!’ ₂₀But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night you will have to give up your life; then who will get all these things you have kept for yourself?’ ”

₂₁And Jesus concluded, “This is how it is with those who pile up riches for themselves but are not rich in God's sight.”

₂₂Then Jesus said to the disciples, “And so I tell you not to worry about the food you need to stay alive or about the clothes you need for your body. ₂₃Life is much more important than food, and the body much more important than clothes. ₂₄Look at the crows: they don't sow seeds or gather a harvest; they don't have storerooms or barns; God feeds them! You are worth so much more than birds! ₂₅Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it? ₂₆If you can't manage even such a small thing, why worry about the other things? ₂₇Look how the wild flowers grow: they don't work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that not even King Solomon with all his wealth had clothes as beautiful as one of these flowers. ₂₈It is God who clothes the wild grass — grass that is here today and gone tomorrow, burnt up in the oven. Won't he be all the more sure to clothe you? How little faith you have!

₂₉“So don't be all upset, always concerned about what you will eat and drink. ₃₀(For the pagans of this world are always concerned about all these things.) Your Father knows that you need these things. ₃₁Instead, be concerned with his Kingdom, and he will provide you with these things.

₃₂“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the Kingdom. ₃₃Sell all your belongings and give the money to the poor. Provide for yourselves purses that don't wear out, and save your riches in heaven, where they will never decrease, because no thief can get to them, and no moth can destroy them. ₃₄For your heart will always be where your riches are.

₃₅“Be ready for whatever comes, dressed for action and with your lamps lit, ₃₆like servants who are waiting for their master to come back from a wedding feast. When he comes and knocks, they will open the door for him at once. ₃₇How happy are those servants whose master finds them awake and ready when he returns! I tell you, he will take off his coat, ask them to sit down, and will wait on them. ₃₈How happy they are if he finds them ready, even if he should come at midnight or even later! ₃₉And you can be sure that if the owner of a house knew the time when the thief would come, he would not let the thief break into his house. ₄₀And you, too, must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you are not expecting him.”

₄₁Peter said, “Lord, does this parable apply to us, or do you mean it for everyone?”

₄₂The Lord answered, “Who, then, is the faithful and wise servant? He is the one that his master will put in charge, to run the household and give the other servants their share of the food at the proper time. ₄₃How happy that servant is if his master finds him doing this when he comes home! ₄₄Indeed, I tell you, the master will put that servant in charge of all his property. ₄₅But if that servant says to himself that his master is taking a long time to come back and if he begins to beat the other servants, both the men and the women, and eats and drinks and gets drunk, ₄₆then the master will come back one day when the servant does not expect him and at a time he does not know. The master will cut him in pieces and make him share the fate of the disobedient.

₄₇“The servant who knows what his master wants him to do, but does not get himself ready and do it, will be punished with a heavy whipping. ₄₈But the servant who does not know what his master wants, and yet does something for which he deserves a whipping, will be punished with a light whipping. Much is required from the person to whom much is given; much more is required from the person to whom much more is given.

₄₉“I came to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already kindled! ₅₀I have a baptism to receive, and how distressed I am until it is over! ₅₁Do you suppose that I came to bring peace to the world? No, not peace, but division. ₅₂From now on a family of five will be divided, three against two and two against three. ₅₃Fathers will be against their sons, and sons against their fathers; mothers will be against their daughters, and daughters against their mothers; mothers-in-law will be against their daughters-in-law, and daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law.”

₅₄Jesus said also to the people, “When you see a cloud coming up in the west, at once you say that it is going to rain — and it does. ₅₅And when you feel the south wind blowing, you say that it is going to get hot — and it does. ₅₆Hypocrites! You can look at the earth and the sky and predict the weather; why, then, don't you know the meaning of this present time?

₅₇“Why do you not judge for yourselves the right thing to do? ₅₈If someone brings a lawsuit against you and takes you to court, do your best to settle the dispute with them before you get to court. If you don't, they will drag you before the judge, who will hand you over to the police, and you will be put in jail. ₅₉There you will stay, I tell you, until you pay the last penny of your fine.”