Luke
Luke 1 (The Message)
1 So many
others have tried their hand at putting together a story of the wonderful
harvest of Scripture and history that took place among us, 2 using reports
handed down by the original eyewitnesses who served this Word with their very
lives. 3 Since I have investigated all the reports in close detail, starting
from the story's beginning, I decided to write it all out for you, most
honorable Theophilus, 4 so you can know beyond the shadow of a doubt the
reliability of what you were taught. A Childless Couple Conceives 5 During the
rule of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest assigned service in the
regiment of Abijah. His name was Zachariah. His wife was descended from the
daughters of Aaron. Her name was Elizabeth. 6 Together they lived honorably before
God, careful in keeping to the ways of the commandments and enjoying a clear
conscience before God. 7 But they were childless because Elizabeth could never
conceive, and now they were quite old. 8 It so happened that as Zachariah was
carrying out his priestly duties before God, working the shift assigned to his
regiment, 9 it came his one turn in life to enter the sanctuary of God and burn
incense. 10 The congregation was gathered and praying outside the Temple at the
hour of the incense offering. 11 Unannounced, an angel of God appeared just to
the right of the altar of incense. 12 Zachariah was paralyzed in fear. 13 But
the angel reassured him, "Don't fear, Zachariah. Your prayer has been
heard. Elizabeth, your wife, will bear a son by you. You are to name him John.
14 You're going to leap like a gazelle for joy, and not only you - many will
delight in his birth. 15 He'll achieve great stature with God. 16 He will turn
many sons and daughters of Israel back to their God. 17 He will herald God's
arrival in the style and strength of Elijah, soften the hearts of parents to
children, and kindle devout understanding among hardened skeptics - he'll get
the people ready for God." 18 Zachariah said to the angel, "Do you
expect me to believe this? I'm an old man and my wife is an old woman." 19
But the angel said, "I am Gabriel, the sentinel of God, sent especially to
bring you this glad news. 20 But because you won't believe me, you'll be unable
to say a word until the day of your son's birth. Every word I've spoken to you
will come true on time - God's time." 21 Meanwhile, the congregation
waiting for Zachariah was getting restless, wondering what was keeping him so
long in the sanctuary. 22 When he came out and couldn't speak, they knew he had
seen a vision. He continued speechless and had to use sign language with the
people. 23 When the course of his priestly assignment was completed, he went
back home.[ 24 It wasn't long before his wife, Elizabeth, conceived. She went
off by herself for five months, relishing her pregnancy. 25 "So, this is
how God acts to remedy my unfortunate condition!" she said. 26 In the
sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to the
Galilean village of Nazareth 27 to a virgin engaged to be married to a man
descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin's name, Mary. 28 Upon
entering, Gabriel greeted her: Good morning! You're beautiful with God's
beauty, Beautiful inside and out! God be with you. 29 She was thoroughly
shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. 30 But the angel
assured her, "Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you:
31 You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus. 32
He will be great, be called 'Son of the Highest.' The Lord God will give him
the throne of his father David; 33 He will rule Jacob's house forever - no end,
ever, to his kingdom." 34 Mary said to the angel, "But how? I've
never slept with a man." 35 The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come
upon you, the power of the Highest hover over you; Therefore, the child you
bring to birth will be called Holy, Son of God. 36 "And did you know that
your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is? Everyone called her
barren, and here she is six months' pregnant! 37 Nothing, you see, is
impossible with God." 38 And Mary said, Yes, I see it all now: I'm the
Lord's maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say. Then the angel
left her. Blessed Among Women 39 Mary didn't waste a minute. She got up and
traveled to a town in Judah in the hill country, 40 straight to Zachariah's
house, and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby
in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and sang out
exuberantly, You're so blessed among women, and the babe in your womb, also
blessed! 43 And why am I so blessed that the mother of my Lord visits me? 44
The moment the sound of your greeting entered my ears, The babe in my womb
skipped like a lamb for sheer joy. 45 Blessed woman, who believed what God said,
believed every word would come true! 46 And Mary said, I'm bursting with
God-news; 47 I'm dancing the song of my Savior God. 48 God took one good look
at me, and look what happened - I'm the most fortunate woman on earth! What God
has done for me will never be forgotten, 49 the God whose very name is holy,
set apart from all others. 50 His mercy flows in wave after wave on those who
are in awe before him. 51 He bared his arm and showed his strength, scattered
the bluffing braggarts. 52 He knocked tyrants off their high horses, pulled
victims out of the mud. 53 The starving poor sat down to a banquet; the callous
rich were left out in the cold. 54 He embraced his chosen child, Israel; he
remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high. 55 It's exactly what he
promised, beginning with Abraham and right up to now. 56 Mary stayed with
Elizabeth for three months and then went back to her own home. 57 When
Elizabeth was full-term in her pregnancy, she bore a son. 58 Her neighbors and
relatives, seeing that God had overwhelmed her with mercy, celebrated with her.
59 On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child and were calling him
Zachariah after his father. 60 But his mother intervened: "No. He is to be
called John." 61 "But," they said, "no one in your family
is named that." 62 They used sign language to ask Zachariah what he wanted
him named. 63 Asking for a tablet, Zachariah wrote, "His name is to be
John." That took everyone by surprise. 64 Surprise followed surprise -
Zachariah's mouth was now open, his tongue loose, and he was talking, praising
God! 65 A deep, reverential fear settled over the neighborhood, and in all that
Judean hill country people talked about nothing else. 66 Everyone who heard
about it took it to heart, wondering, "What will become of this child?
Clearly, God has his hand in this." 67 Then Zachariah was filled with the
Holy Spirit and prophesied, 68 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he came
and set his people free. 69 He set the power of salvation in the center of our lives,
and in the very house of David his servant, 70 Just as he promised long ago
through the preaching of his holy prophets: 71 Deliverance from our enemies and
every hateful hand; 72 Mercy to our fathers, as he remembers to do what he said
he'd do, 73 What he swore to our father Abraham - 74 a clean rescue from the
enemy camp, So we can worship him without a care in the world, 75 made holy
before him as long as we live. 76 And you, my child, "Prophet of the
Highest," will go ahead of the Master to prepare his ways, 77 Present the
offer of salvation to his people, the forgiveness of their sins. 78 Through the
heartfelt mercies of our God, God's Sunrise will break in upon us, 79 Shining
on those in the darkness, those sitting in the shadow of death, Then showing us
the way, one foot at a time, down the path of peace. 80 The child grew up,
healthy and spirited. He lived out in the desert until the day he made his
prophetic debut in Israel.
Luke 2 (The Message)
1 About that
time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. 2 This
was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 Everyone had to
travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. 4 So Joseph went from
the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David's town, for the
census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. 5 He went with Mary, his
fiancŽe, who was pregnant. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to
give birth. 7 She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket
and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel. 8 There were
sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their
sheep. 9 Suddenly, God's angel stood among them and God's glory blazed around
them. They were terrified. 10 The angel said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here
to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: 11
A Savior has just been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and
Master. 12 This is what you're to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and
lying in a manger." 13 At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic
choir singing God's praises: 14 Glory to God in the heavenly heights, Peace to
all men and women on earth who please him. 15 As the angel choir withdrew into
heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. "Let's get over to Bethlehem as
fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us." 16 They
left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. 17
Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said
about this child. 18 All who heard the sheepherders were impressed. 19 Mary
kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. 20
The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for
everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they'd been
told! 21 When the eighth day arrived, the day of circumcision, the child was
named Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived. 22 Then when
the days stipulated by Moses for purification were complete, they took him up
to Jerusalem to offer him to God 23 as commanded in God's Law: "Every male
who opens the womb shall be a holy offering to God," 24 and also to
sacrifice the "pair of doves or two young pigeons" prescribed in
God's Law. 25 In Jerusalem at the time, there was a man, Simeon by name, a good
man, a man who lived in the prayerful expectancy of help for Israel. And the
Holy Spirit was on him. 26 The Holy Spirit had shown him that he would see the
Messiah of God before he died. 27 Led by the Spirit, he entered the Temple. As
the parents of the child Jesus brought him in to carry out the rituals of the
Law, 28 Simeon took him into his arms and blessed God: 29 God, you can now
release your servant; release me in peace as you promised. 30 With my own eyes
I've seen your salvation; 31 it's now out in the open for everyone to see: 32 A
God-revealing light to the non-Jewish nations, and of glory for your people
Israel. 33 Jesus' father and mother were speechless with surprise at these
words. 34 Simeon went on to bless them, and said to Mary his mother, This child
marks both the failure and the recovery of many in Israel, A figure
misunderstood and contradicted - 35 the pain of a sword-thrust through you -
But the rejection will force honesty, as God reveals who they really are. 36
Anna the prophetess was also there, a daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of
Asher. She was by now a very old woman. She had been married seven years 37 and
a widow for eighty-four. She never left the Temple area, worshiping night and
day with her fastings and prayers. 38 At the very time Simeon was praying, she
showed up, broke into an anthem of praise to God, and talked about the child to
all who were waiting expectantly for the freeing of Jerusalem. 39 When they
finished everything required by God in the Law, they returned to Galilee and
their own town, Nazareth. 40 There the child grew strong in body and wise in
spirit. And the grace of God was on him. They Found Him in the Temple 41 Every
year Jesus' parents traveled to Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover. 42 When he
was twelve years old, they went up as they always did for the Feast. 43 When it
was over and they left for home, the child Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents didn't know it. 44 Thinking he was somewhere in the company of
pilgrims, they journeyed for a whole day and then began looking for him among
relatives and neighbors. 45 When they didn't find him, they went back to
Jerusalem looking for him. 46 The next day they found him in the Temple seated
among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions. 47 The teachers
were all quite taken with him, impressed with the sharpness of his answers. 48
But his parents were not impressed; they were upset and hurt. His mother said,
"Young man, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been half
out of our minds looking for you." 49 He said, "Why were you looking
for me? Didn't you know that I had to be here, dealing with the things of my Father?"
50 But they had no idea what he was talking about. 51 So he went back to
Nazareth with them, and lived obediently with them. His mother held these
things dearly, deep within herself. 52 And Jesus matured, growing up in both
body and spirit, blessed by both God and people.
Luke 3 (The Message)
1 In the
fifteenth year of the rule of Caesar Tiberius - it was while Pontius Pilate was
governor of Judea; Herod, ruler of Galilee; his brother Philip, ruler of Iturea
and Trachonitis; Lysanias, ruler of Abilene; 2 during the Chief-Priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas - John, Zachariah's son, out in the desert at the time,
received a message from God. 3 He went all through the country around the
Jordan River preaching a baptism of life-change leading to forgiveness of sins,
4 as described in the words of Isaiah the prophet: Thunder in the desert!
"Prepare God's arrival! Make the road smooth and straight! 5 Every ditch
will be filled in, Every bump smoothed out, The detours straightened out, All
the ruts paved over. 6 Everyone will be there to see The parade of God's
salvation." 7 When crowds of people came out for baptism because it was
the popular thing to do, John exploded: "Brood of snakes! What do you
think you're doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little
water on your snakeskins is going to deflect God's judgment? 8 It's your life
that must change, not your skin. And don't think you can pull rank by claiming
Abraham as 'father.' Being a child of Abraham is neither here nor there -
children of Abraham are a dime a dozen. God can make children from stones if he
wants. 9 What counts is your life. Is it green and blossoming? Because if it's
deadwood, it goes on the fire." 10 The crowd asked him, "Then what
are we supposed to do?" 11 "If you have two coats, give one
away," he said. "Do the same with your food." 12 Tax men also
came to be baptized and said, "Teacher, what should we do?" 13 He
told them, "No more extortion - collect only what is required by
law." 14 Soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" He told
them, "No shakedowns, no blackmail - and be content with your
rations." 15 The interest of the people by now was building. They were all
beginning to wonder, "Could this John be the Messiah?" 16 But John
intervened: "I'm baptizing you here in the river. The main character in
this drama, to whom I'm a mere stagehand, will ignite the kingdom life, a fire,
the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out. 17 He's going to
clean house - make a clean sweep of your lives. He'll place everything true in
its proper place before God; everything false he'll put out with the trash to
be burned." 18 There was a lot more of this - words that gave strength to
the people, words that put heart in them. The Message! 19 But Herod, the ruler,
stung by John's rebuke in the matter of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, 20
capped his long string of evil deeds with this outrage: He put John in jail. 21
After all the people were baptized, Jesus was baptized. As he was praying, the
sky opened up 22 and the Holy Spirit, like a dove descending, came down on him.
And along with the Spirit, a voice: "You are my Son, chosen and marked by
my love, pride of my life." Son of Adam, Son of God 23 When Jesus entered
public life he was about thirty years old, the son (in public perception) of
Joseph, who was - son of Heli, 24 son of Matthat, son of Levi, son of Melchi,
son of Jannai, 25 son of Joseph, son of Mattathias, son of Amos, son of Nahum,
son of Esli, son of Naggai, 26 son of Maath, son of Mattathias, son of Semein,
son of Josech, son of Joda, 27 son of Joanan, son of Rhesa, son of Zerubbabel,
son of Shealtiel, son of Neri, 28 son of Melchi, son of Addi, son of Cosam, son
of Elmadam, son of Er, 29 son of Joshua, son of Eliezer, son of Jorim, son of
Matthat, son of Levi, 30 son of Simeon, son of Judah, son of Joseph, son of
Jonam, son of Eliakim, 31 son of Melea, son of Menna, son of Mattatha, son of
Nathan, son of David, 32 son of Jesse, son of Obed, son of Boaz, son of Sala,
son of Nahshon, 33 son of Amminadab, son of Admin, son of Arni, son of Hezron,
son of Perez, son of Judah, 34 son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham, son
of Terah, son of Nahor, 35 son of Serug, son of Reu, son of Peleg, son of Eber,
son of Shelah, 36 son of Cainan, son of Arphaxad, son of Shem, son of Noah, son
of Lamech, 37 son of Methuselah, son of Enoch, son of Jared, son of Mahalaleel,
son of Cainan, 38 son of Enos, son of Seth, son of Adam, son of God.
Luke 4 (The Message)
1 Now Jesus,
full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the
wild. 2 For forty wilderness days and nights he was tested by the Devil. He ate
nothing during those days, and when the time was up he was hungry. 3 The Devil,
playing on his hunger, gave the first test: "Since you're God's Son,
command this stone to turn into a loaf of bread." 4 Jesus answered by
quoting Deuteronomy: "It takes more than bread to really live." 5 For
the second test he led him up and spread out all the kingdoms of the earth on
display at once. 6 Then the Devil said, "They're yours in all their
splendor to serve your pleasure. I'm in charge of them all and can turn them
over to whomever I wish. 7 Worship me and they're yours, the whole works."
8 Jesus refused, again backing his refusal with Deuteronomy: "Worship the
Lord your God and only the Lord your God. Serve him with absolute
single-heartedness." 9 For the third test the Devil took him to Jerusalem
and put him on top of the Temple. He said, "If you are God's Son, jump. 10
It's written, isn't it, that 'he has placed you in the care of angels to
protect you; 11 they will catch you; you won't so much as stub your toe on a
stone'?" 12 "Yes," said Jesus, "and it's also written,
'Don't you dare tempt the Lord your God.'" 13 That completed the testing.
The Devil retreated temporarily, lying in wait for another opportunity. 14
Jesus returned to Galilee powerful in the Spirit. News that he was back spread
through the countryside. 15 He taught in their meeting places to everyone's
acclaim and pleasure. 16 He came to Nazareth where he had been reared. As he
always did on the Sabbath, he went to the meeting place. When he stood up to
read, 17 he was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll,
he found the place where it was written, 18 God's Spirit is on me; he's chosen
me to preach the Message of good news to the poor, Sent me to announce pardon
to prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, To set the burdened and
battered free, 19 to announce, "This is God's year to act!" 20 He
rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the assistant, and sat down. Every eye
in the place was on him, intent. 21 Then he started in, "You've just heard
Scripture make history. It came true just now in this place." 22 All who
were there, watching and listening, were surprised at how well he spoke. But
they also said, "Isn't this Joseph's son, the one we've known since he was
a youngster?" 23 He answered, "I suppose you're going to quote the
proverb, 'Doctor, go heal yourself. Do here in your hometown what we heard you
did in Capernaum.' 24 Well, let me tell you something: No prophet is ever
welcomed in his hometown. 25 Isn't it a fact that there were many widows in
Israel at the time of Elijah during that three and a half years of drought when
famine devastated the land, 26 but the only widow to whom Elijah was sent was
in Sarepta in Sidon? 27 And there were many lepers in Israel at the time of the
prophet Elisha but the only one cleansed was Naaman the Syrian." 28 That
set everyone in the meeting place seething with anger. 29 They threw him out,
banishing him from the village, then took him to a mountain cliff at the edge
of the village to throw him to his doom, 30 but he gave them the slip and was
on his way. 31 He went down to Capernaum, a village in Galilee. He was teaching
the people on the Sabbath. 32 They were surprised and impressed - his teaching
was so forthright, so confident, so authoritative, not the quibbling and
quoting they were used to. 33 In the meeting place that day there was a man
demonically disturbed. He screamed, 34 "Ho! What business do you have here
with us, Jesus? Nazarene! I know what you're up to. You're the Holy One of God
and you've come to destroy us!" 35 Jesus shut him up: "Quiet! Get out
of him!" The demonic spirit threw the man down in front of them all and
left. The demon didn't hurt him. 36 That set everyone back on their heels,
whispering and wondering, "What's going on here? Someone whose words make
things happen? Someone who orders demonic spirits to get out and they go?"
37 Jesus was the talk of the town. 38 He left the meeting place and went to
Simon's house. Simon's mother-in-law was running a high fever and they asked
him to do something for her. 39 He stood over her, told the fever to leave -
and it left. Before they knew it, she was up getting dinner for them. 40 When
the sun went down, everyone who had anyone sick with some ailment or other
brought them to him. One by one he placed his hands on them and healed them. 41
Demons left in droves, screaming, "Son of God! You're the Son of God!"
But he shut them up, refusing to let them speak because they knew too much,
knew him to be the Messiah. 42 He left the next day for open country. But the
crowds went looking and, when they found him, clung to him so he couldn't go
on. 43 He told them, "Don't you realize that there are yet other villages
where I have to tell the Message of God's kingdom, that this is the work God
sent me to do?" 44 Meanwhile he continued preaching in the meeting places
of Galilee.
Luke 5 (The Message)
1 Once when
he was standing on the shore of Lake Gennesaret, the crowd was pushing in on
him to better hear the Word of God. 2 He noticed two boats tied up. The
fishermen had just left them and were out scrubbing their nets. 3 He climbed
into the boat that was Simon's and asked him to put out a little from the
shore. Sitting there, using the boat for a pulpit, he taught the crowd. 4 When
he finished teaching, he said to Simon, "Push out into deep water and let
your nets out for a catch." 5 Simon said, "Master, we've been fishing
hard all night and haven't caught even a minnow. But if you say so, I'll let
out the nets." 6 It was no sooner said than done - a huge haul of fish,
straining the nets past capacity. 7 They waved to their partners in the other
boat to come help them. They filled both boats, nearly swamping them with the
catch. 8 Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell to his knees before Jesus.
"Master, leave. I'm a sinner and can't handle this holiness. Leave me to
myself." 9 When they pulled in that catch of fish, awe overwhelmed Simon
and everyone with him. 10 It was the same with James and John, Zebedee's sons,
coworkers with Simon. 11 They pulled their boats up on the beach, left them,
nets and all, and followed him. 12 One day in one of the villages there was a
man covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus he fell down before him in prayer
and said, "If you want to, you can cleanse me." 13 Jesus put out his
hand, touched him, and said, "I want to. Be clean." Then and there
his skin was smooth, the leprosy gone. 14 Jesus instructed him, "Don't
talk about this all over town. Just quietly present your healed self to the
priest, along with the offering ordered by Moses. Your cleansed and obedient
life, not your words, will bear witness to what I have done." 15 But the
man couldn't keep it to himself, and the word got out. Soon a large crowd of
people had gathered to listen and be healed of their ailments. 16 As often as
possible Jesus withdrew to out-of-the-way places for prayer. 17 One day as he
was teaching, Pharisees and religion teachers were sitting around. They had
come from nearly every village in Galilee and Judea, even as far away as
Jerusalem, to be there. The healing power of God was on him. 18 Some men
arrived carrying a paraplegic on a stretcher. They were looking for a way to
get into the house and set him before Jesus. 19 When they couldn't find a way
in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof, removed some tiles, and let
him down in the middle of everyone, right in front of Jesus. 20 Impressed by
their bold belief, he said, "Friend, I forgive your sins." 21 That
set the religion scholars and Pharisees buzzing. "Who does he think he is?
That's blasphemous talk! God and only God can forgive sins." 22 Jesus knew
exactly what they were thinking and said, "Why all this gossipy
whispering? 23 Which is simpler: to say 'I forgive your sins,' or to say 'Get
up and start walking'? 24 Well, just so it's clear that I'm the Son of Man and
authorized to do either, or both. . . ." He now spoke directly to the
paraplegic: "Get up. Take your bedroll and go home." 25 Without a
moment's hesitation, he did it - got up, took his blanket, and left for home,
giving glory to God all the way. 26 The people rubbed their eyes, incredulous -
and then also gave glory to God. Awestruck, they said, "We've never seen
anything like that!" 27 After this he went out and saw a man named Levi at
his work collecting taxes. Jesus said, "Come along with me." 28 And
he did - walked away from everything and went with him. 29 Levi gave a large
dinner at his home for Jesus. Everybody was there, tax men and other
disreputable characters as guests at the dinner. 30 The Pharisees and their
religion scholars came to his disciples greatly offended. "What is he
doing eating and drinking with crooks and 'sinners'?" 31 Jesus heard about
it and spoke up, "Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? 32 I'm here
inviting outsiders, not insiders - an invitation to a changed life, changed
inside and out." 33 They asked him, "John's disciples are well-known
for keeping fasts and saying prayers. Also the Pharisees. But you seem to spend
most of your time at parties. Why?" 34 Jesus said, "When you're
celebrating a wedding, you don't skimp on the cake and wine. You feast. Later
you may need to pull in your belt, but this isn't the time. As long as the
bride and groom are with you, you have a good time. 35 When the groom is gone,
the fasting can begin. No one throws cold water on a friendly bonfire. This is
Kingdom Come! 36 "No one cuts up a fine silk scarf to patch old work
clothes; you want fabrics that match. 37 And you don't put wine in old, cracked
bottles; 38 you get strong, clean bottles for your fresh vintage wine. 39 And
no one who has ever tasted fine aged wine prefers unaged wine."
Luke 6 (The Message)
1 On a
certain Sabbath Jesus was walking through a field of ripe grain. His disciples
were pulling off heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands to get rid of the
chaff, and eating them. 2 Some Pharisees said, "Why are you doing that,
breaking a Sabbath rule?" 3 But Jesus stood up for them. "Have you
never read what David and those with him did when they were hungry? 4 How he
entered the sanctuary and ate fresh bread off the altar, bread that no one but
priests were allowed to eat? He also handed it out to his companions." 5
Then he said, "The Son of Man is no slave to the Sabbath; he's in
charge." 6 On another Sabbath he went to the meeting place and taught.
There was a man there with a crippled right hand. 7 The religion scholars and
Pharisees had their eye on Jesus to see if he would heal the man, hoping to
catch him in a Sabbath infraction. 8 He knew what they were up to and spoke to
the man with the crippled hand: "Get up and stand here before us." He
did. 9 Then Jesus addressed them, "Let me ask you something: What kind of
action suits the Sabbath best? Doing good or doing evil? Helping people or
leaving them helpless?" 10 He looked around, looked each one in the eye.
He said to the man, "Hold out your hand." He held it out - it was as
good as new! 11 They were beside themselves with anger, and started plotting
how they might get even with him. 12 At about that same time he climbed a
mountain to pray. He was there all night in prayer before God. 13 The next day
he summoned his disciples; from them he selected twelve he designated as
apostles: 14 Simon, whom he named Peter, Andrew, his brother, James, John,
Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, James, son of Alphaeus, Simon, called
the Zealot, 16 Judas, son of James, Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. 17 Coming
down off the mountain with them, he stood on a plain surrounded by disciples,
and was soon joined by a huge congregation from all over Judea and Jerusalem,
even from the seaside towns of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They had come both to hear
him and to be cured of their ailments. Those disturbed by evil spirits were
healed. 19 Everyone was trying to touch him - so much energy surging from him,
so many people healed! 20 Then he spoke: You're blessed when you've lost it
all. God's kingdom is there for the finding. 21 You're blessed when you're
ravenously hungry. Then you're ready for the Messianic meal. You're blessed
when the tears flow freely. Joy comes with the morning. 22 "Count yourself
blessed every time someone cuts you down or throws you out, every time someone
smears or blackens your name to discredit me. What it means is that the truth
is too close for comfort and that that person is uncomfortable. 23 You can be
glad when that happens - skip like a lamb, if you like! - for even though they
don't like it, I do . . . and all heaven applauds. And know that you are in
good company; my preachers and witnesses have always been treated like this.
Give Away Your Life 24 But it's trouble ahead if you think you have it made.
What you have is all you'll ever get. 25 And it's trouble ahead if you're
satisfied with yourself. Your self will not satisfy you for long. And it's
trouble ahead if you think life's all fun and games. There's suffering to be
met, and you're going to meet it. 26 "There's trouble ahead when you live
only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges
them. Popularity contests are not truth contests - look how many scoundrel
preachers were approved by your ancestors! Your task is to be true, not
popular. 27 "To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your
enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. 28 When someone
gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person. 29
If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs
your shirt, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. 30 If someone
takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life.
No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously. 31 "Here is a simple rule of
thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab
the initiative and do it for them! 32 If you only love the lovable, do you
expect a pat on the back? Run-of-the-mill sinners do that. 33 If you only help
those who help you, do you expect a medal? Garden-variety sinners do that. 34
If you only give for what you hope to get out of it, do you think that's
charity? The stingiest of pawnbrokers does that. 35 "I tell you, love your
enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You'll never - I promise -
regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward
us, generously and graciously, even when we're at our worst. 36 Our Father is
kind; you be kind. 37 "Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize
their faults - unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don't condemn
those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you'll find
life a lot easier. 38 Give away your life; you'll find life given back, but not
merely given back - given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is
the way. Generosity begets generosity." 39 He quoted a proverb: "'Can
a blind man guide a blind man?' Wouldn't they both end up in the ditch? 40 An
apprentice doesn't lecture the master. The point is to be careful who you
follow as your teacher. 41 "It's easy to see a smudge on your neighbor's
face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. 42 Do you have the nerve
to say, 'Let me wash your face for you,' when your own face is distorted by
contempt? It's this I-know-better-than-you mentality again, playing a
holier-than-thou part instead of just living your own part. Wipe that ugly
sneer off your own face and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your
neighbor. 43 "You don't get wormy apples off a healthy tree, nor good
apples off a diseased tree. 44 The health of the apple tells the health of the
tree. You must begin with your own life-giving lives. 45 It's who you are, not
what you say and do, that counts. Your true being brims over into true words
and deeds. 46 "Why are you so polite with me, always saying 'Yes, sir,'
and 'That's right, sir,' but never doing a thing I tell you? 47 These words I
speak to you are not mere additions to your life, homeowner improvements to
your standard of living. They are foundation words, words to build a life on.
48 "If you work the words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter
who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river
burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake it; it was
built to last. 49 But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work
them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but
skipped the foundation. When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed
like a house of cards. It was a total loss."
Luke 7 (The Message)
1 When he
finished speaking to the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 A Roman captain there
had a servant who was on his deathbed. He prized him highly and didn't want to
lose him. 3 When he heard Jesus was back, he sent leaders from the Jewish
community asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 They came to Jesus and
urged him to do it, saying, "He deserves this. 5 He loves our people. He
even built our meeting place." 6 Jesus went with them. When he was still
quite far from the house, the captain sent friends to tell him, "Master,
you don't have to go to all this trouble. I'm not that good a person, you know.
I'd be embarrassed for you to come to my house, 7 even embarrassed to come to
you in person. Just give the order and my servant will get well. 8 I'm a man
under orders; I also give orders. I tell one soldier, 'Go,' and he goes;
another, 'Come,' and he comes; my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." 9
Taken aback, Jesus addressed the accompanying crowd: "I've yet to come
across this kind of simple trust anywhere in Israel, the very people who are
supposed to know about God and how he works." 10 When the messengers got
back home, they found the servant up and well. 11 Not long after that, Jesus
went to the village Nain. His disciples were with him, along with quite a large
crowd. 12 As they approached the village gate, they met a funeral procession -
a woman's only son was being carried out for burial. And the mother was a
widow. 13 When Jesus saw her, his heart broke. He said to her, "Don't
cry." 14 Then he went over and touched the coffin. The pallbearers
stopped. He said, "Young man, I tell you: Get up." 15 The dead son
sat up and began talking. Jesus presented him to his mother. 16 They all
realized they were in a place of holy mystery, that God was at work among them.
They were quietly worshipful - and then noisily grateful, calling out among
themselves, "God is back, looking to the needs of his people!" 17 The
news of Jesus spread all through the country. 18 John's disciples reported back
to him the news of all these events taking place. 19 He sent two of them to the
Master to ask the question, "Are you the One we've been expecting, or are
we still waiting?" 20 The men showed up before Jesus and said, "John
the Baptizer sent us to ask you, 'Are you the One we've been expecting, or are
we still waiting?'" 21 In the next two or three hours Jesus healed many
from diseases, distress, and evil spirits. To many of the blind he gave the
gift of sight. 22 Then he gave his answer: "Go back and tell John what you
have just seen and heard: The blind see, The lame walk, Lepers are cleansed,
The deaf hear, The dead are raised, The wretched of the earth have God's
salvation hospitality extended to them. 23 "Is this what you were
expecting? Then count yourselves fortunate!" 24 After John's messengers
left to make their report, Jesus said more about John to the crowd of people.
"What did you expect when you went out to see him in the wild? A weekend
camper? 25 Hardly. What then? A sheik in silk pajamas? Not in the wilderness,
not by a long shot. 26 What then? A messenger from God? That's right, a
messenger! Probably the greatest messenger you'll ever hear. 27 He is the
messenger Malachi announced when he wrote, I'm sending my messenger on ahead To
make the road smooth for you. 28 "Let me lay it out for you as plainly as
I can: No one in history surpasses John the Baptizer, but in the kingdom he
prepared you for, the lowliest person is ahead of him. 29 The ordinary and
disreputable people who heard John, by being baptized by him into the kingdom,
are the clearest evidence; 30 the Pharisees and religious officials would have
nothing to do with such a baptism, wouldn't think of giving up their place in
line to their inferiors. 31 "How can I account for the people of this
generation? 32 They're like spoiled children complaining to their parents, 'We
wanted to skip rope and you were always too tired; we wanted to talk but you
were always too busy.' 33 John the Baptizer came fasting and you called him
crazy. 34 The Son of Man came feasting and you called him a lush. 35 Opinion
polls don't count for much, do they? The proof of the pudding is in the
eating." Anointing His Feet 36 One of the Pharisees asked him over for a
meal. He went to the Pharisee's house and sat down at the dinner table. 37 Just
then a woman of the village, the town harlot, having learned that Jesus was a
guest in the home of the Pharisee, came with a bottle of very expensive perfume
38 and stood at his feet, weeping, raining tears on his feet. Letting down her
hair, she dried his feet, kissed them, and anointed them with the perfume. 39
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If
this man was the prophet I thought he was, he would have known what kind of
woman this is who is falling all over him." 40 Jesus said to him,
"Simon, I have something to tell you." "Oh? Tell me." 41
"Two men were in debt to a banker. One owed five hundred silver pieces,
the other fifty. 42 Neither of them could pay up, and so the banker canceled
both debts. Which of the two would be more grateful?" 43 Simon answered,
"I suppose the one who was forgiven the most." 44 Then turning to the
woman, but speaking to Simon, he said, "Do you see this woman? I came to
your home; you provided no water for my feet, but she rained tears on my feet
and dried them with her hair. 45 You gave me no greeting, but from the time I
arrived she hasn't quit kissing my feet. 46 You provided nothing for freshening
up, but she has soothed my feet with perfume. 47 Impressive, isn't it? She was
forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. If the forgiveness
is minimal, the gratitude is minimal." 48 Then he spoke to her: "I
forgive your sins." 49 That set the dinner guests talking behind his back:
"Who does he think he is, forgiving sins!" 50 He ignored them and
said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace."
Luke 8 (The Message)
1 He
continued according to plan, traveled to town after town, village after
village, preaching God's kingdom, spreading the Message. The Twelve were with
him. 2 There were also some women in their company who had been healed of
various evil afflictions and illnesses: Mary, the one called Magdalene, from
whom seven demons had gone out; 3 Joanna, wife of Chuza, Herod's manager; and
Susanna - along with many others who used their considerable means to provide
for the company. 4 As they went from town to town, a lot of people joined in
and traveled along. He addressed them, using this story: 5 "A farmer went
out to sow his seed. Some of it fell on the road; it was tramped down and the
birds ate it. 6 Other seed fell in the gravel; it sprouted, but withered
because it didn't have good roots. 7 Other seed fell in the weeds; the weeds
grew with it and strangled it. 8 Other seed fell in rich earth and produced a
bumper crop. "Are you listening to this? Really listening?" 9 His
disciples asked, "Why did you tell this story?" 10 He said,
"You've been given insight into God's kingdom - you know how it works.
There are others who need stories. But even with stories some of them aren't
going to get it: Their eyes are open but don't see a thing, Their ears are open
but don't hear a thing. 11 "This story is about some of those people. The
seed is the Word of God. 12 The seeds on the road are those who hear the Word,
but no sooner do they hear it than the Devil snatches it from them so they
won't believe and be saved. 13 "The seeds in the gravel are those who hear
with enthusiasm, but the enthusiasm doesn't go very deep. It's only another
fad, and the moment there's trouble it's gone. 14 "And the seed that fell
in the weeds - well, these are the ones who hear, but then the seed is crowded
out and nothing comes of it as they go about their lives worrying about
tomorrow, making money, and having fun. 15 "But the seed in the good earth
- these are the good-hearts who seize the Word and hold on no matter what,
sticking with it until there's a harvest. 16 "No one lights a lamp and
then covers it with a washtub or shoves it under the bed. No, you set it up on
a lamp stand so those who enter the room can see their way. 17 We're not
keeping secrets; we're telling them. We're not hiding things; we're bringing
everything out into the open. 18 So be careful that you don't become misers of
what you hear. Generosity begets generosity. Stinginess impoverishes." 19
His mother and brothers showed up but couldn't get through to him because of
the crowd. 20 He was given the message, "Your mother and brothers are standing
outside wanting to see you." 21 He replied, "My mother and brothers
are the ones who hear and do God's Word. Obedience is thicker than blood."
22 One day he and his disciples got in a boat. "Let's cross the
lake," he said. And off they went. 23 It was smooth sailing, and he fell
asleep. A terrific storm came up suddenly on the lake. Water poured in, and
they were about to capsize. 24 They woke Jesus: "Master, Master, we're
going to drown!" Getting to his feet, he told the wind, "Silence!"
and the waves, "Quiet down!" They did it. The lake became smooth as
glass. 25 Then he said to his disciples, "Why can't you trust me?"
They were in absolute awe, staggered and stammering, "Who is this, anyway?
He calls out to the winds and sea, and they do what he tells them!" 26
They sailed on to the country of the Gerasenes, directly opposite Galilee. 27
As he stepped out onto land, a madman from town met him; he was a victim of
demons. He hadn't worn clothes for a long time, nor lived at home; he lived in
the cemetery. 28 When he saw Jesus he screamed, fell before him, and bellowed,
"What business do you have messing with me? You're Jesus, Son of the High
God, but don't give me a hard time!" 29 (The man said this because Jesus
had started to order the unclean spirit out of him.) Time after time the demon
threw the man into convulsions. He had been placed under constant guard and
tied with chains and shackles, but crazed and driven wild by the demon, he
would shatter the bonds. 30 Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" 31
And they begged Jesus desperately not to order them to the bottomless pit. 32 A
large herd of pigs was browsing and rooting on a nearby hill. The demons begged
Jesus to order them into the pigs. He gave the order. 33 It was even worse for
the pigs than for the man. Crazed, they stampeded over a cliff into the lake
and drowned. 34 Those tending the pigs, scared to death, bolted and told their
story in town and country. 35 People went out to see what had happened. They
came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had been sent, sitting
there at Jesus' feet, wearing decent clothes and making sense. It was a holy
moment, and for a short time they were more reverent than curious. 36 Then
those who had seen it happen told how the demoniac had been saved. 37 Later, a
great many people from the Gerasene countryside got together and asked Jesus to
leave - too much change, too fast, and they were scared. So Jesus got back in
the boat and set off. 38 The man whom he had delivered from the demons asked to
go with him, but he sent him back, saying, 39 "Go home and tell everything
God did in you." So he went back and preached all over town everything
Jesus had done in him. 40 On his return, Jesus was welcomed by a crowd. They
were all there expecting him. 41 A man came up, Jairus by name. He was
president of the meeting place. He fell at Jesus' feet and begged him to come
to his home 42 because his twelve-year-old daughter, his only child, was dying.
Jesus went with him, making his way through the pushing, jostling crowd. 43 In
the crowd that day there was a woman who for twelve years had been afflicted
with hemorrhages. She had spent every penny she had on doctors but not one had
been able to help her. 44 She slipped in from behind and touched the edge of
Jesus' robe. At that very moment her hemorrhaging stopped. 45 Jesus said,
"Who touched me?" When no one stepped forward, Peter said, "But
Master, we've got crowds of people on our hands. Dozens have touched you."
46 Jesus insisted, "Someone touched me. I felt power discharging from
me." 47 When the woman realized that she couldn't remain hidden, she knelt
trembling before him. In front of all the people, she blurted out her story -
why she touched him and how at that same moment she was healed. 48 Jesus said,
"Daughter, you took a risk trusting me, and now you're healed and whole.
Live well, live blessed!" 49 While he was still talking, someone from the
leader's house came up and told him, "Your daughter died. No need now to
bother the Teacher." 50 Jesus overheard and said, "Don't be upset.
Just trust me and everything will be all right." 51 Going into the house,
he wouldn't let anyone enter with him except Peter, John, James, and the
child's parents. 52 Everyone was crying and carrying on over her. Jesus said,
"Don't cry. She didn't die; she's sleeping." 53 They laughed at him.
They knew she was dead. 54 Then Jesus, gripping her hand, called, "My dear
child, get up." 55 She was up in an instant, up and breathing again! He
told them to give her something to eat. 56 Her parents were ecstatic, but Jesus
warned them to keep quiet. "Don't tell a soul what happened in this
room."
Luke 9 (The Message)
1 Jesus now
called the Twelve and gave them authority and power to deal with all the demons
and cure diseases. 2 He commissioned them to preach the news of God's kingdom
and heal the sick. 3 He said, "Don't load yourselves up with equipment. 4
Keep it simple; you are the equipment. And no luxury inns - get a modest place
and be content there until you leave. 5 If you're not welcomed, leave town.
Don't make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and move on." 6 Commissioned,
they left. They traveled from town to town telling the latest news of God, the
Message, and curing people everywhere they went. 7 Herod, the ruler, heard of
these goings on and didn't know what to think. There were people saying John
had come back from the dead, 8 others that Elijah had appeared, still others
that some prophet of long ago had shown up. 9 Herod said, "But I killed
John - took off his head. So who is this that I keep hearing about?"
Curious, he looked for a chance to see him in action. 10 The apostles returned
and reported on what they had done. Jesus took them away, off by themselves,
near the town called Bethsaida. 11 But the crowds got wind of it and followed.
Jesus graciously welcomed them and talked to them about the kingdom of God.
Those who needed healing, he healed. 12 As the day declined, the Twelve said,
"Dismiss the crowd so they can go to the farms or villages around here and
get a room for the night and a bite to eat. We're out in the middle of
nowhere." 13 "You feed them," Jesus said. 14 (There were more
than five thousand people in the crowd.) 15 They did what he said, and soon had
everyone seated. 16 He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to
heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread and fish to the disciples
to hand out to the crowd. 17 After the people had all eaten their fill, twelve
baskets of leftovers were gathered up. 18 One time when Jesus was off praying
by himself, his disciples nearby, he asked them, "What are the crowds
saying about me, about who I am?" 19 They said, "John the Baptizer.
Others say Elijah. Still others say that one of the prophets from long ago has
come back." 20 He then asked, "And you - what are you saying about
me? Who am I?" Peter answered, "The Messiah of God." 21 Jesus
then warned them to keep it quiet. They were to tell no one what Peter had
said. 22 He went on, "It is necessary that the Son of Man proceed to an
ordeal of suffering, be tried and found guilty by the religious leaders, high
priests, and religion scholars, be killed, and on the third day be raised up alive."
23 Then he told them what they could expect for themselves: "Anyone who
intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat - I
am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. 24
Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding
yourself, your true self. 25 What good would it do to get everything you want
and lose you, the real you? 26 If any of you is embarrassed with me and the way
I'm leading you, know that the Son of Man will be far more embarrassed with you
when he arrives in all his splendor in company with the Father and the holy
angels. This isn't, you realize, pie in the sky by and by. 27 Some who have
taken their stand right here are going to see it happen, see with their own
eyes the kingdom of God." 28 About eight days after saying this, he
climbed the mountain to pray, taking Peter, John, and James along. 29 While he
was in prayer, the appearance of his face changed and his clothes became
blinding white. 30 At once two men were there talking with him. They turned out
to be Moses and Elijah - 31 and what a glorious appearance they made! They
talked over his exodus, the one Jesus was about to complete in Jerusalem. 32
Meanwhile, Peter and those with him were slumped over in sleep. When they came
to, rubbing their eyes, they saw Jesus in his glory and the two men standing
with him. 33 When Moses and Elijah had left, Peter said to Jesus, "Master,
this is a great moment! Let's build three memorials: one for you, one for Moses,
and one for Elijah." He blurted this out without thinking. 34 While he was
babbling on like this, a light-radiant cloud enveloped them. As they found
themselves buried in the cloud, they became deeply aware of God. 35 Then there
was a voice out of the cloud: "This is my Son, the Chosen! Listen to
him." 36 When the sound of the voice died away, they saw Jesus there
alone. They were speechless. And they continued speechless, said not one thing
to anyone during those days of what they had seen. 37 When they came down off
the mountain the next day, a big crowd was there to meet them. 38 A man called
from out of the crowd, "Please, please, Teacher, take a look at my son.
He's my only child. 39 Often a spirit seizes him. Suddenly he's screaming, thrown
into convulsions, his mouth foaming. And then it beats him black and blue
before it leaves. 40 I asked your disciples to deliver him but they
couldn't." 41 Jesus said, "What a generation! No sense of God! No
focus to your lives! How many times do I have to go over these things? How much
longer do I have to put up with this? Bring your son here." 42 While he
was coming, the demon slammed him to the ground and threw him into convulsions.
Jesus stepped in, ordered the vile spirit gone, healed the boy, and handed him
back to his father. 43 They all shook their heads in wonder, astonished at
God's greatness, God's majestic greatness. 44 "Treasure and ponder each of
these next words: The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into human
hands." 45 They didn't get what he was saying. It was like he was speaking
a foreign language and they couldn't make heads or tails of it. But they were
embarrassed to ask him what he meant. 46 They started arguing over which of
them would be most famous. 47 When Jesus realized how much this mattered to
them, he brought a child to his side. 48 "Whoever accepts this child as if
the child were me, accepts me," he said. "And whoever accepts me,
accepts the One who sent me. You become great by accepting, not asserting. Your
spirit, not your size, makes the difference." 49 John spoke up,
"Master, we saw a man using your name to expel demons and we stopped him
because he wasn't of our group." 50 Jesus said, "Don't stop him. If
he's not an enemy, he's an ally." 51 When it came close to the time for his
Ascension, he gathered up his courage and steeled himself for the journey to
Jerusalem. 52 He sent messengers on ahead. They came to a Samaritan village to
make arrangements for his hospitality. 53 But when the Samaritans learned that
his destination was Jerusalem, they refused hospitality. 54 When the disciples
James and John learned of it, they said, "Master, do you want us to call a
bolt of lightning down out of the sky and incinerate them?" 55 Jesus
turned on them: "Of course not!" 56 And they traveled on to another
village. 57 On the road someone asked if he could go along. "I'll go with
you, wherever," he said. 58 Jesus was curt: "Are you ready to rough
it? We're not staying in the best inns, you know." 59 Jesus said to another,
"Follow me." He said, "Certainly, but first excuse me for a
couple of days, please. I have to make arrangements for my father's
funeral." 60 Jesus refused. "First things first. Your business is
life, not death. And life is urgent: Announce God's kingdom!" 61 Then
another said, "I'm ready to follow you, Master, but first excuse me while
I get things straightened out at home." 62 Jesus said, "No
procrastination. No backward looks. You can't put God's kingdom off till
tomorrow. Seize the day."
Luke 10 (The Message)
1 Later the Master
selected seventy and sent them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place
where he intended to go. 2 He gave them this charge: "What a huge harvest!
And how few the harvest hands. So on your knees; ask the God of the Harvest to
send harvest hands. 3 "On your way! But be careful - this is hazardous
work. You're like lambs in a wolf pack. 4 "Travel light. Comb and
toothbrush and no extra luggage. "Don't loiter and make small talk with
everyone you meet along the way. 5 "When you enter a home, greet the
family, 'Peace.' 6 If your greeting is received, then it's a good place to
stay. But if it's not received, take it back and get out. Don't impose
yourself. 7 "Stay at one home, taking your meals there, for a worker
deserves three square meals. Don't move from house to house, looking for the
best cook in town. 8 "When you enter a town and are received, eat what
they set before you, 9 heal anyone who is sick, and tell them, 'God's kingdom
is right on your doorstep!' 10 "When you enter a town and are not received,
go out in the street and say, 11 'The only thing we got from you is the dirt on
our feet, and we're giving it back. Did you have any idea that God's kingdom
was right on your doorstep?' 12 Sodom will have it better on Judgment Day than
the town that rejects you. 13 "Doom, Chorazin! Doom, Bethsaida! If Tyre
and Sidon had been given half the chances given you, they'd have been on their
knees long ago, repenting and crying for mercy. 14 Tyre and Sidon will have it
easy on Judgment Day compared to you. 15 "And you, Capernaum! Do you think
you're about to be promoted to heaven? Think again. You're on a mud slide to
hell. 16 "The one who listens to you, listens to me. The one who rejects
you, rejects me. And rejecting me is the same as rejecting God, who sent
me." 17 The seventy came back triumphant. "Master, even the demons
danced to your tune!" 18 Jesus said, "I know. I saw Satan fall, a
bolt of lightning out of the sky. 19 See what I've given you? Safe passage as
you walk on snakes and scorpions, and protection from every assault of the
Enemy. No one can put a hand on you. 20 All the same, the great triumph is not
in your authority over evil, but in God's authority over you and presence with
you. Not what you do for God but what God does for you - that's the agenda for
rejoicing." 21 At that, Jesus rejoiced, exuberant in the Holy Spirit.
"I thank you, Father, Master of heaven and earth, that you hid these
things from the know-it-alls and showed them to these innocent newcomers. Yes,
Father, it pleased you to do it this way. 22 "I've been given it all by my
Father! Only the Father knows who the Son is and only the Son knows who the
Father is. The Son can introduce the Father to anyone he wants to." 23 He
then turned in a private aside to his disciples. "Fortunate the eyes that
see what you're seeing! 24 There are plenty of prophets and kings who would
have given their right arm to see what you are seeing but never got so much as
a glimpse, to hear what you are hearing but never got so much as a whisper."
Defining "Neighbor" 25 Just then a religion scholar stood up with a
question to test Jesus. "Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal
life?" 26 He answered, "What's written in God's Law? How do you
interpret it?" 27 He said, "That you love the Lord your God with all
your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence - and that you love your
neighbor as well as you do yourself." 28 "Good answer!" said
Jesus. "Do it and you'll live." 29 Looking for a loophole, he asked,
"And just how would you define 'neighbor'?" 30 Jesus answered by
telling a story. "There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to
Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him
up, and went off leaving him half-dead. 31 Luckily, a priest was on his way
down the same road, but when he saw him he angled across to the other side. 32
Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man. 33
"A Samaritan traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man's
condition, his heart went out to him. 34 He gave him first aid, disinfecting
and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an
inn, and made him comfortable. 35 In the morning he took out two silver coins
and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take good care of him. If it costs any
more, put it on my bill - I'll pay you on my way back.' 36 "What do you
think? Which of the three became a neighbor to the man attacked by
robbers?" 37 "The one who treated him kindly," the religion
scholar responded. Jesus said, "Go and do the same." 38 As they
continued their travel, Jesus entered a village. A woman by the name of Martha
welcomed him and made him feel quite at home. 39 She had a sister, Mary, who
sat before the Master, hanging on every word he said. 40 But Martha was pulled
away by all she had to do in the kitchen. Later, she stepped in, interrupting
them. "Master, don't you care that my sister has abandoned the kitchen to
me? Tell her to lend me a hand." 41 The Master said, "Martha, dear
Martha, you're fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over
nothing. 42 One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it - it's the main
course, and won't be taken from her."
1 One day he
was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said,
"Master, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples." 2 So he
said, "When you pray, say, Father, Reveal who you are. Set the world
right. 3 Keep us alive with three square meals. 4 Keep us forgiven with you and
forgiving others. Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil." 5 Then he
said, "Imagine what would happen if you went to a friend in the middle of
the night and said, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread. 6 An old friend
traveling through just showed up, and I don't have a thing on hand.' 7
"The friend answers from his bed, 'Don't bother me. The door's locked; my
children are all down for the night; I can't get up to give you anything.' 8
"But let me tell you, even if he won't get up because he's a friend, if
you stand your ground, knocking and waking all the neighbors, he'll finally get
up and get you whatever you need. 9 "Here's what I'm saying: Ask and
you'll get; Seek and you'll find; Knock and the door will open. 10 "Don't
bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This is not a cat-and-mouse,
hide-and-seek game we're in. 11 If your little boy asks for a serving of fish,
do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? 12 If your little girl asks
for an egg, do you trick her with a spider? 13 As bad as you are, you wouldn't
think of such a thing - you're at least decent to your own children. And don't
you think the Father who conceived you in love will give the Holy Spirit when
you ask him?" 14 Jesus delivered a man from a demon that had kept him
speechless. The demon gone, the man started talking a blue streak, taking the
crowd by complete surprise. 15 But some from the crowd were cynical.
"Black magic," they said. "Some devil trick he's pulled from his
sleeve." 16 Others were skeptical, waiting around for him to prove himself
with a spectacular miracle. 17 Jesus knew what they were thinking and said,
"Any country in civil war for very long is wasted. A constantly squabbling
family falls to pieces. 18 If Satan cancels Satan, is there any Satan left? You
accuse me of ganging up with the Devil, the prince of demons, to cast out
demons, 19 but if you're slinging devil mud at me, calling me a devil who kicks
out devils, doesn't the same mud stick to your own exorcists? 20 But if it's
God's finger I'm pointing that sends the demons on their way, then God's
kingdom is here for sure. 21 "When a strong man, armed to the teeth,
stands guard in his front yard, his property is safe and sound. 22 But what if
a stronger man comes along with superior weapons? Then he's beaten at his own
game, the arsenal that gave him such confidence hauled off, and his precious
possessions plundered. 23 "This is war, and there is no neutral ground. If
you're not on my side, you're the enemy; if you're not helping, you're making
things worse. 24 "When a corrupting spirit is expelled from someone, it
drifts along through the desert looking for an oasis, some unsuspecting soul it
can bedevil. When it doesn't find anyone, it says, 'I'll go back to my old
haunt.' 25 On return, it finds the person swept and dusted, but vacant. 26 It
then runs out and rounds up seven other spirits dirtier than itself and they
all move in, whooping it up. That person ends up far worse than if he'd never
gotten cleaned up in the first place." 27 While he was saying these
things, some woman lifted her voice above the murmur of the crowd:
"Blessed the womb that carried you, and the breasts at which you
nursed!" 28 Jesus commented, "Even more blessed are those who hear
God's Word and guard it with their lives!" 29 As the crowd swelled, he
took a fresh tack: "The mood of this age is all wrong. Everybody's looking
for proof, but you're looking for the wrong kind. All you're looking for is
something to titillate your curiosity, satisfy your lust for miracles. But the
only proof you're going to get is the Jonah-proof given to the Ninevites, which
looks like no proof at all. 30 What Jonah was to Nineveh, the Son of Man is to
this age. 31 "On Judgment Day the Ninevites will stand up and give
evidence that will condemn this generation, because when Jonah preached to them
they changed their lives. A far greater preacher than Jonah is here, and you
squabble about 'proofs.' 32 On Judgment Day the Queen of Sheba will come
forward and bring evidence that condemns this generation, because she traveled
from a far corner of the earth to listen to wise Solomon. Wisdom far greater
than Solomon's is right in front of you, and you quibble over 'evidence.' 33
"No one lights a lamp, then hides it in a drawer. It's put on a lamp stand
so those entering the room have light to see where they're going. 34 Your eye
is a lamp, lighting up your whole body. If you live wide-eyed in wonder and
belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and
distrust, your body is a dank cellar. 35 Keep your eyes open, your lamp burning,
so you don't get musty and murky. 36 Keep your life as well-lighted as your
best-lighted room." Frauds! 37 When he finished that talk, a Pharisee
asked him to dinner. He entered his house and sat right down at the table. 38
The Pharisee was shocked and somewhat offended when he saw that Jesus didn't
wash up before the meal. 39 But the Master said to him, "I know you
Pharisees burnish the surface of your cups and plates so they sparkle in the
sun, but I also know your insides are maggoty with greed and secret evil. 40
Stupid Pharisees! Didn't the One who made the outside also make the inside? 41
Turn both your pockets and your hearts inside out and give generously to the
poor; then your lives will be clean, not just your dishes and your hands. 42 "I've
had it with you! You're hopeless, you Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous
account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but manage to find
loopholes for getting around basic matters of justice and God's love. Careful
bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required. 43 "You're
hopeless, you Pharisees! Frauds! You love sitting at the head table at church
dinners, love preening yourselves in the radiance of public flattery. 44
Frauds! You're just like unmarked graves: People walk over that nice, grassy
surface, never suspecting the rot and corruption that is six feet under."
45 One of the religion scholars spoke up: "Teacher, do you realize that in
saying these things you're insulting us?" 46 He said, "Yes, and I can
be even more explicit. You're hopeless, you religion scholars! You load people
down with rules and regulations, nearly breaking their backs, but never lift
even a finger to help. 47 "You're hopeless! You build tombs for the
prophets your ancestors killed. 48 The tombs you build are monuments to your
murdering ancestors more than to the murdered prophets. 49 That accounts for
God's Wisdom saying, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, but they'll kill
them and run them off.' 50 What it means is that every drop of righteous blood
ever spilled from the time earth began until now,. 51 from the blood of Abel to
the blood of Zechariah, who was struck down between altar and sanctuary, is on
your heads. Yes, it's on the bill of this generation and this generation will
pay. 52 "You're hopeless, you religion scholars! You took the key of
knowledge, but instead of unlocking doors, you locked them. You won't go in
yourself, and won't let anyone else in either." 53 As soon as Jesus left
the table, the religion scholars and Pharisees went into a rage. They went over
and over everything he said, 54 plotting how they could trap him in something
from his own mouth.
Luke 12 (The Message)
1 By this
time the crowd, unwieldy and stepping on each other's toes, numbered into the
thousands. But Jesus' primary concern was his disciples. He said to them,
"Watch yourselves carefully so you don't get contaminated with Pharisee
yeast, Pharisee phoniness. 2 You can't keep your true self hidden forever;
before long you'll be exposed. You can't hide behind a religious mask forever;
sooner or later the mask will slip and your true face will be known. 3 You
can't whisper one thing in private and preach the opposite in public; the day's
coming when those whispers will be repeated all over town. 4 "I'm speaking
to you as dear friends. Don't be bluffed into silence or insincerity by the
threats of religious bullies. True, they can kill you, but then what can they
do? There's nothing they can do to your soul, your core being. 5 Save your fear
for God, who holds your entire life - body and soul - in his hands. 6
"What's the price of two or three pet canaries? Some loose change, right?
But God never overlooks a single one. 7 And he pays even greater attention to
you, down to the last detail - even numbering the hairs on your head! So don't
be intimidated by all this bully talk. You're worth more than a million
canaries. 8 "Stand up for me among the people you meet and the Son of Man
will stand up for you before all God's angels. 9 But if you pretend you don't
know me, do you think I'll defend you before God's angels? 10 "If you
bad-mouth the Son of Man out of misunderstanding or ignorance, that can be
overlooked. But if you're knowingly attacking God himself, taking aim at the
Holy Spirit, that won't be overlooked. 11 "When they drag you into their
meeting places, or into police courts and before judges, don't worry about
defending yourselves - what you'll say or how you'll say it. 12 The right words
will be there. The Holy Spirit will give you the right words when the time
comes." 13 Someone out of the crowd said, "Teacher, order my brother
to give me a fair share of the family inheritance." 14 He replied,
"Mister, what makes you think it's any of my business to be a judge or
mediator for you?" 15 Speaking to the people, he went on, "Take care!
Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what
you have, even when you have a lot." 16 Then he told them this story:
"The farm of a certain rich man produced a terrific crop. 17 He talked to
himself: 'What can I do? My barn isn't big enough for this harvest.' 18 Then he
said, 'Here's what I'll do: I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then
I'll gather in all my grain and goods, 19 and I'll say to myself, Self, you've
done well! You've got it made and can now retire. Take it easy and have the
time of your life!' 20 "Just then God showed up and said, 'Fool! Tonight
you die. And your barnful of goods - who gets it?' 21 "That's what happens
when you fill your barn with Self and not with God." 22 He continued this
subject with his disciples. "Don't fuss about what's on the table at
mealtimes or if the clothes in your closet are in fashion. 23 There is far more
to your inner life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer
appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. 24 Look at the ravens, free
and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, carefree in the care of
God. And you count far more. 25 "Has anyone by fussing before the mirror
ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? 26 If fussing can't even do that, why
fuss at all? 27 Walk into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They don't
fuss with their appearance - but have you ever seen color and design quite like
it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside
them. 28 If God gives such attention to the wildflowers, most of them never
even seen, don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best
for you? 29 "What I'm trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so
preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God's giving. 30 People who
don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both
God and how he works. 31 Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative,
God-provisions. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. 32
Don't be afraid of missing out. You're my dearest friends! The Father wants to
give you the very kingdom itself. 33 "Be generous. Give to the poor. Get
yourselves a bank that can't go bankrupt, a bank in heaven far from bankrobbers,
safe from embezzlers, a bank you can bank on. 34 It's obvious, isn't it? The
place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up
being. 35 "Keep your shirts on; keep the lights on! 36 Be like house
servants waiting for their master to come back from his honeymoon, awake and
ready to open the door when he arrives and knocks. 37 Lucky the servants whom
the master finds on watch! He'll put on an apron, sit them at the table, and
serve them a meal, sharing his wedding feast with them. 38 It doesn't matter
what time of the night he arrives; they're awake - and so blessed! 39 "You
know that if the house owner had known what night the burglar was coming, he
wouldn't have stayed out late and left the place unlocked. 40 So don't you be
slovenly and careless. Just when you don't expect him, the Son of Man will show
up." 41 Peter said, "Master, are you telling this story just for us?
Or is it for everybody?" 42 The Master said, "Let me ask you: Who is
the dependable manager, full of common sense, that the master puts in charge of
his staff to feed them well and on time? 43 He is a blessed man if when the
master shows up he's doing his job. 44 45 But if he says to himself, 'The
master is certainly taking his time,' begins maltreating the servants and
maids, throws parties for his friends, and gets drunk, 46 the master will walk
in when he least expects it, give him the thrashing of his life, and put him
back in the kitchen peeling potatoes. 47 "The servant who knows what his
master wants and ignores it, or insolently does whatever he pleases, will be
thoroughly thrashed. 48 But if he does a poor job through ignorance, he'll get
off with a slap on the hand. Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater
gifts, greater responsibilities! 49 "I've come to start a fire on this
earth - how I wish it were blazing right now! 50 I've come to change
everything, turn everything rightside up - how I long for it to be finished! 51
Do you think I came to smooth things over and make everything nice? Not so.
I've come to disrupt and confront! 52 From now on, when you find five in a
house, it will be - Three against two, and two against three; 53 Father against
son, and son against father; Mother against daughter, and daughter against
mother; Mother-in-law against bride, and bride against mother-in-law." 54
Then he turned to the crowd: "When you see clouds coming in from the west,
you say, 'Storm's coming' - and you're right. 55 And when the wind comes out of
the south, you say, 'This'll be a hot one' - and you're right. 56 Frauds! You
know how to tell a change in the weather, so don't tell me you can't tell a
change in the season, the God-season we're in right now. 57 "You don't
have to be a genius to understand these things. Just use your common sense, 58
the kind you'd use if, while being taken to court, you decided to settle up
with your accuser on the way, knowing that if the case went to the judge you'd
probably go to jail 59 and pay every last penny of the fine. That's the kind of
decision I'm asking you to make."
Luke 13 (The Message)
1 About that
time some people came up and told him about the Galileans Pilate had killed
while they were at worship, mixing their blood with the blood of the sacrifices
on the altar. 2 Jesus responded, "Do you think those murdered Galileans
were worse sinners than all other Galileans? 3 Not at all. Unless you turn to
God, you too will die. 4 And those eighteen in Jerusalem the other day, the
ones crushed and killed when the Tower of Siloam collapsed and fell on them, do
you think they were worse citizens than all other Jerusalemites? 5 Not at all.
Unless you turn to God, you too will die." 6 Then he told them a story:
"A man had an apple tree planted in his front yard. He came to it
expecting to find apples, but there weren't any. 7 He said to his gardener, 'What's
going on here? For three years now I've come to this tree expecting apples and
not one apple have I found. Chop it down! Why waste good ground with it any
longer?' 8 "The gardener said, 'Let's give it another year. I'll dig
around it and fertilize, 9 and maybe it will produce next year; if it doesn't,
then chop it down.'" 10 He was teaching in one of the meeting places on
the Sabbath. 11 There was a woman present, so twisted and bent over with
arthritis that she couldn't even look up. She had been afflicted with this for
eighteen years. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over. "Woman, you're
free!" 13 He laid hands on her and suddenly she was standing straight and
tall, giving glory to God. 14 The meeting-place president, furious because
Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the congregation, "Six days have
been defined as work days. Come on one of the six if you want to be healed, but
not on the seventh, the Sabbath." 15 But Jesus shot back, "You
frauds! Each Sabbath every one of you regularly unties your cow or donkey from
its stall, leads it out for water, and thinks nothing of it. 16 So why isn't it
all right for me to untie this daughter of Abraham and lead her from the stall
where Satan has had her tied these eighteen years?" 17 When he put it that
way, his critics were left looking quite silly and red-faced. The congregation
was delighted and cheered him on. 18 Then he said, "How can I picture
God's kingdom for you? What kind of story can I use? 19 It's like a pine nut
that a man plants in his front yard. It grows into a huge pine tree with thick
branches, and eagles build nests in it." 20 He tried again. "How can
I picture God's kingdom? 21 It's like yeast that a woman works into enough
dough for three loaves of bread - and waits while the dough rises." 22 He
went on teaching from town to village, village to town, but keeping on a steady
course toward Jerusalem. 23 A bystander said, "Master, will only a few be
saved?" 24 "Whether few or many is none of your business. Put your
mind on your life with God. The way to life - to God! - is vigorous and
requires your total attention. A lot of you are going to assume that you'll sit
down to God's salvation banquet just because you've been hanging around the
neighborhood all your lives. 25 Well, one day you're going to be banging on the
door, wanting to get in, but you'll find the door locked and the Master saying,
'Sorry, you're not on my guest list.' 26 "You'll protest, 'But we've known
you all our lives!' 27 only to be interrupted with his abrupt, 'Your kind of
knowing can hardly be called knowing. You don't know the first thing about me.'
28 "That's when you'll find yourselves out in the cold, strangers to
grace. You'll watch Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets march into
God's kingdom. 29 You'll watch outsiders stream in from east, west, north, and
south and sit down at the table of God's kingdom. And all the time you'll be
outside looking in - and wondering what happened. 30 This is the Great
Reversal: the last in line put at the head of the line, and the so-called first
ending up last. 31 Just then some Pharisees came up and said, "Run for
your life! Herod's on the hunt. He's out to kill you!" 32 Jesus said,
"Tell that fox that I've no time for him right now. Today and tomorrow I'm
busy clearing out the demons and healing the sick; the third day I'm wrapping
things up. 33 Besides, it's not proper for a prophet to come to a bad end
outside Jerusalem. 34 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killer of prophets, abuser of the
messengers of God! How often I've longed to gather your children, gather your
children like a hen, Her brood safe under her wings - but you refused and
turned away! 35 And now it's too late: You won't see me again until the day you
say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of God.'"
Luke 14 (The Message)
1 One time
when Jesus went for a Sabbath meal with one of the top leaders of the
Pharisees, all the guests had their eyes on him, watching his every move. 2
Right before him there was a man hugely swollen in his joints. 3 So Jesus asked
the religion scholars and Pharisees present, "Is it permitted to heal on
the Sabbath? Yes or no?" 4 They were silent. So he took the man, healed
him, and sent him on his way. 5 Then he said, "Is there anyone here who,
if a child or animal fell down a well, wouldn't rush to pull him out
immediately, not asking whether or not it was the Sabbath?" 6 They were
stumped. There was nothing they could say to that. 7 He went on to tell a story
to the guests around the table. Noticing how each had tried to elbow into the
place of honor, he said, 8 "When someone invites you to dinner, don't take
the place of honor. Somebody more important than you might have been invited by
the host. 9 Then he'll come and call out in front of everybody, 'You're in the
wrong place. The place of honor belongs to this man.' Red-faced, you'll have to
make your way to the very last table, the only place left. 10 "When you're
invited to dinner, go and sit at the last place. Then when the host comes he
may very well say, 'Friend, come up to the front.' That will give the dinner
guests something to talk about! 11 What I'm saying is, If you walk around with
your nose in the air, you're going to end up flat on your face. But if you're
content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself." 12
Then he turned to the host. "The next time you put on a dinner, don't just
invite your friends and family and rich neighbors, the kind of people who will
return the favor. 13 Invite some people who never get invited out, the misfits
from the wrong side of the tracks. 14 You'll be - and experience - a blessing.
They won't be able to return the favor, but the favor will be returned - oh,
how it will be returned! - at the resurrection of God's people." 15 That
triggered a response from one of the guests: "How fortunate the one who
gets to eat dinner in God's kingdom!" 16 Jesus followed up. "Yes. For
there was once a man who threw a great dinner party and invited many. 17 When
it was time for dinner, he sent out his servant to the invited guests, saying,
'Come on in; the food's on the table.' 18 "Then they all began to beg off,
one after another making excuses. The first said, 'I bought a piece of property
and need to look it over. Send my regrets.' 19 "Another said, 'I just
bought five teams of oxen, and I really need to check them out. Send my
regrets.' 20 "And yet another said, 'I just got married and need to get
home to my wife.' 21 "The servant went back and told the master what had
happened. He was outraged and told the servant, 'Quickly, get out into the city
streets and alleys. Collect all who look like they need a square meal, all the
misfits and homeless and wretched you can lay your hands on, and bring them
here.' 22 "The servant reported back, 'Master, I did what you commanded -
and there's still room.' 23 "The master said, 'Then go to the country
roads. Whoever you find, drag them in. I want my house full! 24 Let me tell
you, not one of those originally invited is going to get so much as a bite at
my dinner party.'" 25 One day when large groups of people were walking
along with him, Jesus turned and told them, 26 "Anyone who comes to me but
refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters - yes,
even one's own self! - can't be my disciple. 27 Anyone who won't shoulder his
own cross and follow behind me can't be my disciple. 28 "Is there anyone
here who, planning to build a new house, doesn't first sit down and figure the
cost so you'll know if you can complete it? 29 If you only get the foundation
laid and then run out of money, you're going to look pretty foolish. Everyone
passing by will poke fun at you: 30 'He started something he couldn't finish.'
31 "Or can you imagine a king going into battle against another king
without first deciding whether it is possible with his ten thousand troops to
face the twenty thousand troops of the other? 32 And if he decides he can't,
won't he send an emissary and work out a truce? 33 "Simply put, if you're
not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it
good-bye, you can't be my disciple. 34 "Salt is excellent. But if the salt
goes flat, it's useless, good for nothing. "Are you listening to this?
Really listening?"
Luke 15 (The Message)
1 By this
time a lot of men and women of doubtful reputation were hanging around Jesus,
listening intently. 2 The Pharisees and religion scholars were not pleased, not
at all pleased. They growled, "He takes in sinners and eats meals with
them, treating them like old friends." 3 Their grumbling triggered this
story. 4 "Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn't
you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you
found it? 5 When found, you can be sure you would put it across your shoulders,
rejoicing, 6 and when you got home call in your friends and neighbors, saying,
'Celebrate with me! I've found my lost sheep!' 7 Count on it - there's more joy
in heaven over one sinner's rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in
no need of rescue. 8 "Or imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one.
Won't she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny
until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it you can be sure she'll call her
friends and neighbors: 'Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!' 10 Count on
it - that's the kind of party God's angels throw every time one lost soul turns
to God." 11 Then he said, "There was once a man who had two sons. 12
The younger said to his father, 'Father, I want right now what's coming to me.'
13 It wasn't long before the younger son packed his bags and left for a distant
country. There, undisciplined and dissipated, he wasted everything he had. 14
After he had gone through all his money, there was a bad famine all through
that country and he began to hurt. 15 He signed on with a citizen there who
assigned him to his fields to slop the pigs. 16 He was so hungry he would have
eaten the corncobs in the pig slop, but no one would give him any. 17
"That brought him to his senses. He said, 'All those farmhands working for
my father sit down to three meals a day, and here I am starving to death. 18
I'm going back to my father. I'll say to him, Father, I've sinned against God,
I've sinned before you; 19 I don't deserve to be called your son. Take me on as
a hired hand.' 20 He got right up and went home to his father. When he was
still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out,
embraced him, and kissed him. 21 The son started his speech: 'Father, I've
sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your
son ever again.' 22 "But the father wasn't listening. He was calling to
the servants, 'Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the
family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Then get a grain-fed
heifer and roast it. We're going to feast! We're going to have a wonderful
time! 24 My son is here - given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost
and now found!' And they began to have a wonderful time. 25 "All this time
his older son was out in the field. When the day's work was done he came in. As
he approached the house, he heard the music and dancing. 26 Calling over one of
the houseboys, he asked what was going on. 27 He told him, 'Your brother came
home. Your father has ordered a feast - barbecued beef! - because he has him
home safe and sound.' 28 "The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk
and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he
wouldn't listen. 29 The son said, 'Look how many years I've stayed here serving
you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for
me and my friends? 30 Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on
whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!' 31 "His father said,
'Son, you don't understand. You're with me all the time, and everything that is
mine is yours - 32 but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This
brother of yours was dead, and he's alive! He was lost, and he's found!'"
Luke 16 (The Message)
1 Jesus said
to his disciples, "There was once a rich man who had a manager. He got
reports that the manager had been taking advantage of his position by running
up huge personal expenses. 2 So he called him in and said, 'What's this I hear
about you? You're fired. And I want a complete audit of your books.' 3
"The manager said to himself, 'What am I going to do? I've lost my job as
manager. I'm not strong enough for a laboring job, and I'm too proud to beg. .
. . 4 Ah, I've got a plan. Here's what I'll do . . . then when I'm turned out
into the street, people will take me into their houses.' 5 "Then he went
at it. One after another, he called in the people who were in debt to his
master. He said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' 6 "He
replied, 'A hundred jugs of olive oil.' "The manager said, 'Here, take
your bill, sit down here - quick now - write fifty.' 7 "To the next he
said, 'And you, what do you owe?' "He answered, 'A hundred sacks of
wheat.' "He said, 'Take your bill, write in eighty.' 8 "Now here's a
surprise: The master praised the crooked manager! And why? Because he knew how
to look after himself. Streetwise people are smarter in this regard than
law-abiding citizens. They are on constant alert, looking for angles, surviving
by their wits. 9 I want you to be smart in the same way - but for what is right
- using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate
your attention on the bare essentials, so you'll live, really live, and not
complacently just get by on good behavior." 10 Jesus went on to make these
comments: If you're honest in small things, you'll be honest in big things; 11
If you're a crook in small things, you'll be a crook in big things. 12 If
you're not honest in small jobs, who will put you in charge of the store? 13 No
worker can serve two bosses: He'll either hate the first and love the second Or
adore the first and despise the second. You can't serve both God and the Bank.
14 When the Pharisees, a money-obsessed bunch, heard him say these things, they
rolled their eyes, dismissing him as hopelessly out of touch. 15 So Jesus spoke
to them: "You are masters at making yourselves look good in front of
others, but God knows what's behind the appearance. What society sees and calls
monumental, God sees through and calls monstrous. 16 God's Law and the Prophets
climaxed in John; Now it's all kingdom of God - the glad news and compelling
invitation to every man and woman. 17 The sky will disintegrate and the earth
dissolve before a single letter of God's Law wears out. 18 Using the legalities
of divorce as a cover for lust is adultery; Using the legalities of marriage as
a cover for lust is adultery. 19 "There once was a rich man, expensively
dressed in the latest fashions, wasting his days in conspicuous consumption. 20
A poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, had been dumped on his doorstep.
21 All he lived for was to get a meal from scraps off the rich man's table. His
best friends were the dogs who came and licked his sores. 22 "Then he
died, this poor man, and was taken up by the angels to the lap of Abraham. The
rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell and in torment, he looked up and
saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his lap. 24 He called out, 'Father
Abraham, mercy! Have mercy! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool my
tongue. I'm in agony in this fire.' 25 "But Abraham said, 'Child, remember
that in your lifetime you got the good things and Lazarus the bad things. It's
not like that here. Here he's consoled and you're tormented. 26 Besides, in all
these matters there is a huge chasm set between us so that no one can go from
us to you even if he wanted to, nor can anyone cross over from you to us.' 27
"The rich man said, 'Then let me ask you, Father: Send him to the house of
my father 28 where I have five brothers, so he can tell them the score and warn
them so they won't end up here in this place of torment.' 29 "Abraham
answered, 'They have Moses and the Prophets to tell them the score. Let them
listen to them.' 30 "'I know, Father Abraham,' he said, 'but they're not
listening. If someone came back to them from the dead, they would change their
ways.' 31 "Abraham replied, 'If they won't listen to Moses and the
Prophets, they're not going to be convinced by someone who rises from the
dead.'"
Luke 17 (The Message)
1 He said to
his disciples, "Hard trials and temptations are bound to come, but too bad
for whoever brings them on! 2 Better to wear a millstone necklace and take a
swim in the deep blue sea than give even one of these dear little ones a hard
time! 3 "Be alert. If you see your friend going wrong, correct him. If he
responds, forgive him. 4 Even if it's personal against you and repeated seven
times through the day, and seven times he says, 'I'm sorry, I won't do it again,'
forgive him." 5 The apostles came up and said to the Master, "Give us
more faith." 6 But the Master said, "You don't need more faith. There
is no 'more' or 'less' in faith. If you have a bare kernel of faith, say the
size of a poppy seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, 'Go jump in the
lake,' and it would do it. 7 "Suppose one of you has a servant who comes
in from plowing the field or tending the sheep. Would you take his coat, set
the table, and say, 'Sit down and eat'? 8 Wouldn't you be more likely to say,
'Prepare dinner; change your clothes and wait table for me until I've finished
my coffee; then go to the kitchen and have your supper'? 9 Does the servant get
special thanks for doing what's expected of him? 10 It's the same with you.
When you've done everything expected of you, be matter-of-fact and say, 'The
work is done. What we were told to do, we did.'" 11 It happened that as he
made his way toward Jerusalem, he crossed over the border between Samaria and
Galilee. 12 As he entered a village, ten men, all lepers, met him. They kept
their distance 13 but raised their voices, calling out, "Jesus, Master,
have mercy on us!" 14 Taking a good look at them, he said, "Go, show
yourselves to the priests." 15 One of them, when he realized that he was
healed, turned around and came back, shouting his gratitude, glorifying God. 16
He kneeled at Jesus' feet, so grateful. He couldn't thank him enough - and he
was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus said, "Were not ten healed? Where are the nine?
18 Can none be found to come back and give glory to God except this
outsider?" 19 Then he said to him, "Get up. On your way. Your faith
has healed and saved you." 20 Jesus, grilled by the Pharisees on when the
kingdom of God would come, answered, "The kingdom of God doesn't come by counting
the days on the calendar. 21 Nor when someone says, 'Look here!' or, 'There it
is!' And why? Because God's kingdom is already among you." 22 He went on
to say to his disciples, "The days are coming when you are going to be
desperately homesick for just a glimpse of one of the days of the Son of Man,
and you won't see a thing. 23 And they'll say to you, 'Look over there!' or,
'Look here!' Don't fall for any of that nonsense. 24 The arrival of the Son of
Man is not something you go out to see. He simply comes. 25 But first it's
necessary that he suffer many things and be turned down by the people of today.
26 "The time of the Son of Man will be just like the time of Noah - 27
everyone carrying on as usual, having a good time right up to the day Noah boarded
the ship. They suspected nothing until the flood hit and swept everything away.
28 "It was the same in the time of Lot - the people carrying on, having a
good time, business as usual 29 right up to the day Lot walked out of Sodom and
a firestorm swept down and burned everything to a crisp. 30 That's how it will
be - sudden, total - when the Son of Man is revealed. 31 "When the Day
arrives and you're out working in the yard, don't run into the house to get
anything. And if you're out in the field, don't go back and get your coat. 32
Remember what happened to Lot's wife! 33 If you grasp and cling to life on your
terms, you'll lose it, but if you let that life go, you'll get life on God's
terms. 34 "On that Day, two men will be in the same boat fishing - one
taken, the other left. 35 Two women will be working in the same kitchen - one
taken, the other left." 37 Trying to take all this in, the disciples said,
"Master, where?" He told them, "Watch for the circling of the
vultures. They'll spot the corpse first. The action will begin around my dead
body."
Luke 18 (The Message)
1 Jesus told
them a story showing that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and
never quit. 2 He said, "There was once a judge in some city who never gave
God a thought and cared nothing for people. 3 A widow in that city kept after
him: 'My rights are being violated. Protect me!' 4 "He never gave her the
time of day. But after this went on and on he said to himself, 'I care nothing
what God thinks, even less what people think. 5 But because this widow won't
quit badgering me, I'd better do something and see that she gets justice -
otherwise I'm going to end up beaten black and blue by her pounding.'" 6
Then the Master said, "Do you hear what that judge, corrupt as he is, is
saying? 7 So what makes you think God won't step in and work justice for his
chosen people, who continue to cry out for help? Won't he stick up for them? 8
I assure you, he will. He will not drag his feet. But how much of that kind of
persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?" 9
He told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves
over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the common people:
10 "Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax
man. 11 The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: 'Oh, God, I thank you that I
am not like other people - robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like
this tax man. 12 I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.' 13 "Meanwhile
the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look
up, said, 'God, give mercy. Forgive me, a sinner.'" 14 Jesus commented,
"This tax man, not the other, went home made right with God. If you walk
around with your nose in the air, you're going to end up flat on your face, but
if you're content to be simply yourself, you will become more than
yourself." 15 People brought babies to Jesus, hoping he might touch them.
When the disciples saw it, they shooed them off. 16 Jesus called them back.
"Let these children alone. Don't get between them and me. These children
are the kingdom's pride and joy. 17 Mark this: Unless you accept God's kingdom
in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in." 18 One day one of the local
officials asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to deserve eternal
life?" 19 Jesus said, "Why are you calling me good? No one is good -
only God. 20 You know the commandments, don't you? No illicit sex, no killing,
no stealing, no lying, honor your father and mother." 21 He said,
"I've kept them all for as long as I can remember." 22 When Jesus
heard that, he said, "Then there's only one thing left to do: Sell
everything you own and give it away to the poor. You will have riches in heaven.
Then come, follow me." 23 This was the last thing the official expected to
hear. He was very rich and became terribly sad. He was holding on tight to a
lot of things and not about to let them go. 24 Seeing his reaction, Jesus said,
"Do you have any idea how difficult it is for people who have it all to
enter God's kingdom? 25 I'd say it's easier to thread a camel through a
needle's eye than get a rich person into God's kingdom." 26 "Then who
has any chance at all?" the others asked. 27 "No chance at all,"
Jesus said, "if you think you can pull it off by yourself. Every chance in
the world if you trust God to do it." 28 Peter tried to regain some
initiative: "We left everything we owned and followed you, didn't
we?" 29 "Yes," said Jesus, "and you won't regret it. No one
who has sacrificed home, spouse, brothers and sisters, parents, children -
whatever - 30 will lose out. It will all come back multiplied many times over
in your lifetime. And then the bonus of eternal life!" 31 Then Jesus took
the Twelve off to the side and said, "Listen carefully. We're on our way
up to Jerusalem. Everything written in the Prophets about the Son of Man will
take place. 32 He will be handed over to the Romans, jeered at, made sport of,
and spit on. Then, after giving him the third degree, they will kill him. 33 In
three days he will rise, alive." 34 But they didn't get it, could make
neither heads nor tails of what he was talking about. 35 He came to the
outskirts of Jericho. A blind man was sitting beside the road asking for
handouts. 36 When he heard the rustle of the crowd, he asked what was going on.
37 They told him, "Jesus the Nazarene is going by." 38 He yelled,
"Jesus! Son of David! Mercy, have mercy on me!" 39 Those ahead of
Jesus told the man to shut up, but he only yelled all the louder, "Son of
David! Mercy, have mercy on me!" 40 Jesus stopped and ordered him to be
brought over. When he had come near, Jesus asked, 41 "What do you want
from me?" He said, "Master, I want to see again." 42 Jesus said,
"Go ahead - see again! Your faith has saved and healed you!" 43 The
healing was instant: He looked up, seeing - and then followed Jesus, glorifying
God. Everyone in the street joined in, shouting praise to God.
Luke 19 (The Message)
1 Then Jesus
entered and walked through Jericho. 2 There was a man there, his name
Zacchaeus, the head tax man and quite rich. 3 He wanted desperately to see
Jesus, but the crowd was in his way - he was a short man and couldn't see over
the crowd. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree so he could
see Jesus when he came by. 5 When Jesus got to the tree, he looked up and said,
"Zacchaeus, hurry down. Today is my day to be a guest in your home."
6 Zacchaeus scrambled out of the tree, hardly believing his good luck,
delighted to take Jesus home with him. 7 Everyone who saw the incident was
indignant and grumped, "What business does he have getting cozy with this
crook?" 8 Zacchaeus just stood there, a little stunned. He stammered apologetically,
"Master, I give away half my income to the poor - and if I'm caught
cheating, I pay four times the damages." 9 Jesus said, "Today is
salvation day in this home! Here he is: Zacchaeus, son of Abraham! 10 For the
Son of Man came to find and restore the lost." 11 While he had their
attention, and because they were getting close to Jerusalem by this time and
expectation was building that God's kingdom would appear any minute, he told
this story: 12 "There was once a man descended from a royal house who
needed to make a long trip back to headquarters to get authorization for his
rule and then return. 13 But first he called ten servants together, gave them
each a sum of money, and instructed them, 'Operate with this until I return.'
14 "But the citizens there hated him. So they sent a commission with a
signed petition to oppose his rule: 'We don't want this man to rule us.' 15
"When he came back bringing the authorization of his rule, he called those
ten servants to whom he had given the money to find out how they had done. 16
"The first said, 'Master, I doubled your money.' 17 "He said, 'Good
servant! Great work! Because you've been trustworthy in this small job, I'm
making you governor of ten towns.' 18 "The second said, 'Master, I made a
fifty percent profit on your money.' 19 "He said, 'I'm putting you in
charge of five towns.' 20 "The next servant said, 'Master, here's your
money safe and sound. I kept it hidden in the cellar. 21 To tell you the truth,
I was a little afraid. I know you have high standards and hate sloppiness, and
don't suffer fools gladly.' 22 "He said, 'You're right that I don't suffer
fools gladly - and you've acted the fool! 23 Why didn't you at least invest the
money in securities so I would have gotten a little interest on it?' 24 "Then
he said to those standing there, 'Take the money from him and give it to the
servant who doubled my stake.' 25 "They said, 'But Master, he already has
double . . .' 26 "He said, 'That's what I mean: Risk your life and get
more than you ever dreamed of. Play it safe and end up holding the bag. 27
"'As for these enemies of mine who petitioned against my rule, clear them
out of here. I don't want to see their faces around here again.'" 28 After
saying these things, Jesus headed straight up to Jerusalem. 29 When he got near
Bethphage and Bethany at the mountain called Olives, he sent off two of the
disciples with instructions: 30 "Go to the village across from you. As
soon as you enter, you'll find a colt tethered, one that has never been ridden.
Untie it and bring it. 31 If anyone says anything, asks, 'What are you doing?'
say, 'His Master needs him.'" 32 The two left and found it just as he
said. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners said, "What are you
doing untying the colt?" 34 They said, "His Master needs him."
35 They brought the colt to Jesus. Then, throwing their coats on its back, they
helped Jesus get on. 36 As he rode, the people gave him a grand welcome,
throwing their coats on the street. 37 Right at the crest, where Mount Olives
begins its descent, the whole crowd of disciples burst into enthusiastic praise
over all the mighty works they had witnessed: 38 Blessed is he who comes, the
king in God's name! All's well in heaven! Glory in the high places! 39 Some
Pharisees from the crowd told him, "Teacher, get your disciples under
control!" 40 But he said, "If they kept quiet, the stones would do it
for them, shouting praise." 41 When the city came into view, he wept over
it. 42 "If you had only recognized this day, and everything that was good
for you! But now it's too late. 43 In the days ahead your enemies are going to
bring up their heavy artillery and surround you, pressing in from every side.
44 They'll smash you and your babies on the pavement. Not one stone will be
left intact. All this because you didn't recognize and welcome God's personal
visit." 45 Going into the Temple he began to throw out everyone who had
set up shop, selling everything and anything. 46 He said, "It's written in
Scripture, My house is a house of prayer; You have turned it into a religious
bazaar." 47 From then on he taught each day in the Temple. The high
priests, religion scholars, and the leaders of the people were trying their
best to find a way to get rid of him. 48 But with the people hanging on every
word he spoke, they couldn't come up with anything.
Luke 20 (The Message)
1 One day he
was teaching the people in the Temple, proclaiming the Message. The high
priests, religion scholars, and leaders confronted 2 him and demanded,
"Show us your credentials. Who authorized you to speak and act like
this?" 3 Jesus answered, "First, let me ask you a question: 4 About
the baptism of John - who authorized it, heaven or humans?" 5 They were on
the spot, and knew it. They pulled back into a huddle and whispered, "If
we say 'heaven,' he'll ask us why we didn't believe him; 6 if we say 'humans,'
the people will tear us limb from limb, convinced as they are that John was
God's prophet." 7 They agreed to concede that round to Jesus and said they
didn't know. 8 Jesus said, "Then neither will I answer your
question." 9 Jesus told another story to the people: "A man planted a
vineyard. He handed it over to farmhands and went off on a trip. He was gone a
long time. 10 In time he sent a servant back to the farmhands to collect the
profits, but they beat him up and sent him off empty-handed. 11 He decided to
try again and sent another servant. That one they beat black and blue, and sent
him off empty-handed. 12 He tried a third time. They worked that servant over
from head to foot and dumped him in the street. 13 "Then the owner of the
vineyard said, 'I know what I'll do: I'll send my beloved son. They're bound to
respect my son.' 14 "But when the farmhands saw him coming, they quickly
put their heads together. 'This is our chance - this is the heir! Let's kill
him and have it all to ourselves.' 15 They killed him and threw him over the
fence. "What do you think the owner of the vineyard will do? 16 Right.
He'll come and clean house. Then he'll assign the care of the vineyard to
others." Those who were listening said, "Oh, no! He'd never do
that!" 17 But Jesus didn't back down. "Why, then, do you think this
was written: That stone the masons threw out - It's now the cornerstone!? 18
"Anyone falling over that stone will break every bone in his body; if the
stone falls on anyone, it will be a total smashup." 19 The religion
scholars and high priests wanted to lynch him on the spot, but they were
intimidated by public opinion. They knew the story was about them. 20 Watching
for a chance to get him, they sent spies who posed as honest inquirers, hoping
to trick him into saying something that would get him in trouble with the law.
21 So they asked him, "Teacher, we know that you're honest and
straightforward when you teach, that you don't pander to anyone but teach the
way of God accurately. 22 Tell us: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or
not?" 23 He knew they were laying for him and said, 24 "Show me a
coin. Now, this engraving, who does it look like and what does it say?" 25
"Caesar," they said. Jesus said, "Then give Caesar what is his
and give God what is his." 26 Try as they might, they couldn't trap him
into saying anything incriminating. His answer caught them off guard and left
them speechless. 27 Some Sadducees came up. This is the Jewish party that
denies any possibility of resurrection. They asked, 28 "Teacher, Moses
wrote us that if a man dies and leaves a wife but no child, his brother is
obligated to take the widow to wife and get her with child. 29 Well, there once
were seven brothers. The first took a wife. He died childless. 30 The second
married her and died, 31 then the third, and eventually all seven had their
turn, but no child. 32 After all that, the wife died. 33 That wife, now - in
the resurrection whose wife is she? All seven married her." 34 Jesus said,
"Marriage is a major preoccupation here, 35 but not there. Those who are
included in the resurrection of the dead will no longer be concerned with
marriage 36 nor, of course, with death. They will have better things to think
about, if you can believe it. All ecstasies and intimacies then will be with
God. 37 Even Moses exclaimed about resurrection at the burning bush, saying,
'God: God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob!' 38 God isn't the God of dead
men, but of the living. To him all are alive." 39 Some of the religion
scholars said, "Teacher, that's a great answer!" 40 For a while,
anyway, no one dared put questions to him. 41 Then he put a question to them:
"How is it that they say that the Messiah is David's son? 42 In the Book
of Psalms, David clearly says, God said to my Master, "Sit here at my
right hand 43 until I put your enemies under your feet." 44 "David
here designates the Messiah as 'my Master' - so how can the Messiah also be his
'son'?" 45 With everybody listening, Jesus spoke to his disciples. 46
"Watch out for the religion scholars. They love to walk around in academic
gowns, preen in the radiance of public flattery, bask in prominent positions,
sit at the head table at every church function. 47 And all the time they are
exploiting the weak and helpless. The longer their prayers, the worse they get.
But they'll pay for it in the end."
Luke 21 (The Message)
1 Just then
he looked up and saw the rich people dropping offerings in the collection
plate. 2 Then he saw a poor widow put in two pennies. 3 He said, "The
plain truth is that this widow has given by far the largest offering today. 4
All these others made offerings that they'll never miss; she gave extravagantly
what she couldn't afford - she gave her all!" 5 One day people were
standing around talking about the Temple, remarking how beautiful it was, the
splendor of its stonework and memorial gifts. Jesus said, 6 "All this
you're admiring so much - the time is coming when every stone in that building
will end up in a heap of rubble." 7 They asked him, "Teacher, when is
this going to happen? What clue will we get that it's about to take
place?" 8 He said, "Watch out for the doomsday deceivers. Many
leaders are going to show up with forged identities claiming, 'I'm the One,'
or, 'The end is near.' Don't fall for any of that. 9 When you hear of wars and
uprisings, keep your head and don't panic. This is routine history and no sign
of the end." 10 He went on, "Nation will fight nation and ruler fight
ruler, over and over. 11 Huge earthquakes will occur in various places. There
will be famines. You'll think at times that the very sky is falling. 12
"But before any of this happens, they'll arrest you, hunt you down, and
drag you to court and jail. It will go from bad to worse, dog-eat-dog, everyone
at your throat because you carry my name. 13 You'll end up on the witness
stand, called to testify. 14 Make up your mind right now not to worry about it.
15 I'll give you the words and wisdom that will reduce all your accusers to
stammers and stutters. 16 "You'll even be turned in by parents, brothers,
relatives, and friends. Some of you will be killed. 17 There's no telling who
will hate you because of me. 18 Even so, every detail of your body and soul -
even the hairs of your head! - is in my care; nothing of you will be lost. 19
Staying with it - that's what is required. Stay with it to the end. You won't
be sorry; you'll be saved. 20 "When you see soldiers camped all around
Jerusalem, then you'll know that she is about to be devastated. 21 If you're
living in Judea at the time, run for the hills. If you're in the city, get out
quickly. If you're out in the fields, don't go home to get your coat. 22 This
is Vengeance Day - everything written about it will come to a head. 23 Pregnant
and nursing mothers will have it especially hard. Incredible misery! Torrential
rage! 24 People dropping like flies; people dragged off to prisons; Jerusalem
under the boot of barbarians until the nations finish what was given them to
do. 25 "It will seem like all hell has broken loose - sun, moon, stars,
earth, sea, 26 in an uproar and everyone all over the world in a panic, the
wind knocked out of them by the threat of doom, the powers-that-be quaking. 27
"And then - then! - they'll see the Son of Man welcomed in grand style - a
glorious welcome! 28 When all this starts to happen, up on your feet. Stand
tall with your heads high. Help is on the way!" 29 He told them a story.
"Look at a fig tree. Any tree for that matter. 30 When the leaves begin to
show, one look tells you that summer is right around the corner. 31 The same
here - when you see these things happen, you know God's kingdom is about here.
32 Don't brush this off: I'm not just saying this for some future generation,
but for this one, too - these things will happen. 33 Sky and earth will wear
out; my words won't wear out. 34 "But be on your guard. Don't let the
sharp edge of your expectation get dulled by parties and drinking and shopping.
Otherwise, that Day is going to take you by complete surprise, spring on you
suddenly like a trap, 35 for it's going to come on everyone, everywhere, at
once. 36 So, whatever you do, don't go to sleep at the switch. Pray constantly
that you will have the strength and wits to make it through everything that's
coming and end up on your feet before the Son of Man." 37 He spent his
days in the Temple teaching, but his nights out on the mountain called Olives.
38 All the people were up at the crack of dawn to come to the Temple and listen
to him.
Luke 22 (The Message)
1 The Feast
of Unleavened Bread, also called Passover, drew near. 2 The high priests and
religion scholars were looking for a way to do away with Jesus but, fearful of
the people, they were also looking for a way to cover their tracks. 3 That's when
Satan entered Judas, the one called Iscariot. He was one of the Twelve. 4
Leaving the others, he conferred with the high priests and the Temple guards
about how he might betray Jesus to them. 5 They couldn't believe their good
luck and agreed to pay him well. 6 He gave them his word and started looking
for a way to betray Jesus, but out of sight of the crowd. 7 The Day of
Unleavened Bread came, the day the Passover lamb was butchered. 8 Jesus sent
Peter and John off, saying, "Go prepare the Passover for us so we can eat
it together." 9 They said, "Where do you want us to do this?" 10
He said, "Keep your eyes open as you enter the city. A man carrying a
water jug will meet you. Follow him home. 11 Then speak with the owner of the
house: The Teacher wants to know, 'Where is the guest room where I can eat the
Passover meal with my disciples?' 12 He will show you a spacious second-story
room, swept and ready. Prepare the meal there." 13 They left, found
everything just as he told them, and prepared the Passover meal. 14 When it was
time, he sat down, all the apostles with him, 15 and said, "You've no idea
how much I have looked forward to eating this Passover meal with you before I
enter my time of suffering. 16 It's the last one I'll eat until we all eat it
together in the kingdom of God." 17 Taking the cup, he blessed it, then
said, "Take this and pass it among you. 18 As for me, I'll not drink wine
again until the kingdom of God arrives." 19 Taking bread, he blessed it,
broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, given for you.
Eat it in my memory." 20 He did the same with the cup after supper,
saying, "This cup is the new covenant written in my blood, blood poured
out for you. 21 "Do you realize that the hand of the one who is betraying
me is at this moment on this table? 22 It's true that the Son of Man is going
down a path already marked out - no surprises there. But for the one who turns
him in, turns traitor to the Son of Man, this is doomsday." 23 They
immediately became suspicious of each other and began quizzing one another,
wondering who might be about to do this. 24 Within minutes they were bickering
over who of them would end up the greatest. 25 But Jesus intervened:
"Kings like to throw their weight around and people in authority like to
give themselves fancy titles. 26 It's not going to be that way with you. Let
the senior among you become like the junior; let the leader act the part of the
servant. 27 "Who would you rather be: the one who eats the dinner or the
one who serves the dinner? You'd rather eat and be served, right? But I've
taken my place among you as the one who serves. 28 And you've stuck with me
through thick and thin. 29 Now I confer on you the royal authority my Father
conferred on me 30 so you can eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and be
strengthened as you take up responsibilities among the congregations of God's
people. 31 "Simon, stay on your toes. Satan has tried his best to separate
all of you from me, like chaff from wheat. 32 Simon, I've prayed for you in particular
that you not give in or give out. When you have come through the time of
testing, turn to your companions and give them a fresh start." 33 Peter
said, "Master, I'm ready for anything with you. I'd go to jail for you.
I'd die for you!" 34 Jesus said, "I'm sorry to have to tell you this,
Peter, but before the rooster crows you will have three times denied that you
know me." 35 Then Jesus said, "When I sent you out and told you to
travel light, to take only the bare necessities, did you get along all right?"
"Certainly," they said, "we got along just fine." 36 He
said, "This is different. Get ready for trouble. Look to what you'll need;
there are difficult times ahead. Pawn your coat and get a sword. 37 What was
written in Scripture, 'He was lumped in with the criminals,' gets its final
meaning in me. Everything written about me is now coming to a conclusion."
38 They said, "Look, Master, two swords!" But he said, "Enough
of that; no more sword talk!" 39 Leaving there, he went, as he so often
did, to Mount Olives. The disciples followed him. 40 When they arrived at the
place, he said, "Pray that you don't give in to temptation." 41 He
pulled away from them about a stone's throw, knelt down, and prayed, 42
"Father, remove this cup from me. But please, not what I want. What do you
want?" 43 At once an angel from heaven was at his side, strengthening him.
44 He prayed on all the harder. Sweat, wrung from him like drops of blood,
poured off his face. 45 He got up from prayer, went back to the disciples and
found them asleep, drugged by grief. 46 He said, "What business do you
have sleeping? Get up. Pray so you won't give in to temptation." 47 No
sooner were the words out of his mouth than a crowd showed up, Judas, the one
from the Twelve, in the lead. He came right up to Jesus to kiss him. 48 Jesus
said, "Judas, you would betray the Son of Man with a kiss?" 49 When
those with him saw what was happening, they said, "Master, shall we
fight?" 50 One of them took a swing at the Chief Priest's servant and cut
off his right ear. 51 Jesus said, "Let them be. Even in this." Then,
touching the servant's ear, he healed him. 52 Jesus spoke to those who had come
- high priests, Temple police, religion leaders: "What is this, jumping me
with swords and clubs as if I were a dangerous criminal? 53 Day after day I've
been with you in the Temple and you've not so much as lifted a hand against me.
But do it your way - it's a dark night, a dark hour." 54 Arresting Jesus,
they marched him off and took him into the house of the Chief Priest. Peter
followed, but at a safe distance. 55 In the middle of the courtyard some people
had started a fire and were sitting around it, trying to keep warm. 56 One of
the serving maids sitting at the fire noticed him, then took a second look and
said, "This man was with him!" 57 He denied it, "Woman, I don't
even know him." 58 A short time later, someone else noticed him and said,
"You're one of them." But Peter denied it: "Man, I am not."
59 About an hour later, someone else spoke up, really adamant: "He's got
to have been with him! He's got 'Galilean' written all over him." 60 Peter
said, "Man, I don't know what you're talking about." At that very
moment, the last word hardly off his lips, a rooster crowed. 61 Just then, the
Master turned and looked at Peter. Peter remembered what the Master had said to
him: "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." 62 He
went out and cried and cried and cried. 63 The men in charge of Jesus began
poking fun at him, slapping him around. 64 They put a blindfold on him and
taunted, "Who hit you that time?" 65 They were having a grand time
with him. 66 When it was morning, the religious leaders of the people and the
high priests and scholars all got together and brought him before their High
Council. 67 They said, "Are you the Messiah?" 68 If I asked what you
meant by your question, you wouldn't answer me. 69 So here's what I have to
say: From here on the Son of Man takes his place at God's right hand, the place
of power." 70 They all said, "So you admit your claim to be the Son
of God?" "You're the ones who keep saying it," he said. 71 But
they had made up their minds, "Why do we need any more evidence? We've all
heard him as good as say it himself."
Luke 23 (The Message)
1 Then they
all took Jesus to Pilate 2 and began to bring up charges against him. They
said, "We found this man undermining our law and order, forbidding taxes
to be paid to Caesar, setting himself up as Messiah-King." 3 Pilate asked
him, "Is this true that you're 'King of the Jews'?" "Those are
your words, not mine," Jesus replied. 4 Pilate told the high priests and
the accompanying crowd, "I find nothing wrong here. He seems harmless
enough to me." 5 But they were vehement. "He's stirring up unrest
among the people with his teaching, disturbing the peace everywhere, starting
in Galilee and now all through Judea. He's a dangerous man, endangering the
peace." 6 When Pilate heard that, he asked, "So, he's a
Galilean?" 7 Realizing that he properly came under Herod's jurisdiction,
he passed the buck to Herod, who just happened to be in Jerusalem for a few
days. 8 Herod was delighted when Jesus showed up. He had wanted for a long time
to see him, he'd heard so much about him. He hoped to see him do something
spectacular. 9 He peppered him with questions. Jesus didn't answer - not one
word. 10 But the high priests and religion scholars were right there, saying
their piece, strident and shrill in their accusations. 11 Mightily offended,
Herod turned on Jesus. His soldiers joined in, taunting and jeering. Then they
dressed him up in an elaborate king costume and sent him back to Pilate. 12
That day Herod and Pilate became thick as thieves. Always before they had kept
their distance. 13 Then Pilate called in the high priests, rulers, and the
others 14 and said, "You brought this man to me as a disturber of the
peace. I examined him in front of all of you and found there was nothing to
your charge. 15 And neither did Herod, for he has sent him back here with a
clean bill of health. It's clear that he's done nothing wrong, let alone
anything deserving death. 16 I'm going to warn him to watch his step and let
him go." 18 At that, the crowd went wild: "Kill him! Give us
Barabbas!" 19 (Barabbas had been thrown in prison for starting a riot in the
city and for murder.) 20 Pilate still wanted to let Jesus go, and so spoke out
again. 21 But they kept shouting back, "Crucify! Crucify him!" 22 He
tried a third time. "But for what crime? I've found nothing in him
deserving death. I'm going to warn him to watch his step and let him go."
23 But they kept at it, a shouting mob, demanding that he be crucified. And
finally they shouted him down. 24 Pilate caved in and gave them what they
wanted. 25 He released the man thrown in prison for rioting and murder, and
gave them Jesus to do whatever they wanted. 26 As they led him off, they made
Simon, a man from Cyrene who happened to be coming in from the countryside,
carry the cross behind Jesus. 27 A huge crowd of people followed, along with
women weeping and carrying on. 28 At one point Jesus turned to the women and
said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, don't cry for me. Cry for yourselves and
for your children. 29 The time is coming when they'll say, 'Lucky the women who
never conceived! Lucky the wombs that never gave birth! Lucky the breasts that
never gave milk!' 30 Then they'll start calling to the mountains, 'Fall down on
us!' calling to the hills, 'Cover us up!' 31 If people do these things to a
live, green tree, can you imagine what they'll do with deadwood?" 32 Two
others, both criminals, were taken along with him for execution. 33 When they
got to the place called Skull Hill, they crucified him, along with the
criminals, one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus prayed,
"Father, forgive them; they don't know what they're doing." 35 The
people stood there staring at Jesus, and the ringleaders made faces, taunting,
"He saved others. Let's see him save himself! The Messiah of God - ha! The
Chosen - ha!" 36 The soldiers also came up and poked fun at him, making a
game of it. They toasted him with sour wine: 37 "So you're King of the
Jews! Save yourself!" 38 Printed over him was a sign: this is the king of
the jews. 39 One of the criminals hanging alongside cursed him: "Some
Messiah you are! Save yourself! Save us!" 40 But the other one made him
shut up: "Have you no fear of God? You're getting the same as him. 41 We
deserve this, but not him - he did nothing to deserve this." 42 Then he
said, "Jesus, remember me when you enter your kingdom." 43 He said, "Don't
worry, I will. Today you will join me in paradise." 44 By now it was noon.
The whole earth became dark, the darkness lasting three hours - 45 a total
blackout. The Temple curtain split right down the middle. 46 Jesus called
loudly, "Father, I place my life in your hands!" Then he breathed his
last. 47 When the captain there saw what happened, he honored God: "This
man was innocent! A good man, and innocent!" 48 All who had come around as
spectators to watch the show, when they saw what actually happened, were
overcome with grief and headed home. 49 Those who knew Jesus well, along with
the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a respectful distance and
kept vigil. 50 There was a man by the name of Joseph, a member of the Jewish
High Council, a man of good heart and good character. 51 He had not gone along
with the plans and actions of the council. His hometown was the Jewish village
of Arimathea. 52 He lived in alert expectation of the kingdom of God. He went
to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 Taking him down, he wrapped him
in a linen shroud and placed him in a tomb chiseled into the rock, a tomb never
yet used. 54 It was the day before Sabbath, the Sabbath just about to begin. 55
The women who had been companions of Jesus from Galilee followed along. They
saw the tomb where Jesus' body was placed. 56 Then they went back to prepare
burial spices and perfumes. They rested quietly on the Sabbath, as commanded.
Luke 24 (The Message)
1 At the
crack of dawn on Sunday, the women came to the tomb carrying the burial spices
they had prepared. 2 They found the entrance stone rolled back from the tomb, 3
so they walked in. But once inside, they couldn't find the body of the Master
Jesus. 4 They were puzzled, wondering what to make of this. Then, out of
nowhere it seemed, two men, light cascading over them, stood there. 5 The women
were awestruck and bowed down in worship. The men said, "Why are you
looking for the Living One in a cemetery? 6 He is not here, but raised up.
Remember how he told you when you were still back in Galilee 7 that he had to
be handed over to sinners, be killed on a cross, and in three days rise
up?" 8 Then they remembered Jesus' words. 9 They left the tomb and broke
the news of all this to the Eleven and the rest. 10 Mary Magdalene, Joanna,
Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them kept telling these
things to the apostles, 11 but the apostles didn't believe a word of it,
thought they were making it all up. 12 But Peter jumped to his feet and ran to
the tomb. He stooped to look in and saw a few grave clothes, that's all. He
walked away puzzled, shaking his head. 13 That same day two of them were
walking to the village Emmaus, about seven miles out of Jerusalem. 14 They were
deep in conversation, going over all these things that had happened. 15 In the
middle of their talk and questions, Jesus came up and walked along with them.
16 But they were not able to recognize who he was. 17 He asked, "What's
this you're discussing so intently as you walk along?" 18 Then one of
them, his name was Cleopas, said, "Are you the only one in Jerusalem who
hasn't heard what's happened during the last few days?" 19 He said,
"What has happened?" 20 They said, "The things that happened to
Jesus the Nazarene. He was a man of God, a prophet, dynamic in work and word,
blessed by both God and all the people. Then our high priests and leaders
betrayed him, got him sentenced to death, and crucified him. 21 And we had our
hopes up that he was the One, the One about to deliver Israel. And it is now
the third day since it happened. 22 But now some of our women have completely
confused us. Early this morning they were at the tomb 23 and couldn't find his
body. They came back with the story that they had seen a vision of angels who
said he was alive. 24 Some of our friends went off to the tomb to check and
found it empty just as the women said, but they didn't see Jesus." 25 Then
he said to them, "So thick-headed! So slow-hearted! Why can't you simply
believe all that the prophets said? 26 Don't you see that these things had to
happen, that the Messiah had to suffer and only then enter into his
glory?" 27 Then he started at the beginning, with the Books of Moses, and
went on through all the Prophets, pointing out everything in the Scriptures
that referred to him. 28 They came to the edge of the village where they were
headed. He acted as if he were going on 29 but they pressed him: "Stay and
have supper with us. It's nearly evening; the day is done." So he went in
with them. 30 And here is what happened: He sat down at the table with them.
Taking the bread, he blessed and broke and gave it to them. 31 At that moment,
open-eyed, wide-eyed, they recognized him. And then he disappeared. 32 Back and
forth they talked. "Didn't we feel on fire as he conversed with us on the
road, as he opened up the Scriptures for us?" 33 They didn't waste a
minute. They were up and on their way back to Jerusalem. They found the Eleven
and their friends gathered together, 34 talking away: "It's really
happened! The Master has been raised up - Simon saw him!" 35 Then the two
went over everything that happened on the road and how they recognized him when
he broke the bread. 36 While they were saying all this, Jesus appeared to them
and said, "Peace be with you." 37 They thought they were seeing a
ghost and were scared half to death. 38 He continued with them, "Don't be
upset, and don't let all these doubting questions take over. 39 Look at my
hands; look at my feet - it's really me. Touch me. Look me over from head to
toe. A ghost doesn't have muscle and bone like this." 40 As he said this,
he showed them his hands and feet. 41 They still couldn't believe what they
were seeing. It was too much; it seemed too good to be true. 42 They gave him a
piece of leftover fish they had cooked. 43 He took it and ate it right before
their eyes. 44 Then he said, "Everything I told you while I was with you
comes to this: All the things written about me in the Law of Moses, in the
Prophets, and in the Psalms have to be fulfilled." 45 He went on to open
their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles
this way. 46 He said, "You can see now how it is written that the Messiah
suffers, rises from the dead on the third day, 47 and then a total life-change
through the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed in his name to all nations -
starting from here, from Jerusalem! 48 You're the first to hear and see it.
You're the witnesses. 49 What comes next is very important: I am sending what
my Father promised to you, so stay here in the city until he arrives, until
you're equipped with power from on high." 50 He then led them out of the
city over to Bethany. Raising his hands he blessed them, 51 and while blessing
them, took his leave, being carried up to heaven. 52 And they were on their
knees, worshiping him. They returned to Jerusalem bursting with joy. 53 They
spent all their time in the Temple praising God. Yes.
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