10/20 Plunge! John 20-21, Acts 1-9

12/03/10

Jesus Appears to Mary From Magdala

11 Mary, however, stood there and cried as she looked at the tomb. As she cried, she bent over and looked inside. 12 She saw two angels in white clothes. They were sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying. One angel was where Jesus’ head had been, and the other was where his feet had been. 13 The angels asked her why she was crying.

Mary told them, “They have removed my Lord, and I don’t know where they’ve put him.”

14 After she said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there. However, she didn’t know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus asked her, “Why are you crying? Who are you looking for?”

Mary thought it was the gardener speaking to her. So she said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I’ll remove him.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!”

Mary turned around and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (This word means “teacher.”)

17 Jesus told her, “Don’t hold on to me. I have not yet gone to the Father. But go to my brothers and sisters and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

18 Mary from Magdala went to the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord.” She also told them what he had said to her.

Jesus Appears to the Disciples—Luke 24:36-48

19 That Sunday evening, the disciples were together behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jews. Jesus stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you!” 20 When he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were glad to see the Lord.

21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” 22 After he had said this, he breathed on the disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 Whenever you forgive sins, they are forgiven. Whenever you don’t forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

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Jesus Appears to Thomas

24 Thomas, one of the twelve apostles, who was called Didymus, wasn’t with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples told him, “We’ve seen the Lord.”

Thomas told them, “I refuse to believe this unless I see the nail marks in his hands, put my fingers into them, and put my hand into his side.”

26 A week later Jesus’ disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Take your hand, and put it into my side. Stop doubting, and believe.”

28 Thomas responded to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Jesus said to Thomas, “You believe because you’ve seen me. Blessed are those who haven’t seen me but believe.”

30 Jesus performed many other miracles that his disciples saw. Those miracles are not written in this book. 31 But these miracles have been written so that you will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and so that you will have life by believing in him.

John 21

Jesus Appears to His Disciples Again

1 Later, by the Sea of Tiberias, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples. This is what happened. 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two other disciples of Jesus were together. 3 Simon Peter said to the others, “I’m going fishing.”

They told him, “We’re going with you.”

They went out in a boat but didn’t catch a thing that night. 4 As the sun was rising, Jesus stood on the shore. The disciples didn’t realize that it was Jesus.

5 Jesus asked them, “Friends, haven’t you caught any fish?”

They answered him, “No, we haven’t.”

6 He told them, “Throw the net out on the right side of the boat, and you’ll catch some.” So they threw the net out and were unable to pull it in because so many fish were in it.

7 The disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord.” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put back on the clothes that he had taken off and jumped into the sea. 8 The other disciples came with the boat and dragged the net full of fish. They weren’t far from the shore, only about 100 yards.

9 When they went ashore, they saw a fire with a fish lying on the coals, and they saw a loaf of bread.

10 Jesus told them, “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught.” 11 Simon Peter got into the boat and pulled the net ashore. Though the net was filled with 153 large fish, it was not torn.

12 Jesus told them, “Come, have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared to ask him who he was. They knew he was the Lord. 13 Jesus took the bread, gave it to them, and did the same with the fish.

14 This was the third time that Jesus showed himself to the disciples after he had come back to life.

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Jesus Speaks With Peter

15 After they had eaten breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than the other disciples do?”

Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus told him, “Feed my lambs.”

16 Jesus asked him again, a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus told him, “Take care of my sheep.”

17 Jesus asked him a third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

Peter felt sad because Jesus had asked him a third time, “Do you love me?” So Peter said to him, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”

Jesus told him, “Feed my sheep. 18 I can guarantee this truth: When you were young, you would get ready to go where you wanted. But when you’re old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will get you ready to take you where you don’t want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to show by what kind of death Peter would bring glory to God. After saying this, Jesus told Peter, “Follow me!”

20 Peter turned around and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved. That disciple was following them. He was the one who leaned against Jesus’ chest at the supper and asked, “Lord, who is going to betray you?” 21 When Peter saw him, he asked Jesus, “Lord, what about him?”

22 Jesus said to Peter, “If I want him to live until I come again, how does that concern you? Follow me!” 23 So a rumor that that disciple wouldn’t die spread among Jesus’ followers. But Jesus didn’t say that he wouldn’t die. What Jesus said was, “If I want him to live until I come again, how does that concern you?”

24 This disciple was an eyewitness of these things and wrote them down. We know that what he says is true.

25 Jesus also did many other things. If every one of them were written down, I suppose the world wouldn’t have enough room for the books that would be written.

Acts 1

Introduction

1 In my first book, Theophilus, I wrote about what Jesus began to do and teach. This included everything from the beginning of his life 2 until the day he was taken to heaven. Before he was taken to heaven, he gave instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles, whom he had chosen.

Jesus Ascends to Heaven

3 After his death Jesus showed the apostles a lot of convincing evidence that he was alive. For 40 days he appeared to them and talked with them about the kingdom of God.

4 Once, while he was meeting with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait there for what the Father had promised. Jesus said to them, “I’ve told you what the Father promises: 5 John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

6 So when the apostles came together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you’re going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

7 Jesus told them, “You don’t need to know about times or periods that the Father has determined by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes to you. Then you will be my witnesses to testify about me in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

9 After he had said this, he was taken to heaven. A cloud hid him so that they could no longer see him.

10 They were staring into the sky as he departed. Suddenly, two men in white clothes stood near them. 11 They asked, “Why are you men from Galilee standing here looking at the sky? Jesus, who was taken from you to heaven, will come back in the same way that you saw him go to heaven.”

A New Apostle Takes Judas’ Place

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called the Mount of Olives. It is near Jerusalem, about half a mile away.

13 When they came into the city, Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon the Zealot, and Judas (son of James) went to the second-story room where they were staying.

14 The apostles had a single purpose as they devoted themselves to prayer. They were joined by some women, including Mary (the mother of Jesus), and they were joined by his brothers.

15 At a time when about 120 disciples had gathered together, Peter got up and spoke to them.

He said, 16 “Brothers, what the Holy Spirit predicted through David in Scripture about Judas had to come true. Judas led the men to arrest Jesus. 17 He had been one of us and had been given an active role in this ministry. 18 With the money he received from the wrong he had done, he bought a piece of land where he fell headfirst to his death. His body split open, and all his internal organs came out. 19 Everyone living in Jerusalem knows about this. They even call that piece of land Akeldama, which means ‘Field of Blood’ in their dialect. 20 You’ve read in Psalms, ‘Let his home be deserted, and let no one live there,’ and ‘Let someone else take his position.’”

“Therefore, someone must be added to our number to serve with us as a witness that Jesus came back to life. 21 He must be one of the men who accompanied Jesus with us the entire time that the Lord Jesus was among us. 22 This person must have been with us from the time that John was baptizing people to the day that Jesus was taken from us.”

23 The disciples determined that two men were qualified. These men were Joseph (who was called Barsabbas and was also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s thoughts. Show us which of these two you have chosen. 25 Show us who is to take the place of Judas as an apostle, since Judas abandoned his position to go to the place where he belongs.”

26 They drew names to choose an apostle. Matthias was chosen and joined the eleven apostles.

Acts 2

The Believers Are Filled With the Holy Spirit

1 When Pentecost, the fiftieth day after Passover, came, all the believers were together in one place. 2 Suddenly, a sound like a violently blowing wind came from the sky and filled the whole house where they were staying. 3 Tongues that looked like fire appeared to them. The tongues arranged themselves so that one came to rest on each believer. 4 All the believers were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak.

5 Devout Jewish men from every nation were living in Jerusalem. 6 They gathered when they heard the wind. Each person was startled to recognize his own dialect when the disciples spoke.

7 Stunned and amazed, the people in the crowd said, “All of these men who are speaking are Galileans. 8 Why do we hear them speaking in our native dialects? 9 We’re Parthians, Medes, and Elamites. We’re people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the country near Cyrene in Libya. We’re Jewish people, converts to Judaism, and visitors from Rome, 11 Crete, and Arabia. We hear these men in our own languages as they tell about the miracles that God has done.”

12 All of these devout men were stunned and puzzled. They asked each other, “What can this mean?” 13 Others said jokingly, “They’re drunk on sweet wine.”

Peter Talks to the Crowd

14 Then Peter stood up with the eleven apostles. In a loud voice he said to them, “Men of Judea and everyone living in Jerusalem! You must understand this, so pay attention to what I say. 15 These men are not drunk as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning. 16 Rather, this is what the prophet Joel spoke about:

17 ‘In the last days, God says,

I will pour my Spirit on everyone.

Your sons and daughters will speak what God has revealed.

Your young men will see visions.

Your old men will dream dreams.

18 In those days

I will pour my Spirit on my servants, on both men and women.

They will speak what God has revealed.

19 I will work miracles in the sky and give signs on the earth:

blood, fire, and clouds of smoke.

20 The sun will become dark,

and the moon will become as red as blood

before the terrifying day of the Lord comes.

21 Then whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

22 “Men of Israel, listen to what I say: Jesus from Nazareth was a man whom God brought to your attention. You know that through this man God worked miracles, did amazing things, and gave signs. 23 By using men who don’t acknowledge Moses’ Teachings, you crucified Jesus, who was given over to death by a plan that God had determined in advance. 24 But God raised him from death to life and destroyed the pains of death, because death had no power to hold him. 25 This is what David meant when he said about Jesus:

‘I always see the Lord in front of me.

I cannot be moved because he is by my side.

26 That is why my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices.

My body also rests securely

27 because you do not abandon my soul to the grave

or allow your holy one to decay.

28 You make the path of life known to me.

In your presence there is complete joy.’

29 “Brothers, I can tell you confidently that our ancestor David died and was buried and that his tomb is here to this day. 30 David was a prophet and knew that God had promised with an oath that he would place one of David’s descendants on his throne. 31 David knew that the Messiah would come back to life, and he spoke about that before it ever happened. He said that the Messiah wouldn’t be left in the grave and that his body wouldn’t decay.

32 “God brought this man Jesus back to life. We are all witnesses to that. 33 God used his power to give Jesus the highest position. Jesus has also received and has poured out the Holy Spirit as the Father had promised, and this is what you’re seeing and hearing. 34 David didn’t go up to heaven, but he said,

‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Take my highest position of power

35 until I put your enemies under your control.”’

36 “All the people of Israel should know beyond a doubt that God made Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

37 When the people heard this, they were deeply upset. They asked Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”

38 Peter answered them, “All of you must turn to God and change the way you think and act, and each of you must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will receive the Holy Spirit as a gift. 39 This promise belongs to you and to your children and to everyone who is far away. It belongs to everyone who worships the Lord our God.”

40 Peter said much more to warn them. He urged, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted what Peter said were baptized. That day about 3,000 people were added to the group.

Life as a Christian

42 The disciples were devoted to the teachings of the apostles, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. 43 A feeling of fear came over everyone as many amazing things and miraculous signs happened through the apostles. 44 All the believers kept meeting together, and they shared everything with each other. 45 From time to time, they sold their property and other possessions and distributed the money to anyone who needed it. 46 The believers had a single purpose and went to the temple every day. They were joyful and humble as they ate at each other’s homes and shared their food. 47 At the same time, they praised God and had the good will of all the people. Every day the Lord saved people, and they were added to the group.

Acts 3

A Lame Man Is Healed

1 Peter and John were going to the temple courtyard for the three o’clock prayer. 2 At the same time, a man who had been lame from birth was being carried by some men. Every day these men would put the lame man at a gate in the temple courtyard. The gate was called Beautiful Gate. There he would beg for handouts from people going into the courtyard. 3 When the man saw that Peter and John were about to go into the courtyard, he asked them for a handout.

4 Peter and John stared at him. “Look at us!” Peter said. 5 So the man watched them closely. He expected to receive something from them. 6 However, Peter said to him, “I don’t have any money, but I’ll give you what I do have. Through the power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth, walk!” 7 Peter took hold of the man’s right hand and began to help him up. Immediately, the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 8 Springing to his feet, he stood up and started to walk. He went with Peter and John into the temple courtyard. The man was walking, jumping, and praising God.

9 All the people saw him walking and praising God. 10 They knew that he was the man who used to sit and beg at the temple’s Beautiful Gate. The people were amazed and stunned to see what had happened to him. 11 They were excited, and everyone ran to see them at the place called Solomon’s Porch. The man wouldn’t let go of Peter and John.

12 When Peter saw this, he said to the people, “Men of Israel, why are you amazed about this man? Why are you staring at us as though we have made him walk by our own power or godly life? 13 The God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed Jesus over to Pilate. You rejected him in Pilate’s presence, even though Pilate had decided to let him go free. 14 You rejected the man who was holy and innocent. You asked to have a murderer given to you, 15 and you killed the source of life. But God brought him back to life, and we are witnesses to that. 16 We believe in the one named Jesus. Through his power alone this man, whom you know, was healed, as all of you saw.

17 “And now, brothers, I know that like your rulers you didn’t know what you were doing. 18 But in this way God made the sufferings of his Messiah come true. God had predicted these sufferings through all the prophets. 19 So change the way you think and act, and turn to God to have your sins removed. 20 Then times will come when the Lord will refresh you. He will send you Jesus, whom he has appointed to be the Christ. 21 Heaven must receive Jesus until the time when everything will be restored as God promised through his holy prophets long ago.

22 “Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will send you a prophet, an Israelite like me. Listen to everything he tells you. 23 Those who won’t listen to that prophet will be excluded from the people.’ 24 Samuel and all the prophets who followed him spoke about these days. 25 You are the descendants of the prophets and the heirs of the promise that God made to our ancestors when he said to Abraham, ‘Through your descendant all people on earth will be blessed.’ 26 God has brought his servant back to life and has sent him to you first. God did this to bless you by turning every one of you from your evil ways.”

Acts 4

Peter and John’s Trial in Front of the Jewish Council

1 Some priests, the officer in charge of the temple guards, and some Sadducees approached Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. 2 These religious authorities were greatly annoyed. Peter and John were teaching the people and spreading the message that the dead will come back to life through Jesus. 3 So the temple guards arrested them. Since it was already evening, they put Peter and John in jail until the next day.

4 But many of those who had heard the message became believers, so the number of men who believed grew to about 5,000.

5 The next day the Jewish rulers, leaders, and scribes met in Jerusalem. 6 The chief priest Annas, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and the rest of the chief priest’s family were present. 7 They made Peter and John stand in front of them and then asked, “By what power or in whose name did you do this?”

8 Then Peter, because he was filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and leaders of the people, 9 today you are cross-examining us about the good we did for a crippled man. You want to know how he was made well. 10 You and all the people of Israel must understand that this man stands in your presence with a healthy body because of the power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth. You crucified Jesus Christ, but God has brought him back to life. 11 He is the stone that the builders rejected, the stone that has become the cornerstone. 12 No one else can save us. Indeed, we can be saved only by the power of the one named Jesus and not by any other person.”

13 After they found out that Peter and John had no education or special training, they were surprised to see how boldly they spoke. They realized that these men had been with Jesus. 14 When they saw the man who was healed standing with Peter and John, they couldn’t say anything against the two apostles. 15 So they ordered Peter and John to leave the council room and began to discuss the matter among themselves. 16 They said, “What should we do to these men? Clearly, they’ve performed a miracle that everyone in Jerusalem knows about. We can’t deny that. 17 So let’s threaten them. Let’s tell them that they must never speak to anyone about the one named Jesus. Then the news about the miracle that they have performed will not spread any further among the people.”

18 They called Peter and John and ordered them never to teach about Jesus or even mention his name.

19 Peter and John answered them, “Decide for yourselves whether God wants people to listen to you rather than to him. 20 We cannot stop talking about what we’ve seen and heard.”

21 The authorities threatened them even more and then let them go. Since all the people were praising God for what had happened, the authorities couldn’t find any way to punish Peter and John. 22 (The man who was healed by this miracle was over 40 years old.)

The Apostles Pray for God’s Help

23 When Peter and John were released, they went to the other apostles and told them everything the chief priests and leaders had said. 24 When the apostles heard this, they were united and loudly prayed to God, “Master, you made the sky, the land, the sea, and everything in them. 25 You said through the Holy Spirit, who spoke through your servant David (our ancestor),

‘Why do the nations act arrogantly?

Why do their people devise useless plots?

26 Kings take their stand.

Rulers make plans together

against the Lord and against his Messiah.’

27 “In this city Herod and Pontius Pilate made plans together with non-Jewish people and the people of Israel. They made their plans against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 28 Through your will and power, they did everything that you had already decided should be done.

29 “Lord, pay attention to their threats now, and allow us to speak your word boldly. 30 Show your power by healing, performing miracles, and doing amazing things through the power and the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

31 When the apostles had finished praying, their meeting place shook. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God boldly.

The Believers Share Their Property

32 The whole group of believers lived in harmony. No one called any of his possessions his own. Instead, they shared everything.

33 With great power the apostles continued to testify that the Lord Jesus had come back to life. God’s abundant good will was with all of them. 34 None of them needed anything. From time to time, people sold land or houses and brought the money 35 to the apostles. Then the money was distributed to anyone who needed it.

36 Joseph, a descendant of Levi, had been born on the island of Cyprus. The apostles called him Barnabas, which means “a person who encourages.” 37 He had some land. He sold it and turned the money over to the apostles.

Acts 5

Ananias and Sapphira

1 A man named Ananias and his wife Sapphira sold some property. 2 They agreed to hold back some of the money they had pledged and turned only part of it over to the apostles.

3 Peter asked, “Ananias, why did you let Satan fill you with the idea that you could deceive the Holy Spirit? You’ve held back some of the money you received for the land. 4 While you had the land, it was your own. After it was sold, you could have done as you pleased with the money. So how could you do a thing like this? You didn’t lie to people but to God!”

5 When Ananias heard Peter say this, he dropped dead. Everyone who heard about his death was terrified. 6 Some young men got up, wrapped his body in a sheet, carried him outside, and buried him.

7 About three hours later Ananias’ wife arrived. She didn’t know what had happened. 8 So Peter asked her, “Tell me, did you sell the land for that price?”

She answered, “Yes, that was the price.”

9 Then Peter said to her, “How could you and your husband agree to test the Lord’s Spirit? Those who buried your husband are standing at the door, and they will carry you outside for burial.”

10 Immediately, she dropped dead in front of Peter. When the young men came back, they found Sapphira dead. So they carried her outside and buried her next to her husband. 11 The whole church and everyone else who heard about what had happened were terrified.

The Apostles Perform Many Miracles

12 The people saw the apostles perform many miracles and do amazing things. The believers had a common faith in Jesus as they met on Solomon’s Porch. 13 None of the other people dared to join them, although everyone spoke highly of them. 14 More men and women than ever began to believe in the Lord. 15 As a result, people carried their sick into the streets. They placed them on stretchers and cots so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some sick people as he went by. 16 Crowds from the cities around Jerusalem would gather. They would bring their sick and those who were troubled by evil spirits, and each person was cured.

The Apostles’ Trial in Front of the Jewish Council

17 The chief priest and the whole party of the Sadducees who were with him were extremely jealous. So they took action 18 by arresting the apostles and putting them in the city jail. 19 But at night an angel from the Lord opened the doors to their cell and led them out of the prison. 20 The angel told them, “Stand in the temple courtyard, and tell the people everything about life in Christ.”

21 Early in the morning, after they had listened to the angel, the apostles went into the temple courtyard and began to teach.

The chief priest and those who were with him called together the Jewish council, that is, all the leaders of Israel. They also sent men to the prison to get the apostles. 22 When the temple guards arrived at the prison, they didn’t find the apostles. The guards came back and reported, 23 “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors. However, when we opened the doors, we found no one inside.” 24 When the officer of the temple guards and the chief priests heard this, they were puzzled about what could have happened.

25 Then someone told them, “The men you put in prison are standing in the temple courtyard. They’re teaching the people.”

26 Then the officer of the temple guards went with some of his men to bring back the apostles without using force. After all, the officer and his guards were afraid that the people would stone them to death for using force. 27 When they brought back the apostles, they made them stand in front of the council. The chief priest questioned them. 28 He said, “We gave you strict orders not to mention Jesus’ name when you teach. Yet, you’ve filled Jerusalem with your teachings. You want to take revenge on us for putting that man to death.”

29 Peter and the other apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than people. 30 You murdered Jesus by hanging him on a cross. But the God of our ancestors brought him back to life. 31 God used his power to give Jesus the highest position as leader and savior. He did this to lead the people of Israel to him, to change the way they think and act, and to forgive their sins. 32 We are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

33 When the men on the council heard this, they became furious and wanted to execute the apostles. 34 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel stood up. He was a highly respected expert in Moses’ Teachings. He ordered that the apostles should be taken outside for a little while.

35 Then he said to the council, “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you do with these men. 36 Some time ago Theudas appeared. He claimed that he was important, and about four hundred men joined him. He was killed, and all his followers were scattered. The whole movement was a failure.

37 “After that man, at the time of the census, Judas from Galilee appeared and led people in a revolt. He, too, died, and all his followers were scattered.

38 “We should keep away from these men for now. We should leave them alone. I can guarantee that if the plan they put into action is of human origin, it will fail. 39 However, if it’s from God, you won’t be able to stop them. You may even discover that you’re fighting against God.”

40 The council took his advice. They called the apostles, beat them, ordered them not to speak about the one named Jesus, and let them go.

41 The apostles left the council room. They were happy to have been considered worthy to suffer dishonor for speaking about Jesus. 42 Every day in the temple courtyard and from house to house, they refused to stop teaching and telling the Good News that Jesus is the Messiah.

Acts 6

The Disciples Choose Seven Men to Help the Apostles

1 At that time, as the number of disciples grew, Greek-speaking Jews complained about the Hebrew-speaking Jews. The Greek-speaking Jews claimed that the widows among them were neglected every day when food and other assistance was distributed.

2 The twelve apostles called all the disciples together and told them, “It’s not right for us to give up God’s word in order to distribute food. 3 So, brothers and sisters, choose seven men whom the people know are spiritually wise. We will put them in charge of this problem. 4 However, we will devote ourselves to praying and to serving in ways that are related to the word.”

5 The suggestion pleased the whole group. So they chose Stephen, who was a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and they chose Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, who had converted to Judaism in the city of Antioch. 6 The disciples had these men stand in front of the apostles, who prayed and placed their hands on these seven men.

7 The word of God continued to spread, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem grew very large. A large number of priests accepted the faith.

Stephen Is Arrested

8 Stephen was a man filled with God’s favor and power. He did amazing things and performed miracles. 9 One day some men from the cities of Cyrene and Alexandria and the provinces of Cilicia and Asia started an argument with Stephen. They belonged to a synagogue called Freedmen’s Synagogue. 10 They couldn’t argue with Stephen because he spoke with the wisdom that the Spirit had given him. 11 Then they bribed some men to lie.

These men said, “We heard him slander Moses and God.” 12 The liars stirred up trouble among the people, the leaders, and the scribes. So they went to Stephen, took him by force, and brought him in front of the Jewish council. 13 Some witnesses stood up and lied about Stephen. They said, “This man never stops saying bad things about the holy place and Moses’ Teachings. 14 We heard him say that Jesus from Nazareth will destroy the temple and change the customs that Moses gave us.”

15 Everyone who sat in the council stared at him and saw that his face looked like an angel’s face.

Acts 7

Stephen Speaks in His Own Defense

1 Then the chief priest asked Stephen, “Is this true?”

2 Stephen answered, “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. The God who reveals his glory appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia. This happened before Abraham lived in Haran. 3 God told him, ‘Leave your land and your relatives. Go to the land that I will show you.’

4 “Then Abraham left the country of Chaldea and lived in the city of Haran. After his father died, God made him move from there to this land where we now live.

5 “Yet, God didn’t give Abraham anything in this land to call his own, not even a place to rest his feet. But God promised to give this land to him and to his descendants, even though Abraham didn’t have a child. 6 God told Abraham that his descendants would be foreigners living in another country and that the people there would make them slaves and mistreat them for 400 years. 7 God also told him, ‘I will punish the people whom they will serve. After that, they will leave that country and worship me here.’

8 “God gave Abraham circumcision to confirm his promise. So when Abraham’s son Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised him on the eighth day. Isaac did the same to his son Jacob, and Jacob did the same to his twelve sons (the ancestors of our tribes).

9 “Jacob’s sons were jealous of their brother Joseph. They sold him into slavery, and he was taken to Egypt. But God was with Joseph 10 and rescued him from all his suffering. When Joseph stood in the presence of Pharaoh (the king of Egypt), God gave Joseph divine favor and wisdom so that he became ruler of Egypt and of Pharaoh’s whole palace. 11 Then a famine throughout Egypt and Canaan brought a lot of suffering. Our ancestors couldn’t find any food. 12 When Jacob heard that Egypt had food, he sent our ancestors there. That was their first trip. 13 On the second trip, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. 14 Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his relatives, 75 people in all. 15 So Jacob went to Egypt, and he and our ancestors died there. 16 They were taken to Shechem for burial in the tomb that Abraham purchased in Shechem from Hamor’s sons.

17 “When the time that God had promised to Abraham had almost come, the number of our people in Egypt had grown very large. 18 Then a different king, who knew nothing about Joseph, began to rule in Egypt. 19 This king was shrewd in the way he took advantage of our people. He mistreated our ancestors. He made them abandon their newborn babies outdoors, where they would die.

20 “At that time Moses was born, and he was a very beautiful child. His parents took care of him for three months. 21 When Moses was abandoned outdoors, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and raised him as her son. 22 So Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and became a great man in what he said and did. 23 When he was 40 years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. 24 When he saw an Israelite man being treated unfairly by an Egyptian, he defended the Israelite. He took revenge by killing the Egyptian. 25 Moses thought his own people would understand that God was going to use him to give them freedom. But they didn’t understand. 26 The next day Moses saw two Israelites fighting, and he tried to make peace between them. He said to them, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why are you treating each other unfairly?’

27 “But one of the men pushed Moses aside. He asked Moses, ‘Who made you our ruler and judge? 28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 After he said that, Moses quickly left Egypt and lived in Midian as a foreigner. In Midian he fathered two sons.

30 “Forty years later, a messenger appeared to him in the flames of a burning bush in the desert of Mount Sinai. 31 Moses was surprised when he saw this. As he went closer to look at the bush, the voice of the Lord said to him, 32 ‘I am the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses began to tremble and didn’t dare to look at the bush. 33 The Lord told him, ‘Take off your sandals. The place where you’re standing is holy ground. 34 I’ve seen how my people are mistreated in Egypt. I’ve heard their groaning and have come to rescue them. So now I’m sending you to Egypt.’

35 “This is the Moses whom the Israelites rejected by saying, ‘Who made you our ruler and judge?’ This is the one God sent to free them and to rule them with the help of the messenger who appeared to him in the bush. 36 This is the man who led our ancestors out of Egypt. He is the person who did amazing things and worked miracles in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the desert for 40 years. 37 This is the same Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will send you a prophet, an Israelite like me.’ 38 This is the Moses who was in the assembly in the desert. Our ancestors and the messenger who spoke to him on Mount Sinai were there with him. Moses received life-giving messages to give to us, 39 but our ancestors were not willing to obey him. Instead, they pushed him aside, and in their hearts they turned back to Egypt. 40 They told Aaron, ‘We don’t know what has happened to this Moses, who led us out of Egypt. So make gods who will lead us.’ 41 That was the time they made a calf. They offered a sacrifice to that false god and delighted in what they had made.

42 “So God turned away from them and let them worship the sun, moon, and stars. This is written in the book of the prophets: ‘Did you bring me sacrifices and grain offerings in the desert for 40 years, nation of Israel? 43 You carried along the shrine of Moloch, the star of the god Rephan, and the statues you made for yourselves to worship. I will send you into exile beyond the city of Babylon.’

44 “In the desert our ancestors had the tent of God’s promise. Moses built this tent exactly as God had told him. He used the model he had seen. 45 After our ancestors received the tent, they brought it into this land. They did this with Joshua’s help when they took possession of the land from the nations that God forced out of our ancestors’ way. This tent remained here until the time of David, 46 who won God’s favor. David asked that he might provide a permanent place for the family of Jacob. 47 But Solomon was the one who built a house for God.

48 “However, the Most High doesn’t live in a house built by humans, as the prophet says:

49 ‘The Lord says,

“Heaven is my throne.

The earth is my footstool.

What kind of house are you going to build for me?

Where will I rest?

50 Didn’t I make all these things?”’

51 “How stubborn can you be? How can you be so heartless and disobedient? You’re just like your ancestors. They always opposed the Holy Spirit, and so do you! 52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute? They killed those who predicted that a man with God’s approval would come. You have now become the people who betrayed and murdered that man. 53 You are the people who received Moses’ Teachings, which were put into effect by angels. But you haven’t obeyed those teachings.”

Stephen Is Executed

54 As council members listened to Stephen, they became noticeably furious. 55 But Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit. He looked into heaven, saw God’s glory, and Jesus in the position of authority that God gives. 56 So Stephen said, “Look, I see heaven opened and the Son of Man in the position of authority that God has given him!”

57 But the council members shouted and refused to listen. Then they rushed at Stephen with one purpose in mind, 58 and after they had thrown him out of the city, they began to stone him to death. The witnesses left their coats with a young man named Saul.

59 While council members were executing Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, welcome my spirit.” 60 Then he knelt down and shouted, “Lord, don’t hold this sin against them.” After he had said this, he died.

Acts 8

1 Saul approved of putting Stephen to death.

On that day widespread persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem. Most believers, except the apostles, were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

2 Devout men buried Stephen as they mourned loudly for him.

3 Saul tried to destroy the church. He dragged men and women out of one home after another and threw them into prison.

Some Samaritans Become Believers

4 The believers who were scattered went from place to place, where they spread the word. 5 Philip went to the city of Samaria and told people about the Messiah. 6 The crowds paid close attention to what Philip said. They listened to him and saw the miracles that he performed. 7 Evil spirits screamed as they came out of the many people they had possessed. Many paralyzed and lame people were cured. 8 As a result, that city was extremely happy.

9 A man named Simon lived in that city. He amazed the people of Samaria with his practice of magic. He claimed that he was great. 10 Everyone from children to adults paid attention to him. They said, “This man is the power of God, and that power is called great.” 11 They paid attention to Simon because he had amazed them for a long time with his practice of magic. 12 However, when Philip spread the Good News about the kingdom of God and the one named Jesus Christ, men and women believed him and were baptized. 13 Even Simon believed, and after he was baptized, he became devoted to Philip. Simon was amazed to see the miracles and impressive things that were happening.

14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the Samaritans had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15 Peter and John went to Samaria and prayed that the Samaritans would receive the Holy Spirit. 16 (Before this the Holy Spirit had not come to any of the Samaritans. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and the Samaritans received the Holy Spirit.

18 Simon saw that the Spirit was given to the Samaritans when the apostles placed their hands on them. So he offered Peter and John money 19 and said, “Give me this power so that anyone I place my hands on will receive the Holy Spirit.”

20 Peter told Simon, “May your money be destroyed with you because you thought you could buy God’s gift. 21 You won’t have any share in this because God can see how twisted your thinking is. 22 So change your wicked thoughts, and ask the Lord if he will forgive you for thinking like this. 23 I can see that you are bitter with jealousy and wrapped up in your evil ways.”

24 Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me that none of the things you said will happen to me.”

25 After they had boldly spoken about the message of the Lord, they spread the Good News in many Samaritan villages on their way back to Jerusalem.

Philip Tells an Ethiopian About Jesus

26 An angel from the Lord said to Philip, “Get up, and take the desert road that goes south from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So Philip went.

An Ethiopian man who had come to Jerusalem to worship was on his way home. The man was a eunuch, a high-ranking official in charge of all the treasures of Queen Candace of Ethiopia. 28 As the official rode along in his carriage, he was reading the prophet Isaiah out loud.

29 The Spirit said to Philip, “Go to that carriage, and stay close to it.”

30 Philip ran to the carriage and could hear the official reading the prophet Isaiah out loud. Philip asked him, “Do you understand what you’re reading?”

31 The official answered, “How can I understand unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to sit with him in his carriage.

32 This was the part of the Scriptures that the official was reading:

“He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.

He was like a sheep that is silent

when its wool is cut off.

He didn’t open his mouth.

33 When he humbled himself,

he was not judged fairly.

Who from his generation

will talk about his life on earth being cut short?”

34 The official said to Philip, “I would like to know who the prophet is talking about. Is he talking about himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip spoke. Starting with that passage, Philip told the official the Good News about Jesus.

36 As they were going along the road, they came to some water. The official said to Philip, “Look, there’s some water. What can keep me from being baptized?” 37 Philip said to the official, 'If you believe with all your heart, you can be baptized.' The official answered, 'I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God.' 38 The official ordered the carriage to stop. He and Philip stepped into the water, and Philip baptized him. 39 When they had stepped out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away. The official joyfully continued on his way and didn’t see Philip again.

40 Philip found himself in the city of Azotus. He traveled through all the cities and spread the Good News until he came to the city of Caesarea.

Acts 9

Saul Becomes a Follower of Jesus

1 Saul kept threatening to murder the Lord’s disciples. He went to the chief priest 2 and asked him to write letters of authorization to the synagogue leaders in the city of Damascus. Saul wanted to arrest any man or woman who followed the way of Christ and imprison them in Jerusalem.

3 As Saul was coming near the city of Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”

5 Saul asked, “Who are you, sir?”

The person replied, “I’m Jesus, the one you’re persecuting. 6 Get up! Go into the city, and you’ll be told what you should do.”

7 Meanwhile, the men traveling with him were speechless. They heard the voice but didn’t see anyone.

8 Saul was helped up from the ground. When he opened his eyes, he was blind. So his companions led him into Damascus. 9 For three days he couldn’t see and didn’t eat or drink.

10 A disciple named Ananias lived in the city of Damascus. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

Ananias answered, “Yes, Lord.”

11 The Lord told him, “Get up! Go to Judas’ house on Straight Street, and ask for a man named Saul from the city of Tarsus. He’s praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

13 Ananias replied, “Lord, I’ve heard a lot of people tell about the many evil things this man has done to your people in Jerusalem. 14 Saul has come here to Damascus with authority from the chief priests to put anyone who calls on your name in prison.”

15 The Lord told Ananias, “Go! I’ve chosen this man to bring my name to nations, to kings, and to the people of Israel. 16 I’ll show him how much he has to suffer for the sake of my name.”

17 Ananias left and entered Judas’ house. After he placed his hands on Saul, Ananias said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way to Damascus, sent me to you. He wants you to see again and to be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

18 Immediately, something like fish scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. Then Saul stood up and was baptized. 19 After he had something to eat, his strength came back to him.

Saul was with the disciples in the city of Damascus for several days. 20 He immediately began to spread the word in their synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God. 21 Everyone who heard him was amazed. They asked, “Isn’t this the man who destroyed those who worshiped the one named Jesus in Jerusalem? Didn’t he come here to take these worshipers as prisoners to the chief priests in Jerusalem?”

22 Saul grew more powerful, and he confused the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Messiah. 23 Later the Jews planned to murder Saul, 24 but Saul was told about their plot. They were watching the city gates day and night in order to murder him. 25 However, Saul’s disciples lowered him in a large basket through an opening in the wall one night.

26 After Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples. But everyone was afraid of him. They wouldn’t believe that he was a disciple.

27 Then Barnabas took an interest in Saul and brought him to the apostles. Barnabas told the apostles how Saul had seen the Lord on the road and that the Lord had spoken to him. Barnabas also told them how boldly Saul had spoken about the one named Jesus in the city of Damascus. 28 Then Saul went throughout Jerusalem with the disciples. He spoke boldly with the power and authority of the Lord.

29 He talked and argued with Greek-speaking Jews, but they tried to murder him. 30 As soon as the disciples found out about this, they took Saul to Caesarea and sent him to Tarsus.

31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace. The number of people increased as people lived in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

Peter Heals Aeneas

32 When Peter was going around to all of God’s people, he came to those who lived in the city of Lydda. 33 In Lydda Peter found a man named Aeneas who was paralyzed and confined to a cot for eight years.

34 Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ makes you well. Get up, and pick up your cot.” Aeneas immediately got up.

35 Everyone who lived in the city of Lydda and the coastal region of Sharon saw what had happened to Aeneas and turned to the Lord in faith.

Peter Brings Tabitha Back to Life

36 A disciple named Tabitha lived in the city of Joppa. Her Greek name was Dorcas. She always helped people and gave things to the poor. 37 She became sick and died. Her body was prepared for burial and was laid in an upstairs room.

38 Lydda is near the city of Joppa. When the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him. They begged Peter, “Hurry to Joppa! We need your help!”

39 So Peter went with them. When he arrived, he was taken upstairs. All the widows stood around him. They were crying and showing Peter the articles of clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.

40 Peter made everyone leave the room.

He knelt and prayed. Then he turned toward the body and said, “Tabitha, get up!”

Tabitha opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up. 41 Peter took her hand and helped her stand up. After he called the believers, especially the widows, he presented Tabitha to them. She was alive.

42 The news about this spread throughout the city of Joppa, and as a result, many people believed in the Lord.

43 Peter stayed in Joppa for a number of days with Simon, a leatherworker.

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09/20 Plunge! John 9-19

11/03/10

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John 9

Jesus Gives Sight to a Blind Man

1 As Jesus walked along, he saw a man who had been born blind. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, why was this man born blind? Did he or his parents sin?”

3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned. Instead, he was born blind so that God could show what he can do for him. 4 We must do what the one who sent me wants us to do while it is day. The night when no one can do anything is coming. 5 As long as I’m in the world, I’m light for the world.”

6 After Jesus said this, he spit on the ground and mixed the spit with dirt. Then he smeared it on the man’s eyes 7 and told him, “Wash it off in the pool of Siloam.” (Siloam means “sent.”) The blind man washed it off and returned. He was able to see.

8 His neighbors and those who had previously seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?”

9 Some of them said, “He’s the one.” Others said, “No, he isn’t, but he looks like him.” But the man himself said, “I am the one.”

10 So they asked him, “How did you receive your sight?”

11 He replied, “The man people call Jesus mixed some spit with dirt, smeared it on my eyes, and told me, ‘Go to Siloam, and wash it off.’ So I went there, washed it off, and received my sight.”

12 They asked him, “Where is that man?”

The man answered, “I don’t know.”

13 Some people brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees. 14 The day when Jesus mixed the spit and dirt and gave the man sight was a day of worship. 15 So the Pharisees asked the man again how he received his sight.

The man told the Pharisees, “He put a mixture of spit and dirt on my eyes. I washed it off, and now I can see.”

16 Some of the Pharisees said, “The man who did this is not from God because he doesn’t follow the traditions for the day of worship.” Other Pharisees asked, “How can a man who is a sinner perform miracles like these?” So the Pharisees were divided in their opinions.

17 They asked the man who had been born blind another question: “What do you say about the man who gave you sight?”

The man answered, “He’s a prophet.”

18 Until they talked to the man’s parents, the Jews didn’t believe that the man had been blind and had been given sight. 19 They asked his parents, “Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? Why can he see now?”

20 His parents replied, “We know that he’s our son and that he was born blind. 21 But we don’t know how he got his sight or who gave it to him. You’ll have to ask him. He’s old enough to answer for himself.” 22 (His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. The Jews had already agreed to put anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ out of the synagogue. 23 That’s why his parents said, “You’ll have to ask him. He’s old enough.”)

24 So once again the Jews called the man who had been blind. They told him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man who gave you sight is a sinner.”

25 The man responded, “I don’t know if he’s a sinner or not. But I do know one thing. I used to be blind, but now I can see.”

26 The Jews asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he give you sight?”

27 The man replied, “I’ve already told you, but you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear the story again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”

28 The Jews yelled at him, “You’re his disciple, but we’re Moses’ disciples. 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but we don’t know where this man came from.”

30 The man replied to them, “That’s amazing! You don’t know where he’s from. Yet, he gave me sight. 31 We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners. Instead, he listens to people who are devout and who do what he wants. 32 Since the beginning of time, no one has ever heard of anyone giving sight to a person born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he couldn’t do anything like that.”

34 The Jews answered him, “You were born full of sin. Do you think you can teach us?” Then they threw him out of the synagogue.

35 Jesus heard that the Jews had thrown the man out of the synagogue. So when Jesus found the man, he asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

36 The man replied, “Sir, tell me who he is so that I can believe in him.”

37 Jesus told him, “You’ve seen him. He is the person who is now talking with you.”

38 The man bowed in front of Jesus and said, “I believe, Lord.”

39 Then Jesus said, “I have come into this world to judge: Blind people will be given sight, and those who can see will become blind.”

40 Some Pharisees who were with Jesus heard this. So they asked him, “Do you think we’re blind?”

41 Jesus told them, “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be sinners. But now you say, ‘We see,’ so you continue to be sinners."

John 10

Jesus, the Good Shepherd

1 “I can guarantee this truth: The person who doesn’t enter the sheep pen through the gate but climbs in somewhere else is a thief or a robber. 2 But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep respond to his voice. He calls his sheep by name and leads them out of the pen. 4 After he has brought out all his sheep, he walks ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. 5 They won’t follow a stranger. Instead, they will run away from a stranger because they don’t recognize his voice.” 6 Jesus used this illustration as he talked to the people, but they didn’t understand what he meant.

7 Jesus emphasized, “I can guarantee this truth: I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before I did were thieves or robbers. However, the sheep didn’t respond to them. 9 I am the gate. Those who enter the sheep pen through me will be saved. They will go in and out of the sheep pen and find food. 10 A thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But I came so that my sheep will have life and so that they will have everything they need.

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. 12 A hired hand isn’t a shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep. When he sees a wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and quickly runs away. So the wolf drags the sheep away and scatters the flock. 13 The hired hand is concerned about what he’s going to get paid and not about the sheep.

14 “I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep as the Father knows me. My sheep know me as I know the Father. 15 So I give my life for my sheep. 16 I also have other sheep that are not from this pen. I must lead them. They, too, will respond to my voice. So they will be one flock with one shepherd. 17 The Father loves me because I give my life in order to take it back again. 18 No one takes my life from me. I give my life of my own free will. I have the authority to give my life, and I have the authority to take my life back again. This is what my Father ordered me to do.”

19 The Jews were divided because of what Jesus said. 20 Many of them said, “He’s possessed by a demon! He’s crazy! Why do you listen to him?” 21 Others said, “No one talks like this if he’s possessed by a demon. Can a demon give sight to the blind?”

The Jews Reject Jesus

22 The Festival of the Dedication of the Temple took place in Jerusalem during the winter. 23 Jesus was walking on Solomon’s porch in the temple courtyard.

24 The Jews surrounded him. They asked him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

25 Jesus answered them, “I’ve told you, but you don’t believe me. The things that I do in my Father’s name testify on my behalf. 26 However, you don’t believe because you’re not my sheep. 27 My sheep respond to my voice, and I know who they are. They follow me, 28 and I give them eternal life. They will never be lost, and no one will tear them away from me. 29 My Father, who gave them to me, is greater than everyone else, and no one can tear them away from my Father. 30 The Father and I are one.”

31 The Jews had again brought some rocks to stone Jesus to death. 32 Jesus replied to them, “I’ve shown you many good things that come from the Father. For which of these good things do you want to stone me to death?”

33 The Jews answered Jesus, “We’re going to stone you to death, not for any good things you’ve done, but for dishonoring God. You claim to be God, although you’re only a man.”

34 Jesus said to them, “Don’t your Scriptures say, ‘I said, “You are gods”’? 35 The Scriptures cannot be discredited. So if God calls people gods (and they are the people to whom he gave the Scriptures), 36 why do you say that I’m dishonoring God because I said, ‘I’m the Son of God’? God set me apart for this holy purpose and has sent me into the world. 37 If I’m not doing the things my Father does, don’t believe me. 38 But if I’m doing those things and you refuse to believe me, then at least believe the things that I’m doing. Then you will know and recognize that the Father is in me and that I am in the Father.”

39 The Jews tried to arrest Jesus again, but he got away from them. 40 He went back across the Jordan River and stayed in the place where John first baptized people.

41 Many people went to Jesus. They said, “John didn’t perform any miracles, but everything John said about this man is true.” 42 Many people there believed in Jesus.

John 11

Jesus Brings Lazarus Back to Life

1 Lazarus, who lived in Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived, was sick. 2 (Mary was the woman who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. Her brother Lazarus was the one who was sick.)

3 So the sisters sent a messenger to tell Jesus, “Lord, your close friend is sick.”

4 When Jesus heard the message, he said, “His sickness won’t result in death. Instead, this sickness will bring glory to God so that the Son of God will receive glory through it.”

5 Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. 6 Yet, when Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was for two more days.

7 Then, after the two days, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.”

8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, not long ago the Jews wanted to stone you to death. Do you really want to go back there?”

9 Jesus answered, “Aren’t there twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day don’t stumble, because they see the light of this world. 10 However, those who walk at night stumble because they have no light in themselves.”

11 After Jesus said this, he told his disciples, “Our friend Lazarus is sleeping, and I’m going to Bethany to wake him.”

12 His disciples said to him, “Lord, if he’s sleeping, he’ll get well.”

13 Jesus meant that Lazarus was dead, but the disciples thought Jesus meant that Lazarus was only sleeping. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 but I’m glad that I wasn’t there so that you can grow in faith. Let’s go to Lazarus.”

16 Thomas, who was called Didymus, said to the rest of the disciples, “Let’s go so that we, too, can die with Jesus.”

17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. 18 (Bethany was near Jerusalem, not quite two miles away.) 19 Many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother.

20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. Mary stayed at home. 21 Martha told Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask him.”

23 Jesus told Martha, “Your brother will come back to life.”

24 Martha answered Jesus, “I know that he’ll come back to life on the last day, when everyone will come back to life.”

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the one who brings people back to life, and I am life itself. Those who believe in me will live even if they die. 26 Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe that?”

27 Martha said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who was expected to come into the world.”

28 After Martha had said this, she went back home and whispered to her sister Mary, “The teacher is here, and he is calling for you.”

29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Jesus. 30 (Jesus had not yet come into the village but was still where Martha had met him.) 31 The Jews who were comforting Mary in the house saw her get up quickly and leave. So they followed her. They thought that she was going to the tomb to cry. 32 When Mary arrived where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33 When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who were crying with her, he was deeply moved and troubled.

34 So Jesus asked, “Where did you put Lazarus?”

They answered him, “Lord, come and see.”

35 Jesus cried. 36 The Jews said, “See how much Jesus loved him.” 37 But some of the Jews asked, “Couldn’t this man who gave a blind man sight keep Lazarus from dying?”

38 Deeply moved again, Jesus went to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone covering the entrance. 39 Jesus said, “Take the stone away.”

Martha, the dead man’s sister, told Jesus, “Lord, there must already be a stench. He’s been dead for four days.”

40 Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you would see God’s glory?” 41 So the stone was moved away from the entrance of the tomb.

Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. 42 I’ve known that you always hear me. However, I’ve said this so that the crowd standing around me will believe that you sent me.” 43 After Jesus had said this, he shouted as loudly as he could, “Lazarus, come out!”

44 The dead man came out. Strips of cloth were wound around his feet and hands, and his face was wrapped with a handkerchief. Jesus told them, “Free Lazarus, and let him go.”

The Jewish Council Plans to Kill Jesus

45 Many Jews who had visited Mary and had seen what Jesus had done believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council. They asked, “What are we doing? This man is performing a lot of miracles. 48 If we let him continue what he’s doing, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will take away our position and our nation.”

49 One of them, Caiaphas, who was chief priest that year, told them, “You people don’t know anything. 50 You haven’t even considered this: It is better for one man to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.”

51 Caiaphas didn’t say this on his own. As chief priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation. 52 He prophesied that Jesus wouldn’t die merely for this nation, but that Jesus would die to bring God’s scattered children together and make them one.

53 From that day on, the Jewish council planned to kill Jesus. 54 So Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews. Instead, he left Bethany and went to the countryside near the desert, to a city called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.

55 The Jewish Passover was near. Many people came from the countryside to Jerusalem to purify themselves before the Passover. 56 As they stood in the temple courtyard, they looked for Jesus and asked each other, “Do you think that he’ll avoid coming to the festival?” 57 (The chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that whoever knew where Jesus was should tell them so that they could arrest him.)

John 12

Mary Prepares Jesus’ Body for the Tomb—Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9

1 Six days before Passover, Jesus arrived in Bethany. Lazarus, whom Jesus had brought back to life, lived there. 2 Dinner was prepared for Jesus in Bethany. Martha served the dinner, and Lazarus was one of the people eating with Jesus.

3 Mary took a bottle of very expensive perfume made from pure nard and poured it on Jesus’ feet. Then she dried his feet with her hair. The fragrance of the perfume filled the house.

4 One of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was going to betray him, asked, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold for a high price and the money given to the poor?” 6 (Judas didn’t say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the moneybag and carried the contributions.) 7 Jesus said to Judas, “Leave her alone! She has done this to prepare me for the day I will be placed in a tomb. 8 You will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me with you.”

9 A large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was in Bethany. So they went there not only to see Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom Jesus had brought back to life. 10 The chief priests planned to kill Lazarus too. 11 Lazarus was the reason why many people were leaving the Jews and believing in Jesus.

The King Comes to Jerusalem—Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-44

12 On the next day the large crowd that had come to the Passover festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took palm branches and went to meet him. They were shouting,

“Hosanna!

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord,

the king of Israel!”

14 Jesus obtained a donkey and sat on it, as Scripture says:

15 “Don’t be afraid, people of Zion!

Your king is coming.

He is riding on a donkey’s colt.”

16 At first Jesus’ disciples didn’t know what these prophecies meant. However, when Jesus was glorified, the disciples remembered that these prophecies had been written about him. The disciples remembered that they had taken part in fulfilling the prophecies.

17 The people who had been with Jesus when he called Lazarus from the tomb and brought him back to life reported what they had seen. 18 Because the crowd heard that Jesus had performed this miracle, they came to meet him.

19 The Pharisees said to each other, “This is getting us nowhere. Look! The whole world is following him!”

Some Greeks Ask to See Jesus

20 Some Greeks were among those who came to worship during the Passover festival. 21 They went to Philip (who was from Bethsaida in Galilee) and told him, “Sir, we would like to meet Jesus.” 22 Philip told Andrew, and they told Jesus.

23 Jesus replied to them, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 I can guarantee this truth: A single grain of wheat doesn’t produce anything unless it is planted in the ground and dies. If it dies, it will produce a lot of grain. 25 Those who love their lives will destroy them, and those who hate their lives in this world will guard them for everlasting life. 26 Those who serve me must follow me. My servants will be with me wherever I will be. If people serve me, the Father will honor them.

27 “I am too deeply troubled now to know how to express my feelings. Should I say, ‘Father, save me from this time of suffering’? No! I came for this time of suffering. 28 Father, give glory to your name.”

A voice from heaven said, “I have given it glory, and I will give it glory again.”

29 The crowd standing there heard the voice and said that it had thundered. Others in the crowd said that an angel had talked to him. 30 Jesus replied, “That voice wasn’t for my benefit but for yours.

31 “This world is being judged now. The ruler of this world will be thrown out now. 32 When I have been lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people toward me.” 33 By saying this, he indicated how he was going to die.

34 The crowd responded to him, “We have heard from the Scriptures that the Messiah will remain here forever. So how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up from the earth’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

35 Jesus answered the crowd, “The light will still be with you for a little while. Walk while you have light so that darkness won’t defeat you. Those who walk in the dark don’t know where they’re going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light so that you will become people whose lives show the light.”

After Jesus had said this, he was concealed as he left. 37 Although they had seen Jesus perform so many miracles, they wouldn’t believe in him. 38 In this way the words of the prophet Isaiah came true:

“Lord, who has believed our message?

To whom has the Lord’s power been revealed?”

39 So the people couldn’t believe because, as Isaiah also said,

40 “God blinded them

and made them close-minded

so that their eyes don’t see

and their minds don’t understand.

And they never turn to me for healing!”

41 Isaiah said this because he had seen Jesus’ glory and had spoken about him.

42 Many rulers believed in Jesus. However, they wouldn’t admit it publicly because the Pharisees would have thrown them out of the synagogue. 43 They were more concerned about what people thought of them than about what God thought of them.

44 Then Jesus said loudly, “Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me. 45 Whoever sees me sees the one who sent me. 46 I am the light that has come into the world so that everyone who believes in me will not live in the dark. 47 If anyone hears my words and doesn’t follow them, I don’t condemn them. I didn’t come to condemn the world but to save the world. 48 Those who reject me by not accepting what I say have a judge appointed for them. The words that I have spoken will judge them on the last day. 49 I have not spoken on my own. Instead, the Father who sent me told me what I should say and how I should say it. 50 I know that what he commands is eternal life. Whatever I say is what the Father told me to say.”

John 13

Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet

1 Before the Passover festival, Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go back to the Father. Jesus loved his own who were in the world, and he loved them to the end.

2 While supper was taking place, the devil had already put the idea of betraying Jesus into the mind of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot.

3 The Father had put everything in Jesus’ control. Jesus knew that. He also knew that he had come from God and was going back to God. 4 So he got up from the table, removed his outer clothes, took a towel, and tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel that he had tied around his waist.

6 When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter asked him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

7 Jesus answered Peter, “You don’t know now what I’m doing. You will understand later.”

8 Peter told Jesus, “You will never wash my feet.”

Jesus replied to Peter, “If I don’t wash you, you don’t belong to me.”

9 Simon Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, don’t wash only my feet. Wash my hands and my head too!”

10 Jesus told Peter, “People who have washed are completely clean. They need to have only their feet washed. All of you, except for one, are clean.” 11 (Jesus knew who was going to betray him. That’s why he said, “All of you, except for one, are clean.”)

12 After Jesus had washed their feet and put on his outer clothes, he took his place at the table again. Then he asked his disciples, “Do you understand what I’ve done for you? 13 You call me teacher and Lord, and you’re right because that’s what I am. 14 So if I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you must wash each other’s feet. 15 I’ve given you an example that you should follow. 16 I can guarantee this truth: Slaves are not superior to their owners, and messengers are not superior to the people who send them. 17 If you understand all of this, you are blessed whenever you follow my example.

18 “I’m not talking about all of you. I know the people I’ve chosen to be apostles. However, I’ve made my choice so that Scripture will come true. It says, ‘The one who eats my bread has turned against me.’ 19 I’m telling you now before it happens. Then, when it happens, you will believe that I am the one.

20 “I can guarantee this truth: Whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”

Jesus Knows Who Will Betray Him—Matthew 26:21-25; Mark 14:18-21; Luke 22:21-23

21 After saying this, Jesus was deeply troubled. He declared, “I can guarantee this truth: One of you is going to betray me!”

22 The disciples began looking at each other and wondering which one of them Jesus meant.

23 One disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, was near him at the table. 24 Simon Peter motioned to that disciple and said, “Ask Jesus whom he’s talking about!”

25 Leaning close to Jesus, that disciple asked, “Lord, who is it?”

26 Jesus answered, “He’s the one to whom I will give this piece of bread after I’ve dipped it in the sauce.” So Jesus dipped the bread and gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot.

27 Then, after Judas took the piece of bread, Satan entered him. So Jesus told him, “Hurry! Do what you have to do.” 28 No one at the table knew why Jesus said this to him. 29 Judas had the moneybag. So some thought that Jesus was telling him to buy what they needed for the festival or to give something to the poor.

30 Judas took the piece of bread and immediately went outside. It was night.

31 When Judas was gone, Jesus said, “The Son of Man is now glorified, and because of him God is glorified. 32 If God is glorified because of the Son of Man, God will glorify the Son of Man because of himself, and he will glorify the Son of Man at once.”

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial—Matthew 26:31-35; Mark 14:27-31; Luke 22:31-34

33 Jesus said, “Dear children, I will still be with you for a little while. I’m telling you what I told the Jews. You will look for me, but you can’t go where I’m going.

34 “I’m giving you a new commandment: Love each other in the same way that I have loved you. 35 Everyone will know that you are my disciples because of your love for each other.”

36 Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”

Jesus answered him, “You can’t follow me now to the place where I’m going. However, you will follow me later.”

37 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I’ll give my life for you.”

38 Jesus replied, “Will you give your life for me? I can guarantee this truth: No rooster will crow until you say three times that you don’t know me."

John 14

Jesus Promises to Send the Holy Spirit

1 “Don’t be troubled. Believe in God, and believe in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms. If that were not true, would I have told you that I’m going to prepare a place for you? 3 If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again. Then I will bring you into my presence so that you will be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you’re going. So how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus answered him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one goes to the Father except through me. 7 If you have known me, you will also know my Father. From now on you know him through me and have seen him in me.”

8 Philip said to Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will satisfy us.”

9 Jesus replied, “I have been with all of you for a long time. Don’t you know me yet, Philip? The person who has seen me has seen the Father. So how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? What I’m telling you doesn’t come from me. The Father, who lives in me, does what he wants. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and that the Father is in me. Otherwise, believe me because of the things I do.

12 “I can guarantee this truth: Those who believe in me will do the things that I am doing. They will do even greater things because I am going to the Father. 13 I will do anything you ask the Father in my name so that the Father will be given glory because of the Son. 14 If you ask me to do something, I will do it.

15 “If you love me, you will obey my commandments. 16 I will ask the Father, and he will give you another helper who will be with you forever. 17 That helper is the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept him, because it doesn’t see or know him. You know him, because he lives with you and will be in you.

18 “I will not leave you all alone. I will come back to you. 19 In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. You will live because I live. 20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father and that you are in me and that I am in you. 21 Whoever knows and obeys my commandments is the person who loves me. Those who love me will have my Father’s love, and I, too, will love them and show myself to them.”

22 Judas (not Iscariot) asked Jesus, “Lord, what has happened that you are going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?”

23 Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will go to them and make our home with them. 24 A person who doesn’t love me doesn’t do what I say. I don’t make up what you hear me say. What I say comes from the Father who sent me.

25 “I have told you this while I’m still with you. 26 However, the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything. He will remind you of everything that I have ever told you.

27 “I’m leaving you peace. I’m giving you my peace. I don’t give you the kind of peace that the world gives. So don’t be troubled or cowardly. 28 You heard me tell you, ‘I’m going away, but I’m coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I’m going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am.

29 “I’m telling you this now before it happens. When it does happen, you will believe. 30 The ruler of this world has no power over me. But he’s coming, so I won’t talk with you much longer. 31 However, I want the world to know that I love the Father and that I am doing exactly what the Father has commanded me to do. Get up! We have to leave.”

John 15

Jesus, the True Vine

1 Then Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and my Father takes care of the vineyard. 2 He removes every one of my branches that doesn’t produce fruit. He also prunes every branch that does produce fruit to make it produce more fruit.

3 “You are already clean because of what I have told you. 4 Live in me, and I will live in you. A branch cannot produce any fruit by itself. It has to stay attached to the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit unless you live in me.

5 “I am the vine. You are the branches. Those who live in me while I live in them will produce a lot of fruit. But you can’t produce anything without me. 6 Whoever doesn’t live in me is thrown away like a branch and dries up. Branches like this are gathered, thrown into a fire, and burned. 7 If you live in me and what I say lives in you, then ask for anything you want, and it will be yours. 8 You give glory to my Father when you produce a lot of fruit and therefore show that you are my disciples.

9 “I have loved you the same way the Father has loved me. So live in my love. 10 If you obey my commandments, you will live in my love. I have obeyed my Father’s commandments, and in that way I live in his love. 11 I have told you this so that you will be as joyful as I am, and your joy will be complete. 12 Love each other as I have loved you. This is what I’m commanding you to do. 13 The greatest love you can show is to give your life for your friends. 14 You are my friends if you obey my commandments. 15 I don’t call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn’t know what his master is doing. But I’ve called you friends because I’ve made known to you everything that I’ve heard from my Father. 16 You didn’t choose me, but I chose you. I have appointed you to go, to produce fruit that will last, and to ask the Father in my name to give you whatever you ask for. 17 Love each other. This is what I’m commanding you to do.

18 “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If you had anything in common with the world, the world would love you as one of its own. But you don’t have anything in common with the world. I chose you from the world, and that’s why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant isn’t greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they did what I said, they will also do what you say. 21 Indeed, they will do all this to you because you are committed to me, since they don’t know the one who sent me. 22 If I hadn’t come and spoken to them, they wouldn’t have any sin. But now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 The person who hates me also hates my Father. 24 If I hadn’t done among them what no one else has done, they wouldn’t have any sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 In this way what is written in their Scriptures has come true: ‘They hate me for no reason.’

26 “The helper whom I will send to you from the Father will come. This helper, the Spirit of Truth who comes from the Father, will declare the truth about me. 27 You will declare the truth, too, because you have been with me from the beginning.”

John 16

Sadness Will Turn to Joy

1 Jesus continued, “I have said these things to you so that you won’t lose your faith. 2 You will be thrown out of synagogues. Certainly, the time is coming when people who murder you will think that they are serving God. 3 They will do these things to you because they haven’t known the Father or me. 4 But I’ve told you this so that when it happens you’ll remember what I’ve told you. I didn’t tell you this at first, because I was with you.

5 “Now I’m going to the one who sent me. Yet, none of you asks me where I’m going. 6 But because I’ve told you this, you’re filled with sadness. 7 However, I am telling you the truth: It’s good for you that I’m going away. If I don’t go away, the helper won’t come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 He will come to convict the world of sin, to show the world what has God’s approval, and to convince the world that God judges it. 9 He will convict the world of sin, because people don’t believe in me. 10 He will show the world what has God’s approval, because I’m going to the Father and you won’t see me anymore. 11 He will convince the world that God judges it, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

12 “I have a lot more to tell you, but that would be too much for you now. 13 When the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into the full truth. He won’t speak on his own. He will speak what he hears and will tell you about things to come. 14 He will give me glory, because he will tell you what I say. 15 Everything the Father says is also what I say. That is why I said, ‘He will take what I say and tell it to you.’

16 “In a little while you won’t see me anymore. Then in a little while you will see me again.”

17 Some of his disciples said to each other, “What does he mean? He tells us that in a little while we won’t see him. Then he tells us that in a little while we will see him again and that he’s going to the Father.” 18 So they were asking each other, “What does he mean when he says, ‘In a little while’? We don’t understand what he’s talking about.”

19 Jesus knew they wanted to ask him something. So he said to them, “Are you trying to figure out among yourselves what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you won’t see me, and in a little while you will see me again’? 20 I can guarantee this truth: You will cry because you are sad, but the world will be happy. You will feel pain, but your pain will turn to happiness. 21 A woman has pain when her time to give birth comes. But after the child is born, she doesn’t remember the pain anymore because she’s happy that a child has been brought into the world.

22 “Now you’re in a painful situation. But I will see you again. Then you will be happy, and no one will take that happiness away from you. 23 When that day comes, you won’t ask me any more questions. I can guarantee this truth: If you ask the Father for anything in my name, he will give it to you. 24 So far you haven’t asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive so that you can be completely happy.

25 “I have used examples to illustrate these things. The time is coming when I won’t use examples to speak to you. Rather, I will speak to you about the Father in plain words. 26 When that day comes, you will ask for what you want in my name. I’m telling you that I won’t have to ask the Father for you. 27 The Father loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I left the Father and came into the world. Again, as I’ve said, I’m going to leave the world and go back to the Father.”

29 His disciples said, “Now you’re talking in plain words and not using examples. 30 Now we know that you know everything. You don’t need to wait for questions to be asked. Because of this, we believe that you have come from God.”

31 Jesus replied to them, “Now you believe. 32 The time is coming, and is already here, when all of you will be scattered. Each of you will go your own way and leave me all alone. Yet, I’m not all alone, because the Father is with me. 33 I’ve told you this so that my peace will be with you. In the world you’ll have trouble. But cheer up! I have overcome the world.”

John 17

Jesus Prays for Himself, His Disciples, and His Church

1 After saying this, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the time is here. Give your Son glory so that your Son can give you glory. 2 After all, you’ve given him authority over all humanity so that he can give eternal life to all those you gave to him. 3 This is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent. 4 On earth I have given you glory by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 Now, Father, give me glory in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world existed.

6 “I made your name known to the people you gave me. They are from this world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me. They did what you told them. 7 Now they know that everything you gave me comes from you, 8 because I gave them the message that you gave me. They have accepted this message, and they know for sure that I came from you. They have believed that you sent me.

9 “I pray for them. I’m not praying for the world but for those you gave me, because they are yours. 10 Everything I have is yours, and everything you have is mine. I have been given glory by the people you have given me. 11 I won’t be in the world much longer, but they are in the world, and I’m coming back to you. Holy Father, keep them safe by the power of your name, the name that you gave me, so that their unity may be like ours. 12 While I was with them, I kept them safe by the power of your name, the name that you gave me. I watched over them, and none of them, except one person, became lost. So Scripture came true.

13 “But now, Father, I’m coming back to you. I say these things while I’m still in the world so that they will have the same joy that I have. 14 I have given them your message. But the world has hated them because they don’t belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. 15 I’m not asking you to take them out of the world but to protect them from the evil one. 16 They don’t belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.

17 “Use the truth to make them holy. Your words are truth. 18 I have sent them into the world the same way you sent me into the world. 19 I’m dedicating myself to this holy work I’m doing for them so that they, too, will use the truth to be holy.

20 “I’m not praying only for them. I’m also praying for those who will believe in me through their message. 21 I pray that all of these people continue to have unity in the way that you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they may be united with us so that the world will believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me. I did this so that they are united in the same way we are. 23 I am in them, and you are in me. So they are completely united. In this way the world knows that you have sent me and that you have loved them in the same way you have loved me.

24 “Father, I want those you have given to me to be with me, to be where I am. I want them to see my glory, which you gave me because you loved me before the world was made. 25 Righteous Father, the world didn’t know you. Yet, I knew you, and these disciples have known that you sent me. 26 I have made your name known to them, and I will make it known so that the love you have for me will be in them and I will be in them.”

John 18

Jesus Is Arrested—Matthew 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-52; Luke 22:47-54

1 After Jesus finished his prayer, he went with his disciples to the other side of the Kidron Valley. They entered the garden that was there.

2 Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place because Jesus and his disciples often gathered there. 3 So Judas took a troop of soldiers and the guards from the chief priests and Pharisees and went to the garden. They were carrying lanterns, torches, and weapons.

4 Jesus knew everything that was going to happen to him. So he went to meet them and asked, “Who are you looking for?”

5 They answered him, “Jesus from Nazareth.”

Jesus told them, “I am he.”

Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with the crowd. 6 When Jesus told them, “I am he,” the crowd backed away and fell to the ground.

7 Jesus asked them again, “Who are you looking for?”

They said, “Jesus from Nazareth.”

8 Jesus replied, “I told you that I am he. So if you are looking for me, let these other men go.” 9 In this way what Jesus had said came true: “I lost none of those you gave me.”

10 Simon Peter had a sword. He drew it, attacked the chief priest’s servant, and cut off the servant’s right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)

11 Jesus told Peter, “Put your sword away. Shouldn’t I drink the cup of suffering that my Father has given me?”

12 Then the army officer and the Jewish guards arrested Jesus. They tied Jesus up 13 and took him first to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas. Caiaphas, the chief priest that year, 14 was the person who had advised the Jews that it was better to have one man die for the people.

Peter Denies Jesus—Matthew 26:69-75; Mark 14:66-72; Luke 22:54b-62

15 Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. The other disciple was well-known to the chief priest. So that disciple went with Jesus into the chief priest’s courtyard. 16 Peter, however, was standing outside the gate. The other disciple talked to the woman who was the gatekeeper and brought Peter into the courtyard.

17 The gatekeeper asked Peter, “Aren’t you one of this man’s disciples too?”

Peter answered, “No, I’m not!”

18 The servants and the guards were standing around a fire they had built and were warming themselves because it was cold. Peter was standing there, too, and warming himself with the others.

The Chief Priest Questions Jesus

19 The chief priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teachings.

20 Jesus answered him, “I have spoken publicly for everyone to hear. I have always taught in synagogues or in the temple courtyard, where all the Jews gather. I haven’t said anything in secret. 21 Why do you question me? Question those who heard what I said to them. They know what I’ve said.”

22 When Jesus said this, one of the guards standing near Jesus slapped his face and said, “Is that how you answer the chief priest?”

23 Jesus replied to him, “If I’ve said anything wrong, tell me what it was. But if I’ve told the truth, why do you hit me?”

24 Annas sent Jesus to Caiaphas, the chief priest. Jesus was still tied up.

Peter Denies Jesus Again—Matthew 26:69-75; Mark 14:66-72; Luke 22:54-62

25 Simon Peter continued to stand and warm himself by the fire. Some men asked him, “Aren’t you, too, one of his disciples?”

Peter denied it by saying, “No, I’m not!”

26 One of the chief priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked him, “Didn’t I see you with Jesus in the garden?”

27 Peter again denied it, and just then a rooster crowed.

Pilate Questions Jesus—Matthew 27:11-14; Mark 15:1-5; Luke 23:1-4

28 Early in the morning, Jesus was taken from Caiaphas’ house to the governor’s palace.

The Jews wouldn’t go into the palace. They didn’t want to become unclean, since they wanted to eat the Passover. 29 So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What accusation are you making against this man?”

30 The Jews answered Pilate, “If he weren’t a criminal, we wouldn’t have handed him over to you.”

31 Pilate told the Jews, “Take him, and try him by your law.”

The Jews answered him, “We’re not allowed to execute anyone.” 32 In this way what Jesus had predicted about how he would die came true.

33 Pilate went back into the palace, called for Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

34 Jesus replied, “Did you think of that yourself, or did others tell you about me?”

35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own people and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?”

36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom doesn’t belong to this world. If my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. My kingdom doesn’t have its origin on earth.”

37 Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?”

Jesus replied, “You’re correct in saying that I’m a king. I have been born and have come into the world for this reason: to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to me.”

38 Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

After Pilate said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, “I don’t find this man guilty of anything. 39 You have a custom that I should free one person for you at Passover. Would you like me to free the king of the Jews for you?”

40 The Jews shouted again, “Don’t free this man! Free Barabbas!” (Barabbas was a political revolutionary.)

John 19

The Soldiers Make Fun of Jesus—Matthew 27:27-30; Mark 15:16-19

1 Then Pilate had Jesus taken away and whipped. 2 The soldiers twisted some thorny branches into a crown, placed it on his head, and put a purple cape on him. 3 They went up to him, said, “Long live the king of the Jews!” and slapped his face.

The People Want Jesus Crucified

4 Pilate went outside again and told the Jews, “I’m bringing him out to you to let you know that I don’t find this man guilty of anything.” 5 Jesus went outside. He was wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cape. Pilate said to the Jews, “Look, here’s the man!”

6 When the chief priests and the guards saw Jesus, they shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

Pilate told them, “You take him and crucify him. I don’t find this man guilty of anything.”

7 The Jews answered Pilate, “We have a law, and by that law he must die because he claimed to be the Son of God.”

8 When Pilate heard them say that, he became more afraid than ever. 9 He went into the palace again and asked Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus didn’t answer him.

10 So Pilate said to Jesus, “Aren’t you going to answer me? Don’t you know that I have the authority to free you or to crucify you?”

11 Jesus answered Pilate, “You wouldn’t have any authority over me if it hadn’t been given to you from above. That’s why the man who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

12 When Pilate heard what Jesus said, he wanted to free him. But the Jews shouted, “If you free this man, you’re not a friend of the emperor. Anyone who claims to be a king is defying the emperor.”

13 When Pilate heard what they said, he took Jesus outside and sat on the judge’s seat in a place called Stone Pavement. (In Hebrew it is called Gabbatha.) 14 The time was about six o’clock in the morning on the Friday of the Passover festival.

Pilate said to the Jews, “Look, here’s your king!”

15 Then the Jews shouted, “Kill him! Kill him! Crucify him!”

Pilate asked them, “Should I crucify your king?”

The chief priests responded, “The emperor is the only king we have!”

16 Then Pilate handed Jesus over to them to be crucified.

The Crucifixion—Matthew 27:31-44; Mark 15:20-32; Luke 23:26-38

So the soldiers took Jesus. 17 He carried his own cross and went out of the city to a location called The Skull. (In Hebrew this place is called Golgotha.) 18 The soldiers crucified Jesus and two other men there. Jesus was in the middle.

19 Pilate wrote a notice and put it on the cross. The notice read, “Jesus from Nazareth, the king of the Jews.” 20 Many Jews read this notice, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city. The notice was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.

21 The chief priests of the Jewish people told Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The king of the Jews!’ Instead, write, ‘He said that he is the king of the Jews.’”

22 Pilate replied, “I have written what I’ve written.”

23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them four ways so that each soldier could have a share. His robe was left over. It didn’t have a seam because it had been woven in one piece from top to bottom. 24 The soldiers said to each other, “Let’s not rip it apart. Let’s throw dice to see who will get it.” In this way the Scripture came true: “They divided my clothes among themselves. They threw dice for my clothing.” So that’s what the soldiers did.

25 Jesus’ mother, her sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary from Magdala were standing beside Jesus’ cross. 26 Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing there. He said to his mother, “Look, here’s your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Look, here’s your mother!”

From that time on she lived with that disciple in his home.

Jesus Dies on the Cross—Matthew 27:45-56; Mark 15:33-41; Luke 23:44-49

28 After this, when Jesus knew that everything had now been finished, he said, “I’m thirsty.” He said this so that Scripture could finally be concluded.

29 A jar filled with vinegar was there. So the soldiers put a sponge soaked in the vinegar on a hyssop stick and held it to his mouth.

30 After Jesus had taken the vinegar, he said, “It is finished!”

Then he bowed his head and died.

31 Since it was Friday and the next day was an especially important day of worship, the Jews didn’t want the bodies to stay on the crosses. So they asked Pilate to have the men’s legs broken and their bodies removed. 32 The soldiers broke the legs of the first man and then of the other man who had been crucified with Jesus.

33 When the soldiers came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they didn’t break his legs. 34 However, one of the soldiers stabbed Jesus’ side with his spear, and blood and water immediately came out. 35 The one who saw this is an eyewitness. What he says is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth so that you, too, will believe.

36 This happened so that the Scripture would come true: “None of his bones will be broken.” 37 Another Scripture passage says, “They will look at the person whom they have stabbed.”

Jesus Is Buried—Matthew 27:57-61; Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-56

38 Later Joseph from the city of Arimathea asked Pilate to let him remove Jesus’ body. (Joseph was a disciple of Jesus but secretly because he was afraid of the Jews). Pilate gave him permission to remove Jesus’ body. So Joseph removed it. 39 Nicodemus, the one who had first come to Jesus at night, went with Joseph and brought 75 pounds of a myrrh and aloe mixture.

40 These two men took the body of Jesus and bound it with strips of linen. They laced the strips with spices. This was the Jewish custom for burial.

41 A garden was located in the place where Jesus was crucified. In that garden was a new tomb in which no one had yet been placed. 42 Joseph and Nicodemus put Jesus in that tomb, since that day was the Jewish day of preparation and since the tomb was nearby.

08/20 Plunge! John 1-8

10/03/10

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John 1

The Word Becomes Human

1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was already with God in the beginning.

3 Everything came into existence through him. Not one thing that exists was made without him.

4 He was the source of life, and that life was the light for humanity.

5 The light shines in the dark, and the dark has never extinguished it.

6 God sent a man named John to be his messenger. 7 John came to declare the truth about the light so that everyone would become believers through his message. 8 John was not the light, but he came to declare the truth about the light.

9 The real light, which shines on everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world came into existence through him. Yet, the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He went to his own people, and his own people didn’t accept him. 12 However, he gave the right to become God’s children to everyone who believed in him. 13 These people didn’t become God’s children in a physical way—from a human impulse or from a husband’s desire to have a child. They were born from God.

14 The Word became human and lived among us. We saw his glory. It was the glory that the Father shares with his only Son, a glory full of kindness and truth.

15 (John declared the truth about him when he said loudly, “This is the person about whom I said, ‘The one who comes after me was before me because he existed before I did.’”)

16 Each of us has received one gift after another because of all that the Word is. 17 The Teachings were given through Moses, but kindness and truth came into existence through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. God’s only Son, the one who is closest to the Father’s heart, has made him known.

John Prepares the Way—Matthew 3:1-12; Mark 1:1-8; Luke 3:1-18

19 This was John’s answer when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 John didn’t refuse to answer. He told them clearly, “I’m not the Messiah.”

21 They asked him, “Well, are you Elijah?”

John answered, “No, I’m not.”

Then they asked, “Are you the prophet?”

John replied, “No.”

22 So they asked him, “Who are you? Tell us so that we can take an answer back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

23 John said, “I’m a voice crying out in the desert, ‘Make the way for the Lord straight,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

24 Some of those who had been sent were Pharisees. 25 They asked John, “Why do you baptize if you’re not the Messiah or Elijah or the prophet?”

26 John answered them, “I baptize with water. Someone you don’t know is standing among you. 27 He’s the one who comes after me. I am not worthy to untie his sandal strap.”

28 This happened in Bethany on the east side of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing.

John Identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God

29 John saw Jesus coming toward him the next day and said, “Look! This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 30 He is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘A man who comes after me was before me because he existed before I did.’ 31 I didn’t know who he was. However, I came to baptize with water to show him to the people of Israel.”

32 John said, “I saw the Spirit come down as a dove from heaven and stay on him. 33 I didn’t know who he was. But God, who sent me to baptize with water, had told me, ‘When you see the Spirit come down and stay on someone, you’ll know that person is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen this and have declared that this is the Son of God.”

Calling of the First Disciples

35 The next day John was standing with two of his disciples. 36 John saw Jesus walk by. John said, “Look! This is the Lamb of God.” 37 When the two disciples heard John say this, they followed Jesus.

38 Jesus turned around and saw them following him. He asked them, “What are you looking for?”

They said to him, “Rabbi” (which means “teacher”), “where are you staying?”

39 Jesus told them, “Come, and you will see.” So they went to see where he was staying and spent the rest of that day with him. It was about ten o’clock in the morning.

40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two disciples who heard John and followed Jesus. 41 Andrew at once found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”). 42 Andrew brought Simon to Jesus.

Jesus looked at Simon and said, “You are Simon, son of John. Your name will be Cephas” (which means “Peter”).

43 The next day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee. He found Philip and told him, “Follow me!” 44 (Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter.)

45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the man whom Moses wrote about in his teachings and whom the prophets wrote about. He is Jesus, son of Joseph, from the city of Nazareth.”

46 Nathanael said to Philip, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

Philip told him, “Come and see!”

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and remarked, “Here is a true Israelite who is sincere.”

48 Nathanael asked Jesus, “How do you know anything about me?”

Jesus answered him, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

49 Nathanael said to Jesus, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the king of Israel!”

50 Jesus replied, “You believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 Jesus said to Nathanael, “I can guarantee this truth: You will see the sky open and God’s angels going up and coming down to the Son of Man.”

John 2

Jesus Changes Water Into Wine

1 Three days later a wedding took place in the city of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there. 2 Jesus and his disciples had been invited too.

3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They’re out of wine.”

4 Jesus said to her, “Why did you come to me? My time has not yet come.”

5 His mother told the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.”

6 Six stone water jars were there. They were used for Jewish purification rituals. Each jar held 18 to 27 gallons.

7 Jesus told the servers, “Fill the jars with water.” The servers filled the jars to the brim. 8 Jesus said to them, “Pour some, and take it to the person in charge.” The servers did as they were told.

9 The person in charge tasted the water that had become wine. He didn’t know where it had come from, although the servers who had poured the water knew. The person in charge called the groom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the best wine first. When people are drunk, the host serves cheap wine. But you have saved the best wine for now.”

11 Cana in Galilee was the place where Jesus began to perform miracles. He made his glory public there, and his disciples believed in him.

12 After this, Jesus, his mother, brothers, and disciples went to the city of Capernaum and stayed there for a few days.

Jesus Throws Merchants and Moneychangers Out of the Temple Courtyard

13 The Jewish Passover was near, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. 14 He found those who were selling cattle, sheep, and pigeons in the temple courtyard. He also found moneychangers sitting there. 15 He made a whip from small ropes and threw everyone with their sheep and cattle out of the temple courtyard. He dumped the moneychangers’ coins and knocked over their tables.

16 He told those who sold pigeons, “Pick up this stuff, and get it out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!”

17 His disciples remembered that Scripture said, “Devotion for your house will consume me.”

18 The Jews reacted by asking Jesus, “What miracle can you show us to justify what you’re doing?”

19 Jesus replied, “Tear down this temple, and I’ll rebuild it in three days.”

20 The Jews said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple. Do you really think you’re going to rebuild it in three days?”

21 But the temple Jesus spoke about was his own body. 22 After he came back to life, his disciples remembered that he had said this. So they believed the Scripture and this statement that Jesus had made.

23 While Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover festival, many people believed in him because they saw the miracles that he performed. 24 Jesus, however, was wary of these believers. He understood people 25 and didn’t need anyone to tell him about human nature. He knew what people were really like.

John 3

A Conversation With Nicodemus

1 Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish council. 2 He came to Jesus one night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that God has sent you as a teacher. No one can perform the miracles you perform unless God is with him.”

3 Jesus replied to Nicodemus, “I can guarantee this truth: No one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”

4 Nicodemus asked him, “How can anyone be born when he’s an old man? He can’t go back inside his mother a second time to be born, can he?”

5 Jesus answered Nicodemus, “I can guarantee this truth: No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh and blood give birth to flesh and blood, but the Spirit gives birth to things that are spiritual. 7 Don’t be surprised when I tell you that all of you must be born from above. 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you don’t know where the wind comes from or where it’s going. That’s the way it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

9 Nicodemus replied, “How can that be?”

10 Jesus told Nicodemus, “You’re a well-known teacher of Israel. Can’t you understand this? 11 I can guarantee this truth: We know what we’re talking about, and we confirm what we’ve seen. Yet, you don’t accept our message. 12 If you don’t believe me when I tell you about things on earth, how will you believe me when I tell you about things in heaven? 13 No one has gone to heaven except the Son of Man, who came from heaven.

14 “As Moses lifted up the snake on a pole in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up. 15 Then everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.”

16 God loved the world this way: He gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but to save the world. 18 Those who believe in him won’t be condemned. But those who don’t believe are already condemned because they don’t believe in God’s only Son.

19 This is why people are condemned: The light came into the world. Yet, people loved the dark rather than the light because their actions were evil. 20 People who do what is wrong hate the light and don’t come to the light. They don’t want their actions to be exposed. 21 But people who do what is true come to the light so that the things they do for God may be clearly seen.

John the Baptizer Talks About Christ

22 Later, Jesus and his disciples went to the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them and baptized people. 23 John was baptizing in Aenon, near Salim. Water was plentiful there. (People came to John to be baptized, 24 since John had not yet been put in prison.)

25 Some of John’s disciples had an argument with a Jew about purification ceremonies. 26 So they went to John and asked him, “Rabbi, do you remember the man you spoke so favorably about when he was with you on the other side of the Jordan River? Well, he’s baptizing, and everyone is going to him!”

27 John answered, “People can’t receive anything unless it has been given to them from heaven. 28 You are witnesses that I said, ‘I’m not the Messiah, but I’ve been sent ahead of him.’

29 “The groom is the person to whom the bride belongs. The best man, who stands and listens to him, is overjoyed when the groom speaks. This is the joy that I feel. 30 He must increase in importance, while I must decrease in importance.

31 “The person who comes from above is superior to everyone. I, a person from the earth, know nothing but what is on earth, and that’s all I can talk about. The person who comes from heaven is superior to everyone 32 and tells what he has seen and heard. Yet, no one accepts what he says. 33 I have accepted what that person said, and I have affirmed that God is truthful. 34 The man whom God has sent speaks God’s message. After all, God gives him the Spirit without limit. 35 The Father loves his Son and has put everything in his power. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, he will see God’s constant anger.”

John 4

A Samaritan Woman Meets Jesus at a Well

1 Jesus knew that the Pharisees had heard that he was making and baptizing more disciples than John. 2 (Actually, Jesus was not baptizing people. His disciples were.) 3 So he left the Judean countryside and went back to Galilee.

4 Jesus had to go through Samaria. 5 He arrived at a city in Samaria called Sychar. Sychar was near the piece of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s Well was there. Jesus sat down by the well because he was tired from traveling. The time was about six o’clock in the evening.

7 A Samaritan woman went to get some water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink of water.” 8 (His disciples had gone into the city to buy some food.)

9 The Samaritan woman asked him, “How can a Jewish man like you ask a Samaritan woman like me for a drink of water?” (Jews, of course, don’t associate with Samaritans.)

10 Jesus replied to her, “If you only knew what God’s gift is and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked him for a drink. He would have given you living water.”

11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you don’t have anything to use to get water, and the well is deep. So where are you going to get this living water? 12 You’re not more important than our ancestor Jacob, are you? He gave us this well. He and his sons and his animals drank water from it.”

13 Jesus answered her, “Everyone who drinks this water will become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water that I will give them will never become thirsty again. In fact, the water I will give them will become in them a spring that gushes up to eternal life.”

15 The woman told Jesus, “Sir, give me this water! Then I won’t get thirsty or have to come here to get water.”

16 Jesus told her, “Go to your husband, and bring him here.”

17 The woman replied, “I don’t have a husband.”

Jesus told her, “You’re right when you say that you don’t have a husband. 18 You’ve had five husbands, and the man you have now isn’t your husband. You’ve told the truth.”

19 The woman said to Jesus, “I see that you’re a prophet! 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain. But you Jews say that people must worship in Jerusalem.”

21 Jesus told her, “Believe me. A time is coming when you Samaritans won’t be worshiping the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You don’t know what you’re worshiping. We Jews know what we’re worshiping, because salvation comes from the Jews. 23 Indeed, the time is coming, and it is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. The Father is looking for people like that to worship him. 24 God is a spirit. Those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

25 The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming. When he comes, he will tell us everything.” (Messiah is the one called Christ.)

26 Jesus told her, “I am he, and I am speaking to you now.”

27 At that time his disciples returned. They were surprised that he was talking to a woman. But none of them asked him, “What do you want from her?” or “Why are you talking to her?”

28 Then the woman left her water jar and went back into the city. She told the people, 29 “Come with me, and meet a man who told me everything I’ve ever done. Could he be the Messiah?” 30 The people left the city and went to meet Jesus.

31 Meanwhile, the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, have something to eat.”

32 Jesus told them, “I have food to eat that you don’t know about.”

33 The disciples asked each other, “Did someone bring him something to eat?”

34 Jesus told them, “My food is to do what the one who sent me wants me to do and to finish the work he has given me.

35 “Don’t you say, ‘In four more months the harvest will be here’? I’m telling you to look and see that the fields are ready to be harvested. 36 The person who harvests the crop is already getting paid. He is gathering grain for eternal life. So the person who plants the grain and the person who harvests it are happy together. 37 In this respect the saying is true: ‘One person plants, and another person harvests.’ 38 I have sent you to harvest a crop you have not worked for. Other people have done the hard work, and you have followed them in their work.”

39 Many Samaritans in that city believed in Jesus because of the woman who said, “He told me everything I’ve ever done.” 40 So when the Samaritans went to Jesus, they asked him to stay with them. He stayed in Samaria for two days. 41 Many more Samaritans believed because of what Jesus said. 42 They told the woman, “Our faith is no longer based on what you’ve said. We have heard him ourselves, and we know that he really is the savior of the world.”

A Believing Official—Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10

43 After spending two days in Samaria, Jesus left for Galilee. 44 Jesus had said that a prophet is not honored in his own country. 45 But when Jesus arrived in Galilee, the people of Galilee welcomed him. They had seen everything he had done at the festival in Jerusalem, since they, too, had attended the festival.

46 Jesus returned to the city of Cana in Galilee, where he had changed water into wine. A government official was in Cana. His son was sick in Capernaum. 47 The official heard that Jesus had returned from Judea to Galilee. So he went to Jesus and asked him to go to Capernaum with him to heal his son who was about to die.

48 Jesus told the official, “If people don’t see miracles and amazing things, they won’t believe.”

49 The official said to him, “Sir, come with me before my little boy dies.”

50 Jesus told him, “Go home. Your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus told him and left.

51 While the official was on his way to Capernaum, his servants met him and told him that his boy was alive. 52 The official asked them at what time his son got better. His servants told him, “The fever left him yesterday evening at seven o’clock.” 53 Then the boy’s father realized that it was the same time that Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.” So the official and his entire family became believers.

54 This was the second miracle that Jesus performed after he had come back from Judea to Galilee.

John 5

Jesus Cures a Man at the Bethesda Pool

1 Later, Jesus went to Jerusalem for a Jewish festival.

2 Near Sheep Gate in Jerusalem was a pool called Bethesda in Hebrew. It had five porches. 3 Under these porches a large number of sick people—people who were blind, lame, or paralyzed—used to lie. 5 One man, who had been sick for 38 years, was lying there. 6 Jesus saw the man lying there and knew that he had been sick for a long time. So Jesus asked the man, “Would you like to get well?”

7 The sick man answered Jesus, “Sir, I don’t have anyone to put me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I’m trying to get there, someone else steps into the pool ahead of me.”

8 Jesus told the man, “Get up, pick up your cot, and walk.” 9 The man immediately became well, picked up his cot, and walked.

That happened on a day of worship. 10 So the Jews told the man who had been healed, “This is a day of worship. You’re not allowed to carry your cot today.”

11 The man replied, “The man who made me well told me to pick up my cot and walk.”

12 The Jews asked him, “Who is the man who told you to pick it up and walk?” 13 But the man who had been healed didn’t know who Jesus was. (Jesus had withdrawn from the crowd.)

14 Later, Jesus met the man in the temple courtyard and told him, “You’re well now. Stop sinning so that something worse doesn’t happen to you.”

15 The man went back to the Jews and told them that Jesus was the man who had made him well.

The Son Is Equal to the Father

16 The Jews began to persecute Jesus because he kept healing people on the day of worship. 17 Jesus replied to them, “My Father is working right now, and so am I.”

18 His reply made the Jews more intent on killing him. Not only did he break the laws about the day of worship, but also he made himself equal to God when he said repeatedly that God was his Father.

19 Jesus said to the Jews, “I can guarantee this truth: The Son cannot do anything on his own. He can do only what he sees the Father doing. Indeed, the Son does exactly what the Father does. 20 The Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. The Father will show him even greater things to do than these things so that you will be amazed. 21 In the same way that the Father brings back the dead and gives them life, the Son gives life to anyone he chooses.

22 “The Father doesn’t judge anyone. He has entrusted judgment entirely to the Son 23 so that everyone will honor the Son as they honor the Father. Whoever doesn’t honor the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him. 24 I can guarantee this truth: Those who listen to what I say and believe in the one who sent me will have eternal life. They won’t be judged because they have already passed from death to life.

25 “I can guarantee this truth: A time is coming (and is now here) when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who respond to it will live. 26 The Father is the source of life, and he has enabled the Son to be the source of life too.

27 “He has also given the Son authority to pass judgment because he is the Son of Man. 28 Don’t be surprised at what I’ve just said. A time is coming when all the dead will hear his voice, 29 and they will come out of their tombs. Those who have done good will come back to life and live. But those who have done evil will come back to life and will be judged. 30 I can’t do anything on my own. As I listen to the Father, I make my judgments. My judgments are right because I don’t try to do what I want but what the one who sent me wants.

31 “If I testify on my own behalf, what I say isn’t true. 32 Someone else testifies on my behalf, and I know that what he says about me is true. 33 You sent people to John the Baptizer, and he testified to the truth. 34 But I don’t depend on human testimony. I’m telling you this to save you. 35 John was a lamp that gave off brilliant light. For a time you enjoyed the pleasure of his light. 36 But I have something that testifies more favorably on my behalf than John’s testimony. The tasks that the Father gave me to carry out, these tasks which I perform, testify on my behalf. They prove that the Father has sent me. 37 The Father who sent me testifies on my behalf. You have never heard his voice, and you have never seen his form. 38 So you don’t have the Father’s message within you, because you don’t believe in the person he has sent. 39 You study the Scriptures in detail because you think you have the source of eternal life in them. These Scriptures testify on my behalf. 40 Yet, you don’t want to come to me to get eternal life.

41 “I don’t accept praise from humans. 42 But I know what kind of people you are. You don’t have any love for God. 43 I have come with the authority my Father has given me, but you don’t accept me. If someone else comes with his own authority, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe when you accept each other’s praise and don’t look for the praise that comes from the only God?

45 “Don’t think that I will accuse you in the presence of the Father. Moses, the one you trust, is already accusing you. 46 If you really believed Moses, you would believe me. Moses wrote about me. 47 If you don’t believe what Moses wrote, how will you ever believe what I say?”

John 6

Jesus Feeds More Than Five Thousand—Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17

1 Jesus later crossed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or the Sea of Tiberias). 2 A large crowd followed him because they saw the miracles that he performed for the sick. 3 Jesus went up a mountain and sat with his disciples. 4 The time for the Jewish Passover festival was near.

5 As Jesus saw a large crowd coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 Jesus asked this question to test him. He already knew what he was going to do.

7 Philip answered, “We would need about a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each of them to have a piece.”

8 One of Jesus’ disciples, Andrew, who was Simon Peter’s brother, told him, 9 “A boy who has five loaves of barley bread and two small fish is here. But they won’t go very far for so many people.”

10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.”

The people had plenty of grass to sit on. (There were about 5,000 men in the crowd.)

11 Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to the people who were sitting there. He did the same thing with the fish. All the people ate as much as they wanted.

12 When the people were full, Jesus told his disciples, “Gather the leftover pieces so that nothing will be wasted.” 13 The disciples gathered the leftover pieces of bread and filled twelve baskets.

14 When the people saw the miracle Jesus performed, they said, “This man is certainly the prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Jesus realized that the people intended to take him by force and make him king. So he returned to the mountain by himself.

Jesus Walks on the Sea—Matthew 14:22-33; Mark 6:45-52

16 When evening came, his disciples went to the sea. 17 They got into a boat and started to cross the sea to the city of Capernaum. By this time it was dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 A strong wind started to blow and stir up the sea.

19 After they had rowed three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea. He was coming near the boat, and they became terrified.

20 Jesus told them, “It’s me. Don’t be afraid!”

21 So they were willing to help Jesus into the boat. Immediately, the boat reached the shore where they were going.

Jesus Is the Bread of Life

22 On the next day the people were still on the other side of the sea. They noticed that only one boat was there and that Jesus had not stepped into that boat with his disciples. The disciples had gone away without him. 23 Other boats from Tiberias arrived near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord gave thanks. 24 When the people saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into these boats and went to the city of Capernaum to look for Jesus. 25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

26 Jesus replied to them, “I can guarantee this truth: You’re not looking for me because you saw miracles. You are looking for me because you ate as much of those loaves as you wanted. 27 Don’t work for food that spoils. Instead, work for the food that lasts into eternal life. This is the food the Son of Man will give you. After all, the Father has placed his seal of approval on him.”

28 The people asked Jesus, “What does God want us to do?”

29 Jesus replied to them, “God wants to do something for you so that you believe in the one whom he has sent.”

30 The people asked him, “What miracle are you going to perform so that we can see it and believe in you? What are you going to do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the desert. Scripture says, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

32 Jesus said to them, “I can guarantee this truth: Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 God’s bread is the man who comes from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread all the time.”

35 Jesus told them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never become hungry, and whoever believes in me will never become thirsty. 36 I’ve told you that you have seen me. However, you don’t believe in me. 37 Everyone whom the Father gives me will come to me. I will never turn away anyone who comes to me. 38 I haven’t come from heaven to do what I want to do. I’ve come to do what the one who sent me wants me to do. 39 The one who sent me doesn’t want me to lose any of those he gave me. He wants me to bring them back to life on the last day. 40 My Father wants all those who see the Son and believe in him to have eternal life. He wants me to bring them back to life on the last day.”

41 The Jews began to criticize Jesus for saying, “I am the bread that came from heaven.” 42 They asked, “Isn’t this man Jesus, Joseph’s son? Don’t we know his father and mother? How can he say now, ‘I came from heaven’?”

43 Jesus responded, “Stop criticizing me! 44 People cannot come to me unless the Father who sent me brings them to me. I will bring these people back to life on the last day. 45 The prophets wrote, ‘God will teach everyone.’ Those who do what they have learned from the Father come to me. 46 I’m saying that no one has seen the Father. Only the one who is from God has seen the Father. 47 I can guarantee this truth: Every believer has eternal life.

48 “I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert and died. 50 This is the bread that comes from heaven so that whoever eats it won’t die. 51 I am the living bread that came from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. The bread I will give to bring life to the world is my flesh.”

52 The Jews began to quarrel with each other. They said, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

53 Jesus told them, “I can guarantee this truth: If you don’t eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you don’t have the source of life in you. 54 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will bring them back to life on the last day. 55 My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood live in me, and I live in them. 57 The Father who has life sent me, and I live because of the Father. So those who feed on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came from heaven. It is not like the bread your ancestors ate. They eventually died. Those who eat this bread will live forever.”

59 Jesus said this while he was teaching in a synagogue in Capernaum. 60 When many of Jesus’ disciples heard him, they said, “What he says is hard to accept. Who wants to listen to him anymore?”

61 Jesus was aware that his disciples were criticizing his message. So Jesus asked them, “Did what I say make you lose faith? 62 What if you see the Son of Man go where he was before? 63 Life is spiritual. Your physical existence doesn’t contribute to that life. The words that I have spoken to you are spiritual. They are life. 64 But some of you don’t believe.” Jesus knew from the beginning those who wouldn’t believe and the one who would betray him. 65 So he added, “That is why I told you that people cannot come to me unless the Father provides the way.”

66 Jesus’ speech made many of his disciples go back to the lives they had led before they followed Jesus. 67 So Jesus asked the twelve apostles, “Do you want to leave me too?”

68 Simon Peter answered Jesus, “Lord, to what person could we go? Your words give eternal life. 69 Besides, we believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

70 Jesus replied, “I chose all twelve of you. Yet, one of you is a devil.” 71 Jesus meant Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. Judas, who was one of the twelve apostles, would later betray Jesus.

John 7

Jesus Goes to the Festival of Booths

1 Jesus later traveled throughout Galilee. He didn’t want to travel in Judea because Jews there wanted to kill him.

2 The time for the Jewish Festival of Booths was near. 3 So Jesus’ brothers told him, “Leave this place, and go to Judea so that your disciples can see the things that you’re doing. 4 No one does things secretly when he wants to be known publicly. If you do these things, you should let the world see you.” 5 Even his brothers didn’t believe in him.

6 Jesus told them, “Now is not the right time for me to go. Any time is right for you. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I say that what everyone does is evil. 8 Go to the festival. I’m not going to this festival right now. Now is not the right time for me to go.”

9 After saying this, Jesus stayed in Galilee. 10 But after his brothers had gone to the festival, Jesus went. He didn’t go publicly but secretly.

11 The Jews were looking for Jesus in the crowd at the festival. They kept asking, “Where is that man?” 12 The crowds argued about Jesus. Some people said, “He’s a good man,” while others said, “No he isn’t. He deceives the people.” 13 Yet, no one would talk openly about him because they were afraid of the Jews.

14 When the festival was half over, Jesus went to the temple courtyard and began to teach. 15 The Jews were surprised and asked, “How can this man be so educated when he hasn’t gone to school?”

16 Jesus responded to them, “What I teach doesn’t come from me but from the one who sent me. 17 Those who want to follow the will of God will know if what I teach is from God or if I teach my own thoughts. 18 Those who speak their own thoughts are looking for their own glory. But the man who wants to bring glory to the one who sent him is a true teacher and doesn’t have dishonest motives. 19 Didn’t Moses give you his teachings? Yet, none of you does what Moses taught you. So why do you want to kill me?”

20 The crowd answered, “You’re possessed by a demon! Who wants to kill you?”

21 Jesus answered them, “I performed one miracle, and all of you are surprised by it. 22 Moses gave you the teaching about circumcision (although it didn’t come from Moses but from our ancestors). So you circumcise a male on a day of worship. 23 If you circumcise a male on the day of worship to follow Moses’ Teachings, why are you angry with me because I made a man entirely well on the day of worship? 24 Stop judging by outward appearance! Instead, judge correctly.”

25 Some of the people who lived in Jerusalem said, “Isn’t this the man they want to kill? 26 But look at this! He’s speaking in public, and no one is saying anything to him! Can it be that the rulers really know that this man is the Messiah? 27 However, we know where this man comes from. When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.”

28 Then, while Jesus was teaching in the temple courtyard, he said loudly, “You know me, and you know where I come from. I didn’t decide to come on my own. The one who sent me is true. He’s the one you don’t know. 29 I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”

30 The Jews tried to arrest him but couldn’t because his time had not yet come.

31 However, many people in the crowd believed in him. They asked, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more miracles than this man has?”

32 The Pharisees heard the crowd saying things like this about him. So the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest Jesus.

33 Jesus said, “I will still be with you for a little while. Then I’ll go to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you won’t find me. You can’t go where I’m going.”

35 The Jews said among themselves, “Where does this man intend to go so that we won’t find him? Does he mean that he’ll live with the Jews who are scattered among the Greeks and that he’ll teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean when he says, ‘You will look for me, but you won’t find me,’ and ‘You can’t go where I’m going’?”

37 On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus was standing in the temple courtyard. He said loudly, “Whoever is thirsty must come to me to drink. 38 As Scripture says, ‘Streams of living water will flow from deep within the person who believes in me.’” 39 Jesus said this about the Spirit, whom his believers would receive. The Spirit was not yet evident, as it would be after Jesus had been glorified.

40 After some of the crowd heard Jesus say these words, they said, “This man is certainly the prophet.” 41 Other people said, “This man is the Messiah.” Still other people asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 Doesn’t Scripture say that the Messiah will come from the descendants of David and from the village of Bethlehem, where David lived?” 43 So the people were divided because of Jesus. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but they couldn’t.

45 When the temple guards returned, the chief priests and Pharisees asked them, “Why didn’t you bring Jesus?”

46 The temple guards answered, “No human has ever spoken like this man.”

47 The Pharisees asked the temple guards, “Have you been deceived too? 48 Has any ruler or any Pharisee believed in him? 49 This crowd is cursed because it doesn’t know Moses’ Teachings.”

50 One of those Pharisees was Nicodemus, who had previously visited Jesus. Nicodemus asked them, 51 “Do Moses’ Teachings enable us to judge a person without first hearing that person’s side of the story? We can’t judge a person without finding out what that person has done.”

52 They asked Nicodemus, “Are you saying this because you’re from Galilee? Study the Scriptures, and you’ll see that no prophet comes from Galilee.”

53 Then each of them went home.

John 8

A Woman Caught in Adultery

1 Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early the next morning he returned to the temple courtyard. All the people went to him, so he sat down and began to teach them.

3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught committing adultery. They made her stand in front of everyone 4 and asked Jesus, “Teacher, we caught this woman in the act of adultery. 5 In his teachings, Moses ordered us to stone women like this to death. What do you say?” 6 They asked this to test him. They wanted to find a reason to bring charges against him.

Jesus bent down and used his finger to write on the ground. 7 When they persisted in asking him questions, he straightened up and said, “The person who is sinless should be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Then he bent down again and continued writing on the ground.

9 One by one, beginning with the older men, the scribes and Pharisees left. Jesus was left alone with the woman. 10 Then Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Where did they go? Has anyone condemned you?”

11 The woman answered, “No one, sir.”

Jesus said, “I don’t condemn you either. Go! From now on don’t sin.”

Jesus Speaks With the Pharisees About His Father

12 Jesus spoke to the Pharisees again. He said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will have a life filled with light and will never live in the dark.”

13 The Pharisees said to him, “You testify on your own behalf, so your testimony isn’t true.”

14 Jesus replied to them, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is true because I know where I came from and where I’m going. However, you don’t know where I came from or where I’m going. 15 You judge the way humans do. I don’t judge anyone. 16 Even if I do judge, my judgment is valid because I don’t make it on my own. I make my judgment with the Father who sent me. 17 Your own teachings say that the testimony of two people is true. 18 I testify on my own behalf, and so does the Father who sent me.”

19 The Pharisees asked him, “Where is your father?”

Jesus replied, “You don’t know me or my Father. If you knew me, you would also know my Father.”

20 Jesus spoke these words while he was teaching in the treasury area of the temple courtyard. No one arrested him, because his time had not yet come.

21 Jesus spoke to the Pharisees again. He said, “I’m going away, and you’ll look for me. But you will die because of your sin. You can’t go where I’m going.”

22 Then the Jews asked, “Is he going to kill himself? Is that what he means when he says, ‘You can’t go where I’m going’?”

23 Jesus said to them, “You’re from below. I’m from above. You’re from this world. I’m not from this world. 24 For this reason I told you that you’ll die because of your sins. If you don’t believe that I am the one, you’ll die because of your sins.”

25 The Jews asked him, “Who did you say you are?”

Jesus told them, “I am who I said I was from the beginning. 26 I have a lot I could say about you and a lot I could condemn you for. But the one who sent me is true. So I tell the world exactly what he has told me.” 27 (The Jews didn’t know that he was talking to them about the Father.)

28 So Jesus told them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you’ll know that I am the one and that I can’t do anything on my own. Instead, I speak as the Father taught me. 29 Besides, the one who sent me is with me. He hasn’t left me by myself. I always do what pleases him.”

30 As Jesus was saying this, many people believed in him. 31 So Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him, “If you live by what I say, you are truly my disciples. 32 You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

33 They replied to Jesus, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and we’ve never been anyone’s slaves. So how can you say that we will be set free?”

34 Jesus answered them, “I can guarantee this truth: Whoever lives a sinful life is a slave to sin. 35 A slave doesn’t live in the home forever, but a son does. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be absolutely free. 37 I know that you’re Abraham’s descendants. However, you want to kill me because you don’t like what I’m saying. 38 What I’m saying is what I have seen in my Father’s presence. But you do what you’ve heard from your father.”

39 The Jews replied to Jesus, “Abraham is our father.”

Jesus told them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do what Abraham did. 40 I am a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. But now you want to kill me. Abraham wouldn’t have done that. 41 You’re doing what your father does.”

The Jews said to Jesus, “We’re not illegitimate children. God is our only Father.”

42 Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would love me. After all, I’m here, and I came from God. I didn’t come on my own. Instead, God sent me. 43 Why don’t you understand the language I use? Is it because you can’t understand the words I use? 44 You come from your father, the devil, and you desire to do what your father wants you to do. The devil was a murderer from the beginning. He has never been truthful. He doesn’t know what the truth is. Whenever he tells a lie, he’s doing what comes naturally to him. He’s a liar and the father of lies. 45 So you don’t believe me because I tell the truth. 46 Can any of you convict me of committing a sin? If I’m telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 The person who belongs to God understands what God says. You don’t understand because you don’t belong to God.”

48 The Jews replied to Jesus, “Aren’t we right when we say that you’re a Samaritan and that you’re possessed by a demon?”

49 Jesus answered, “I’m not possessed. I honor my Father, but you dishonor me. 50 I don’t want my own glory. But there is someone who wants it, and he is the judge. 51 I can guarantee this truth: Whoever obeys what I say will never see death.”

52 The Jews told Jesus, “Now we know that you’re possessed by a demon. Abraham died, and so did the prophets, but you say, ‘Whoever does what I say will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets have also died. Who do you think you are?”

54 Jesus said, “If I bring glory to myself, my glory is nothing. My Father is the one who gives me glory, and you say that he is your God. 55 Yet, you haven’t known him. However, I know him. If I would say that I didn’t know him, I would be a liar like all of you. But I do know him, and I do what he says. 56 Your father Abraham was pleased to see that my day was coming. He saw it and was happy.”

57 The Jews said to Jesus, “You’re not even fifty years old. How could you have seen Abraham?”

58 Jesus told them, “I can guarantee this truth: Before Abraham was ever born, I AM.”

59 Then some of the Jews picked up stones to throw at Jesus. However, Jesus was concealed, and he left the temple courtyard.

07/20 Plunge! Luke 17-24

09/03/10

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Luke 17

Causing Others to Lose Faith—Matthew 18:6-10; Mark 9:42-50

1 Jesus told his disciples, “Situations that cause people to lose their faith are certain to arise. But how horrible it will be for the person who causes someone to lose his faith! 2 It would be best for that person to be thrown into the sea with a large stone hung around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to lose his faith. 3 So watch yourselves!

“If a believer sins, correct him. If he changes the way he thinks and acts, forgive him. 4 Even if he wrongs you seven times in one day and comes back to you seven times and says that he is sorry, forgive him.”

The Apostles Ask For More Faith

5 Then the apostles said to the Lord, “Give us more faith.”

6 The Lord said, “If you have faith the size of 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.

7 “Suppose someone has a servant who is plowing fields or watching sheep. Does he tell his servant when he comes from the field, ‘Have something to eat’? 8 No. Instead, he tells his servant, ‘Get dinner ready for me! After you serve me my dinner, you can eat yours.’ 9 He doesn’t thank the servant for following orders. 10 That’s the way it is with you. When you’ve done everything you’re ordered to do, say, ‘We’re worthless servants. We’ve only done our duty.’”

Ten Men With a Skin Disease Are Healed

11 Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee on his way to Jerusalem. 12 As he went into a village, ten men with a skin disease met him. They stood at a distance 13 and shouted, “Jesus, Teacher, have mercy on us!”

14 When he saw them, he told them, “Show yourselves to the priests.” As they went, they were made clean. 15 When one of them saw that he was healed, he turned back and praised God in a loud voice. 16 He quickly bowed at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. (The man was a Samaritan.)

17 Jesus asked, “Weren’t ten men made clean? Where are the other nine? 18 Only this foreigner came back to praise God.”

19 Jesus told the man, “Get up, and go home! Your faith has made you well.”

The Pharisees Ask About the Kingdom of God

20 The Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would come.

He answered them, “People can’t observe the coming of the kingdom of God. 21 They can’t say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ You see, the kingdom of God is within you.”

Jesus Teaches About the Time When He Will Come Again

22 Jesus said to his disciples, “The time will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. 23 People will say, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Don’t run after those people. 24 The day of the Son of Man will be like lightning that flashes from one end of the sky to the other. 25 But first he must suffer a lot and be rejected by the people of his day.

26 “When the Son of Man comes again, the situation will be like the time of Noah. 27 People were eating, drinking, and getting married until the day that Noah went into the ship. Then the flood destroyed all of them.

28 “The situation will also be like the time of Lot. People were eating, drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29 But on the day that Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from the sky and destroyed all of them. 30 The day when the Son of Man is revealed will be like that.

31 “On that day those who are on the roof shouldn’t come down to get their belongings out of their houses. Those who are in the field shouldn’t turn back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife! 33 Those who try to save their lives will lose them, and those who lose their lives will save them.

34 “I can guarantee that on that night if two people are in one bed, one will be taken and the other one will be left. 35 Two women will be grinding grain together. One will be taken, and the other one will be left.”

37 They asked him, “Where, Lord?”

Jesus told them, “Vultures will gather wherever there is a dead body.”

Luke 18

God Will Help His People

1 Jesus used this illustration with his disciples to show them that they need to pray all the time and never give up. 2 He said, “In a city there was a judge who didn’t fear God or respect people. 3 In that city there was also a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice.’

4 “For a while the judge refused to do anything. But then he thought, ‘This widow really annoys me. Although I don’t fear God or respect people, 5 I’ll have to give her justice. Otherwise, she’ll keep coming to me until she wears me out.’”

6 The Lord added, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge thought. 7 Won’t God give his chosen people justice when they cry out to him for help day and night? Is he slow to help them? 8 I can guarantee that he will give them justice quickly. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

A Pharisee and a Tax Collector

9 Jesus also used this illustration with some who were sure that God approved of them while they looked down on everyone else. 10 He said, “Two men went into the temple courtyard to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed, ‘God, I thank you that I’m not like other people! I’m not a robber or a dishonest person. I haven’t committed adultery. I’m not even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my entire income.’

13 “But the tax collector was standing at a distance. He wouldn’t even look up to heaven. Instead, he became very upset, and he said, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’

14 “I can guarantee that this tax collector went home with God’s approval, but the Pharisee didn’t. Everyone who honors himself will be humbled, but the person who humbles himself will be honored.”

Jesus Blesses Children—Matthew 19:13-15; Mark 10:13-16

15 Some people brought infants to Jesus to have him hold them. When the disciples saw this, they told the people not to do that.

16 But Jesus called the infants to him and said, “Don’t stop the children from coming to me! Children like these are part of the kingdom of God. 17 I can guarantee this truth: Whoever doesn’t receive the kingdom of God as a little child receives it will never enter it.”

Eternal Life in the Kingdom—Matthew 19:16-30; Mark 10:17-31

18 An official asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

19 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God. 20 You know the commandments: Never commit adultery. Never murder. Never steal. Never give false testimony. Honor your father and your mother.”

21 The official replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was a boy.”

22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still need one thing. Sell everything you have. Distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then follow me!”

23 When the official heard this, he became sad, because he was very rich. 24 Jesus watched him and said, “How hard it is for rich people to enter the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed, 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.”

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

27 Jesus said, “The things that are impossible for people to do are possible for God to do.”

28 Then Peter said, “We’ve left everything to follow you.”

29 Jesus said to them, “I can guarantee this truth: Anyone who gave up his home, wife, brothers, parents, or children because of the kingdom of God 30 will certainly receive many times as much in this life and will receive eternal life in the world to come.”

For the Third Time Jesus Foretells That He Will Die and Come Back to Life—Matthew 20:17-19; Mark 10:32-34

31 Jesus took the twelve apostles aside and said to them, “We’re going to Jerusalem. Everything that the prophets wrote about the Son of Man will come true. 32 He will be handed over to foreigners. They will make fun of him, insult him, spit on him, 33 whip him, and kill him. But on the third day he will come back to life.”

34 But they didn’t understand any of this. What he said was a mystery to them, and they didn’t know what he meant.

Jesus Gives Sight to a Blind Man—Matthew 20:29-34; Mark 10:46-52

35 As Jesus came near Jericho, a blind man was sitting and begging by the road. 36 When he heard the crowd going by, he tried to find out what was happening. 37 The people told him that Jesus from Nazareth was passing by. 38 Then the blind man shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 The people at the front of the crowd told the blind man to be quiet. But he shouted even louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

40 Jesus stopped and ordered them to bring the man to him. When the man came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?”

The blind man said, “Lord, I want to see again.”

42 Jesus told him, “Receive your sight! Your faith has made you well.” 43 Immediately, he could see again. He followed Jesus and praised God. All the people saw this, and they, too, praised God.

Luke 19

Zacchaeus Meets Jesus

1 Jesus was passing through Jericho. 2 A man named Zacchaeus was there. He was the director of tax collectors, and he was rich. 3 He tried to see who Jesus was. But Zacchaeus was a small man, and he couldn’t see Jesus because of the crowd. 4 So Zacchaeus ran ahead and climbed a fig tree to see Jesus, who was coming that way.

5 When Jesus came to the tree, he looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down! I must stay at your house today.”

6 Zacchaeus came down and was glad to welcome Jesus into his home. 7 But the people who saw this began to express disapproval. They said, “He went to be the guest of a sinner.”

8 Later, at dinner, Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Lord, I’ll give half of my property to the poor. I’ll pay four times as much as I owe to those I have cheated in any way.”

9 Then Jesus said to Zacchaeus, “You and your family have been saved today. You’ve shown that you, too, are one of Abraham’s descendants. 10 Indeed, the Son of Man has come to seek and to save people who are lost.”

A Story About a King

11 Jesus was getting closer to Jerusalem, and the people thought that the kingdom of God would appear suddenly. While Jesus had the people’s attention, he used this illustration. 12 He said, “A prince went to a distant country to be appointed king, and then he returned. 13 Before he left, he called ten of his servants and gave them ten coins. He said to his servants, ‘Invest this money until I come back.’

14 “The citizens of his own country hated him. They sent representatives to follow him and say to the person who was going to appoint him, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’

15 “After he was appointed king, he came back. Then he said, ‘Call those servants to whom I gave money. I want to know how much each one has made by investing.’

16 “The first servant said, ‘Sir, the coin you gave me has earned ten times as much.’

17 “The king said to him, ‘Good job! You’re a good servant. You proved that you could be trusted with a little money. Take charge of ten cities.’

18 “The second servant said, ‘The coin you gave me, sir, has made five times as much.’

19 “The king said to this servant, ‘You take charge of five cities.’

20 “Then the other servant said, ‘Sir, look! Here’s your coin. I’ve kept it in a cloth for safekeeping because 21 I was afraid of you. You’re a tough person to get along with. You take what isn’t yours and harvest grain you haven’t planted.’

22 “The king said to him, ‘I’ll judge you by what you’ve said, you evil servant! You knew that I was a tough person to get along with. You knew that I take what isn’t mine and harvest grain I haven’t planted. 23 Then why didn’t you put my money in the bank? When I came back, I could have collected it with interest.’ 24 The king told his men, ‘Take his coin away, and give it to the man who has ten.’

25 “They replied, ‘Sir, he already has ten coins.’

26 “‘I can guarantee that everyone who has something will be given more. But everything will be taken away from those who don’t have much. 27 Bring my enemies, who didn’t want me to be their king. Kill them in front of me.’”

The King Comes to Jerusalem—Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; John 12:12-19

28 After Jesus had given this illustration, he continued on his way to Jerusalem.

29 When he came near Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives (as it was called), Jesus sent two of his disciples ahead of him. 30 He said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you. As you enter, you will find a young donkey tied there. No one has ever sat on it. Untie it, and bring it. 31 If anyone asks you why you are untying it, say that the Lord needs it.”

32 The men Jesus sent found it as he had told them. 33 While they were untying the young donkey, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the donkey?”

34 The disciples answered, “The Lord needs it.”

35 They brought the donkey to Jesus, put their coats on it, and helped Jesus onto it. 36 As he was riding along, people spread their coats on the road. 37 By this time he was coming near the place where the road went down the Mount of Olives. Then the whole crowd of disciples began to praise God for all the miracles they had seen. 38 They shouted joyfully,

“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!

Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven.”

39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell your disciples to be quiet.”

40 Jesus replied, “I can guarantee that if they are quiet, the stones will cry out.”

41 When he came closer and saw the city, he began to cry. 42 He said, “If you had only known today what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden, so you cannot see it. 43 The time will come when enemy armies will build a wall to surround you and close you in on every side. 44 They will level you to the ground and kill your people. One stone will not be left on top of another, because you didn’t recognize the time when God came to help you.”

Jesus Throws Out the Moneychangers—Matthew 21:12-17; Mark 11:15-19

45 Jesus went into the temple courtyard and began to throw out those who were selling things there. 46 He said to them, “Scripture says, ‘My house will be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a gathering place for thieves.”

47 Jesus taught in the temple courtyard every day. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people looked for a way to kill him. 48 But they could not find a way to do it, because all the people were eager to hear him.

Luke 20

Jesus’ Authority Challenged—Matthew 21:23-27; Mark 11:27-33

1 One day Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courtyard and telling them the Good News. The chief priests, scribes, and leaders came up to him. 2 They asked him, “Tell us, what gives you the right to do these things? Who told you that you could do this?”

3 Jesus answered them, “I, too, have a question for you. Tell me, 4 did John’s right to baptize come from heaven or from humans?”

5 They talked about this among themselves. They said, “If we say, ‘from heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘from humans,’ everyone will stone us to death. They’re convinced that John was a prophet.” 7 So they answered that they didn’t know who gave John the right to baptize.

8 Jesus told them, “Then I won’t tell you why I have the right to do these things.”

A Story About a Vineyard—Matthew 21:33-46; Mark 12:1-12

9 Then, using this illustration, Jesus spoke to the people: “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to vineyard workers, and went on a long trip.

10 “At the right time he sent a servant to the workers to obtain from them a share of the grapes from the vineyard. But the workers beat the servant and sent him back with nothing. 11 So he sent a different servant. The workers beat him, treated him shamefully, and sent him back with nothing. 12 Then he sent a third servant. But they injured this one and threw him out of the vineyard.

13 “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I’ll send my son, whom I love. They’ll probably respect him.’

14 “When the workers saw him, they talked it over among themselves. They said, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’ 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

“What will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will destroy these workers and give the vineyard to others.”

Those who heard him said, “That’s unthinkable!”

17 Then Jesus looked straight at them and asked, “What, then, does this Scripture verse mean:

‘The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone’?

18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken. If that stone falls on anyone, it will crush that person.” 19 The scribes and the chief priests wanted to arrest him right there, but they were afraid of the people. They knew that he had directed this illustration at them.

A Question About Taxes—Matthew 22:15-22; Mark 12:13-17

20 So they watched for an opportunity to send out some spies. The spies were to act like sincere religious people. They wanted to catch him saying the wrong thing so that they could hand him over to the governor. 21 They asked him, “Teacher, we know that you’re right in what you say and teach. Besides, you don’t play favorites. Rather, you teach the way of God truthfully. 22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to the emperor or not?”

23 He saw through their scheme, so he said to them, 24 “Show me a coin. Whose face and name is this?”

They answered, “The emperor’s.”

25 He said to them, “Well, then give the emperor what belongs to the emperor, and give God what belongs to God.”

26 They couldn’t make him say anything wrong in front of the people. His answer surprised them, so they said no more.

The Dead Come Back to Life—Matthew 22:23-33; Mark 12:18-27

27 Some Sadducees, who say that people will never come back to life, came to Jesus. They asked him, 28 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us, ‘If a married man dies and has no children, his brother should marry his widow and have children for his brother.’ 29 There were seven brothers. The first got married and died without having children. 30 Then the second brother married the widow, 31 and so did the third. In the same way all seven brothers married the widow, died, and left no children. 32 Finally, the woman died. 33 Now, when the dead come back to life, whose wife will she be? The seven brothers had married her.”

34 Jesus said to them, “In this world people get married. 35 But people who are considered worthy to come back to life and live in the next world will neither marry 36 nor die anymore. They are the same as the angels. They are God’s children who have come back to life.

37 “Even Moses showed in the passage about the bush that the dead come back to life. He says that the Lord is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 38 He’s not the God of the dead but of the living. In God’s sight all people are living.”

39 Some scribes responded, “Teacher, that was well said.” 40 From that time on, no one dared to ask him another question.

How Can David’s Son Be David’s Lord?—Matthew 22:41-46; Mark 12:35-37a

41 Jesus said to them, “How can people say that the Messiah is David’s son? 42 David says in the book of Psalms,

‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Take the highest position in heaven

43 until I make your enemies your footstool.”’

44 David calls him Lord. So how can he be his son?”

Jesus Disapproves of the Example Set By Scribes—Matthew 23:1-12; Mark 12:37b-40

45 While all the people were listening, Jesus said to the disciples, 46 “Beware of the scribes! They like to walk around in long robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces, to have the front seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at dinners. 47 They rob widows by taking their houses and then say long prayers to make themselves look good. The scribes will receive the most severe punishment.”

Luke 21

A Widow’s Contribution—Mark 12:41-44

1 Looking up, Jesus saw people, especially the rich, dropping their gifts into the temple offering box. 2 He noticed a poor widow drop in two small coins. 3 He said, “I can guarantee this truth: This poor widow has given more than all the others. 4 All of these people have given what they could spare. But she, in her poverty, has given everything she had to live on.”

Jesus Teaches His Disciples—Matthew 24:1-35; Mark 13:1-31

5 Some of the disciples were talking about the temple complex. They noted that it was built with fine stones and decorated with beautiful gifts. So Jesus said, 6 “About these buildings that you see—the time will come when not one of these stones will be left on top of another. Each one will be torn down.”

7 The disciples asked him, “Teacher, when will this happen? What will be the sign when all this will occur?”

8 Jesus said, “Be careful that you are not deceived. Many will come using my name. They will say, ‘I am he!’ and ‘The time is near.’ Don’t follow them!

9 “When you hear of wars and revolutions, don’t be terrified! These things must happen first, but the end will not come immediately.”

10 Then Jesus continued, “Nation will fight against nation and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be terrible earthquakes, famines, and dreadful diseases in various places. Terrifying sights and miraculous signs will come from the sky.

12 “Before all these things happen, people will arrest and persecute you. They will hand you over to their synagogues and put you into their prisons. They will drag you in front of kings and governors because of my name. 13 It will be your opportunity to testify to them. 14 So make up your minds not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. 15 I will give you words and wisdom that none of your enemies will be able to oppose or prove wrong.

16 “Even parents, brothers, relatives, and friends will betray you and kill some of you. 17 Everyone will hate you because you are committed to me. 18 But not a hair on your head will be lost. 19 By your endurance you will save your life.

20 “When you see armies camped around Jerusalem, realize that the time is near for it to be destroyed. 21 Then those of you in Judea should flee to the mountains. Those of you in Jerusalem should leave it. Those of you in the fields shouldn’t go back into them. 22 This will be a time of vengeance. Everything that is written about it will come true.

23 “How horrible it will be for women who are pregnant or who are nursing babies in those days. Indeed, the land will suffer very hard times, and its people will be punished. 24 Swords will cut them down, and they will be carried off into all nations as prisoners. Nations will trample Jerusalem until the times allowed for the nations to do this are over.

25 “Miraculous signs will occur in the sun, moon, and stars. The nations of the earth will be deeply troubled and confused because of the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 People will faint as they fearfully wait for what will happen to the world. Indeed, the powers of the universe will be shaken.

27 “Then people will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

28 “When these things begin to happen, stand with confidence! The time when you will be set free is near.”

29 Then Jesus used this story as an illustration. “Look at the fig tree or any other tree. 30 As soon as leaves grow on them, you know without being told that summer is near. 31 In the same way, when you see these things happen, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

32 “I can guarantee this truth: This generation will not disappear until all this takes place. 33 The earth and the heavens will disappear, but my words will never disappear."

No One Knows When the Earth and the Heavens Will Disappear

34 “Make sure that you don’t become drunk, hung over, and worried about life. Then that day could suddenly catch you by surprise 35 like a trap that catches a bird. That day will surprise all people who live on the earth. 36 Be alert at all times. Pray so that you have the power to escape everything that is about to happen and to stand in front of the Son of Man.”

37 During the day Jesus would teach in the temple courtyard. But at night he would go to the Mount of Olives (as it was called) and spend the night there. 38 All of the people would get up early to hear him speak in the temple courtyard.

Luke 22

The Plot to Kill Jesus—Matthew 26:1-5, 14-16; Mark 14:1-2, 10-11; John 11:45-57

1 The Festival of Unleavened Bread, called Passover, was near. 2 The chief priests and the scribes were looking for some way to kill Jesus. However, they were afraid of the people.

3 Then Satan entered Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve apostles. 4 Judas went to the chief priests and the temple guards and discussed with them how he could betray Jesus. 5 They were pleased and agreed to give him some money. 6 So Judas promised to do it. He kept looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus to them when there was no crowd.

The Passover—Matthew 26:17-20; Mark 14:12-17

7 The day came during the Festival of Unleavened Bread when the Passover lamb had to be killed. 8 Jesus sent Peter and John and told them, “Go, prepare the Passover lamb for us to eat.”

9 They asked him, “Where do you want us to prepare it?”

10 He told them, “Go into the city, and you will meet a man carrying a jug of water. Follow him into the house he enters. 11 Tell the owner of the house that the teacher asks, ‘Where is the room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’ 12 He will take you upstairs and show you a large furnished room. Get things ready there.”

13 The disciples left. They found everything as Jesus had told them and prepared the Passover.

14 When it was time to eat the Passover meal, Jesus and the apostles were at the table. 15 Jesus said to them, “I’ve had a deep desire to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 I can guarantee that I won’t eat it again until it finds its fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” 17 Then he took a cup and spoke a prayer of thanksgiving. He said, “Take this, and share it. 18 I can guarantee that from now on I won’t drink this wine until the kingdom of God comes.”

The Lord’s Supper—Matthew 26:26-30; Mark 14:22-26

19 Then Jesus took bread and spoke a prayer of thanksgiving. He broke the bread, gave it to them, and said, “This is my body, which is given up for you. Do this to remember me.”

20 When supper was over, he did the same with the cup. He said, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new promise made with my blood.”

Jesus Knows Who Will Betray Him—Matthew 26:21-25; Mark 14:18-21; John 13:21-30

21 “The hand of the one who will betray me is with me on the table. 22 The Son of Man is going to die the way it has been planned for him. But how horrible it will be for that person who betrays him.”

23 So they began to discuss with each other who could do such a thing.

An Argument About Greatness

24 Then a quarrel broke out among the disciples. They argued about who should be considered the greatest.

25 Jesus said to them, “The kings of nations have power over their people, and those in authority call themselves friends of the people. 26 But you’re not going to be that way! Rather, the greatest among you must be like the youngest, and your leader must be like a servant. 27 Who’s the greatest, the person who sits at the table or the servant? Isn’t it really the person who sits at the table? But I’m among you as a servant.

28 “You have stood by me in the troubles that have tested me. 29 So as my Father has given me a kingdom, I’m giving it to you. 30 You will eat and drink at my table in my kingdom. You will also sit on thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel.”

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial—Matthew 26:31-35; Mark 14:27-31; John 13:36-38

31 Then the Lord said, “Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to have you apostles for himself. He wants to separate you from me as a farmer separates wheat from husks. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith will not fail. So when you recover, strengthen the other disciples.”

33 But Peter said to him, “Lord, I’m ready to go to prison with you and to die with you.”

34 Jesus replied, “Peter, I can guarantee that the rooster won’t crow tonight until you say three times that you don’t know me.”

35 Then Jesus said to them, “When I sent you out without a wallet, traveling bag, or sandals, you didn’t lack anything, did you?”

“Not a thing!” they answered.

36 Then he said to them, “But now, the person who has a wallet and a traveling bag should take them along. The person who doesn’t have a sword should sell his coat and buy one. 37 I can guarantee that the Scripture passage which says, ‘He was counted with criminals,’ must find its fulfillment in me. Indeed, whatever is written about me will come true.”

38 The disciples said, “Lord, look! Here are two swords!”

Then Jesus said to them, “That’s enough!”

Jesus Prays in the Garden of Gethsemane—Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42

39 Jesus went out of the city to the Mount of Olives as he usually did. His disciples followed him. 40 When he arrived, he said to them, “Pray that you won’t be tempted.”

41 Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, 42 “Father, if it is your will, take this cup of suffering away from me. However, your will must be done, not mine.”

43 Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength. 44 So he prayed very hard in anguish. His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.

45 When Jesus ended his prayer, he got up and went to the disciples. He found them asleep and overcome with sadness. 46 He said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up, and pray that you won’t be tempted.”

Jesus Is Arrested—Matthew 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-52; John 18:1-14

47 While he was still speaking to the disciples, a crowd arrived. The man called Judas, one of the twelve apostles, was leading them. He came close to Jesus to kiss him.

48 Jesus said to him, “Judas, do you intend to betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”

49 The men who were with Jesus saw what was going to happen. So they asked him, “Lord, should we use our swords to fight?” 50 One of the disciples cut off the right ear of the chief priest’s servant.

51 But Jesus said, “Stop! That’s enough of this.” Then he touched the servant’s ear and healed him.

52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, temple guards, and leaders who had come for him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as if I were a criminal? 53 I was with you in the temple courtyard every day and you didn’t try to arrest me. But this is your time, when darkness rules.”

54 So they arrested Jesus and led him away to the chief priest’s house.

Peter Denies Jesus—Matthew 26:69-75; Mark 14:66-72; John 18:15-18, 25-27

Peter followed at a distance.

55 Some men had lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard. As they sat together, Peter sat among them. 56 A female servant saw him as he sat facing the glow of the fire. She stared at him and said, “This man was with Jesus.”

57 But Peter denied it by saying, “I don’t know him, woman.”

58 A little later someone else saw Peter and said, “You are one of them.”

But Peter said, “Not me!”

59 About an hour later another person insisted, “It’s obvious that this man was with him. He’s a Galilean!”

60 But Peter said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Just then, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. 61 Then the Lord turned and looked directly at Peter. Peter remembered what the Lord had said: “Before a rooster crows today, you will say three times that you don’t know me.” 62 Then Peter went outside and cried bitterly.

The Trial in Front of the Jewish Council—Matthew 26:57-68; Mark 14:53-65

63 The men who were guarding Jesus made fun of him as they beat him. 64 They blindfolded him and said to him, “Tell us who hit you.” 65 They also insulted him in many other ways.

66 In the morning the council of the people’s leaders, the chief priests and the scribes, gathered together. They brought Jesus in front of their highest court and asked him, 67 “Tell us, are you the Messiah?”

Jesus said to them, “If I tell you, you won’t believe me. 68 And if I ask you, you won’t answer. 69 But from now on, the Son of Man will be in the highest position in heaven.”

70 Then all of them said, “So you’re the Son of God?”

Jesus answered them, “You’re right to say that I am.”

71 Then they said, “Why do we need any more testimony? We’ve heard him say it ourselves.”

Luke 23

Pilate Questions Jesus—Matthew 27:11-14; Mark 15:1-5; John 18:28-38

1 Then the entire assembly stood up and took him to Pilate.

2 They began to accuse Jesus by saying, “We found that he stirs up trouble among our people: He keeps them from paying taxes to the emperor, and he says that he is Christ, a king.”

3 Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

“Yes, I am,” Jesus answered.

4 Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, “I can’t find this man guilty of any crime.”

Pilate Sends Jesus to Herod

5 The priests and the crowd became more forceful. They said, “He stirs up the people throughout Judea with his teachings. He started in Galilee and has come here.”

6 When Pilate heard that, he asked if the man was from Galilee. 7 When Pilate found out that he was, he sent Jesus to Herod. Herod ruled Galilee and was in Jerusalem at that time.

8 Herod was very pleased to see Jesus. For a long time he had wanted to see him. He had heard about Jesus and hoped to see him perform some kind of miracle. 9 Herod asked Jesus many questions, but Jesus wouldn’t answer him. 10 Meanwhile, the chief priests and the scribes stood there and shouted their accusations against Jesus.

11 Herod and his soldiers treated Jesus with contempt and made fun of him. They put a colorful robe on him and sent him back to Pilate. 12 So Herod and Pilate became friends that day. They had been enemies before this.

13 Then Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people. 14 He told them, “You brought me this man as someone who turns the people against the government. I’ve questioned him in front of you and haven’t found this man guilty of the crimes of which you accuse him. 15 Neither could Herod. So he sent this man back to us. This man hasn’t done anything to deserve the death penalty. 16 So I’m going to have him whipped and set free.”

The Crowd Rejects Jesus—Matthew 27:15-26; Mark 15:6-15; John 18:39-40

18 The whole crowd then shouted, “Take him away! Free Barabbas for us.” 19 (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for his involvement in a riot that had taken place in the city and for murder.)

20 But because Pilate wanted to free Jesus, he spoke to the people again.

21 They began yelling, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

22 A third time Pilate spoke to them. He asked, “Why? What has he done wrong? I haven’t found this man deserving of the death penalty. So I’m going to have him whipped and set free.”

23 But the crowd pressured Pilate. They shouted that Jesus had to be crucified, and they finally won. 24 Pilate decided to give in to their demand. 25 He freed Barabbas, who had been put in prison for rioting and murdering, because that’s what they wanted. But he let them do what they wanted to Jesus.

Jesus Is Led Away To Be Crucified

26 As the soldiers led Jesus away, they grabbed a man named Simon, who was from the city of Cyrene. Simon was coming into Jerusalem. They laid the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.

27 A large crowd followed Jesus. The women in the crowd cried and sang funeral songs for him. 28 Jesus turned to them and said, “You women of Jerusalem, don’t cry for me! Rather, cry for yourselves and your children! 29 The time is coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the women who couldn’t get pregnant, who couldn’t give birth, and who couldn’t nurse a child.’ 30 Then people will say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ 31 If people do this to a green tree, what will happen to a dry one?”

32 Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be executed with him.

The Crucifixion—Matthew 27:31-44; Mark 15:20-32; John 19:16b-24

33 When they came to the place called The Skull, they crucified him. The criminals were also crucified, one on his right and the other on his left.

34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing.”

Meanwhile, the soldiers divided his clothes among themselves by throwing dice.

35 The people stood there watching. But the rulers were making sarcastic remarks. They said, “He saved others. If he’s the Messiah that God has chosen, let him save himself!” 36 The soldiers also made fun of him. They would go up to him, offer him some vinegar, 37 and say, “If you’re the king of the Jews, save yourself!”

38 A written notice was placed above him. It said, “This is the king of the Jews.”

Criminals Talk to Jesus

39 One of the criminals hanging there insulted Jesus by saying, “So you’re really the Messiah, are you? Well, save yourself and us!”

40 But the other criminal scolded him: “Don’t you fear God at all? Can’t you see that you’re condemned in the same way that he is? 41 Our punishment is fair. We’re getting what we deserve. But this man hasn’t done anything wrong.”

42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you enter your kingdom.”

43 Jesus said to him, “I can guarantee this truth: Today you will be with me in paradise.”

Jesus Dies on the Cross—Matthew 27:45-56; Mark 15:33-41; John 19:28-30

44 Around noon darkness came over the entire land and lasted until three in the afternoon. 45 The sun had stopped shining. The curtain in the temple was split in two.

46 Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.” After he said this, he died.

47 When an army officer saw what had happened, he praised God and said, “Certainly, this man was innocent!” 48 Crowds had gathered to see the sight. But when all of them saw what had happened, they cried and returned to the city. 49 All his friends, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance and watched everything.

Jesus Is Buried—Matthew 27:57-61; Mark 15:42-47; John 19:38-42

50 There was a good man who had God’s approval. His name was Joseph. He was a member of the Jewish council, 51 but he had not agreed with what they had done. He was from the Jewish city of Arimathea, and he was waiting for the kingdom of God.

52 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 After he took it down from the cross, he wrapped it in linen. Then he laid the body in a tomb cut in rock, a tomb in which no one had ever been buried. 54 It was Friday, and the day of worship was just beginning.

55 The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed closely behind Joseph. They observed the tomb and how his body was laid in it. 56 Then they went back to the city and prepared spices and perfumes. But on the day of worship they rested according to the commandment.

Luke 24

Jesus Comes Back to Life—Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-8; John 20:1-10

1 Very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb. They were carrying the spices that they had prepared. 2 They found that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb. 3 When they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were puzzled about this, two men in clothes that were as bright as lightning suddenly stood beside them. 5 The women were terrified and bowed to the ground.

The men asked the women, “Why are you looking among the dead for the living one? 6 He’s not here. He has been brought back to life! Remember what he told you while he was still in Galilee. 7 He said, ‘The Son of Man must be handed over to sinful people, be crucified, and come back to life on the third day.’” 8 Then the women remembered what Jesus had told them.

9 The women left the tomb and went back to the city. They told everything to the eleven apostles and all the others. 10 The women were Mary from Magdala, Joanna, and Mary (the mother of James). There were also other women with them. They told the apostles everything.

11 The apostles thought that the women’s story didn’t make any sense, and they didn’t believe them.

12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb. He bent down to look inside and saw only the strips of linen. Then he went away, wondering what had happened.

Jesus Appears to Disciples on a Road to Emmaus

13 On the same day, two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a village called Emmaus. It was about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking to each other about everything that had happened.

15 While they were talking, Jesus approached them and began walking with them. 16 Although they saw him, they didn’t recognize him.

17 He asked them, “What are you discussing?”

They stopped and looked very sad. 18 One of them, Cleopas, replied, “Are you the only one in Jerusalem who doesn’t know what has happened recently?”

19 “What happened?” he asked.

They said to him, “We were discussing what happened to Jesus from Nazareth. He was a powerful prophet in what he did and said in the sight of God and all the people. 20 Our chief priests and rulers had him condemned to death and crucified. 21 We were hoping that he was the one who would free Israel. What’s more, this is now the third day since everything happened. 22 Some of the women from our group startled us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 and didn’t find his body. They told us that they had seen angels who said that he’s alive. 24 Some of our men went to the tomb and found it empty, as the women had said, but they didn’t see him.”

25 Then Jesus said to them, “How foolish you are! You’re so slow to believe everything the prophets said! 26 Didn’t the Messiah have to suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 Then he began with Moses’ Teachings and the Prophets to explain to them what was said about him throughout the Scriptures.

28 When they came near the village where they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. 29 They urged him, “Stay with us! It’s getting late, and the day is almost over.” So he went to stay with them.

30 While he was at the table with them, he took bread and blessed it. He broke the bread and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. But he vanished from their sight.

32 They said to each other, “Weren’t we excited when he talked with us on the road and opened up the meaning of the Scriptures for us?”

33 That same hour they went back to Jerusalem. They found the eleven apostles and those who were with them gathered together. 34 They were saying, “The Lord has really come back to life and has appeared to Simon.”

35 Then the two disciples told what had happened on the road and how they had recognized Jesus when he broke the bread.

Jesus Appears to the Apostles—John 20:19-23

36 While they were talking about what had happened, Jesus stood among them. He said to them, “Peace be with you!” 37 They were terrified, and thought they were seeing a ghost.

38 He asked them, “Why are you afraid? Why do you have doubts? 39 Look at my hands and feet, and see that it’s really me. Touch me, and see for yourselves. Ghosts don’t have flesh and bones, but you can see that I do.” 40 As he said this, he showed them his hands and feet.

41 The disciples were overcome with joy and amazement because this seemed too good to be true. Then Jesus asked them, “Do you have anything to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish. 43 He took it and ate it while they watched him.

44 Then he said to them, “These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you. I told you that everything written about me in Moses’ Teachings, the Prophets, and the Psalms had to come true.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46 He said to them, “Scripture says that the Messiah would suffer and that he would come back to life on the third day. 47 Scripture also says that by the authority of Jesus people would be told to turn to God and change the way they think and act so that their sins will be forgiven. This would be told to people from all nations, beginning in the city of Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses to these things.

49 “I’m sending you what my Father promised. Wait here in the city until you receive power from heaven.”

50 Then Jesus took them to a place near Bethany. There he raised his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken to heaven.

52 The disciples worshiped him and were overjoyed as they went back to Jerusalem. 53 They were always in the temple, where they praised God.

06/20 Plunge! Luke 8-16

08/03/10

A Story About a Farmer—Matthew 13:1-23; Mark 4:1-20

4 When a large crowd had gathered and people had come to Jesus from every city, he used this story as an illustration: 5 “A farmer went to plant his seeds. Some seeds were planted along the road, were trampled, and were devoured by birds. 6 Others were planted on rocky soil. When the plants came up, they withered because they had no moisture. 7 Others were planted among thornbushes. The thornbushes grew up with them and choked them. 8 Others were planted on good ground. When they came up, they produced a hundred times as much as was planted.”

After he had said this, he called out, “Let the person who has ears listen!”

9 His disciples asked him what this story meant. 10 Jesus answered, “Knowledge about the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been given directly to you. But it is given to others in stories. When they look, they don’t see, and when they hear, they don’t understand.

11 “This is what the story illustrates: The seed is God’s word. 12 Some people are like seeds that were planted along the road. They hear the word, but then the devil comes. He takes the word away from them so that they don’t believe and become saved. 13 Some people are like seeds on rocky soil. They welcome the word with joy whenever they hear it, but they don’t develop any roots. They believe for a while, but when their faith is tested, they abandon it. 14 The seeds that were planted among thornbushes are people who hear the word, but as life goes on the worries, riches, and pleasures of life choke them. So they don’t produce anything good. 15 The seeds that were planted on good ground are people who also hear the word. But they keep it in their good and honest hearts and produce what is good despite what life may bring.

16 “No one lights a lamp and hides it under a bowl or puts it under a bed. Instead, everyone who lights a lamp puts it on a lamp stand so that those who come in will see the light. 17 There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed. There is nothing kept secret that will not come to light.

18 “So pay attention to how you listen! Those who understand these mysteries will be given more knowledge. However, some people don’t understand these mysteries. Even what they think they understand will be taken away from them.”

The True Family of Jesus—Matthew 12:46-50; Mark 3:31-35

19 His mother and his brothers came to see him. But they couldn’t meet with him because of the crowd. 20 Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside. They want to see you.”

21 He answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear and do what God’s word says.”

Jesus Calms the Sea—Matthew 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41

22 One day Jesus and his disciples got into a boat. He said to them, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they started out. 23 As they were sailing along, Jesus fell asleep.

A violent storm came across the lake. The boat was taking on water, and they were in danger. 24 They went to him, woke him up, and said, “Master! Master! We’re going to die!”

Then he got up and ordered the wind and the waves to stop. The wind stopped, and the sea became calm. 25 He asked them, “Where is your faith?”

Frightened and amazed, they asked each other, “Who is this man? He gives orders to the wind and the water, and they obey him!”

Jesus Cures a Demon-Possessed Man—Matthew 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20

26 They landed in the region of the Gerasenes across from Galilee. 27 When Jesus stepped out on the shore, a certain man from the city met him. The man was possessed by demons and had not worn clothes for a long time. He would not stay in a house but lived in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he shouted, fell in front of him, and said in a loud voice, “Why are you bothering me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you not to torture me!” 29 Jesus ordered the evil spirit to come out of the man. (The evil spirit had controlled the man for a long time. People had kept him under guard. He was chained hand and foot. But he would break the chains. Then the demon would force him to go into the desert.)

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

He answered, “Legion [Six Thousand].” (Many demons had entered him.) 31 The demons begged Jesus not to order them to go into the bottomless pit.

32 A large herd of pigs was feeding on a mountainside. The demons begged Jesus to let them enter those pigs. So he let them do this. 33 The demons came out of the man and went into the pigs. Then the herd rushed down the cliff into the lake and drowned.

34 When those who had taken care of the pigs saw what had happened, they ran away. They reported everything in the city and countryside. 35 The people went to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out. Dressed and in his right mind, he was sitting at Jesus’ feet. The people were frightened. 36 Those who had seen this told the people how Jesus had restored the demon-possessed man to health.

37 Then all the people from the surrounding region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave because they were terrified.

Jesus got into a boat and started back. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone out begged him, “Let me go with you.”

But Jesus sent the man away and told him, 39 “Go home to your family, and tell them how much God has done for you.” So the man left. He went through the whole city and told people how much Jesus had done for him.

Jairus’ Daughter and a Woman With Chronic Bleeding—Matthew 9:18-26; Mark 5:21-43

40 When Jesus came back, a crowd welcomed him. Everyone was expecting him.

41 A man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, arrived and quickly bowed down in front of Jesus. He begged Jesus to come to his home. 42 His only daughter, who was about twelve years old, was dying. As Jesus went, the people were crowding around him.

43 A woman who had been suffering from chronic bleeding for twelve years was in the crowd. No one could cure her. 44 She came up behind Jesus, touched the edge of his clothes, and her bleeding stopped at once.

45 Jesus asked, “Who touched me?”

After everyone denied touching him, Peter said, “Teacher, the people are crowding you and pressing against you.”

46 Jesus said, “Someone touched me. I know power has gone out of me.”

47 The woman saw that she couldn’t hide. Trembling, she quickly bowed in front of him. There, in front of all the people, she told why she touched him and how she was cured at once.

48 Jesus told her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace!”

49 While Jesus was still speaking to her, someone came from the synagogue leader’s home. He said, “Your daughter is dead. Don’t bother the teacher anymore.”

50 When Jesus heard this, he told the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid! Just believe, and she will get well.”

51 Jesus went into the house. He allowed no one to go with him except Peter, John, James, and the child’s parents. 52 Everyone was crying and showing how sad they were. Jesus said, “Don’t cry! She’s not dead. She’s just sleeping.”

53 They laughed at him because they knew she was dead. 54 But Jesus took her hand and called out, “Child, get up!” 55 She came back to life and got up at once. He ordered her parents to give her something to eat. 56 They were amazed. Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.

Luke 9

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve—Matthew 10:5-42; Mark 6:7-13

1 Jesus called the twelve apostles together and gave them power and authority over every demon and power and authority to cure diseases. 2 He sent them to spread the message about the kingdom of God and to cure the sick.

3 He told them, “Don’t take anything along on the trip. Don’t take a walking stick, traveling bag, any food, money, or a change of clothes. 4 When you go into a home, stay there until you’re ready to leave. 5 If people don’t welcome you, leave that city, and shake its dust off your feet as a warning to them.”

6 The apostles went from village to village, told the Good News, and cured the sick everywhere.

Rumors About Jesus—Matthew 14:1-12; Mark 6:14-29

7 Herod the ruler heard about everything that was happening. He didn’t know what to make of it. Some people were saying that John had come back to life. 8 Others said that Elijah had appeared, and still others said that one of the prophets from long ago had come back to life.

9 Herod said, “I had John’s head cut off. Who is this person I’m hearing so much about?” So Herod wanted to see Jesus.

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand—Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; John 6:1-14

10 The apostles came back and told Jesus everything they had done. He took them with him to a city called Bethsaida so that they could be alone. 11 But the crowds found out about this and followed him. He welcomed them, talked to them about the kingdom of God, and cured those who were sick.

12 Toward the end of the day, the twelve apostles came to him. They said to him, “Send the crowd to the closest villages and farms so that they can find some food and a place to stay. No one lives around here.”

13 Jesus replied, “You give them something to eat.”

They said to him, “We have five loaves of bread and two fish. Unless we go to buy food for all these people, that’s all we have.” 14 (There were about five thousand men.)

Then he told his disciples, “Have them sit in groups of about fifty.” 15 So they did this.

16 Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, and blessed the food. He broke the loaves apart and kept giving them to the disciples to give to the crowd. 17 All of them ate as much as they wanted. When they picked up the leftover pieces, they filled twelve baskets.

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Peter Declares His Belief About Jesus—Matthew 16:13-20; Mark 8:27-30

18 Once when Jesus was praying privately and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

19 They answered, “Some say you are John the Baptizer, others Elijah, and still others say that one of the prophets from long ago has come back to life.”

20 He asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, whom God has sent.”

21 He ordered them not to tell this to anyone.

Jesus Foretells That He Will Die and Come Back to Life—Matthew 16:21-23; Mark 8:31-33

22 Jesus said that the Son of Man would have to suffer a lot. He would be rejected by the leaders, the chief priests, and the scribes. He would be killed, but on the third day he would come back to life.

What It Means to Follow Jesus—Matthew 16:24-28; Mark 8:34 9:1

23 He said to all of them, “Those who want to come with me must say no to the things they want, pick up their crosses every day, and follow me. 24 Those who want to save their lives will lose them. But those who lose their lives for me will save them. 25 What good does it do for people to win the whole world but lose their lives by destroying them? 26 If people are ashamed of me and what I say, the Son of Man will be ashamed of those people when he comes in the glory that he shares with the Father and the holy angels.

27 “I can guarantee this truth: Some people who are standing here will not die until they see the kingdom of God.”

Moses and Elijah Appear With Jesus—Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-13

28 About eight days after he had said this, Jesus took Peter, John, and James with him and went up a mountain to pray. 29 While Jesus was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30 Suddenly, both Moses and Elijah were talking with him. 31 They appeared in heavenly glory and were discussing Jesus’ approaching death and what he was about to fulfill in Jerusalem.

32 Peter and the men with him were sleeping soundly. When they woke up, they saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with him. 33 As Moses and Elijah were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Teacher, it’s good that we’re here. Let’s put up three tents—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Peter didn’t know what he was saying.

34 While he was saying this, a cloud overshadowed them. They were frightened as they went into the cloud. 35 A voice came out of the cloud and said, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen. Listen to him!”

36 After the voice had spoken, they saw that Jesus was alone. The disciples said nothing, and for some time they told no one about what they had seen.

Jesus Cures a Demon-Possessed Boy—Matthew 17:14-20; Mark 9:14-29

37 The next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a large crowd met Jesus. 38 A man in the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son. He’s my only child. 39 Whenever a spirit takes control of him, he shrieks, goes into convulsions, and foams at the mouth. After a struggle, the spirit goes away, leaving the child worn out. 40 I begged your disciples to force the spirit out of him, but they couldn’t do it.”

41 Jesus answered, “You unbelieving and corrupt generation! How long must I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here!”

42 While he was coming to Jesus, the demon knocked the boy to the ground and threw him into convulsions.

Jesus ordered the evil spirit to leave. He cured the boy and gave him back to his father. 43 Everyone was amazed to see God’s wonderful power.

The Son of Man Again Foretells His Betrayal—Matthew 17:22-23; Mark 9:30-32

Everyone was amazed at all the things that Jesus was doing. So he said to his disciples, 44 “Listen carefully to what I say. The Son of Man will be betrayed and handed over to people.”

45 They didn’t know what he meant. The meaning was hidden from them so that they didn’t understand it. Besides, they were afraid to ask him about what he had said.

Greatness in the Kingdom—Matthew 18:1-5; Mark 9:33-37

46 A discussion started among them about who would be the greatest. 47 Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he took a little child and had him stand beside him. 48 Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me. Whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. The one who is least among all of you is the one who is greatest.”

Using the Name of Jesus—Mark 9:38-41

49 John replied, “Master, we saw someone forcing demons out of a person by using the power and authority of your name. We tried to stop him because he was not one of us.”

50 Jesus said to him, “Don’t stop him! Whoever isn’t against you is for you.”

People From a Samaritan Village Reject Jesus

51 The time was coming closer for Jesus to be taken to heaven. So he was determined to go to Jerusalem. 52 He sent messengers ahead of him. They went into a Samaritan village to arrange a place for him to stay. 53 But the people didn’t welcome him, because he was on his way to Jerusalem. 54 James and John, his disciples, saw this. They asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to burn them up?”

55 But he turned and corrected them. “You don't know the kind of spirit that is influencing you. The Son of Man didn't come to destroy people's lives but to save them,” he said. 56 So they went to another village.

What It Takes to Be a Disciple—Matthew 8:19-22

57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to Jesus, “I’ll follow you wherever you go.”

58 Jesus told him, “Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to sleep.”

59 He told another man, “Follow me!”

But the man said, “Sir, first let me go to bury my father.”

60 But Jesus told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead. You must go everywhere and tell about the kingdom of God.”

61 Another said, “I’ll follow you, sir, but first let me tell my family goodbye.”

62 Jesus said to him, “Whoever starts to plow and looks back is not fit for the kingdom of God.”

Luke 10

Jesus Sends Disciples to Do Mission Work

1 After this, the Lord appointed 70 other disciples to go ahead of him to every city and place that he intended to go. They were to travel in pairs.

2 He told them, “The harvest is large, but the workers are few. So ask the Lord who gives this harvest to send workers to harvest his crops. 3 Go! I’m sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Don’t carry a wallet, a traveling bag, or sandals, and don’t stop to greet anyone on the way. 5 Whenever you go into a house, greet the family right away with the words, ‘May there be peace in this house.’ 6 If a peaceful person lives there, your greeting will be accepted. But if that’s not the case, your greeting will be rejected. 7 Stay with the family that accepts you. Eat and drink whatever they offer you. After all, the worker deserves his pay. Do not move around from one house to another. 8 Whenever you go into a city and the people welcome you, eat whatever they serve you. 9 Heal the sick that are there, and tell the people, ‘The kingdom of God is near you!’

10 “But whenever you go into a city and people don’t welcome you, leave. Announce in its streets, 11 ‘We are wiping your city’s dust from our feet in protest against you! But realize that the kingdom of God is near you!’ 12 I can guarantee that judgment day will be easier for Sodom than for that city.

13 “How horrible it will be for you, Chorazin! How horrible it will be for you, Bethsaida! If the miracles worked in your cities had been worked in Tyre and Sidon, they would have changed the way they thought and acted. Long ago they would have worn sackcloth and sat in ashes. 14 Judgment day will be better for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to heaven? No, you will go to hell!

16 “The person who hears you hears me, and the person who rejects you rejects me. The person who rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”

17 The 70 disciples came back very happy. They said, “Lord, even demons obey us when we use the power and authority of your name!”

18 Jesus said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19 I have given you the authority to trample snakes and scorpions and to destroy the enemy’s power. Nothing will hurt you. 20 However, don’t be happy that evil spirits obey you. Be happy that your names are written in heaven.”

21 In that hour the Holy Spirit filled Jesus with joy. Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from wise and intelligent people and revealing them to little children. Yes, Father, this is what pleased you.

22 “My Father has turned everything over to me. Only the Father knows who the Son is. And no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son is willing to reveal him.”

23 He turned to his disciples in private and said to them, “How blessed you are to see what you’ve seen. 24 I can guarantee that many prophets and kings wanted to see and hear what you’ve seen and heard, but they didn’t.”

A Story About a Good Samaritan

25 Then an expert in Moses’ Teachings stood up to test Jesus. He asked, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 Jesus answered him, “What is written in Moses’ Teachings? What do you read there?”

27 He 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 neighbor as you love yourself.’”

28 Jesus told him, “You’re right! Do this, and life will be yours.”

29 But the man wanted to justify his question. So he asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”

30 Jesus replied, “A man went from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way robbers stripped him, beat him, and left him for dead.

31 “By chance, a priest was traveling along that road. When he saw the man, he went around him and continued on his way. 32 Then a Levite came to that place. When he saw the man, he, too, went around him and continued on his way.

33 “But a Samaritan, as he was traveling along, came across the man. When the Samaritan saw him, he felt sorry for the man, 34 went to him, and cleaned and bandaged his wounds. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day the Samaritan took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. He told the innkeeper, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than that, I’ll pay you on my return trip.’

36 “Of these three men, who do you think was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by robbers?”

37 The expert said, “The one who was kind enough to help him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and imitate his example!”

Mary Listens to Jesus

38 As they were traveling along, Jesus went into a village. A woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary. Mary sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to him talk.

40 But Martha was upset about all the work she had to do. So she asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work all by myself? Tell her to help me.”

41 The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha! You worry and fuss about a lot of things. 42 There’s only one thing you need. Mary has made the right choice, and that one thing will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 11

The Lord’s Prayer—Matthew 6:9-13

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

2 Jesus told them, “When you pray, say this:

Father,

let your name be kept holy.

Let your kingdom come.

3 Give us our bread day by day.

4 Forgive us as we forgive everyone else.

Don’t allow us to be tempted.”

The Power of Prayer—Matthew 7:7-11

5 Jesus said to his disciples, “Suppose one of you has a friend. Suppose you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, let me borrow three loaves of bread. 6 A friend of mine on a trip has dropped in on me, and I don’t have anything to serve him.’ 7 Your friend might answer you from inside his house, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children are in bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ 8 I can guarantee that although he doesn’t want to get up to give you anything, he will get up and give you whatever you need because he is your friend and because you were so bold.

9 “So I tell you to ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10 Everyone who asks will receive. The one who searches will find, and for the person who knocks, the door will be opened.

11 “If your child asks you, his father, for a fish, would you give him a snake instead? 12 Or if your child asks you for an egg, would you give him a scorpion? 13 Even though you’re evil, you know how to give good gifts to your children. So how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

Jesus Is Accused of Working With Beelzebul—Matthew 12:22-32, 43-45; Mark 3:20-30

14 Jesus was forcing a demon out of a man. The demon had made the man unable to talk. When the demon had gone out, the man began to talk.

The people were amazed. 15 But some of them said, “He can force demons out of people only with the help of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons.” 16 Others wanted to test Jesus and demanded that he show them some miraculous sign from heaven.

17 Since Jesus knew what they were thinking, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is ruined. A house divided against itself falls. 18 Now, if Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom last? I say this because you say Beelzebul helps me force demons out of people. 19 If I force demons out with the help of Beelzebul, who helps your followers force them out? That’s why they will be your judges. 20 But if I force out demons with the help of God’s power, then the kingdom of God has come to you.

21 “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own mansion, his property is safe. 22 But a stronger man than he may attack him and defeat him. Then the stronger man will take away all the weapons in which the strong man trusted and will divide the loot.

23 “Whoever isn’t with me is against me. Whoever doesn’t gather with me scatters.

24 “When an evil spirit comes out of a person, it goes through dry places looking for a place to rest. But it doesn’t find any. Then it says, ‘I’ll go back to the home I left.’ 25 When it comes, it finds the house swept clean and in order. 26 Then the spirit goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself. They enter and take up permanent residence there. In the end the condition of that person is worse than it was before.”

The Sign of Jonah—Matthew 12:38-42

27 While Jesus was speaking, a woman in the crowd shouted, “How blessed is the mother who gave birth to you and the breasts that nursed you.”

28 Jesus replied, “Rather, how blessed are those who hear and obey God’s word.”

29 As the people were gathering around him, Jesus said, “The people living today are evil. They look for a miraculous sign. But the only sign they will get is the sign of Jonah. 30 Just as Jonah became a miraculous sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be a miraculous sign to the people living today. 31 The queen from the south will stand up at the time of judgment with the men who live today. She will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear Solomon’s wisdom. But look, someone greater than Solomon is here! 32 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the time of judgment with the people living today. Since the men of Nineveh turned to God and changed the way they thought and acted when Jonah spoke his message, they will condemn the people living today. But look, someone greater than Jonah is here!"

Jesus Talks About Light

33 “No one lights a lamp and hides it or puts it under a basket. Instead, everyone who lights a lamp puts it on a lamp stand so that those who come in will see its light.

34 “Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is unclouded, your whole body is full of light. But when your eye is evil, your body is full of darkness. 35 So be careful that the light in you isn’t darkness. 36 If your whole body is full of light and not darkness, it will be as bright as a lamp shining on you.”

Jesus Criticizes Some Jewish Leaders

37 After Jesus spoke, a Pharisee invited him to have lunch at his house. So Jesus accepted the invitation. 38 The Pharisee was surprised to see that Jesus didn’t wash before the meal.

39 The Lord said to him, “You Pharisees clean the outside of cups and dishes. But inside you are full of greed and evil. 40 You fools! Didn’t the one who made the outside make the inside too? 41 Give what is inside as a gift to the poor, and then everything will be clean for you.

42 “How horrible it will be for you Pharisees! You give God one-tenth of your mint, spices, and every garden herb. But you have ignored justice and the love of God. You should have done these things without ignoring the others.

43 “How horrible it will be for you Pharisees! You love to sit in the front seats in the synagogues and to be greeted in the marketplaces. 44 How horrible it will be for you! You are like unmarked graves. People walk on them without knowing what they are.”

45 One of the experts in Moses’ Teachings said to him, “Teacher, when you talk this way, you insult us too.”

46 Jesus said, “How horrible it will be for you experts in Moses’ Teachings! You burden people with loads that are hard to carry. But you won’t lift a finger to carry any of these loads.

47 “How horrible it will be for you! You build the monuments for the prophets. But it was your ancestors who murdered them. 48 So you are witnesses and approve of what your ancestors did. They murdered the prophets for whom you build monuments. 49 That’s why the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles. They will murder some of those prophets and apostles and persecute others.’ 50 So the people living now will be charged with the murder of every prophet since the world was made. 51 This includes the murders from Abel to Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the temple. Yes, I can guarantee this truth: The people living today will be held responsible for this.

52 “How horrible it will be for you experts in Moses’ Teachings! You have taken away the key that unlocks knowledge. You haven’t gained entrance into knowledge yourselves, and you’ve kept out those who wanted to enter.”

53 When Jesus left, the scribes and the Pharisees held a terrible grudge against him. They questioned him about many things 54 and watched him closely to trap him in something he might say.

Luke 12

Jesus Speaks to His Disciples

1 Meanwhile, thousands of people had gathered. They were so crowded that they stepped on each other. Jesus spoke to his disciples and said, “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees. I’m talking about their hypocrisy. 2 Nothing has been covered that will not be exposed. Whatever is secret will be made known. 3 Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight. Whatever you have whispered in private rooms will be shouted from the housetops.

4 “My friends, I can guarantee that you don’t need to be afraid of those who kill the body. After that they can’t do anything more. 5 I’ll show you the one you should be afraid of. Be afraid of the one who has the power to throw you into hell after killing you. I’m warning you to be afraid of him.

6 “Aren’t five sparrows sold for two cents? God doesn’t forget any of them. 7 Even every hair on your head has been counted. Don’t be afraid! You are worth more than many sparrows. 8 I can guarantee that the Son of Man will acknowledge in front of God’s angels every person who acknowledges him in front of others. 9 But God’s angels will be told that I don’t know those people who tell others that they don’t know me. 10 Everyone who says something against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But the person who dishonors the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

11 “When you are put on trial in synagogues or in front of rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say. 12 At that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you must say.”

A Story About Material Possessions

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to give me my share of the inheritance that our father left us.”

14 Jesus said to him, “Who appointed me to be your judge or to divide your inheritance?”

15 He told the people, “Be careful to guard yourselves from every kind of greed. Life is not about having a lot of material possessions.”

16 Then he used this illustration. He said, “A rich man had land that produced good crops. 17 He thought, ‘What should I do? I don’t have enough room to store my crops.’ 18 He said, ‘I know what I’ll do. I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones so that I can store all my grain and goods in them. 19 Then I’ll say to myself, “You’ve stored up a lot of good things for years to come. Take life easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.”’

20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! I will demand your life from you tonight! Now who will get what you’ve accumulated?’ 21 That’s how it is when a person has material riches but is not rich in his relationship with God.”

Stop Worrying—Matthew 6:25-34

22 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “So I tell you to stop worrying about what you will eat or wear. 23 Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes. 24 Consider the crows. They don’t plant or harvest. They don’t even have a storeroom or a barn. Yet, God feeds them. You are worth much more than birds.

25 “Can any of you add an hour to your life by worrying? 26 If you can’t do a small thing like that, why worry about other things? 27 Consider how the flowers grow. They never work or spin yarn for clothes. But I say that not even Solomon in all his majesty was dressed like one of these flowers. 28 That’s the way God clothes the grass in the field. Today it’s alive, and tomorrow it’s thrown into an incinerator. So how much more will he clothe you people who have so little faith?

29 “Don’t concern yourself about what you will eat or drink, and quit worrying about these things. 30 Everyone in the world is concerned about these things, but your Father knows you need them. 31 Rather, be concerned about his kingdom. Then these things will be provided for you. 32 Don’t be afraid, little flock. Your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.

33 “Sell your material possessions, and give the money to the poor. Make yourselves wallets that don’t wear out! Make a treasure for yourselves in heaven that never loses its value! In heaven thieves and moths can’t get close enough to destroy your treasure. 34 Your heart will be where your treasure is."

The Son of Man Will Return When You Least Expect Him

35 “Be ready for action, and have your lamps burning. 36 Be like servants waiting to open the door at their master’s knock when he returns from a wedding. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. I can guarantee this truth: He will change his clothes, make them sit down at the table, and serve them. 38 They will be blessed if he comes in the middle of the night or toward morning and finds them awake.

39 “Of course, you realize that if the homeowner had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let him break into his house. 40 Be ready, because the Son of Man will return when you least expect him.”

41 Peter asked, “Lord, did you use this illustration just for us or for everyone?”

42 The Lord asked, “Who, then, is the faithful, skilled manager that the master will put in charge of giving the other servants their share of food at the right time? 43 That servant will be blessed if his master finds him doing this job when he comes. 44 I can guarantee this truth: He will put that servant in charge of all his property. 45 On the other hand, that servant may think that his master is taking a long time to come home. The servant may begin to beat the other servants and to eat, drink, and get drunk. 46 His master will return at an unexpected time. Then his master will punish him severely and assign him a place with unfaithful people.

47 “The servant who knew what his master wanted but didn’t get ready to do it will receive a hard beating. 48 But the servant who didn’t know what his master wanted and did things for which he deserved punishment will receive a light beating. A lot will be expected from everyone who has been given a lot. More will be demanded from everyone who has been entrusted with a lot."

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Jesus Will Cause Conflict

49 “I have come to throw fire on the earth. I wish that it had already started! 50 I have a baptism to go through, and I will suffer until it is over.

51 “Do you think I came to bring peace to earth? No! I can guarantee that I came to bring nothing but division. 52 From now on a family of five will be divided. Three will be divided against two and two against three. 53 A father will be against his son and a son against his father. A mother will be against her daughter and a daughter against her mother. A mother-in-law will be against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

Use Good Judgment

54 Jesus said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud coming up in the west, you immediately say, ‘There’s going to be a rainstorm,’ and it happens. 55 When you see a south wind blowing, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and that’s what happens. 56 You hypocrites! You can forecast the weather by judging the appearance of earth and sky. But for some reason you don’t know how to judge the time in which you’re living. 57 So why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? 58 For instance, when an opponent brings you to court in front of a ruler, do your best to settle with him before you get there. Otherwise, he will drag you in front of a judge. The judge will hand you over to an officer who will throw you into prison. 59 I can guarantee that you won’t get out until you pay every penny of your fine.”

Luke 13

Jesus Tells People to Turn to God and Change the Way They Think and Act

1 At that time some people reported to Jesus about some Galileans whom Pilate had executed while they were sacrificing animals. 2 Jesus replied to them, “Do you think that this happened to them because they were more sinful than other people from Galilee? 3 No! I can guarantee that they weren’t. But if you don’t turn to God and change the way you think and act, then you, too, will all die. 4 What about those 18 people who died when the tower at Siloam fell on them? Do you think that they were more sinful than other people living in Jerusalem? 5 No! I can guarantee that they weren’t. But if you don’t turn to God and change the way you think and act, then you, too, will all die.”

A Story About a Fruitless Tree

6 Then Jesus used this illustration: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard. He went to look for fruit on the tree but didn’t find any. 7 He said to the gardener, ‘For the last three years I’ve come to look for figs on this fig tree but haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up good soil?’

8 “The gardener replied, ‘Sir, let it stand for one more year. I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 Maybe next year it’ll have figs. But if not, then cut it down.’”

Jesus Heals a Disabled Woman

10 Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the day of worship. 11 A woman who was possessed by a spirit was there. The spirit had disabled her for 18 years. She was hunched over and couldn’t stand up straight. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her to come to him and said, “Woman, you are free from your disability.” 13 He placed his hands on her, and she immediately stood up straight and praised God.

14 The synagogue leader was irritated with Jesus for healing on the day of worship. The leader told the crowd, “There are six days when work can be done. So come on one of those days to be healed. Don’t come on the day of worship.”

15 The Lord said, “You hypocrites! Don’t each of you free your ox or donkey on the day of worship? Don’t you then take it out of its stall to give it some water to drink? 16 Now, here is a descendant of Abraham. Satan has kept her in this condition for 18 years. Isn’t it right to free her on the day of worship?”

17 As he said this, everyone who opposed him felt ashamed. But the entire crowd was happy about the miraculous things he was doing.

Stories About a Mustard Seed and Yeast—Matthew 13:31-33; Mark 4:30-32

18 Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What can I compare it to? 19 It’s like a mustard seed that someone planted in a garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds nested in its branches.”

20 He asked again, “What can I compare the kingdom of God to? 21 It’s like yeast that a woman mixed into a large amount of flour until the yeast worked its way through all the dough.”

The Narrow Door

22 Then Jesus traveled and taught in one city and village after another on his way to Jerusalem.

23 Someone asked him, “Sir, are only a few people going to be saved?”

He answered, 24 “Try hard to enter through the narrow door. I can guarantee that many will try to enter, but they won’t succeed. 25 After the homeowner gets up and closes the door, it’s too late. You can stand outside, knock at the door, and say, ‘Sir, open the door for us!’ But he will answer you, ‘I don’t know who you are.’ 26 Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will tell you, ‘I don’t know who you are. Get away from me, all you evil people.’ 28 Then you will cry and be in extreme pain. That’s what you’ll do when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets. They’ll be in the kingdom of God, but you’ll be thrown out. 29 People will come from all over the world and will eat in the kingdom of God. 30 Some who are last will be first, and some who are first will be last.”

Jesus Warns Jerusalem

31 At that time some Pharisees told Jesus, “Get out of here, and go somewhere else! Herod wants to kill you.”

32 Jesus said to them, “Tell that fox that I will force demons out of people and heal people today and tomorrow. I will finish my work on the third day. 33 But I must be on my way today, tomorrow, and the next day. It’s not possible for a prophet to die outside Jerusalem.

34 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you kill the prophets and stone to death those sent to you! How often I wanted to gather your children together the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings! But you were not willing! 35 Your house will be abandoned. I can guarantee that you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

Luke 14

Jesus Attends a Banquet

1 On a day of worship Jesus went to eat at the home of a prominent Pharisee. The guests were watching Jesus very closely.

2 A man whose body was swollen with fluid was there. 3 Jesus reacted by asking the Pharisees and the experts in Moses’ Teachings, “Is it right to heal on the day of worship or not?” 4 But they didn’t say a thing.

So Jesus took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him away. 5 Jesus asked them, “If your son or your ox falls into a well on a day of worship, wouldn’t you pull him out immediately?” 6 They couldn’t argue with him about this.

7 Then Jesus noticed how the guests always chose the places of honor. So he used this illustration when he spoke to them: 8 “When someone invites you to a wedding, don’t take the place of honor. Maybe someone more important than you was invited. 9 Then your host would say to you, ‘Give this person your place.’ Embarrassed, you would have to take the place of least honor. 10 So when you’re invited, take the place of least honor. Then, when your host comes, he will tell you, ‘Friend, move to a more honorable place.’ Then all the other guests will see how you are honored. 11 Those who honor themselves will be humbled, but people who humble themselves will be honored.”

12 Then he told the man who had invited him, “When you invite people for lunch or dinner, don’t invite only your friends, family, other relatives, or rich neighbors. Otherwise, they will return the favor. 13 Instead, when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the handicapped, the lame, and the blind. 14 Then you will be blessed because they don’t have any way to pay you back. You will be paid back when those who have God’s approval come back to life.”

15 One of those eating with him heard this. So he said to Jesus, “The person who will be at the banquet in the kingdom of God is blessed.”

16 Jesus said to him, “A man gave a large banquet and invited many people. 17 When it was time for the banquet, he sent his servant to tell those who were invited, ‘Come! Everything is ready now.’

18 “Everyone asked to be excused. The first said to him, ‘I bought a field, and I need to see it. Please excuse me.’ 19 Another said, ‘I bought five pairs of oxen, and I’m on my way to see how well they plow. Please excuse me.’ 20 Still another said, ‘I recently got married, and that’s why I can’t come.’

21 “The servant went back to report this to his master. Then the master of the house became angry. He told his servant, ‘Run to every street and alley in the city! Bring back the poor, the handicapped, the blind, and the lame.’

22 “The servant said, ‘Sir, what you’ve ordered has been done. But there is still room for more people.’

23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go to the roads and paths! Urge the people to come to my house. I want it to be full. 24 I can guarantee that none of those invited earlier will taste any food at my banquet.’”

The Cost of Being a Disciple

25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus. He turned to them and said, 26 “If people come to me and are not ready to abandon their fathers, mothers, wives, children, brothers, and sisters, as well as their own lives, they cannot be my disciples. 27 So those who do not carry their crosses and follow me cannot be my disciples.

28 “Suppose you want to build a tower. You would first sit down and figure out what it costs. Then you would see if you have enough money to finish it. 29 Otherwise, if you lay a foundation and can’t finish the building, everyone who watches will make fun of you. 30 They’ll say, ‘This person started to build but couldn’t finish the job.’

31 “Or suppose a king is going to war against another king. He would first sit down and think things through. Can he and his 10,000 soldiers fight against a king with 20,000 soldiers? 32 If he can’t, he’ll send ambassadors to ask for terms of peace while the other king is still far away. 33 In the same way, none of you can be my disciples unless you give up everything.

34 “Salt is good. But if salt loses its taste, how will you restore its flavor? 35 It’s not any good for the ground or for the manure pile. People throw it away.

“Let the person who has ears listen!”

Luke 15

The Lost Sheep—Matthew 18:12-14

1 All the tax collectors and sinners came to listen to Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the scribes complained, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

3 Jesus spoke to them using this illustration: 4 “Suppose a man has 100 sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the 99 sheep grazing in the pasture and look for the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 When he finds it, he’s happy. He puts that sheep on his shoulders and 6 goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says to them, ‘Let’s celebrate! I’ve found my lost sheep!’ 7 I can guarantee that there will be more happiness in heaven over one person who turns to God and changes the way he thinks and acts than over 99 people who already have turned to God and have his approval.”

The Lost Coin

8 “Suppose a woman has ten coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house, and look for the coin carefully until she finds it? 9 When she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Let’s celebrate! I’ve found the coin that I lost.’ 10 So I can guarantee that God’s angels are happy about one person who turns to God and changes the way he thinks and acts.”

The Lost Son

11 Then Jesus said, “A man had two sons. 12 The younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the property.’ So the father divided his property between his two sons.

13 “After a few days, the younger son gathered his possessions and left for a country far away from home. There he wasted everything he had on a wild lifestyle. 14 He had nothing left when a severe famine spread throughout that country. He had nothing to live on. 15 So he got a job from someone in that country and was sent to feed pigs in the fields. 16 No one in the country would give him any food, and he was so hungry that he would have eaten what the pigs were eating.

17 “Finally, he came to his senses. He said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more food than they can eat, while I’m starving to death here? 18 I’ll go at once to my father, and I’ll say to him, “Father, I’ve sinned against heaven and you. 19 I don’t deserve to be called your son anymore. Make me one of your hired men.”’

20 “So he went at once to his father. While he was still at a distance, his father saw him and felt sorry for him. He ran to his son, put his arms around him, and kissed him. 21 Then his son said to him, ‘Father, I’ve sinned against heaven and you. I don’t deserve to be called your son anymore.’

22 “The father said to his servants, ‘Hurry! Bring out the best robe, and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let’s celebrate with a feast. 24 My son was dead and has come back to life. He was lost but has been found.’ Then they began to celebrate.

25 “His older son was in the field. As he was coming back to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 He called to one of the servants and asked what was happening.

27 “The servant told him, ‘Your brother has come home. So your father has killed the fattened calf to celebrate your brother’s safe return.’

28 “Then the older son became angry and wouldn’t go into the house. His father came out and begged him to come in. 29 But he answered his father, ‘All these years I’ve worked like a slave for you. I’ve never disobeyed one of your commands. Yet, you’ve never given me so much as a little goat for a celebration with my friends. 30 But this son of yours spent your money on prostitutes, and when he came home, you killed the fattened calf for him.’

31 “His father said to him, ‘My child, you’re always with me. Everything I have is yours. 32 But we have something to celebrate, something to be happy about. This brother of yours was dead but has come back to life. He was lost but has been found.’”

Luke 16

Jesus Speaks About Dishonesty

1 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a business manager. The manager was accused of wasting the rich man’s property. 2 So the rich man called for his manager and said to him, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Let me examine your books. It’s obvious that you can’t manage my property any longer.’

3 “The manager thought, ‘What should I do? My master is taking my job away from me. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg. 4 I know what I’ll do so that people will welcome me into their homes when I’ve lost my job.’

5 “So the manager called for each one of his master’s debtors. He said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

6 “The debtor replied, ‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil.’

“The manager told him, ‘Take my master’s ledger. Quick! Sit down, and write “four hundred!”’

7 “Then he asked another debtor, ‘How much do you owe?’

“The debtor replied, ‘A thousand bushels of wheat.’

“The manager told him, ‘Take the ledger, and write “eight hundred!”’

8 “The master praised the dishonest manager for being so clever. Worldly people are more clever than spiritually-minded people when it comes to dealing with others.”

9 Jesus continued, “I’m telling you that although wealth is often used in dishonest ways, you should use it to make friends for yourselves. When life is over, you will be welcomed into an eternal home. 10 Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with a lot. Whoever is dishonest with very little is dishonest with a lot. 11 Therefore, if you can’t be trusted with wealth that is often used dishonestly, who will trust you with wealth that is real? 12 If you can’t be trusted with someone else’s wealth, who will give you your own?

13 “A servant cannot serve two masters. He will hate the first master and love the second, or he will be devoted to the first and despise the second. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

14 The Pharisees, who love money, heard all this and were making sarcastic remarks about him. 15 So Jesus said to them, “You try to justify your actions in front of people. But God knows what’s in your hearts. What is important to humans is disgusting to God.

16 “Moses’ Teachings and the Prophets were in force until the time of John. Since that time, people have been telling the Good News about the kingdom of God, and everyone is trying to force their way into it. 17 It is easier for the earth and the heavens to disappear than to drop a comma from Moses’ Teachings.

18 “Any man who divorces his wife to marry another woman is committing adultery. The man who marries a woman divorced in this way is committing adultery.

A Rich Man and Lazarus

19 “There was a rich man who wore expensive clothes. Every day was like a party to him. 20 There was also a beggar named Lazarus who was regularly brought to the gate of the rich man’s house. 21 Lazarus would have eaten any scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Lazarus was covered with sores, and dogs would lick them.

22 “One day the beggar died, and the angels carried him to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 He went to hell, where he was constantly tortured. As he looked up, in the distance he saw Abraham and Lazarus. 24 He yelled, ‘Father Abraham! Have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool off my tongue. I am suffering in this fire.’

25 “Abraham replied, ‘Remember, my child, that you had a life filled with good times, while Lazarus’ life was filled with misery. Now he has peace here, while you suffer. 26 Besides, a wide area separates us. People couldn’t cross it in either direction even if they wanted to.’

27 “The rich man responded, ‘Then I ask you, Father, to send Lazarus back to my father’s home. 28 I have five brothers. He can warn them so that they won’t end up in this place of torture.’

29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses’ Teachings and the Prophets. Your brothers should listen to them!’

30 “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! If someone comes back to them from the dead, they will turn to God and change the way they think and act.’

31 “Abraham answered him, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses’ Teachings and the Prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone comes back to life.’”

05/20 Plunge! Mark 15-16, Luke 1-7

05/03/10

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Mark 15

Pilate Questions Jesus—Matthew 27:11-14; Luke 23:1-4; John 18:28-38

1 Early in the morning the chief priests immediately came to a decision with the leaders and the scribes. The whole Jewish council decided to tie Jesus up, lead him away, and hand him over to Pilate.

2 Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

“Yes, I am,” Jesus answered him.

3 The chief priests were accusing him of many things.

4 So Pilate asked him again, “Don’t you have any answer? Look how many accusations they’re bringing against you!”

5 But Jesus no longer answered anything, so Pilate was surprised.

The Crowd Rejects Jesus—Matthew 27:15-26; Luke 23:18-25; John 18:39-40

6 At every Passover festival, Pilate would free one prisoner whom the people asked for. 7 There was a man named Barabbas in prison. He was with some rebels who had committed murder during a riot. 8 The crowd asked Pilate to do for them what he always did. 9 Pilate answered them, “Do you want me to free the king of the Jews for you?” 10 Pilate knew that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him because they were jealous.

11 The chief priests stirred up the crowd so that Pilate would free Barabbas for them instead.

12 So Pilate again asked them, “Then what should I do with the king of the Jews?”

13 “Crucify him!” they shouted back.

14 Pilate said to them, “Why? What has he done wrong?”

But they shouted even louder, “Crucify him!”

15 Pilate wanted to satisfy the people, so he freed Barabbas for them. But he had Jesus whipped and handed over to be crucified.

The Soldiers Make Fun of Jesus—Matthew 27:27-30; John 19:1-3

16 The soldiers led Jesus into the courtyard of the palace and called together the whole troop. 17 They dressed him in purple, twisted some thorns into a crown, and placed it on his head. 18 Then they began to greet him, “Long live the king of the Jews!” 19 They kept hitting him on the head with a stick, spitting on him, and kneeling in front of him with false humility.

The Crucifixion—Matthew 27:31-44; Luke 23:33-38; John 19:16b-24

20 After the soldiers finished making fun of Jesus, they took off the purple cape and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him out to crucify him. 21 A man named Simon from the city of Cyrene was coming into Jerusalem from his home in the country. He was the father of Alexander and Rufus. As he was about to pass by, the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross.

22 They took Jesus to Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). 23 They tried to give him wine mixed with a drug called myrrh, but he wouldn’t take it. 24 Next they crucified him. Then they divided his clothes among themselves by throwing dice to see what each one would get. 25 It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. 26 There was a written notice of the accusation against him. It read, “The king of the Jews.”

27 They crucified two criminals with him, one on his right and the other on his left. 28 And what the Scriptures said came true: “He was counted with criminals.”

29 Those who passed by insulted him. They shook their heads and said, “What a joke! You were going to tear down God’s temple and build it again in three days. 30 Come down from the cross, and save yourself!” 31 The chief priests and the scribes made fun of him among themselves in the same way. They said, “He saved others, but he can’t save himself. 32 Let the Messiah, the king of Israel, come down from the cross now so that we may see and believe.” Even those who were crucified with him were insulting him.

Jesus Dies on the Cross—Matthew 27:45-56; Luke 23:44-49; John 19:28-30

33 At noon darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 At three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

35 When some of the people standing there heard him say that, they said, “Listen! He’s calling Elijah.” 36 Someone ran and soaked a sponge in vinegar. Then he put it on a stick and offered Jesus a drink. The man said, “Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down.”

37 Then Jesus cried out in a loud voice and died. 38 The curtain in the temple was split in two from top to bottom.

39 When the officer who stood facing Jesus saw how he gave up his spirit, he said, “Certainly, this man was the Son of God!”

40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary from Magdala, Mary (the mother of young James and Joseph), and Salome. 41 They had followed him and supported him while he was in Galilee. Many other women who had come to Jerusalem with him were there too.

Jesus Is Buried—Matthew 27:57-61; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42

42 It was Friday evening, before the day of worship, 43 when Joseph arrived. He was from the city of Arimathea and was an important member of the Jewish council. He, too, was waiting for the kingdom of God. Joseph boldly went to Pilate’s quarters to ask for the body of Jesus.

44 Pilate wondered if Jesus had already died. So he summoned the officer to ask him if Jesus was, in fact, dead. 45 When the officer had assured him that Jesus was dead, Pilate let Joseph have the corpse.

46 Joseph had purchased some linen cloth. He took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in the cloth. Then he laid the body in a tomb, which had been cut out of rock, and he rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. 47 Mary from Magdala and Mary (the mother of Joses) watched where Jesus was laid.

Mark 16

Jesus Comes Back to Life—Matthew 28:1-10; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-10

1 When the day of worship was over, Mary from Magdala, Mary (the mother of James), and Salome bought spices to go and anoint Jesus.

2 On Sunday they were going to the tomb very early when the sun had just come up. 3 They said to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4 When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away. It was a very large stone. 5 As they went into the tomb, they saw a young man. He was dressed in a white robe and sat on the right side. They were panic-stricken.

6 The young man said to them, “Don’t panic! You’re looking for Jesus from Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been brought back to life. He’s not here. Look at the place where they laid him. 7 Go and tell his disciples and Peter that he’s going ahead of them to Galilee. There they will see him, just as he told them.”

8 They went out of the tomb and ran away. Shock and trembling had overwhelmed them. They didn’t say a thing to anyone, because they were afraid.

Jesus Appears to His Followers

9 After Jesus came back to life early on Sunday, he appeared first to Mary from Magdala, from whom he had forced out seven demons. 10 She went and told his friends, who were grieving and crying. 11 They didn’t believe her when they heard that he was alive and that she had seen him.

12 Later Jesus appeared to two disciples as they were walking to their home in the country. He did not look as he usually did. 13 They went back and told the others, who did not believe them either. 14 Still later Jesus appeared to the eleven apostles while they were eating. He put them to shame for their unbelief and because they were too stubborn to believe those who had seen him alive.

15 Then Jesus said to them, “So wherever you go in the world, tell everyone the Good News. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

17 “These are the miraculous signs that will accompany believers: They will use the power and authority of my name to force demons out of people. They will speak new languages. 18 They will pick up snakes, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them. They will place their hands on the sick and cure them.”

19 After talking with the apostles, the Lord was taken to heaven, where God gave him the highest position.

20 The disciples spread the Good News everywhere. The Lord worked with them. He confirmed his word by the miraculous signs that accompanied it.

Luke 1

Luke Writes to Theophilus

1 Many have attempted to write about what had taken place among us. 2 They received their information from those who had been eyewitnesses and servants of God’s word from the beginning, and they passed it on to us. 3 I, too, have followed everything closely from the beginning. So I thought it would be a good idea to write an orderly account for Your Excellency, Theophilus. 4 In this way you will know that what you’ve been told is true.

The Angel Gabriel Appears to Zechariah

5 When Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the division of priests named after Abijah. Zechariah’s wife Elizabeth was a descendant of Aaron. 6 Zechariah and Elizabeth had God’s approval. They followed all the Lord’s commands and regulations perfectly. 7 Yet, they never had any children because Elizabeth couldn’t become pregnant. Both of them were too old to have children.

8 Zechariah was on duty with his division of priests. As he served in God’s presence, 9 he was chosen by priestly custom to go into the Lord’s temple to burn incense. 10 All the people were praying outside while he was burning incense.

11 Then, to the right of the incense altar, an angel of the Lord appeared to him. 12 Zechariah was troubled and overcome with fear.

13 The angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife Elizabeth will have a son, and you will name him John. 14 He will be your pride and joy, and many people will be glad that he was born. 15 As far as the Lord is concerned, he will be a great man. He will never drink wine or any other liquor. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He will bring many people in Israel back to the Lord their God. 17 He will go ahead of the Lord with the spirit and power that Elijah had. He will change parents’ attitudes toward their children. He will change disobedient people so that they will accept the wisdom of those who have God’s approval. In this way he will prepare the people for their Lord.”

18 Zechariah said to the angel, “What proof is there for this? I’m an old man, and my wife is beyond her childbearing years.”

19 The angel answered him, “I’m Gabriel! I stand in God’s presence. God sent me to tell you this good news. 20 But because you didn’t believe what I said, you will be unable to talk until the day this happens. Everything will come true at the right time.”

21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah. They were amazed that he was staying in the temple so long. 22 When he did come out, he was unable to speak to them. So they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. He motioned to them but remained unable to talk.

23 When the days of his service were over, he went home. 24 Later, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and didn’t go out in public for five months. She said, 25 “The Lord has done this for me now. He has removed my public disgrace.”

The Angel Gabriel Comes to Mary

26 Six months after Elizabeth had become pregnant, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a city in Galilee. 27 The angel went to a virgin promised in marriage to a descendant of David named Joseph. The virgin’s name was Mary.

28 When the angel entered her home, he greeted her and said, “You are favored by the Lord! The Lord is with you.”

29 She was startled by what the angel said and tried to figure out what this greeting meant.

30 The angel told her,

“Don’t be afraid, Mary. You have found favor with God.

31 You will become pregnant, give birth to a son,

and name him Jesus.

32 He will be a great man

and will be called the Son of the Most High.

The Lord God will give him

the throne of his ancestor David.

33 Your son will be king of Jacob’s people forever,

and his kingdom will never end.”

34 Mary asked the angel, “How can this be? I’ve never had sexual intercourse.”

35 The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come to you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy child developing inside you will be called the Son of God.

36 “Elizabeth, your relative, is six months pregnant with a son in her old age. People said she couldn’t have a child. 37 But nothing is impossible for God.”

38 Mary answered, “I am the Lord’s servant. Let everything you’ve said happen to me.”

Then the angel left her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

39 Soon afterward, Mary hurried to a city in the mountain region of Judah. 40 She entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.

41 When Elizabeth heard the greeting, she felt the baby kick. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 She said in a loud voice, “You are the most blessed of all women, and blessed is the child that you will have. 43 I feel blessed that the mother of my Lord is visiting me. 44 As soon as I heard your greeting, I felt the baby jump for joy. 45 You are blessed for believing that the Lord would keep his promise to you.”

Mary Praises God

46 Mary said,

“My soul praises the Lord’s greatness!

47 My spirit finds its joy in God, my Savior,

48 because he has looked favorably on me, his humble servant.

“From now on, all people will call me blessed

49 because the Almighty has done great things to me.

His name is holy.

50 For those who fear him,

his mercy lasts throughout every generation.

51 “He displayed his mighty power.

He scattered those who think too highly of themselves.

52 He pulled strong rulers from their thrones.

He honored humble people.

53 He fed hungry people with good food.

He sent rich people away with nothing.

54 “He remembered to help his servant Israel forever.

55 This is the promise he made to our ancestors,

to Abraham and his descendants.”

56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back home.

John Is Born

57 When the time came for Elizabeth to have her child, she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very kind to her, and they shared her joy.

59 When the child was eight days old, they went to the temple to circumcise him. They were going to name him Zechariah after his father. 60 But his mother spoke up, “Absolutely not! His name will be John.”

61 Their friends said to her, “But you don’t have any relatives with that name.”

62 So they motioned to the baby’s father to see what he wanted to name the child. 63 Zechariah asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” Everyone was amazed.

64 Suddenly, Zechariah was able to speak, and he began to praise God.

65 All their neighbors were filled with awe. Throughout the mountain region of Judea, people talked about everything that had happened. 66 Everyone who heard about it seriously thought it over and asked, “What does the future hold for this child?” It was clear that the Lord was with him.

67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied,

68 “Praise the Lord God of Israel!

He has come to take care of his people

and to set them free.

69 He has raised up a mighty Savior for us

in the family of his servant David.

70 He made this promise through his holy prophets long ago.

71 He promised to save us from our enemies

and from the power of all who hate us.

72 He has shown his mercy to our ancestors

and remembered his holy promise,

73 the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham.

74 He promised to rescue us from our enemies’ power

so that we could serve him without fear

75 by being holy and honorable as long as we live.

76 “You, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High.

You will go ahead of the Lord to prepare his way.

77 You will make his people know that they can be saved

through the forgiveness of their sins.

78 A new day will dawn on us from above

because our God is loving and merciful.

79 He will give light to those who live in the dark

and in death’s shadow.

He will guide us into the way of peace.”

80 The child John grew and became spiritually strong. He lived in the desert until the day he appeared to the people of Israel.

Luke 2

Jesus Is Born

1 At that time the Emperor Augustus ordered a census of the Roman Empire. 2 This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 All the people went to register in the cities where their ancestors had lived.

4 So Joseph went from Nazareth, a city in Galilee, to a Judean city called Bethlehem. Joseph, a descendant of King David, went to Bethlehem because David had been born there. 5 Joseph went there to register with Mary. She had been promised to him in marriage and was pregnant.

6 While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to have her child. 7 She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger because there wasn’t any room for them in the inn.

Angels Announce the Birth of Jesus

8 Shepherds were in the fields near Bethlehem. They were taking turns watching their flock during the night. 9 An angel from the Lord suddenly appeared to them. The glory of the Lord filled the area with light, and they were terrified. 10 The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you, a message that will fill everyone with joy. 11 Today your Savior, Christ the Lord, was born in David’s city. 12 This is how you will recognize him: You will find an infant wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly, a large army of angels appeared with the angel. They were praising God by saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace to those who have his good will!”

15 The angels left them and went back to heaven. The shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord has told us about.”

16 They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph with the baby, who was lying in a manger. 17 When they saw the child, they repeated what they had been told about him. 18 Everyone who heard the shepherds’ story was amazed.

19 Mary treasured all these things in her heart and always thought about them.

20 As the shepherds returned to their flock, they glorified and praised God for everything they had seen and heard. Everything happened the way the angel had told them.

Jesus’ Parents Obey Moses’ Teachings

21 Eight days after his birth, the child was circumcised and named Jesus. This was the name the angel had given him before his mother became pregnant.

22 After the days required by Moses’ Teachings to make a mother clean had passed, Joseph and Mary went to Jerusalem. They took Jesus to present him to the Lord. 23 They did exactly what was written in the Lord’s Teachings: “Every firstborn boy is to be set apart as holy to the Lord.” 24 They also offered a sacrifice as required by the Lord’s Teachings: “a pair of mourning doves or two young pigeons.”

Simeon’s Prophecy

25 A man named Simeon was in Jerusalem. He lived an honorable and devout life. He was waiting for the one who would comfort Israel. The Holy Spirit was with Simeon 26 and had told him that he wouldn’t die until he had seen the Messiah, whom the Lord would send.

27 Moved by the Spirit, Simeon went into the temple courtyard. Mary and Joseph were bringing the child Jesus into the courtyard at the same time. They brought him so that they could do for him what Moses’ Teachings required. 28 Then Simeon took the child in his arms and praised God by saying,

29 “Now, Lord, you are allowing your servant to leave in peace

as you promised.

30 My eyes have seen your salvation,

31 which you have prepared for all people to see.

32 He is a light that will reveal salvation to the nations

and bring glory to your people Israel.”

33 Jesus’ father and mother were amazed at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, “This child is the reason that many people in Israel will be condemned and many others will be saved. He will be a sign that will expose 35 the thoughts of those who reject him. And a sword will pierce your heart.”

Anna’s Prophecy

36 Anna, a prophet, was also there. She was a descendant of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher. She was now very old. Her husband had died seven years after they were married, 37 and she had been a widow for 84 years. Anna never left the temple courtyard but worshiped day and night by fasting and praying. 38 At that moment she came up to Mary and Joseph and began to thank God. She spoke about Jesus to all who were waiting for Jerusalem to be set free.

39 After doing everything the Lord’s Teachings required, Joseph and Mary returned to their hometown of Nazareth in Galilee. 40 The child grew and became strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God’s favor was with him.

Mary and Joseph Find Jesus With the Teachers in the Temple Courtyard

41 Every year Jesus’ parents would go to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. 42 When he was 12 years old, they went as usual.

43 When the festival was over, they left for home. The boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents didn’t know it. 44 They thought that he was with the others who were traveling with them. After traveling for a day, they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they didn’t find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him.

46 Three days later, they found him in the temple courtyard. He was sitting among the teachers, listening to them, and asking them questions. 47 His understanding and his answers stunned everyone who heard him.

48 When his parents saw him, they were shocked. His mother asked him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been worried sick looking for you!”

49 Jesus said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you realize that I had to be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they didn’t understand what he meant.

51 Then he returned with them to Nazareth and was obedient to them.

His mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 Jesus grew in wisdom and maturity. He gained favor from God and people.

Luke 3

John Prepares the Way—Matthew 3:1-12; Mark 1:1-8; John 1:19-28

1 It was the fifteenth year in the reign of the Emperor Tiberius. Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea. Herod ruled Galilee, and his brother Philip ruled Iturea and Trachonitis. Lysanias was the ruler of Abilene. 2 It was at the time when Annas and Caiaphas were chief priests that God spoke to John, son of Zechariah, in the desert. 3 John traveled throughout the region around the Jordan River. He told people about a baptism of repentancea for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As the prophet Isaiah wrote in his book,

“A voice cries out in the desert:

‘Prepare the way for the Lord!

Make his paths straight!

5 Every valley will be filled.

Every mountain and hill will be leveled.

The crooked ways will be made straight.

The rough roads will be made smooth.

6 All people will see the salvation that God gives.’”

7 Crowds of people were coming to be baptized by John. He would say to them, “You poisonous snakes! Who showed you how to flee from God’s coming anger? 8 Do those things that prove that you have turned to God and have changed the way you think and act. Don’t say, ‘Abraham is our ancestor.’ I guarantee that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones. 9 The ax is now ready to cut the roots of the trees. Any tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire.”

10 The crowds asked him, “What should we do?”

11 He answered them, “Whoever has two shirts should share with the person who doesn’t have any. Whoever has food should share it too.”

12 Some tax collectors came to be baptized. They asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?”

13 He told them, “Don’t collect more money than you are ordered to collect.”

14 Some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”

He told them, “Be satisfied with your pay, and never use threats or blackmail to get money from anyone.”

15 People’s hopes were rising as they all wondered whether John was the Messiah. 16 John replied to all of them, “I baptize you with water. But the one who is more powerful than I is coming. I am not worthy to untie his sandal straps. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing shovel is in his hand to clean up his threshing floor. He will gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn the husks in a fire that can never be put out.”

18 With many other encouraging words, he told the Good News to the people.

19 John spoke out against the ruler Herod because Herod had married his own sister-in-law, Herodias. He also spoke out against Herod for all the evil things he had done. 20 So Herod added one more evil to all the others; he locked John in prison.

The Baptism of Jesus—Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11

21 When all the people were baptized, Jesus, too, was baptized. While he was praying, heaven opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit came down to him in the form of a dove. A voice from heaven said, “You are my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with you.”

23 Jesus was about 30 years old when he began his ministry.

The Ancestors of Jesus

Jesus, so people thought, was the son of Joseph, son of Eli, 24 son of Matthat, son of Levi, son of Melchi, son of Jannai, son of Joseph, 25 son of Mattathias, son of Amos, son of Nahum, son of Esli, son of Naggai, 26 son of Maath, son of Mattathias, son of Semein, son of Josech, son of Joda, 27 son of Joanan, son of Rhesa, son of Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, son of Neri, 28 son of Melchi, son of Addi, son of Cosam, son of Elmadam, son of Er, 29 son of Joshua, son of Eliezer, son of Jorim, son of Matthat, son of Levi, 30 son of Simeon, son of Judah, son of Joseph, son of Jonam, son of Eliakim, 31 son of Melea, son of Menna, son of Mattatha, son of Nathan, son of David, 32 son of Jesse, son of Obed, son of Boaz, son of Salmon, son of Nahshon, 33 son of Amminadab, son of Admin, son of Arni, son of Hezron, son of Perez, son of Judah, 34 son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham, son of Terah, son of Nahor, 35 son of Serug, son of Reu, son of Peleg, son of Eber, son of Shelah, 36 son of Cainan, son of Arphaxad, son of Shem, son of Noah, son of Lamech, 37 son of Methuselah, son of Enoch, son of Jared, son of Mahalaleel, son of Cainan, 38 son of Enos, son of Seth, son of Adam, son of God.

Luke 4

The Devil Tempts Jesus—Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13

1 Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit as he left the Jordan River. The Spirit led him while he was in the desert, 2 where he was tempted by the devil for 40 days. During those days Jesus ate nothing, so when they were over, he was hungry.

3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”

4 Jesus answered him, “Scripture says, ‘A person cannot live on bread alone, but on every word of God.’”

5 The devil took him to a high place and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in an instant. 6 The devil said to him, “I will give you all the power and glory of these kingdoms. All of it has been given to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7 So if you will worship me, all this will be yours.”

8 Jesus answered him, “Scripture says, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”

9 Then the devil took him into Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest part of the temple. He said to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, jump from here! 10 Scripture says, ‘He will put his angels in charge of you to watch over you carefully. 11 They will carry you in their hands so that you never hit your foot against a rock.’”

12 Jesus answered him, “It has been said, ‘Never tempt the Lord your God.’”

13 After the devil had finished tempting Jesus in every possible way, the devil left him until another time.

Nazareth Rejects Jesus—Matthew 13:54-58; Mark 6:1-6

14 Jesus returned to Galilee. The power of the Spirit was with him, and the news about him spread throughout the surrounding country. 15 He taught in the synagogues, and everyone praised him.

16 Then Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. As usual he went into the synagogue on the day of worship. He stood up to read the lesson. 17 The attendant gave him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened it and found the place where it read:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is with me.

He has anointed me

to tell the Good News to the poor.

He has sent me

to announce forgiveness to the prisoners of sin

and the restoring of sight to the blind,

to forgive those who have been shattered by sin,

to heal those who are brokenhearted,

19 to announce the year of the Lord’s favor.”

20 Jesus closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. Everyone in the synagogue watched him closely. 21 Then he said to them, “This passage came true today when you heard me read it.”

22 All the people spoke well of him. They were amazed to hear the gracious words flowing from his lips. They said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

23 So he said to them, “You’ll probably quote this proverb to me, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ and then say to me, ‘Do all the things in your hometown that we’ve heard you’ve done in Capernaum.’” 24 Then Jesus added, “I can guarantee this truth: A prophet isn’t accepted in his hometown.

25 “I can guarantee this truth: There were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time. It had not rained for three-and-a-half years, and the famine was severe everywhere in the country. 26 But God didn’t send Elijah to anyone except a widow at Zarephath in the territory of Sidon. 27 There were also many people with skin diseases in Israel in the prophet Elisha’s time. But God cured no one except Naaman from Syria.”

28 Everyone in the synagogue became furious when they heard this. 29 Their city was built on a hill with a cliff. So they got up, forced Jesus out of the city, and led him to the cliff. They intended to throw him off of it. 30 But Jesus walked right by them and went away.

Jesus Forces an Evil Spirit out of a Man—Mark 1:21-28

31 Jesus went to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and taught them on a day of worship. 32 The people were amazed at his teachings because he spoke with authority.

33 In the synagogue was a man possessed by a spirit, an evil demon. He shouted very loudly, 34 “Oh, no! What do you want with us, Jesus from Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

35 Jesus ordered the spirit, “Keep quiet, and come out of him!” The demon threw the man down in the middle of the synagogue and came out without hurting him.

36 Everyone was stunned. They said to one another, “What kind of command is this? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits, and they come out.”

37 So news about him spread to every place throughout the surrounding region.

Jesus Cures Simon’s Mother-in-Law and Many Others—Matthew 8:14-18; Mark 1:29-34

38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to Simon’s house. Simon’s mother-in-law was sick with a high fever. They asked Jesus to help her. 39 He bent over her, ordered the fever to leave, and it went away. She got up immediately and prepared a meal for them.

40 When the sun was setting, everyone who had friends suffering from various diseases brought them to him. He placed his hands on each of them and cured them. 41 Demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But Jesus ordered them not to speak. After all, they knew he was the Messiah.

Spreading the Good News—Matthew 4:23-25; Mark 1:35-39

42 In the morning he went to a place where he could be alone. The crowds searched for him. When they came to him, they tried to keep him from leaving. 43 But he said to them, “I have to tell the Good News about the kingdom of God in other cities also. That’s what I was sent to do.”

44 So he spread his message in the synagogues of Judea.

Luke 5

Calling of the First Disciples—Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:14-20

1 One day Jesus was standing by the Sea of Galilee. The people crowded around him as they listened to God’s word. 2 Jesus saw two boats on the shore. The fishermen had stepped out of them and were washing their nets. 3 So Jesus got into the boat that belonged to Simon and asked him to push off a little from the shore. Then Jesus sat down and taught the crowd from the boat.

4 When he finished speaking, he told Simon, “Take the boat into deep water, and lower your nets to catch some fish.”

5 Simon answered, “Teacher, we worked hard all night and caught nothing. But if you say so, I’ll lower the nets.”

6 After the men had done this, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to tear. 7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. Their partners came and filled both boats until the boats nearly sank.

8 When Simon Peter saw this, he knelt in front of Jesus and said, “Leave me, Lord! I’m a sinful person!” 9 Simon and everyone who was with him was amazed to see the large number of fish they had caught. 10 James and John, who were Zebedee’s sons and Simon’s partners, were also amazed.

Jesus told Simon, “Don’t be afraid. From now on you will catch people instead of fish.”

11 Simon and his partners brought the boats to shore, left everything, and followed Jesus.

Jesus Cures a Man With a Skin Disease—Matthew 8:1-4; Mark 1:40-44

12 One day Jesus was in a city where there was a man covered with a serious skin disease. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground. He begged Jesus, “Sir, if you want to, you can make me clean.”

13 Jesus reached out, touched him, and said, “I want to. So be clean!” Immediately, his skin disease went away.

14 Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone. Instead, show yourself to the priest. Then offer the sacrifice as Moses commanded as proof to people that you are clean.”

15 The news about Jesus spread even more. Large crowds gathered to hear him and have their diseases cured. 16 But he would go away to places where he could be alone for prayer.

Jesus Forgives Sins—Matthew 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12

17 One day when Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and experts in Moses’ Teachings were present. They had come from every village in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. Jesus had the power of the Lord to heal.

18 Some men brought a paralyzed man on a stretcher. They tried to take him into the house and put him in front of Jesus. 19 But they could not find a way to get him into the house because of the crowd. So they went up on the roof. They made an opening in the tiles and let the man down on his stretcher among the people. (They lowered him in front of Jesus.)

20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Sir, your sins are forgiven.” 21 The scribes and the Pharisees thought, “Who is this man? He’s dishonoring God! Who besides God can forgive sins?”

22 Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said to them, “What are you thinking? 23 Is it easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”

25 The man immediately stood up in front of them and picked up the stretcher he had been lying on. Praising God, he went home.

26 Everyone was amazed and praised God. They were filled with awe and said, “We’ve seen things today we can hardly believe!”

Jesus Chooses Levi [Matthew] to Be a Disciple—Matthew 9:9-13; Mark 2:13-17

27 After that, Jesus left. He saw a tax collector named Levi sitting in a tax office. Jesus said to him, “Follow me!” 28 So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him.

29 Levi held a large reception at his home for Jesus. A huge crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.

30 The Pharisees and their scribes complained to Jesus’ disciples. They asked, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

31 Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor; those who are sick do. 32 I’ve come to call sinners to change the way they think and act, not to call people who think they have God’s approval.”

Jesus Is Questioned About Fasting—Matthew 9:14-17; Mark 2:18-22

33 They said to him, “John’s disciples frequently fast and say prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. But your disciples eat and drink.”

34 Jesus asked them, “Can you force wedding guests to fast while the groom is still with them? 35 The time will come when the groom will be taken away from them. At that time they will fast.”

36 He also used these illustrations: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new coat to patch an old coat. Otherwise, the new cloth will tear the old. Besides, the patch from the new will not match the old. 37 People don’t pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the new wine will make the skins burst. The wine will run out, and the skins will be ruined. 38 Rather, new wine is to be poured into fresh skins.

39 “No one who has been drinking old wine wants new wine. He says, ‘The old wine is better!’”

Luke 6

Jesus Has Authority Over the Day of Worship—Matthew 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28

1 Once, on a day of worship, Jesus was walking through some grainfields. His disciples were picking the heads of grain, removing the husks, and eating the grain.

2 Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are your disciples doing something that is not right to do on the day of worship?”

3 Jesus answered them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his men were hungry? 4 Haven’t you read how he went into the house of God, ate the bread of the presence, and gave some of it to the men who were with him? He had no right to eat those loaves. Only the priests have that right.”

5 Then he added, “The Son of Man has authority over the day of worship.”

Jesus Heals on the Day of Worship—Matthew 12:9-15a; Mark 3:1-6

6 On another day of worship, Jesus went into a synagogue to teach. A man whose right hand was paralyzed was there. 7 The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Jesus closely. They wanted to see whether he would heal the man on the day of worship so that they could find a way to accuse him of doing something wrong.

8 But Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he told the man with the paralyzed hand, “Get up, and stand in the center of the synagogue!” The man got up and stood there. 9 Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you—what is the right thing to do on a day of worship: to do good or evil, to give a person his health or to destroy it?” 10 He looked around at all of them and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man did so, and his hand became normal again.

11 The scribes and Pharisees were furious and began to discuss with each other what they could do to Jesus.

Jesus Appoints Twelve Apostles—Matthew 10:1-4; Mark 3:13-19

12 At that time Jesus went to a mountain to pray. He spent the whole night in prayer to God.

13 When it was day, he called his disciples. He chose twelve of them and called them apostles. 14 They were Simon (whom Jesus named Peter) and Simon’s brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (who was called the Zealot), 16 Judas (son of James), and Judas Iscariot (who became a traitor).

Many People Are Cured—Mark 3:7-12

17 Jesus came down from the mountain with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples and many other people were there. They had come from all over Judea, Jerusalem, and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They wanted to hear him and be cured of their diseases. Those who were tormented by evil spirits were cured. 19 The entire crowd was trying to touch him because power was coming from him and curing all of them.

Jesus Teaches His Disciples

20 Jesus looked at his disciples and said,

“Blessed are those who are poor.

The kingdom of God is theirs.

21 Blessed are those who are hungry.

They will be satisfied.

Blessed are those who are crying.

They will laugh.

22 Blessed are you when people hate you, avoid you,

insult you, and slander you

because you are committed to the Son of Man.

23 Rejoice then, and be very happy!

You have a great reward in heaven.

That’s the way their ancestors treated the prophets.

24 “But how horrible it will be for those who are rich.

They have had their comfort.

25 How horrible it will be for those who are well-fed.

They will be hungry.

How horrible it will be for those who are laughing.

They will mourn and cry.

26 How horrible it will be for you

when everyone says nice things about you.

That’s the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.

Love Your Enemies—Matthew 5:38-48

27 “But I tell everyone who is listening: Love your enemies. Be kind to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who insult you. 29 If someone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other cheek as well. If someone takes your coat, don’t stop him from taking your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who asks you for something. If someone takes what is yours, don’t insist on getting it back.

31 “Do for other people everything you want them to do for you.

32 “If you love those who love you, do you deserve any thanks for that? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you help those who help you, do you deserve any thanks for that? Sinners do that too. 34 If you lend anything to those from whom you expect to get something back, do you deserve any thanks for that? Sinners also lend to sinners to get back what they lend. 35 Rather, love your enemies, help them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then you will have a great reward. You will be the children of the Most High God. After all, he is kind to unthankful and evil people. 36 Be merciful as your Father is merciful."

Stop Judging—Matthew 7:1-5

37 “Stop judging, and you will never be judged. Stop condemning, and you will never be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and you will receive. A large quantity, pressed together, shaken down, and running over will be put into your pocket. The standards you use for others will be applied to you.”

39 Jesus also gave them this illustration: “Can one blind person lead another? Won’t both fall into the same pit? 40 A student is no better than his teacher. But everyone who is well-trained will be like his teacher.

41 “Why do you see the piece of sawdust in another believer’s eye and not notice the wooden beam in your own eye? 42 How can you say to another believer, ‘Friend, let me take the piece of sawdust out of your eye,’ when you don’t see the beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye. Then you will see clearly to remove the piece of sawdust from another believer’s eye.

Evil People—Matthew 7:15-23

43 “A good tree doesn’t produce rotten fruit, and a rotten tree doesn’t produce good fruit. 44 Each tree is known by its fruit. You don’t pick figs from thorny plants or grapes from a thornbush. 45 Good people do the good that is in them. But evil people do the evil that is in them. The things people say come from inside them."

Build on the Rock—Matthew 7:24-29

46 “Why do you call me Lord but don’t do what I tell you?

47 “I will show you what everyone who comes to me, hears what I say, and obeys it is like. 48 He is like a person who dug down to bedrock to lay the foundation of his home. When a flood came, the floodwaters pushed against that house. But the house couldn’t be washed away because it had a good foundation. 49 The person who hears what I say but doesn’t obey it is like someone who built a house on the ground without any foundation. The floodwaters pushed against it, and that house quickly collapsed and was destroyed.”

Luke 7

A Believing Army Officer—Matthew 8:5-13

1 When Jesus had finished everything he wanted to say to the people, he went to Capernaum. 2 There a Roman army officer’s valuable slave was sick and near death. 3 The officer had heard about Jesus and sent some Jewish leaders to him. They were to ask Jesus to come and save the servant’s life. 4 They came to Jesus and begged, “He deserves your help. 5 He loves our people and built our synagogue at his own expense.”

6 Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the officer sent friends to tell Jesus, “Sir, don’t bother. I don’t deserve to have you come into my house. 7 That’s why I didn’t come to you. But just give a command, and let my servant be cured. 8 As you know, I’m in a chain of command and have soldiers at my command. I tell one of them, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and another, ‘Come!’ and he comes. I tell my servant, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

9 Jesus was amazed at the officer when he heard these words. He turned to the crowd following him and said, “I can guarantee that I haven’t found faith as great as this in Israel.”

10 When the men who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant healthy again.

Jesus Brings a Widow’s Son Back to Life

11 Soon afterward, Jesus went to a city called Nain. His disciples and a large crowd went with him. 12 As he came near the entrance to the city, he met a funeral procession. The dead man was a widow’s only child. A large crowd from the city was with her.

13 When the Lord saw her, he felt sorry for her. He said to her, “Don’t cry.”

14 He went up to the open coffin, took hold of it, and the men who were carrying it stopped. He said, “Young man, I’m telling you to come back to life!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

16 Everyone was struck with fear and praised God. They said, “A great prophet has appeared among us,” and “God has taken care of his people.” 17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding region.

John Sends Two Disciples—Matthew 11:2-6

18 John’s disciples told him about all these things. Then John called two of his disciples 19 and sent them to ask the Lord, “Are you the one who is coming, or should we look for someone else?”

20 The men came to Jesus and said, “John the Baptizer sent us to ask you, ‘Are you the one who is coming, or should we look for someone else?’”

21 At that time Jesus was curing many people who had diseases, sicknesses, and evil spirits. Also, he was giving back sight to many who were blind.

22 Jesus answered John’s disciples, “Go back, and tell John what you have seen and heard: Blind people see again, lame people are walking, those with skin diseases are made clean, deaf people hear again, dead people are brought back to life, and poor people hear the Good News. 23 Whoever doesn’t lose his faith in me is indeed blessed.”

Jesus Speaks About John—Matthew 11:7-19

24 When John’s messengers had left, Jesus spoke to the crowds about John. “What did you go into the desert to see? Tall grass swaying in the wind? 25 Really, what did you go to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? Those who wear splendid clothes and live in luxury are in royal palaces. 26 Really, what did you go to see? A prophet? Let me tell you that he is far more than a prophet. 27 John is the one about whom Scripture says,

‘I am sending my messenger ahead of you

to prepare the way in front of you.’

28 I can guarantee that of all the people ever born, no one is greater than John. Yet, the least important person in the kingdom of God is greater than John.” 29 All the people, including tax collectors, heard John. They admitted that God was right by letting John baptize them. 30 But the Pharisees and the experts in Moses’ Teachings rejected God’s plan for them. They refused to be baptized.

31 “How can I describe the people who are living now? What are they like? 32 They are like children who sit in the marketplace and shout to each other,

‘We played music for you,

but you didn’t dance.

We sang a funeral song,

but you didn’t cry.’

33 John the Baptizer has come neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘There’s a demon in him!’ 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! He’s a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 “Yet, wisdom is proved right by all its results.”

A Sinful Woman Receives Forgiveness

36 One of the Pharisees invited Jesus to eat with him. Jesus went to the Pharisee’s house and was eating at the table.

37 A woman who lived a sinful life in that city found out that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house. So she took a bottle of perfume 38 and knelt at his feet. She was crying and washed his feet with her tears. Then she dried his feet with her hair, kissed them over and over again, and poured the perfume on them.

39 The Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this and thought, “If this man really were a prophet, he would know what sort of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner.”

40 Jesus spoke up, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”

Simon replied, “Teacher, you’re free to speak.”

41 So Jesus said, “Two men owed a moneylender some money. One owed him five hundred silver coins, and the other owed him fifty. 42 When they couldn’t pay it back, he was kind enough to cancel their debts. Now, who do you think will love him the most?”

43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one who had the largest debt canceled.”

Jesus said to him, “You’re right!” 44 Then, turning to the woman, he said to Simon, “You see this woman, don’t you? I came into your house. You didn’t wash my feet. But she has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. 45 You didn’t give me a kiss. But ever since I came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You didn’t put any olive oil on my head. But she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 That’s why I’m telling you that her many sins have been forgiven. Her great love proves that. But whoever receives little forgiveness loves very little.”

48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” 49 The other guests thought, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?”

50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace!”

God's iPod Promotional Poster (PDF)

01/01/10

We now have a God’s iPod Promotional Poster...

You can print this any size you want and put it anywhere you want. Hand them out, whatever you wish to do.

TO DOWNLOAD IT:
Right-Click this link and choose Save to Desktop... God’s iPod Poster.