Luke Chapter 1
Dedication to Theophilus
1 Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events that have been fulfilled among us,
2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have handed them down to us,
3 it seemed good also to me, having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, to write it down for you in an orderly sequence, most excellent Theophilus,
4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
Announcement of the birth of John
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
6 Both of them were righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord.
7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were well advanced in years.
8 Now it happened that while Zechariah was serving as priest before God in the order of his division,
9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.
11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing at the right side of the altar of incense.
12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.
13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; Because your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John.
14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,
15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He will never take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
16 He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.
17 And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.
18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years.”
19 The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.”
20 And now you will be mute and unable to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.
21 The people were waiting for Zechariah and were surprised at his delay in the temple.
22 When he came out, he could not speak to them, and they realized he had seen a vision in the temple. He kept making signs to them but remained mute.
23 When his time of service was completed, he returned home.
24 After this time his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion, saying,
25 “This is what the Lord has done for me in the days when he was pleased to take away my disgrace among the people.”
Announcement of the birth of Jesus
26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,
27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.
31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be?” Mary asked the angel. “I am a virgin.”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.
37 For nothing is impossible with God. ”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Maria visits Elizabeth
39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah;
40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
41 And when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,
42 And she exclaimed with a loud voice, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
43 And why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
45 And blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were spoken to her from the Lord.”
46 And Mary said:
47 My spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has regarded the lowliness of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
50 His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering his mercy
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.
56 Mary stayed with Mary for about three months and then returned home.
Birth of John the Baptist
57 When the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, she delivered a son.
58 And when her neighbors and relatives heard that God had shown her great mercy, they rejoiced with her.
59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father, Zechariah.
60 But his mother answered, “No! He is to be called John.”
61 They said to her, “Why? There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”
62 Then they made signs to his father, asking what he would like to name him.
63 He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they were all amazed.
64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he spoke, praising God.
65 All their neighbors were filled with awe, and all these things were reported throughout the hill country of Judea.
66 And all who heard them treasured them up in their hearts, saying, “Who then will this child be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him.
Prophecy of Zechariah
67 And Zechariah his father was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying:
68 “ Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people,
69 and has raised up for us a horn of salvation in the house of his servant David,
70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71 salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,
72 to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
74 that we, being delivered from our enemies, might serve him without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways;
77 To give knowledge of salvation to his people, for the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the dawn from heaven has broken upon us,
79 to shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.
80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
Luke Chapter 2
Birth of Jesus
1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town.
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,
5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.
6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.
7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
The angels and the shepherds
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
9 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.
11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,
18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.
19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as they had been told.
Jesus' presentation in the temple
21 When the eight days were completed for the circumcision of the child, he was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived.
22 And when the days of their purification according to the Law of Moses were completed, they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be called holy to the Lord”),
24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.
27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple. When the parents brought the child Jesus into the temple to do for him according to the custom of the law,
28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29 “ Now, Lord, you are releasing your servant in peace, according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the presence of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”
33 Joseph and his mother marveled at what was said about him.
34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,
35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,
37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.
38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
The return to Nazareth
39 When they had performed everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.
40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.
The child Jesus in the temple
41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival.
42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the festival.
43 After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it.
44 Thinking he was in their group of travelers, they journeyed for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends.
45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him.
46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.
47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.
48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”
49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
51 Then he went down with them to Nazareth and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.
52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
Luke Chapter 3
Preaching of John the Baptist
1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,
2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas—the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.
3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way for the Lord; make straight paths for him.’
5 Every valley shall be filled, every mountain and hill made low; the crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.
6 And all people will see God’s salvation.”
7 And he said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
9 Even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees, and every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10 And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?”
11 And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics should share with the one who has none, and whoever has food should do the same.”
12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?”
13 He said to them, “Do not collect any more than you are required to.”
14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone, and do not accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.”
15 As the people were waiting expectantly, and all were wondering in their hearts whether John might possibly be the Christ,
16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I is coming, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
18 With many other words he exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news.
19 Now Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by John because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done,
20Above all these, he added this one: he locked Juan in jail.
The baptism of Jesus
21 Now when all the people were being baptized, Jesus also was baptized; and while he was praying, heaven was opened,
22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, saying, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
Genealogy of Jesus
23 Jesus himself, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years old, the son, so it was supposed, of Joseph, the son of Heli,
24 the son of Matthah, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Janna, the son of Joseph,
25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amoz, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Nagai,
26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Shimei, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah,
27 the son of Joanna, the son of Resa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri,
28 the son of Melchi, the son of Adi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er,
29 the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthah,
30 the son of Levi, the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim,
31 the son of Melea, son of Mainan, son of Mattatha, son of Nathan,
32 son of David, son of Jesse, son of Obed, son of Boaz, son of Salmon, son of Nahshon,
33 son of Amminadab, son of Aram, 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 Ragau, son of Peleg, son of Eber, son of Shelah,
36 son of Kenan, 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 Kenan,
38 son of Enosh, son of Seth, son of Adam, son of God.
Luke Chapter 4
Temptation of Jesus
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness
2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word of God. ’”
5 The devil took him to a high mountain and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.
6 And the devil said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want.
7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.”
8 Jesus answered, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
9 Then he took him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here.
10 For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully;
11 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him for an opportune time.
Jesus begins his ministry
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread throughout the surrounding region.
15 He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.
Jesus in Nazareth
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read,
17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked .
23 He said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ You will tell me that you will do here in your hometown what we have heard that was done in Capernaum.”
24 And he added, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in his hometown.
25 I tell you the truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and a severe famine swept over the land.
26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Sarepta of Sidon.
27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet none of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
28 When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath.
29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, intending to throw him down the cliff.
30 But he passed through the midst of them, and went away.
A man who had an unclean spirit
31 Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people.
32 They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority.
33 In their synagogue there was a man possessed by an impure spirit, and he cried out at the top of his voice,
34 “Leave us alone! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
35 “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” The spirit threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.
36 All the people were amazed and asked each other, “What kind of teaching is this? With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits, and they come out!”
37 News about him spread all over the surrounding area.
Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law
38 Then Jesus got up and left the synagogue and went to Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him to help her.
39 So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and she got up at once and began to wait on them.
Many were healed at sunset
40 At sunset, the people brought to him all who had various kinds of sickness, and he laid his hands on each one of them and healed them.
41 Demons also came out of many people, crying out, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.
Jesus travels through Galilee preaching
42 At daybreak, Jesus left the house and went off to a solitary place. The people were looking for him, and when they found him, they tried to keep him from leaving them.
43 But he said to them, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.”
44 And he preached in the synagogues of Galilee.
Luke Chapter 5
The miraculous catch
1 One day Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God.
2 He saw two boats lying at the water’s edge; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.
3 Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a little from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down your nets for a catch.”
5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.
7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”
9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken,
10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.”
11 So they pulled their boats up on land, left everything, and followed him.
Jesus heals a leper
12 While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell facedown to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
13 Jesus reached out his hand and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him.
14 Then Jesus instructed him not to tell anyone, but to go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.
15 Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that large crowds came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases.
16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
Jesus heals a paralytic
17 One day, as Jesus was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal.
18 Some men were carrying a paralyzed man on a mat, and they tried to bring him in and lay him before Jesus.
19 When they could not find a way to do so because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the roof, placing him in the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
21 The scribes and Pharisees began to reason among themselves, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
22 Jesus, knowing their thoughts, answered them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts?”
23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?
24 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins—’ he said to the paralytic—’I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.’
25 Immediately he got up in their presence, took up the mat he had been lying on, and went home, praising God.
26 And they were all amazed and praised God; and filled with awe, they said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”
Levi's Call
27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him.
28 And leaving everything, Levi got up and followed him.
29 Levi gave a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.
30 The scribes and Pharisees grumbled against his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
31 Jesus answered, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
The question about fasting
33 Then they said to him, “Why do John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink?”
34 He said to them, “Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?
35 But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast in those days.”
36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If they do, they will not only tear the new garment, but the patch from the new will not match the old.
37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the new wine will burst the skins, be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined.
38 But new wine must be poured into new wineskins, and both are preserved.
39 And no one who drinks old wine immediately wants the new; because it says: The aged is better.
Luke Chapter 6
The disciples pick grain on the Sabbath
1 One Sabbath, as Jesus was going through the grainfields, his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels.
2 Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
3 Jesus answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?
4 He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone except the priests to eat. He also gave some to his companions.”
5 Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
The man with the dry hand
6 On another Sabbath, Jesus went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered.
7 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were watching him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him.
8 But he knew their thoughts and said to the man with the withered hand, “Stand up and come forward.” So he got up and stood there.
9 Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”
10 After looking around at them all, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored.
11 But they were filled with fury and began discussing with one another what they might do to Jesus.
The election of the twelve apostles
12 In those days he went out to the mountain to pray, and spent the night praying to God.
13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles:
14 Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew,
15 Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot,
16 Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
Jesus attends to a multitude
17 Then he went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was with him and a great multitude of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases.
18 Those tormented by unclean spirits were healed.
19 And all the people were trying to touch him, because power was going out from him and healing them all.
Beatitudes and woes
20 And lifting up his eyes on his disciples, he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
22 Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you and reject your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man.
23 Rejoice in that day, and be glad, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.
24 But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are full now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.”
26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.
Love for enemies, and the golden rule
27 But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you.
29 If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them.
30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.
31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.
33 If you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.
34 If you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full.
35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High. For he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Judging others
37 Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven.
38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
39 He also told them this parable: “Can a blind person guide another blind person? Will they not both fall into a pit?
40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.
41 Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye?” Hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
By their fruits you will know them.
43 A good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.
44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from brambles.
45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
The two foundations
46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
47 Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like.
48 They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.
49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed, and its destruction was complete.
Luke Chapter 7
Jesus heals a centurion's servant
1 After Jesus had finished saying all these things to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum.
2 Now a centurion’s servant, whom he valued highly, was sick and about to die.
3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his servant.
4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, saying, “This man deserves to have you do this for him,
5 because he loves our nation and built our synagogue.”
6 So Jesus went with them. But when they were not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.
7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.
8 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.”
10 Then those who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.
Jesus raises the widow of Nain's son from the dead
11 After this, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him.
12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the town was with her.
13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her, and he said, “Don’t cry.”
14 Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!”
15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
16 They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has visited his people.”
17 News about him spread throughout Judea and the surrounding countryside.
The messengers of John the Baptist
18 John’s disciples told him all these things. So John called two of his disciples
19 and sent them to Jesus to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
20 When the men came to him, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’”
21 At that very hour he healed many people of diseases, afflictions, and evil spirits, and he gave sight to many who were blind.
22 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.
23 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
24 When John’s messengers had left, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?
25 But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? Look, those who wear fine clothes and live in luxury are in kings’ palaces.
26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.”
27 This is the one about whom it is written: “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.”
28 I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John the Baptist; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.
29 All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard this, acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John.
30 But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.
31 Then the Lord said, “To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like?
32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to one another: ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’”
33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’
34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
35 Yet wisdom is proved right by all her children.
Jesus in the home of Simon the Pharisee
36 One of the Pharisees invited Jesus to eat with him. So he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.
37 When a woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume.
38 Standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them.
39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Tell me, Teacher,” he said.
41 “A certain creditor had two debtors. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.
42 And when they could not pay, he forgave them both. Tell me, then, which of them will love him more?
43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one who was forgiven more.” And he said to him, “You have judged correctly.”
44 Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house, and you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet.
46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with perfume.
47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven, for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”
48 Then he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 And those who were sitting with him at the table began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
50 But he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Luke Chapter 8
Women who serve Jesus
1 After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him,
2 and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out,
3 Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, Susanna, and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.
Parable of the Sower
4 When a large crowd was gathering, and people were coming to him from every town, he told them this parable:
5 “ A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and it was trampled underfoot, and the birds ate it up.
6 Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, it withered because it had no moisture.
7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants.
8 Still other seed fell on good soil, and when it sprouted, it produced a crop, a hundred times what was sown.” When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant.
10 He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that ‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.
’ 11 “The meaning of the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.”
12 Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.
13 Those on the rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; but these have no root; they believe for a while, and in the time of testing they fall away.
14 The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.
15 But the seed that fell on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.
Nothing hidden that will not be revealed
16 No one lights a lamp and covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a lampstand, so that those who come in can see the light.
17 For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be made known and brought out into the open.
18 Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them.
Jesus' mother and brothers
19 Then his mother and brothers came to him, but they could not get near him because of the crowd.
20 And he was told, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.”
21 He answered, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.”
Jesus calms the storm
22 One day Jesus got into a boat with his disciples and said to them, “Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.” So they set out.
23 But as they were sailing, he fell asleep. A furious squall came up on the lake, and they were swamped and in great danger.
24 The disciples went to him and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and the storm subsided, and it was completely calm.
25 “Where is your faith?” he asked them. They were terrified and amazed, asking one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the waves, and they obey him!”
The Gadarene demoniac
26 They landed in the region of the Gadarenes, across the water from Galilee.
27 As Jesus stepped ashore, a man from the town who had been possessed by a demon for a long time met him. He wore no clothes and lived among the tombs.
28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torment me!”
29 (For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. For a long time it had possessed him, and he was bound with chains and shackles, but the demon would break his chains and drive him into the wilderness.)
30 Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him.
31 And they begged him not to command them to go into the abyss.
32 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside, and the beggars asked him to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission.
33 Then the demons came out of the man and went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.
34 When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the town and in the countryside.
35 People went out to see what had happened and came to Jesus. They found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.
36 Those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed.
37 Then the whole crowd from the region around the Gadarenes begged him to leave them, for they were terrified. So he got into the boat and left.
38 The man from whom the demons had gone out begged him to let him go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying,
39 “Go home and tell how much God has done for you.” So he went away and began to tell throughout the whole town how much Jesus had done for him.
Jairus' daughter, and the woman who touched Jesus' cloak
40 When Jesus returned, the crowds welcomed him, for they were all expecting him.
41 A man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and knelt at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house,
42 because his only daughter, about twelve years old, was dying. As Jesus was going, the crowds were pressing in on him.
43 A woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, and who had spent all she had on doctors, but could not be healed by any,
44 came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
45 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter and his companions said, “Master, the crowds are pressing against you and jostling you, and you ask, ‘Who touched me?’”
46 “Someone touched me,” Jesus replied, “for I know that power has gone out from me.”
47 Then, when the woman saw that she could not remain hidden, she came trembling and, falling down at his feet, declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed.
48 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”
49 While he was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader, and said to him, “Your daughter is dead. Do not bother the teacher any longer.”
50 Hearing this, Jesus said to him, “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.”
51 When he had gone into the house, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, James, John, and the child’s father and mother.
52 Everyone was weeping and wailing for her. But he said, “Do not weep; she is not dead but asleep.”
53 And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.
54 But he took her by the hand and called out, “Little girl, get up!”
55 Then his spirit returned, and he immediately got up; and he commanded that something be given him to eat.
56 And his parents were astonished; but Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone what had happened.
Luke Chapter 9
Mission of the twelve disciples
1 Having gathered his twelve disciples together, he gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases.
2 And he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
3 He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money, nor two tunics.
4 Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.
5 And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town, shake the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”
6 So they went out and traveled from village to village, proclaiming the gospel and healing everywhere.
Death of John the Baptist
7 Herod the tetrarch heard about all that Jesus was doing, and he was perplexed, because some were saying, “John has been raised from the dead,”
8 others, “Elijah has appeared,” and still others, “One of the prophets of old has risen.”
9 Herod said, “I beheaded John. Who then is this about whom I hear such things?” And he tried to see him.
Feeding the five thousand
10 When the apostles returned, they told him all they had done. Taking them with him, he withdrew privately to a deserted place near the town called Bethsaida.
11 When the crowds heard about it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God and healed those who needed healing.
12 As the day was drawing to a close, the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging and food, because we are in a deserted place here.”
13 He replied, “You give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.”
14 The group numbered about five thousand men. Then he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of fifty each.”
15 So they did, and everyone sat down.
16 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people.
17 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
Peter's Confession
18 One day Jesus was praying privately, and the disciples were with him. He asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”
19 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.”
20 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “The Messiah of God.”
Jesus announces his death
21 But he strictly charged them to tell no one these things,
22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”
23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.
25 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit or lose their very self?
26 Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”
27 But I tell you truly, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.
The Transfiguration
28 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John, and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.
29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.
30 Two men , Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with him.
31They spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
32 Now Peter and those with him were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
33 As they were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)
34 While he was saying this, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.
35 A voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”
36 When the voice had spoken, they found Jesus alone. They kept quiet and told no one at that time what they had seen.
Jesus heals a demon-possessed boy
37 The next day, as they were coming down from the mountain, a large crowd met them.
38 And behold, a man in the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child.
39 And behold, a spirit seizes him, and suddenly he cries out, and convulses him violently, and he foams at the mouth, and torments him, and scarcely leaves him.
40 And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.”
41 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and perverse generation! How long shall I be with you, and put up with you? Bring your son here.”
42 And as the boy came, the demon threw him down and convulsed him violently; but Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
Jesus announces his death again
43 And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. And while they were all marveling at all the things he was doing, he said to his disciples,
44 “Let these words sink into your ears, for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.”
45 But they did not understand what he meant; it was hidden from them so that they could not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.
Who is the oldest?
46 Then they began arguing about which of them was the greatest.
47 Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him.
48 And he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For the one who is least among you all—he is the one who is great.”
He who is not against us is for us.
49 Then John answered, “Master, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.”
50 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against us is for us.”
51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem.
52 And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went into a Samaritan village to make preparations for him.
53 But the people there did not receive him, because he was heading for Jerusalem.
54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to destroy them, as Elijah did?”
55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them. “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of,” he said.
56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. Then they went to another village.
Those who wanted to follow Jesus
57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
59 He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me say goodbye to my family.”
62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
Luke Chapter 10
Mission of the Seventies
1 After this, the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself was about to go.
2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.
3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
4 Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
5 When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’
6 If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you.
7 Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
8 When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you.
9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’
10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say,
11 ‘ Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near to you.’
12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
Woes upon the unrepentant cities
13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
14 But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.
15 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades.
16 Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; and whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
Return of the seventies
17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name!”
18 He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.
20 However, do not rejoice in this: The spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
Jesus rejoices
21 At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.”
22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, nor who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
23 Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!
24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
The Good Samaritan
25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to test him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”
28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.
31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 Likewise, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he took pity on him.
34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put him on his own donkey, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I return.”
36 Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?
37 He said, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Jesus visits Martha and Mary
38 As Jesus and his disciples were traveling along, he entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.
39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.
40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,
42 but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Luke Chapter 11
Jesus and prayer
1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
3 Give us today our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’”
5 Then he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’
7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed.’” I can’t get up and give them to you?
8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give them to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
9 So I say to you: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.
10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
11 Which of you fathers, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?
12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!
A house divided against itself
14 Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the mute man spoke, and the crowd was amazed.
15 But some of them said, “He drives out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons.”
16 Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.
17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against itself falls.
18 If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I drive out demons by Beelzebul.
19 If I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.
20 But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”
21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe.
22 But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder.
23 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
The unclean spirit that returns
24 When an unclean spirit goes out of a person, it goes through dry places seeking rest; and finding none, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’
25 And when it arrives, it finds it swept and put in order.
26 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they enter and dwell there; and the final condition of that person is worse than the first.
Those who are truly blessed
27 As he was saying these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!”
28 He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
The perverse generation demands a signal
29 As the crowds were gathering, Jesus began to say, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.
30 For just as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.
31 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and now something greater than Solomon is here.
32 The men of Nineveh will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here.”
The body lamp
33 No one lights a lamp and puts it in a hidden place, or under a bowl. Instead, they put it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light.
34 The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness.
35 Therefore, be careful that the light within you is not darkness.
36 If then your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be entirely radiant, as when a lamp shines its light on you.
Jesus accuses Pharisees and interpreters of the law
37 After he had spoken, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table.
38 When the Pharisee saw him, he was surprised that Jesus had not washed before the meal.
39 The Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.
40 You fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also?
41 But give alms of what is inside, and then everything will be clean for you.
42 But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint, rue, and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.
44 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”
45 One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.”
46 He replied, “And woe to you experts in the law! For you load people with burdens they cannot bear, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.
47 Woe to you, for you build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed!
48 So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors; for they killed them, and you build their tombs.”
49 Therefore also the wisdom of God said, “I will send them prophets and apostles; And some of them they will kill and others they will persecute,
50 so that the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world may be charged against this generation,
51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the temple. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation.
52 Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.
53 While he was saying these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things,
54 lying in wait for him, seeking to catch him in something he might say in order to accuse him.
Luke Chapter 12
The yeast of the Pharisees
1 When a crowd of thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples: “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
2 For there is nothing covered up that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.
3 What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops.”
Who should be feared?
4 But I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.
5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after he has killed, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.
6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.
7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
He who confesses me before men
8 I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God;
9 but whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God.
10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
11 When you are brought before the synagogues, rulers, and authorities, do not worry about how or what to say,
12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.
The rich fool
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or arbitrator over you?”
15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest.
17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 Then he said, ‘I’ll do this: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”
’ 20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’”
21 This is how it is with whoever stores up treasure for themselves but is not rich toward God.
The eagerness and the anxiety
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.
23 Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.
24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn, and yet God feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
25 Can any one of you by worrying add a single cubit to your life?
26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27 Consider how the flowers of the field grow: they do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith!”
29 Therefore do not worry about what you will eat or drink, or be anxious.
30 For the pagans run after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them.
31 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Treasures in Heaven
32 Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.
33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The watchful servant
35 “Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning,
36 like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him.
37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them.
38 Even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward morning, if he finds them awake, blessed are those servants.
39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.
40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
The unfaithful servant
41 Then Peter said to him, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?”
42 The Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his household to give them their portion of food at the proper time?
43 Blessed is that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns.
44 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
45 But suppose that servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk.
46 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.
47 The servant who knows his master’s will and does not get ready or act according to his will shall receive a severe beating.”
48 But the one who did not know and did things deserving of beatings will be beaten with few blows; for from everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, much more will be demanded.
Jesus, cause of division
49 I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!
50 I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed!
51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division.
52 From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three.
53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law
How can you not recognize this time?
54 He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does.
55 And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is.
56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky and the earth. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?”
Make peace with your adversary
57 Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right?
58 When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, try to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison.
59 I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
Luke Chapter 13
Repent or you will perish
1 At that time some people were there and told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.
2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?
3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.
4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?
5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
Parable of the Barren Fig Tree
6 He also told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any.
7 So he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’
8 But the gardener replied, ‘Sir, leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it.
9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, you can cut it down.’”
Jesus heals a woman on the Sabbath
10 Now Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.
11 And there was a woman there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.
12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.”
13 Then he laid his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.
14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”
15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?”
16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years, be set free from this bondage on the Sabbath day?
17 When he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, but all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.
Parable of the Yeast
20 Again Jesus said, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to?
21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
Parable of the Mustard Seed
18 And he said, “What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it?
19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”
The narrow door
22 Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.
23 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He replied,
24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.
25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’
26 Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’
27 But he will answer, ‘I tell you, I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’
28 There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.”
29 For people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.
30 Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.
Jesus' Lament over Jerusalem
31 That same day some Pharisees came to him and said, “Leave here, for Herod wants to kill you.”
32 He replied, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Look, I am driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’
33 In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!
34 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
35 Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
Luke Chapter 14
Jesus heals a man with dropsy
1 One Sabbath, Jesus went to eat at the house of a prominent Pharisee, and the Pharisees were watching him closely.
2 A man suffering from dropsy was standing there in front of him.
3 Jesus asked the experts in the law and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
4 But they remained silent. So he took the man, healed him, and sent him away.
5 Then he asked them, “If one of you has a donkey or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath, will you not immediately pull it out?”
6 And they could not answer him.
The wedding guests
7 Observing how they chose the places of honor at the table, he told the guests a parable:
8 “ When someone invites you to a wedding banquet, do not sit in the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited.
9 If so, the host who invited you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place.’ Then, humiliated, you will begin to take the least important place.
10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit with you at the table.
11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
12 He also said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, Lest they in turn invite you back, and you be repaid.
13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind;
14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.
Parable of the Great Banquet
15 When one of those reclining at the table with him heard this, he said to him, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”
16 Then Jesus said to him, “A man was giving a great banquet and invited many.
17 At the time for the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.
’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’
19 Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out. Please excuse me.’
20 Still another said, ‘I have just married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’
21 So the servant returned and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.’
22 The servant said, “Master, it has been done as you commanded, and still there is room.”
23 Then the master said to the servant, “Go out to the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
24 For I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will taste my banquet.”
The cost of following Christ
25 Large crowds were traveling with him, and turning to them he said:
26 “ If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.
27 And whoever does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and count the cost, to see whether you have enough to complete it?
29 For if, after you have laid the foundation and are not able to finish, all who see it will ridicule you,
30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish. ’
31 “Or suppose a king is going out to wage war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?
32 And if he is not able, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.”
33 So therefore, any of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
When salt loses its flavor
34 Salt is good; but if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?
35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
Luke Chapter 15
Parable of the Lost Sheep
1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to Jesus to hear him.
2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3 So he told them this parable:
4 “What man among you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?
5 And when he finds it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
6 And when he gets home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’
7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”
Parable of the Lost Coin
8 Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?
9 And when she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’
10 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
Parable of the Prodigal Son
11 He also said: “A man had two sons.
12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
13 Not long after that, the younger son got together all that he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.
14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.
15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs.
16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17 When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, and here I am starving to death!
18 I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.”’”
19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired servants.
20 So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21 The son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”
22 But the father said to his servants, “Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate.
24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” So they began to celebrate.
25 Meanwhile, his older son was in the field, and as he came near the house, he heard music and dancing.
26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on.
27 And he said to him, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.”
28 But he became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him.
29 But he answered his father, “Look, all these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.
30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes came home, you killed the fattened calf for him!”
31 “My son,” the father said, “you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.
32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”
Luke Chapter 16
Parable of the dishonest steward
1 Jesus also told his disciples: “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions.
2 So he called him in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, for you can no longer be manager. ’
3 The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.
4 I know what I will do so that, when I am removed from the management, people may welcome me into their homes.’
5 So he called in each of his master’s debtors and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
6 He said, ‘A hundred barrels of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write fifty.’
7 Then he said to another, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and write eighty.’
8 And the master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.
9 And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it is gone, they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.
10 He who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much; and he who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.
11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will commit to you the true riches?
12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?
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 wealth.
14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this and sneered at him.
15 Then he said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.”
The law and the kingdom of God
16 The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing their way into it.
17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one letter of the Law to fail.
Jesus teaches about divorce
18 Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and anyone who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.
20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores
21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.
23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.
24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
25 But Abraham said, “Son, 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 agony.
26 Besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross from there to us.”
27 Then he said, “I beg you, father, send him to my father’s house,
28 for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they also come to this place of torment.”
29 Abraham said, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.”
30 He said, “No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.”
31 Abraham said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”
Luke Chapter 17
opportunities to fall
1 Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come!
2 It would be better for them to have a millstone hung around their neck and be thrown into the sea than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.
3 “Watch yourselves. If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them.
4 Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”
Increase our faith
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
6 The Lord replied, “If you had faith as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
The duty of the servant
7 “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or tending sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’?
8 Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’?
9 Does he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? I think not.
10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”
Ten lepers are cleansed
11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus passed along the border between Samaria and Galilee.
12 As he was going into a village, ten lepers met him. They stood at a distance
13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice.
16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, “Were there not ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?
18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”
19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
The coming of the Kingdom
20 When the Pharisees asked him when the kingdom of God would come, he answered, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation,
21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘Look, there it is!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
22 Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.
23 People will tell you, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘Look, there it is!’ Do not go off or follow them.
24 For as lightning that flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.
25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man.
27 They were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
28 It was the same in the days of Lot: They were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.
29 But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
30 It will be just like that on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
31 On that day, no one who is on the housetop, with their belongings inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should turn back.
32 Remember Lot’s wife!
33 Whoever tries to save their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.
34 I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left.
35 Two women will be grinding grain together; One will be taken, and the other left.
36 Two will be in the field; one will be taken, and the other left.
37 And they answered and said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the carcass is, there the eagles will gather.”
Luke Chapter 18
Parable of the widow and the unjust judge
1 Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not lose heart.
2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought.
3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
4 For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think,
5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’”
6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says.
7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?
8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 To some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others, Jesus also told this parable:
10 “ Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’
13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Jesus blesses the children
15 People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, and when the disciples saw this, they rebuked them.
16 But Jesus called them to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
17 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
The rich young man
18 A ruler asked him, saying, “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 alone.”
20 You know the commandments: You shall not commit adultery; you shall not murder; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother.
21 He said, “All these I have kept since my youth.”
22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing: Sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
23 When he heard this, he became very sad, for he was very rich.
24 When Jesus saw that he had become very sad, he said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!
25 For 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 And those who heard this said, “Who then can be saved?”
27 He said to them, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
28 Then Peter said, “See, we have left our possessions and followed you.”
29 And he said unto them, Truly I say unto you, there is no one that hath left house, or father, or brothers, or wife, or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God,
30 that will not receive much more in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.
Jesus announces his death again
31 Taking the twelve aside, Jesus said to them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.
32 He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and he will be mocked, insulted, and spit on.
33 They will flog him and kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.”
34 They understood nothing about this; it was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was being said to them.
A blind man from Jericho receives his sight
35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.
36When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening.
37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”
38He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
39 Those who led the way rebuked him, telling him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him,
41 “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord,” he said, “I want to see.”
42 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.”
43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw this, they also praised God.
Luke Chapter 19
Jesus and Zacchaeus
1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through the city.
2 A man named Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.
3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but he was unable to do so because of the crowd, since he was a short man.
4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because Jesus was going to pass that way.
5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”
6 So he came down at once and received him joyfully.
7 When they saw this, they all grumbled, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham.
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.
Parable of the Ten Minas
11 When they heard this, Jesus went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and they thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately.
12 He said: “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return.
13 He called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas, saying, ‘Put this money to work until I come back.’
14 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to be our king.’
15 When he returned and received the kingdom, he summoned the servants to whom he had given the money, to find out what they had gained by trading.
16 The first one came and said, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten more.’
17 He replied, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you will have authority over ten cities.’”
18 Another came and said, “Master, your mina has earned five more.”
19 He said to him also, “You also are to be in charge of five cities.”
20 Still another came and said, “Master, here is your mina, which I have kept wrapped in a handkerchief.
21 I was afraid of you because you are a hard man, taking what you did not deposit and reaping what you did not sow.”
22 He replied, “You wicked servant! I will judge you by your own words. You knew, did you, that I was a hard man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow?
23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, so that when I returned I could have received it back with interest?”
24 Then he said to those standing by, “Take the mina from him and give it to the one who has ten.”
25 They said to him, “Master, he has ten minas.”
26 I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given; But from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
27 And also those enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here, and behead them before me.
The triumphal entry into Jerusalem
28 Having said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
29 When he came near Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples,
30 saying, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.
31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
32 Those who were sent went and found it just as he had told them.
33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt, and put Jesus on it.
36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
37 As they approached the descent from the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen,
38 saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
40 He replied, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
41 As he approached the city and saw it, he wept over it,
42 saying, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.”
43 For the days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you, surround you, and hem you in on every side.
44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls, and they will not leave one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.
Purification of the temple
45 And entering the temple, he began to drive out all who were selling and buying there,
46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”
47 And he was teaching daily in the temple; but the chief priests and the scribes and the rulers of the people sought to kill him.
48 But they found nothing they could do to him, for all the people were hanging on his words.
Luke Chapter 20
The authority of Jesus
1 One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and proclaiming the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes, with the elders, came up to him.
2 They asked him, “Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Or who gave you this authority?”
3 Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question.
4 John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin?”
5 They discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’
6 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people will stone us, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.”
7 So they answered, “They did not know where it came from.”
8 Then Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
The wicked farmers
9 Then he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenants, and went away for a long time.
10 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect some of the fruit of the vineyard, but the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
11 He sent another servant, but they beat him, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.
12 He sent a third servant, but they also beat him and threw him out.
13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him when they see him.’
14 But when the tenants saw him, they began to argue among themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.
’ 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?
16 He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others. When they heard this, they said, “God forbid!”
17 But he looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?
18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”
The issue of taxation
19 The chief priests and the scribes were looking for an opportunity to arrest him at that very hour, because they realized that he had spoken this parable against them; but they were afraid of the people.
20 So they watched him and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order to catch him in something he might say, so that they could hand him over to the power and authority of the governor.
21 And they asked him, saying, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach correctly, and that you do not show favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth.
22 Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
23 But he, perceiving their craftiness, said to them, “Why are you testing me?
24 Show me the denarius. Whose image is on it, and whose inscription?” They answered, “Caesar’s.”
25 Then he said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
26 And they could not catch him in any word before the people, but marveling at his answer, they were silent.
The question about the resurrection
27 Then some Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came and asked him,
28 saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for him.
29 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving children.
30 The second one married her, but he also died without leaving children.
31 The third one married her, and so on, and all seven died without leaving children.
32 Finally, the woman died too.
33 Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be, since all seven were married to her?”
34 Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage.
35 But those who are considered worthy to take part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.”
36 For they can no longer die, because they are like the angels, and are children of God, being children of the resurrection.
37 But about the dead rising, even Moses showed this in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
38 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.
39 Some of the scribes answered him, “Teacher, you have spoken well.”
40 And they dared not ask him any more questions.
Whose son is Christ?
41 Then he said to them, “How can you say that the Christ is the son of David?
42 David himself says in the book of Psalms: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand,
43 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” ’
44 David calls him Lord; how then can he be his son?” Jesus Accuses the Scribes
Jesus accuses the scribes
45 When all the people were listening, he said to his disciples,
46 “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and love greetings in the marketplaces, and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.
47 They devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”
Luke Chapter 21
The widow's offering
1 Looking up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box.
2 He also saw a poor widow put in two small coins.
3 “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others.
4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in all she had to live on.”
Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple
5 And to some who spoke of how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and votive offerings, he said:
6 As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another that will not be thrown down.
Signs Before the End
7 They asked him, “Teacher, when will this happen, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?”
8 He replied, “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them.
9 When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be alarmed. These things must happen first, but the end will not come immediately.”
10 Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
11 There will be severe earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.
12 But before all this, they will arrest you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name.
13 This will be your opportunity to bear witness.”
14 Resolve in your hearts not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves.
15 For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.
16 You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death.
17 You will be hated by everyone because of me.
18 But not a hair of your head will perish.
19 By your endurance you will gain your lives.
20 When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.
21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the city depart, and let those who are in the country not enter it.
22 For these are the days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.
23 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people.
24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
The coming of the Son of Man
25 “There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.
26 People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.
27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28 When these things begin to happen, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
29 He also told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees.
30 When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near.
31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
32 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.”
33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
34 Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap .
35 For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth.
36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.
37 By day Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, but at night he went out and spent time on the Mount of Olives.
38 Early in the morning all the people came to him in the temple courts to hear him.
Luke Chapter 22
The plot to kill Jesus
1 Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was near.
2 And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might kill him, for they feared the people.
3 And Satan entered into Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was one of the twelve;
4 and he went and conferred with the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard how he might betray him to them.
5 They were pleased and agreed to give him money.
6 So he agreed and sought an opportunity to betray him in secret.
Institution of the Lord's Supper
7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.
8 Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us to eat.”
9 They asked him, “Where do you want us to prepare it?”
10 He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house he enters,
11 and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?
12 He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations there.”
13 So they went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.
14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table.
15 He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.”
16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds its fulfillment in the kingdom of God.
17 And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves.
18 For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
20 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
21 But look, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table.
22 The Son of Man will go as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!”
23 Then they began to discuss among themselves which of them it could be who could do this.
The greatness of service
24 A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be the greatest.
25 But he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who exercise authority over them call themselves benefactors.
26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.
27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.
28 You are those who have stood by me in my trials.
29 And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me,
30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
Jesus foretells Peter's denial
31 The Lord said, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat.
32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
33 Simon replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”
34 Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”
Bag, saddlebag and sword
35 And he said to them, “When I sent you out without purse, bag, or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing.”
36 And he said to them, “But now, let the one who has a purse take it, and likewise a bag; and let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one.
37 For I tell you that this scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors,’ for what is written about me is being fulfilled.”
38 Then they said, “Lord, here are two swords.” And he said to them, “That is enough.”
Jesus prays in Gethsemane
39 So he left the house and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him.
40 When he reached the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”
41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed,
42 “Father,” he said, “if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.
44 Being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
45 When he rose from prayer and returned to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.
46 “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”
Arrest of Jesus
47 While he was still speaking, a crowd came up, and the one called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him,
but Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
49 When those with him saw what was going to happen, they asked, “Lord, should we strike with the sword?”
50 So one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.
51 But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.
52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders who had come for him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as against a robber?
53 Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.”
Peter denies Jesus
54 They arrested him, led him away, and brought him to the high priest’s house. Peter followed at a distance.
55 They kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down around it, and Peter sat down among them.
56 A servant girl saw him sitting in the firelight, looked closely at him, and said, “This man was with him.
57 But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I don’t know him.”
58 A little later, someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.”
59 About an hour later, another man insisted, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he is a Galilean.”
60 But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed.
61 The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”
62 And Peter went out and wept bitterly.
Jesus mocked and scourged
63 And the men who were guarding Jesus mocked him and beat him;
64 and blindfolding him, they struck him in the face, and asked him, saying, “Prophesy, who is it that struck you?”
65 And they said many other things abusing him.
Jesus before the council
66 When it was day, the elders of the people, the chief priests, and the scribes gathered together and brought him before the council, saying,
67 “Are you the Christ? Tell us.” He said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe;
68 and if I ask you, you will not answer or let me go.
69 But from now on the Son of Man will sit at the right hand of the power of God.”
70 They all said, “So you are the Son of God?” He said to them, “You say that I am.”
71 Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? For we ourselves have heard it from his own mouth.”
Luke Chapter 23
Jesus before Pilate
1 Then the whole crowd rose up and led Jesus to Pilate.
2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to Caesar, and claiming to be the Messiah, a king.”
3 Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” “You say so,” he replied.
4 Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”
5 But they insisted, “He stirs up the people throughout Judea, teaching all over the province, beginning in Galilee and coming all the way here.”
Jesus before Herod
6 When Pilate heard this, he asked if the man was a Galilean.
7 When he learned that he was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.
8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard many things about him, and he hoped to see him perform some sign.
9 He questioned him at length, but Jesus gave him no answer.
10 The chief priests and the teachers of the law stood there vehemently accusing him.
11 Then Herod and his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Dressing him in a beautiful robe, he sent him back to Pilate.
12 That day Herod and Pilate became friends again—previously they had been enemies.
Jesus sentenced to death
13 Then Pilate, having summoned the chief priests, the rulers, and the people,
14 said to them, “You brought this man to me as one who was inciting the people to rebellion; but having examined him in your presence, I have found no basis for your charges against him.
15 Neither did Herod, for I sent you to him; and indeed, this man has done nothing deserving of death.
16 Therefore I will release him, after punishing him.”
17 Now it was necessary for him to release one prisoner to them at the festival.
18 But the whole crowd cried out with one voice, saying, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas!”
19 Barabbas had been thrown into prison for insurrection in the city, and for murder.
20 Pilate spoke to them again, wanting to release Jesus;
21 but they cried out again, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
22 A third time he said to them, “Why, what crime has this man committed? I have found in him no offense deserving of death; therefore I will punish him and release him.”
23 But they kept shouting, demanding that he be crucified. And their voices prevailed, along with those of the chief priests.
24 So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted.
25 And he released to them the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, whom they had asked for, and handed Jesus over to their will.
Crucifixion and death of Jesus
26 As they led him away, they seized a man from Cyrene, Simon, who was coming in from the country, and they laid the cross on him to carry it behind Jesus.
27 A large crowd of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him.
28 Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children.
29 For the days will come when they will say, ‘Blessed are the childless, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’
30 Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’
31 For if they do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be put to death.
33 When they came to the place called The Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals, one on his right and the other on his left.
34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
35 The people stood watching, and even the rulers sneered at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ, the Chosen One of God.”
36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine,
37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”
38 There was also an inscription over him in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
39 One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at him, saying, “If you are the Christ, save yourself and us!”
40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
41 And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 And he said to Jesus, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
43 And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
44 And it was now about noon, and darkness came over all the land until three in the afternoon,
45 for the sun was darkened, and the curtain of the temple was torn in two.
46 Then Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” And having said this, he breathed his last.
47 When the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Surely this man was innocent.”
48 And all the crowd that had been present at this spectacle, when they saw what had happened, returned home beating their breasts.
49 But all his acquaintances, and the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching these things.
Jesus is buried
50 Now there was a man named Joseph, from Arimathea, a town in Judea, who was a member of the council, a good and righteous man.
51 He, who was also waiting for the kingdom of God, and had not consented to their decision or actions,
52 went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.
53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth, and placed it in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever been laid.
54 It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.
55 The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it.
56 Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. And they rested on the Sabbath, in obedience to the commandment.
Luke Chapter 24
The resurrection
1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared, and some other women with them.
2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
3 but when they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood by them.
5 The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?
6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:
7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and on the third day be raised again.
8 Then the women remembered his words.
9 Returning from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others.
10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles.
11 But their words seemed to them like nonsense, and they did not believe them.
12 Peter got up and ran to the tomb. Looking in, he saw the linen cloths lying there by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
On the road to Emmaus
13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.
14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened.
15 As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself came near and walked along with them,
16 but they were kept from recognizing him.
17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast.
18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
19 “What things?” he asked. “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people.
20 and how our chief priests and rulers handed him over to be condemned to death, and crucified him.
21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. And besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.
22 Moreover, some women from our group amazed us. Early this morning they went to the tomb
23 and when they did not find his body, they came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive.
24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see him.
25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”
27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
28 They came to the village to which they were going, and he acted as if he were going farther.
29 But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.
30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.
31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.
32 They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together
34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.”
35 Then the two told what had happened on the road, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
Jesus appears to the disciples
36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost.
38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself. Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”
40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.
41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”
42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and some honeycomb.
43 He took it and ate it in their presence.
44 He said to them, “These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.
46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,
47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
48 You are witnesses of these things.
49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city of Jerusalem until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
Ascension
50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them.
51 While he was blessing them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.
52 After they had worshiped him, they returned to Jerusalem with great joy.
53 And they were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.