Luke 9:51--18:14
Rejection in Samaria
9:51 Now when the days drew near for him to be taken up, Jesus set out resolutely to go to Jerusalem.
9:52 He sent messengers on ahead of him. As they went along, they entered a Samaritan village to make things ready in advance for him,
9:53 but the villagers refused to welcome him, because he was determined to go to Jerusalem.
9:54 Now when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”
9:55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them,
9:56 and they went on to another village.
Challenging Professed Followers
9:57 As they were walking along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
9:58 Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens and the birds in the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
9:59 Jesus said to another, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
9:60 But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
9:61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say goodbye to my family.”
9:62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
The Mission of the Seventy-Two
10:1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him two by two into every town and place where he himself was about to go.
10:2 He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.
10:3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs surrounded by wolves.
10:4 Do not carry a money bag, a traveler’s bag, or sandals, and greet no one on the road.
10:5 Whenever you enter a house, first say, ‘May peace be on this house!’
10:6 And if a peace-loving person is there, your peace will remain on him, but if not, it will return to you.
10:7 Stay in that same house, eating and drinking what they give you, for the worker deserves his pay. Do not move around from house to house.
10:8 Whenever you enter a town and the people welcome you, eat what is set before you.
10:9 Heal the sick in that town and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come upon you!’
10:10 But whenever you enter a town and the people do not welcome you, go into its streets and say,
10:11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this: The kingdom of God has come.’
10:12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town!
10:13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
10:14 But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you!
10:15 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be thrown down to Hades!
10:16 “The one who listens to you listens to me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”
10:17 Then the seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name!”
10:18 So he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
10:19 Look, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions and on the full force of the enemy, and nothing will hurt you.
10:20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names stand written in heaven.”
10:21 On that same occasion Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your gracious will.
10:22 All things have been given to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son decides to reveal him.”
10:23 Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!
10:24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
10:25 Now an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
10:26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you understand it?”
10:27 The expert 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 yourself.”
10:28 Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
10:29 But the expert, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
10:30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him up, and went off, leaving him half dead.
10:31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, but when he saw the injured man he passed by on the other side.
10:32 So too a Levite, when he came up to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
10:33 But a Samaritan who was traveling came to where the injured man was, and when he saw him, he felt compassion for him.
10:34 He went up to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
10:35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever else you spend, I will repay you when I come back this way.’
10:36 Which of these three do you think became a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”
10:37 The expert in religious law said, “The one who showed mercy to him.” So Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”
Jesus and Martha
10:38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him as a guest.
10:39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he said.
10:40 But Martha was distracted with all the preparations she had to make, so she came up to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work alone? Tell her to help me.”
10:41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things,
10:42 but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken away from her.”
Instructions on Prayer
11:1 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he stopped, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
11:2 So he said to them, “When you pray, say:
Father, may your name be honored;
may your kingdom come.
11:3 Give us each day our daily bread,
11:4 and forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And do not lead us into temptation.”
11:5 Then he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
11:6 because a friend of mine has stopped here while on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.’
11:7 Then he will reply from inside, ‘Do not bother me. The door is already shut, and my children and I are in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything.’
11:8 I tell you, even though the man inside will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of the first man’s sheer persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
11:9 “So I tell you: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.
11:10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
11:11 What father among you, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish?
11:12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
11:13 If you then, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Jesus and Beelzebul
11:14 Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the man who had been mute began to speak, and the crowds were amazed.
11:15 But some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons, he casts out demons.”
11:16 Others, to test him, began asking for a sign from heaven.
11:17 But Jesus, realizing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed, and a divided household falls.
11:18 So if Satan too is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? I ask you this because you claim that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.
11:19 Now if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
11:20 But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has already overtaken you.
11:21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his possessions are safe.
11:22 But when a stronger man attacks and conquers him, he takes away the first man’s armor on which the man relied and divides up his plunder.
11:23 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
Response to Jesus’ Work
11:24 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a person, it passes through waterless places looking for rest but not finding any. Then it says, ‘I will return to the home I left.’
11:25 When it returns, it finds the house swept clean and put in order.
11:26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so the last state of that person is worse than the first.”
11:27 As he said these things, a woman in the crowd spoke out to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts at which you nursed!”
11:28 But he replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!”
The Sign of Jonah
11:29 As the crowds were increasing, Jesus began to say, “This generation is a wicked generation; it looks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.
11:30 For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be a sign to this generation.
11:31 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon – and now, something greater than Solomon is here!
11:32 The people of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented when Jonah preached to them – and now, something greater than Jonah is here!
Internal Light
11:33 “No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a hidden place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, so that those who come in can see the light.
11:34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is diseased, your body is full of darkness.
11:35 Therefore see to it that the light in you is not darkness.
11:36 If then your whole body is full of light, with no part in the dark, it will be as full of light as when the light of a lamp shines on you.”
Rebuking the Pharisees and Experts in the Law
11:37 As he spoke, a Pharisee invited Jesus to have a meal with him, so he went in and took his place at the table.
11:38 The Pharisee was astonished when he saw that Jesus did not first wash his hands before the meal.
11:39 But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.
11:40 You fools! Didn’t the one who made the outside make the inside as well?
11:41 But give from your heart to those in need, and then everything will be clean for you.
11:42 “But woe to you Pharisees! You give a tenth of your mint, rue, and every herb, yet you neglect justice and love for God! But you should have done these things without neglecting the others.
11:43 Woe to you Pharisees! You love the best seats in the synagogues and elaborate greetings in the marketplaces!
11:44 Woe to you! You are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without realizing it!”
11:45 One of the experts in religious law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things you insult us too.”
11:46 But Jesus replied, “Woe to you experts in religious law as well! You load people down with burdens difficult to bear, yet you yourselves refuse to touch the burdens with even one of your fingers!
11:47 Woe to you! You build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed.
11:48 So you testify that you approve of the deeds of your ancestors, because they killed the prophets and you build their tombs!
11:49 For this reason also the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’
11:50 so that this generation may be held accountable for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world,
11:51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation.
11:52 Woe to you experts in religious law! You have taken away the key to knowledge! You did not go in yourselves, and you hindered those who were going in.”
11:53 When he went out from there, the experts in the law and the Pharisees began to oppose him bitterly, and to ask him hostile questions about many things,
11:54 plotting against him, to catch him in something he might say.
Fear God, Not People
12:1 Meanwhile, when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
12:2 Nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing is secret that will not be made known.
12:3 So then whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops.
12:4 “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more they can do.
12:5 But I will warn you whom you should fear: Fear the one who, after the killing, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!
12:6 Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God.
12:7 In fact, even the hairs on your head are all numbered. Do not be afraid; you are more valuable than many sparrows.
12:8 “I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before God’s angels.
12:9 But the one who denies me before men will be denied before God’s angels.
12:10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the person who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
12:11 But when they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, do not worry about how you should make your defense or what you should say,
12:12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you must say.”
The Parable of the Rich Landowner
12:13 Then someone from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
12:14 But Jesus said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator between you two?”
12:15 Then he said to them, “Watch out and guard yourself from all types of greed, because one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
12:16 He then told them a parable: “The land of a certain rich man produced an abundant crop,
12:17 so he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’
12:18 Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
12:19 And I will say to myself, “You have plenty of goods stored up for many years; relax, eat, drink, celebrate!”’
12:20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded back from you, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
12:21 So it is with the one who stores up riches for himself, but is not rich toward God.”
Exhortation Not to Worry
12:22 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.
12:23 For there is more to life than food, and more to the body than clothing.
12:24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn, yet God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than the birds!
12:25 And which of you by worrying can add an hour to his life?
12:26 So if you cannot do such a very little thing as this, why do you worry about the rest?
12:27 Consider how the flowers grow; they do not work or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these!
12:28 And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, how much more will he clothe you, you people of little faith!
12:29 So do not be overly concerned about what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not worry about such things.
12:30 For all the nations of the world pursue these things, and your Father knows that you need them.
12:31 Instead, pursue his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
12:32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is well pleased to give you the kingdom.
12:33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves purses that do not wear out – a treasure in heaven that never decreases, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.
12:34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Call to Faithful Stewardship
12:35 “Get dressed for service and keep your lamps burning;
12:36 be like people waiting for their master to come back from the wedding celebration, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him.
12:37 Blessed are those slaves whom their master finds alert when he returns! I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, have them take their place at the table, and will come and wait on them!
12:38 Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night and finds them alert, blessed are those slaves!
12:39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.
12:40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
12:41 Then Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?”
12:42 The Lord replied, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his household servants, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time?
12:43 Blessed is that slave whom his master finds at work when he returns.
12:44 I tell you the truth, the master will put him in charge of all his possessions.
12:45 But if that slave should say to himself, ‘My master is delayed in returning,’ and he begins to beat the other slaves, both men and women, and to eat, drink, and get drunk,
12:46 then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee, and will cut him in two, and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
12:47 That servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or do what his master asked will receive a severe beating.
12:48 But the one who did not know his master’s will and did things worthy of punishment will receive a light beating. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be asked.
Not Peace, but Division
12:49 “I have come to bring fire on the earth – and how I wish it were already kindled!
12:50 I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is finished!
12:51 Do you think I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!
12:52 For from now on there will be five in one household divided, three against two and two against three.
12:53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Reading the Signs
12:54 Jesus also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A rainstorm is coming,’ and it does.
12:55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and there is.
12:56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how can you not know how to interpret the present time?
Clear the Debts
12:57 “And why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right?
12:58 As you are going with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, so that he will not drag you before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison.
12:59 I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the very last cent!”
A Call to Repent
13:1 Now there were some present on that occasion who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.
13:2 He answered them, “Do you think these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered these things?
13:3 No, I tell you! But unless you repent, you will all perish as well!
13:4 Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower in Siloam fell on them, do you think they were worse offenders than all the others who live in Jerusalem?
13:5 No, I tell you! But unless you repent you will all perish as well!”
Warning to Israel to Bear Fruit
13:6 Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it and found none.
13:7 So he said to the worker who tended the vineyard, ‘For three years now, I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and each time I inspect it I find none. Cut it down! Why should it continue to deplete the soil?’
13:8 But the worker answered him, ‘Sir, leave it alone this year too, until I dig around it and put fertilizer on it.
13:9 Then if it bears fruit next year, very well, but if not, you can cut it down.’”
Healing on the Sabbath
13:10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath,
13:11 and a woman was there who had been disabled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten herself up completely.
13:12 When Jesus saw her, he called her to him and said, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.”
13:13 Then he placed his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.
13:14 But the president of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the crowd, “There are six days on which work should be done! So come and be healed on those days, and not on the Sabbath day.”
13:15 Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from its stall, and lead it to water?
13:16 Then shouldn’t this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be released from this imprisonment on the Sabbath day?”
13:17 When he said this all his adversaries were humiliated, but the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things he was doing.
On the Kingdom of God
13:18 Thus Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what should I compare it?
13:19 It is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the wild birds nested in its branches.”
13:20 Again he said, “To what should I compare the kingdom of God?
13:21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all the dough had risen.”
The Narrow Door
13:22 Then Jesus traveled throughout towns and villages, teaching and making his way toward Jerusalem.
13:23 Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?” So he said to them,
13:24 “Exert every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.
13:25 Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, then you will stand outside and start to knock on the door and beg him, ‘Lord, let us in!’ But he will answer you, ‘I don’t know where you come from.’
13:26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’
13:27 But he will reply, ‘I don’t know where you come from! Go away from me, all you evildoers!’
13:28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves thrown out.
13:29 Then people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and take their places at the banquet table in the kingdom of God.
13:30 But indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
Going to Jerusalem
13:31 At that time, some Pharisees came up and said to Jesus, “Get away from here, because Herod wants to kill you.”
13:32 But he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Look, I am casting out demons and performing healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will complete my work.
13:33 Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, because it is impossible that a prophet should be killed outside Jerusalem.’
13:34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would have none of it!
13:35 Look, your house is forsaken! And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
Healing Again on the Sabbath
14:1 Now one Sabbath when Jesus went to dine at the house of a leader of the Pharisees, they were watching him closely.
14:2 There right in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy.
14:3 So Jesus asked the experts in religious law and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”
14:4 But they remained silent. So Jesus took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him away.
14:5 Then he said to them, “Which of you, if you have a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?”
14:6 But they could not reply to this.
On Seeking Seats of Honor
14:7 Then when Jesus noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. He said to them,
14:8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, because a person more distinguished than you may have been invited by your host.
14:9 So the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your place.’ Then, ashamed, you will begin to move to the least important place.
14:10 But when you are invited, go and take the least important place, so that when your host approaches he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up here to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who share the meal with you.
14:11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
14:12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you host a dinner or a banquet, don’t invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors so you can be invited by them in return and get repaid.
14:13 But when you host an elaborate meal, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.
14:14 Then you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
The Parable of the Great Banquet
14:15 When one of those at the meal with Jesus heard this, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will feast in the kingdom of God!”
14:16 But Jesus said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many guests.
14:17 At the time for the banquet he sent his slave to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’
14:18 But one after another they all began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please excuse me.’
14:19 Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going out to examine them. Please excuse me.’
14:20 Another said, ‘I just got married, and I cannot come.’
14:21 So the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the master of the household was furious and said to his slave, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’
14:22 Then the slave said, ‘Sir, what you instructed has been done, and there is still room.’
14:23 So the master said to his slave, ‘Go out to the highways and country roads and urge people to come in, so that my house will be filled.
14:24 For I tell you, not one of those individuals who were invited will taste my banquet!’”
Counting the Cost
14:25 Now large crowds were accompanying Jesus, and turning to them he said,
14:26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
14:27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
14:28 For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t sit down first and compute the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?
14:29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish the tower, all who see it will begin to make fun of him.
14:30 They will say, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish!’
14:31 Or what king, going out to confront another king in battle, will not sit down first and determine whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
14:32 If he cannot succeed, he will send a representative while the other is still a long way off and ask for terms of peace.
14:33 In the same way therefore not one of you can be my disciple if he does not renounce all his own possessions.
14:34 “Salt is good, but if salt loses its flavor, how can its flavor be restored?
14:35 It is of no value for the soil or for the manure pile; it is to be thrown out. The one who has ears to hear had better listen!”
The Parable of the Lost Sheep and Coin
15:1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming to hear him.
15:2 But the Pharisees and the experts in the law were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
15:3 So Jesus told them this parable:
15:4 “Which one of you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go look for the one that is lost until he finds it?
15:5 Then when he has found it, he places it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
15:6 Returning home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, telling them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost.’
15:7 I tell you, in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to repent.
15:8 “Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search thoroughly until she finds it?
15:9 Then when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’
15:10 In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”
The Parable of the Compassionate Father
15:11 Then Jesus said, “A man had two sons.
15:12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that will belong to me.’ So he divided his assets between them.
15:13 After a few days, the younger son gathered together all he had and left on a journey to a distant country, and there he squandered his wealth with a wild lifestyle.
15:14 Then after he had spent everything, a severe famine took place in that country, and he began to be in need.
15:15 So he went and worked for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.
15:16 He was longing to eat the carob pods the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
15:17 But when he came to his senses he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have food enough to spare, but here I am dying from hunger!
15:18 I will get up and go to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
15:19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired workers.”’
15:20 So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way from home his father saw him, and his heart went out to him; he ran and hugged his son and kissed him.
15:21 Then his son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
15:22 But the father said to his slaves, ‘Hurry! Bring the best robe, and put it on him! Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet!
15:23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it! Let us eat and celebrate,
15:24 because this son of mine was dead, and is alive again – he was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.
15:25 “Now his older son was in the field. As he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.
15:26 So he called one of the slaves and asked what was happening.
15:27 The slave replied, ‘Your brother has returned, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he got his son back safe and sound.’
15:28 But the older son became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and appealed to him,
15:29 but he answered his father, ‘Look! These many years I have worked like a slave for you, and I never disobeyed your commands. Yet you never gave me even a goat so that I could celebrate with my friends!
15:30 But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your assets with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’
15:31 Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and everything that belongs to me is yours.
15:32 It was appropriate to celebrate and be glad, for your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost and is found.’”
The Parable of the Clever Steward
16:1 Jesus also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who was informed of accusations that his manager was wasting his assets.
16:2 So he called the manager in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Turn in the account of your administration, because you can no longer be my manager.’
16:3 Then the manager said to himself, ‘What should I do, since my master is taking my position away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m too ashamed to beg.
16:4 I know what to do so that when I am put out of management, people will welcome me into their homes.’
16:5 So he contacted his master’s debtors one by one. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
16:6 The man replied, ‘A hundred measures of olive oil.’ The manager said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write fifty.’
16:7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ The second man replied, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ The manager said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’
16:8 The master commended the dishonest manager because he acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their contemporaries than the people of light.
16:9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by how you use worldly wealth, so that when it runs out you will be welcomed into the eternal homes.
16:10 “The one who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and the one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.
16:11 If then you haven’t been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will entrust you with the true riches?
16:12 And if you haven’t been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you your own?
16:13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
More Warnings about the Pharisees
16:14 The Pharisees (who loved money) heard all this and ridiculed him.
16:15 But Jesus said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in men’s eyes, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly prized among men is utterly detestable in God’s sight.
16:16 “The law and the prophets were in force until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is urged to enter it.
16:17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tiny stroke of a letter in the law to become void.
16:18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery, and the one who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.
The Rich Man and Lazarus
16:19 “There was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.
16:20 But at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus whose body was covered with sores,
16:21 who longed to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. In addition, the dogs came and licked his sores.
16:22 “Now the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.
16:23 And in hell, as he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side.
16:24 So he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish in this fire.’
16:25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus likewise bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish.
16:26 Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’
16:27 So the rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, father – send Lazarus to my father’s house
16:28 (for I have five brothers) to warn them so that they don’t come into this place of torment.’
16:29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they must respond to them.’
16:30 Then the rich man said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
16:31 He replied to him, ‘If they do not respond to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
Sin, Forgiveness, Faith, and Service
17:1 Jesus said to his disciples, “Stumbling blocks are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come!
17:2 It would be better for him to have a millstone tied around his neck and be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.
17:3 Watch yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him.
17:4 Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
17:5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
17:6 So the Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this black mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled out by the roots and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
17:7 “Would any one of you say to your slave who comes in from the field after plowing or shepherding sheep, ‘Come at once and sit down for a meal’?
17:8 Won’t the master instead say to him, ‘Get my dinner ready, and make yourself ready to serve me while I eat and drink. Then you may eat and drink’?
17:9 He won’t thank the slave because he did what he was told, will he?
17:10 So you too, when you have done everything you were commanded to do, should say, ‘We are slaves undeserving of special praise; we have only done what was our duty.’”
The Grateful Leper
17:11 Now on the way to Jerusalem, Jesus was passing along between Samaria and Galilee.
17:12 As he was entering a village, ten men with leprosy met him. They stood at a distance,
17:13 raised their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”
17:14 When he saw them he said, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went along, they were cleansed.
17:15 Then one of them, when he saw he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice.
17:16 He fell with his face to the ground at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. (Now he was a Samaritan.)
17:17 Then Jesus said, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?
17:18 Was no one found to turn back and give praise to God except this foreigner?”
17:19 Then he said to the man, “Get up and go your way. Your faith has made you well.”
The Coming of the Kingdom
17:20 Now at one point the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God was coming, so he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed,
17:21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
The Coming of the Son of Man
17:22 Then he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.
17:23 Then people will say to you, ‘Look, there he is!’ or ‘Look, here he is!’ Do not go out or chase after them.
17:24 For just like the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.
17:25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
17:26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man.
17:27 People were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage – right up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.
17:28 Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot, people were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building;
17:29 but on the day Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
17:30 It will be the same on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
17:31 On that day, anyone who is on the roof, with his goods in the house, must not come down to take them away, and likewise the person in the field must not turn back.
17:32 Remember Lot’s wife!
17:33 Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it.
17:34 I tell you, in that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken and the other left.
17:35 There will be two women grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”
17:36 [[EMPTY]]
17:37 Then the disciples said to him, “Where, Lord?” He replied to them, “Where the dead body is, there the vultures will gather.”
Prayer and the Parable of the Persistent Widow
18:1 Then Jesus told them a parable to show them they should always pray and not lose heart.
18:2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected people.
18:3 There was also a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’
18:4 For a while he refused, but later on he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor have regard for people,
18:5 yet because this widow keeps on bothering me, I will give her justice, or in the end she will wear me out by her unending pleas.’”
18:6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says!
18:7 Won’t God give justice to his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he delay long to help them?
18:8 I tell you, he will give them justice speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
The Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector
18:9 Jesus also told this parable to some who were confident that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else.
18:10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers – or even like this tax collector.
18:12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’
18:13 The tax collector, however, stood far off and would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful to me, sinner that I am!’
18:14 I tell you that this man went down to his home justified rather than the Pharisee. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”