Discipleship Tested

²⁵ Now ^[a]large crowds were going along with Him, and He turned and said to them, ²⁶ “^(A)If anyone comes to Me and does not ^[b]hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. ²⁷ Whoever does not ^(B)carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. ²⁸ For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? ²⁹ Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who are watching it will begin to ridicule him, ³⁰ saying, ‘This person began to build, and was not able to finish!’ ³¹ Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and ^(C)consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to face the one coming against him with twenty thousand? ³² Otherwise, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and requests terms of peace. ³³ So then, none of you can be My disciple who ^(D)does not ^[c]give up all his own possessions.

³⁴ “Therefore, salt is good; but ^(E)if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be ^[d]seasoned? ³⁵ It is useless either for the soil or the manure pile, so it is thrown out. ^(F)The one who has ears to hear, ^[e]let him hear.”

The Lost Sheep

15 Now all the ^(G)tax collectors and ^[f]sinners were coming near ^[g]Jesus to listen to Him. ² And both the Pharisees and the scribes began to complain, saying, “This man receives sinners and ^(H)eats with them.”

³ And so He told them this parable, saying, ⁴ “^(I)What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the other ninety-nine in the ^[h]open pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? ⁵ And when he has found it, he puts it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ⁶ And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost!’ ⁷ I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.

The Lost Coin

⁸ “Or what woman, if she has ten ^[i]silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the coin which I had lost!’ ¹⁰ In the same way, I tell you, there is joy ^(J)in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The Prodigal Son

¹¹ And He said, “A man had two sons. ¹² The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me ^(K)the share of the estate that ^[j]is coming to me.’ And so he divided his ^[k](L)wealth between them. ¹³ And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey to a distant country, and there he squandered his estate in ^[l]wild living. ¹⁴ Now when he had ^[m]spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began doing without. ¹⁵ So he went and ^[n]hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ And he longed to have his fill of the carob pods that the pigs were eating, and no one was giving him anything. ¹⁷ But when he came to ^[o]his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired laborers have more than enough bread, but I am dying here ^[p]from hunger! ¹⁸ I will set out and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and ^[q]in your sight; ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired laborers.”’ ²⁰ So he set out and came to ^[r]his father. But when he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and ^[s](M)embraced him and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and ^[t]in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²² But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out ^(N)the best robe and put it on him, and ^[u](O)put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet; ²³ and bring the fattened calf, slaughter it, and let’s eat and celebrate; ²⁴ for this son of mine was ^(P)dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.

²⁵ “Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. ²⁷ And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. ²⁹ But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never ^[v]neglected a command of yours; and yet you never gave me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; ³⁰ but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your ^[w](Q)wealth with prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him.’ ³¹ And he said to him, ‘Son, you ^[x]have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was ^(R)dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’”

The Unrighteous Manager

16 Now He was also saying to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and this manager was ^[y]reported to him as ^(S)squandering his possessions. ² And he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ ³ And the manager said to himself, ‘What am I to do, since my ^[z]master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to ^[aa]dig; I am ashamed to beg. ⁴ I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes.’ ⁵ And he summoned each one of his ^[ab]master’s debtors, and he began saying to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ⁶ And he said, ‘A hundred ^[ac]jugs of oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ ⁷ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘A hundred ^[ad]kors of wheat.’ He *said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ ⁸ And his ^[ae]master complimented the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of ^(T)this age are more shrewd in relation to their own ^[af]kind than the ^(U)sons of light. ⁹ And I say to you, ^(V)make friends for yourselves by means of the ^[ag](W)wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it ^[ah]is all gone, ^(X)they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.

¹⁰ “^(Y)The one who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much; and the one who is unrighteous in a very little thing is also unrighteous in much. ¹¹ Therefore if you have not ^[ai]been faithful in the use of unrighteous ^[aj](Z)wealth, who will entrust the true wealth to you? ¹² And if you have not ^[ak]been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? ^13 (AA)No ^[al]servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and ^[am](AB)wealth.”

¹⁴ Now the Pharisees, who were ^(AC)lovers of money, were listening to all these things and ^(AD)were ^[an]ridiculing Him. ¹⁵ And He said to them, “You are the ones who ^(AE)justify yourselves in the sight of people, but ^(AF)God knows your hearts; because that which is highly esteemed among people is detestable in the sight of God.

¹⁶ “^(AG)The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John came; since that time ^(AH)the gospel of the kingdom of God ^[ao]has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. ^17 (AI)But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one ^[ap]stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.

¹⁸ “^(AJ)Everyone who ^[aq]divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries one who is ^[ar]divorced from a husband commits adultery.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

¹⁹ “Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, enjoying himself in splendor every day. ²⁰ And a poor man named Lazarus ^(AK)was laid at his gate, covered with sores, ²¹ and longing to be fed from the scraps which fell from the rich man’s table; not only that, the dogs also were coming and licking his sores. ²² Now it happened that the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to ^[as](AL)Abraham’s arms; and the rich man also died and was buried. ²³ And in ^(AM)Hades he raised his eyes, being in torment, and *saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his ^[at]arms. ²⁴ And he cried out and said, ‘^(AN)Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus, so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in ^(AO)this flame.’ ²⁵ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that ^(AP)during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. ²⁶ And ^[au]besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set, so that those who want to go over from here to you will not be able, nor will any people cross over from there to us.’ ²⁷ And he said, ‘Then I request of you, father, that you send him to my father’s house— ²⁸ for I have five brothers—in order that he may ^(AQ)warn them, so that they will not come to this place of torment as well.’ ²⁹ But Abraham *said, ‘They have ^[av](AR)Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ ³⁰ But he said, ‘No, ^(AS)father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ ³¹ But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Instructions

17 Now He said to His disciples, “^(AT)It is inevitable that ^[aw]stumbling blocks come, but woe to one through whom they come! ^2 (AU)It is better for him if a millstone is hung around his neck and he ^[ax]is thrown into the sea, than that he may cause one of these little ones to ^[ay]sin. ^3 [az]Be on your guard! ^(AV)If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. ⁴ And if he sins against you ^(AW)seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

^5 (AX)The apostles said to ^(AY)the Lord, “Increase our faith!” ⁶ But ^(AZ)the Lord said, “If you ^[ba]had faith ^[bb]the size of ^(BA)a mustard seed, you could say to this ^(BB)mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would ^[bc]obey you.

⁷ “Now which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him after he comes in from the field, ‘Come immediately and recline at the table to eat’? ⁸ On the contrary, will he not say to him, ‘^(BC)Prepare something for me to eat, and properly ^[bd]clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and ^[be]afterward you ^[bf]may eat and drink’? ⁹ He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? ¹⁰ So you too, when you do all the things which were commanded you, say, ‘We are ^[bg]unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’”

The Death and Resurrection of Lazarus

11 Now a certain man was sick: Lazarus of ^(A)Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister ^(B)Martha. ² And it was the Mary who ^(C)anointed ^(D)the Lord with ^[a]ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. ³ So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “^(E)Lord, behold, ^(F)he whom You love is sick.” ⁴ But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not ^[b]meant for death, but is for ^(G)the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” ⁵ (Now Jesus loved ^(H)Martha and her sister, and Lazarus.) ⁶ So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was. ⁷ Then after this He *said to the disciples, “^(I)Let’s go to Judea again.” ⁸ The disciples *said to Him, “^(J)Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking ^(K)to stone You, and yet You are going there again?” ⁹ Jesus replied, “^(L)Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks during the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. ¹⁰ But if anyone walks during the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in ^[c]him.” ¹¹ This He said, and after this He *said to them, “Our ^(M)friend Lazarus ^(N)has fallen asleep; but I am going so that I may awaken him from sleep.” ¹² The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will ^[d]come out of it.” ¹³ Now ^(O)Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about ^[e]actual sleep. ¹⁴ So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus died, ¹⁵ and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let’s go to him.” ^16 (P)Therefore Thomas, who was called ^[f](Q)Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s also go, so that we may die with Him!”

¹⁷ So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb ^(R)four days. ¹⁸ Now ^(S)Bethany was near Jerusalem, about ^[g]fifteen stadia away; ¹⁹ and many of ^(T)the Jews had come to ^(U)Martha and Mary, ^(V)to console them about their brother. ²⁰ So then ^(W)Martha, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but ^(X)Mary ^[h]stayed in the house. ²¹ Martha then said to Jesus, “^(Y)Lord, ^(Z)if You had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² Even now I know that ^(AA)whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” ²³ Jesus *said to her, “Your brother will rise from the dead.” ²⁴ Martha *said to Him, “^(AB)I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.” ²⁵ Jesus said to her, “^(AC)I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in Me ^(AD)will never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷ She *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have come to believe that You are ^(AE)the ^[i]Christ, the Son of God, and ^[j](AF)He who comes into the world.”

²⁸ When she had said this, she ^(AG)left and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “^(AH)The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” ²⁹ And when she heard this, she *got up quickly and came to Him.

³⁰ Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but ^(AI)was still at the place where Martha met Him. ^31 (AJ)Then the Jews who were with her in the house and were ^(AK)consoling her, when they saw that Mary had gotten up quickly and left, they followed her, thinking that she was going to the tomb to weep there. ³² So when Mary came to the place where Jesus was, she saw Him and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “^(AL)Lord, ^(AM)if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” ³³ Therefore when Jesus saw her weeping, and ^(AN)the Jews who came with her also weeping, He ^(AO)was deeply moved in spirit and ^[k](AP)was troubled, ³⁴ and He said, “Where have you laid him?” They *said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵ Jesus ^(AQ)wept. ³⁶ So ^(AR)the Jews were saying, “See how He ^(AS)loved him!” ³⁷ But some of them said, “Could this man, who ^(AT)opened the eyes of the man who was blind, not have also ^[l]kept this man from dying?”