The Sign of Jonah
29 As the crowds were increasing, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.
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For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so the Son of Man will be a sign to this generation.
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The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and now One greater than Solomon is here.
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The men of Nineveh will stand at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now One greater than Jonah is here.
The Lamp of the Body
33 No one lights a lamp and puts it in a cellar or under a basket. Instead, he sets it on a stand, so those who enter can see the light.
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Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body is full of darkness.
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Be careful, then, that the light within you is not darkness.
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So if your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, you will be radiant, as though a lamp were shining on you.”
Woes to Pharisees and Experts in the Law
37 As Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee invited Him to dine with him; so He went in and reclined at the table.
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But the Pharisee was surprised to see that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.
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Then the Lord said, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.
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You fools! Did not the One who made the outside make the inside as well?
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But give as alms the things that are within you, and behold, everything will be clean for you.
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Woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithes of mint, rue, and every herb, but you disregard justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former.
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Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the chief seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces.
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Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without even noticing.”
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One of the experts in the law told Him, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us as well.”
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“Woe to you as well, experts in the law!” He replied. “For you weigh men down with heavy burdens, but you yourselves will not lift a finger to lighten their load.
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Woe to you! For you build tombs for the prophets, but it was your fathers who killed them.
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So you are witnesses consenting to the deeds of your fathers: They killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.
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Because of this, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles; some of them they will kill and others they will persecute.’
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As a result, this generation will be charged with the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the foundation of the world,
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from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, all of it will be charged to this generation.
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Woe to you experts in the law! For you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”
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As Jesus went on from there, the scribes and Pharisees began to oppose Him bitterly and to ply Him with questions about many things,
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waiting to catch Him in something He might say.