Matthew 23; Luke 20; Luke 21

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Matthew 23

1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,

2 "The scribes and the Pharisees teach with Moses' authority.

3 So be careful to do everything they tell you. But don't follow their example, because they don't practice what they preach.

4 They make loads that are hard to carry and lay them on the shoulders of the people. However, they are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

5 "They do everything to attract people's attention. They make their headbands large and the tassels on their shawls long.

6 They love the place of honor at dinners and the front seats in synagogues.

7 They love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have people call them Rabbi.

8 But don't make others call you Rabbi, because you have only one teacher, and you are all followers.

9 And don't call anyone on earth your father, because you have only one Father, and he is in heaven.

10 Don't make others call you a leader, because you have only one leader, the Messiah.

11 The person who is greatest among you will be your servant.

12 Whoever honors himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be honored.

13 "How horrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. You don't enter it yourselves, and you don't permit others to enter when they try.

15 "How horrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You cross land and sea to recruit a single follower, and when you do, you make that person twice as fit for hell as you are.

16 "How horrible it will be for you, you blind guides! You say, 'To swear an oath by the temple doesn't mean a thing. But to swear an oath by the gold in the temple means a person must keep his oath.'

17 You blind fools! What is more important, the gold or the temple that made the gold holy?

18 Again you say, 'To swear an oath by the altar doesn't mean a thing. But to swear an oath by the gift on the altar means a person must keep his oath.'

19 You blind men! What is more important, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy?

20 To swear an oath by the altar is to swear by it and by everything on it.

21 To swear an oath by the temple is to swear by it and by the one who lives there.

22 And to swear an oath by heaven is to swear by God's throne and the one who sits on it.

23 "How horrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You give [God] one-tenth of your mint, dill, and cumin. But you have neglected justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These are the most important things in Moses' Teachings. You should have done these things without neglecting the others.

24 You blind guides! You strain gnats [out of your wine], but you swallow camels.

25 "How horrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You clean the outside of cups and dishes. But inside they are full of greed and uncontrolled desires.

26 You blind Pharisees! First clean the inside of the cups and dishes so that the outside may also be clean.

27 "How horrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You are like whitewashed graves that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead people's bones and every kind of impurity.

28 So on the outside you look as though you have God's approval, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

29 "How horrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of those who had God's approval.

30 Then you say, 'If we had lived at the time of our ancestors, we would not have helped to murder the prophets.'

31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.

32 Go ahead, finish what your ancestors started!

33 "You snakes! You poisonous snakes! How can you escape being condemned to hell?

34 I'm sending you prophets, wise men, and teachers of the Scriptures. You will kill and crucify some of them. Others you will whip in your synagogues and persecute from city to city.

35 As a result, you will be held accountable for all the innocent blood of those murdered on earth, from the murder of righteous Abel to that of Zechariah, son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

36 I can guarantee this truth: The people living now will be held accountable for all these things.

37 "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you kill the prophets and stone to death those sent to you! How often I wanted to gather your children together the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings! But you were not willing!

38 Your house will be abandoned, deserted.

39 I can guarantee that you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!'"

Luke 20

1 One day Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courtyard and telling them the Good News. The chief priests, scribes, and leaders came up to him.

2 They asked him, "Tell us, what gives you the right to do these things? Who told you that you could do this?"

3 Jesus answered them, "I, too, have a question for you. Tell me,

4 did John's right to baptize come from heaven or from humans?"

5 They talked about this among themselves. They said, "If we say, 'from heaven,' he will ask, 'Why didn't you believe him?'

6 But if we say, 'from humans,' everyone will stone us to death. They're convinced that John was a prophet."

7 So they answered that they didn't know who gave John the right to baptize.

8 Jesus told them, "Then I won't tell you why I have the right to do these things."

9 Then, using this illustration, Jesus spoke to the people: "A man planted a vineyard, leased it to vineyard workers, and went on a long trip.

10 "At the right time he sent a servant to the workers to obtain from them a share of the grapes from the vineyard. But the workers beat the servant and sent him back with nothing.

11 So he sent a different servant. The workers beat him, treated him shamefully, and sent him back with nothing.

12 Then he sent a third servant. But they injured this one and threw him out [of the vineyard].

13 "Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What should I do? I'll send my son, whom I love. They'll probably respect him.'

14 "When the workers saw him, they talked it over among themselves. They said, 'This is the heir. Let's kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.'

15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. "What will the owner of the vineyard do to them?

16 He will destroy these workers and give the vineyard to others." Those who heard him said, "That's unthinkable!"

17 Then Jesus looked straight at them and asked, "What, then, does this Scripture verse mean: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone'?

18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken. If that stone falls on anyone, it will crush that person."

19 The scribes and the chief priests wanted to arrest him right there, but they were afraid of the people. They knew that he had directed this illustration at them.

20 So they watched for an opportunity to send out some spies. The spies were to act like sincere religious people. They wanted to catch him saying the wrong thing so that they could hand him over to the governor.

21 They asked him, "Teacher, we know that you're right in what you say and teach. Besides, you don't play favorites. Rather, you teach the way of God truthfully.

22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to the emperor or not?"

23 He saw through their scheme, so he said to them,

24 "Show me a coin. Whose face and name is this?" They answered, "The emperor's."

25 He said to them, "Well, then give the emperor what belongs to the emperor, and give God what belongs to God."

26 They couldn't make him say anything wrong in front of the people. His answer surprised them, so they said no more.

27 Some Sadducees, who say that people will never come back to life, came to Jesus. They asked him,

28 "Teacher, Moses wrote for us, 'If a married man dies and has no children, his brother should marry his widow and have children for his brother.'

29 There were seven brothers. The first got married and died without having children.

30 Then the second brother married the widow,

31 and so did the third. In the same way all seven brothers married the widow, died, and left no children.

32 Finally, the woman died.

33 Now, when the dead come back to life, whose wife will she be? The seven brothers had married her."

34 Jesus said to them, "In this world people get married.

35 But people who are considered worthy to come back to life and live in the next world will neither marry

36 nor die anymore. They are the same as the angels. They are God's children who have come back to life.

37 "Even Moses showed in the passage about the bush that the dead come back to life. He says that the Lord is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

38 He's not the God of the dead but of the living. In God's sight all people are living."

39 Some scribes responded, "Teacher, that was well said."

40 From that time on, no one dared to ask him another question.

41 Jesus said to them, "How can people say that the Messiah is David's son?

42 David says in the book of Psalms, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Take the highest position in heaven

43 until I make your enemies your footstool."'

44 David calls him Lord. So how can he be his son?"

45 While all the people were listening, Jesus said to the disciples,

46 "Beware of the scribes! They like to walk around in long robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces, to have the front seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at dinners.

47 They rob widows by taking their houses and then say long prayers to make themselves look good. The scribes will receive the most severe punishment."

Luke 21

1 Looking up, Jesus saw people, especially the rich, dropping their gifts into the temple offering box.

2 He noticed a poor widow drop in two small coins.

3 He said, "I can guarantee this truth: This poor widow has given more than all the others.

4 All of these people have given what they could spare. But she, in her poverty, has given everything she had to live on."

5 Some [of the disciples] were talking about the temple complex. They noted that it was built with fine stones and decorated with beautiful gifts. So Jesus said,

6 "About these buildings that you see--the time will come when not one of these stones will be left on top of another. Each one will be torn down."

7 The disciples asked him, "Teacher, when will this happen? What will be the sign when all this will occur?"

8 Jesus said, "Be careful that you are not deceived. Many will come using my name. They will say, 'I am he!' and 'The time is near.' Don't follow them!

9 "When you hear of wars and revolutions, don't be terrified! These things must happen first, but the end will not come immediately."

10 Then Jesus continued, "Nation will fight against nation and kingdom against kingdom.

11 There will be terrible earthquakes, famines, and dreadful diseases in various places. Terrifying sights and miraculous signs will come from the sky.

12 "Before all these things happen, people will arrest and persecute you. They will hand you over to their synagogues and put you into their prisons. They will drag you in front of kings and governors because of my name.

13 It will be your opportunity to testify to them.

14 So make up your minds not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves.

15 I will give you words and wisdom that none of your enemies will be able to oppose or prove wrong.

16 "Even parents, brothers, relatives, and friends will betray you and kill some of you.

17 Everyone will hate you because you are committed to me.

18 But not a hair on your head will be lost.

19 By your endurance you will save your life.

20 "When you see armies camped around Jerusalem, realize that the time is near for it to be destroyed.

21 Then those of you in Judea should flee to the mountains. Those of you in Jerusalem should leave it. Those of you in the fields shouldn't go back into them.

22 This will be a time of vengeance. Everything that is written about it will come true.

23 "How horrible it will be for women who are pregnant or who are nursing babies in those days. Indeed, the land will suffer very hard times, and its people will be punished.

24 Swords will cut them down, and they will be carried off into all nations as prisoners. Nations will trample Jerusalem until the times allowed for the nations [to do this] are over.

25 "Miraculous signs will occur in the sun, moon, and stars. The nations of the earth will be deeply troubled and confused because of the roaring and tossing of the sea.

26 People will faint as they fearfully wait for what will happen to the world. Indeed, the powers of the universe will be shaken.

27 "Then people will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

28 "When these things begin to happen, stand with confidence! The time when you will be set free is near."

29 Then Jesus used this story as an illustration. "Look at the fig tree or any other tree.

30 As soon as leaves grow on them, you know without being told that summer is near.

31 In the same way, when you see these things happen, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

32 "I can guarantee this truth: This generation will not disappear until all this takes place.

33 The earth and the heavens will disappear, but my words will never disappear.

34 "Make sure that you don't become drunk, hung over, and worried about life. Then that day could suddenly catch you by surprise

35 like a trap that catches a bird. That day will surprise all people who live on the earth.

36 Be alert at all times. Pray so that you have the power to escape everything that is about to happen and to stand in front of the Son of Man."

37 During the day Jesus would teach in the temple courtyard. But at night he would go to the Mount of Olives (as it was called) and spend the night there.

38 All of the people would get up early to hear him speak in the temple courtyard.

Matthew 23; Luke 20; Luke 21

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Matthew 23

Luke 20

Luke 21