Don’t Be Like the Pharisees

12 Many thousands of people came together. There were so many people that they were stepping on each other. Before Jesus spoke to the people, he said to his followers, “Be careful of the yeast of the Pharisees. I mean that they are hypocrites. ² Everything that is hidden will be shown, and everything that is secret will be made known. ³ What you say in the dark will be told in the light. And what you whisper in a private room will be shouted from the top of the house.”

Fear Only God^(A)

⁴ Then Jesus said to the people, “I tell you, my friends, don’t be afraid of people. They can kill the body, but after that they can do nothing more to hurt you. ⁵ I will show you the one to fear. You should fear God, who has the power to kill you and also to throw you into hell. Yes, he is the one you should fear.

⁶ “When birds are sold, five small birds cost only two pennies. But God does not forget any of them. ⁷ Yes, God even knows how many hairs you have on your head. Don’t be afraid. You are worth much more than many birds.

Don’t Be Ashamed of Your Faith^(B)

⁸ “I tell you, if you stand before others and are willing to say you believe in me, then I^[a] will say that you belong to me. I will say this in the presence of God’s angels. ⁹ But if you stand before others and say you do not believe in me, then I will say that you do not belong to me. I will say this in the presence of God’s angels.

¹⁰ “Whoever says something against the Son of Man can be forgiven. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

¹¹ “When men bring you into the synagogues before the leaders and other important men, don’t worry about what you will say. ¹² The Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”

Jesus Warns Against Selfishness

¹³ One of the men in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, our father just died and left some things for us. Tell my brother to share them with me.”

¹⁴ But Jesus said to him, “Who said I should be your judge or decide how to divide your father’s things between you two?” ¹⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “Be careful and guard against all kinds of greed. People do not get life from the many things they own.”

¹⁶ Then Jesus used this story: “There was a rich man who had some land. His land grew a very good crop of food. ¹⁷ He thought to himself, ‘What will I do? I have no place to keep all my crops.’

¹⁸ “Then he said, ‘I know what I will do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger barns! I will put all my wheat and good things together in my new barns. ¹⁹ Then I can say to myself, I have many good things stored. I have saved enough for many years. Rest, eat, drink, and enjoy life!’

²⁰ “But God said to that man, ‘Foolish man! Tonight you will die. So what about the things you prepared for yourself? Who will get those things now?’

²¹ “This is how it will be for anyone who saves things only for himself. To God that person is not rich.”

Put God’s Kingdom First^(C)

²² Jesus said to his followers, “So I tell you, don’t worry about the things you need to live—what you will eat or what you will wear. ²³ Life is more important than food, and the body is more important than what you put on it. ²⁴ Look at the birds. They don’t plant, harvest, or save food in houses or barns, but God feeds them. And you are worth much more than crows. ²⁵ None of you can add any time to your life by worrying about it. ²⁶ And if you can’t do the little things, why worry about the big things?

²⁷ “Think about how the wildflowers grow. They don’t work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that even Solomon, the great and rich king, was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers. ²⁸ If God makes what grows in the field so beautiful, what do you think he will do for you? That’s just grass—one day it’s alive, and the next day someone throws it into a fire. But God cares enough to make it beautiful. Surely he will do much more for you. Your faith is so small!

²⁹ “So don’t always think about what you will eat or what you will drink. Don’t worry about it. ³⁰ That’s what all those people who don’t know God are always thinking about. But your Father knows that you need these things. ³¹ What you should be thinking about is God’s kingdom. Then he will give you all these other things you need.

Don’t Trust in Money

³² “Don’t fear, little flock. Your Father wants to share his kingdom with you. ³³ Sell the things you have and give that money to those who need it. This is the only way you can keep your riches from being lost. You will be storing treasure in heaven that lasts forever. Thieves can’t steal that treasure, and moths can’t destroy it. ³⁴ Your heart will be where your treasure is.

Always Be Ready^(D)

³⁵ “Be ready! Be fully dressed and have your lights shining. ³⁶ Be like servants who are waiting for their master to come home from a wedding party. The master comes and knocks, and the servants immediately open the door for him. ³⁷ When their master sees that they are ready and waiting for him, it will be a great day for those servants. I can tell you without a doubt, the master will get himself ready to serve a meal and tell the servants to sit down. Then he will serve them. ³⁸ Those servants might have to wait until midnight or later for their master. But they will be glad they did when he comes in and finds them still waiting.

³⁹ “What would a homeowner do if he knew when a thief was coming? You know he would not let the thief break in. ⁴⁰ So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at a time when you don’t expect him!”

Who Is the Trusted Servant?^(E)

⁴¹ Peter said, “Lord, did you tell this story for us or for all people?”

⁴² The Lord said, “Who is the wise and trusted servant? The master trusts one servant to give the other servants their food at the right time. Who is the servant that the master trusts to do that work? ⁴³ When the master comes and finds him doing the work he gave him, it will be a day of blessing for that servant! ⁴⁴ I can tell you without a doubt, the master will choose that servant to take care of everything he owns.

⁴⁵ “But what will happen if that servant is evil and thinks his master will not come back soon? He will begin to beat the other servants, men and women. He will eat and drink until he has had too much. ⁴⁶ Then the master will come when the servant is not ready, at a time when the servant is not expecting him. Then the master will punish that servant and send him away to be with the other people who don’t obey.

⁴⁷ “That servant knew what his master wanted him to do. But he did not make himself ready or try to do what his master wanted. So that servant will be punished very much! ⁴⁸ But what about the servant who does not know what his master wants? He also does things that deserve punishment. But he will get less punishment than the servant who knew what he should do. Whoever has been given much will be responsible for much. Much more will be expected from the one who has been given more.”

Following Jesus May Bring You Trouble^(F)

⁴⁹ Jesus continued speaking: “I came to bring fire to the world. I wish it were already burning! ⁵⁰ There is a kind of baptism^[b] that I must suffer through. I feel very troubled until it is finished. ⁵¹ Do you think I came to give peace to the world? No, I came to divide the world! ⁵² From now on, a family of five will be divided, three against two, and two against three.

Understanding the Times^(G)

⁵⁴ Then Jesus said to the people, “When you see clouds growing bigger in the west, you say, ‘A rainstorm is coming.’ And soon it begins to rain. ⁵⁵ When you feel the wind begin to blow from the south, you say, ‘It will be a hot day.’ And you are right. ⁵⁶ You hypocrites! You can understand the weather. Why don’t you understand what is happening now?

Settle Your Problems^(H)

⁵⁷ “Why can’t you decide for yourselves what is right? ⁵⁸ Suppose someone is suing you, and you are both going to court. Try hard to settle it on the way. If you don’t settle it, you may have to go before the judge. And the judge will hand you over to the officer, who will throw you into jail. ⁵⁹ I tell you, you will not get out of there until you have paid every cent you owe.”

Change Your Hearts

13 Some people there with Jesus at that time told him about what had happened to some worshipers from Galilee. Pilate had them killed. Their blood was mixed with the blood of the animals they had brought for sacrificing. ² Jesus answered, “Do you think this happened to those people because they were more sinful than all other people from Galilee? ³ No, they were not. But if you don’t decide now to change your lives, you will all be destroyed like those people! ⁴ And what about those 18 people who died when the tower of Siloam fell on them? Do you think they were more sinful than everyone else in Jerusalem? ⁵ They were not. But I tell you if you don’t decide now to change your lives, you will all be destroyed too!”

The Useless Tree

⁶ Jesus told this story: “A man had a fig tree. He planted it in his garden. He came looking for some fruit on it, but he found none. ⁷ He had a servant who took care of his garden. So he said to his servant, ‘I have been looking for fruit on this tree for three years, but I never find any. Cut it down! Why should it waste the ground?’ ⁸ But the servant answered, ‘Master, let the tree have one more year to produce fruit. Let me dig up the dirt around it and fertilize it. ⁹ Maybe the tree will have fruit on it next year. If it still does not produce, then you can cut it down.’”

Jesus Heals a Woman on the Sabbath

¹⁰ Jesus taught in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath day. ¹¹ A woman was there who had an evil spirit inside her. It had made the woman crippled for 18 years. Her back was always bent; she could not stand up straight. ¹² When Jesus saw her, he called to her, “Woman, you have been made free from your sickness!” ¹³ He laid his hands on her, and immediately she was able to stand up straight. She began praising God.

¹⁴ The synagogue leader was angry because Jesus healed on the Sabbath day. He said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come to be healed on one of those days. Don’t come for healing on the Sabbath day.”

¹⁵ The Lord answered, “You people are hypocrites! All of you untie your work animals and lead them to drink water every day—even on the Sabbath day. ¹⁶ This woman that I healed is a true descendant of Abraham.^[c] But Satan has held her for 18 years. Surely it is not wrong for her to be made free from her sickness on a Sabbath day!” ¹⁷ When Jesus said this, all those who were criticizing him felt ashamed of themselves. And all the people were happy for the wonderful things he was doing.

What Is God’s Kingdom Like?^(I)

¹⁸ Then Jesus said, “What is God’s kingdom like? What can I compare it to? ¹⁹ God’s kingdom is like the seed of the mustard plant. Someone plants this seed in their garden. The seed grows and becomes a tree, and the birds build nests on its branches.”

²⁰ Jesus said again, “What can I compare God’s kingdom with? ²¹ It is like yeast that a woman mixes into a big bowl of flour to make bread. The yeast makes all the dough rise.”

The Narrow Door^(J)

²² Jesus was teaching in every town and village. He continued to travel toward Jerusalem. ²³ Someone said to him, “Lord, how many people will be saved? Only a few?”

Jesus said, ²⁴ “The door to heaven is narrow. Try hard to enter it. Many people will want to enter there, but they will not be able to go in. ²⁵ If a man locks the door of his house, you can stand outside and knock on the door, but he won’t open it. You can say, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you. Where did you come from?’ ²⁶ Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you. You taught in the streets of our town.’ ²⁷ Then he will say to you, ‘I don’t know you. Where did you come from? Get away from me! You are all people who do wrong!’

²⁸ “You will see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in God’s kingdom. But you will be left outside. There you will cry and grind your teeth with pain. ²⁹ People will come from the east, west, north, and south. They will sit down at the table in God’s kingdom. ³⁰ People who have the lowest place in life now will have the highest place in God’s kingdom. And people who have the highest place now will have the lowest place in God’s kingdom.”

Jesus Will Die in Jerusalem^(K)

³¹ Just then some Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Go away from here and hide. Herod wants to kill you!”

³² Jesus said to them, “Go tell that fox,^[d] ‘Today and tomorrow I am forcing demons out of people and finishing my work of healing. Then, the next day, the work will be finished.’ ³³ After that I must go, because all prophets should die in Jerusalem.

³⁴ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets. You stone to death the people God has sent to you. How many times I wanted to help your people. I wanted to gather them together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you did not let me. ³⁵ Now your home will be left completely empty. I tell you, you will not see me again until that time when you will say, ‘Welcome! God bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’^[e]”