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I know what you are thinking. You want to say, ‘but Abraham is our father!’ That means nothing. I tell you, God could make children for Abraham from these rocks.
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That’s what those people who don’t know God are always thinking about. Don’t worry, because your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things.
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“Not everyone who calls me Lord will enter God’s kingdom. The only people who will enter are those who do what my Father in heaven wants.
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Then the godly people will shine like the sun. They will be in the kingdom of their Father. You people who hear me, listen!
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God said, ‘You must respect your father and mother.’ And God also said, ‘Whoever says anything bad to their father or mother must be killed.’
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But you teach that a person can say to their father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you. But I will not use it for you. I will give it to God.’
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You are teaching them not to respect their father. So you are teaching that it is not important to do what God said. You think it is more important to follow those traditions you have.
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And God said, ‘That is why a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. And the two people will become one.’
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“Which of the two sons obeyed his father?” The Jewish leaders answered, “The first son.” Jesus said to them, “The truth is, you are worse than the tax collectors and the prostitutes. In fact, they will enter God’s kingdom before you enter.
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Only God Knows When the Time Will Be
“No one knows when that day or time will be. The Son and the angels in heaven don’t know when it will be. Only the Father knows.
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“Then the king will say to the godly people on his right, ‘Come, my Father has great blessings for you. The kingdom he promised is now yours. It has been prepared for you since the world was made.
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But you teach that people can say to their father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you, but I will not use it for you. I will give it to God.’
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People today are so sinful. They have not been faithful to God. As you live among them, don’t be ashamed of me and my teaching. If that happens, I will be ashamed of you when I come with the glory of my Father and the holy angels.”
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“God bless the kingdom of our father David. That kingdom is coming! Praise to God in heaven!”
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John himself will go ahead of the Lord and make people ready for his coming. He will be powerful like Elijah and will have the same spirit. He will make peace between fathers and their children. He will cause people who are not obeying God to change and start thinking the way they should.”
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Zechariah Praises God
Then Zechariah, John’s father, was filled with the Holy Spirit and told the people a message from God:
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Change your hearts! And show by your lives that you have changed. I know what you are about to say—‘but Abraham is our father!’ That means nothing. I tell you that God can make children for Abraham from these rocks!
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That’s what all those people who don’t know God are always thinking about. But your Father knows that you need these things.
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The son said, ‘Father, I have sinned against God and have done wrong to you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
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No one has ever seen God. The only Son is the one who has shown us what God is like. He is himself God and is very close to the Father.
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This made them even more determined to kill him. They thought it was bad enough that he was breaking the law about the Sabbath day. And now he was saying that God is his Father, making himself equal with God!
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Jesus Has God’s Authority
But Jesus answered, “I assure you that the Son can do nothing alone. He does only what he sees his Father doing. The Son does the same things that the Father does.
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God did this so that all people will respect the Son the same as they respect the Father. Anyone who does not respect the Son does not respect the Father. He is the one who sent the Son.
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But earthly food spoils and ruins. So don’t work to get that kind of food. But work to get the food that stays good and gives you eternal life. The Son of Man will give you that food. He is the only one qualified by God the Father to give it to you.”
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It is written in the prophets: ‘God will teach them all.’ People listen to the Father and learn from him. They are the ones who come to me.
