At this, he permitted him to be baptized. When Jesus had been baptized, he immediately came up out of the water. Suddenly, the heavens opened up for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him.

So whenever you give to the poor, don't blow a trumpet before you like the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets so that they will be praised by people. I tell all of you with certainty, they have their full reward!

"And whenever you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they will be seen by people. I tell all of you with certainty, they have their full reward!

"When you are praying, don't say meaningless things like the unbelievers do, because they think they will be heard by being so wordy.

Don't be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

"Whenever you fast, don't be gloomy like the hypocrites, because they put on sad faces to show others they are fasting. I tell all of you with certainty, they have their full reward!

but I tell you that not even Solomon in all of his splendor was clothed like one of them.

"Therefore, everyone who listens to these messages of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on a rock.

"Everyone who keeps on hearing these messages of mine and never puts them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.

because he was teaching them like a person who had authority, and not like their scribes.

As soon as the demon had been driven out, the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed and said, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!"

When he saw the crowds, he was deeply moved with compassion for them, because they were troubled and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

"Pay attention, now! I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. So be as cunning as serpents and as innocent as doves.

It is enough for a disciple to be like his teacher and a slave to be like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they do the same to those of his household!"

"To what can I compare the people living today? They're like little children who sit in the marketplaces and shout to each other,

He presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom from heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in his field.

He told them another parable: "The kingdom from heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened."

Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father's kingdom. Let the person who has ears listen!"

"The kingdom from heaven is like treasure hidden in a field that a man found and hid. In his excitement he went and sold everything he had and bought that field."

"Again, the kingdom from heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls.

"Again, the kingdom from heaven is like a large net thrown into the sea that gathered all kinds of fish.

Then he told them, "That is why every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom from heaven is like the master of a household who brings both new and old things out of his treasure chest."

His appearance was changed in front of them, his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light.

He told them, "Because of your lack of faith. I tell all of you with certainty, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, "Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.

Then he said, "I tell all of you with certainty, unless you change and become like little children, you will never get into the kingdom from heaven.

and whoever receives a little child like this in my name receives me."

Jesus, however, said, "Let the little children come to me, and stop keeping them away, because the kingdom from heaven belongs to people like these."

"The kingdom from heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.

But Jesus called the disciples and said, "You know that the rulers of the unbelievers lord it over them and their superiors act like tyrants over them.

because in the resurrection, people neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven.

The second is exactly like it: "You must love your neighbor as yourself.'

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

"Similarly, it is like a man going on a trip, who called his servants and turned his money over to them.

All the nations will be assembled in front of him, and he will cull them out, one from another, like a shepherd separates sheep from goats.

Just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens split open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.

The people were utterly amazed at his teaching, because he was teaching them like one with authority, and not like their scribes.

So the man got up, immediately picked up his mat, and went out in front of all of them. As a result, all of the people were amazed and began to glorify God as they kept on saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"

Some people are like the seeds along the path, where the word is sown. When they hear it, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.

Others are like the seeds sown on the stony ground. When they hear the word, at once they joyfully accept it,

Still others are like the seeds sown among the thorn bushes. These are the people who hear the word,

Others are like the seeds sown on good soil. They hear the word, accept it, and produce crops 30, 60, or 100 times what was sown."

He was also saying, "The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seeds on the ground.

He was also saying, "How can we show what the kingdom of God is like, or what parable can we use to describe it?

It's like a mustard seed planted in the ground. Although it's the smallest of all the seeds on earth,

With many other parables like these, Jesus kept speaking his message to them according to their ability to understand.

Others were saying, "He is Elijah." Still others were saying, "He is a prophet like one of the other prophets."

because Herod was afraid of John. He knew that John was a righteous and holy man, and so he protected him. Whenever he listened to John, he did much of what he said. In fact, he liked listening to him.

When he got out of the boat, he saw a large crowd. He had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things.

You are destroying the word of God through your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many other things like that."

The man looked up and said, "I see people, but they look like trees walking around."

The spirit screamed, shook the child violently, and came out. The boy was like a corpse, and many said that he was dead.

"Whoever welcomes a child like this in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me."

John told Jesus, "Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name. We tried to stop him, because he wasn't a follower like us."

When Jesus saw this, he became furious and told them, "Let the little children come to me, and stop keeping them away, because the kingdom of God belongs to people like these.

Jesus called his disciples and told them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers among the unbelievers lord it over them, and their superiors act like tyrants over them.

When people rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven.

As he taught, he said, "Beware of the scribes! They like to walk around in long robes, to be greeted in the marketplaces,

It's like a man who went on a trip. As he left home, he put his servants in charge, each with his own work, and he ordered the doorkeeper to be alert.

Irritated, some who were there asked one another, "Why was the perfume wasted like this?

When Jesus' parents saw him, they were shocked. His mother asked him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been worried sick looking for you!"

A disciple is not better than his teacher. But everyone who is fully-trained will be like his teacher.

I will show you what everyone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them.

They are like a person building a house, who dug a deep hole to lay the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the floodwaters pushed against that house but couldn't shake it, because it had been founded on the rock.

But the person who hears what I say but doesn't act on it is like someone who built a house on the ground without any foundation. When the floodwaters pushed against it, that house quickly collapsed, and the resulting destruction of that house was extensive."

They're like little children who sit in the marketplace and shout to each other, "A wedding song we played for you, the dance you all did scorn. A woeful dirge we chanted, too, but then you would not mourn.'

John said, "Master, we saw someone driving out demons in your name. We tried to stop him, because he wasn't a follower like us."

Get going! See, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.

He told them, "I watched Satan falling from heaven like lightning.

How terrible it will be for you! You are like unmarked graves people walk on them without realizing it."

So if you can't do a small thing like that, why worry about other things?

Consider how the lilies grow. They don't work or spin yarn, but I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them.

Be like people who are waiting for their master to return from a wedding. As soon as he arrives and knocks, they will open the door for him.

He asked them, "Do you think that these Galileans were more sinful than all the other Galileans because they suffered like this?

So Jesus went on to say, "What is the kingdom of God like? What can I compare it to?

It is like a mustard seed that someone took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the sky nested in its branches."

It's like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened."

I don't deserve to be called your son anymore. Treat me like one of your hired men."'

But he answered his father, "Listen! All these years I've worked like a slave for you. I've never disobeyed a command of yours. Yet you've never given me so much as a young goat for a festival so I could celebrate with my friends.

The day when the Son of Man is revealed will be like that.

The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, "O God, I thank you that I'm not like other people thieves, dishonest people, adulterers, or even this tax collector.

Jesus, however, called for the children and said, "Let the little children come to me, and stop keeping them away, because the kingdom of God belongs to people like these.

Nor can they die anymore, because they are like the angels and, since they share in the resurrection, are God's children.

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

like a trap, because it will come on everyone who lives on the face of the earth.

But you are not to do so. On the contrary, the greatest among you should become like the youngest, and the one who leads should become like the one who serves.

"Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has asked permission to sift all of you like wheat,

In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like large drops of blood falling on the ground.

John also testified, "I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.

and didn't need anyone to tell him what people were like, because he himself knew what was in every person.

Yet the time is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Indeed, the Father is looking for people like that to worship him.

Moreover, the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen what he looks like,

The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like that!"

You don't know him, but I know him. If I were to say that I don't know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and keep his word.

Some were saying, "It's him," while others were saying, "No, but it's someone like him." But he himself kept saying, "It's me!"

If this man were not from God, he couldn't do anything like that."

If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation."

They went to Philip (who was from Bethsaida in Galilee) and told him, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus."

I'm not going to forsake you like orphans. I will come back to you.

Unless a person abides in me, he is thrown away like a pruned branch and dries up. People gather such branches, throw them into a fire, and they are burned up.

Jesus told him, "Feed my sheep. "Truly, I tell you emphatically, when you were young, you would fasten your belt and go wherever you liked. But when you get old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten your belt and take you where you don't want to go."