Jesus warns against men who are not true
- 1)Many thousands of people had gathered. They stepped on each
other. Jesus began to talk to the disciples. He said, `Take care. Do
not let the yeast of the Pharisees spoil you. They are not true
to themselves.
- 2) Everything that is covered up will be
seen. Everything that is hidden will be known.
- 3) What you
have said in the dark will be heard in the light. What you have
said in secret with the door shut will be told from the tops of
the houses.'
Whom to fear
- 4) `You are my friends. I tell you, do not fear people who
can kill your bodies. After that they cannot do anything more to
you.
- 5) I will tell you whom you must fear. Fear the one
who, after he has killed, has the power to throw into hell. Yes,
I tell you, fear him!
- 6) Are not five sparrows sold for a
tiny sum of money? Yet God does not forget about one of them.
- 7) Even the number of hairs on your head is known. So do not
fear. You are worth more than many sparrows.'
Telling people you know Christ.
- 8)`And I tell you. If anyone tells people that he knows me,
the Son of Man will also tell the angels of God that he knows
him.
- 9) But if anyone tells people he does not know me, the
Son of Man will also tell the angels of God that he does not
know that person.
- 10)`Everyone who says anything against the Son of Man will be
forgiven. But anyone who says wrong things against the Holy
Spirit will not be forgiven.
- 11)`When men take you to the meeting houses and to the
rulers and to the courts, do not be troubled about what you will
answer or say.
- 12) The Holy Spirit will teach you at the
right time what you must say.'
The story of the rich man who was not wise
- 13) One of the people in the crowd said, `Teacher, tell my
brother to divide with me the things my father left when he
died.'
- 14) Jesus said, `Man, who made me a judge over you or gave
me power to divide your things?'
- 15) Then he said to the
people, `Take care. Do not be greedy in any way to get more and
more things. Even if a man has much more than he needs, it
cannot give him life.'
- 16) Then he told them a story. He said, `A rich man had a
farm. The things that grew on it were many.
- 17) He said to
himself, "What will I do? I have no place to keep all the food I
have grown."
- 18) So he said, "This is what I will do. I will
break down my storehouses and build bigger ones. I will keep in
them all the food and everything I have.
- 19) Then I will say
to myself, `Man, you have much in your storehouses for many
years. Rest now. Eat, drink, and have a good time.' "
- 20)
But God said to him, "You are a fool! Tonight you will die. Then
who will have all the things you have kept for yourself?"
- 21) So anyone who keeps things for himself is not rich in
the way God wants him to be rich.'
Troubling your heart about things in this life
- 22) Jesus said to his disciples, `So I tell you this. Do not
be troubled about what you will eat to keep alive. Do not be
troubled about clothes to wear on your body.
- 23) Life itself
is worth more than food, and the body is worth more than
clothes.
- 24) `Think of the birds. They do not plant, cut, or
keep any food. Yet God feeds them. You are worth much more than
the birds!
- 25) `Can any of you live any longer by troubling yourself
about these things?
- 26) If you cannot do a small thing like
that, why do you trouble yourself about the other things?
- 27) `Think about the flowers. See how they grow. They do not
work or make cloth. I tell you, King Solomon was a great man.
But he was not dressed as fine as one of these flowers.
- 28)
God dresses the grass in the fields so it looks nice. It is in
the field one day and the next day it is burned. If God dresses
the grass like that, he cares much more that you have clothes to
wear. You do not believe in God very much!
- 29) `Do not keep asking, "What shall we eat?" and, "What
shall we drink?" Do not be troubled about that.
- 30) All the
people who are not Jews work for these things. Your Father in
heaven knows that you need them.
- 31) But work for God's
kingdom. Then you will have all these things also.'
Riches in heaven
- 32) `Do not fear, little family. Your Father wants to give
the kingdom to you.
- 33) Sell what you have and give it to
poor people. Make for yourselves money bags that will not wear
out. Keep the things you like in heaven. They will not be lost
there. People cannot go in and steal them, and insects cannot
spoil them.
- 34) The place where you keep the things you like
is where your heart will be also.'
Servants who are ready
- 35) `Be dressed and have your lamps lit.
- 36) Be like men
who are waiting for their master to come home from a wedding.
They are ready to open the door as soon as he comes and knocks.
- 37) Happy the servants who are ready when the master comes!
The servants who are ready when the master comes will be made
happy. I tell you the truth. The master will get ready to serve
them. He will set them at the table and will come and serve
them.
- 38) He may come in the middle of the night or when it
is nearly morning. But if they are watching for the master, they
will be happy.
- 39) `And remember this. If the owner of a house knew at what
time a man would come to steal, he would not let the man break
into his house.
- 40) So then, be ready. The Son of Man will
come at a time when you are not looking for him.'
The servant to be trusted or not
- 41) Peter said, `Lord, are you telling this story for us or
for all the people?'
- 42) The Lord said, `Who is like a wise servant who can be
trusted? His master will put him in charge of his other
servants. He gives them food to eat at the right time.
- 43)
His master will bless that servant if he is doing this when he
comes!
- 44) I tell you the truth. His master will put him in
charge of all that he has
- 45) But perhaps that servant says
to himself, "My master will not come just now." Then he begins
to beat the other servants. He begins to eat and drink until he
is drunk.
- 46) If he does that, his master will come on a day
when he is not looking for him. He will not know the time when
his master is coming. His master will punish him very much and
put him away with those he cannot trust.
- 47) `A servant knew what his master wanted. But he was not
ready. He did not do what his master wanted him to do. So he
will be beaten much.
- 48) But if a servant did not know and
did something bad, he will be beaten only a little. To whom much
has been given, from him much will be asked. When people give
much to anyone, they will ask more from him.
People are divided because of Jesus
- 49)`I came to start a fire on the earth. I wish the fire
were already burning!
- 50) I will be going through a big
trouble, and I feel like a prisoner until it is all over.
- 51) Do you think that I came to bring peace on the earth? I
tell you, "No". I came to take away peace.
- 52) From now, if
there are five in a family, they will be against each other.
Three of them will be against the other two. And two of them
will be against the other three.
- 53) A father will be
against his son, and the son will be against his father. The
mother will be against her daughter, and the daughter will be
against her mother. A man's mother will be against his wife, and
his wife will be against his mother.'
Understanding signs
- 54) Jesus also said to the people, `When you see a cloud
coming up in the west, you say right away, "Rain is coming." And
it comes.
- 55) When the wind is blowing from the south, you
say, "It will be very hot." And it is.
- 56) You are not true
to yourselves! You know the meaning of these signs in the earth
and sky. But you do not know the meaning of the signs about the
time in which we are living.'
Make an agreement with your enemy
- 57) `Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?
- 58) If someone wants to take you to court, make an agreement
with him quickly on the way. If you do not, he will take you to
the judge. The judge will give you to the guard, and the guard
will put you in prison.
- 59) I tell you, you will not get out
of prison until you have paid up every piece of money.'