Chronological
Jesus Sends the 72 Men
10 After this, the Lord chose 72[a] others. He sent them out in pairs. He sent them ahead of him into every town and place where he planned to go. 2 He said to them, “There are a great many people to harvest. But there are only a few workers to harvest them. God owns the harvest. Pray to God that he will send more workers to help gather his harvest. 3 You can go now. But listen! I am sending you, and you will be like sheep among wolves. 4 Don’t carry a purse, a bag, or sandals. Don’t stop to talk with people on the road. 5 Before you go into a house, say, ‘Peace be with this house.’ 6 If a peaceful man lives there, your blessing of peace will stay with him. If the man is not peaceful, then your blessing of peace will come back to you. 7 Stay in the same house. Eat and drink what the people there give you. A worker should be given his pay. Don’t move from house to house. 8 If you go into a town and the people welcome you, eat what they give you. 9 Heal the sick who live there. Tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is soon coming to you!’ 10 But if you go into a town, and the people don’t welcome you, then go out into the streets of that town. Say to them, 11 ‘Even the dirt from your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you.[b] But remember that the kingdom of God is coming soon.’ 12 I tell you, on the Judgment Day it will be worse for the people of that town than for the people of Sodom.[c]
Jesus Warns Unbelievers
13 “How terrible for you, Korazin! How terrible for you, Bethsaida! I did many miracles in you. If those same miracles had happened in Tyre and Sidon,[d] those people would have changed their lives and stopped sinning long ago. They would have worn rough cloth and put ashes on themselves to show that they had changed. 14 But on the Judgment Day it will be worse for you than for Tyre and Sidon. 15 And you, Capernaum,[e] will you be lifted up to heaven? No! You will be thrown down to the depths!
16 “He who listens to you is really listening to me. He who refuses to accept you is really refusing to accept me. And he who refuses to accept me is refusing to accept the One who sent me.”
Satan Falls
17 When the 72[f] men came back from their trip, they were very happy. They said, “Lord, even the demons obeyed us when we used your name!”
18 Jesus said to the men, “I saw Satan falling like lightning from the sky. 19 Listen! I gave you power to walk on snakes and scorpions. I gave you more power than the Enemy has. Nothing will hurt you. 20 You should be happy, but not because the spirits obey you. You should be happy because your names are written in heaven.”
Jesus Prays to the Father
21 Then the Holy Spirit made Jesus rejoice. He said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the people who are wise and smart. But you have shown them to those who are like little children. Yes, Father, you did this because this is what you really wanted.
22 “My Father has given me all things. No one knows the Son—only the Father knows. And only the Son knows the Father. The only people who will know about the Father are those whom the Son chooses to tell.”
23 Then Jesus turned to his followers and said privately, “You are blessed to see what you now see! 24 I tell you, many prophets and kings wanted to see what you now see. But they did not see these things. And many prophets and kings wanted to hear what you now hear. But they did not hear these things.”
The Good Samaritan
25 Then a teacher of the law stood up. He was trying to test Jesus. He said, “Teacher, what must I do to get life forever?”
26 Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?”
27 The man answered, “Love the Lord your God. Love him with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.”[g] Also, “You must love your neighbor as you love yourself.”[h]
28 Jesus said to him, “Your answer is right. Do this and you will have life forever.”
29 But the man wanted to show that the way he was living was right. So he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 To answer this question, Jesus said, “A man was going down the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. Some robbers attacked him. They tore off his clothes and beat him. Then they left him lying there, almost dead. 31 It happened that a Jewish priest was going down that road. When the priest saw the man, he walked by on the other side of the road. 32 Next, a Levite[i] came there. He went over and looked at the man. Then he walked by on the other side of the road. 33 Then a Samaritan[j] traveling down the road came to where the hurt man was lying. He saw the man and felt very sorry for him. 34 The Samaritan went to him and poured olive oil and wine[k] on his wounds and bandaged them. He put the hurt man on his own donkey and took him to an inn. At the inn, the Samaritan took care of him. 35 The next day, the Samaritan brought out two silver coins[l] and gave them to the innkeeper. The Samaritan said, ‘Take care of this man. If you spend more money on him, I will pay it back to you when I come again.’”
36 Then Jesus said, “Which one of these three men do you think was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by the robbers?”
37 The teacher of the law answered, “The one who helped him.”
Jesus said to him, “Then go and do the same thing he did!”
Mary and Martha
38 While Jesus and his followers were traveling, Jesus went into a town. A woman named Martha let Jesus stay at her house. 39 Martha had a sister named Mary. Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to him teach. 40 Martha became angry because she had so much work to do. She went in and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me alone to do all the work? Tell her to help me!”
41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are getting worried and upset about too many things. 42 Only one thing is important. Mary has chosen the right thing, and it will never be taken away from her.”
Jesus Teaches About Prayer
11 One time Jesus was praying in a place. When he finished, one of his followers said to him, “John taught his followers how to pray. Lord, please teach us how to pray, too.”
2 Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say:
‘Father, we pray that your name will always be kept holy.
We pray that your kingdom will come.
3 Give us the food we need for each day.
4 Forgive us the sins we have done,
because we forgive every person who has done wrong to us.
And do not cause us to be tested.’”[m]
Continue to Ask
5-6 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose one of you went to your friend’s house at midnight and said to him, ‘A friend of mine has come into town to visit me. But I have nothing for him to eat. Please loan me three loaves of bread.’ 7 Your friend inside the house answers, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked. My children and I are in bed. I cannot get up and give you the bread now.’ 8 I tell you, maybe friendship is not enough to make him get up to give you the bread. But he will surely get up to give you what you need if you continue to ask. 9 So I tell you, continue to ask, and God will give to you. Continue to search, and you will find. Continue to knock, and the door will open for you. 10 Yes, if a person continues asking, he will receive. If he continues searching, he will find. And if he continues knocking, the door will open for him. 11 What would you fathers do if your son asks you for[n] a fish? Would any of you give him a snake? 12 Or, if your son asks for an egg, would you give him a scorpion? 13 Even though you are bad, you know how to give good things to your children. So surely your heavenly Father knows how to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”
Jesus’ Power Is from God
14 One time Jesus was sending a demon out of a man who could not talk. When the demon came out, the man was able to speak. The people were amazed. 15 But some of them said, “Jesus uses the power of Beelzebul to force demons out of people. Beelzebul is the ruler of demons.”
16 Other people wanted to test Jesus. They asked him to give them a sign from heaven. 17 But Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said to them, “Every kingdom that is divided and fights against itself will be destroyed. And a family that fights against itself will break apart. 18 So if Satan is fighting against himself, then how will his kingdom last? You say that I use the power of Beelzebul to force out demons. 19 But if I use the power of Beelzebul to force out demons, then by what power do your people force out demons? So your own people prove that you are wrong. 20 But if I use the power of God to force out demons, the kingdom of God has come to you!
21 “When a strong man with many weapons guards his own house, then the things in his house are safe. 22 But suppose a stronger man comes and defeats him. The stronger man will take away the weapons that the first man trusted to keep his house safe. Then the stronger man will do what he wants with the first man’s things.
23 “If anyone is not with me, he is against me. He who does not work with me is working against me.
The Empty Man
24 “When an evil spirit comes out of a person, it travels through dry places, looking for a place to rest. But that spirit finds no place to rest. So it says, ‘I will go back to the home I left.’ 25 When the spirit comes back to that person, it finds that home swept clean and made neat. 26 Then the evil spirit goes out and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself. Then all the evil spirits go into that person and live there. And he has even more trouble than he had before.”
People Who Are Truly Blessed
27 When Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd spoke out. She said to Jesus, “Your mother is blessed because she gave birth to you and nursed you.”
28 But Jesus said, “Those who hear the teaching of God and obey it—they are the ones who are truly blessed.”
Give Us Proof!
29 The crowd grew larger. Jesus said, “The people who live today are evil. They ask for a miracle as a sign from God. But they will have no sign—only the sign of Jonah.[o] 30 Jonah was a sign for those people who lived in Nineveh. In the same way the Son of Man will be a sign for the people of this time. 31 On the Judgment Day the Queen of the South[p] will stand up with the men who live now. She will show that they are guilty because she came from far away to listen to Solomon’s wise teaching. And I tell you that someone greater than Solomon is here! 32 On the Judgment Day the men of Nineveh will stand up with the people who live now. And they will show that you are guilty, because when Jonah preached to those people, they changed their hearts and lives. And I tell you that someone greater than Jonah is here!
Be a Light to the World
33 “No one takes a light and puts it under a bowl or hides it. Instead, he puts the light on a lampstand so that the people who come in can see. 34 Your eye is a light for the body. If your eyes are good, then your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are evil, then your whole body will be full of darkness. 35 So be careful! Don’t let the light in you become darkness. 36 If your whole body is full of light, and none of it is dark, then you will shine bright, as when a lamp shines on you.”
Jesus Accuses the Pharisees
37 After Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee asked Jesus to eat with him. So Jesus went in and sat at the table. 38 But the Pharisee was surprised when he saw that Jesus did not wash his hands[q] before the meal. 39 The Lord said to him, “You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the dish. But inside you are full of greed and evil. 40 You are foolish. The same One who made what is outside also made what is inside. 41 So give what is in your cups and dishes to the poor. Then you will be fully clean. 42 But how terrible for you Pharisees! You give God one-tenth of even your mint, your rue, and every other plant in your garden. But you forget to be fair to other people and to love God. These are the things you should do. And you should also continue to do those other things—like giving one-tenth. 43 How terrible for you Pharisees, because you love to get the most important seats in the synagogues. And you love people to show respect to you in the marketplaces. 44 How terrible for you, because you are like hidden graves. People walk on them without knowing it.”
Jesus Talks to Teachers of the Law
45 One of the teachers of the law said to Jesus, “Teacher, when you say these things, you are insulting us, too.”
46 Jesus answered, “How terrible for you, you teachers of the law! You make strict rules that are very hard for people to obey. But you yourselves don’t even try to follow those rules. 47 How terrible for you, because you build tombs for the prophets. But these are the prophets that your fathers killed! 48 And now you show that you approve of what your fathers did. They killed the prophets, and you build tombs for the prophets! 49 This is why in his wisdom God said, ‘I will send prophets and apostles to them. Some of my prophets and apostles will be killed, and others will be treated cruelly.’ 50 So you who live now will be punished for the deaths of all the prophets who were killed since the beginning of the world. 51 You will be punished for the killing of Abel and for the killing of Zechariah.[r] Zechariah was killed between the altar and the Temple. Yes, I tell you that you people who live now will be punished for them all.
52 “How terrible for you, you teachers of the law. You have hidden the key to learning about God. You yourselves would not learn, and you stopped others from learning, too.”
53 When Jesus was leaving, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees began to give him trouble, asking him questions about many things. 54 They were trying to catch Jesus saying something wrong.
22 The time came for the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. This was during the winter. 23 Jesus was walking in the Temple in Solomon’s Porch. 24 The Jews gathered around him and said, “How long will you make us wonder about you? If you are the Christ, then tell us plainly.”
Jesus Is the Son of God
25 Jesus answered, “I told you already, but you did not believe. I do miracles in my Father’s name. Those miracles show who I am. 26 But you don’t believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never die. And no person can steal them out of my hand. 29 My Father gave my sheep to me. He is greater than all, and no person can steal my sheep out of my Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.”
31 Again the Jews picked up stones to kill Jesus. 32 But Jesus said to them, “I have done many good works from the Father. Which of these good works are you killing me for?”
33 The Jews answered, “We are not killing you for any good work you did. But you say things that are against God. You are only a man, but you say you are the same as God!”
34 Jesus answered, “It is written in your law that God said, ‘I have said you are gods!’[a] 35 This Scripture called those people gods, the people who received God’s message. And Scripture is always true. 36 So why do you say that I speak against God because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? I am the one God chose and sent into the world. 37 If I don’t do what my Father does, then don’t believe me. 38 But if I do what my Father does, even though you don’t believe in me, believe what I do. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
39 They tried to take Jesus again, but he escaped from them.
40 Then Jesus went back across the Jordan River to the place where John had first baptized. Jesus stayed there, 41 and many people came to him. They said, “John never did a miracle. But everything John said about this man is true.” 42 And in that place many believed in Jesus.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.