So you, too, must always be ready, for at an hour that you are not expecting, the Son of Man will come."

But if that slave says to himself, my Master is not coming back for a long time, and begins to beat the men and women slaves, and to eat and drink and get drunk,

his master will come back some day when he is not expecting him, and at an hour of which he is not aware, and will cut him in two, and give him his share with the unfaithful.

That slave who knows his master's wishes and does not get ready or act upon them will be severely punished.

Do you think that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not so at all, but rather discord.

You hypocrites! You know how to interpret day by day the look of earth and sky. Then how is it that you do not know how to interpret the present crisis?

Why do you not of yourselves decide what is right?

For instance, when you are on the way to court with your opponent, take the utmost pains on the way to get entirely rid of him, so that he may not rush you before the judge, and the judge turn you over to the sheriff, and the sheriff put you in prison.

Then He told them this story: "A man had a fig tree planted by his vineyard, and he kept going and looking for figs on it, but did not find any.

So he said to the vine-dresser, 'Look here! for three years I have been coming to look for figs on this fig tree, and have not found any. Cut it down. Why waste the ground with it?'

If it bears figs in the future, well; but if not, you will have to cut it down.'"

and there was a woman there who for eighteen years had had a disease caused by a spirit. She was bent double and could not straighten herself up at all.

But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured her on the Sabbath, answered the crowd, "There are six days on which people must work; so come on these and be cured, but not on the Sabbath."

Then the Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Does not everyone of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey and lead him out of the stable to water him?

And so was it not right for this woman, a descendant of Abraham, whom Satan has for eighteen years kept bound, to be freed from this bond on the Sabbath?"

"You must struggle on to get in through the narrow door, for I tell you, many will try to get in, but will not succeed,

when once the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand on the outside and to knock on the door again and again and say, 'Lord, open it for us'; but He will answer, 'I do not know where you come from.'

But He will say to you, 'I do not know where you come from. Go away from me, all you wrongdoers!'

But I must continue on my way, for it is not possible for a prophet to perish outside Jerusalem.'

He answered the experts in the law and the Pharisees by asking, "Is it right to cure people on the Sabbath or not?"

Then He said to them, "Which of you, if his son or ox falls into a well, will not at once pull him out on the Sabbath?"

so that your host may not come and say to you, 'Make room for this man'; and then in embarrassment you will proceed to take and keep the lowest place.

For I tell you, not one of those people who were invited shall get a taste of my dinner!'"

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, and still more, his own life too, he cannot be a disciple of mine.

Whoever does not persevere in carrying his own cross and thus following after me, cannot be a disciple of mine.

"What man among you, if he wishes to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see whether he has money enough to complete it?

and say, 'This fellow started to erect a building but could not complete it!'

"Or what king, when he is going to make an attack on another king, does not first sit down and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand soldiers to meet the other king who is coming against him with twenty thousand?

"Just so, no one of you who does not forsake everything that he has, can be a disciple of mine.

"What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep, and if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and continue to look for the lost one until he finds it?

Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinful person who repents than over ninety-nine upright people who do not need any repentance.

"Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one of them, does not light a lamp and sweep the house, and look carefully until she finds it?

Not many days after that, the younger son got together all he had and went away to a distant country, and there he squandered all his property by living in dissipation.

Then he came to himself and said, 'How many of my father's hired men have more to eat than they need, and here I am dying of hunger!

So he became angry and would not go into the house. Then his father came out and began to plead with him.

Then the manager said to himself, What shall I do, because my master is going to take my position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg.

So if you have not proved dependable in handling your ill-gotten riches, who will trust you with the true riches?

And if you have not proved dependable in what belongs to someone else, who will trust you with what belongs to you?

(for I have five brothers) to warn them, that they too may not come to this place of torture.'

Then he answered, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced, even if someone rises from the dead.'"

but will not rather say to him, 'Get my supper ready, and dress yourself and wait on me until I eat and drink, and you yourself can eat and drink afterward'?

And Jesus said, "Were not ten cured? Where are the other nine?

Now, when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them, "The kingdom of God is not coming with visible display,

and so people will not say, 'Look! Here it is,' nor, 'There it is,' for the kingdom of God is within you."

Then He said to His disciples, "The time will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.

And men will say to you, 'Look! There he is!' or, 'Look! Here He is!' Do not start in pursuit of Him,

The man who is on the roof of his house that day, and his goods in the house, must not come down to carry them out; and the man in the field, too, must not turn back.

I tell you, two men will be in the same bed that night; one will be taken, the other left.

And he would not for a time, but afterward he said to himself, Though I have no reverence for God nor respect for men,

yet because this widow continues to bother me, I will give her justice and protection, so that she may not finally wear me out by her continual coming."

And will not God give justice and protection to His chosen people who continue to cry to Him day and night, since He is so patient with them?

The Pharisee stood and said this self-centered prayer, 'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of men, robbers, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector.

But the tax-collector stood at a distance and would not even lift his eyes to heaven, but continued to beat his breast, and say, 'O God, have mercy on me, a sinner!'

I tell you, this man, and not the other, went back home forgiven and accepted by God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

I solemnly say to you, Whoever does not accept the kingdom of God as a little child does, will never get into it at all."

You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery. Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Practice honoring your father and mother.'"

who will not receive in return many times more in this world, and in the next eternal life."

But they did not understand about these things, and this statement was an insoluble riddle to them; they did not even begin to grasp what He meant.

Now he was trying to see Jesus to find out who He was, but he could not because of the crowd, as he was so small in stature.

But his citizens continued to hate him, and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We do not want this man to become king over us.'

For I lived in constant dread of you, because you are a stern man, you pick up what you did not put down, you reap what you did not sow.'

He said to him, 'On the ground of what you say I will sentence you, you wicked slave! You knew that I was a stern man, that I picked up what I did not put down, and reaped what I did not sow.

So why did you not put my money into the bank? In that case, when I came back I could have gotten interest on my principal.'

'I tell you, the man who gets will have more given to him, but the man who does not get will have even what he has taken away from him!

But bring those enemies of mine here who did not want me to become king over them and slay them in my presence!'"

and they will throw you and your children within you to the ground, and they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know when God visited you."

but they could not find, as hard as they tried, what to do with Him, for all the people continued to hang on His words.

And they argued with one another, and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why did you not believe him?'

So they answered and said that they did not know where it was from.

Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"

So they could not use what he said before the people, and in astonishment at His answer they said no more.

He is not the God of dead but of living people, for all live to Him."

For they did not dare to ask Him any more questions.

"As for all this that you are admiring, the time is coming when not one stone will be left upon another, that will not be torn down."

So He said, "You must take care not to be misled about it! For many will come bearing the name of Messiah, and saying, 'I am He,' and, 'The time is near.' Do not go after them.

And when you hear of wars and tumults, never be panic-stricken. For this has to take place first, but the end will not come all at once."

So you must purpose in your hearts not to prepare beforehand how to make your defense,

for I will give you such wisdom of speech as all your opponents combined will not be able to resist and refute.

And yet not a single hair on your head will perish.

"I solemnly say to you, this generation will not pass away before all this takes place.

But ever be on your guard, so that your hearts may not be loaded down with self-indulgence, drunkenness, and worldly worries, and that day, like a trap, catch you unawares.

for I tell you, I shall not after today drink the product of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."

But you are not to do so. On the contrary, the greatest among you must be like the youngest and the leader as the servant.

Which one, indeed, is the greater, the guest at the table or the servant who waits on him? Is it not the guest at the table? But I am among you as the servant who waits on you.

but I have prayed especially for you that your own faith may not utterly fail. And you yourself, after you have turned, must strengthen your brothers."

But He said, "I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow today before you deny three times that you know me!"

Then He said to them, "When I sent you out without purse or bag or shoes, you did not need anything, did you?" They answered, "Nothing at all."

Then He said to them, "But now the man who has a purse must take it, and a bag too. And the man who does not have a sword must sell his coat and buy one.

Now when He reached the spot, He said to them, "Continue to pray that you may not be subjected to temptation."

"Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me. Yet, not my will but always yours be done!"

Then He said to them, "Why are you sleeping? Get up and keep praying that you may not be subjected to temptation."

But he denied it and said, "I do not know Him, woman."

A little later a man looked at him and said, "You are one of them too." But Peter said, "Man, I am not."

But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you mean." And all at once, while he was still speaking, a cock crowed.

"Tell us, if you are the Christ." But He said to them, "If I tell you, you will not believe me,

and if I ask you a question, you will not answer me.

Then they said, "What more evidence do we need? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth!"

Then Pilate said to the high priests and crowds, "I do not find anything blameworthy in this man."

and said to them, "You brought this man to me on a charge of turning the people from allegiance, and here in your presence I have examined Him and do not find Him guilty of the charges you make against Him.

Now one of the criminals who were hanging from their crosses kept abusing Him, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Then save yourself and us too!"