Bible in 90 Days

The Leaders Ask for a Miracle

16 The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus, wanting to trick him. So they asked him to show them a miracle from God.

² Jesus answered,^[a] “At sunset you say we will have good weather, because the sky is red. ³ And in the morning you say that it will be a rainy day, because the sky is dark and red. You see these signs in the sky and know what they mean. In the same way, you see the things that I am doing now, but you don’t know their meaning. ⁴ Evil and sinful people ask for a miracle as a sign, but they will not be given any sign, except the sign of Jonah.”^[b] Then Jesus left them and went away.

Guard Against Wrong Teachings

⁵ Jesus’ followers went across the lake, but they had forgotten to bring bread. ⁶ Jesus said to them, “Be careful! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”

⁷ His followers discussed the meaning of this, saying, “He said this because we forgot to bring bread.”

⁸ Knowing what they were talking about, Jesus asked them, “Why are you talking about not having bread? Your faith is small. ⁹ Do you still not understand? Remember the five loaves of bread that fed the five thousand? And remember that you filled many baskets with the leftovers? ¹⁰ Or the seven loaves of bread that fed the four thousand and the many baskets you filled then also? ¹¹ I was not talking to you about bread. Why don’t you understand that? I am telling you to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” ¹² Then the followers understood that Jesus was not telling them to beware of the yeast used in bread but to beware of the teaching of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

Peter Says Jesus Is the Christ

¹³ When Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his followers, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴ They answered, “Some say you are John the Baptist. Others say you are Elijah, and still others say you are Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵ Then Jesus asked them, “And who do you say I am?”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷ Jesus answered, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because no person taught you that. My Father in heaven showed you who I am. ¹⁸ So I tell you, you are Peter.^[c] On this rock I will build my church, and the power of death will not be able to defeat it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; the things you don’t allow on earth will be the things that God does not allow, and the things you allow on earth will be the things that God allows.” ²⁰ Then Jesus warned his followers not to tell anyone he was the Christ.

Jesus Says that He Must Die

²¹ From that time on Jesus began telling his followers that he must go to Jerusalem, where the Jewish elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of the law would make him suffer many things. He told them he must be killed and then be raised from the dead on the third day.

²² Peter took Jesus aside and told him not to talk like that. He said, “God save you from those things, Lord! Those things will never happen to you!”

²³ Then Jesus said to Peter, “Go away from me, Satan!^[d] You are not helping me! You don’t care about the things of God, but only about the things people think are important.”

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his followers, “If people want to follow me, they must give up the things they want. They must be willing even to give up their lives to follow me. ²⁵ Those who want to save their lives will give up true life, and those who give up their lives for me will have true life. ²⁶ It is worthless to have the whole world if they lose their souls. They could never pay enough to buy back their souls. ²⁷ The Son of Man will come again with his Father’s glory and with his angels. At that time, he will reward them for what they have done. ²⁸ I tell you the truth, some people standing here will see the Son of Man coming with his kingdom before they die.”

Jesus Talks with Moses and Elijah

17 Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John, the brother of James, up on a high mountain by themselves. ² While they watched, Jesus’ appearance was changed; his face became bright like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. ³ Then Moses and Elijah^[e] appeared to them, talking with Jesus.

⁴ Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you want, I will put up three tents here—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

⁵ While Peter was talking, a bright cloud covered them. A voice came from the cloud and said, “This is my Son, whom I love, and I am very pleased with him. Listen to him!”

⁶ When his followers heard the voice, they were so frightened they fell to the ground. ⁷ But Jesus went to them and touched them and said, “Stand up. Don’t be afraid.” ⁸ When they looked up, they saw Jesus was now alone.

⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone about what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

¹⁰ Then his followers asked him, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”

¹¹ Jesus answered, “They are right to say that Elijah is coming and that he will make everything the way it should be. ¹² But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him. They did to him whatever they wanted to do. It will be the same with the Son of Man; those same people will make the Son of Man suffer.” ¹³ Then the followers understood that Jesus was talking about John the Baptist.

Jesus Heals a Sick Boy

¹⁴ When Jesus and his followers came back to the crowd, a man came to Jesus and bowed before him. ¹⁵ The man said, “Lord, have mercy on my son. He has epilepsy^[f] and is suffering very much, because he often falls into the fire or into the water. ¹⁶ I brought him to your followers, but they could not cure him.”

¹⁷ Jesus answered, “You people have no faith, and your lives are all wrong. How long must I put up with you? How long must I continue to be patient with you? Bring the boy here.” ¹⁸ Jesus commanded the demon inside the boy. Then the demon came out, and the boy was healed from that time on.

¹⁹ The followers came to Jesus when he was alone and asked, “Why couldn’t we force the demon out?”

²⁰ Jesus answered, “Because your faith is too small. I tell you the truth, if your faith is as big as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. All things will be possible for you. [ ²¹ That kind of spirit comes out only if you use prayer and fasting.]”^[g]

Jesus Talks About His Death

²² While Jesus’ followers were gathering in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son of Man will be handed over to people, ²³ and they will kill him. But on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” And the followers were filled with sadness.

Jesus Talks About Paying Taxes

²⁴ When Jesus and his followers came to Capernaum, the men who collected the Temple tax came to Peter. They asked, “Does your teacher pay the Temple tax?”

²⁵ Peter answered, “Yes, Jesus pays the tax.”

Peter went into the house, but before he could speak, Jesus said to him, “What do you think? The kings of the earth collect different kinds of taxes. But who pays the taxes—the king’s children or others?”

²⁶ Peter answered, “Other people pay the taxes.”

Jesus said to Peter, “Then the children of the king don’t have to pay taxes. ²⁷ But we don’t want to upset these tax collectors. So go to the lake and fish. After you catch the first fish, open its mouth and you will find a coin. Take that coin and give it to the tax collectors for you and me.”

Who Is the Greatest?

18 At that time the followers came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

² Jesus called a little child to him and stood the child before his followers. ³ Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you must change and become like little children. Otherwise, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ The greatest person in the kingdom of heaven is the one who makes himself humble like this child.

⁵ “Whoever accepts a child in my name accepts me. ⁶ If one of these little children believes in me, and someone causes that child to sin, it would be better for that person to have a large stone tied around the neck and be drowned in the sea. ⁷ How terrible for the people of the world because of the things that cause them to sin. Such things will happen, but how terrible for the one who causes them to happen! ⁸ If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose part of your body and live forever than to have two hands and two feet and be thrown into the fire that burns forever. ⁹ If your eye causes you to sin, take it out and throw it away. It is better for you to have only one eye and live forever than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

A Lost Sheep

¹⁰ “Be careful. Don’t think these little children are worth nothing. I tell you that they have angels in heaven who are always with my Father in heaven. [ ¹¹ The Son of Man came to save lost people.]^[h]

¹² “If a man has a hundred sheep but one of the sheep gets lost, he will leave the other ninety-nine on the hill and go to look for the lost sheep. ¹³ I tell you the truth, if he finds it he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that were never lost. ¹⁴ In the same way, your Father in heaven does not want any of these little children to be lost.

When a Person Sins Against You

¹⁵ “If your fellow believer sins against you,^[i] go and tell him in private what he did wrong. If he listens to you, you have helped that person to be your brother or sister again. ¹⁶ But if he refuses to listen, go to him again and take one or two other people with you. ‘Every case may be proved by two or three witnesses.’^{[j] 17} If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, then treat him like a person who does not believe in God or like a tax collector.

¹⁸ “I tell you the truth, the things you don’t allow on earth will be the things God does not allow. And the things you allow on earth will be the things that God allows.

¹⁹ “Also, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about something and pray for it, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ This is true because if two or three people come together in my name, I am there with them.”

An Unforgiving Servant

²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, when my fellow believer sins against me, how many times must I forgive him? Should I forgive him as many as seven times?”

²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, you must forgive him more than seven times. You must forgive him even if he wrongs you seventy times seven.

²³ “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who decided to collect the money his servants owed him. ²⁴ When the king began to collect his money, a servant who owed him several million dollars was brought to him. ²⁵ But the servant did not have enough money to pay his master, the king. So the master ordered that everything the servant owned should be sold, even the servant’s wife and children. Then the money would be used to pay the king what the servant owed.

²⁶ “But the servant fell on his knees and begged, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.’ ²⁷ The master felt sorry for his servant and told him he did not have to pay it back. Then he let the servant go free.

²⁸ “Later, that same servant found another servant who owed him a few dollars. The servant grabbed him around the neck and said, ‘Pay me the money you owe me!’

²⁹ “The other servant fell on his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.’

³⁰ “But the first servant refused to be patient. He threw the other servant into prison until he could pay everything he owed. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had happened, they were very sorry. So they went and told their master all that had happened.

³² “Then the master called his servant in and said, ‘You evil servant! Because you begged me to forget what you owed, I told you that you did not have to pay anything. ³³ You should have showed mercy to that other servant, just as I showed mercy to you.’ ³⁴ The master was very angry and put the servant in prison to be punished until he could pay everything he owed.

³⁵ “This king did what my heavenly Father will do to you if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Jesus Teaches About Divorce

19 After Jesus said all these things, he left Galilee and went into the area of Judea on the other side of the Jordan River. ² Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

³ Some Pharisees came to Jesus and tried to trick him. They asked, “Is it right for a man to divorce his wife for any reason he chooses?”

⁴ Jesus answered, “Surely you have read in the Scriptures: When God made the world, ‘he made them male and female.’^{[k] 5} And God said, ‘So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one body.’^{[l] 6} So there are not two, but one. God has joined the two together, so no one should separate them.”

⁷ The Pharisees asked, “Why then did Moses give a command for a man to divorce his wife by giving her divorce papers?”

⁸ Jesus answered, “Moses allowed you to divorce your wives because you refused to accept God’s teaching, but divorce was not allowed in the beginning. ⁹ I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman is guilty of adultery.^[m] The only reason for a man to divorce his wife is if his wife has sexual relations with another man.”

¹⁰ The followers said to him, “If that is the only reason a man can divorce his wife, it is better not to marry.”

¹¹ Jesus answered, “Not everyone can accept this teaching, but God has made some able to accept it. ¹² There are different reasons why some men cannot marry. Some men were born without the ability to become fathers. Others were made that way later in life by other people. And some men have given up marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. But the person who can marry should accept this teaching about marriage.”^[n]

Jesus Welcomes Children

¹³ Then the people brought their little children to Jesus so he could put his hands on them^[o] and pray for them. His followers told them to stop, ¹⁴ but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to people who are like these children.” ¹⁵ After Jesus put his hands on the children, he left there.

A Rich Young Man’s Question

¹⁶ A man came to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to have life forever?”

¹⁷ Jesus answered, “Why do you ask me about what is good? Only God is good. But if you want to have life forever, obey the commands.”

¹⁸ The man asked, “Which commands?”

Jesus answered, “‘You must not murder anyone; you must not be guilty of adultery; you must not steal; you must not tell lies about your neighbor; ¹⁹ honor your father and mother;^[p] and love your neighbor as you love yourself.’”^[q]

²⁰ The young man said, “I have obeyed all these things. What else do I need to do?”

²¹ Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, then go and sell your possessions and give the money to the poor. If you do this, you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.”

²² But when the young man heard this, he left sorrowfully, because he was rich.

²³ Then Jesus said to his followers, “I tell you the truth, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ Yes, I tell you that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁵ When Jesus’ followers heard this, they were very surprised and asked, “Then who can be saved?”

²⁶ Jesus looked at them and said, “For people this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”

²⁷ Peter said to Jesus, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. So what will we have?”

²⁸ Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, when the age to come has arrived, the Son of Man will sit on his great throne. All of you who followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ And all those who have left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother,^[r] children, or farms to follow me will get much more than they left, and they will have life forever. ³⁰ Many who are first now will be last in the future. And many who are last now will be first in the future.

A Story About Workers

20 “The kingdom of heaven is like a person who owned some land. One morning, he went out very early to hire some people to work in his vineyard. ² The man agreed to pay the workers one coin^[s] for working that day. Then he sent them into the vineyard to work. ³ About nine o’clock the man went to the marketplace and saw some other people standing there, doing nothing. ⁴ So he said to them, ‘If you go and work in my vineyard, I will pay you what your work is worth.’ ⁵ So they went to work in the vineyard. The man went out again about twelve o’clock and three o’clock and did the same thing. ⁶ About five o’clock the man went to the marketplace again and saw others standing there. He asked them, ‘Why did you stand here all day doing nothing?’ ⁷ They answered, ‘No one gave us a job.’ The man said to them, ‘Then you can go and work in my vineyard.’

⁸ “At the end of the day, the owner of the vineyard said to the boss of all the workers, ‘Call the workers and pay them. Start with the last people I hired and end with those I hired first.’

⁹ “When the workers who were hired at five o’clock came to get their pay, each received one coin. ¹⁰ When the workers who were hired first came to get their pay, they thought they would be paid more than the others. But each one of them also received one coin. ¹¹ When they got their coin, they complained to the man who owned the land. ¹² They said, ‘Those people were hired last and worked only one hour. But you paid them the same as you paid us who worked hard all day in the hot sun.’ ¹³ But the man who owned the vineyard said to one of those workers, ‘Friend, I am being fair to you. You agreed to work for one coin. ¹⁴ So take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same pay that I gave you. ¹⁵ I can do what I want with my own money. Are you jealous because I am good to those people?’

¹⁶ “So those who are last now will someday be first, and those who are first now will someday be last.”

Jesus Talks About His Own Death

¹⁷ While Jesus was going to Jerusalem, he took his twelve followers aside privately and said to them, ¹⁸ “Look, we are going to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be turned over to the leading priests and the teachers of the law, and they will say that he must die. ¹⁹ They will give the Son of Man to the non-Jewish people to laugh at him and beat him with whips and crucify him. But on the third day, he will be raised to life again.”

A Mother Asks Jesus a Favor

²⁰ Then the wife of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons. She bowed before him and asked him to do something for her.

²¹ Jesus asked, “What do you want?”

She said, “Promise that one of my sons will sit at your right side and the other will sit at your left side in your kingdom.”

²² But Jesus said, “You don’t understand what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?”^[t]

The sons answered, “Yes, we can.”

²³ Jesus said to them, “You will drink from my cup. But I cannot choose who will sit at my right or my left; those places belong to those for whom my Father has prepared them.”

²⁴ When the other ten followers heard this, they were angry with the two brothers.

²⁵ Jesus called all the followers together and said, “You know that the rulers of the non-Jewish people love to show their power over the people. And their important leaders love to use all their authority. ²⁶ But it should not be that way among you. Whoever wants to become great among you must serve the rest of you like a servant. ²⁷ Whoever wants to become first among you must serve the rest of you like a slave. ²⁸ In the same way, the Son of Man did not come to be served. He came to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many people.”

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

²⁹ When Jesus and his followers were leaving Jericho, a great many people followed him. ³⁰ Two blind men sitting by the road heard that Jesus was going by, so they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

³¹ The people warned the blind men to be quiet, but they shouted even more, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

³² Jesus stopped and said to the blind men, “What do you want me to do for you?”

³³ They answered, “Lord, we want to see.”

³⁴ Jesus felt sorry for the blind men and touched their eyes, and at once they could see. Then they followed Jesus.

Jesus Enters Jerusalem as a King

21 As Jesus and his followers were coming closer to Jerusalem, they stopped at Bethphage at the hill called the Mount of Olives. From there Jesus sent two of his followers ² and said to them, “Go to the town you can see there. When you enter it, you will quickly find a donkey tied there with its colt. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone asks you why you are taking the donkeys, say that the Master needs them, and he will send them at once.”

⁴ This was to bring about what the prophet had said:

⁶ The followers went and did what Jesus told them to do. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt to Jesus and laid their coats on them, and Jesus sat on them. ⁸ Many people spread their coats on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The people were walking ahead of Jesus and behind him, shouting,

¹⁰ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, all the city was filled with excitement. The people asked, “Who is this man?”

¹¹ The crowd said, “This man is Jesus, the prophet from the town of Nazareth in Galilee.”

Jesus Goes to the Temple

¹² Jesus went into the Temple and threw out all the people who were buying and selling there. He turned over the tables of those who were exchanging different kinds of money, and he upset the benches of those who were selling doves. ¹³ Jesus said to all the people there, “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘My Temple will be called a house for prayer.’^[v] But you are changing it into a ‘hideout for robbers.’”^[w]

¹⁴ The blind and crippled people came to Jesus in the Temple, and he healed them. ¹⁵ The leading priests and the teachers of the law saw that Jesus was doing wonderful things and that the children were praising him in the Temple, saying, “Praise^[x] to the Son of David.” All these things made the priests and the teachers of the law very angry.

¹⁶ They asked Jesus, “Do you hear the things these children are saying?”

Jesus answered, “Yes. Haven’t you read in the Scriptures, ‘You have taught children and babies to sing praises’?”^[y]

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

The Power of Faith

¹⁸ Early the next morning, as Jesus was going back to the city, he became hungry. ¹⁹ Seeing a fig tree beside the road, Jesus went to it, but there were no figs on the tree, only leaves. So Jesus said to the tree, “You will never again have fruit.” The tree immediately dried up.

²⁰ When his followers saw this, they were amazed. They asked, “How did the fig tree dry up so quickly?”

²¹ Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will be able to do what I did to this tree and even more. You will be able to say to this mountain, ‘Go, fall into the sea.’ And if you have faith, it will happen. ²² If you believe, you will get anything you ask for in prayer.”

Leaders Doubt Jesus’ Authority

²³ Jesus went to the Temple, and while he was teaching there, the leading priests and the elders of the people came to him. They said, “What authority do you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?”

²⁴ Jesus answered, “I also will ask you a question. If you answer me, then I will tell you what authority I have to do these things. ²⁵ Tell me: When John baptized people, did that come from God or just from other people?”

They argued about Jesus’ question, saying, “If we answer, ‘John’s baptism was from God,’ Jesus will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘It was from people,’ we are afraid of what the crowd will do because they all believe that John was a prophet.”

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

Jesus said to them, “Then I won’t tell you what authority I have to do these things.

A Story About Two Sons

²⁸ “Tell me what you think about this: A man had two sons. He went to the first son and said, ‘Son, go and work today in my vineyard.’ ²⁹ The son answered, ‘I will not go.’ But later the son changed his mind and went. ³⁰ Then the father went to the other son and said, ‘Son, go and work today in my vineyard.’ The son answered, ‘Yes, sir, I will go and work,’ but he did not go. ³¹ Which of the two sons obeyed his father?”

The priests and leaders answered, “The first son.”

Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God before you do. ³² John came to show you the right way to live. You did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes believed him. Even after seeing this, you still refused to change your ways and believe him.

A Story About God’s Son

³³ “Listen to this story: There was a man who owned a vineyard. He put a wall around it and dug a hole for a winepress and built a tower. Then he leased the land to some farmers and left for a trip. ³⁴ When it was time for the grapes to be picked, he sent his servants to the farmers to get his share of the grapes. ³⁵ But the farmers grabbed the servants, beat one, killed another, and then killed a third servant with stones. ³⁶ So the man sent some other servants to the farmers, even more than he sent the first time. But the farmers did the same thing to the servants that they had done before. ³⁷ So the man decided to send his son to the farmers. He said, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸ But when the farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This son will inherit the vineyard. If we kill him, it will be ours!’ ³⁹ Then the farmers grabbed the son, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. ⁴⁰ So what will the owner of the vineyard do to these farmers when he comes?”

⁴¹ The priests and leaders said, “He will surely kill those evil men. Then he will lease the vineyard to some other farmers who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, “Surely you have read this in the Scriptures:

⁴³ “So I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to people who do the things God wants in his kingdom. ⁴⁴ The person who falls on this stone will be broken, and on whomever that stone falls, that person will be crushed.”^[z]

⁴⁵ When the leading priests and the Pharisees heard these stories, they knew Jesus was talking about them. ⁴⁶ They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the people, because the people believed that Jesus was a prophet.

A Story About a Wedding Feast

22 Jesus again used stories to teach them. He said, ² “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding feast for his son. ³ The king invited some people to the feast. When the feast was ready, the king sent his servants to tell the people, but they refused to come.

⁴ “Then the king sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited that my feast is ready. I have killed my best bulls and calves for the dinner, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’

⁵ “But the people refused to listen to the servants and left to do other things. One went to work in his field, and another went to his business. ⁶ Some of the other people grabbed the servants, beat them, and killed them. ⁷ The king was furious and sent his army to kill the murderers and burn their city.

⁸ “After that, the king said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready. I invited those people, but they were not worthy to come. ⁹ So go to the street corners and invite everyone you find to come to my feast.’ ¹⁰ So the servants went into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹ “When the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man who was not dressed for a wedding. ¹² The king said, ‘Friend, how were you allowed to come in here? You are not dressed for a wedding.’ But the man said nothing. ¹³ So the king told some servants, ‘Tie this man’s hands and feet. Throw him out into the darkness, where people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.’

¹⁴ “Yes, many are invited, but only a few are chosen.”

Is It Right to Pay Taxes or Not?

¹⁵ Then the Pharisees left that place and made plans to trap Jesus in saying something wrong. ¹⁶ They sent some of their own followers and some people from the group called Herodians.^[aa] They said, “Teacher, we know that you are an honest man and that you teach the truth about God’s way. You are not afraid of what other people think about you, because you pay no attention to who they are. ¹⁷ So tell us what you think. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

¹⁸ But knowing that these leaders were trying to trick him, Jesus said, “You hypocrites! Why are you trying to trap me? ¹⁹ Show me a coin used for paying the tax.” So the men showed him a coin.^{[ab] 20} Then Jesus asked, “Whose image and name are on the coin?”

²¹ The men answered, “Caesar’s.”

Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and give to God the things that are God’s.”

²² When the men heard what Jesus said, they were amazed and left him and went away.

Some Sadducees Try to Trick Jesus

²³ That same day some Sadducees came to Jesus and asked him a question. (Sadducees believed that people would not rise from the dead.) ²⁴ They said, “Teacher, Moses said if a married man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for him. ²⁵ Once there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died. Since he had no children, his brother married the widow. ²⁶ Then the second brother also died. The same thing happened to the third brother and all the other brothers. ²⁷ Finally, the woman died. ²⁸ Since all seven men had married her, when people rise from the dead, whose wife will she be?”

²⁹ Jesus answered, “You don’t understand, because you don’t know what the Scriptures say, and you don’t know about the power of God. ³⁰ When people rise from the dead, they will not marry, nor will they be given to someone to marry. They will be like the angels in heaven. ³¹ Surely you have read what God said to you about rising from the dead. ³² God said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’^[ac] God is the God of the living, not the dead.”

³³ When the people heard this, they were amazed at Jesus’ teaching.

The Most Important Command

³⁴ When the Pharisees learned that the Sadducees could not argue with Jesus’ answers to them, the Pharisees met together. ³⁵ One Pharisee, who was an expert on the law of Moses, asked Jesus this question to test him: ³⁶ “Teacher, which command in the law is the most important?”

³⁷ Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’^{[ad] 38} This is the first and most important command. ³⁹ And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’^{[ae] 40} All the law and the writings of the prophets depend on these two commands.”

Jesus Questions the Pharisees

⁴¹ While the Pharisees were together, Jesus asked them, ⁴² “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?”

They answered, “The Christ is the Son of David.”

⁴³ Then Jesus said to them, “Then why did David call him ‘Lord’? David, speaking by the power of the Holy Spirit, said,

⁴⁵ David calls the Christ ‘Lord,’ so how can the Christ be his son?”

⁴⁶ None of the Pharisees could answer Jesus’ question, and after that day no one was brave enough to ask him any more questions.

Jesus Accuses Some Leaders

23 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his followers, ² “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees have the authority to tell you what the law of Moses says. ³ So you should obey and follow whatever they tell you, but their lives are not good examples for you to follow. They tell you to do things, but they themselves don’t do them. ⁴ They make strict rules and try to force people to obey them, but they are unwilling to help those who struggle under the weight of their rules.

⁵ “They do good things so that other people will see them. They enlarge the little boxes^[af] holding Scriptures that they wear, and they make their special prayer clothes very long. ⁶ Those Pharisees and teachers of the law love to have the most important seats at feasts and in the synagogues. ⁷ They love people to greet them with respect in the marketplaces, and they love to have people call them ‘Teacher.’

⁸ “But you must not be called ‘Teacher,’ because you have only one Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters together. ⁹ And don’t call any person on earth ‘Father,’ because you have one Father, who is in heaven. ¹⁰ And you should not be called ‘Master,’ because you have only one Master, the Christ. ¹¹ Whoever is your servant is the greatest among you. ¹² Whoever makes himself great will be made humble. Whoever makes himself humble will be made great.

¹³ “How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You close the door for people to enter the kingdom of heaven. You yourselves don’t enter, and you stop others who are trying to enter. [ ¹⁴ How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees. You are hypocrites. You take away widows’ houses, and you say long prayers so that people will notice you. So you will have a worse punishment.]^[ag]

¹⁵ “How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You travel across land and sea to find one person who will change to your ways. When you find that person, you make him more fit for hell than you are.

¹⁶ “How terrible for you! You guide the people, but you are blind. You say, ‘If people swear by the Temple when they make a promise, that means nothing. But if they swear by the gold that is in the Temple, they must keep that promise.’ ¹⁷ You are blind fools! Which is greater: the gold or the Temple that makes that gold holy? ¹⁸ And you say, ‘If people swear by the altar when they make a promise, that means nothing. But if they swear by the gift on the altar, they must keep that promise.’ ¹⁹ You are blind! Which is greater: the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy? ²⁰ The person who swears by the altar is really using the altar and also everything on the altar. ²¹ And the person who swears by the Temple is really using the Temple and also everything in the Temple. ²² The person who swears by heaven is also using God’s throne and the One who sits on that throne.

²³ “How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You give to God one-tenth of everything you earn—even your mint, dill, and cumin.^[ah] But you don’t obey the really important teachings of the law—justice, mercy, and being loyal. These are the things you should do, as well as those other things. ²⁴ You guide the people, but you are blind! You are like a person who picks a fly out of a drink and then swallows a camel!^[ai]

²⁵ “How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You wash the outside of your cups and dishes, but inside they are full of things you got by cheating others and by pleasing only yourselves. ²⁶ Pharisees, you are blind! First make the inside of the cup clean, and then the outside of the cup can be truly clean.

²⁷ “How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You are like tombs that are painted white. Outside, those tombs look fine, but inside, they are full of the bones of dead people and all kinds of unclean things. ²⁸ It is the same with you. People look at you and think you are good, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and evil.

²⁹ “How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets, and you show honor to the graves of those who lived good lives. ³⁰ You say, ‘If we had lived during the time of our ancestors, we would not have helped them kill the prophets.’ ³¹ But you give proof that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. ³² And you will complete the sin that your ancestors started.

³³ “You are snakes! A family of poisonous snakes! How are you going to escape God’s judgment? ³⁴ So I tell you this: I am sending to you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify. Some of them you will beat in your synagogues and chase from town to town. ³⁵ So you will be guilty for the death of all the good people who have been killed on earth—from the murder of that good man Abel to the murder of Zechariah^[aj] son of Berakiah, whom you murdered between the Temple and the altar. ³⁶ I tell you the truth, all of these things will happen to you people who are living now.

Jesus Feels Sorry for Jerusalem

³⁷ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and stone to death those who are sent to you. Many times I wanted to gather your people as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you did not let me. ³⁸ Now your house will be left completely empty. ³⁹ I tell you, you will not see me again until that time when you will say, ‘God bless the One who comes in the name of the Lord.’”^[ak]

The Temple Will Be Destroyed

24 As Jesus left the Temple and was walking away, his followers came up to show him the Temple’s buildings. ² Jesus asked, “Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, not one stone will be left on another. Every stone will be thrown down to the ground.”

³ Later, as Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his followers came to be alone with him. They said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that it is time for you to come again and for this age to end?”

⁴ Jesus answered, “Be careful that no one fools you. ⁵ Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will fool many people. ⁶ You will hear about wars and stories of wars that are coming, but don’t be afraid. These things must happen before the end comes. ⁷ Nations will fight against other nations; kingdoms will fight against other kingdoms. There will be times when there is no food for people to eat, and there will be earthquakes in different places. ⁸ These things are like the first pains when something new is about to be born.

⁹ “Then people will arrest you, hand you over to be hurt, and kill you. They will hate you because you believe in me. ¹⁰ At that time, many will lose their faith, and they will turn against each other and hate each other. ¹¹ Many false prophets will come and cause many people to believe lies. ¹² There will be more and more evil in the world, so most people will stop showing their love for each other. ¹³ But those people who keep their faith until the end will be saved. ¹⁴ The Good News about God’s kingdom will be preached in all the world, to every nation. Then the end will come.

¹⁵ “Daniel the prophet spoke about ‘a blasphemous object that brings destruction.’^[al] You will see this standing in the holy place.” (You who read this should understand what it means.) ¹⁶ “At that time, the people in Judea should run away to the mountains. ¹⁷ If people are on the roofs^[am] of their houses, they must not go down to get anything out of their houses. ¹⁸ If people are in the fields, they must not go back to get their coats. ¹⁹ At that time, how terrible it will be for women who are pregnant or have nursing babies! ²⁰ Pray that it will not be winter or a Sabbath day when these things happen and you have to run away, ²¹ because at that time there will be much trouble. There will be more trouble than there has ever been since the beginning of the world until now, and nothing as bad will ever happen again. ²² God has decided to make that terrible time short. Otherwise, no one would go on living. But God will make that time short to help the people he has chosen. ²³ At that time, someone might say to you, ‘Look, there is the Christ!’ Or another person might say, ‘There he is!’ But don’t believe them. ²⁴ False Christs and false prophets will come and perform great wonders and miracles. They will try to fool even the people God has chosen, if that is possible. ²⁵ Now I have warned you about this before it happens.

²⁶ “If people tell you, ‘The Christ is in the desert,’ don’t go there. If they say, ‘The Christ is in the inner room,’ don’t believe it. ²⁷ When the Son of Man comes, he will be seen by everyone, like lightning flashing from the east to the west. ²⁸ Wherever the dead body is, there the vultures will gather.

²⁹ “Soon after the trouble of those days,

³⁰ “At that time, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then all the peoples of the world will cry. They will see the Son of Man coming on clouds in the sky with great power and glory. ³¹ He will use a loud trumpet to send his angels all around the earth, and they will gather his chosen people from every part of the world.

³² “Learn a lesson from the fig tree: When its branches become green and soft and new leaves appear, you know summer is near. ³³ In the same way, when you see all these things happening, you will know that the time is near, ready to come. ³⁴ I tell you the truth, all these things will happen while the people of this time are still living. ³⁵ Earth and sky will be destroyed, but the words I have said will never be destroyed.

When Will Jesus Come Again?

³⁶ “No one knows when that day or time will be, not the angels in heaven, not even the Son.^[an] Only the Father knows. ³⁷ When the Son of Man comes, it will be like what happened during Noah’s time. ³⁸ In those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving their children to be married, until the day Noah entered the boat. ³⁹ They knew nothing about what was happening until the flood came and destroyed them. It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. ⁴⁰ Two men will be in the field. One will be taken, and the other will be left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding grain with a mill.^[ao] One will be taken, and the other will be left.

⁴² “So always be ready, because you don’t know the day your Lord will come. ⁴³ Remember this: If the owner of the house knew what time of night a thief was coming, the owner would watch and not let the thief break in. ⁴⁴ So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at a time you don’t expect him.

⁴⁵ “Who is the wise and loyal servant that the master trusts to give the other servants their food at the right time? ⁴⁶ When the master comes and finds the servant doing his work, the servant will be blessed. ⁴⁷ I tell you the truth, the master will choose that servant to take care of everything he owns. ⁴⁸ But suppose that evil servant thinks to himself, ‘My master will not come back soon,’ ⁴⁹ and he begins to beat the other servants and eat and get drunk with others like him? ⁵⁰ The master will come when that servant is not ready and is not expecting him. ⁵¹ Then the master will cut him in pieces and send him away to be with the hypocrites, where people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.

A Story About Ten Bridesmaids

25 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to wait for the bridegroom. ² Five of them were foolish and five were wise. ³ The five foolish bridesmaids took their lamps, but they did not take more oil for the lamps to burn. ⁴ The wise bridesmaids took their lamps and more oil in jars. ⁵ Because the bridegroom was late, they became sleepy and went to sleep.

⁶ “At midnight someone cried out, ‘The bridegroom is coming! Come and meet him!’ ⁷ Then all the bridesmaids woke up and got their lamps ready. ⁸ But the foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ The wise bridesmaids answered, ‘No, the oil we have might not be enough for all of us. Go to the people who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

¹⁰ “So while the five foolish bridesmaids went to buy oil, the bridegroom came. The bridesmaids who were ready went in with the bridegroom to the wedding feast. Then the door was closed and locked.

¹¹ “Later the others came back and said, ‘Sir, sir, open the door to let us in.’ ¹² But the bridegroom answered, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t want to know you.’

¹³ “So always be ready, because you don’t know the day or the hour the Son of Man will come.

A Story About Three Servants

¹⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who was going to another place for a visit. Before he left, he called for his servants and told them to take care of his things while he was gone. ¹⁵ He gave one servant five bags of gold, another servant two bags of gold, and a third servant one bag of gold, to each one as much as he could handle. Then he left. ¹⁶ The servant who got five bags went quickly to invest the money and earned five more bags. ¹⁷ In the same way, the servant who had two bags invested them and earned two more. ¹⁸ But the servant who got one bag went out and dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.

¹⁹ “After a long time the master came home and asked the servants what they did with his money. ²⁰ The servant who was given five bags of gold brought five more bags to the master and said, ‘Master, you trusted me to care for five bags of gold, so I used your five bags to earn five more.’ ²¹ The master answered, ‘You did well. You are a good and loyal servant. Because you were loyal with small things, I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my joy with me.’

²² “Then the servant who had been given two bags of gold came to the master and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of gold to care for, so I used your two bags to earn two more.’ ²³ The master answered, ‘You did well. You are a good and loyal servant. Because you were loyal with small things, I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my joy with me.’

²⁴ “Then the servant who had been given one bag of gold came to the master and said, ‘Master, I knew that you were a hard man. You harvest things you did not plant. You gather crops where you did not sow any seed. ²⁵ So I was afraid and went and hid your money in the ground. Here is your bag of gold.’ ²⁶ The master answered, ‘You are a wicked and lazy servant! You say you knew that I harvest things I did not plant and that I gather crops where I did not sow any seed. ²⁷ So you should have put my gold in the bank. Then, when I came home, I would have received my gold back with interest.’

²⁸ “So the master told his other servants, ‘Take the bag of gold from that servant and give it to the servant who has ten bags of gold. ²⁹ Those who have much will get more, and they will have much more than they need. But those who do not have much will have everything taken away from them.’ ³⁰ Then the master said, ‘Throw that useless servant outside, into the darkness where people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.’

The King Will Judge All People

³¹ “The Son of Man will come again in his great glory, with all his angels. He will be King and sit on his great throne. ³² All the nations of the world will be gathered before him, and he will separate them into two groups as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ The Son of Man will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to the people on his right, ‘Come, my Father has given you his blessing. Receive the kingdom God has prepared for you since the world was made. ³⁵ I was hungry, and you gave me food. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was alone and away from home, and you invited me into your house. ³⁶ I was without clothes, and you gave me something to wear. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

³⁷ “Then the good people will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you food, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you alone and away from home and invite you into our house? When did we see you without clothes and give you something to wear? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and care for you?’

⁴⁰ “Then the King will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, anything you did for even the least of my people here, you also did for me.’

⁴¹ “Then the King will say to those on his left, ‘Go away from me. You will be punished. Go into the fire that burns forever that was prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink. ⁴³ I was alone and away from home, and you did not invite me into your house. I was without clothes, and you gave me nothing to wear. I was sick and in prison, and you did not care for me.’

⁴⁴ “Then those people will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or alone and away from home or without clothes or sick or in prison? When did we see these things and not help you?’

⁴⁵ “Then the King will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, anything you refused to do for even the least of my people here, you refused to do for me.’

⁴⁶ “These people will go off to be punished forever, but the good people will go to live forever.”

The Plan to Kill Jesus

26 After Jesus finished saying all these things, he told his followers, ² “You know that the day after tomorrow is the day of the Passover Feast. On that day the Son of Man will be given to his enemies to be crucified.”

³ Then the leading priests and the elders had a meeting at the palace of the high priest, named Caiaphas. ⁴ At the meeting, they planned to set a trap to arrest Jesus and kill him. ⁵ But they said, “We must not do it during the feast, because the people might cause a riot.”

Perfume for Jesus’ Burial

⁶ Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon, who had a skin disease. ⁷ While Jesus was there, a woman approached him with an alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. She poured this perfume on Jesus’ head while he was eating.

⁸ His followers were upset when they saw the woman do this. They asked, “Why waste that perfume? ⁹ It could have been sold for a great deal of money and the money given to the poor.”

¹⁰ Knowing what had happened, Jesus said, “Why are you troubling this woman? She did an excellent thing for me. ¹¹ You will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. ¹² This woman poured perfume on my body to prepare me for burial. ¹³ I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached in all the world, what this woman has done will be told, and people will remember her.”

Judas Becomes an Enemy of Jesus

¹⁴ Then one of the twelve apostles, Judas Iscariot, went to talk to the leading priests. ¹⁵ He said, “What will you pay me for giving Jesus to you?” And they gave him thirty silver coins. ¹⁶ After that, Judas watched for the best time to turn Jesus in.

Jesus Eats the Passover Meal

¹⁷ On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the followers came to Jesus. They said, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover meal?”

¹⁸ Jesus answered, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: “The chosen time is near. I will have the Passover with my followers at your house.”’” ¹⁹ The followers did what Jesus told them to do, and they prepared the Passover meal.

²⁰ In the evening Jesus was sitting at the table with his twelve followers. ²¹ As they were eating, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will turn against me.”

²² This made the followers very sad. Each one began to say to Jesus, “Surely, Lord, I am not the one who will turn against you, am I?”

²³ Jesus answered, “The man who has dipped his hand with me into the bowl is the one who will turn against me. ²⁴ The Son of Man will die, just as the Scriptures say. But how terrible it will be for the person who hands the Son of Man over to be killed. It would be better for him if he had never been born.”

²⁵ Then Judas, who would give Jesus to his enemies, said to Jesus, “Teacher, surely I am not the one, am I?”

Jesus answered, “Yes, it is you.”

The Lord’s Supper

²⁶ While they were eating, Jesus took some bread and thanked God for it and broke it. Then he gave it to his followers and said, “Take this bread and eat it; this is my body.”

²⁷ Then Jesus took a cup and thanked God for it and gave it to the followers. He said, “Every one of you drink this. ²⁸ This is my blood which is the new^[ap] agreement that God makes with his people. This blood is poured out for many to forgive their sins. ²⁹ I tell you this: I will not drink of this fruit of the vine^[aq] again until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

³⁰ After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Jesus’ Followers Will Leave Him

³¹ Jesus told his followers, “Tonight you will all stumble in your faith on account of me, because it is written in the Scriptures:

³² But after I rise from the dead, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

³³ Peter said, “Everyone else may stumble in their faith because of you, but I will not.”

³⁴ Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, tonight before the rooster crows you will say three times that you don’t know me.”

³⁵ But Peter said, “I will never say that I don’t know you! I will even die with you!” And all the other followers said the same thing.

Jesus Prays Alone

³⁶ Then Jesus went with his followers to a place called Gethsemane. He said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷ He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with him, and he began to be very sad and troubled. ³⁸ He said to them, “My heart is full of sorrow, to the point of death. Stay here and watch with me.”

³⁹ After walking a little farther away from them, Jesus fell to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, do not give me this cup^[ar] of suffering. But do what you want, not what I want.” ⁴⁰ Then Jesus went back to his followers and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “You men could not stay awake with me for one hour? ⁴¹ Stay awake and pray for strength against temptation. The spirit wants to do what is right, but the body is weak.”

⁴² Then Jesus went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this painful thing to be taken from me, and if I must do it, I pray that what you want will be done.”

⁴³ Then he went back to his followers, and again he found them asleep, because their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ So Jesus left them and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing.

⁴⁵ Then Jesus went back to his followers and said, “Are you still sleeping and resting? The time has come for the Son of Man to be handed over to sinful people. ⁴⁶ Get up, we must go. Look, here comes the man who has turned against me.”

Jesus Is Arrested

⁴⁷ While Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve apostles, came up. With him were many people carrying swords and clubs who had been sent from the leading priests and the Jewish elders of the people. ⁴⁸ Judas had planned to give them a signal, saying, “The man I kiss is Jesus. Arrest him.” ⁴⁹ At once Judas went to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Teacher!” and kissed him.

⁵⁰ Jesus answered, “Friend, do what you came to do.”

Then the people came and grabbed Jesus and arrested him. ⁵¹ When that happened, one of Jesus’ followers reached for his sword and pulled it out. He struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.

⁵² Jesus said to the man, “Put your sword back in its place. All who use swords will be killed with swords. ⁵³ Surely you know I could ask my Father, and he would give me more than twelve armies of angels. ⁵⁴ But it must happen this way to bring about what the Scriptures say.”

⁵⁵ Then Jesus said to the crowd, “You came to get me with swords and clubs as if I were a criminal. Every day I sat in the Temple teaching, and you did not arrest me there. ⁵⁶ But all these things have happened so that it will come about as the prophets wrote.” Then all of Jesus’ followers left him and ran away.