The Holy Bible - Book 42 - Luke - Contemporary English

Luke tells the good news Luke one many people have tried of what God has done among us they wrote what we had been told by the ones who were there in the beginning and saw what happened so I made a careful study of everything and then decided to write and tell you exactly what took place honourable theophilus I have done this to let you know if what you have heard is true when Herod was king of Judea there was a priest by the name of Zachariah whom the priestly group of Abijah his wife Elizabeth was from the family of Aaron both of them were good people and pleased the Lord God by obeying all that he had commanded but they did not have children Elizabeth could not have any and both Zechariah and Elizabeth were already old one day Zechariah's group of priests were on duty and he was serving God as a priest according to the custom of the priests he had been chosen to go into the Lord's temple that day and to burn incense while the people stood outside praying all at once an angel from the Lord came and appeared to Zechariah at the right side of the altar Zechariah was confused and afraid when he saw the angel but the angel told him don't be afraid Zechariah God has heard your prayers your wife Elizabeth will have a son and you must name him John his birth will make you very happy and many people will be glad your son will be a great servant of the Lord he must never drink wine or beer and the power of the Holy Spirit will be with him from the time he is born John will lead many people in Israel to turn back to the Lord their God he will go ahead of the Lord with the same power and spirit that Elijah had and because of John parents will be more thoughtful of their children and people who now disobey God will begin to think as they ought to that is how John will get people ready for the Lord Zechariah said to the angel how will I know this is going to happen my wife and I are both very old the angel answered I am Gabriel God's servant and I was sent to tell you this good news you have not believed what I have said so you will not be able to say a thing until all this happens but everything will take place when it is supposed to [Music] the crowd was waiting for Zechariah and kept wondering why he was staying so long in the temple when he did come out he could not speak and they knew he had seen a vision he motioned to them with his hands but did not say a thing when Zechariah's time of service in the temple was over he went home soon after that his wife was expecting a baby and for five months she did not leave the house she said to herself what the Lord has done for me will keep people from looking down on me one month later God sent the angel Gabriel to the town of Nazareth in Galilee with a message for a virgin named Mary she was engaged to Joseph from the family of King David the angel greeted Mary and said you are truly blessed the Lord is with you Mary was confused by the Angels words and wondered what they meant then the angel told Mary don't be afraid God is pleased with you and you will have a son his name will be Jesus he will be great and will be called the son of God Most High the Lord God will make him King as his ancestor David was he will rule the people of Israel forever and his kingdom will never end Mary asked the angel how can this happen I'm not married the angel answered the Holy Spirit will come down to you and God's power will come over you so your child will be called the holy son of God your relative Elizabeth is also going to have a son even though she is old no one thought she could ever have a baby but in three months she will have a son nothing is impossible for on Mary said I am The Lord's servant let it happen as you have said and the angel left her a short time later Mary hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea she went into Zechariah's home where she greeted Elizabeth when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting her baby moved within her the Holy Spirit came upon Elizabeth then in a loud voice she said to Mary God has blessed you more than any other woman he has also blessed the child you will have why should the mother of my lord come to me as soon as I heard your greeting my baby became happy and moved within me the Lord has blessed you because you believed that he will keep his promise Mary said with all my heart I praise the Lord and I'm glad because of God my Savior he cares for me his humble servant from now on all people will say God has blessed me God all-powerful has done great things for me and his name is holy he always shows mercy to everyone who worships him the Lord is used as powerful arm to scatter those who are proud he drags strong rulers from their thrones and puts humble people in places of power he gives the hungry good things to eat and he sends the rich away with nothing in their hands he helps his servant Israel and is always merciful to his people he made this promise to our ancestors to Abraham and his family forever Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months then she went back home when Elizabeth's son was born her neighbors and relatives heard how kind the Lord had been to her and they too were glad eight days later they did for the child with the law of Moses commands they were going to name him Zechariah after his father but Elizabeth said no his name is John the people argued no one in your family has ever been named John so they motioned to Zechariah to find out what he wanted to name his son Zachariah asked for a writing tablet then he wrote his name is John everyone was amazed right away Zachariah started speaking and praising God all the neighbors were frightened because of what had happened and everywhere in the hill country people kept talking about these things everyone who heard about this wondered what this child would grow up to be they knew that the Lord was with him the Holy Spirit came upon Zachariah and he began to speak praise the Lord the God of Israel he has come to save his people our God has given us a mighty Savior from the family of David his servant long ago the Lord promised by the words of his holy prophets to save us from our enemies and from everyone who hates us God said he would be kind to our people and keep his sacred promise he told our ancestor Abraham that he would rescue us from our enemies then we could serve him without fear by being holy and good as long as we live you my son will be called a prophet of God in heaven above you will go ahead of the Lord to get everything ready for him we'll tell his people that they can be saved when their sins are forgiven God's love and kindness will shine upon us like the Sun the rises in the sky on us who live in the dark shadow of death this light will shine to guide us into a life of peace as John grew up God's Spirit gave him great power John lived in the desert until the time he was sent to the people of Israel Luke - about that time Emperor Augustus gave orders for the names of all the people to be listed in record books these first records were made when Quirinius was governor of Syria everyone had to go to their own hometown to be listed so Joseph had to leave Nazareth in Galilee and go to Bethlehem in Judea long ago Bethlehem had been King David's hometown and Joseph went there because he was from David's family Mary was engaged to Joseph and traveled with him to Bethlehem she was soon going to have a baby and while they were there she gave birth to her firstborn son she dressed him in baby clothes and laid him in a feed box because there was no room for them in the inn that night in the fields near Bethlehem some shepherds were guarding their sheep all at once an angel came down to them from the Lord and the brightness of the Lord's glory flashed around them the shepherds were frightened but the angel said don't be afraid I have good news for you which will make everyone happy this very day in King David's hometown a savior was born for you he is Christ the Lord you will know who he is because you will find him dressed in baby clothes and lying in a feed box suddenly many other angels came down from heaven and joined in praising God they said praise God in heaven peace on earth to everyone who pleases God after the Angels had left and gone back to heaven the Shepherd's said to each other let's go to Bethlehem and see what the lordís told us about they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and they saw the baby lying in the feed box when the Shepherd's saw Jesus they told his parents what the angel had said about him everyone listened and was surprised but Mary kept thinking about all this and wondering what it meant as the Shepherd's returned to their sheep they were praising God and saying wonderful things about him everything they had seen and heard was just as the angel had said eight days later Jesus parents did for him with the law of Moses commands and they named him Jesus just as the Angels had told Mary when he promised she would have a baby the time came for Mary and Joseph to do what the law of Moses says a mother is supposed to do after her baby is born they took Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem and presented him to the Lord just as the law of the Lord says each firstborn baby boy belongs to the Lord the law of the Lord also says that parents have to offer a sacrifice giving at least a pair of doves or two young pigeons so that is what Mary and Joseph did at this time a man named Simeon was living in Jerusalem Simeon was a good man he loved God and was waiting for God to save the people of Israel God's Spirit came to him and told him that he would not die until he had seen Christ the Lord when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple to do what the law of Moses says should be done for a new baby the spirit told Simeon to go into the temple Simeon took the baby Jesus in his arms and praised God Lord I am your servant and now I can die in peace because you have kept your promise to me with my own eyes I have seen what you have done to save your people and foreign nations will also see this your mighty power is a light for all nations and it will bring honor to your people Israel Jesus parents were surprised at what Simeon had said then he blessed them and told Mary this child of yours will cause many people in Israel to fall and others to stand the child will be like a warning sign many people will reject him and you Mary will suffer as though you had been stabbed by a dagger but all this will show what people are really thinking the Prophet Allah was also there in the temple she was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher and she was very old in her youth she had been married for seven years but her husband died and now she was eighty-four years old night and day she served God in the temple by praying and often going without eating at that time Anna came in and praised God she spoke about the Child Jesus to everyone who hoped for Jerusalem to be set free after Joseph and Mary had done everything that the law of the Lord commands they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee the Child Jesus grew he became strong and wise and God blessed him every year Jesus parents went to Jerusalem for Passover and when Jesus was twelve years old they all went there as usual for the celebration after Passover his parents left but they did not know that Jesus had stayed on in the city they thought he was travelling with some other people and they went a whole day before they started looking for him when they could not find him with their relatives and friends they went back to Jerusalem and started looking for him there three days later they found Jesus sitting in the temple listening to the teachers and asking them questions everyone who heard him was surprised at how much he knew and that the answers he gave when his parents found him they were amazed his mother said son why have you done this to us your father and I have been very worried and we have been searching for you jesus answered why did you have to look for me didn't you know that I would be in my father's house but they did not understand what he meant Jesus went back to Nazareth with his parents and obeyed them his mother kept on thinking about all that had happened Jesus became wise and he grew strong God was pleased with him and so were the people Luke 3 for 15 years emperor Tiberius had ruled that part of the world Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea and Herod was the ruler of Galilee Herod's brother Philip was the ruler in the countries of Vitoria and frackin itis and Lysanias was the ruler of abilene Anna's and Caiaphas were the Jewish high priests at that time God spoke to Zacharias son John who was living in the desert so John went along the Jordan Valley telling the people turn back to God and be baptized then your sins will be forgiven i saya the Prophet wrote about John when he said in the desert someone is shouting get the road ready for the Lord make a straight path for him fill up every Valley and level every mountain and hill straighten the crooked paths and smooth out the rough roads then everyone will see the saving power of God crowds of people came out to be baptized but John said to them you bunch of snakes who warns you to run from the coming judgement do something to show that you really have given up your sins don't start saying that you belong to Abraham's family God can turn these stones into children for Abraham and Acts is ready to cut the trees down at their roots any tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire the crowds asked John what should we do John told them if you have two coats give one to someone who doesn't have any if you have food share it with someone else when tax collectors came to be baptized they asked John teacher what should we do John told them don't make people pay more than they owe some soldiers asked him and what about us what do we have to do John told them don't force people to pay money to make you leave them alone be satisfied with your pay everyone became excited and wondered could John be the Messiah John said I am just baptizing with water but someone more powerful is going to come and I am not good enough even to untie his sandals he will baptize you with the holy Bearden with fire his threshing Fork is in his hand and he is ready to separate the wheat from the husks he will store the wheat in his barn and burn the husks with a fire that never goes out in many different ways John preached the good news to the people but to Herod the ruler he said it was wrong for you to take Herodias your brother's wife John also said that Herod had done many other bad things finally Herod put John in jail and this was the worst thing he had done after everyone else had been baptized Jesus himself was baptized then as he prayed the sky opened up and the Holy Spirit came down upon him in the form of a dove a voice from heaven said you are my own dear son and I am pleased with you when Jesus began to preach he was about 30 years old everyone thought he was the son of Joseph but his family went back through Kiel I met that Levi melk I Jan hi Joseph Matthias Amos Nahum as ly nag I mayor Matthias semion Joseph Joe de Joe a nun Risa zerubabbel she Alfio near I melk I add I cousin el Maiden her Joshua Eleazar during her method Levi Simeon Judah Joseph jounin Alaia camellia Menna madatha Nathan David Jesse obut boss Salman national Amanita admin all Nye has room Pyrrhus Judah Jacob Isaac Abraham Tara Nahor suruc Rio feel ik Eber Sheila Canaan Arphaxad Shem Noah Lamech Methuselah Enoch Jared Mahalaleel Kenan Enoch and Seth the family of Jesus went all the way back to Adam and then to God Luke for when Jesus returned from the Jordan River the power of the Holy Spirit was with him and the spirit led him into the desert for forty days Jesus was tested by the devil and during that time he went without eating when it was all over he was hungry the devil said to Jesus if you are God's Son tell this stone to turn into bread jesus answered the scriptures say no one can live only on food then the devil that Jesus up to a high place and quickly showed him all the nations on earth the devil said I will give all this power and glory to you it has been given to me and I can give it to anyone I want to just worship me and you can have it all jesus answered the scriptures say worship the Lord your God and serve only him finally the devil took Jesus to Jerusalem and have him stand on top of the temple the devil said if you are God's Son jump off the scripture say God will tell his angels to take care of you they will catch you in their arms and you will not hurt your feet on the stones jesus answered the Scriptures also say don't try to test the Lord your God after the devil had finished testing Jesus in every way possible he left him for a while Jesus returned to Galilee with the power of the Spirit news about him spread everywhere he taught in the Jewish meeting places and everyone praised him Jesus went back to Nazareth where he had been brought up and as usual he went to the meeting place on the Sabbath when he stood up to read from the Scriptures he was given the Book of Isaiah the prophet he opened it and read the Lord's Spirit has come to me because he has chosen me to tell the good news to the poor the Lord has sent me to announce freedom for prisoners to give sight to the blind to free everyone who suffers and to say this is the year the Lord has chosen Jesus closed the book then handed it back to the man in charge and sat down everyone in the meeting place looks straight at Jesus then jesus said to them what you have just heard me read has come true today all the people started talking about Jesus and were amazed at the wonderful things he said they kept on asking isn't he Joseph's son jesus answered you will certainly want to tell me this saying doctor first make yourself well you will tell me to do the same things here in my own hometown that you heard I did in Capernaum but you can be sure that no prophets are liked by the people of their own hometown once during the time of Elijah there was no rain for three and a half years and people everywhere were starving there were many widows in Israel but Elijah was sent only to a widow in the town of Zarephath near the city of Sidon during the time of the prophet Elijah many men in Israel had leprosy but no one was healed except Naaman who lived in Syria when the people in the meeting place heard Jesus say this they became so angry that they got up and threw him out of town they dragged him to the edge of the cliff on which the town was built because they wanted to throw him down from there but Jesus slipped through the crowd and got away Jesus went to the town of Capernaum in Galilee and taught the people on the Sabbath his teaching amazed them because he spoke with power there the Jewish meeting place was a man with an evil spirit he yelled out what do you want with us are you here to get rid of us I know you are God's only one Jesus ordered the evil spirit to be quiet and come out the demon threw the man to the ground in front of everyone and left without harming him they all were amazed and kept saying to each other what kind of teaching is this he has power to order evil spirits out of people news about Jesus spread all over that part of the country Jesus left the meeting place and went to Simon's home when Jesus got there he was told that Simon's mother-in-law was sick with a high fever so Jesus went over to her and ordered the fever to go away right then she was able to get up and serve them after the Sun had set people with all kinds of diseases were brought to Jesus he put his hands on each one of them and healed them demons went out of many people and shouted but Jesus ordered the demons not to speak because they knew he was the Messiah the next morning Jesus went out to a place where he could be alone and crowds came looking for him when they found him they tried to stop him from leaving but Jesus said people in other towns must hear the good news about God's kingdom that's why I was sent so he kept on preaching in the Jewish meeting places in Judea Luke 5 Jesus was standing on the shore of Lake gannett teaching the people as they crowded around him to hear God's message near the shore he saw two boats left there by some fisherman who had gone to wash their nets Jesus got into the boat that belonged to Simon and asked him to roll it out a little way from the shore then Jesus sat down in the boat to teach the crowd when Jesus had finished speaking he told Simon row the boat out into the deep water and let your nets down to catch some fish Master Simon answered we have worked hard all night long and have not caught a thing but if you tell me to I will let the nets down they did it and caught so many fish that their nets began ripping apart then they signaled for their partners in the other boat to come and help them the men came and together they filled the two boats so full that they both began to sink when Simon Peter saw this happen he kneeled down in front of Jesus and said Lord don't come near me I am a sinner Peter and everyone with him were completely surprised at all the fish they had caught his partners James and John the sons of Zebedee were surprised too Jesus told Simon don't be afraid from now on you will bring in people instead of fish the men pulled their boats upon the shore then they left everything and went with Jesus Jesus came to a town where there was a man who had leprosy when the man saw Jesus he kneeled down to the ground in front of Jesus and begged Lord you have the power to make me well if only you wanted to Jesus put his hand on him and said I do want to now you are well at once the man's leprosy disappeared Jesus told him don't tell anyone about this but go and show yourself to the priest then take a gift to the temple just as Moses commanded and everyone will know that you have been healed news about Jesus kept spreading large crowds came to listen to him teach and to be healed of their diseases but Jesus would often go to some place where he could be alone and pray one day some Pharisees and experts in the law of Moses sat listening to Jesus teach they had come from every village in Galilee in Judea and from Jerusalem God had given Jesus the power to heal the sick and some people came carrying a crippled man on a that they tried to take him inside the house and put him in front of Jesus but because of the crowd they could not get into Jesus so they went up on the roof where they removed some tiles and let the mat down in the middle of the room when Jesus saw how much faith they had he said to the crippled man my friend your sins are forgiven the Pharisees and the experts began arguing Jesus must think he is God only God can forgive sins jesus knew what they were thinking and he said why are you thinking that is it easier for me to tell this crippled man that his sins are forgiven or to tell him to get up and walk but now you will see that the son of man has the right to forgive sins here on earth Jesus then said to the man get up pick up your mat and walk home at once the man stood up in front of everyone he picked up his mat and went home giving thanks to God everyone was amazed and praised God what they saw surprised them and they said we have seen a great miracle today later Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the place for paying taxes jesus said to him come with me Levi left everything and went with Jesus in his home Levi gave a big dinner for Jesus many tax collectors and other guests were also there the Pharisees and some of their teachers of the law of Moses grumbled to Jesus disciples why do you eat and drink with those tax collectors and other sinners jesus answered healthy people don't need a doctor but sick people do I didn't come to invite good people to turn to God I came to invite sinners some people said to Jesus John's followers often pray and go without eating and so did the followers of the Pharisees but your disciples never go without eating or drinking Jesus told them the friends of a bridegroom don't go without eating while he is still with them but the time will come when he will be taken from them then they will go without eating Jesus then told them these sayings no one uses a new piece of cloth to patch old clothes the patch would shrink and make the hole even bigger no one pours new wine into old wineskins the new wine would swell and burst the old skins then the wine would be lost and the skins would be ruined new wine must be put only into new wineskins no one wants new wine after drinking old wine they say the old wine is better Luke 6 one Sabbath when Jesus and His disciples were walking through some wheat fields the disciples picked some wheat they rubbed the husks off with their hands and started eating the grain some Pharisees said why are you picking green on the Sabbath you're not supposed to do that jesus answered you surely have read what David did when he and his followers were hungry he went into the house of God and took the sacred loaves of bread that only priests were supposed to eat he not only ate some himself but even gave some to his followers Jesus finished by saying the son of man is lord over the Sabbath on another Sabbath Jesus was teaching in a Jewish meeting place and a man with a crippled right hand was there some Pharisees and teachers of the law of Moses kept watching Jesus to see if he would heal the man they did this because they wanted to accuse Jesus of doing something wrong Jesus knew what they were thinking so he told the man to stand up where everyone could see him and the man stood up then Jesus asked the people on the Sabbath should we do good deeds or evil deeds should we save someone's life or destroy it after he had looked around at everyone he told the man stretch out your hand he did and his bad hand became completely well the teachers in the Pharisees were furious and started saying to each other what can we do about Jesus about that time Jesus went off to a mountain to pray and he spent the whole night there the next morning he called his disciples together and chose twelve of them to be his apostles one was Simon and Jesus named him Peter another was Andrew Peters brother there were also James John Philip Bartholomew Matthew Thomas and James the son of Alphaeus the rest of the apostles were Simon known as the eager one Jude who was the son of James and Judas Iscariot who later betrayed Jesus Jesus and His apostles went down from the mountain and came to some flat level ground many other disciples were there to meet him large crowds of people from all over Judea Jerusalem and the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon were there too these people had come to listen to Jesus and to be healed of their diseases all who were troubled by evil spirits were also healed everyone was trying to touch Jesus because power was going out from him and healing them all Jesus looked at his disciples and said God will bless you people who are poor his kingdom belongs to you God will bless you hungry people you will have plenty to eat God will bless you people who are crying you will laugh God will bless you when others hate you and won't have anything to do with you God will bless you when people insult you and say cruel things about you all because you are a follower of the Son of Man long ago your own people did these same things to the prophets so when this happens to you be happy and jump for joy you will have a great reward in heaven but you rich people are in for trouble you have already had an easy life you well-fed people are in for trouble you will go hungry you people who are laughing now are in for trouble you are going to cry and weep you are in for trouble when everyone says good things about you that is what your own people said about those prophets who told lies this is what I say to all who will listen to me love your enemies and be good to everyone who hates you ask God to bless anyone who curses you and pray for everyone who is cruel to you if someone slaps you on one cheek don't stop that person from slapping you on the other cheek if someone wants to take your coat don't try to keep back your shirt give to everyone who asks and don't ask people to return what they have taken from you treat others just as you want to be treated if you love only someone who loves you will God praise you for that even sinners love people who love them if you are kind only to someone who is kind to you will cut be pleased with you for that even sinners are kind to people who are kind to them if you lend money only to someone you think will pay you back will God be pleased with you for that even sinners lend to sinners because they think they will get it all back but love your enemies and be good to them lend without expecting to be paid back then you will get a great reward and you will be the true children of God in heaven he is good even to people who are unthankful and cruel have pity on others just as your father has pity on you jesus said don't judge others and God will not judge you don't be hard on others and God will not be hard on you forgive others and God will forgive you if you give to others you will be given a full amount in return it will be packed down shaken together and spilling over into your lap the way you treat others is the way you will be treated Jesus also used some sayings as he spoke to the people he said can one blind person lead another blind person won't they both fall into a ditch our students better than their teacher but when they are fully trained they will be like their teacher you can see the speck in your friend's eye but you don't notice the log in your own eye how can you say my friend let me take the speck out of your eye when you don't see the log in your own eye you show-offs first get the log out of your own eye then you can see how to take the speck out of your friends eye a good tree cannot produce bad fruit and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit you can tell what a tree is like by the fruit it produces you cannot pick figs or grapes from thornbushes good people do good things because of the good in their hearts bad people do bad things because of the evil in their hearts your words show what is in your hearts why do you keep on saying that I am your Lord when you refuse to do what I say anyone who comes and listens to me and obeys me is like someone who dug down deep and built a house on solid rock when the flood came and the river rushed against the house it was built so well that it didn't even shake but anyone who hears what I say and doesn't obey me is like someone whose house was not built on solid rock as soon as the river rushed against that house it was smashed to pieces Luke 7 after Jesus had finished teaching the people he went to Capernaum in that town an army officers servant was sick and about to die the officer liked this servant very much and when he heard about Jesus he sent some Jewish leaders to ask him to come and heal the servant the leaders went to Jesus and begged him to do something they said this man deserves your help he loves our nation and even built us a meeting place so Jesus went with them when Jesus was not far from the house the officer sent some friends to tell him Lord don't go to any trouble for me I am NOT good enough for you to come into my house and I am certainly not worthy to come to you just say the word and my servant will get well I have officers who give orders to me and I have soldiers who take orders from me I can say to one of them go and he goes I can say to another come and he comes I can say to my servant do this and he will do it when Jesus heard this he was so surprised that he turned and said to the crowd following him in all of Israel I've never found anyone with this much faith the officers friends returned and found the servant well soon Jesus and His disciples were on their way to the town of nain and a big crowd was going along with them as they came near the gate of the town they saw people carrying out the body of a widows only Son many people from the town were walking along with her when the Lord saw the woman he felt sorry for her and said don't cry Jesus went over and touched the stretcher on which the people were carrying the dead boy they stopped and Jesus said young man get up the boy sat up and began to speak Jesus then gave him back to his mother everyone was frightened and praised God they said a great prophet is here with us God has come to his people news about Jesus spread all over Judea and everywhere else in that part of the country John's followers told John everything that was being said about Jesus so he sent two of them to ask the Lord are you the one we should be looking for or must we wait for someone else when these messengers came to Jesus they said John the Baptist sent us to ask are you the one we should be looking for or are we supposed to wait for someone else at that time Jesus was healing many people who were sick or in pain or were troubled by evil spirits and he was giving sight to a lot of blind people jesus said to the messengers sent by John go and tell John what you have seen and heard blind people are now able to see and the lame can walk people who have leprosy are being healed and the Deaf can now hear the dead are raised to life and the poor are hearing the good news God will bless everyone who does not reject me because of what I do after John's messengers had gone Jesus began speaking to the crowds about John what kind of person did you go out to the desert to see was he like tall grass blown about by the wind what kind of man did you really go out to see was he someone dressed in fine clothes people who wear expensive clothes and live in luxury are in the king's palace what then did you go out to see was he a prophet he certainly was I tell you that he was more than a prophet in the scriptures God calls John His Messenger and says I am sending my messenger ahead of you to get things ready for you no one ever born on this earth is greater than John but whoever is least important in God's kingdom is greater than John everyone had been listening to John even the tax collectors had obeyed God and had done what was right by letting John baptize them but the Pharisees and the experts in the law of Moses refused to obey God and be baptized by John Jesus went on to say what are you people like what kind of people are you you are like children sitting in the market and shouting to each other we played the flute but you would not dance we sang a funeral song but you would not cry John the Baptist did not go around eating and drinking and you said John has a demon in him but because the Son of man goes around eating and drinking you say Jesus eats and drinks too much he is even a friend of tax collectors and sinners yet wisdom is shown to be right by what its followers do a Pharisee invited Jesus to have dinner with him so Jesus went to the Pharisees home and got ready to eat when a sinful woman in that town found out that Jesus was there she bought an expensive bottle of perfume then she came and stood behind Jesus she cried and started washing his feet with her tears and drying them with her hair the woman kissed his feet and poured the perfume on them the Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this and said to himself if this man really were a prophet he would know what kind of woman is touching him he would know that she is a sinner jesus said to the Pharisee Simon I have something to say to you teacher what is it Simon replied Jesus told him two people were in debt to a moneylender one of them owed him five hundred silver coins and the other owed him fifty since neither of them could pay him back the moneylender said that they didn't have to pay him anything which one of them will like him more Simon answered I suppose it would be the one who had owed more and didn't have to pay it back you are right jesus said he turned toward the woman and said to Simon have you noticed this woman when I came into your home you didn't give me any water so I could wash my feet but she has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair you didn't greet me with a kiss but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet you didn't even pour olive oil on my head but she has poured expensive perfume on my feet so I tell you that all her sins are forgiven and that is why she has shown great love but anyone who has been forgiven only a little will show only a little love then jesus said to the woman your sins are forgiven some other guests started saying to one another who is this who dares to forgive sins but Jesus told the woman because of your faith you are now saved may God give you peace Luke 8 soon after this Jesus was going through towns and villages telling the good news about God's kingdom his twelve apostles were with him and so were some women who had been healed of evil spirits and all sorts of diseases one of the women was Mary Magdalene who once had seven demons in her Joella Susanna and many others had also used what they owned to help Jesus and His disciples Joanna's husband Cuza was one of Herod's officials when a large crowd from several towns had gathered around Jesus he told them this story a farmer went out to scatter seed in a field while the farmer was doing it some of the seeds fell along the road and were stepped on or eaten by birds other seeds fell on rocky ground and started growing but the plants did not have enough water and soon dried up some other seeds fell where thorn bushes grew up and choked the plants the rest of the seeds fell on good ground where they grew and produced a hundred times as many seeds when Jesus had finished speaking he said if you have ears pay attention Jesus disciples asked him what the story meant so he hazzard I have explained the secrets about God's kingdom to you but for others I can only use stories these people look that they don't see and they hear but they don't understand this is what the story means the seed is God's message and the seeds that fell along the road are the people who hear the message but the devil comes and snatches the message out of their hearts so that they will not believe and be saved the seeds that fell on rocky ground are the people who gladly hear the message and accept it but they don't have deep roots and they believe only for a little while as soon as life gets hard they give up the seeds that fell among the thorns are also people who hear the message but they are so eager for riches and pleasures that they never produce anything those seeds that fell on good ground are the people who listen to the message and keep it in good and honest hearts they last and produce a harvest no one lights a lamp and puts it under a bowl or under a bed a lamp is always put on a lamp stand so that people who come into a house will see the light there is nothing hidden that will not be found there is no secret that will not be well known pay attention to how you listen everyone who has something will be given more but people who have nothing will lose what little they think they have Jesus mother and brothers went to see him but because of the crowd they could not get near him someone told Jesus your mother and brothers are standing outside and want to see you jesus answered my mother and my brothers are those people who hear and obey God's message one day Jesus and His disciples got into a boat and he said let's cross the lake they started out and while they were sailing across he went to sleep suddenly a wind storm struck the lake and the boat started sinking they were in danger so they went to Jesus and woke him up master master we're about to drown Jesus got up and ordered the wind and waves to stop they obeyed and everything was calm then Jesus asked the disciples don't you have any faith but they were frightened and amazed they said to each other who is this he can give orders to the wind and the waves and they obey Him Jesus and His disciples sailed across Lake Galilee and came to shore near the town of Garza as Jesus was getting out of the boat he was met by a man from that town the man had demons in him he had gone naked for a long time and no longer lived in a house but in the graveyard the man saw Jesus and screamed he kneeled down in front of him and shouted [Music] he said this because Jesus had already told the evil spirit to go out of him the man had often been attacked by the demon and even though he had been bound with chains and leg irons and kept under guard he smashed whatever bound him then the demon would force him out into lonely places Jesus asked the man what is your name he answered my name is Lots he said this because there were lots of demons in him they begged Jesus not to send them to the deep pit where they would be punished on a hillside not far from there a large herd of pigs was feeding so the demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs and Jesus let them go then the demons left the man and went into the pigs the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drown when the men taking care of the figs saw this they ran to spread the news in the town in on the farms the people went out to see what had happened and when they came to Jesus they also found the man the demons had gone out of him and he was sitting there at the feet of Jesus he had clothes on and was in his right mind but that people were terrified then all who had seen the man healed told about it everyone from around Gaza begged Jesus to leave because they were so frightened when Jesus got into the boat to start back the man who had been healed begged to go with him but Jesus sent him off and said go back home and tell everyone how much God has done for you the man then went all over town telling everything that Jesus had done for him everyone had been waiting for Jesus and when he came back a crowd was there to welcome him just then the man in charge of the Jewish meeting place came and kneeled down in front of Jesus his name was Jay iris and he begged Jesus to come to his home because his 12 year old child was dying she was his only daughter while Jesus was on his way people were crowding all around him in the crowd was a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years she had spent everything she had on doctors but none of them could make her well as soon as she came up behind Jesus and barely touched his clothes her bleeding stopped who touched me Jesus asked while everyone was denying it Peter said master people are crowding all around and pushing you from every side but jesus answered someone touched me because I felt power going out from me the woman knew that she could not hide so she came trembling and kneeled down in front of Jesus she told everyone why she had touched him and that she had been healed right away jesus said to the woman you are now well because of your faith may God give you peace while Jesus was speaking someone came from je Iris's home and said your daughter has died why bother the teacher anymore when Jesus heard this he told Jay iris don't worry have faith and your daughter will get well Jesus went into the house but he did not let anyone else go with him except Peter John James and the girls father and mother everyone was crying and weeping for the girl but Jesus said the child is not dead she is just asleep but people laughed at him because they knew she was dead Jesus took hold of the girl's hand and said child get up she came back to life and got right up Jesus told them to give her something to eat her parents were surprised but Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened Luke 9 Jesus called together his 12 apostles and gave them complete power over all demons and diseases then he sent them to tell about God's kingdom and to heal the sick he told them don't take anything with you don't take a walking stick or a traveling bag or food or money or even a change of clothes when you are welcomed into a home stay there until you leave that town if people won't welcome you leave the town and shake the dust from your feet as a warning to them the apostles left and went from village to village telling the good news and healing people everywhere Herod the ruler heard about all that was happening and he was worried some people were saying that John the Baptist had come back to life others were saying that Elijah had come or that one of the prophets from long ago have come back to life but Herod said I had John's head cut off who is this I hear so much about Herod was eager to meet Jesus the Apostles came back and told Jesus everything they had done he then took them with him to the village of Bethsaida where they could be alone but a lot of people found out about this and followed him Jesus welcomed them he spoke to them about God's kingdom and healed everyone who was sick late in the afternoon the Twelve Apostles came to Jesus and said send the crowd to the villages and farms around here they need to find a place to stay and something to eat there is nothing in this place it is like a desert jesus answered you give them something to eat but he replied we have only five small loaves of bread and two fish if we're going to feed all these people we will have to go and buy food there were about five thousand men in the crowd jesus said to his disciples have the people sit in groups of 50 they did this and all the people sat down Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish he looked up toward heaven and blessed the food then he broke the bread and fish and handed them to his disciples to give to the people everyone ate all they wanted what was left over filled twelve baskets when Jesus was alone praying his disciples came to him and he asked them what do people say about me they answered some say that you were John the Baptist or Elijah or a prophet from long ago who has come back to life Jesus then asked them but who do you say I am Peter answered you are the Messiah sent from God Jesus strictly warned his disciples not to tell anyone what had happened jesus told his disciples the nation's leaders the chief priests and the teachers of the law of Moses will make the Son of man suffer terribly they will reject him and kill him but three days later he will rise to life then Jesus said to all the people if any of you want to be my followers you must forget about yourself you must take up your cross each day and follow me if you want to save your life you will destroy it but if you give up your life for me you will save it what will you gain if you own the whole world but destroy yourself or waste your life if you are ashamed of me and my message the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in his glory and in the glory of his father and the Holy Angels you can be sure that some of the people standing here will not die before they see God's kingdom about eight days later Jesus took Peter John and James with him and went up on a mountain to pray while he was praying his face changed and his clothes became shining white suddenly Moses and Elijah were there speaking with him they appeared in heavenly glory and talked about all that Jesus death and Jerusalem would mean Peter and the other two disciples have been sound asleep all at once they woke up and saw how glorious Jesus was they also saw the two men who are with him Moses and Elijah were about to leave when Peter said to Jesus master it is good for us to be here let us make three shelters one for you one for Moses and one for Elijah but Peter did not know what he was talking about while Peter was still speaking a shadow from a cloud passed over them and they were frightened as the cloud covered them from the cloud a voice spoke this is my chosen son listen to what he says after the voice had spoken Peter John James saw only Jesus for some time they kept quiet and did not say anything about what they had seen the next day Jesus and his three disciples came down from the mountain and were met by a large crowd just then someone in the crowd shouted teacher please do something for my son he is my only child a demon often attacks him and makes him scream it shakes him until he foams at the mouth and it won't leave him until it is completely worn the boy out I begged your disciples to force out the demon but they couldn't do it jesus said to them you people are stubborn and don't have any faith how much longer must I be with you why do I have to put up with you then jesus said to the man bring your son to me while the boy was being brought the demon attacked him and made him shake all over Jesus ordered the demon to stop then he healed the boy and gave him back to his father everyone was amazed at God's great power while everyone was still amazed at what Jesus was doing he said to his disciples pay close attention to what I am telling you the Son of Man will be handed over to his enemies but the disciples did not know what he meant the meaning was hidden from them they could not understand it and they were afraid to ask Jesus disciples were arguing about which one of them was the greatest jesus knew what they were thinking and he had a child stand there beside him then he said to his disciples when you welcome even a child because of me you welcomed me and when you welcomed me you welcomed the one who sent me whichever one of you is the most humble is the greatest John said master we saw a man using your name to force demons out of people but we told him to stop because he's not one of us don't stop him jesus said anyone who is not against you is for you not long before it was time for Jesus to be taken up to heaven he made up his mind to go to Jerusalem he sent some messengers on ahead to a samaritan village to get things ready for him but he was on his way to Jerusalem so the people there refused to welcome him when the disciples James and John saw what was happening they asked Lord do you want us to call down fire from heaven to destroy these people but Jesus turned and corrected them for what they had said then they all went on to another village along the way someone said to Jesus I'll go anywhere with you jesus said foxes have dens and birds have nests but the Son of man doesn't have a place to call his own Jesus told someone else to come with him but the man said Lord let me wait until I bury my father jesus answered let the dead take care of the dead while you go and tell about God's kingdom then someone said to Jesus I want to go with you Lord but first let me go back and take care of things at home jesus answered anyone who starts plowing and keeps looking back isn't worth a thing in God's kingdom Luke 10 later the Lord chose 72 other followers and sent them out two by two to every town and village where he was about to go he said to them a large crop is in the fields but there are only a few workers ask the Lord in charge of the harvest to send out workers to bring it in now go but remember I am sending you like lambs into a pack of wolves don't take along a money bag or a traveling bag or sandals and don't waste time greeting people on the road as soon as you enter a home say God bless this home with peace if the people living there are peace-loving your prayer for peace will bless them but if they are not peace-loving your prayer will return to you stay with the same family eating and drinking whatever they give you because workers are worth what they earn don't move around from house to house if the people of a town welcome you eat whatever they offer you heal their sick and say God's kingdom will soon be here but if the people of a town refuse to welcome you go out into the street and say we are shaking the dust from our feet as a warning to you you can be sure that God's kingdom will soon be here I tell you that on the day of judgment the people of Sodom will get off easier than the people of that town you people of korazin are in for trouble you people of Bethsaida are also in for trouble if the miracles that took place in your towns had happened in Tyre in Sidon the people there would have turned to God long ago they would have dressed in sack cloth and put ashes on their heads on the day of judgement the people of tyre and sidon will get off easier than you will people of Capernaum do you think you will be honoured in heaven well you will go down to hell my followers whoever listens to you is listening to me anyone who says no to you is saying no to me and anyone who says no to me is really saying no to the one who sent me when the 72 followers returned they were excited and said Lord even the demons obeyed when we spoke in your name Jesus told him I saw Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning I have given you the power to trample on snakes and scorpions and to defeat the power of your enemy Satan nothing can harm you but don't be happy because evil spirits obey you be happy that your names are written in heaven at that same time Jesus felt the joy that comes from the holy spirit and he said my father Lord of Heaven and Earth I am grateful that you hid all this from wise and educated people and showed it to ordinary people yes Father that is what pleased you my father has given me everything and he is the only one who knows the son the only one who really knows the father is the son but the son wants to tell others about the father so that they can know him to Jesus that turned to his disciples and said to them in private you are really blessed to see what you see many prophets and kings were eager to see what you see and to hear what you hear but I tell you that they did not see or hear an expert in the law of Moses stood up and asked Jesus a question to see what he would say teacher he asked what must I do to have eternal life jesus answered what is written in the scriptures how do you understand them the man replied the Scriptures say love the Lord your God with all your heart soul strength and mind they also say love your neighbors as much as you love yourself jesus said you have given the right answer if you do this you will have eternal life but the man wanted to show that he knew what he was talking about so he asked Jesus who are my neighbors jesus replied as a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho robbers attacked him and grabbed everything he had they beat him up and ran off leaving him half dead a priest happened to be going down the same road but when he saw the man he walked by on the other side later a temple helper came to the same place but when he saw the man who had been beaten up he also went by on the other side a man from Samaria then came traveling along that road when he saw the man he felt sorry for him and went over to him he treated his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them then he put him on his own donkey and took him to an inn where he took care of him the next morning he gave the innkeeper two silver coins and said please take care of the man if you spend more than this on him I will pay you when I return then Jesus asked which one of these three people was a real neighbor to the man who was beaten up by robbers the teacher answered the one who showed pity Jesus said go and do the same the Lord and His disciples were traveling along and came to a village when they got there a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home she had a sister named Mary who sat down in front of the Lord and was listening to what he said Martha was worried about all that had to be done finally she went to Jesus and said Lord doesn't it bother you that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself tell her to come and help me the Lord answered Martha Martha you are worried and upset about so many things but only one thing is necessary mary has chosen what is best and it will not be taken away from her Luke 11 when Jesus had finished praying one of his disciples said to him Lord teach us to pray just as John taught his followers to pray so Jesus told them pray in this way father help us to honor your name come and set up your kingdom give us each day the food we need forgive our sins as we forgive everyone who has done wrong to us and keep us from being tempted then Jesus went on to say suppose one of you goes to a friend in the middle of the night and says let me borrow three loaves of bread a friend of mine has dropped in and I don't have a thing for him to eat and suppose your friend answers don't bother me the door is bolted and my children and I are in bed I cannot get up to give you something he may not get up and give you the bread just because you are his friend but he will get up and give you as much as you need simply because you are not ashamed to keep on asking so I tell you to ask and you will receive search and you will find knock and the door will be opened for you everyone who asks will receive everyone who searches will find and the door will be opened for everyone who not which one of you fathers would give your hungry child a snake if the child asked for a fish which one of you would give your child a scorpion if the child asks for an egg as bad as you are you still know how to give good gifts to your children but your heavenly father is even more ready to give the Holy Spirit to anyone who asks Jesus forced a demon out of a man who could not talk after the demon had gone out the man started speaking and the crowds were amazed but some people said he forces out demons by the power of Beelzebul the ruler of the demons others wanted to put Jesus to the test so they asked him to show them a sign from God Jesus knew what they were thinking and he said a kingdom where people fight each other will end up in ruin and a family that fights will break up if Satan fights against himself how can his kingdom last yet you say that I force out demons by the power of Beelzebub if I use his power to force out demons whose power do your own followers use to force them out they are the ones who will judge you but if I use God's power to force out demons it proves that God's kingdom has already come to you when a strongman arms himself in guards his home everything he owns is safe but if a stronger man comes and defeats him he will carry off the weapons in which the strongman trusted then he will divide with others what he has taken if you are not on my side you are against me if you don't gather in the crop with me you scatter it when an evil spirit leaves a person it travels through the desert looking for a place to rest but when it doesn't find the place it says I will go back to the home I left when it gets there and finds the place clean and fixed up it goes off and finds seven other evil spirits even worse than itself they all come and make their home there and that person ends up in worse shape than before while Jesus was still talking a woman in the crowd spoke up woman who gave birth to you and nurse to his blessed Jesus replied that's true but the people who are really blessed are the ones who hear and obey God's message as crowds were gathering around Jesus he said you people of today are evil you keep looking for a sign from God but what happened to Jonah is the only sign you will be given just as Jonah was assigned to the people of Nineveh the Son of Man will be assigned to the people of today when the judgment comes the Queen of the South will stand there with you and condemn you she traveled a long way to hear Solomon's wisdom and yet here is something far greater than Solomon the people of Nineveh will also stand there with you and condemn you they turned to God when Jonah preached and yet here is something far greater than Jonah no one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a clay pot a lamp is put on a lamp stand so that everyone who comes into the house can see the light your eyes are the lamp for your body when your eyes are good you have all the light you need but when your eyes are bad everything is dark so be sure that your light is not darkness if you have light and nothing is dark then light will be everywhere as when a lamp shines brightly on you when Jesus finished speaking a Pharisee invited him home for a meal Jesus went and sat down to eat the Pharisee was surprised that he did not wash his hands before eating so the Lord said to him you Pharisees cleaned the outside of cups and dishes but on the inside you are greedy and evil you fools didn't God make both the outside and the inside if you would only give what you have to the poor everything you do would please God you Pharisees are in for trouble you give God a tenth of the spices from your gardens such as mint Andrew but you cheat people and you don't love God you should be fair and kind to others and still give 1/10 to God you Pharisees are in for trouble you love the front seats in the meeting places and you like to be greeted with honor in the market but you are in for trouble you are like unmarked graves that people walk on without even knowing it a teacher of the law of Moses spoke up teacher you said cruel things about us jesus replied few teachers are also in for trouble you load people down with heavy burdens but you won't lift a finger to help them carry the loads yes you are really in for trouble you build monuments to honor the prophets your own people murdered long ago you must think that was the right thing for your people to do or else you would not have built monuments for the prophets they murdered because of your evil deeds the wisdom of God said I will send prophets and apostles to you but you will murder some and mistreat others you people living today will be punished for all the prophets who have been murdered since the beginning of the world this includes every prophet from the time of able to the time of zechariah who is murdered between the altar and the temple you people will certainly be punished for all of this you teachers of the law of Moses are really in for trouble you carry the keys to the door of knowledge about God but you never go in and you keep others from going in Jesus was about to leave but the teachers and the Pharisees wanted to get even with him they tried to make him say what he thought about other things so that they could catch him saying something wrong Luke 12 as thousands of people crowded around Jesus and were stepping on each other he told his disciples be sure to guard against the disc his teaching of the Pharisees it is their way of fooling people everything that is hidden will be found out and every secret will be known whatever you say in the dark will be heard when it is day whatever you whisper in a closed room will be shouted from the housetops my friends don't be afraid of people they can kill you but after that there is nothing else they can do God is the one you must fear not only can you take your life but he can throw you into hell God is certainly the one you should fear five sparrows are sold for just two pennies but God does not forget a one of them moon even the hairs on your head are counted so don't be afraid you are worth much more than many sparrows if you tell others that you belong to me the Son of Man will tell God's angels that you are my followers but if you reject me you will be rejected in front of them if you speak against the Son of man you can be forgiven but if you speak against the Holy Spirit you cannot be forgiven when you are brought to trial in the Jewish meeting places or before rulers or officials don't worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say at that time the Holy Spirit will tell you what to say a man in a crowd said to Jesus teacher tell my brother to give me my share of what our father left us when he died jesus answered who gave me the right to settle arguments between you and your brother then he said to the crowd don't be greedy owning a lot of things won't make your life safe so Jesus told them this story a rich man's farm produced a big crop and he said to himself what can I do I don't have a place large enough to store everything later he said now I know what I'll do I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones where I can store all my grain and other goods then I'll say to myself you have stored up enough good things to last for years to come live it up eat drink and enjoy yourself but God said to him you fool tonight you will die then who will get what you have stored up this is what happens to people who store up everything for themselves but are poor in the sight of God jesus said to his disciples I tell you not to worry about your life don't worry about having something to eat or where life is more than food or clothing look at the crows they don't plant or harvest and they don't have storehouses or barns but God takes care of them you are much more important than any birds can worry make you live longer if you don't have power over small things quite worried about everything else look how the wildflowers grow they don't work hard to make their clothes but I tell you that Solomon with all his wealth was not as well clothed as one of these flowers God gives such beauty to everything that grows in the fields even though it is here today and thrown into a fire tomorrow won't he do even more for you you have such little faith don't keep worrying about having something to eat or drink only people who don't know God are always worrying about such things your father knows what you need but put God's work first and these things will be yours as well my little group of disciples don't be afraid your father wants to give you the kingdom sell what you have and give the money to the poor make yourselves money bags that never wear out make your treasure safe in heaven where thieves cannot steal it and mods cannot destroy it your heart will always be where your treasure is be ready and keep your lamps burning just like those servants who wait up for their master to return from a wedding feast as soon as he comes and knocks they opened the door for him servants are fortunate if their master finds them awake and ready when he comes I promise you that he get ready and have his servants sit down so he can serve them those servants are really fortunate if their master finds them ready even though he comes late at night or early in the morning he would surely not let a thief break into your home if you knew when the thief was coming so always be ready you don't know when the Son of Man will come Peter asked Jesus did you say this just for us or for everyone the Lord answered who are faithful and wise servant who are the ones the master will put in charge of giving the other servants their food supplies at the proper time servants are fortunate if their master comes and finds them doing their job a servant who is always faithful will surely be put in charge of everything the master owns but suppose one of the servants thinks that the master will not return until late suppose that servant starts beating all the other servants and eats and drinks and gets drunk if that happens the master will surely come on a day and at a time when the servant least expects him that servant will then be punished and thrown out with the servants who cannot be trusted if servants are not ready or willing to do what their master wants them to do they will be beaten hard but servants who don't know what their master wants them to do will not be beaten so hard for doing wrong if God has been generous with you he will expect you to serve him well but if he has been more than generous he will expect you to serve him even better I came to set fire to the earth and I surely wish it were already on fire I am going to be put to a hard test and I will have to suffer a lot of pain until it is over do you think that I came to bring peace to earth no indeed I came to make people choose sides a family of five will be divided with two of them against the other three fathers and sons will turn against one another and mothers and daughters will do the same mothers in law and daughters in law will also turn against each other jesus said to all the people as soon as you see a cloud coming up in the West you say it's going to rain and it does when the south wind blows you say it's going to get hot and it does are you trying to fool someone you can predict the weather by looking at the earth and sky but you don't really know what's going on right now why don't you understand the right thing to do when someone accuses you of something try to settle things before you are taken to court if you don't you will be dragged before the judge then the judge will hand you over to the jailer and you will be locked up you won't get out until you have paid the last cent you Oh Luke 13 about the same time Jesus was told that Pilate had given orders for some people from Galilee to be killed while they were offering sacrifices jesus replied do you think that these people were worse sinners than everyone else in Galilee just because of what happened to them not at all but you can be sure that if you don't turn back to God every one of you will also be killed what about those 18 people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them do you think they were worse than everyone else in Jerusalem not at all but you can be sure that if you don't turn back to God every one of you will also die Jesus then told them this story a man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard one day he went out to pick some figs but he didn't find any so he said to the gardener for three years I have come looking for FIGS on this tree and I haven't found any yet chop it down why should it take up space the gardener answered master leave it for another year I will dig around it and put some manure on it to make it grow maybe it will have figs on it next year if it doesn't you can have it cut down one Sabbath Jesus was teaching in a Jewish meeting place and a woman was there who had been crippled by an evil spirit for 18 years she was completely bent over and could not straighten up when Jesus saw the woman he called her over and said you are now well he placed his hands on her and right away she stood up straight and praised God the man in charge of the meeting place was angry because Jesus had healed someone on the Sabbath so he said to the people each week has six days when we can work come and be healed on one of those days but not on the Sabbath the Lord replied are you trying to fool someone won't anyone of you untie your ox or donkey and lead it out to drink on a Sabbath this woman belongs to the family of Abraham but Satan has kept her bound for 18 years isn't it right to set her free on the Sabbath Jesus words made all his enemies ashamed but everyone else in the crowd was happy about the wonderful things he was doing jesus said what is God's kingdom like what can I compare it with it is like what happens when someone plants a mustard seed in a garden the seed grows as big as a tree and birds nest in its branches then jesus said what can I compare God's kingdom with it is like what happens when a woman mixes a yeast into three batches of flour finally all the dough Rises as Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem he taught the people in the towns and villages someone asked him Lord are only a few people going to be saved jesus answered do all you can to go in by the narrow door a lot of people would try to get in but will not be able to once the owner of the house gets up and locks the door you will be left standing outside you will knock on the door and say sir open the door for us but the owner will answer I don't know a thing about you then you will start saying we dined with you and you taught in our streets but he will say I really don't know who you are get away from me all you evil people then when you have been thrown outside you will weep and grit your teeth because you will see Abraham and Isaac and all the prophets in God's kingdom people will come from all directions and sit down to feast in God's kingdom they're the ones who are now least important will be the most important and those who are now most important will be least important at that time some fallacies came to Jesus and said you had better get away from here Herod wants to kill you jesus said to them go tell that Fox I am going to force out demons and heal people today and tomorrow and three days later I'll be through but I am going on my way today and tomorrow and the next day after all Jerusalem is the place where prophets are killed Jerusalem Jerusalem your people have killed the prophets and have stoned the messengers who were sent to you I have often wanted to gather your people as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings but you wouldn't let me now your temple will be deserted you will not see me again until the time when you say blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord Luke 14 one Sabbath Jesus was having dinner in the home of an important Pharisee and everyone was carefully watching Jesus all of a sudden a man with swollen legs stood up in front of him Jesus turned and asked the Pharisees and the teachers of the law of Moses is it right to heal on the Sabbath but they did not say a word Jesus took hold of the man then he healed him and sent him away afterwards Jesus asked the people if your son or ox falls into a well wouldn't you pull him out right away even on the Sabbath there was nothing they could say jesus saw how the guests had tried to take the best seats so he told them when you are invited to a wedding feast don't sit in the best place someone more important may have been invited then the one who invited you will come and say give you a place to this other guest you will be embarrassed and will have to sit in the worst place when you are invited to be a guest go and sit in the worst place then the one who invited you may come and say my friend take a better seat you will then be honored in front of all the other guests if you put yourself above others you will be put down but if you humble yourself you will be honored then Jesus said to the man who had invited him when you give a dinner or a banquet don't invite your friends and family and relatives and rich neighbors if you do they will invite you in return and you will be paid back when you give a feast invite the poor the crippled the lame and the blind they cannot pay you back but God will bless you and reward you when his people rise from death after Jesus had finished speaking one of the guests said the greatest blessing of all is to be at the banquet in God's kingdom Jesus told him a man once gave a great banquet and invited a lot of guests when the banquet was ready he sent a servant to tell the guests everything is ready please come one guest after another started making excuses the first one said I bought some land and I've got to look it over please excuse me another guest said I bought five teams of oxen and I need to try them out please excuse me still another guest said I have just gotten married and I can't be there the servant told his master what happened and the master became so angry that he said go as fast as you can to every street and alley in town bring in everyone who is poor or crippled or blind or lame when the servant returned he said master I've done what you told me and there is still plenty of room for more people his master then told him go out along the back roads and fence rows and make people come in so that my house will be full not one of the guests I first invited will get even a bite of my food large crowds were walking along with Jesus when he turned and said you cannot be my disciple unless you love me more than you love your father and mother your wife and children and your brothers and sisters you cannot come with me unless you love me more than you love your own life you cannot be my disciple unless you carry your own cross and come with me suppose one of you wants to build a tower what is the first thing you will do won't you sit down and figure out how much it will cost and if you have enough money to pay for it otherwise you will start building the tower but not be able to finish then everyone who sees what is happening will laugh at you they will say you started building but could not finish the job what will a king do if he has only ten thousand soldiers to defend himself against a king who is about to attack him with twenty thousand soldiers before he goes out to battle won't he first sit down and decide if he can win if he thinks he won't be able to defend himself he will send messengers and ask for peace while the other king is still a long way off so then you cannot be my disciple unless you give away everything you own salt is good but if it no longer tastes like salt how can it be made to taste salty again it is no longer good for the soil or even for the manure pile people simply throw it out if you have ears pay attention Luke 15 tax collectors and sinners were all crowding around to listen to Jesus so the Pharisees and the teachers of the law of Moses started grumbling this man is friendly with sinners he even eats with them then Jesus told them this story if any of you has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost what will you do won't you leave the ninety-nine in the field and go look for the lost sheep until you find it and when you find it you will be so glad that you will put it on your shoulder and carry it home then you will call in your friends and neighbors and say let's celebrate I've found my lost sheep Jesus said in the same way there is more happiness in heaven because of one sinner who turns to God than over ninety-nine good people who don't need to Jesus told the people another story what will a woman do if she has ten silver coins and loses one of them won't she light a lamp sweep the floor and look carefully until she finds it then she were calling her friends and neighbors and say let's celebrate I found the coin I lost jesus said in the same way God's angels are happy when even one person turns to him Jesus also told them another story once a man had two sons the younger son said to his father give me my share of the property so the father divided his property between his two sons not long after that the younger son packed up everything he owned and left for a foreign country where he wasted all his money in wild living he had spent everything when a bad famine spread through that whole land soon he had nothing to eat he went to work for a man in that country and the man sent him out to take care of his pigs he would have been glad to eat what the pigs were eating but no one gave him a thing finally he came to his senses and said my father's workers have plenty to eat and Here I am starving to death I will leave and go to my father and say to him father I have sinned against God in heaven and against you I am no longer good enough to be called your son treat me like one of your workers the younger son got up and started back to his father but when he was still a long way off his father saw him and felt sorry for him he ran to his son and hugged and kissed him the son said father I have sinned against God in heaven and against you I am no longer good enough to be called your son but his father said to the servants hurry and bring the best clothes and put them on him give him a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet get the best calf and prepare it so we can eat and celebrate this son of mine was dead but now has come back to life he was lost and has now been found and they began to celebrate the older son had been out in the field but when he came near the house he heard the music and dancing so he called one of the servants over and asked what's going on here the servant answered your brother has come home safe and sound and your father ordered us to kill the best calf the older brother got so mad that he would not even go into the house his father came out and begged him to go in but he said to his father for years I have worked for you like a slave and have always obeyed you but you have never even given me a little goat so that I could give a dinner for my friends this other son of yours wasted your money on bad women now that he has come home he ordered the best calf to be killed for a feast his father replied my son you are always with me and everything I have is yours but we should be glad and celebrate your brother was dead but he is now alive he was lost and has now been found luke 16 jesus said to his disciples a rich man once had a manager to take care of his business but he was told that his manager was wasting money so the rich man called him in and said what is this I hear about you tell me what you have done you are no longer going to work for me the manager said to himself what shall I do now that my master is going to fire me I can't dig ditches and I'm ashamed to beg I know what I'll do so that people will welcome me into their home's after I've lost my job then one by one he called in the people who were in debt to his master yes the first one how much do you owe my master a hundred barrels of olive oil the man answered so the manager said take your bill and sit down and quickly write 50 the manager asked someone else who was in debt to his master how much do you owe a thousand bushels of wheat the man replied the manager said take your bill and write 800 the master praised his dishonest manager for looking out for himself so well that's how it is the people of this world look out for themselves better than the people who belong to the light my disciples I tell you to use wicked wealth to make friends for yourselves then when it is gone you will be welcomed into an eternal home anyone who can be trusted in little matters can also be trusted in important matters but anyone who is dishonest in little matters will be dishonest in important matters if you cannot be trusted with this wicked wealth who will trust you with true wealth and if you cannot be true stood with what belongs to someone else who will give you something that will be your own you cannot be the slave of two masters you will like one more than the other or be more loyal to one than to the other you cannot serve God and money the Pharisees really loved money so when they heard what Jesus said they made fun of him but Jesus told them you are always making yourselves look good but God sees what is in your heart the things that most people think are important are worthless as far as God is concerned until the time of John the Baptist people had to obey the law of Moses and the books of the prophets but since God's kingdom has been preached everyone is trying hard to get in heaven and earth will disappear before the smallest letter of the law does it is a terrible sin for a man to divorce his wife and marry another woman it is also a terrible sin for a man to marry a divorced woman there was once a rich man who wore expensive clothes and everyday ate the best food but a poor beggar named Lazarus was brought to the gate of the rich man's house he was happy just to eat the scraps that fell from the rich man's table his body was covered with sores and dogs kept coming up to lick them the poor man died and angels took him to the place of honor next to Abraham the rich man also died and was buried he went to hell and was suffering terribly when he looked up and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side he said to Abraham have pity on me send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and touch my tongue I'm suffering terribly in this fire Abraham answered my friend remember that while you lived you had everything good and Lazarus had everything bad now he is happy and you are in pain and besides there is a deep ditch between us and no one from either side can cross over but the rich man said Abraham then please send Lazarus to my father's home let him warn my five brothers so they won't come to this horrible place Abraham answered your brothers can read what Moses and the prophets wrote they should pay attention to that then the rich man said no that's not enough if only someone from the dead would go to them they would listen and turn to God so Abraham said if they won't pay attention to Moses and the prophets they won't listen even to someone who comes back from the dead Luke 17 jesus said to his disciples there will always be something that causes people to sin but anyone who causes them to sin is in for trouble a person who causes even one of my little followers to sin would be better off thrown into the ocean with a heavy stone tied around the neck so be careful what you do correct any followers of mine who sin and forgive the ones who say they are sorry even if one of them mistreats you seven times in one day and says I am sorry you should still forgive that person the Apostle said to the Lord make our faith stronger jesus replied if you had faith no bigger than a tiny mustard seed you could tell this mulberry tree to pull itself up roots and all and to plant itself in the ocean and it would if your servant comes in from plowing or from taking care of the sheep would you say welcome come on in and have something to eat no you wouldn't say that you would say fix me something to eat get ready to serve me so I can have my meal then later on you can eat and drink servants don't deserve special thanks for doing what they are supposed to do and that's how it should be with you when you've done all you should then say we are merely servants and we have simply done our duty on his way to Jerusalem Jesus went along the border between Samaria and Galilee as he was going into a village ten men with leprosy came toward him they stood at the distance and shouted [Applause] Jesus looked at them and said go show yourselves to the priests on their way they were healed when one of them discovered that he was healed he came back shouting praises to God he bowed down at the feet of Jesus and thanked him the man was from the country of Samaria Jesus asked weren't ten men healed where are the other nine why was this foreigner the only one who came back to thank God then Jesus told the man you may get up and go your faith has made you well some Pharisees asked Jesus when God's kingdom would come he answered God's kingdom is not something you can see there is no you saying look here it is or look there it is God's kingdom is here with you jesus said to his disciples the time will come when you will longed to see one of the days of the Son of Man but you will not when people say to you look there or look here don't go looking for him the day of the Son of Man will be like lightning flashing across the sky but first he must suffer terribly and be rejected by the people of today when the Son of Man comes things will be just as they were when Noah lived people were eating drinking and getting married right up to the day when Noah went into the big boat and the flood came and drowned everyone on earth when lot lived people were also eating and drinking they were buying selling planting and building but on the very day lot left Sodom fiery flames poured down from the sky and killed everyone the same will happen on the day when the Son of Man appears at that time no one on a rooftop should go down into the house to get anything no one in a field should go back to the house for anything remember what happened to Lot's wife people who try to save their lives will lose them and those who lose their lives will save them on that night two people will be sleeping in the same bed but only one will be taken the other will be left two women will be together grinding wheat but only one will be taken the other will be left then Jesus disciples spoke up but where will this happen Lord Jesus said where there is a corpse there will always be buzzards Luke 18 jesus told his disciples a story about how they should keep on praying and never give up in a town there was once a judge who didn't fear God or care about people in that same town there was a widow who kept going to the judge and saying make sure that I get fair treatment in court for a while the judge refused to do anything finally he said to himself even though I don't fear God or care about people I will help this widow because she keeps on bothering me if I don't help her she will wear me out the Lord said think about what that crooked judge said would God protect his chosen ones who pray to him day and night won't he be concerned for them he will surely hurry and help them but when the Son of Man comes will he find on this earth anyone with faith Jesus told a story to some people who thought they were better than others and who looked down and everyone else two men went into the temple to pray one was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector the Pharisee stood over by himself and prayed god I thank you that I am NOT greedy dishonest and unfaithful in marriage like other people and I am really glad that I am not like that tax collector over there I go without eating for two days a week and I give you one tenth of all I earn the tax collector stood off at a distance and did not think he was good enough even to look up toward heaven he was so sorry for what he had done that he pounded his chest and prayed God have pity on me I am such a sinner then Jesus said when the two men went home it was the tax collector and not the Pharisee who was pleasing to God if you put yourself above others you will be put down but if you humble yourself you will be honored some people brought their little children for Jesus to bless but when his disciples saw them doing this they told the people to stop bothering him so Jesus called the children over to him and said let the children come to me don't try to stop them people who are like these children belong to God's kingdom you will never get into God's kingdom unless you enter it like a child an important man asked Jesus good teacher what must I do to have eternal life jesus said why do you call me good only God is good you know the commandments be faithful in marriage do not murder do not steal do not tell lies about others respect your father and mother he told Jesus I have obeyed all these Commandments since I was a young man when Jesus heard this he said there is one thing you still need to do go and sell everything you own give the money to the poor and you will have riches in heaven then come and be my follower when the man heard this he was sad because he was very rich Jesus saw how sad the man was so he said it's terribly hard for rich people to get into God's kingdom in fact it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle and for a rich person to get into God's kingdom when the people heard this they asked how could anyone ever be saved jesus replied there are some things that people cannot do but God can do anything Peter said remember we left everything to be your followers jesus answered you can be sure that anyone who gives up home or wife or brothers or family or children because of God's kingdom will be given much more in this life and in the future world they will have eternal life Jesus took the twelve apostles aside and said we are now on our way to Jerusalem everything that the prophets wrote about the Son of Man will happen there he will be handed over to foreigners who will make fun of him mistreat him and spit on him they will beat him and kill him but three days later he will rise to life the Apostles did not understand what Jesus was talking about they could not understand because the meaning of what he said was hidden from them when Jesus was coming close to Jericho a blind man said begging beside the road the man heard the crowd walking by and asked what was happening some people told him that Jesus from Nazareth was passing by so the blind man shouted Jesus son of David have pity on me the people who are going along with Jesus told the man to be quiet but he shouted even louder son of David have pity on me Jesus stopped he told some people to bring the blind man over to him when the blind man was getting near Jesus asked what do you want me to do for you Lord I want to see the answered jesus replied look and you will see your eyes are healed because of your faith right away the man could see and he went with Jesus and started thanking God when the crowd saw what happened they praised God Luke 19 Jesus was going through Jericho where a man named Zacchaeus lived he was in charge of collecting taxes and was very rich Jesus was heading his way and Zacchaeus wanted to see what he was like but Zacchaeus was a short man and could not see over the crowd so he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree when Jesus got there he looked up and said Zacchaeus hurry down I want to stay with you today Zacchaeus hurried down and gladly welcomed Jesus everyone who saw this started grumbling this man Zacchaeus is a sinner and Jesus is going home to eat with him later that day Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord I will give half of my property to the poor and I will now pay back four times as much to everyone I have ever achieved jesus said to Zacchaeus today you and your family have been saved because you are a true son of Abraham the Son of man came to look for and to save people who were lost the people were still listening to Jesus as he was getting close to Jerusalem many of them thought that God's kingdom would soon appear and Jesus told them this story a prince once went to a foreign country to be crowned King and to return but before leaving he called in 10 servants and gave each of them some money he told them use this to earn more money until I get back but the people of his country hated him and they sent messengers to the foreign country to say we don't want this man to be our King after the prince had been made King he returned and called in his servants he asked them how much they had earned with the money they had been given the first servant came and said sir with the money you gave me I have earned 10 times as much that's fine my good servant the King said since you have shown that you can be trusted with a small amount you will be given 10 cities to rule the second one came and said sir with the money you gave me I have earned five times as much the King said you will be given five cities another servant came and said sir here is your money I kept it safe in a handkerchief you are a hard man and I was afraid of you you take what is not yours and you harvest crops you didn't plant you worthless servant the king told him you have condemned yourself by what you have just said you knew that I am a hard man taking what is not mine and harvesting what I've not planted why didn't you put my money in the bank on my return I could have had the money together with interest then he said to some other servants standing there take the money away from him and give it to the servants who earned ten times as much but they said sir he already has ten times as much the king replied those who have something will be given more but everything will be taken away from those who don't have anything now bring me the enemies who didn't want me to be their King kill them while I watch when Jesus had finished saying all this he went on toward Jerusalem as he was getting near to Bethany and Bethany in the Mount of Olives he sent two of his disciples on ahead he told them go into the next village where you will find a young donkey that has never been untie the donkey and bring it here if anyone asks why are you doing that just say the Lord needs it they went off and found everything just as Jesus had said while they were untying the donkey its owners asked why are you doing that they answered the Lord needs it then they led the donkey to Jesus they put some of their clothes on its back and helped Jesus get on and as he wrote along the people spread clothes on the road in front of him when Jesus was starting down the Mount of Olives his large crowd of disciples were happy and praised God because of all the miracles they had seen they shouted some Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus teacher make your disciples stop shouting but jesus answered if they keep quiet these stones will start shouting when Jesus came closer and could see Jerusalem he cried and said it is too bad that today your people don't know what will bring them peace now it is hidden from them Jerusalem the time will come when your enemies will build walls around you to attack you armies will surround you and close in on you from every side they will level you to the ground and kill your people not one stone in your buildings will be left on top of another this will happen because you did not see that God had come to save you when Jesus entered the temple he started chasing out the people who were selling things he told them the scriptures say my house should be a place of worship but you have made it a place where robbers hide each day Jesus kept on teaching in the temple so that chief priests the teachers of the law of Moses and some other important people tried to have him killed but they could not find a way to do it because everyone else was eager to listen to him Luke 21 day Jesus was teaching in the temple and telling the good news so the chief priests the teachers and the nation's leaders asked him what right do you have to do these things who gave you this authority jesus replied I want to ask you a question who gave John the right to baptize was it God in heaven or merely some human being they talked this over and said to each other we can't say that God gave John this right Jesus will ask us why we didn't believe John and we can't say that it was merely some human who gave John the right to baptize the crowd will stone us to death because they think John was a prophet so they told Jesus we don't know who gave John the right to baptize jesus replied then I won't tell you who gave me the right to do what I do Jesus told the people this story a man once planted a vineyard and rented it out then he left the country for a long time when it was time to harvest the crop he said a servant to ask the renters for his share of the grapes but they beat up the servant and sent him away without anything so the owner sent another servant the renter's also beat him up they insulted him terribly and sent him away without a thing the owner sent a third servant he was also beaten terribly and thrown out of the vineyard the owner then said to himself what am I going to do I know what I'll send my son the one I love so much they will surely respect him when the renters saw the owner's son they said to one another someday he will own the vineyard let's kill him then we can have it all for ourselves so they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him Jesus asked what do you think the owner of the vineyard will do I'll tell you what he will do he will come and kill those renters and let someone else have his vineyard when the people heard this they said this must never happen but Jesus looks straight at them and said then what do the Scriptures mean when they say the stone that the builders tossed aside is now the most important stone of all anyone who stumbles over this stone will get hurt and anyone it falls on will be smashed to pieces the chief priests and the teachers of the law of Moses knew that Jesus was talking about them when he was telling this story they wanted to arrest him right then but they were afraid of the people Jesus enemies kept watching him closely because they wanted to hand him over to the Roman governor so they sent some men who pretended to be good but there were really spies trying to catch Jesus saying something wrong the spies said to him teacher we know that you teach the truth about what God wants people to do and you treat everyone with the same respect no matter who they are tell us should we pay taxes to the Emperor or not Jesus knew that they were trying to trick him so he told them show me a coin then he asked whose picture and name are on it the Emperor's they answered then he told them give the Emperor what belongs to him and give God what belongs to God Jesus enemies could not catch him saying anything wrong there in front of the people they were amazed at his answer and kept quiet the Sadducees did not believe that people would rise to life after death so some of them came to Jesus and said teacher Moses wrote that if a married man dies and has no children his brother should marry the widow their first son would then be thought of as the son of the dead brother there were once seven brothers the first one married but died without having any children the second one married his brother's widow and he also died without having any children the same thing happened to the third one finally all seven brothers married that woman and died without having any children at last the woman died when God raises people from death whose wife will this woman be all seven brothers had married her jesus answered the people in this world get married but in the future world no one who is worthy to rise from death will either marry or die they will be like the angels and will be God's children because they have been raised to life in the story about the burning bush Moses clearly shows that people will live again he said the Lord is the god worshiped by Abraham Isaac and Jacob so the Lord is not the god of the dead but of the living this means that everyone is alive as far as God is concerned some of the teachers of the law of Moses said teacher you have given a good answer from then on no one dared to ask Jesus any questions Jesus asked why do people say that the Messiah will be the son of King David in the Book of Psalms David himself says the Lord said to my lord sit at my right side until I make your enemies into a footstool for you David spoke of the Messiah as his Lord so how can the Messiah be his son while everyone was listening to Jesus he said to his disciples guard against the teachers of the law of Moses they love to walk around in long robes and they like to be greeted in the market they want the front seats in the meeting places and the best seats at banquets but they cheat widows out of their homes and then pray long prayers just to show off these teachers will be punished most of all Luke 21 Jesus looked up and saw some rich people tossing their gifts into the offering box he also saw a poor Widow putting in two pennies and he said I tell you that this poor woman has put in more than all the others everyone else gave what they didn't need but she is very poor and gave everything she had some people were talking about the beautiful stones used to build the temple and about the gifts that had been placed in it Jesus said do you see these stones the time is coming when not one of them will be left in place they will all be knocked down some people asked teacher when will all this happen how can we know when these things are about to take place jesus replied don't be fooled by all those who will come and claim to be me they will say I am Christ and now is the time but don't follow them when you hear about wars and riots don't be afraid these things will have to happen first but that is not the end nations will go to war against one another and kingdoms will attack each other there will be great earthquakes and in many places people will starve to death and suffer terrible diseases all sorts of frightening things will be seen in the sky before all this happens you will be arrested and punished you will be tried in the Jewish meeting places and put in jail because of me you will be placed on trial before kings and governors but this will be your chance to tell about your faith don't worry about what you will say to defend yourselves I will give you the wisdom to know what to say none of your enemies will be able to oppose you or to say that you are wrong you will be betrayed by your own parents brothers family and friends some of you will even be killed because of me you will be hated by everyone but don't worry you will be saved by being faithful to me when you see Jerusalem surrounded by soldiers you will know that it will soon be destroyed if you are living in Judea at the time run to the mountains if you are in the city leave it and if you are out in the country don't go back into the city this time of punishment is what is written about in the scriptures it will be an awful time for women who are expecting babies or nursing young children everywhere in the land people will suffer horribly and be punished some of them will be killed by swords others will be carried off to foreign countries Jerusalem will be overrun by foreign nations until their time comes to an end strange things will happen to the Sun Moon and stars the nations on earth will be afraid of the roaring sea and tides and they won't know what to do people will be so frightened that they will faint because of what is happening to the world every power in the sky will be shaken then the Son of Man will be seen coming in a cloud with great power and glory when all of this starts happening stand up straight and be brave you will soon be set free then Jesus told them a story when you see a fig tree or any other tree putting out leaves you know that summer will soon come so when you see these things happening you know that God's kingdom will soon be here you can be sure that some of the people living today will still be alive when all of this takes place the sky and the earth won't last forever but my words will don't spend all of your time thinking about eating or drinking or worrying about life if you do the final day will suddenly catch you like a trap that day will surprise everyone on earth watch out and keep praying that you can escape all that is going to happen and that the Son of Man will be pleased with you Jesus taught in the temple each day and he spent each night on the Mount of Olives everyone got up early and came to the temple to hear him teach Luke 22 the feast of thin bread also called Passover was near the chief priests and the teachers of the law of Moses were looking for a way to get rid of Jesus because they were afraid of what the people might do then Satan entered the heart of Judas Iscariot who was one of the Twelve Apostles Judas went to talk with the chief priests and the officers of the temple police about how he could help them arrest Jesus they were very pleased and offered to pay Judas some money he agreed and started looking for a good chance to betray Jesus when the crowds were not around the day had come for the feast of thin bread and it was time to kill the passover lambs so Jesus said to Peter and John go and prepare the Passover meal for us to eat but they asked where do you want us to prepare it Jesus told them as you go into the city you will meet a man carrying a jar of water follow him into the house and say to the owner our teacher wants to know where he can eat the Passover meal with his disciples the owner will take you upstairs and show you a large room ready for you to use prepare the meal there Peter and John left they found everything just as Jesus had told them and they prepared the Passover meal when the time came for Jesus and the apostles to eat he said to them I have very much wanted to eat this Passover meal with you before I suffer I tell you that I will not eat another Passover meal until it is finally eating in God's kingdom Jesus took a cup of wine in his hands and gave thanks to God then he told the Apostles take this wine and share it with each other I tell you that I will not drink any more wine until God's kingdom comes Jesus took some bread in his hands and gave thanks for it he broke the bread and handed it to his apostles then he said this is my body which is given for you eat this as a way of remembering me after the meal he took another cup of wine in his hands then he said this is my blood it is poured out for you and with it God makes his new agreement the one who will betray me is here at the table with me the Son of Man will die in the way that has been decided for him but it will be terrible for the one who betrays him then the apostles started arguing about who would ever do such a thing the apostles got into an argument about which one of them was the greatest so Jesus told them foreign Kings order their people around and powerful rulers call themselves everyone's friends but don't be like them the most important one of you should be like the least important and your leader should be like a servant who do people think is the greatest a person who is served or one who serves isn't it the one who is served but I have been with you as a servant you have stayed with me in all my troubles so I will give you the right to rule as Kings just as my father has given me the right to rule as a king you will eat and drink with me in my kingdom and you will each sit on a throne to judge the 12 tribes of Israel jesus said Simon listen to me Satan has demanded the right to test each one of you as a farmer does when he separates wheat from the husks but Simon I have prayed that your faith will be strong and when you have come back to me help the others Peter said Lord I'm ready to go with you to jail and even to die with you jesus replied Peter I tell you that before a rooster crows tomorrow morning you will say three times that you don't know me Jesus asks his disciples when I sent you out without a money bag or a traveling bag or sandals did you need anything no they answered Jesus told them but now if you have a money bag take it with you also take a traveling bag and if you don't have a sword sell some of your clothes and buy one do this because the scriptures say he was considered a criminal this was written about me and it will soon come true the disciples said Lord here are two swords enough of that jesus replied Jesus went out to the Mount of Olives as he often did and his disciples went with him when they got there he told them pray that you will not be tested Jesus walked on a little way before he kneeled down and prayed father if you will please don't make me suffer by having me drink from this cup but do what you want and not what I want then an angel from heaven came to help him Jesus was in great pain and prayed so sincerely that his sweat fell to the ground like drops of blood Jesus got up from praying and went over to his disciples they were asleep and worn out from being so sad he said to them why are you asleep wake up and pray that you will not be tested while Jesus was still speaking a crowd came up it was led by Judas one of the twelve apostles he went over to Jesus and greeted him with a kiss Jesus asked Judas are you betraying the Son of man with a kiss when Jesus disciples saw what was about to happen they asked Lord should we attack them with a sword one of the disciples even struck at the high priests servant with his sword and cut off the servants right ear enough of that Jesus said then he touched the servants ear and healed it Jesus spoke to the chief priests the temple police and the leaders who had come to arrest him he said why do you come out with swords and clubs and treat me like a criminal I was with you every day in the temple and you didn't arrest me but this is your time and darkness is in control Jesus was arrested and led away to the house of the high priest while Peter followed at a distance some people built a fire in the middle of the courtyard and were sitting around it Peter sat there with them and a servant girl saw him then after she had looked at him carefully she said this man was with Jesus Peter said woman I don't even know that man a little later someone else saw Peter and said you surely are one of them no I'm not Peter replied about an hour later another man insisted this man must have been with Jesus they both come from Galilee Peter replied I don't know what you are talking about right then while Peter was still speaking a rooster crowed the Lord turned and looked at Peter and Peter remembered that the Lord had said before a rooster crows tomorrow morning you will say three times that you don't know me then Peter went out and cried hard the men who were guarding Jesus made fun of him and beat him they put a blindfold on him and said whose structure they kept on insulting Jesus in many other ways at daybreak the nation's leaders the chief priests and the teachers of the law of Moses got together and brought Jesus before their council they said tell us are you the Messiah jesus replied if I said so you wouldn't believe me and if I asked you a question you wouldn't answer but from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right side of God all powerful then they asked are you the son of God jesus answered you say I am they replied why do we need more witnesses he said it himself Luke 23 everyone in the council got up and led Jesus off to Pilate they started accusing him and said we caught this man trying to get our people to riot and to stop paying taxes to the Emperor he also claims that he is the Messiah our king Pilate asked Jesus are you the King of the Jews those are your words jesus answered Pilate told the chief priests and the crowd I don't find him guilty of anything but they all kept on saying he has been teaching and causing trouble all over Judea he started in Galilee and has now come all the way here when Pilate heard this he asked is this man from Galilee after Pilate learned that Jesus came from the region ruled by Herod he sent him to Herod who was in Jerusalem at that time for a long time Herod had wanted to see Jesus and was very happy because he finally had this chance he had heard many things about Jesus and hoped to see him work a miracle Harrod asked him a lot of questions but Jesus did not answer then the chief priests and the teachers of the law of Moses stood up and accused him of all kinds of bad things Herod and his soldiers made fun of Jesus and insulted him they put a fine robe on him and sent him back to Pilate that same day Herod and Pilate became friends even though they had been enemies before this Pilate called together the chief priests the leaders and the people he told them you brought Jesus to me and said he was a troublemaker but I have questioned him here in front of you and I have not found him guilty of anything that you say he has done Herod didn't find him guilty either and sent him back this man doesn't deserve to be put to death I will just have him beaten with a whip and sent free that the whole crowd shouted kill Jesus give us Barabbas Barabbas was in jail because he had started a riot in the city and that murdered someone Pilate wanted to set Jesus free so he spoke again to the crowds but they kept shouting violet spoke to them a third time but what crime has he done I have not found him guilty of anything for which he should be put to death I will have him beaten with a whip and set free the people kept on shouting as loud as they could for Jesus to be put to death finally Pilate gave in he freed the man who was in jail for rioting and murder because he was the one the crowd wanted to be set free then Pilate handed Jesus over for them to do what they wanted with him as Jesus was being led away some soldiers grabbed hold of a man from Cyrene II named Simon he was coming in from the fields but they put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus a large crowd was following Jesus and in the crowd a lot of women were crying and weeping for him Jesus turned to the women and said women of Jerusalem don't cry for me cry for yourselves and for your children someday people will say women who never had children are really fortunate at that time everyone will say to the mountains fall on us they will say to the hills hide us if this can happen when the wood is green what do you think will happen when it is dry to criminals were led out to be put to death with Jesus when the soldiers came to the place called the skull they nailed Jesus to a cross they also nailed the two criminals to crosses one on each side of Jesus Jesus said Father forgive these people they don't know what they're doing while the crowd stood there watching Jesus the soldiers gambled for his clothes the leaders insulted him by saying he saved others now he should save himself if he really is God's chosen Messiah the soldiers made fun of Jesus and brought him some wine they said if you were the King of the Jews save yourself above him was a sign that said this is the King of the Jews one of the criminals hanging there also insulted Jesus by saying do the Messiah save yourself and save us but the other criminal told the first one off don't you fear God aren't you getting the same punishment as this man we got what was coming to us but he didn't do anything wrong then he said to Jesus remember me when you come into power jesus replied I promise that today you will be with me in paradise around noon the sky turned dark and stay that way until the middle of the afternoon the Sun stopped shining and the curtain in the temple split down the middle Jesus shouted father I put myself in your hands and he died when the Roman officer saw what had happened he praised God and said Jesus must really have been a good man a proud had gathered to see the terrible sight after they saw it they felt brokenhearted and went home all of Jesus close friends and the women who had come with him from Galilee stood at a distance and watched there was a man named Joseph who was from Arimathea in Judea Joseph was a good and honest man and he was eager for God's kingdom to come he was also a member of the Jewish Council but he did not agree with what they had decided Joseph went to Pilate and asked for Jesus body he took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in fine cloth then he put it in a tomb that had been cut out of solid rock and had never been used it was Friday and the Sabbath was about to begin the women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and watched how Jesus body was placed in the tomb then they went to prepare some sweet-smelling spices for his burial but on the Sabbath they rested as the law of Moses commands Luke 24 very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb carrying the spices that they had prepared when they found the stone rolled away from the entrance they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus and they did not know what to think suddenly two men in shining white clothes stood beside them the women were afraid and bowed to the ground but the men said why are you looking in the place of the Dead for someone who is alive Jesus is not here he has been raised from death remember that while he was still in Galilee he told you the Son of Man will be handed over to sinners who will nail him to a cross but three days later he will rise to life then they remembered what Jesus had Mary Magdalene Joanna Mary the mother of James and some other women were the ones who had gone to the tomb when they returned they told the 11 apostles and the others what had happened the apostles thought it was all nonsense and they would not believe but Peter ran to the tomb and when he stooped down and looked in he saw only the burial clothes then he returned wondering what had happened that same day two of Jesus disciples were going to the village of Emmaus which was about seven miles from Jerusalem as they were talking and thinking about what had happened Jesus came near and started walking along beside them but they did not know who he was Jesus asked them what were you talking about as you walked along the two of them stood there looking sad and gloomy then the one named Cleopas asked Jesus are you the only person from Jerusalem who didn't know what was happening there at these last few days what do you mean Jesus asked they answered those things that happened to Jesus from Nazareth by what he did and said he showed that he was a powerful prophet to please God and all the people then the chief priests and our leaders had him arrested and sentenced to die on a cross we had hoped that he would be the one to set Israel free but it has already been three days since all this happened some women in our group surprised us they had gone to the tomb early in the morning but did not find the body of Jesus they came back saying that they had seen a vision of angels who told them that he is alive some men from our group went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said but they didn't see Jesus either then Jesus asked the two disciples why can't you understand how can you be so slow to believe all that the prophets said didn't you know that the Messiah would have to suffer before he was given his glory Jesus then explained everything written about himself in the scriptures beginning with the law of Moses in the books of the prophets when the two of them came near the village where they were going Jesus seemed to be going farther they begged him stay with us it's already late and the Sun is going down so Jesus went into the house to stay with them after Jesus sat down to eat he took some bread he blessed it and broke it then he gave it to them at once they knew who he was but he disappeared they said to each other when he talked with us along the road and explained the scriptures to us didn't it warm our hearts so they got right up and returned to Jerusalem the two disciples found the eleven apostles and the others gathered together they learned from the group that the Lord was really alive and had appeared to Peter then the disciples from Emmaus told what happened on the road and how they knew he was the Lord when he broke the bread while Jesus disciples were talking about what had happened Jesus appeared to them and said may God give you peace they were frightened and terrified because they thought they were seeing a ghost but Jesus said why are you so frightened why do you doubt look at my hands and my feet and see Who I am touch me and find out for yourselves ghosts don't have flesh and bones as you see I have after Jesus said this he showed them his hands and his feet the disciples were so glad and amazed that they could not believe it Jesus then asked them do you have something to eat they gave him a piece of baked fish he took it and ate it as they watched Jesus said to them while I was still with you I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses the books of the prophets and in the Psalms had to happen then he helped them understand the scriptures he told them the scriptures say that the Messiah must suffer then three days later he will rise from death they also say that all people of every nation must be told in my name to turn to God in order to be forgiven so beginning in Jerusalem you must tell everything that has happened I will send you the one my father has promised but you must stay in the city until you are given power from heaven Jesus led his disciples out to Bethany where he raised his hands and blessed them as he was doing this he left and was taken up to heaven after his disciples had worshiped him they returned to Jerusalem and were very happy they spent their time in the temple praising God you

Channel: Holy Bible

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Id: PEMFlleaJnc

Length: 154min 11sec (9251 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 21 2020