Read the Gospels in 40 Days
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
25 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be like ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were wise and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps, but took no oil with them. 4 But the wise took jars of oil with their lamps. 5 While the bridegroom delayed, they all rested and slept.
6 “But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out to meet him!’
7 “Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 But the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps have gone out.’
9 “The wise answered, ‘No, lest there not be enough for us and you. Go rather to those who sell it, and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “But while they went to buy some, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
11 “Afterward, the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us.’
12 “But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’
13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
The Parable of the Talents(A)
14 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants and entrusted his goods to them. 15 To one he gave five talents,[a] to another two, and to another one, to every man according to his ability. And immediately he took his journey. 16 He who had received the five talents went and traded with them and made another five talents. 17 So also, he who had received two gained another two. 18 But he who had received one went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 He who had received five talents came and brought the other five talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted to me five talents. Look, I have gained five talents more.’
21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, you good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter the joy of your master.’
22 “He who had received two talents also came and said, ‘Master, you entrusted me with two talents. See, I have gained two more talents besides them.’
23 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, you good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter the joy of your master.’
24 “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Master, I knew that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not winnow. 25 So I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’
26 “His master answered, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not winnowed. 27 Then you ought to have given my money to the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.
28 “ ‘So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from him who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And throw the unprofitable servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
The Judgment of the Nations
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 Before Him will be gathered all nations, and He will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates his sheep from the goats. 33 He will set the sheep at His right hand, but the goats at the left.
34 “Then the King will say to those at His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in. 36 I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 And when did we see You sick or in prison and come to You?’
40 “The King will answer, ‘Truly I say to you, as you have done it for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you have done it for Me.’
41 “Then He will say to those at the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
44 “Then they also will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not serve You?’
45 “He will answer, ‘Truly I say to you, as you did it not for one of the least of these, you did it not for Me.’
46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
The Plot to Kill Jesus(B)
26 When Jesus had finished all these sayings, He said to His disciples, 2 “You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to be crucified.”
3 Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, 4 and took counsel that they might take Jesus covertly and kill Him. 5 But they said, “Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people.”
The Anointing at Bethany(C)
6 When Jesus was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came to Him having an alabaster jar of very expensive ointment and poured it on His head as He sat at supper.
8 When His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “For what purpose is this waste? 9 This ointment might have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.”
10 When Jesus perceived it, He said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? She has done a good work for Me. 11 For you have the poor always with you, but you do not always have Me. 12 In pouring this ointment on My body, she did it for My burial. 13 Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will be told in memory of her.”
Judas’ Agreement to Betray Jesus(D)
14 Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said to them, “What will you give me if I hand Him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. 16 From that moment he searched for an opportunity to betray Him.
The Passover With the Disciples(E)
17 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will You have us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”
18 He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.’ ” 19 The disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover.
20 When evening came, He sat down with the twelve. 21 And as they were eating, He said, “Truly I say to you, one of you will betray Me.”
22 They were very sorrowful, and each of them began saying to Him, “Lord, is it I?”
23 He answered and said, “He who has dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me. 24 The Son of Man goes as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”
25 Then Judas, who betrayed Him, answered, “Master, is it I?”
He said to him, “You have said it.”
The Lord’s Supper(F)
26 As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take and eat. This is My body.”
27 Then He took the cup, and after He gave thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29 I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Peter’s Denial Foretold(G)
31 Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will fall away on account of Me this night, for it is written:
‘I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.’[b]
32 But after I have risen, I will go before you to Galilee.”
33 Peter answered, “Though all men will fall away on account of You, yet I will never fall away.”
34 Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”
35 Peter said to Him, “Though I should die with You, yet I will not deny You.” And all the disciples spoke in this manner.
The Prayer in Gethsemane(H)
36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray close by.” 37 He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then He said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Wait here, and keep watch with Me.”
39 He went a little farther, and falling on His face, He prayed, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
40 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, could you not keep watch with Me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42 He went away a second time and prayed, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.”
43 Again, He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So leaving them again, He went away and prayed the third time, saying the same words.
45 Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Sleep on now, and take your rest. Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going. Look, he who betrays Me is at hand.”
The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus(I)
47 While He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, came. And with him was a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and elders of the people. 48 Now he who betrayed Him had given them a sign, saying, “Whomever I shall kiss is the Man. Seize Him.” 49 He immediately came to Jesus and said, “Hail, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.
50 And Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?”
Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him. 51 Immediately, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.
52 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back in its place. For all those who take up the sword will perish by the sword. 53 Do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will at once give Me more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?”
55 At that same moment Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a thief to take Me with swords and clubs? Daily I sat with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me. 56 But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.
Jesus Before the Sanhedrin(J)
57 Those who had seized Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had assembled. 58 But Peter followed Him from afar to the high priest’s courtyard and went in, and sat with the servants to see the end.
59 The chief priests and the elders and the entire Sanhedrin searched for false witness against Jesus to put Him to death, 60 but they found none. Yes, though many false witnesses came forward, they found none.
At last two false witnesses came forward 61 and said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’ ”
62 Then the high priest stood up and said to Him, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” 63 But Jesus remained silent.
The high priest said to Him, “I adjure You by the living God, tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.”
64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
65 Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further need do we have for witnesses? See, now you have heard His blasphemy. 66 What do you think?”
They answered, “He is guilty unto death.”
67 Then they spat in His face and struck Him. And others slapped Him with the palms of their hands, 68 saying, “Prophesy to us, You Christ! Who is it that struck You?”
Peter’s Denial of Jesus(K)
69 Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard. And a girl came to him, saying, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.”
70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are saying.”
71 Then when he went out onto the porch, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was also with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72 Again he denied with an oath, “I do not know the Man.”
73 After a while those who stood by came to Peter and said, “Surely you also are one of them, for your accent betrays you.”
74 Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and he swore, “I do not know the Man.”
Then immediately a rooster crowed. 75 Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken, “Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” Then he went out and wept bitterly.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.