John the Baptist Prepares the Way(A)

In those days John the Baptist(B) came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven(C) has come near.”

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Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.(A)

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17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven(A) has come near.”

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16 For God so loved(A) the world that he gave(B) his one and only Son,(C) that whoever believes(D) in him shall not perish but have eternal life.(E)

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Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness(A)

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit,(B) left the Jordan(C) and was led by the Spirit(D) into the wilderness, where for forty days(E) he was tempted[a] by the devil.(F) He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God,(G) tell this stone to become bread.”

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’[b](H)

The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.(I) And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me,(J) and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.”

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’[c](K)

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 4:2 The Greek for tempted can also mean tested.
  2. Luke 4:4 Deut. 8:3
  3. Luke 4:8 Deut. 6:13

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.(A)

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24 “But woe to you who are rich,(A)
    for you have already received your comfort.(B)
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
    for you will go hungry.(C)
Woe to you who laugh now,
    for you will mourn and weep.(D)

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Love for Enemies(A)

27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,(B) 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.(C) 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.(D) 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.(E)

32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?(F) Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you?(G) Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them,(H) and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children(I) of the Most High,(J) because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful,(K) just as your Father(L) is merciful.

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Treasures in Heaven(A)

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,(B) where moths and vermin destroy,(C) and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,(D) where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.(E) 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.(F)

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy,[a] your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy,[b] your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.(G)

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 6:22 The Greek for healthy here implies generous.
  2. Matthew 6:23 The Greek for unhealthy here implies stingy.

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.(A) 25 For whoever wants to save their life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.(B) 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For the Son of Man(C) is going to come(D) in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.(E)

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 16:25 The Greek word means either life or soul; also in verse 26.

The Narrow and Wide Gates

13 “Enter through the narrow gate.(A) For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

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The Rich and the Kingdom of God(A)

16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life(B)?”(C)

17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”(D)

18 “Which ones?” he inquired.

Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery,(E) you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’[a](F) and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’[b](G)

20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect,(H) go, sell your possessions and give to the poor,(I) and you will have treasure in heaven.(J) Then come, follow me.”

22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich(K) to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”(L)

27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you!(M) What then will there be for us?”

28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne,(N) you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.(O) 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife[c] or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.(P) 30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.(Q)

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 19:19 Exodus 20:12-16; Deut. 5:16-20
  2. Matthew 19:19 Lev. 19:18
  3. Matthew 19:29 Some manuscripts do not have or wife.

24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies,(A) it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

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16 Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’

18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’

19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’

20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’

21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’(A)

22 “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’

23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”(B)

The Cost of Being a Disciple

25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.(C) 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.(D)

28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

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33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.(A)

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The Parable of the Rich Fool

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”(A)

16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool!(B) This very night your life will be demanded from you.(C) Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’(D)

21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”(E)

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The Parable of the Shrewd Manager

16 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.(A) So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

“So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

“‘Nine hundred gallons[a] of olive oil,’ he replied.

“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’

“Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’

“‘A thousand bushels[b] of wheat,’ he replied.

“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world(B) are more shrewd(C) in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.(D) I tell you, use worldly wealth(E) to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.(F)

10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much,(G) and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth,(H) who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”(I)

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 16:6 Or about 3,000 liters
  2. Luke 16:7 Or about 30 tons

The Rich Man and Lazarus

19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.(A) 20 At his gate was laid a beggar(B) named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table.(C) Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham,(D) have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’(E)

25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things,(F) but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.(G) 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them,(H) so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses(I) and the Prophets;(J) let them listen to them.’

30 “‘No, father Abraham,’(K) he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

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Zacchaeus the Tax Collector

19 Jesus entered Jericho(A) and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig(B) tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.(C)

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”(D)

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord,(E) “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything,(F) I will pay back four times the amount.”(G)

Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.(H) 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”(I)

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Paying Taxes to Caesar(A)

20 Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said,(B) so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor.(C) 21 So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.(D) 22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

23 He saw through their duplicity and said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

25 He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s,(E) and to God what is God’s.”

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The Widow’s Offering(A)

21 As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury.(B) He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”(C)

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Do Not Worry(A)

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry(B) about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.(C) Are you not much more valuable than they?(D) 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]?(E)

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor(F) was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?(G) 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.(H) 33 But seek first his kingdom(I) and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.(J) 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 6:27 Or single cubit to your height

38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.(A) For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”(B)

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