²⁵ Now in the fourth watch^[a] of the night, Yeshua came to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶ But when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It’s a ghost!” And they cried out with fear.

²⁷ But immediately, Yeshua spoke to them, saying, “Take courage! I am. Don’t be afraid.”

²⁰ Then He ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Messiah.

First Prediction: Death and Resurrection

²¹ From that time on, Yeshua began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and ruling kohanim and Torah scholars, and be killed, and be raised on the third day.

²² Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Never, Master! This must never happen to You!”

²³ But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, satan! You are a stumbling block to Me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but the things of men.”

²⁴ Then Yeshua said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to follow after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. ²⁵ For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. ²⁶ For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world but forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? ²⁷ For the Son of Man is about to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then ‘He will repay everyone according to his deeds.’ ^{[a] 28} Amen, I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

Parable of the Vineyard

³³ “Listen to another parable. There was a master of a household who planted a vineyard. He put a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower.^[a] Then He leased it to some tenant farmers and went on a journey. ³⁴ Now when fruit season drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. ³⁵ But grabbing his servants, the tenants beat up one, killed another, and stoned still another. ³⁶ Again the master sent other servants, even more than the first, and they did the same thing to them. ³⁷ Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

³⁸ “But when the tenants saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir! Come on, let’s kill him and get his inheritance!’ ³⁹ So grabbing him, they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. ⁴⁰ Therefore when the master of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

⁴¹ “He will bring those miserable men to a miserable end,” they said to Him, “and will lease the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the fruits in their seasons.” ⁴² Yeshua said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures^[b]?

⁴³ Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to people producing its fruits. ⁴⁴ Whoever falls on this stone will be shattered; but the one upon whom it falls, it will crush him.”^[d]

⁴⁵ When the ruling kohanim and Pharisees heard Yeshua’s parables, they realized He was talking about them. ⁴⁶ Although they were trying to seize Him, they feared the crowds, because they regarded Him as a prophet.

Isaiah’s Prophecy Fulfilled in Natzeret

¹⁴ Yeshua returned in the power of the Ruach to the Galilee, and news about Him went out through all the surrounding region. ¹⁵ He taught in their synagogues, and everyone was praising Him. ¹⁶ And He came to Natzeret, where He had been raised. As was His custom, He went into the synagogue on Shabbat, and He got up to read. ¹⁷ When the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him, He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

²⁰ He closed the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue were focused on Him. ²¹ Then He began to tell them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your ears.”

²² All were speaking well of Him and marveling at the gracious words coming out of His mouth. And they were saying, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?”

⁹ After saying all this—while they were watching—He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. ¹⁰ While they were staring into heaven as He went up, suddenly two men stood with them in white clothing. ¹¹ They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you keep standing here staring into heaven? This Yeshua, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven.”

The Believer’s Helper

¹⁵ “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. ¹⁶ I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper^[a] so He may be with you forever— ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him. You know Him, because He abides with you and will be in you. ¹⁸ I will not abandon you as orphans;^[b] I will come to you. ¹⁹ In a little while, the world will no longer behold Me, but you will behold Me. Because I live, you also will live!

²⁰ “In that day, you will know that I am in My Father, you are in Me, and I am in you. ²¹ He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”

¹⁰ If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. ¹¹ These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and your joy may be full.

¹² “This is My commandment, that you love one another just as I have loved you.

⁸ Therefore it says,

²¹ Were you called as a slave? Don’t let that bother you—but if indeed you can become free, make the most of the opportunity. ²² For the one who was called in the Lord as a slave is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise the one who was called while free is Messiah’s slave. ²³ You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. ²⁴ Brothers and sisters, let each one—in whatever way he was called—remain that way with God.