Beginning
Do Not Cause Little Believers to Fall Into Sin
17 Jesus said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! 2 It would be better for that person if a millstone would be hung around his neck and he would be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. 3 Watch yourselves.
“If your brother sins, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him. 4 Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”
Increase Our Faith
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
6 The Lord said, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you could tell this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. 7 Which one of you who has a servant plowing or taking care of sheep will say to him when he comes in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at the table’? 8 Won’t the master tell him instead, ‘Prepare my supper, and after you are properly dressed, serve me while I eat and drink. After that you may eat and drink’? 9 He does not thank the servant because he did what he was commanded to do, does he? 10 So also you, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have only done what we were supposed to do.’”
Ten Lepers Healed—One Thanks God
11 On another occasion, as Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, he was passing along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 When he entered a certain village, ten men with leprosy met him. Standing at a distance, 13 they called out loudly, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” As they went away they were cleansed.
15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice. 16 He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, thanking him. And he was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus responded, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Get up and go your way. Your faith has saved you.”
The Kingdom of God Is Within You
20 The Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would come. Jesus answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in a way you can observe, 21 nor will people say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘Look, there it is!’ because the kingdom of God is within[a] you.”
Jesus Will Return
22 He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 They will tell you, ‘Look, there he is!’ or ‘Look, here he is!’ Do not go out or chase after them, 24 for the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning that flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other side. 25 But first, he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it also be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 They were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot: They were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, 29 but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 It will be the same on the day the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day, the person who is on the roof and has belongings in the house should not go down to get them. Likewise, the person in the field should not turn back for anything. 32 Remember Lot’s wife! 33 Whoever tries to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. 34 I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed. One will be taken, and the other will be left. 35 There will be two women grinding grain at the same place. One will be taken, and the other will be left.”[b]
37 “Where, Lord?” they asked him.
He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will be gathered.”
The Parable of the Persistent Widow
18 Jesus told them a parable about the need to always pray and not lose heart: 2 “There was a judge in a certain town who did not fear God and did not care about people. 3 There was a widow in that town, and she kept going to him, saying, ‘Give me justice from my adversary!’ 4 For some time he refused, but after a while he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God or care about people, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice so that she will not wear me out with her endless pleading.’”
6 The Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 Will not God give justice to his chosen ones, who are crying out to him day and night? Will he put off helping them? 8 I tell you that he will give them justice quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 Jesus told this parable to certain people who trusted in themselves (that they were righteous) and looked down on others: 10 “Two men went up to the temple courts to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people, robbers, evildoers, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week. I give a tenth of all my income.’
13 “However the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even lift his eyes up to heaven, but was beating his chest and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
14 “I tell you, this man went home justified rather than the other, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Jesus Loves Little Children
15 People were bringing even their babies to Jesus, so that he would touch them. When the disciples saw this, they began to rebuke them. 16 But Jesus invited them, saying, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 Amen I tell you: Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
The Rich Young Ruler
18 A certain ruler asked Jesus, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
19 Jesus asked him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good, except one—God. 20 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery. You shall not murder. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony. Honor your father and mother.’”[c]
21 “I have kept all these since I was a child,” he said.
22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
23 But when the ruler heard these words, he became very sad, because he was very rich.
24 When Jesus saw that the man became very sad, he said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 Those who heard this said, “Then who can be saved?”
27 He replied, “What is impossible for people is possible for God.”
28 And Peter said, “Look, we have left our possessions[d] and followed you.”
29 He said to them, “Amen I tell you: Anyone who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God 30 will most certainly receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come, eternal life.”
Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection Again
31 He took the Twelve aside and said to them, “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. 32 Indeed, he will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, mistreat him, spit on him, 33 flog him, and kill him. On the third day, he will rise again.”
34 They did not understand any of these things. What he said was hidden from them, and they did not understand what was said.
Blind Bartimaeus
35 As he approached Jericho, a blind man sat by the road, begging. 36 When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him that Jesus the Nazarene was passing by. 38 He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 Those who were at the front of the crowd rebuked him, telling him to be quiet. But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, he asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?”
He said, “Lord, I want to see again.”
42 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight. Your faith has saved you.”
43 Immediately he received his sight and began following Jesus, glorifying God. All the people, when they saw this, gave praise to God.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.