How blessed they will be if their master comes in the middle of the night or near dawn and finds them awake!

The Lord said, "Who, then, is the faithful and careful servant manager whom his master will put in charge of giving all his other servants their share of food at the right time?

I tell you with certainty, he will put him in charge of all his property.

the master of that servant will come on a day when he doesn't expect him and at an hour that he doesn't know. Then his master will punish him severely and assign him a place with unfaithful people.

That servant who knew what his master wanted but didn't prepare himself or do what was wanted will receive a severe beating.

But the servant who did things that deserved a beating without knowing it will receive a light beating. Much will be required from everyone to whom much has been given. But even more will be demanded from the one to whom much has been entrusted."

From now on, five people in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three.

They will be divided father against son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

For example, when you go with your opponent in front of a ruler, do your best to settle with him on the way there. Otherwise, you will be dragged in front of the judge, and the judge will hand you over to an officer, and the officer will throw you into prison.

I tell you, you will never get out of there until you pay back the last penny!"

Absolutely not, I tell you! But if you don't repent, then you, too, will all die.

Absolutely not, I tell you! But if you don't repent, then you, too, will all die."

Maybe next year it will bear fruit. If not, then cut it down.'"

He told them, "Keep on struggling to enter through the narrow door, because I tell you that many people will try to enter, but won't be able to do so.

After the homeowner gets up and closes the door, you can stand outside, knock on the door, and say again and again, "Lord, open the door for us!' But he will answer you, "I don't know where you come from.'

Then you will say, "We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.'

But he will tell you, "I don't know where you come from. Get away from me, all you who practice evil!'

In that place there will be crying and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves being driven away on the outside.

People will come from east and west, and from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God.

You see, some who are last will be first, and some who are first will be last.

He told them, "Go and tell that fox, "Listen! I am driving out demons and healing today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will finish my work.

Look! Your house is left vacant to you. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, "How blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!'"

But when you are invited, go and sit down at the place of least honor. Then, when your host comes, he will tell you, "Friend, move up higher,' and you will be honored in the presence of everyone who eats with you.

Because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the person who humbles himself will be exalted."

Then you will be blessed because they can't repay you. And you will be repaid when the righteous are resurrected."

Now one of those eating with him heard this and told him, "How blessed is the person who will eat in the kingdom of God!"

Because I tell all of you, none of those men who were invited will taste anything at my banquet.'"

"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. He will first sit down and estimate the cost to see whether he has enough money to finish it, won't he?

Otherwise, if he lays a foundation and can't finish the building, everyone who watches will begin to ridicule him

"Or suppose a king is going to war against another king. He will first sit down and consider whether with 10,000 men he can fight the one coming against him with 20,000 men, won't he?

If he can't, he will send a delegation to ask for terms of peace while the other king is still far away.

In the same way, I tell you that there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who don't need to repent."

A few days later, the younger son gathered everything he owned and traveled to a distant country. There he wasted it all on wild living.

I will get up, go to my father, and say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and you.

I know what I'll do so that people will welcome me into their homes when I'm dismissed from my job.'

"I'm telling you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails, they will welcome you into eternal homes.

So if you haven't been faithful with unrighteous wealth, who will trust you with true wealth?

And if you haven't been faithful with what belongs to foreigners, who will give you what is your own?

"No servant can serve two masters, because either he will hate one and love the other, or be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and wealth!"

"Then Abraham told him, "If your brothers do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded, even if someone were to rise from the dead.'"

Jesus told his disciples, "It is inevitable that temptations to sin will come, but how terrible it will be for the person through whom they come!

Then Jesus told the disciples, "The time will come during which you will long to see one of these days when the Son of Man is with you, but you will not see it.

People will say to you, "Look! There he is!' or "Look! Here he is!' But don't go and chase after him.

Because just as lightning flashes and shines from one end of the sky to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his time.

"Just as it was in Noah's time, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man.

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

Whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it.

I tell you, two will be seated on the same couch that night. The one will be taken, and the other will be left behind.

Two women will be grinding grain together. The one will be taken, and the other will be left behind."

Then they asked him, "Where, Lord, will this take place?" He told them, "Wherever there's a corpse, there the vultures will gather."

yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice. Otherwise, she will keep coming and wear me out.'"

I tell you, he will give them justice quickly. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"

I tell you, this man, rather than the other one, went down to his home justified, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the person who humbles himself will be exalted."

I tell all of you with certainty, whoever doesn't receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never get into it at all."

When Jesus heard this, he told him, "You still need to do one thing. Sell everything you have and give the money to the destitute, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come back and follow me."

who will not receive many times as much in this world, as well as eternal life in the age to come."

Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "Pay attention! We're going up to Jerusalem. Everything written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled,

because he'll be handed over to the unbelievers, and will be mocked, insulted, and spit on.

The king told him, "I will judge you by your own words, you evil servant! You knew, did you, that I was a hard man, and that I withdraw what I didn't deposit and harvest what I didn't plant?

"I tell you, to everyone who has something, more will be given, but from the person who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away.

"Go into the village ahead of you," he said. "As you enter, you will find a colt tied up that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it along.

because the days will come when your enemies will build walls around you, surround you, and close you in on every side.

They will level you to the ground you and those who live within your city limits. They will not leave one stone on another within your walls, because you didn't recognize the time when you were visited."

He answered them, "I, too, will ask you a question. Tell me:

They discussed this among themselves: "If we say, "From heaven,' he will ask, "Then why didn't you believe him?'

But if we say, "From humans,' all the people will stone us to death, because they are convinced that John was a prophet."

But when the farmers saw him, they talked it over among themselves and said, "This is the heir. Let's kill him so that the inheritance will be ours!'

So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?

He will come and destroy those farmers and give the vineyard to others." Those who heard him said, "That must never happen!"

Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone on whom it falls."

Now in the resurrection, whose wife will the woman be, since the seven had married her?"

They devour widows' houses and say long prayers to cover it up. They will receive greater condemnation!"

"As for these things that you see, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another that won't be knocked down."

Then they asked him, "Teacher, when will these things take place, and what will be the sign that these things are about to take place?"

He said, "Be careful that you are not deceived, because many will come in my name and say, "I AM' and, "The time has come.' Don't follow them.

Then he went on to say to them, "Nation will rise up in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

There will be great earthquakes, famines, and plagues in various places, and there will be fearful events and awful signs from heaven."

"But before all these things take place, people will arrest you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake.

It will give you an opportunity to testify.

because I will give you the ability to speak, along with wisdom, that none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.

You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death.

You will be hated continuously by everyone because of my name.

And yet not a hair on your head will be lost.

By your endurance you will protect your lives."

because these are the days of vengeance when all that is written will be fulfilled.

"How terrible it will be for those women who are pregnant or who are nursing babies in those days! because there will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people.

They will fall by the edge of the sword and be carried off as captives among all the nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled on by the unbelievers until the times of the unbelievers are fulfilled."

"There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and there will be distress on earth among the nations that are confused by the roaring of the sea and its waves.

People will faint from fear and apprehension because of the things that are to come on the inhabited world, because the powers of heaven will be shaken.

Then they will see "the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory.

In the same way, when you see these things taking place, you will know that the kingdom of God is near.

Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words won't ever disappear."

"Constantly be on your guard so that your hearts will not be loaded down with self-indulgence, drunkenness, and the worries of this life, or that day will take you by surprise

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

He told them, "Just after you go into the city, a man carrying a jug of water will meet you. Follow him into the house he enters

Then he will show you a large upstairs room that is furnished. Get things ready for us there."

because I tell all of you, I will never eat it again until it finds its fulfillment in the kingdom of God."

because I tell you, from now on I will never drink the product of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."

The Son of Man is going away, just as it has been determined, but how terrible it will be for that man by whom he is betrayed!"

But Jesus said, "I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you deny three times that you know me."