Read the Gospels in 40 Days
Do Not Do As They Do
23 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples. 2 He said, “The experts in the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So practice and observe whatever they tell you. But do not do as they do, because they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy loads, burdens that are hard to carry, and place them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to help them. 5 They do all their works to be seen by people. They make their phylacteries[a] wide and lengthen the fringes of their garments. 6 They love the place of honor at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, 7 the greetings in the marketplaces, and being called ‘Rabbi’ by people. 8 But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 Also do not call anyone on earth your ‘Father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 And you are not to be called ‘leaders,’ for you have one Leader, the Christ. 11 But the greatest among you will be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Woes and Warnings
13 “But woe to you, experts in the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven right in front of people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor do you permit those who are trying to enter to do so.[b] 15 Woe to you, experts in the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel the sea and the land to make one convert, and then when he is converted, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.
16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated.’ 17 You blind fools! After all, which is greater: the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? 18 And you say, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obligated.’ 19 You blind men! After all, which is greater: the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? 20 So whoever swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it. 21 Also, whoever swears by the temple, swears by it and by him who dwells in it. 22 And whoever swears by heaven, swears by God’s throne and by him who sits on it.
23 “Woe to you, experts in the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give ten percent of your mint, dill, and cumin, but you have neglected the more important matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. You should have done these things and not failed to do the other things. 24 Blind guides, you strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!
25 “Woe to you, experts in the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of a cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and dish so that the outside may become clean too.
27 “Woe to you, experts in the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that appear beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead people’s bones and every kind of uncleanness. 28 In the same way, on the outside you seem righteous to people, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
29 “Woe to you, experts in the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have joined with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 By saying this you testify against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you offspring of vipers, how will you escape being condemned to hell?
34 “Look, this is why I am sending you prophets, wise men, and experts in the law. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town. 35 As a result, you will be held responsible for all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Amen I tell you: All these things will come upon this generation.
37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 38 Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will certainly not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”[c]
The Destruction of Jerusalem and the End of the World
24 As Jesus left the temple and was walking away, his disciples came up to him to call his attention to the temple buildings. 2 Then he replied to them, “Do you see all of these things? Amen I tell you: Not one stone here will be left on another that will not be thrown down.”
3 While he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the world?”
4 Jesus answered them, “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 Because many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will deceive many people. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because all these things must happen; but that is not yet the end. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 But all these things are only the beginning of birth pains. 9 Then they will hand you over to be persecuted, and they will put you to death. You will be hated by all nations because of my name. 10 Then many will fall away from faith. They will betray each other and hate each other. 11 Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because lawlessness will increase, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But whoever endures to the end will be saved. 14 This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
15 “Therefore when you see the abomination that causes desolation, that was spoken of through the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place—let the reader understand— 16 then those who are in Judea should flee to the mountains. 17 The one on the housetop should not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 The one who is in the field should not return to get his clothes. 19 How terrible it will be for those who are pregnant or are nursing babies in those days! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in the winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For at that time there will be great distress, unlike any that has happened since the beginning of the world until now, and unlike any that will happen again. 22 If those days were not shortened, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened.
23 “At that time if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There he is,’ do not believe it. 24 For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive even the elect, if it were possible.
25 “See, I have told you in advance. 26 So if they tell you, ‘Look! There he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out there, or ‘Look! Here he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 Just as the lightning flashes from the east and shines as far as the west, so it will be when the Son of Man comes. 28 Wherever the carcass may be, there the vultures will gather.
29 “Immediately after the misery of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. And at that time all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
32 “Learn this lesson from the fig tree. When its branch has become tender and produces leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 In the same way, when you see all these things, know that he is near, right at the doors. 34 Amen I tell you: This generation[d] will certainly not pass away until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
Be Ready!
36 “No one knows when that day and hour will be, not the angels of heaven, not even the Son, but only the Father. 37 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be when the Son of Man returns. 38 In fact, in the days before the flood people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the very day that Noah entered the ark. 39 And they did not realize what was coming until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be when the Son of Man returns.
40 “At that time two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left. 42 So be alert, because you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But understand this: If the master of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 You also need to be ready for this reason: The Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect him.
45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master finds doing this when he returns. 47 Amen I tell you: He will put him in charge of all that he has. 48 But if that servant is wicked and says in his heart, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and he begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will return on a day when he does not expect it and at an hour he does not know. 51 The master will cut him in two and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.