Messengers from John the Baptist

11 When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.

^2 (A)Now when John heard ^(B)in prison about the deeds of ^(C)the Christ, he sent word by ^(D)his disciples ³ and said to him, “Are you ^(E)the one who is to come, or shall we ^(F)look for another?” ⁴ And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: ^5 (G)the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers^[a] are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and ^(H)the poor have good news preached to them. ⁶ And blessed is the one who ^(I)is not offended by me.”

⁷ As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out ^(J)into the wilderness to see? ^(K)A reed shaken by the wind? ⁸ What then did you go out to see? A man^[b] dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. ⁹ What then did you go out to see? ^(L)A prophet?^[c] Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰ This is he of whom it is written,

¹¹ Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ^12 (N)From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,^[d] and the violent take it by force. ^13 (O)For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, ¹⁴ and if you are willing to accept it, he is ^(P)Elijah who is to come. ^15 (Q)He who has ears to hear,^[e] let him hear.

¹⁶ “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,

¹⁸ For John came ^(R)neither eating ^(S)nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ ¹⁹ The Son of Man came ^(T)eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, ^(U)a friend of ^(V)tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”^[f]

Woe to Unrepentant Cities

^20 (W)Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. ^21 (X)“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in ^(Y)Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ^22 (Z)But I tell you, it will be more bearable on ^(AA)the day of judgment for ^(AB)Tyre and Sidon than for you. ²³ And you, ^(AC)Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to ^(AD)Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. ^24 (AE)But I tell you that ^(AF)it will be more tolerable on ^(AG)the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest

^25 (AH)At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, ^(AI)Lord of heaven and earth, that ^(AJ)you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and ^(AK)revealed them to little children; ²⁶ yes, Father, for such was your ^(AL)gracious will.^{[g] 27 (AM)}All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son ^(AN)except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone ^(AO)to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. ^28 (AP)Come to ^(AQ)me, all who labor and are ^(AR)heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and ^(AS)learn from me, for I am ^(AT)gentle and lowly in heart, and ^(AU)you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For ^(AV)my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

The Lord's Prayer

11 Now Jesus^[a] was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, ^(A)as John taught his disciples.” ² And he said to them, ^(B)“When you pray, say:

⁵ And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, ⁶ for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; ⁷ and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? ⁸ I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything ^(K)because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence^[c] he will rise and give him whatever he needs. ⁹ And I tell you, ^(L)ask, and ^(M)it will be given to you; ^(N)seek, and you will find; ^(O)knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ¹¹ What father among you, if his son asks for^[d] a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; ¹² or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, ^(P)who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father ^(Q)give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Jesus and Beelzebul

^14 (R)Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. ¹⁵ But some of them said, “He casts out demons ^(S)by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” ¹⁶ while others, ^(T)to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. ^17 (U)But he, ^(V)knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. ¹⁸ And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, ^(W)by whom do ^(X)your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁰ But if it is by ^(Y)the finger of God that I cast out demons, then ^(Z)the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²¹ When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; ^22 (AA)but when one stronger than he attacks him and ^(AB)overcomes him, he takes away his ^(AC)armor in which he trusted and ^(AD)divides his spoil. ^23 (AE)Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

^24 (AF)“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through ^(AG)waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ ²⁵ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. ²⁶ Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And ^(AH)the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

True Blessedness

²⁷ As he said these things, ^(AI)a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, ^(AJ)“Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” ²⁸ But he said, ^(AK)“Blessed rather are those ^(AL)who hear the word of God and ^(AM)keep it!”

The Sign of Jonah

^29 (AN)When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, ^(AO)“This generation is an evil generation. ^(AP)It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. ³⁰ For as ^(AQ)Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. ^31 (AR)The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and ^(AS)condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, ^(AT)something greater than Solomon is here. ^32 (AU)The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and ^(AV)condemn it, for ^(AW)they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, ^(AX)something greater than Jonah is here.

The Light in You

^33 (AY)“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. ³⁴ Your eye is ^(AZ)the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is ^(BA)bad, your body is full of darkness. ^35 (BB)Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. ³⁶ If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, ^(BC)as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.”

Woes to the Pharisees and Lawyers

³⁷ While Jesus^[e] was speaking, ^(BD)a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. ³⁸ The Pharisee was astonished to see ^(BE)that he did not first wash before dinner. ³⁹ And the Lord said to him, ^(BF)“Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of ^(BG)greed and wickedness. ^40 (BH)You fools! ^(BI)Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹ But ^(BJ)give as alms those things that are within, and behold, ^(BK)everything is clean for you.

^42 (BL)“But woe to you Pharisees! For ^(BM)you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect ^(BN)justice and ^(BO)the love of God. ^(BP)These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. ⁴³ Woe to you Pharisees! For ^(BQ)you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. ⁴⁴ Woe to you! ^(BR)For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”

⁴⁵ One of ^(BS)the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” ⁴⁶ And he said, “Woe to you ^(BT)lawyers also! For ^(BU)you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. ^47 (BV)Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. ^48 (BW)So you are witnesses and you ^(BX)consent to the deeds of ^(BY)your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹ Therefore also ^(BZ)the Wisdom of God said, ^(CA)‘I will send them ^(CB)prophets and apostles, ^(CC)some of whom they will ^(CD)kill and persecute,’ ⁵⁰ so that ^(CE)the blood of all the prophets, shed ^(CF)from the foundation of the world, may be ^(CG)charged against this generation, ⁵¹ from the blood of ^(CH)Abel to the blood of ^(CI)Zechariah, who perished between ^(CJ)the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be ^(CK)required of this generation. ⁵² Woe to you ^(CL)lawyers! ^(CM)For you have taken away the key of ^(CN)knowledge. You ^(CO)did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

⁵³ As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, ^54 (CP)lying in wait for him, ^(CQ)to catch him in something he might say.

The Death of Lazarus

11 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of ^(A)Mary and her sister Martha. ^2 (B)It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. ³ So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, ^(C)he whom you love is ill.” ⁴ But when Jesus heard it he said, ^(D)“This illness does not lead to death. It is for ^(E)the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

⁵ Now ^(F)Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶ So, when he heard that Lazarus^[a] was ill, ^(G)he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. ⁷ Then after this he said to the disciples, ^(H)“Let us go to Judea again.” ⁸ The disciples said to him, ^(I)“Rabbi, ^(J)the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” ⁹ Jesus answered, ^(K)“Are there not twelve hours in the day? ^(L)If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. ¹⁰ But ^(M)if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not ^(N)in him.” ¹¹ After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus ^(O)has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” ¹² The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” ¹³ Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. ¹⁴ Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, ¹⁵ and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” ^16 (P)So Thomas, called the Twin,^[b] said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, ^(Q)that we may die with him.”

I Am the Resurrection and the Life

¹⁷ Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb ^(R)four days. ¹⁸ Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles^[c] off, ¹⁹ and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary ^(S)to console them concerning their brother. ^20 (T)So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. ²¹ Martha said to ^(U)Jesus, “Lord, ^(V)if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, ^(W)God will give you.” ²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” ^24 (X)Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in ^(Y)the resurrection on the last day.” ²⁵ Jesus said to her, ^(Z)“I am the resurrection and ^(AA)the life.^[d] Whoever believes in me, ^(AB)though he die, ^(AC)yet shall he live, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me ^(AD)shall never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷ She said to him, “Yes, Lord; ^(AE)I believe that ^(AF)you are the Christ, the Son of God, ^(AG)who is coming into the world.”

Jesus Weeps

²⁸ When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, ^(AH)“The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” ²⁹ And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. ³⁰ Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. ³¹ When the Jews ^(AI)who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. ³² Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, ^(AJ)“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” ³³ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he ^(AK)was deeply moved^[e] in his spirit and ^(AL)greatly troubled. ³⁴ And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” ^35 (AM)Jesus wept. ³⁶ So the Jews said, “See ^(AN)how he loved him!” ³⁷ But some of them said, “Could not he ^(AO)who opened the eyes of the blind man ^(AP)also have kept this man from dying?”

Jesus Raises Lazarus

³⁸ Then Jesus, ^(AQ)deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was ^(AR)a cave, and ^(AS)a stone lay against it. ³⁹ Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for ^(AT)he has been dead four days.” ⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, ^(AU)“Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see ^(AV)the glory of God?” ⁴¹ So they took away the stone. And Jesus ^(AW)lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ^42 (AX)I knew that you always hear me, but I said this ^(AY)on account of the people standing around, ^(AZ)that they may believe that you sent me.” ⁴³ When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” ^44 (BA)The man who had died came out, ^(BB)his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and ^(BC)his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

^45 (BD)Many of the Jews therefore, ^(BE)who had come with Mary and ^(BF)had seen what he did, believed in him, ⁴⁶ but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. ⁴⁷ So the chief priests and the Pharisees ^(BG)gathered ^(BH)the council and said, ^(BI)“What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. ⁴⁸ If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and ^(BJ)the Romans will come and take away both our ^(BK)place and our nation.” ⁴⁹ But one of them, ^(BL)Caiaphas, ^(BM)who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. ⁵⁰ Nor do you understand that ^(BN)it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” ⁵¹ He did not say this of his own accord, but ^(BO)being high priest that year ^(BP)he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, ⁵² and ^(BQ)not for the nation only, but also ^(BR)to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. ⁵³ So from that day on they ^(BS)made plans to put him to death.

⁵⁴ Jesus therefore ^(BT)no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.

⁵⁵ Now ^(BU)the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and ^(BV)many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover ^(BW)to purify themselves. ^56 (BX)They were looking for^[f] Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?” ⁵⁷ Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.