Book of Common Prayer

He exhorts them to steadfastness, to keep themselves from sin and unclean conduct, and to love one another. He rebukes idleness, and speaks of the general resurrection.

4 Furthermore, we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, as you learned from us how you ought to walk and please God, so to progress more and more. ² You remember what commandments we gave you in our Lord Jesus Christ. ³ For this is even the will of God: that you should be holy; that you should abstain from fornication; ⁴ that every one of you should know how to keep his vessel in holiness and honour, ⁵ and not in the passion of lust, as do the heathen who do not know God; ⁶ that no one should go too far and defraud his brother in bargaining. For the Lord is an avenger of all such things, as we have forewarned you and testified. ⁷ For God has not called us to uncleanness, but to holiness. ⁸ Whoever therefore rejects this, rejects not man, but God, who has sent his Holy Spirit among you.

⁹ But concerning brotherly love, you do not need me to write to you. For you are taught by God to love one another. ¹⁰ Yea and this you do, showing love to all the brethren who are throughout all Macedonia. We beseech you, brethren, to progress more and more, ¹¹ and to aspire to be quiet and to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we told you, ¹² so that you may conduct yourselves honourably toward those who are outside, and so that nothing be lacking to you.

⁴¹ Then he said to them, How is it they say that Christ is David’s son? ⁴² And David himself says in the book of the Psalms, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit on my right hand, ⁴³ till I make your enemies your footstool. ⁴⁴ Seeing David calls him Lord, how is he then his son?

⁴⁵ Then, in the hearing of all the people, Jesus said to his disciples, ⁴⁶ Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long clothing, and love greetings in the markets, the highest seats in the synagogues, and the places of honour at feasts; ⁴⁷ who devour widows’ houses, and that under a colour of long praying. The same shall receive greater damnation.

Christ commends the poor widow. He tells of the destruction of Jerusalem, of false teachers, of the signs and troubles to come, of the end of the world, and of his own coming.

21 As he looked on, he saw the rich, how they cast their offerings into the treasury. ² And he saw also a certain poor widow who cast in two small coins, ³ and he said, Of a truth I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. ⁴ For they all have added to the offering to God out of their surplus, but she, of her penury, has cast in all the substance that she had.