Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that when he comes and knocks they may immediately open the door for him.

for from now on five in one household will be divided [over Me], three against two and two against three.

When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are released from your illness.”

But the Lord replied to him, “You hypocrites (play-actors, pretenders)! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead it away to water it?

And this woman, a daughter (descendant) of Abraham whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?”

And someone asked Him, “Lord, will only a few be saved [from the penalties of the last judgment]?” And He said to them,

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!’

And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and they will sit down [and feast at the table] in the kingdom of God.

At that very hour some Pharisees came up and said to Him, “Leave and go away from here, because Herod [Antipas] wants to kill You.”

Nevertheless I must travel on today and tomorrow and the day after that—for it cannot be that a prophet would die outside of Jerusalem.

A few days later, the younger son gathered together everything [that he had] and traveled to a distant country, and there he wasted his fortune in reckless and immoral living.

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.

“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries one who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.

He [eagerly] longed to eat the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores.

And besides all this, between us and you [people] a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to come over from here to you will not be able, and none may cross over from there to us.’

He replied, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent [they will change their old way of thinking and seek God and His righteousness].’

And he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to [the messages of] Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith [our ability to confidently trust in God and in His power].”

“Which of you who has a servant plowing or tending sheep will say to him when he comes in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat?’

Jesus said to him, “Get up and go [on your way]. Your faith [your personal trust in Me and your confidence in God’s power] has restored you to health.”

For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, gives light to the other part of the sky, so [visible] will the Son of Man be in His day.

but on the [very] day that Lot left Sodom it rained fire and brimstone (burning sulfur) from heaven and destroyed them all.

He replied, “I have kept all these things from my youth.”

But the disciples understood none of these things [about the approaching death and resurrection of Jesus]. This statement was hidden from them, and they did not grasp the [meaning of the] things that were said [by Jesus].

Jesus said to him, “Regain your sight; your [personal trust and confident] faith [in Me] has made you well.”

Then he said to the bystanders, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’

[Jesus explained,] ‘I tell you that to everyone who has [because he valued his gifts from God and has used them wisely], more will be given; but from the one who does not have [because he disregarded his gifts from God], even what he has will be taken away.’

shouting,

“Blessed (celebrated, praised) is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven and glory (majesty, splendor) in the highest [heaven]!”

Some of the Pharisees from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples [for shouting these Messianic praises].”

saying, “If [only] you had known on this day [of salvation], even you, the things which make for peace [and on which peace depends]! But now they have been hidden from your eyes.

and they will level you to the ground, you [Jerusalem] and your children within you. They will not leave in you one stone on another, all because you did not [come progressively to] recognize [from observation and personal experience] the time of your visitation [when God was gracious toward you and offered you salvation].”

The baptism of John [the Baptist]—was it from heaven [that is, ordained by God] or from men?”

They discussed and debated it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’

But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are firmly convinced that John was a prophet.”

So they replied that they did not know from where it came.

but those who are considered worthy to gain that [other world and that future] age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage;

But [as for the fact] that the dead are raised [from death], even Moses showed, in the passage about the burning bush, when he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

There will be violent earthquakes, and in various places famines and [deadly and devastating] pestilences (plagues, epidemics); and there will be terrible sights and great signs from heaven.

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

And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed,

saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup [of divine wrath] from Me; yet not My will, but [always] Yours be done.”

Now an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.

When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow,

But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”

Then they asked, “What further need of testimony do we have? For we ourselves have heard it from His own mouth.”

But they were insistent and said, “He stirs up the people [to rebel], teaching throughout Judea, starting from Galilee even as far as here [in Jerusalem].”

But they [loudly] shouted out all together, saying, “Away with this Man, and release Barabbas to us!”

When they led Him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in [to the city] from the country, and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus.

Now the people stood by, watching; but even the rulers ridiculed and sneered at Him, saying, “He saved others [from death]; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) of God, His Chosen One.”

and sarcastically saying, “If you are [really] the King of the Jews, save Yourself [from death]!”

One of the criminals who had been hanged [on a cross beside Him] kept hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us [from death]!”

And all His acquaintances and the women who had accompanied Him from Galilee were standing at a distance, watching these things.

A man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court), a good and honorable man

Now the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed [closely], and saw the tomb and how His body was laid.

And they found the [large, circular] stone rolled back from the tomb,

saying that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise [from death to life].”

and after returning from the tomb, they reported all these things to the eleven [apostles] and to all the rest.

And then, that very day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem.

While they were talking about this, Jesus Himself [suddenly] stood among them and said to them, “Peace be to you.”

and said, “And so it is written, that the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,

and that repentance [necessary] for forgiveness of sins would be preached in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

Listen carefully: I am sending the Promise of My Father [the Holy Spirit] upon you; but you are to remain in the city [of Jerusalem] until you are clothed (fully equipped) with power from on high.”

While He was blessing them, He left them and was taken up into heaven.

There came a man commissioned and sent from God, whose name was John.

And the Word (Christ) became flesh, and lived among us; and we [actually] saw His glory, glory as belongs to the [One and] only begotten Son of the Father, [the Son who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, who is] full of grace and truth (absolutely free of deception).

This is the testimony of John [the Baptist] when the Jews sent priests and Levites to him from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.

Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote about—Jesus from Nazareth, the son of Joseph [according to public record].”

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,

So when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered what He had said. And they believed and trusted in and relied on the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

and He did not need anyone to testify concerning man [and human nature], for He Himself knew what was in man [in their hearts—in the very core of their being].

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.”

Jesus answered him, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless a person is born again [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified], he cannot [ever] see and experience the kingdom of God.”

That which is born of the flesh is flesh [the physical is merely physical], and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Do not be surprised that I have told you, ‘You must be born again [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified].’

The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

No one has gone up into heaven, but there is One who came down from heaven, the Son of Man [Himself—whose home is in heaven].

For every wrongdoer hates the Light, and does not come to the Light [but shrinks from it] for fear that his [sinful, worthless] activities will be exposed and condemned.

John replied, “A man can receive nothing [he can claim nothing at all] unless it has been granted to him from heaven [for there is no other source than the sovereign will of God].

“He who comes from [heaven] above is above all others; he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks [about things] of the earth [his viewpoint and experience are earthly]. He who comes from heaven is above all.

and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, tired as He was from His journey, sat down by the well. It was then about the sixth hour (noon).

Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and who used to drink from it himself, and his sons and his cattle also?”

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

Now many Samaritans from that city believed in Him and trusted Him [as Savior] because of what the woman said when she testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.”

After the two days He went on from there into Galilee.

Having heard that Jesus had come back from Judea to Galilee, he went to meet Him and began asking Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death.

“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].

I do not receive glory and approval from men;

How can you believe [in Me], when you [seek and] receive glory and approval from one another, and yet you do not seek the glory and approval which comes from the one and only God?

So they gathered them up, and they filled twelve large baskets with pieces from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.

[Now some] other small boats from Tiberias had come in near the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks.

Then Jesus said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven.

For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me.

For this is My Father’s will and purpose, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him [as Savior] will have eternal life, and I will raise him up [from the dead] on the last day.”

Now the Jews murmured and found fault with Him because He said, “I am the Bread that came down out of heaven.”

They kept saying, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now [have the arrogance to] say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?”

No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him [giving him the desire to come to Me]; and I will raise him up [from the dead] on the last day.