But I say to you, do not make an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God;

But I say to you, do not resist an evil person [who insults you or violates your rights]; but whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other toward him also [simply ignore insignificant insults or trivial losses and do not bother to retaliate—maintain your dignity, your self-respect, your poise].

But if you do not forgive others [nurturing your hurt and anger with the result that it interferes with your relationship with God], then your Father will not forgive your trespasses.

The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend [those things by which people are led into sin], and all who practice evil [leading others into sin],

Now when Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

“See that you do not despise or think less of one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven [are in the presence of and] continually look upon the face of My Father who is in heaven.

My heavenly Father will also do the same to [every one of] you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”

And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what [essentially] good thing shall I do to obtain eternal life [that is, eternal salvation in the Messiah’s kingdom]?”

Honor your father and mother; and love your neighbor as yourself” [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for others].

But Jesus replied, “You do not realize what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup [of suffering] that I am about to drink?” They answered, “We are able.”

Jesus replied to them, “I will also ask you a question, and if you tell Me the answer, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what [kind of] authority I do these things.”

The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for others].’

“So be alert [give strict attention, be cautious and active in faith], for you do not know which day [whether near or far] your Lord is coming.

Therefore, you [who follow Me] must also be ready; because the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him.

But He replied, ‘I assure you and most solemnly say to you, I do not know you [we have no relationship].’

But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.”

And again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man.”

Then he began to curse [that is, to invoke God’s judgment on himself] and swear [an oath], “I do not know the man!” And at that moment a rooster crowed.

Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all replied, “Let Him be crucified!”

Then Jesus and His disciples went out to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”

And He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter replied to Him, “You [in contrast to the others] are the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed).”

But turning around [with His back to Peter] and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan; for your mind is not set on God’s will or His values and purposes, but on what pleases man.”

As He was leaving on His journey, a man ran up and knelt before Him and asked Him, “Good Teacher [You who are essentially good and morally perfect], what shall I do to inherit eternal life [that is, eternal salvation in the Messiah’s kingdom]?”

But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism [of suffering and death] with which I am baptized?”

[But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your transgressions.”]

Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

So they replied to Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

“Be on guard and stay constantly alert [and pray]; for you do not know when the appointed time will come.

Therefore, be continually on the alert—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—

But he began to invoke a curse [on himself] and to swear [an oath], “I do not know this man you are talking about!”

Again Pilate answered, “Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?”

The crowds asked him, “Then what are we to do?”

Even some tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked, “Teacher, what are we to do?”

Some soldiers asked him, “And what about us, what are we to do?” And he replied to them, “Do not extort money from anyone or harass or blackmail anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.”

Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.

Seeing Jesus, he cried out [with a terrible voice from the depths of his throat] and fell down before Him [in dread and terror], and shouted loudly, “What business do we have [in common] with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me [before the appointed time of judgment]!”

Now it happened that as Jesus was praying privately, the disciples were with Him, and He asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”

And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter replied, “The Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) of God!”

But He turned and rebuked them [and He said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are;

But He said, “Woe to you lawyers as well, because you weigh men down with burdens [man-made rules, unreasonable requirements] which are hard to bear, and you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers [to lighten the load].

And he began thinking to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place [large enough in which] to store my crops?’

Jesus said to His disciples, “For this reason I tell you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; or about your body, as to what you will wear.

So as for you, do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink; nor have an anxious and unsettled mind.

You too, be continually ready; because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.”

You hypocrites (play-actors, pretenders)! You know how to analyze and intelligently interpret the appearance of the earth and sky [to forecast the weather], but why do you not intelligently interpret this present time?

Once the head of the house gets up and closes the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door [again and again], saying, ‘Lord, open to us!’ then He will answer you, ‘I do not know where you are from [for you are not of My household].’

but He will say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from; depart from Me, all you evildoers!’

The manager [of the estate] said to himself, ‘What will I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig [for a living], and I am ashamed to beg.

A certain ruler asked Him, “Good Teacher [You who are essentially and morally good], what shall I do to inherit eternal life [that is, eternal salvation in the Messiah’s kingdom]?”

But his citizens [the residents of his new kingdom] hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to be a king over us.’

Then Jesus said to them, “Nor am I telling you by what [kind of] authority I do these things.”

Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will have respect for him.’

And when He had taken bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

But Peter denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know Him!”

But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed.

John answered them, “I baptize [only] in water, but among you there stands One whom you do not recognize and of whom you know nothing.

His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

Then the Jews retorted, “What sign (attesting miracle) can You show us as [proof of] your authority for doing these things?”

who came to Jesus at night and said to Him, “Rabbi (Teacher), we know [without any doubt] that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs [these wonders, these attesting miracles] that You do unless God is with him.”

I assure you and most solemnly say to you, we speak only of what we [absolutely] know and testify about what we have [actually] seen [as eyewitnesses]; and [still] you [reject our evidence and] do not accept our testimony.

You [Samaritans] do not know what you worship; we [Jews] do know what we worship, for salvation is from the Jews.

“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.

But the testimony I receive is not from man [a merely human witness]; but I say these things so that you may be saved [that is, have eternal life].

You do not have His word (Scripture) abiding in you [actually living in your hearts and minds], because you do not believe in Him whom He has sent.

I have come in My Father’s name and with His power, and you do not receive Me [because your minds are closed]; but if another comes in his own name and with no authority or power except his own, you will receive him and give your approval to an imposter.

But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”

But as I told you, you have seen Me and still you do not believe.

So His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go to Judea, so that Your disciples [there] may also see the works that You do.

Then Jesus called out as He taught in the temple, “You know Me and know where I am from; and I have not come on my own initiative [as self-appointed], but He who sent Me is true, and Him you do not know.

She answered, “No one, Lord!” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you either. Go. From now on sin no more.”]

Jesus replied, “Even if I do testify on My own behalf, My testimony is valid, because I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.

You judge according to human standards [just by what you see]. I do not judge anyone.

But even if I do judge, My judgment is true and My decision is right; for I am not alone [in making it], but I and the Father who sent Me [make the same judgment].

That is why I told you that you will die [unforgiven and condemned] in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am the One [I claim to be], you will die in your sins.”

So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man [on the cross], you will know then [without any doubt] that I am He, and that I do nothing on My own authority, but I say these things just as My Father taught Me.

But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me [and continue in your unbelief].

Whoever is of God and belongs to Him hears [the truth of] God’s words; for this reason you do not hear them: because you are not of God and you are not in fellowship with Him.”

However, I am not seeking glory for Myself. There is One who seeks [glory for Me] and judges [those who dishonor Me].

Are You greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too! Whom do You make Yourself out to be?”

Yet you do not know Him, but I know Him fully. If I said I did not know Him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know Him and keep His word.

They asked him, “Where is He?” He said, “I do not know.”

but as to how he now sees, we do not know; or who has opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him [and stop asking us]; he is of age, he will speak for himself and give his own account of it.”

Then he answered, “I do not know whether He is a sinner [separated from God]; but one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”

The man replied, “Well, this is astonishing! You do not know where He comes from, and yet He opened my eyes!

Jesus said to them, “If you were blind [to spiritual things], you would have no sin [and would not be blamed for your unbelief]; but since you claim to have [spiritual] sight, [you have no excuse so] your sin and guilt remain.

Jesus answered them, “I have told you so, yet you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name testify concerning Me [they are My credentials and the evidence declaring who I am].

But you do not believe Me [so you do not trust and follow Me] because you are not My sheep.

But if I am doing them, even if you do not believe Me or have faith in Me, [at least] believe the works [that I do—admit that they are the works of God], so that you may know and keep on knowing [clearly—without any doubt] that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father [that is, I am One with Him].”

She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed and continue to believe that You are the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), the Son of God, He who was [destined and promised] to come into the world [and it is for You that the world has waited].”

You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”

Jesus replied to him, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but you will [fully] understand it later.”

I am not speaking of all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but [this has happened] in order that the Scripture may be fulfilled: ‘He who eats My bread has raised up his heel against Me [as My enemy].’

Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going; so how can we know the way?”

Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you I do not say on My own initiative or authority, but the Father, abiding continually in Me, does His works [His attesting miracles and acts of power].

Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe [Me] because of the [very] works themselves [which you have witnessed].

I assure you and most solemnly say to you, anyone who believes in Me [as Savior] will also do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these [in extent and outreach], because I am going to the Father.

Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.]

but so that the world may know [without any doubt] that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father has commanded Me [and act in full agreement with Him]. Get up, let us go from here.