Matthew 18:1-24:22

New International Reader's Version

Who Is the Most Important Person in the Kingdom?

18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus. They asked him, “Then who is the most important person in the kingdom of heaven?”

² Jesus called a little child over to him. He had the child stand among them. ³ Jesus said, “What I’m about to tell you is true. You need to change and become like little children. If you don’t, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Anyone who takes the humble position of this child is the most important in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵ Anyone who welcomes a little child like this one in my name welcomes me.

Do Not Cause People to Sin

⁶ “What if someone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin? If they do, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and be drowned at the bottom of the sea. ⁷ How terrible it will be for the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Things like that must come. But how terrible for the person who causes them! ⁸ If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It would be better to enter the kingdom of heaven with only one hand than go into hell with two hands. It would be better to enter the kingdom of heaven with only one foot than go into hell with two feet. In hell the fire burns forever. ⁹ If your eye causes you to sin, poke it out and throw it away. It would be better to enter the kingdom of heaven with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

The Story of the Wandering Sheep

^10-11 “See that you don’t look down on one of these little ones. Here is what I tell you. Their angels in heaven are always with my Father who is in heaven.

¹² “What do you think? Suppose a man owns 100 sheep and one of them wanders away. Won’t he leave the 99 sheep on the hills? Won’t he go and look for the one that wandered off? ¹³ What I’m about to tell you is true. If he finds that sheep, he is happier about the one than about the 99 that didn’t wander off. ¹⁴ It is the same with your Father in heaven. He does not want any of these little ones to die.

When Someone Sins Against You

¹⁵ “If your brother or sister sins against you, go to them. Tell them what they did wrong. Keep it between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them back. ¹⁶ But what if they won’t listen to you? Then take one or two others with you. Scripture says, ‘Every matter must be proved by the words of two or three witnesses.’ (Deuteronomy 19:15) ¹⁷ But what if they also refuse to listen to the witnesses? Then tell it to the church. And what if they refuse to listen even to the church? Then don’t treat them as a brother or sister. Treat them as you would treat an ungodly person or a tax collector.

¹⁸ “What I’m about to tell you is true. What you lock on earth will be locked in heaven. What you unlock on earth will be unlocked in heaven.

¹⁹ “Again, here is what I tell you. Suppose two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for. My Father in heaven will do it for you. ²⁰ Where two or three people gather in my name, I am there with them.”

The Servant Who Had No Mercy

²¹ Peter came to Jesus. He asked, “Lord, how many times should I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but 77 times.

²³ “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to collect all the money his servants owed him. ²⁴ As the king began to do it, a man who owed him 10,000 bags of gold was brought to him. ²⁵ The man was not able to pay. So his master gave an order. The man, his wife, his children, and all he owned had to be sold to pay back what he owed.

²⁶ “Then the servant fell on his knees in front of him. ‘Give me time,’ he begged. ‘I’ll pay everything back.’ ²⁷ His master felt sorry for him. He forgave him what he owed and let him go.

²⁸ “But then that servant went out and found one of the other servants who owed him 100 silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he said.

²⁹ “The other servant fell on his knees. ‘Give me time,’ he begged him. ‘I’ll pay it back.’

³⁰ “But the first servant refused. Instead, he went and had the man thrown into prison. The man would be held there until he could pay back what he owed. ³¹ The other servants saw what had happened and were very angry. They went and told their master everything that had happened.

³² “Then the master called the first servant in. ‘You evil servant,’ he said. ‘I forgave all that you owed me because you begged me to. ³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on the other servant just as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers. He would be punished until he paid back everything he owed.

³⁵ “This is how my Father in heaven will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Jesus Teaches About Divorce

19 When Jesus finished saying these things, he left Galilee. He went into the area of Judea on the other side of the Jordan River. ² Large crowds followed him. He healed them there.

³ Some Pharisees came to test Jesus. They asked, “Does the Law allow a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?”

⁴ Jesus replied, “Haven’t you read that in the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’? (Genesis 1:27) ⁵ He said, ‘That’s why a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. The two will become one.’ (Genesis 2:24) ⁶ They are no longer two, but one. So no one should separate what God has joined together.”

⁷ They asked, “Then why did Moses command that a man can give his wife a letter of divorce and send her away?”

⁸ Jesus replied, “Moses let you divorce your wives because you were stubborn. But it was not this way from the beginning. ⁹ Here is what I tell you. Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery. A man may divorce his wife only if she has not been faithful to him.”

¹⁰ Here is what the disciples said to him. “If that’s the way it is between a husband and wife, it is better not to get married.”

¹¹ Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept the idea of staying single. Only those who have been helped to live without getting married can accept it. ¹² Some men are not able to have children because they were born that way. Some have been made that way by other people. Others have chosen to live that way in order to serve the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

Little Children Are Brought to Jesus

¹³ Some people brought little children to Jesus. They wanted him to place his hands on the children and pray for them. But the disciples told them not to do it.

¹⁴ Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t keep them away. The kingdom of heaven belongs to people like them.” ¹⁵ Jesus placed his hands on them to bless them. Then he went on from there.

Rich People and the Kingdom of God

¹⁶ Just then, a man came up to Jesus. He asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to receive eternal life?”

¹⁷ “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only one who is good. If you want to enter the kingdom, obey the commandments.”

¹⁸ “Which ones?” the man asked.

Jesus said, “ ‘Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not be a false witness. ¹⁹ Honor your father and mother.’ (Exodus 20:12–16; Deuteronomy 5:16–20) And ‘love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ ” (Leviticus 19:18)

²⁰ “I have obeyed all those commandments,” the young man said. “What else do I need to do?”

²¹ Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell everything you have. Give the money to those who are poor. You will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.”

²² When the young man heard this, he went away sad. He was very rich.

²³ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “What I’m about to tell you is true. It is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ Again I tell you, it is hard for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. But it is even harder for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were really amazed. They asked, “Then who can be saved?”

²⁶ Jesus looked at them and said, “With people, this is impossible. But with God, all things are possible.”

²⁷ Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What reward will be given to us?”

²⁸ “What I’m about to tell you is true,” Jesus said to them. “When all things are made new, the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne. Then you who have followed me will also sit on 12 thrones. You will judge the 12 tribes of Israel. ²⁹ Suppose anyone has left houses, brothers or sisters, father or mother, husband or wife, children or fields because of me. Anyone who has done that will receive 100 times as much. They will also receive eternal life. ³⁰ But many who are first will be last. And many who are last will be first.

The Story of the Workers in the Vineyard

20 “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who owned land. He went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. ² He agreed to give them the usual pay for a day’s work. Then he sent them into his vineyard.

³ “About nine o’clock in the morning he went out again. He saw others standing in the market doing nothing. ⁴ He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard. I’ll pay you what is right.’ ⁵ So they went.

“He went out again about noon and at three o’clock and did the same thing. ⁶ About five o’clock he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’

⁷ “ ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.

“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

⁸ “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard spoke to the person who was in charge of the workers. He said, ‘Call the workers and give them their pay. Begin with the last ones I hired. Then go on to the first ones.’

⁹ “The workers who were hired about five o’clock came. Each received the usual day’s pay. ¹⁰ So when those who were hired first came, they expected to receive more. But each of them also received the usual day’s pay. ¹¹ When they received it, they began to complain about the owner. ¹² ‘These people who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said. ‘You have paid them the same as us. We have done most of the work and have been in the hot sun all day.’

¹³ “The owner answered one of them. ‘Friend,’ he said, ‘I’m being fair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for the usual day’s pay? ¹⁴ Take your money and go. I want to give the one I hired last the same pay I gave you. ¹⁵ Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Do you feel cheated because I gave so freely to the others?’

¹⁶ “So those who are last will be first. And those who are first will be last.”

Jesus Speaks a Third Time About His Coming Death

¹⁷ Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took his 12 disciples to one side to talk to them. ¹⁸ “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said. “The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will sentence him to death. ¹⁹ Then they will hand him over to the Gentiles. The people will make fun of him and whip him. They will nail him to a cross. On the third day, he will rise from the dead!”

A Mother Asks a Favor of Jesus

²⁰ The mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus. Her sons came with her. Getting on her knees, she asked a favor of him.

²¹ “What do you want?” Jesus asked.

She said, “Promise me that one of my two sons may sit at your right hand in your kingdom. Promise that the other one may sit at your left hand.”

²² “You don’t know what you’re asking for,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup of suffering I am going to drink?”

“We can,” they answered.

²³ Jesus said to them, “You will certainly drink from my cup. But it is not for me to say who will sit at my right or left hand. These places belong to those my Father has prepared them for.”

²⁴ The other ten disciples heard about this. They became angry at the two brothers. ²⁵ Jesus called them together. He said, “You know about the rulers of the Gentiles. They hold power over their people. Their high officials order them around. ²⁶ Don’t be like that. Instead, anyone who wants to be important among you must be your servant. ²⁷ And anyone who wants to be first must be your slave. ²⁸ Be like the Son of Man. He did not come to be served. Instead, he came to serve others. He came to give his life as the price for setting many people free.”

Two Blind Men Receive Their Sight

²⁹ Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho. A large crowd followed him. ³⁰ Two blind men were sitting by the side of the road. They heard that Jesus was going by. So they shouted, “Lord! Son of David! Have mercy on us!”

³¹ The crowd commanded them to stop. They told them to be quiet. But the two men shouted even louder, “Lord! Son of David! Have mercy on us!”

³² Jesus stopped and called out to them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

³³ “Lord,” they answered, “we want to be able to see.”

³⁴ Jesus felt deep concern for them. He touched their eyes. Right away they could see. And they followed him.

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King

21 As they all approached Jerusalem, they came to Bethphage. It was on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent out two disciples. ² He said to them, “Go to the village ahead of you. As soon as you get there, you will find a donkey tied up. Her colt will be with her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them. The owner will send them right away.”

⁴ This took place so that what was spoken through the prophet would come true. It says,

⁶ The disciples went and did what Jesus told them to do. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt. They placed their coats on them for Jesus to sit on. ⁸ A very large crowd spread their coats on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ Some of the people went ahead of him, and some followed. They all shouted,

¹⁰ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up. The people asked, “Who is this?”

¹¹ The crowds answered, “This is Jesus. He is the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Jesus Clears Out the Temple

¹² Jesus entered the temple courtyard. He began to drive out all those who were buying and selling there. He turned over the tables of the people who were exchanging money. He also turned over the benches of those who were selling doves. ¹³ He said to them, “It is written that the Lord said, ‘My house will be called a house where people can pray.’ (Isaiah 56:7) But you are making it ‘a den for robbers.’ ” (Jeremiah 7:11)

¹⁴ Blind people and those who were disabled came to Jesus at the temple. There he healed them. ¹⁵ The chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did. They also saw the children in the temple courtyard shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” But when they saw all this, they became angry.

¹⁶ “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.

“Yes,” replied Jesus. “Haven’t you ever read about it in Scripture? It says,

¹⁷ Then Jesus left the people and went out of the city to Bethany. He spent the night there.

Jesus Makes a Fig Tree Dry Up

¹⁸ Early in the morning, Jesus was on his way back to Jerusalem. He was hungry. ¹⁹ He saw a fig tree by the road. He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Right away the tree dried up.

²⁰ When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree dry up so quickly?” they asked.

²¹ Jesus replied, “What I’m about to tell you is true. You must have faith and not doubt. Then you can do what was done to the fig tree. And you can say to this mountain, ‘Go and throw yourself into the sea.’ It will be done. ²² If you believe, you will receive what you ask for when you pray.”

The Authority of Jesus Is Questioned

²³ Jesus entered the temple courtyard. While he was teaching there, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “Who gave you this authority?”

²⁴ Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ²⁵ Where did John’s baptism come from? Was it from heaven? Or did it come from human authority?”

They talked to one another about it. They said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ²⁶ But what if we say, ‘From human authority’? We are afraid of the people. Everyone believes that John was a prophet.”

²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Jesus said, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I am doing these things either.

The Story of the Two Sons

²⁸ “What do you think about this? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’

²⁹ “ ‘I will not,’ the son answered. But later he changed his mind and went.

³⁰ “Then the father went to the other son. He said the same thing. The son answered, ‘I will, sir.’ But he did not go.

³¹ “Which of the two sons did what his father wanted?”

“The first,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “What I’m about to tell you is true. Tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³² John came to show you the right way to live. And you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. You saw this. But even then you did not turn away from your sins and believe him.

The Story of the Renters

³³ “Listen to another story. A man who owned some land planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it. He dug a pit for a winepress in it. He also built a lookout tower. He rented the vineyard out to some farmers. Then he moved to another place. ³⁴ When harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the renters. He told the slaves to collect his share of the fruit.

³⁵ “But the renters grabbed his slaves. They beat one of them. They killed another. They threw stones at the third to kill him. ³⁶ Then the man sent other slaves to the renters. He sent more than he did the first time. The renters treated them the same way. ³⁷ Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

³⁸ “But the renters saw the son coming. They said to one another, ‘This is the one who will receive all the owner’s property someday. Come, let’s kill him. Then everything will be ours.’ ³⁹ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard. Then they killed him.

⁴⁰ “When the owner of the vineyard comes back, what will he do to those renters?”

⁴¹ “He will destroy those evil people,” they replied. “Then he will rent the vineyard out to other renters. They will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you ever read what the Scriptures say,

⁴³ “So here is what I tell you. The kingdom of God will be taken away from you. It will be given to people who will produce its fruit. ⁴⁴ Anyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces. But the stone will crush anyone it falls on.”

⁴⁵ The chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ stories. They knew he was talking about them. ⁴⁶ So they looked for a way to arrest him. But they were afraid of the crowd. The people believed that Jesus was a prophet.

The Story of the Wedding Dinner

22 Jesus told them more stories. He said, ² “Here is what the kingdom of heaven is like. A king prepared a wedding dinner for his son. ³ He sent his slaves to those who had been invited to the dinner. The slaves told them to come. But they refused.

⁴ “Then he sent some more slaves. He said, ‘Tell those who were invited that I have prepared my dinner. I have killed my oxen and my fattest cattle. Everything is ready. Come to the wedding dinner.’

⁵ “But the people paid no attention. One went away to his field. Another went away to his business. ⁶ The rest grabbed his slaves. They treated them badly and then killed them. ⁷ The king became very angry. He sent his army to destroy them. They killed those murderers and burned their city.

⁸ “Then the king said to his slaves, ‘The wedding dinner is ready. But those I invited were not fit to come. ⁹ So go to the street corners. Invite to the dinner anyone you can find.’ ¹⁰ So the slaves went out into the streets. They gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good. Soon the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹ “The king came in to see the guests. He noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ¹² ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man couldn’t think of anything to say.

¹³ “Then the king told his slaves, ‘Tie up his hands and feet. Throw him outside into the darkness. Out there people will weep and grind their teeth.’

¹⁴ “Many are invited, but few are chosen.”

Is It Right to Pay the Royal Tax to Caesar?

¹⁵ The Pharisees went out. They made plans to trap Jesus with his own words. ¹⁶ They sent their followers to him. They sent the Herodians with them. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of honor. You teach the way of God truthfully. You don’t let others tell you what to do or say. You don’t care how important they are. ¹⁷ Tell us then, what do you think? Is it right to pay the royal tax to Caesar or not?”

¹⁸ But Jesus knew their evil plans. He said, “You pretenders! Why are you trying to trap me? ¹⁹ Show me the coin people use for paying the tax.” They brought him a silver coin. ²⁰ He asked them, “Whose picture is this? And whose words?”

²¹ “Caesar’s,” they replied.

Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. And give back to God what belongs to God.”

²² When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.

Marriage When the Dead Rise

²³ That same day the Sadducees came to Jesus with a question. They do not believe that people rise from the dead. ²⁴ “Teacher,” they said, “here is what Moses told us. If a man dies without having children, his brother must get married to the widow. He must provide children to carry on his brother’s name. ²⁵ There were seven brothers among us. The first one got married and died. Since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. ²⁶ The same thing happened to the second and third brothers. It happened right on down to the seventh brother. ²⁷ Finally, the woman died. ²⁸ Now then, when the dead rise, whose wife will she be? All seven of them were married to her.”

²⁹ Jesus replied, “You are mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures. And you do not know the power of God. ³⁰ When the dead rise, they won’t get married. And their parents won’t give them to be married. They will be like the angels in heaven. ³¹ What about the dead rising? Haven’t you read what God said to you? ³² He said, ‘I am the God of Abraham. I am the God of Isaac. And I am the God of Jacob.’ (Exodus 3:6) He is not the God of the dead. He is the God of the living.”

³³ When the crowds heard this, they were amazed by what he taught.

The Most Important Commandment

³⁴ The Pharisees heard that the Sadducees weren’t able to answer Jesus. So the Pharisees got together. ³⁵ One of them was an authority on the law. So he tested Jesus with a question. ³⁶ “Teacher,” he asked, “which is the most important commandment in the Law?”

³⁷ Jesus replied, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your mind.’ (Deuteronomy 6:5) ³⁸ This is the first and most important commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it. ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ (Leviticus 19:18) ⁴⁰ Everything that is written in the Law and the Prophets is based on these two commandments.”

Whose Son Is the Messiah?

⁴¹ The Pharisees were gathered together. Jesus asked them, ⁴² “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”

“The son of David,” they replied.

⁴³ He said to them, “Then why does David call him ‘Lord’? The Holy Spirit spoke through David himself. David said,

⁴⁵ So if David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be David’s son?” ⁴⁶ No one could give any answer to him. From that day on, no one dared to ask him any more questions.

A Warning Against Doing Things for the Wrong Reasons

23 Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples. ² “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat,” he said. ³ “So you must be careful to do everything they say. But don’t do what they do. They don’t practice what they preach. ⁴ They tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry. Then they put them on other people’s shoulders. But they themselves aren’t willing to lift a finger to move them.

⁵ “Everything they do is done for others to see. On their foreheads and arms they wear little boxes that hold Scripture verses. They make the boxes very wide. And they make the tassels on their coats very long. ⁶ They love to sit down in the place of honor at dinners. They also love to have the most important seats in the synagogues. ⁷ They love to be greeted with respect in the markets. They love it when people call them ‘Rabbi.’

⁸ “But you shouldn’t be called ‘Rabbi.’ You have only one Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ Do not call anyone on earth ‘father.’ You have one Father, and he is in heaven. ¹⁰ You shouldn’t be called ‘teacher.’ You have one Teacher, and he is the Messiah. ¹¹ The most important person among you will be your servant. ¹² People who lift themselves up will be made humble. And people who make themselves humble will be lifted up.

How Terrible for the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees

^13-14 “How terrible it will be for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter. And you will not let those enter who are trying to.

¹⁵ “How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You travel everywhere to win one person to your faith. Then you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.

¹⁶ “How terrible for you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone makes a promise in the name of the temple, it means nothing. But anyone who makes a promise in the name of the gold of the temple must keep that promise.’ ¹⁷ You are blind and foolish! Which is more important? Is it the gold? Or is it the temple that makes the gold holy? ¹⁸ You also say, ‘If anyone makes a promise in the name of the altar, it means nothing. But anyone who makes a promise in the name of the gift on the altar must keep that promise.’ ¹⁹ You are blind! Which is more important? Is it the gift? Or is it the altar that makes the gift holy? ²⁰ So anyone making a promise in the name of the altar makes a promise in the name of it and everything on it. ²¹ And anyone making a promise in the name of the temple makes a promise in the name of it and the one who lives in it. ²² And anyone making a promise in the name of heaven makes a promise in the name of God’s throne and the one who sits on it.

²³ “How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You give God a tenth of your spices, like mint, dill and cumin. But you have not practiced the more important things of the law, which are fairness, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the last things without failing to do the first. ²⁴ You blind guides! You remove the smallest insect from your food. But you swallow a whole camel!

²⁵ “How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You clean the outside of a cup and dish. But on the inside you are full of greed. You only want to satisfy yourselves. ²⁶ Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish. Then the outside will also be clean.

²⁷ “How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You are like tombs that are painted white. They look beautiful on the outside. But on the inside they are full of the bones of the dead. They are also full of other things that are not pure and ‘clean.’ ²⁸ It is the same with you. On the outside you seem to be doing what is right. But on the inside you are full of what is wrong. You pretend to be what you are not.

²⁹ “How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You build tombs for the prophets. You decorate the graves of the godly. ³⁰ And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of those who lived before us, we wouldn’t have done what they did. We wouldn’t have helped to kill the prophets.’ ³¹ So you are witnesses against yourselves. You admit that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets. ³² So go ahead and finish the sins that those who lived before you started!

³³ “You nest of poisonous snakes! How will you escape from being sentenced to hell? ³⁴ So I am sending you prophets, wise people, and teachers. You will kill some of them. You will nail some to a cross. Others you will whip in your synagogues. You will chase them from town to town. ³⁵ So you will pay for all the godly people’s blood spilled on earth. I mean from the blood of godly Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berekiah. Zechariah was the one you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ What I’m about to tell you is true. All this will happen to those who are now living.

³⁷ “Jerusalem! Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and throw stones in order to kill those who are sent to you. Many times I have wanted to gather your people together. I have wanted to be like a hen who gathers her chicks under her wings. And you would not let me! ³⁸ Look, your house is left empty. ³⁹ I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ” (Psalm 118:26)

When the Temple Will Be Destroyed and the Signs of the End

24 Jesus left the temple. He was walking away when his disciples came up to him. They wanted to call his attention to the temple buildings. ² “Do you see all these things?” Jesus asked. “What I’m about to tell you is true. Not one stone here will be left on top of another. Every stone will be thrown down.”

³ Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives. There the disciples came to him in private. “Tell us,” they said. “When will this happen? And what will be the sign of your coming? What will be the sign of the end?”

⁴ Jesus answered, “Keep watch! Be careful that no one fools you. ⁵ Many will come in my name. They will claim, ‘I am the Messiah!’ They will fool many people. ⁶ You will hear about wars. You will also hear people talking about future wars. Don’t be alarmed. Those things must happen. But the end still isn’t here. ⁷ Nation will fight against nation. Kingdom will fight against kingdom. People will go hungry. There will be earthquakes in many places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of birth pains.

⁹ “Then people will hand you over to be treated badly and killed. All nations will hate you because of me. ¹⁰ At that time, many will turn away from their faith. They will hate each other. They will hand each other over to their enemies. ¹¹ Many false prophets will appear. They will fool many people. ¹² Because evil will grow, most people’s love will grow cold. ¹³ But the one who remains strong in the faith will be saved. ¹⁴ This good news of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world. It will be a witness to all nations. Then the end will come.

¹⁵ “The prophet Daniel spoke about ‘the hated thing that destroys.’ (Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11) Someday you will see it standing in the holy place. The reader should understand this. ¹⁶ Then those who are in Judea should escape to the mountains. ¹⁷ No one on the housetop should go down into the house to take anything out. ¹⁸ No one in the field should go back to get their coat. ¹⁹ How awful it will be in those days for pregnant women! How awful for nursing mothers! ²⁰ Pray that you will not have to escape in winter or on the Sabbath day. ²¹ There will be terrible suffering in those days. It will be worse than any other from the beginning of the world until now. And there will never be anything like it again.

²² “If the time had not been cut short, no one would live. But because of God’s chosen people, it will be shortened.