For those who love God, several other people have already written accounts of what God has been bringing to completion among us, using the reports of the original eyewitnesses, those who were there from the start to witness the fulfillment of prophecy. Like those other servants who have recorded the messages, I present to you my carefully researched, orderly account of these new teachings.

In Jerusalem Annas and Caiaphas were high priests in the temple. And in those days, out in the wilderness, John (son of Zacharias) received a message from God.

and the Holy Spirit came upon Him in a physical manifestation that resembled a dove. A voice echoed out from heaven. Voice from Heaven: You are My Son, the Son I love, and in You I take great pleasure.

The excitement about Jesus spread into every corner of the surrounding region.

Listen, what’s the big deal if you love people who already love you? Even scoundrels do that much!

If you want to be extraordinary—love your enemies! Do good without restraint! Lend with abandon! Don’t expect anything in return! Then you’ll receive the truly great reward—you will be children of the Most High—for God is kind to the ungrateful and those who are wicked.

There, a Centurion had a slave he loved dearly. The slave was sick—about to die—

but he loves our nation. In fact, he paid for our synagogue to be built.

Both men defaulted on their loans, but the lender forgave them both. Here’s a question for you: which man will love the lender more?

This woman has been forgiven much, and she is showing much love. But the person who has shown little love shows how little forgiveness he has received.

Jesus convened a gathering of the twelve. He gave them power and authority to free people from all demonic spirits and to heal them of diseases.

Scholar: You shall love—“love the Eternal One your God with everything you have: all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind”—and “love your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus continued from there toward Jerusalem and came to another village. Martha, a resident of that village, welcomed Jesus into her home.

Woe to you, Pharisees! Judgment will come on you! You are fastidious about tithing—keeping account of every little leaf of mint and herb—but you neglect what really matters: justice and the love of God! If you’d get straight on what really matters, then your fastidiousness about little things would be worth something.

Woe to you, Pharisees! Judgment will come on you! What you really love is having people fawn over you when you take the seat of honor in the synagogue or when you are greeted in the public market.

As the impact of His words settled in, His critics were humiliated, but everyone else loved what Jesus said and celebrated everything He was doing.

Here’s a parable He told the disciples: Jesus: Once there was a rich and powerful man who had an asset manager. One day, the man received word that his asset manager was squandering his assets.

Imagine you’re a servant and you have two masters giving you orders. What are you going to do when they have conflicting demands? You can’t serve both, so you’ll either hate the first and love the second, or you’ll faithfully serve the first and despise the second. One master is God and the other is money. You can’t serve them both.

The Pharisees overheard all this, and they started mocking Jesus because they really loved money.

Then the vineyard owner said, “Now what am I going to do? I’ll send my much-loved son. They should treat him with respect.”

Jesus: Beware of the religious scholars. They like to parade around in long robes. They love being greeted in the marketplaces. They love taking the best seats in the synagogues. They adore being seated around the head table at banquets.

Barabbas had been imprisoned after being convicted of an insurrection he had led in Jerusalem. He had also committed murder.