And Joseph her [promised] husband, being a just and righteous man and not wanting to expose her publicly to shame, planned to send her away and divorce her quietly.

But Jesus replied to him, “Permit it just now; for this is the fitting way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John permitted [it and baptized] Him.

For just as you [hypocritically] judge others [when you are sinful and unrepentant], so will you be judged; and in accordance with your standard of measure [used to pass out judgment], judgment will be measured to you.

While He was saying these things to them, a ruler (synagogue official) entered [the house] and kneeled down and worshiped Him, saying, “My daughter has just now died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live.”

“A battered reed He will not break,
And a smoldering wick He will not extinguish,
Until He leads justice to victory.

So just as the weeds are gathered up and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of the age.

So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones be lost.

They answered him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He told them, ‘You go into the vineyard also.’

just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many [paying the price to set them free from the penalty of sin].”

So you, also, outwardly seem to be just and upright to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming [in glory] of the Son of Man [everyone will see Him clearly].

For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the [very] day when Noah entered the ark,

Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?

Then these [unbelieving people] will go away into eternal (unending) punishment, but those who are righteous and in right standing with God [will go, by His remarkable grace] into eternal (unending) life.”

Jesus answered, “He who has dipped his hand in the bowl with Me [as a pretense of friendship] will betray Me.

The Son of Man is to go [to the cross], just as it is written [in Scripture] of Him; but woe (judgment is coming) to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born.”

While he was seated on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous and innocent Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.”

and said, “Sir, we have remembered that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise [from the dead].’

As it is written and forever remains in the [writings of the] prophet Isaiah:

“Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You,
Who will prepare Your way—

Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out [terribly from the depths of his throat],

So leaving the crowd, they took Him with them, just as He was, in the boat. And other boats were with Him.

The disciples left and went to the city and found everything just as He had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see Him there, just as He told you.’”

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.

Therefore if You worship before me, it will all be Yours.”

Therefore I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You. But just speak a word, and my slave will be healed.

Now as He approached the city gate, a dead man was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her [in the funeral procession].

But as for that seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word with a good and noble heart, and hold on to it tightly, and bear fruit with patience.

It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.”

for a friend of mine who is on a journey has just come to visit me, and I have nothing to serve him’;

For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man also be [a sign] to this generation.

“And why do you not even on your own initiative judge what is right?

Just at that time some people came who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate [the governor] had mixed with their sacrifices.

But he replied to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, [just] one more year until I dig around it and put in fertilizer;

And there in front of Him was a man who had dropsy (extreme swelling).

and you will be blessed because they cannot repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous (the just, the upright).”

I am no longer worthy to be called your son; [just] treat me like one of your hired men.”’

So He said to them, “You are the ones who declare yourselves just and upright in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts [your thoughts, your desires, your secrets]; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.

And just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the time of [the second coming of] the Son of Man:

And will not [our just] God defend and avenge His elect [His chosen ones] who cry out to Him day and night? Will He delay [in providing justice] on their behalf?

So those who were sent left and found the colt just as He had told them.

They left and found it just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.

And they all said, “Are You the Son of God, then?” He replied, “It is just as you say.”

So Pilate asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He answered him, “It is just as you say.”

Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he began praising and honoring God, saying, “Certainly this Man was innocent.”

Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women had said, but they did not see Him.”

And when the headwaiter tasted the water which had turned into wine, not knowing where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew) he called the bridegroom,

Just as Moses lifted up the [bronze] serpent in the desert [on a pole], so must the Son of Man be lifted up [on the cross],

But a time is coming and is already here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit [from the heart, the inner self] and in truth; for the Father seeks such people to be His worshipers.

Just then His disciples came, and they were surprised to find Him talking with a woman. However, no one said, “What are You asking about?” or, “Why are You talking to her?”

and they told the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; for [now] we have heard Him for ourselves and know [with confident assurance] that this One is truly the Savior of [all] the world.”

Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life [and allows them to live on], even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.

so that all will give honor (reverence, homage) to the Son just as they give honor to the Father. [In fact] the one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who has sent Him.

“I can do nothing on my own initiative or authority. Just as I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just (fair, righteous, unbiased), because I do not seek My own will, but only the will of Him who sent Me.

Just as the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, even so the one who feeds on Me [believes in Me, accepts Me as Savior] will also live because of Me.

And Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; just as it is written [in Scripture],

I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone [just one grain, never more]. But if it dies, it produces much grain and yields a harvest.

I assure you and most solemnly say to you, the one who receives and welcomes whomever I send receives Me; and the one who receives Me receives Him who sent Me [in that same way].”

I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too are to love one another.

After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also.

Remain in Me, and I [will remain] in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself without remaining in the vine, neither can you [bear fruit, producing evidence of your faith] unless you remain in Me.

I have loved you just as the Father has loved Me; remain in My love [and do not doubt My love for you].

If you keep My commandments and obey My teaching, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.

“This is My commandment, that you love and unselfishly seek the best for one another, just as I have loved you.

Just as You have given Him power and authority over all mankind, [now glorify Him] so that He may give eternal life to all whom You have given Him [to be His—permanently and forever].

I have given to them Your word [the message You gave Me]; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world and do not belong to the world, just as I am not of the world and do not belong to it.

They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

Just as You commissioned and sent Me into the world, I also have commissioned and sent them (believers) into the world.

that they all may be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe [without any doubt] that You sent Me.

“O just and righteous Father, although the world has not known You and has never acknowledged You [and the revelation of Your mercy], yet I have always known You; and these [believers] know [without any doubt] that You sent Me;

Then Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you [as My representatives].”

Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.”

who said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This [same] Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will return in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

But you disowned and denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for [the pardon of] a murderer to be granted to you.

Now Peter was still perplexed and completely at a loss as to what his vision could mean when the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions to Simon’s house, arrived at the gate.

They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man well spoken of by all the Jewish people, was divinely instructed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear what you have to say.”

“Can anyone refuse water for these people to be baptized, since they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?”

When I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as He did on us at the beginning [at Pentecost].

But we believe that we are saved through the [precious, undeserved] grace of the Lord Jesus [which makes us free of the guilt of sin and grants us eternal life], in just the same way as they are.”

For you are bringing some startling and strange things to our ears; so we want to know what they mean.”

Therefore do just what we tell you. We have four men who have taken a vow;

Just as Paul was about to be taken into the barracks, he asked the commander, “May I say something to you?” And the man replied, “Do you know Greek?

But do not listen to them, for more than forty of them are lying in wait for him, and they have bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. Even now they are ready, just waiting for your promise.”

having [the same] hope in God which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of [the dead], both of the righteous and of the wicked.

Then Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time [and with so little effort] you [almost] persuade me to become a Christian.”

For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed in a way that awakens more faith]. As it is written and forever remains written, “The just and upright shall live by faith.”

But because of your callous stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are [deliberately] storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

As it is written and forever remains written,

“There is none righteous [none that meets God’s standard], not even one.

For if Abraham was justified [that is, acquitted from the guilt of his sins] by works [those things he did that were good], he has something to boast about, but not before God.

For just as through one man’s disobedience [his failure to hear, his carelessness] the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of the one Man the many will be made righteous and acceptable to God and brought into right standing with Him.

so that, as sin reigned in death, so also grace would reign through righteousness which brings eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We have therefore been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory and power of the Father, we too might walk habitually in newness of life [abandoning our old ways].

So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

so that the [righteous and just] requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who do not live our lives in the ways of the flesh [guided by worldliness and our sinful nature], but [live our lives] in the ways of the Spirit [guided by His power].

Just as He says in [the writings of the prophet] Hosea:

“I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’
And [I will call] her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’”

And David says,

“Let their table (abundance) become a snare and a trap,
A stumbling block and a retribution to them.

Just as you once were disobedient and failed to listen to God, but have now obtained mercy because of their disobedience,

For what person knows the thoughts and motives of a man except the man’s spirit within him? So also no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

Your boasting [over the supposed spirituality of your church] is not good [indeed, it is vulgar and inappropriate]. Do you not know that [just] a little leaven ferments the whole batch [of dough, just as a little sin corrupts a person or an entire church]?

For he who was a slave when he was called in the Lord is a freedman of the Lord, likewise he who was free when he was called is a slave of Christ.