Bible in 90 Days

The leaven of the Pharisees

16 The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tried to catch him out by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.

² This was his reply to them: “When it’s evening you say, ‘Sky looks like wine, it’s going to be fine.’ ³ And in the morning you say, ‘Red in the sky, rain by and by.’ Well then: you know how to work out the look of the sky, so why can’t you work out the signs of the times? ⁴ The generation that wants a sign is wicked and corrupt! No sign will be given to it, except the sign of Jonah.”

With that, he left them and went away.

⁵ When the disciples crossed over the lake, they forgot to bring any bread. ⁶ “Watch out,” said Jesus to them, “and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

⁷ They discussed it with each other. “It’s because we didn’t bring any bread,” they said.

⁸ But Jesus knew what they were thinking. “You really are a little-faith lot!” he said. “Why are you discussing with each other that you haven’t got any bread? ⁹ Don’t you understand, even now? Don’t you remember the five loaves and the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you picked up afterwards? ¹⁰ Or the seven loaves and the four thousand, and how many baskets you picked up? ¹¹ Why can’t you see that I wasn’t talking about bread? Watch out for the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees!”

¹² Then they understood that he wasn’t telling them to beware of the leaven you get in bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter’s declaration of Jesus’ messiahship

¹³ Jesus came to Caesarea Philippi. There he put this question to his disciples: “Who do people say that the son of man is?”

¹⁴ “John the Baptist,” they replied. “Others say Elijah. Others say Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵ “What about you?” he asked them. “Who do you say I am?”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered.

“You’re the Messiah,” he said. “You’re the son of the living God!”

¹⁷ “God’s blessing on you, Simon, son of John!” answered Jesus. “Flesh and blood didn’t reveal that to you; it was my father in heaven. ¹⁸ And I’ve got something to tell you, too: you are Peter, the rock, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell won’t overpower it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you tie up on earth will have been tied up in heaven, and whatever you untie on earth will have been untied in heaven.”

²⁰ Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Jesus predicts his death

²¹ From then on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he would have to go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised on the third day.

²² Peter took him and began to tell him off. “Certainly not, Master!” he said. “That’s never, ever going to happen to you!”

²³ Jesus turned on Peter. “Get behind me, satan!” he said. “You’re trying to trip me up! You’re coming at this from a human point of view, not from God’s point of view!”

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to come after me, they must give themselves up, and pick up their cross, and follow me. ²⁵ Yes: if someone wants to save their life, they must lose it; and if anyone loses their life for my sake they will find it. ²⁶ What use will it be, otherwise, if you win the whole world but forfeit your true life? What will you give to get your life back? ²⁷ You see, the son of man is going to ‘come in the glory of his father with his angels,’ and then ‘he will reward everyone for the work they have done.’ ²⁸ I’m telling you the truth: some of those standing here will not taste death until they see ‘the son of man coming in his kingdom.’ ”

The transfiguration

17 After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and James’s brother John, and led them off up a high mountain by themselves. ² There he was transformed in front of them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. ³ Then, astonishingly, Moses and Elijah appeared to them. They were talking with Jesus.

⁴ Peter just had to say something. “Master,” he said to Jesus, “it’s wonderful for us to be here! If you want, I’ll make three shelters here—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah!”

⁵ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Then there came a voice out of the cloud. “This is my dear son,” said the voice, “and I’m delighted with him. Pay attention to him.”

⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were scared out of their wits. ⁷ Jesus came up and touched them.

“Get up,” he said, “and don’t be afraid.”

⁸ When they raised their eyes, they saw nobody except Jesus, all by himself.

The question about Elijah

⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them strict instructions. “Don’t tell anyone about the vision,” he said, “until the son of man has been raised from the dead.”

¹⁰ “So why,” asked the disciples, “do the scribes say that ‘Elijah must come first’?”

¹¹ “Elijah does indeed come,” replied Jesus, “and ‘he will restore everything.’ ¹² But let me tell you this: Elijah has already come, and they didn’t recognize him! They did to him whatever they wanted. That’s how the son of man, too, will suffer at their hands.”

¹³ Then the disciples realized that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.

Faith that moves mountains

¹⁴ When they came near the crowd, a man approached and knelt in front of him.

¹⁵ “Master,” he said, “take pity on my son! He suffers from awful fits which are frightful for him. He often falls into the fire, and often into the water. ¹⁶ I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t cure him.”

¹⁷ “You unbelieving and twisted generation!” responded Jesus. “How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.”

¹⁸ Then Jesus rebuked the demon and it came out of him. The boy was cured from that moment.

¹⁹ The disciples came to Jesus in private. “Why couldn’t we cast it out?” they asked.

²⁰ “Because of your lack of faith,” Jesus replied. “I’m telling you the truth: if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

The Temple tax

²² As they regathered in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The son of man is going to be given over into human hands. ²³ They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.” And they were very sad.

²⁴ They came to Capernaum, where the officials who collected the Temple tax approached Peter.

“Your teacher pays the Temple tax, doesn’t he?” they asked.

²⁵ “Yes,” he replied.

When he came into the house, Jesus spoke first, “What d’you think, Simon? When the kings of the world collect taxes or duties, who do they collect them from? From their own families, or from outsiders?”

²⁶ “From outsiders,” he replied.

“Well then,” said Jesus, “that means the families are free. ²⁷ But we don’t want to give them offense, do we? So why don’t you go down to the sea and cast out a hook? The first fish you catch, open its mouth and you’ll find a coin. Take that and give it to them for the two of us.”

Humility and danger

18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus.

“So, then,” they said, “who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

² Jesus called a child and stood her in the middle of them.

³ “I’m telling you the truth,” he said. “Unless you turn inside out and become like children, you will never, ever, get into the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ So if any of you make yourselves humble like this child, you will be great in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵ And if anyone welcomes one such child in my name, they welcome me.

⁶ “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to trip up,” he went on, “it would be better for them to have a huge millstone hung around their neck and be drowned far out in the deep sea. ⁷ It’s a terrible thing for the world that people will be made to stumble. Obstacles are bound to appear and trip people up, but it will be terrible for the person who makes them come.”

More about the “little ones”

⁸ “But if your hand or your foot causes you to trip up,” Jesus continued, “cut it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter into life crippled or lame than to go into eternal fire with both hands and both feet! ⁹ And if your eye causes you to trip up, pull it out and throw it away. Going into life with one eye is better than going into hell with two!

¹⁰ “Take care not to despise one of these little ones. I tell you this: in heaven, their angels are always gazing on the face of my father who lives there.

¹² “How does it seem to you? If someone has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders off and goes missing, what will he do? He’ll leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go off after the one that’s missing, won’t he? ¹³ And when, eventually, he finds it, I’ll tell you the truth: he will celebrate over that one more than over the ninety-nine who didn’t go missing! ¹⁴ It’s the same with your father in heaven. The last thing he wants is for a single one of these little ones to be lost.”

Reconciliation and prayer in the community

¹⁵ “If another disciple sins against you,” Jesus continued, “go and have it out, just between the two of you alone. If they listen to you, you’ve won back a brother or sister. ¹⁶ But if they won’t listen, you should take with you one or two others, so that ‘everything may be established from the mouth of two or three witnesses.’ ¹⁷ If they won’t listen to them, tell it to the assembly. And if they won’t listen to the assembly, you should treat such a person like you would a Gentile or a tax-collector. ¹⁸ I’m telling you the truth: whatever you tie up on earth will have been tied up in heaven; and whatever you untie on earth will have been untied in heaven.

¹⁹ “Again, let me tell you the truth: if two of you come to an agreement on earth about any matter that you want to ask, it will be done for you by my father in heaven. ²⁰ Yes: where two or three come together in my name, I’ll be there amongst them.”

The challenge of forgiveness

²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus.

“Master,” he said, “how many times must I forgive my brother when he sins against me? As many as seven times?”

²² “I wouldn’t say seven times,” replied Jesus. “Why not—seventy times seven?

²³ “So, you see,” he went on, “the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle up accounts with his servants. ²⁴ As he was beginning to sort it all out, one man was brought before him who owed ten thousand talents. ²⁵ He had no means of paying it back, so the master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and everything he possessed, and payment to be made.

²⁶ “So the servant fell down and prostrated himself before the master.

“ ‘Be patient with me,’ he said, ‘and I’ll pay you everything!’

²⁷ “The master was very sorry for the servant, and let him off. He forgave him the loan.

²⁸ “But that servant went out and found one of his fellow-servants, who owed him a hundred dinars. He seized him and began to throttle him. ‘Pay me back what you owe me!’ he said.

²⁹ “The colleague fell down and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I’ll pay you!’

³⁰ “But he refused, and went and threw him into prison until he could pay the debt.

³¹ “So when his fellow-servants saw what had happened, they were very upset. They went and informed their master about the whole affair. ³² Then his master summoned him.

“ ‘You’re a scoundrel of a servant!’ he said to him. ‘I let you off the whole debt, because you begged me to. ³³ Shouldn’t you have taken pity on your colleague, like I took pity on you?’

³⁴ “His master was angry, and handed him over to the torturers, until he had paid the whole debt. ³⁵ And that’s what my heavenly father will do to you, unless each of you forgives your brother or sister from your heart.”

The question about divorce

19 So this is what happened next. When Jesus had finished saying all this, he went away from Galilee and came to the region of Judaea across the Jordan. ² Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

³ Some Pharisees approached him with a trick question.

“Is it lawful,” they asked, “for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?”

⁴ “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that the creator from the beginning ‘made them male and female’? ⁵ And this is what he said: ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ ⁶ As a result, they are no longer two, but one flesh. So humans shouldn’t split up what God has joined together.”

⁷ “So then,” they asked, “why did Moses lay it down that one should give the woman a certificate of divorce and make the separation legal?”

⁸ “Moses gave you this instruction about how to divorce your wives,” replied Jesus, “because your hearts were hard. But that’s not how it was at the beginning. ⁹ Let me tell you this: anyone who divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman, commits adultery.”

Marriage, celibacy and children

¹⁰ The disciples said to Jesus, “If that’s the situation of a man with his wife, it would be better not to marry!”

¹¹ “Not everyone can accept this word,” replied Jesus; “only the people it’s given to. ¹² You see, there are some eunuchs who are that way from birth. There are some who have been made eunuchs by others. And there are some who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. If anyone can receive this, let them do so.”

¹³ Then children were brought to Jesus for him to lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples spoke sternly to them. ¹⁴ But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me! Don’t stop them! They are the sort the kingdom of heaven belongs to!” ¹⁵ And he laid his hands on them.

Then he moved on elsewhere.

The rich young man

¹⁶ Suddenly a man came up to Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what good thing must I do if I’m to possess the life of the age to come?”

¹⁷ “Why come to me with questions about what’s good?” retorted Jesus. “There is One who is good! If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

¹⁸ “Which ones?” he asked.

“These ones,” Jesus answered: “ ‘don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t tell lies under oath, ¹⁹ respect your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

²⁰ “I’ve kept the lot,” said the young man. “What am I still short of?”

²¹ “If you want to complete the set,” Jesus replied, “go and sell everything you own and give it to the poor. That way you’ll have treasure in heaven! Then come and follow me.”

²² When the young man heard him say that, he went away very sad. He had many possessions.

The first and the last

²³ Jesus said to his disciples, “I’m telling you the truth: it’s very hard for a rich person to get into the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ Let me say it again: it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom.”

²⁵ The disciples were completely flabbergasted when they heard that. “So who then can be saved?” they asked.

²⁶ Jesus looked round at them. “Humanly speaking,” he replied, “it’s impossible. But everything’s possible with God.”

²⁷ Then Peter spoke up. “Look here,” he said, “we’ve left everything behind and followed you. What can we expect?”

²⁸ “I’m telling you the truth,” Jesus replied. “In God’s great new world, when the son of man sits on his glorious throne, those of you who have followed me will sit on twelve thrones—yes, you!—and rule over the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ And anyone who’s left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or estates because of my name will get back a hundred times over, and will inherit the life of that new age. ³⁰ But many at the front will find themselves at the back, and the back ones at the front.”

The workers in the vineyard

20 “So you see,” Jesus continued, “the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. ² He agreed with the workers to give them a dinar a day, and sent them off to his vineyard.

³ “He went out again in the middle of the morning, and saw some others standing in the market-place with nothing to do.

⁴ “ ‘You too can go to the vineyard,’ he said, ‘and I’ll give you what’s right.’ ⁵ So off they went.

“He went out again about midday, and then in the middle of the afternoon, and did the same. ⁶ Then, with only an hour of the day left, he went out and found other people standing there.

“ ‘Why are you standing here all day with nothing to do?’ he asked them.

⁷ “ ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they replied. “ ‘Well,’ he said, ‘you too can go into the vineyard.’

⁸ “When evening came, the vineyard-owner said to his servant, ‘Call the workers and give them their pay. Start with the last, and go on to the first.’

⁹ “So the ones who had worked for one hour came, and each of them received a dinar. ¹⁰ When the first ones came, they thought they would get something more; but they, too, each received a dinar.

¹¹ “When they had been given it, they grumbled against the landowner. ¹² ‘This lot who came in last,’ they said, ‘have only worked for one hour—and they’ve been put on a level with us! And we did all the hard work, all day, and in the heat as well!’

¹³ “ ‘My friend,’ he said to one of them, ‘I’m not doing you any wrong. You agreed with me on one dinar, didn’t you? ¹⁴ Take it! It’s yours! And be on your way. I want to give this fellow who came at the end the same as you. ¹⁵ Or are you suggesting that I’m not allowed to do what I like with my own money? Or are you giving me the evil eye because I’m good?’

¹⁶ “So those at the back will be at the front, and the front ones at the back.”

The cup he had to drink

¹⁷ Jesus was on his way up to Jerusalem. He took the twelve disciples aside in private, while they were on the road, and said to them, ¹⁸ “Look here. We’re going up to Jerusalem. The son of man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they’re going to condemn him to death. ¹⁹ They will hand him over to the pagans, and they’re going to mock him, flog him and crucify him. And on the third day he will be raised.”

²⁰ Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came up, with her sons, to Jesus. She bowed low in front of him and indicated that she had a special request to make.

²¹ “What d’you want?” he asked her.

“It’s about these two sons of mine,” she said to him. “Please say that, when you’re king, they may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left.”

²² “You don’t know what you’re asking for,” said Jesus. “Can you two drink the cup I’m going to drink?”

“Yes, we can,” they replied.

²³ “Well,” said Jesus, “so you will drink my cup, then! But sitting at my right and left is not something I can grant. That’s up to my father to give to whoever he has in mind.”

²⁴ When the other ten heard this they were annoyed with the two brothers. ²⁵ But Jesus called them together.

“You know how it is with pagan rulers,” he said. “They lord it over their subjects. They get all high and mighty and let everybody know it. ²⁶ But that’s not how it’s to be with you. If any of you wants to be great, he must be your servant. ²⁷ If any of you wants to be first, he must be the slave of all. ²⁸ That’s how it is with the son of man: he didn’t come to have servants obey him, but to be a servant—and to give his life as ‘a ransom for many.’ ”

The healing of two blind men

²⁹ As they were going out of Jericho, a large crowd was following Jesus. ³⁰ Just then two blind men were sitting by the wayside, and heard that Jesus was going by. “Have pity on us, Master, son of David!” they shouted.

³¹ The crowd scolded them and told them to be silent. But they shouted out all the more, “Have pity on us, Master, son of David!”

³² Jesus came to a stop. He called them. “What d’you want me to do for you?” he asked.

³³ “Master,” they replied, “we want you to open our eyes.”

³⁴ Jesus was very moved. He touched their eyes. At once they could see again, and they followed him.

Jesus rides into Jerusalem

21 When they came near to Jerusalem, and arrived at Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of the disciples on ahead.

² “Go into the village over there,” he said, “and at once you’ll find a donkey tied up, and a foal beside it. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ And if anyone says anything to you, say, ‘The master needs them, and he’ll send them back straight away.’ ”

He sent them off at once.

⁴ This happened so that the prophet’s words might be fulfilled:

⁶ So the disciples went off and did as Jesus had told them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and its foal, and put their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them.

⁸ The huge crowd spread their cloaks on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and scattered them on the road. ⁹ The crowds who went on ahead of him, and those who were following behind, shouted out,

¹⁰ When they came into Jerusalem, the whole city was gripped with excitement.

“Who is this?” they were saying.

¹¹ “This is the prophet, Jesus,” replied the crowds, “from Nazareth in Galilee!”

The Temple and the fig tree

¹² Jesus went into the Temple and threw out all the people who were buying and selling in the Temple. He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of the dove-sellers.

¹³ “This is what the Bible says,” he said to them,

¹⁴ The blind and the lame came to him in the Temple, and he healed them. ¹⁵ But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the remarkable things he was doing, and the children shouting out “Hosanna to David’s son!” in the Temple, they were very cross.

¹⁶ “Do you hear what they’re saying?” they asked Jesus.

“Yes,” said Jesus. “Did you never read what it says,

¹⁷ Then he left them, and went out of the city to Bethany, where he stayed the night.

¹⁸ Early the next morning Jesus went back to the city. He was hungry. ¹⁹ He saw a single fig tree beside the road, but when he came up to it he found nothing on it except leaves.

“May you never bear fruit, ever again!” he said to it. Instantly the fig tree withered up.

²⁰ The disciples saw it, and were astonished.

“Look how quickly the fig tree has withered up!” they said.

²¹ “I’m telling you the truth,” replied Jesus. “If you have faith, and don’t doubt, you will not only be able to do this to a fig tree, but if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. ²² Whatever you ask in prayer, you’ll get it, if you believe.”

The question about John

²³ Jesus went into the Temple. As he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him.

“By what right are you doing these things?” they asked him. “Who gave you this right?”

²⁴ “I’m going to ask you one question, too,” replied Jesus, “and if you tell me the answer then I’ll tell you by what right I’m doing these things. ²⁵ Where did John’s baptism come from? Was it from heaven, or from this world?”

They debated this among themselves. “If we say ‘from heaven,’ ” they said, “he’s going to say to us, ‘So why didn’t you believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say ‘from this world,’ we’ll have to watch out for the crowd, because they all reckon that John was a prophet.”

²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

“Well, then,” said Jesus, “nor will I tell you by what right I’m doing these things.

²⁸ “What d’you think?” he went on. “Once upon a time there was a man who had two sons.

“He went to the first one and said, ‘Now then, my boy, off you go and do a day’s work in the vineyard.’

²⁹ “ ‘Don’t want to,’ replied the son; but afterwards he thought better of it and went.

³⁰ “He went to the other son and said the same thing.

“ ‘Certainly, Master,’ he said; but he didn’t go.

³¹ “So which of the two did what his father wanted?”

“The first,” they answered.

“I’m telling you the truth,” Jesus said to them. “The tax-collectors and prostitutes are going into God’s kingdom ahead of you! ³² Yes: John came to you, in accordance with God’s righteous covenant plan, and you didn’t believe him—but the tax-collectors and prostitutes believed him. But when you saw it, you didn’t think better of it afterwards and believe him.”

The parable of the tenants

³³ “Listen to another parable,” Jesus went on. “Once upon a time there was a householder who planted a vineyard, built a wall for it, dug out a wine-press in it, and built a tower. Then he let it out to tenant farmers and went away on a journey.

³⁴ “When harvest time arrived, he sent his slaves to the farmers to collect his produce. ³⁵ The farmers seized his slaves; they beat one, killed another, and stoned another. ³⁶ Again he sent other slaves, more than before, and they treated them in the same way. ³⁷ Finally he sent his son to them.

“ ‘They’ll respect my son,’ he said.

³⁸ “But the farmers saw the son.

“ ‘This fellow’s the heir!’ they said among themselves. ‘Come on, let’s kill him, and then we can take over the property!’

³⁹ “So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

⁴⁰ “Now then: when the vineyard-owner returns, what will he do to those farmers?”

⁴¹ “He’ll kill them brutally, the wretches!” they said. “And he’ll lease the vineyard to other farmers who’ll give him the produce at the right time.”

⁴² “Did you never read what the Bible says?” said Jesus to them:

⁴³ “So then let me tell you this: God’s kingdom is going to be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the goods. ⁴⁴ Anyone who falls on this stone will be smashed to pieces, and anyone it falls on will be crushed.”

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew he was talking about them. ⁴⁶ They tried to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, who regarded him as a prophet.

The parable of the wedding feast

22 Jesus spoke to them once again in parables.

² “The kingdom of heaven,” he said, “is like a king who made a wedding feast for his son. ³ He sent his slaves to call the invited guests to the wedding, and they didn’t want to come.

⁴ “Again he sent other slaves, with these instructions: ‘Say to the guests, Look! I’ve got my dinner ready; my bulls and fatted calves have been killed; everything is prepared. Come to the wedding!’

⁵ “But they didn’t take any notice. They went off, one to his own farm, another to see to his business. ⁶ The others laid hands on his slaves, abused them and killed them. ⁷ (The king was angry, and sent his soldiers to destroy those murderers and burn down their city.) ⁸ Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but the guests didn’t deserve it. ⁹ So go to the roads leading out of town, and invite everyone you find to the wedding.’ ¹⁰ The slaves went off into the streets and rounded up everyone they found, bad and good alike. And the wedding was filled with partygoers.

¹¹ “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who wasn’t wearing a wedding suit.

¹² “ ‘My friend,’ he said to him, ‘how did you get in here without a wedding suit?’ And he was speechless. ¹³ Then the king said to the servants, ‘Tie him up, hands and feet, and throw him into the darkness outside, where people weep and grind their teeth.’

¹⁴ “Many are called, you see, but few are chosen.”

Paying taxes to Caesar

¹⁵ Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might trap him into saying the wrong thing. ¹⁶ They sent their followers to him, with the Herodians.

“Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are truthful, and that you teach God’s way truthfully. You don’t care what anyone thinks about you, because you don’t try to flatter people or favor them. ¹⁷ So tell us what you think. Is it lawful to pay tribute to Caesar, or not?”

¹⁸ Jesus knew their evil intentions.

“Why are you trying to trick me, you hypocrites?” he said. ¹⁹ “Show me the tribute coin.” They brought him a dinar.

²⁰ “This . . . image,” said Jesus, “and this . . . inscription. Who do they belong to?”

²¹ “Caesar,” they said.

“Well then,” said Jesus, “you’d better give Caesar back what belongs to Caesar! And—give God what belongs to God!”

²² When they heard that they were astonished. They left him and went away.

The question of the resurrection

²³ The same day some Sadducees came to him. (The Sadducees deny the resurrection.) Their question was this.

²⁴ “Teacher,” they began, “Moses said, ‘If a man dies without children, his brother should marry his widow and raise up seed for his brother.’ ²⁵ Well now, there were seven brothers living among us. The first got married, and then died, and since he didn’t have children he left his wife to his brother. ²⁶ The same thing happened with the second and the third, and so on with all seven. ²⁷ Last of all the woman died. ²⁸ So: in the resurrection, whose wife will she be, of all the seven? All of them had married her, after all.”

²⁹ This was Jesus’ answer to them: “You are quite mistaken,” he said, “because you don’t know your Bibles or God’s power. ³⁰ In the resurrection, you see, people don’t marry or get married off; they are like angels in heaven. ³¹ But as for the resurrection of the dead, did you never read what was said to you by God, in these words: ³² ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He isn’t God of the dead, but of the living.”

³³ The crowds heard this, and they were astonished at his teaching.

The Great Commandment, and David’s Master

³⁴ When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they got together in a group. ³⁵ One of them, a lawyer, put him on the spot with this question.

³⁶ “Teacher,” he said, “which is the most important commandment in the law?”

³⁷ “You must love the Lord your God,” replied Jesus, “with all your heart, with all your life, and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the first commandment, and it’s the one that really matters. ³⁹ The second is similar, and it’s this: You must love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ The entire law hangs on these two commandments—and that goes for the prophets, too.”

⁴¹ While the Pharisees were gathered there, Jesus asked them, ⁴² “What’s your view of the Messiah? Whose son is he?”

“David’s,” they said to him.

⁴³ “Why then,” said Jesus, “does David (speaking by the spirit) call him ‘Master,’ when he says,

⁴⁵ “If David calls him ‘Master,’ how can he be his son?”

⁴⁶ Nobody was able to answer him a single word. From that day on nobody dared ask him anything any more.

Warnings against scribes and Pharisees

23 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples: ² “The scribes and Pharisees,” he said, “sit on the seat of Moses. ³ So you must do whatever they tell you, and keep it, but don’t do the things they do. You see, they talk but they don’t do. ⁴ They tie up heavy bundles which are difficult to carry, and they dump them on people’s shoulders—but they themselves aren’t prepared to lift a little finger to move them!

⁵ “Everything they do is for show, to be seen by people. Yes, they make their prayer-boxes large and their prayer-tassels long, ⁶ and they love the chief places at dinners, the main seats in the synagogues, ⁷ the greetings in the market-places, and having people call them ‘Rabbi.’

⁸ “You mustn’t be called ‘Rabbi.’ You have one teacher, and you are all one family. ⁹ And you shouldn’t call anyone ‘father’ on earth, because you have one father, in heaven. ¹⁰ Nor should you be called ‘teacher,’ because you have one teacher, the Messiah.

¹¹ “The greatest among you should be your servant. ¹² People who make themselves great will be humbled; and people who humble themselves will become great.”

Condemnation of scribes and Pharisees (1)

¹³ “Woe betide you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites!” Jesus continued. “You slam the door of heaven’s kingdom in people’s faces. You don’t go in yourselves, and when other people try to enter, you stop them.

¹⁵ “Woe betide you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You cross sea and land to make one single Gentile take up Jewish practices, and when that happens you make the convert twice as much a child of Gehenna as you are yourselves.

¹⁶ “Woe betide you, you blind guides! This is what you say: ‘If anyone swears by the Temple, it’s nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold in the Temple, the oath is valid.’ ¹⁷ How crazy and blind can you get! Which is greater, the gold, or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? ¹⁸ And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it’s nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, the oath is valid.’ ¹⁹ How blind you are! Which is greater, the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? ²⁰ So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹ And whoever swears by the Temple swears by it and by the one who lives in it. ²² And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by the one who sits on it.”

Condemnation of scribes and Pharisees (2)

²³ “Woe betide you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites!” Jesus went on. “You tithe mint and dill and cumin, and you omit the serious matters of the law like justice, mercy and loyalty. You should have done these, without neglecting the others. ²⁴ You’re blind guides! You filter out a gnat, but you gulp down a camel!

²⁵ “Woe betide you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You scrub the outside of the cup and the dish, but the inside is full of extortion and moral flabbiness. ²⁶ You blind Pharisee, first make the inside of the cup clean, and then the outside will be clean as well.

²⁷ “Woe betide you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You’re like whitewashed graves, which look fine on the outside, but inside they are full of dead people’s bones and uncleanness of every kind. ²⁸ That’s like you: on the outside you appear to be virtuous and law-abiding, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹ “Woe betide you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build the tombs of the prophets, and you decorate the memorials of the righteous, ³⁰ and you say, ‘If we’d lived in the days of our ancestors, we wouldn’t have gone along with them in killing the prophets.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves that you are the children of the people who murdered the prophets! ³² Well then, go ahead: complete the work your ancestors began! ³³ You snakes, you nest of vipers, how can you escape the judgment of Gehenna?”

Judgment on Jerusalem and its leaders

³⁴ “Because of all this,” Jesus concluded, “I’m sending you prophets, wise men and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify. Some of them you will whip in your synagogues. You’ll chase them from town to town. ³⁵ That’s how all the righteous blood that’s been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah—you murdered him between sanctuary and altar—all that blood will come upon you. ³⁶ I’m telling you the solemn truth: it will all come on this generation.

³⁷ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often have I longed to gather up your children, the way a hen gathers up her brood under her wings, and you didn’t want me to! ³⁸ Now, see here: your house has been abandoned by God; it’s a ruin. ³⁹ Yes, I tell you: you won’t see me again from now on until you say, ‘God’s blessing on the coming one, the one who comes in the Lord’s own name!’ ”

The beginning of the birth pangs

24 Jesus left the Temple and went away. As he did so, his disciples came and pointed out the Temple buildings to him. ² “Yes,” he said, “and you see all these things? I’m telling you the truth: not one stone will be left standing upon another. All of them will be thrown down.”

³ As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately.

“Tell us,” they said, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that you are going to appear as king, and that the end of the age is upon us?”

⁴ “Watch out,” replied Jesus. “Don’t let anyone deceive you. ⁵ You see, there will be several who will come along, using my name, telling you ‘I’m the Messiah!’ They will fool lots of people. ⁶ You’re going to hear about wars, actual wars and rumored ones; make sure you don’t get alarmed. This has got to happen, but it doesn’t mean the end is coming yet. ⁷ Nations will rise against one another, and kingdoms against each other. There will be famines and earthquakes here and there. ⁸ All this is just the start of the birth pangs.

⁹ “Then they will hand you over to be tortured, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name. ¹⁰ Then several will find the going too hard, and they will betray each other and hate each other. ¹¹ Many false prophets will arise, and they will deceive many people. ¹² And because lawlessness will be on the increase, many will find their love growing cold. ¹³ But the one who lasts out to the end will be delivered. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom must be announced to the whole world, as a witness to all the nations. Then the end will come.”

The desolating sacrilege

¹⁵ “So when you see ‘the sacrilege that desolates,’ as Daniel the prophet put it, ‘standing in the holy place’ (the reader should understand), ¹⁶ then those who are in Judaea should take to their heels and run to the mountains. ¹⁷ If you’re up on your roof, don’t go down into the house to get things out. ¹⁸ If you’re in the fields, don’t go back to pick up your cloak. ¹⁹ It’s going to be terrible for pregnant and nursing women during those days. ²⁰ Pray that it won’t be winter when you have to run away, or for that matter a sabbath. ²¹ Yes: there’s going to be such great suffering then as has never been since the start of the world until now—no, and won’t ever be again. ²² And if those days had not been shortened, nobody at all would have been rescued. But for the sake of God’s chosen ones those days will be shortened.

²³ “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘Look! There he is!’ don’t believe them. ²⁴ False messiahs will arise, you see, and false prophets too. They will provide great signs and portents, so as to deceive even God’s chosen ones, if that were possible. ²⁵ Remember, I’m telling you this beforehand!

²⁶ “So if someone says to you, ‘Look! He’s out in the wilderness,’ don’t go out. If they say, ‘Look, he’s in the inner room,’ don’t believe them. ²⁷ You see, the royal appearing of the son of man will be like the lightning that comes from the East and flashes across to the West. ²⁸ Where the carcass is, there the vultures will gather.”

The coming of the son of man

²⁹ “Straight away,” Jesus continued, “after the suffering that those days will bring,

³⁰ “And then the sign of the son of man will appear in heaven; then all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see ‘the son of man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory. ³¹ He will send off his messengers with a great trumpet-blast, and they will collect his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

³² “Learn the hidden meaning from the fig tree. When its branch begins to sprout, and to push out its leaves, then you know that summer is nearly there. ³³ So with you: when you see all these things, you will know that it is near, at the very gates. ³⁴ I’m telling you the truth: this generation won’t be gone before all these things happen. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never, ever disappear.”

The unexpected coming

³⁶ “Nobody knows what day or time this will happen,” Jesus went on. “The angels in heaven don’t know it, and nor does the son; only the father knows. ³⁷ You see, the royal appearing of the son of man will be like the days of Noah.

³⁸ “What does that mean? Well, in those days, before the flood, they were eating and drinking, they were getting married and giving children in marriage, right up to the day when Noah went into the ark. ³⁹ They didn’t know about it until the flood came and swept them all away. That’s what it’ll be like at the royal appearing of the son of man.

⁴⁰ “On that day there will be two people working in the field. One will be taken, the other will be left. ⁴¹ There will be two women grinding corn in the mill. One will be taken, the other will be left.

⁴² “So keep alert! You don’t know what day your master will come. ⁴³ But bear this in mind: if the householder had known what time of night the burglar was going to come, he would have stayed awake and wouldn’t have let his house get broken into. ⁴⁴ So you too must be ready! The son of man is coming at a time you don’t expect.”

The wise and wicked slaves

⁴⁵ “So,” Jesus went on, “who then is the trustworthy and sensible slave, the one the master will set over his household, so that he will give them their meals at the right time? ⁴⁶ Blessings on the servant whom the master finds doing just that when he comes. ⁴⁷ I’m telling you the truth: he’ll promote him to be over all his property. ⁴⁸ But if the wicked slave says in his heart, ‘My master’s taking his time,’ ⁴⁹ and starts to beat the other slaves, and to feast and drink with the drunkards, ⁵⁰ the master of that slave will come on a day he doesn’t expect, and at a time he doesn’t know. ⁵¹ He will cut him in two, and put him along with the hypocrites, where people will weep and grind their teeth.”

The wise and foolish girls

25 “Then,” continued Jesus, “the kingdom of heaven will be like ten girls who each took their own torches and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Five of them were silly, and five were sensible. ³ The silly ones took their torches, but didn’t take oil with them. ⁴ The sensible ones took oil, in flasks, along with their torches.

⁵ “The bridegroom took his time coming, and they all nodded off and went to sleep. ⁶ In the middle of the night a shout went up: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come on and meet him!’ ⁷ Then all the girls got up and trimmed the wicks of their torches.

⁸ “The silly ones said to the sensible ones, ‘Give us some of your oil! Our torches are going out!’

⁹ “But the sensible ones answered, ‘No! If we do that, there won’t be enough for all of us together! You’d better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’

¹⁰ “So off they went to buy oil. But, while they were gone, the bridegroom arrived. The ones who were ready went in with him to the wedding party, and the door was shut.

¹¹ “Later on the other girls came back. ‘Master, Master!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’

¹² “ ‘I’m telling you the truth,’ he said, ‘I don’t know you.’

¹³ “So keep awake! You don’t know the day or the hour.”

The parable of the talents

¹⁴ “This is what it will be like,” Jesus went on. “It will be like a man who was going off on a journey. He summoned his slaves, and handed over control of his property to them. ¹⁵ He gave five talents to the first, two to the next, and one to the last—each according to his ability. Then he left.

“Straight away ¹⁶ the man who had been given the five talents went out and traded with them, and made five more. ¹⁷ Similarly, the one who had received two talents went and made another two. ¹⁸ But the one who received a single talent went and dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.

¹⁹ “After a long time, the master of those slaves came back and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ The man who had received five talents came forward and gave him the other five talents. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you gave me five talents. Look: I’ve made another five!’ ²¹ ‘Well done indeed,’ said his master. ‘You’re an excellent slave, and loyal too! You’ve been trustworthy with small things, and now I’m going to put you in charge of bigger ones. Come and join your master’s celebration!’

²² “Then the man who had had the two talents came forward. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you gave me two talents. Look: I’ve made another two!’ ²³ ‘Well done indeed,’ said his master. ‘You’re an excellent slave, and loyal too! You’ve been trustworthy with small things, and now I’m going to put you in charge of bigger ones. Come and join your master’s celebration!’

²⁴ “Then the man who had had the one talent came forward. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you were a hard man. You reap where you didn’t sow, and you profit from things you never invested in. ²⁵ So I was scared! I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here it is: it’s yours, you can have it back.’

²⁶ “ ‘You’re a wicked and lazy slave!’ answered his master. ‘So! You knew that I reap where I didn’t sow, and profit from investments I never made? ²⁷ Then you should have put my money with the bankers, and when I returned I would have received back what I had with interest!’

²⁸ “ ‘So take the talent from him,’ he went on, ‘and give it to the man who has ten talents.’ ²⁹ (If someone already has something, you see, they will be given more, and they’ll have plenty. But if someone has nothing, even what they have will be taken away from them.) ³⁰ ‘But as for this useless slave, throw him outside in the dark, where people weep and grind their teeth.’ ”

The sheep and the goats

³¹ “When the son of man comes in his glory,” Jesus went on, “and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be assembled in front of him, and he will separate them from one another, like a shepherd separating the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will stand the sheep at his right hand, and the goats at his left.

³⁴ “Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come here, you people who my father has blessed. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world! ³⁵ Why? Because I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you made me welcome. ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you looked after me; I was in prison and you came to me.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Master, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and come to see you?’

⁴⁰ “Then the king will answer them, ‘I’m telling you the truth: when you did it to one of the least significant of my brothers and sisters here, you did it to me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left hand, ‘Get away from me! You’re accursed! Go to the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels! ⁴² Why? Because I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat! I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink! ⁴³ I was a stranger and you didn’t welcome me; I was naked and you didn’t clothe me; I was sick and in prison and you didn’t look after me!’

⁴⁴ “Then they too will answer, ‘Master, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn’t do anything for you?’

⁴⁵ “Then he will answer them, ‘I’m telling you the truth: when you didn’t do it for one of the least significant of my brothers and sisters here, you didn’t do it for me.’

⁴⁶ “And they will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous will go into everlasting life.”

Preparations for Jesus’ death

26 So this is how it finally happened.

When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, ² “In two days’ time, as you know, it’ll be Passover! That’s when the son of man will be handed over to be crucified.”

³ Then the chief priests got together with the elders of the people, in the official residence of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas. ⁴ They plotted how to capture Jesus by some trick, and kill him.

⁵ “We’d better not try anything at the feast,” they said. “We don’t want the people to riot.”

⁶ While Jesus was at Bethany, in the house of Simon (known as “the Leper”), ⁷ a woman came to him who had an alabaster vase of extremely valuable ointment. She poured it on his head as he was reclining at the table.

⁸ When the disciples saw it, they were furious.

“What’s the point of all this waste?” they said. ⁹ “This could have been sold for a fortune, and the money could have been given to the poor!”

¹⁰ Jesus knew what they were thinking.

“Why make life difficult for the woman?” he said. “It’s a lovely thing, what she’s done for me. ¹¹ You always have the poor with you, don’t you? But you won’t always have me. ¹² When she poured this ointment on my body, you see, she did it to prepare me for my burial. ¹³ I’m telling you the truth: wherever this gospel is announced in all the world, what she has just done will be told, and people will remember her.”

Passover and betrayal

¹⁴ Then one of the Twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests.

¹⁵ “What will you give me,” he said, “to hand him over to you?”

They settled the deal with him at thirty pieces of silver. ¹⁶ From that moment on, he was watching for an opportunity to hand him over.

¹⁷ On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples said to Jesus, “Where do you want us to get the Passover ready for you to eat it?”

¹⁸ “Go into the city,” he said, “to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The teacher says, “My time is very close. I’m going to keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.” ’ ”

¹⁹ So the disciples did as Jesus had told them, and got the Passover ready.

²⁰ When evening came, he settled down with the Twelve. ²¹ As they were eating, he said, “I’m telling you the truth: one of you will betray me.” ²² They were extremely upset, and began to say one by one, “It’s not me, is it, Master?”

²³ “It’s one who’s dipped his hand with me in the dish,” Jesus replied. “That’s the one who will betray me. ²⁴ The son of man is on his way, as the Bible said it would happen, but it’s misery for the man who hands him over. It would be better for that man if he’d never been born.”

²⁵ At this, Judas, who was planning to betray him, said, “It isn’t me, is it, Teacher?”

“You’ve just said so,” he replied.

The Last Supper

²⁶ As they were eating, Jesus took some bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to the disciples.

“Take it and eat it,” he said, “this is my body.”

²⁷ Then he took a cup; and, after giving thanks, he gave it to them.

“Drink this, all of you,” he said. ²⁸ “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹ But let me tell you this: I will not drink any more from this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in the kingdom of my father.”

³⁰ They sang a hymn, and went out to the Mount of Olives.

³¹ Then Jesus said to them, “You are all going to stumble and fall tonight because of me. This is what the Bible says, you see:

³² “But after I am raised up, I shall go on ahead of you to Galilee.”

³³ “Even if everyone else trips and falls,” said Peter in reply to him, “I’m never going to do that!”

³⁴ “I’m telling you the truth,” said Jesus to him, “this very night, before the cock has crowed, you will deny me three times.”

³⁵ “Even if I have to die with you,” said Peter to him, “I won’t ever deny you!”

And all the disciples said the same.

Gethsemane

³⁶ So Jesus went with them to the place called Gethsemane.

“You sit here,” he said to the disciples, “while I go over there and pray.”

³⁷ He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with him, and began to be very upset and distressed.

³⁸ “My soul is overwhelmed with grief,” he said, “even to death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

³⁹ Then, going a little further on, he fell on his face and prayed.

“My father,” he said, “if it’s possible—please, please let this cup go away from me! But . . . not what I want, but what you want.”

⁴⁰ He came back to the disciples and found them asleep.

“So,” he said to Peter, “couldn’t you keep watch with me for a single hour? ⁴¹ Watch and pray so that you don’t get pulled down into the time of testing. The spirit is eager, but the body is weak.”

⁴² Again, for the second time, he went off and said, “My father, if it’s not possible for this to pass unless I drink it, let your will be done.”

⁴³ Again he came and found them asleep; their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ Once more he left them and went away. He prayed for the third time, using the same words once again. ⁴⁵ Then he came back to the disciples.

“You can sleep now,” he said, “and have a good rest! Look—the time has come, and the son of man is given over into the hands of wicked people! ⁴⁶ Get up and let’s be going. Look! Here comes the one who’s going to betray me!”

Jesus is arrested

⁴⁷ While Jesus was still speaking, there was Judas, one of the Twelve. He had come with a large crowd, with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. ⁴⁸ The one who was intending to betray him gave them a sign: “The one I kiss—that’s him! Grab hold of him!”

⁴⁹ So he went up at once to Jesus and said “Greetings, Teacher!” and kissed him.

⁵⁰ “My friend,” said Jesus, “what have you come to do?”

Then they came and laid hands on Jesus, and arrested him.

⁵¹ At that, one of the men with Jesus reached out his hand, drew his sword and hit the high priest’s slave, cutting off his ear.

⁵² “Put your sword back where it belongs!” said Jesus to him. “People who use the sword die by the sword! ⁵³ Don’t you realize that I could call on my father and have him send me more than twelve legions of angels, just like that? ⁵⁴ But how then can the Bible come true when it says this has to happen?”

⁵⁵ At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you really come out with swords and sticks to arrest me, as if I were some kind of brigand? I sat there teaching in the Temple every day, and you didn’t lay hands on me! ⁵⁶ But all this has happened so that the writings of the prophets would be fulfilled.”

Then all the disciples abandoned him and ran away.