Luke 11:29-54

New Life Version

Jesus Tells about Jonah ^(A)

²⁹ When the people were gathered near Jesus, He said, “The people of this day are sinful. They are looking for something special to see. They will get nothing special to see, except what Jonah the early preacher did. ³⁰ As Jonah was something special to the people of the city of Nineveh, the Son of Man will be to the people of this day also. ³¹ The queen of the south will stand up on the day men stand before God. She will say the people of this day are guilty because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wise sayings of Solomon. And look, Someone greater than Solomon is here! ³² The men of Nineveh will stand up on the day men stand before God. They will say the people of this day are guilty because the men of Nineveh were sorry for their sins and turned from them when Jonah preached. And look, Someone greater than Jonah is here!

Jesus Teaches about Light

³³ “No man lights a lamp and then hides it under a pail. He puts the light on a lamp-stand so those who come in can see it. ³⁴ The eye is the light of the body. When your eye is good, your whole body is full of light. When your eye is sinful, your whole body is full of darkness. ³⁵ Be careful that the light in you is not dark. ³⁶ If your whole body is full of light, with no dark part, then it will shine. It will be as a lamp that gives light.”

Jesus Speaks Sharp Words to the Proud Religious Law-Keeper

³⁷ As Jesus was talking, a proud religious law-keeper asked Him to eat with him. Jesus went to the man’s house and took His place at the table. ³⁸ The proud religious law-keeper was surprised and wondered why Jesus had not washed before He ate. ³⁹ But the Lord said to him, “You proud religious law-keepers make the outside of the cup and plate clean, but inside you are full of stealing and sinning. ⁴⁰ You are foolish. Did not He that made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹ Give yourself as a gift and then you will be clean.

⁴² “It is bad for you, proud religious law-keepers! You give one-tenth part of your spices. But you give no thought to what is right and to the love of God. You should do both of these.

⁴³ “It is bad for you, proud religious law-keepers! For you like to have the important seats in the places of worship. You like to have people speak good-sounding words to you as you are in the center of town where people gather. ⁴⁴ It is bad for you, teachers of the Law and proud religious law-keepers and you who pretend to be someone you are not! For you are like graves that are hidden. Men walk on graves without knowing they are there.”

Jesus Speaks Sharp Words to the Men Who Knew the Law

⁴⁵ One of the men who knew the Law said to Jesus, “Teacher, You are making us look bad when You speak like this.” ⁴⁶ Jesus said, “It is bad for you also, you men who know the Law! For you put heavy loads on the shoulders of men. But you will not even put your finger on one of these loads to help them. ⁴⁷ It is bad for you! For you make beautiful buildings for the graves of the early preachers your fathers killed. ⁴⁸ You are saying what your fathers did was good, because they killed the early preachers and you are making their graves.

⁴⁹ “For this reason the wisdom of God has said, ‘I will send them early preachers and missionaries. Some they will kill and some they will make it very hard for.’ ⁵⁰ The blood of all the early preachers from the beginning of the world is on the people of this day. ⁵¹ It will be from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharias, the one who died between the altar and the house of God. For sure, I tell you, the people of this day will be guilty for this.

⁵² “It is bad for you men who know the Law! For you have locked the door to the house of learning. You are not going in yourselves and you do not allow those to go in who are about to go in.”

⁵³ As Jesus went away from there, the teachers of the Law and the proud religious law-keepers were very angry and tried to make Him say many things. ⁵⁴ They planned against Jesus and tried to trap Him with something He might say.