New Testament in a Year

Jesus Speaks to His Disciples

12 Meanwhile, thousands of people had gathered. They were so crowded that they stepped on each other. Jesus spoke to his disciples and said, “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees. I’m talking about their hypocrisy. ² Nothing has been covered that will not be exposed. Whatever is secret will be made known. ³ Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight. Whatever you have whispered in private rooms will be shouted from the housetops.

⁴ “My friends, I can guarantee that you don’t need to be afraid of those who kill the body. After that they can’t do anything more. ⁵ I’ll show you the one you should be afraid of. Be afraid of the one who has the power to throw you into hell after killing you. I’m warning you to be afraid of him.

⁶ “Aren’t five sparrows sold for two cents? God doesn’t forget any of them. ⁷ Even every hair on your head has been counted. Don’t be afraid! You are worth more than many sparrows. ⁸ I can guarantee that the Son of Man will acknowledge in front of God’s angels every person who acknowledges him in front of others. ⁹ But God’s angels will be told that I don’t know those people who tell others that they don’t know me. ¹⁰ Everyone who says something against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But the person who dishonors the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

¹¹ “When you are put on trial in synagogues or in front of rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say. ¹² At that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you must say.”

A Story about Material Possessions

¹³ Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to give me my share of the inheritance that our father left us.”

¹⁴ Jesus said to him, “Who appointed me to be your judge or to divide ⌞your inheritance⌟?”

¹⁵ He told the people, “Be careful to guard yourselves from every kind of greed. Life is not about having a lot of material possessions.”

¹⁶ Then he used this illustration. He said, “A rich man had land that produced good crops. ¹⁷ He thought, ‘What should I do? I don’t have enough room to store my crops.’ ¹⁸ He said, ‘I know what I’ll do. I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones so that I can store all my grain and goods in them. ¹⁹ Then I’ll say to myself, “You’ve stored up a lot of good things for years to come. Take life easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.” ’

²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! I will demand your life from you tonight! Now who will get what you’ve accumulated?’ ²¹ That’s how it is when a person has material riches but is not rich in his relationship with God.”

Stop Worrying^(A)

²² Then Jesus said to his disciples, “So I tell you to stop worrying about what you will eat or wear. ²³ Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes. ²⁴ Consider the crows. They don’t plant or harvest. They don’t even have a storeroom or a barn. Yet, God feeds them. You are worth much more than birds.

²⁵ “Can any of you add an hour to your life by worrying? ²⁶ If you can’t do a small thing like that, why worry about other things? ²⁷ Consider how the flowers grow. They never work or spin yarn for clothes. But I say that not even Solomon in all his majesty was dressed like one of these flowers. ²⁸ That’s the way God clothes the grass in the field. Today it’s alive, and tomorrow it’s thrown into an incinerator. So how much more will he clothe you people who have so little faith?

²⁹ “Don’t concern yourself about what you will eat or drink, and quit worrying about these things. ³⁰ Everyone in the world is concerned about these things, but your Father knows you need them. ³¹ Rather, be concerned about his kingdom. Then these things will be provided for you.