“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls,

‘But in vain do they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’”

“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard and put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey.

When the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce.

The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third.

But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’

Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?”

They *said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.”

But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

‘But in vain do they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’

And He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and put a wall around it, and dug a vat under the wine press and built a tower, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey.

At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive some of the produce of the vineyard from the vine-growers.

But those vine-growers said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’

What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others.

Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’”

“Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day.

And He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and rented it out to vine-growers, and went on a journey for a long time.

At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, so that they would give him some of the produce of the vineyard; but the vine-growers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

But when the vine-growers saw him, they reasoned with one another, saying, ‘This is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’

He will come and destroy these vine-growers and will give the vineyard to others.” When they heard it, they said, “May it never be!”

for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.”

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.

by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain—

It was because of a revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain.

Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?

I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain.

holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.

For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain,

For this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor would be in vain.

It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.

For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes,

and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,”

Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.

Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.”

So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God.

cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble,

and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and slaves and human lives.

saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls;

It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.