So her spirit returned and she got up at once, and He directed that something be given her to eat.

And when you leave that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a protest against all the people who do not welcome you."

Now Herod the governor heard of all that was taking place, and he continued to be puzzled over the reports -- by some that John had risen from the dead,

by others that Elijah had appeared, and by still others that one of the ancient prophets had come back to life.

Now the apostles returned and told Jesus all that they had done. Then He took them and privately retired to a town called Bethsaida.

One day while He was praying in solitude, His disciples were nearby, and He asked them, "Who do people say that I am?"

They answered, "John the Baptist; though others say Elijah, and still others that one of the ancient prophets has come back to life."

So He said to them, "But who do you, yourselves, say that I am?" Peter answered, "The Christ of God!"

When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found to be alone. And they kept silence and told no one anything that they had seen at that time.

So they all continued to be utterly astounded at the greatness of God. Now while everybody was wondering at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples,

But they remained ignorant of what this meant; indeed, it had been hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.

But Jesus, as He knew that the controversy was going on in their hearts, took a little child and had it stand by His side.

'We are wiping off against you the very dust from your town that has stuck to our feet. But understand this, the kingdom of God is close by.'

I tell you, on that day the punishment will be lighter for Sodom than for that town.

However, you must stop rejoicing over the fact that the spirits are submitting to you, but continue to rejoice that your names are enrolled in heaven."

At that very moment, by the power of the Holy Spirit, He exulted and said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for concealing these matters from wise and learned men, and for revealing them to little children. Yes, Father, I thank you that your good pleasure made it so.

Then He turned to His disciples when they were alone, and said, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you are seeing.

Now a priest happened to be going that way, but when he saw him, he went by on the other side of the road.

But Martha was getting worried about having to wait on them so much, so she came up suddenly and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the housework alone? Then tell her to take hold and help me."

But some of them said, "It is with the help of Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that He is driving the demons out."

But He knew what they were thinking, and so said to them, "Any kingdom that is not united is in the process of destruction, and one house falls after another.

And if Satan is really disunited, how can his kingdom last? Yet you say that I am driving the demons out with Beelzebub's help.

Then it goes and gets seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and make their home there, and so the end of that man is worse than the beginning."

No one lights a lamp and puts it in a cellar or under a peck-measure, but he puts it on the lampstand, that the people who come in may enjoy the light.

So be on your guard that the very source of light in you is not darkness.

The Pharisee noticed that He did not first wash before lunch, and was surprised.

so that the blood of all the prophets that has been shed from the creation of the world may be charged against the men of this age --

plotting, as if in ambush, to entrap Him in something that might fall from His lips.

Meanwhile as the people had gathered in tens of thousands, so that they were trampling upon one another, He began to say, first of all, to His disciples: "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, hypocrisy.

There is nothing covered up that will not be uncovered, nor secret that will not be made known;

So I tell you, my friends, never be afraid of those who kill the body but after that have nothing more that they can do.

for at that very moment the Holy Spirit will teach you what you ought to say."

But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is to be demanded of you. Then who will have all that you have prepared?'

For all these are the very things the nations of the world are greedily trying to get, and surely your Father well knows that you need them.

Sell your property and give to charity. Provide for yourselves purses that will never wear out, riches that never fail in heaven, where a thief cannot come near nor a moth destroy,

and be like men waiting for their master when he comes home from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks, they at once may open the door for him.

But be sure of this, that if the master of the house had known what time the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.

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

Happy is that slave whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.

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,

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

"It is fire that I have come to bring upon the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!

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?

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.

Just at that time some people came up to tell Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate mingled with that of their sacrifices.

Then He answered them, "Do you think, because these Galileans suffered like this, that they were worse sinners than all the rest of the Galileans?

Or those eighteen people at Siloam on whom the tower fell and whom it crushed to death, do you think that they were offenders worse than all the rest of the people who live in Jerusalem?

Even while He was saying this, His opponents were blushing with shame, but all the people were rejoicing over all the glorious things that were being done by Him.

Just at that time some Pharisees came up and said to Him, "Get out at once! Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you!"

But He said to them: "Go and tell that fox, 'Here I am, driving out demons and performing cures, today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will finish these tasks.

"O Jerusalem! Jerusalem! The city that continues to murder the prophets, and to stone those who are sent to her, how often I have yearned to gather your children around me, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings. But you refused!

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.

But when you are invited anywhere, go and take the lowest place, so that when your host comes in, he may say to you, 'My friend, come up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow-guests.

But when you give a reception, make it your habit to invite people that are poor, maimed, crippled, or blind.

"Then the master said to his slave, 'Go out on the roads and by the hedges and make the people come in, so that my house may be filled.

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

Salt is good, but if salt itself loses its strength, how can that strength be restored?

The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the property that falls to me.' So he divided his property between them.

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.

After he had spent it all, a severe famine struck that country, and he began to suffer want.

So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, and he sent him to his fields to feed hogs.

But he answered his father, 'See! I have served you all these years and have never disobeyed a command of yours, but you have never given me even a kid, so that I could celebrate with my friends.

So he called the manager to him and said, 'What is this that I am hearing about you? Balance your accounts and show how you are conducting my affairs, for you cannot be manager any longer.'

So I tell you, make friends by the right use of your money, which so easily tends to wrongdoing, so that when it fails, your friends may welcome you to the eternal dwellings.

It was the law and the prophets until John, but ever since that time the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everybody has been taking it by storm.

and he was always craving to get a square meal from the scraps that fell from the rich man's table. Yes, the very dogs used to come and lick his sores.

But Abraham said, 'My child, remember that you received in full your blessings in your lifetime, and Lazarus his hardships in his, but now he is continuously comforted here, while you are continuously tortured there.

Besides all this, between you and us there stands fixed a great chasm, so that those who want to cross from this side to you cannot, nor can they cross from your side to us.'

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

Now He said to His disciples: "It is inevitable that snares to evil will come, but a curse be on the man through whom they come!

Then the Lord said to them, "If you had faith that grows like a mustard seed, you might have been saying to this mulberry tree, 'Pull yourself up by the roots and plant yourself in the sea,' and it would have obeyed you!

So you too, when you do all that you are ordered to do, say, 'We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done.'"

But one of them, when he saw that he was cured, came back, praising God with a loud voice,

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 in that city there was a widow who continued to come to him and say, 'Give me justice and protection from my opponent.'

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."

I tell you, He will give them justice and protection, and that without delay. But when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?"

To some people who were confident that they themselves were upright, but who scorned everybody else, He told the following story:

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 when he heard that, he was very sad, for he was surpassingly rich.

They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was coming by.

So he ran on ahead and climbed up in a mulberry tree, just to get a glimpse of Him, for Jesus was coming through on that street.

For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the people that are lost."

As they were listening to these things, He told them another story, because He was near Jerusalem and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.

Then after he had gotten the appointment as king, he returned and ordered those slaves to whom he had given his money to be called in, that he might find out what business they had done.

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.'

Just as He was approaching the city, going down the Mount of Olives, the whole throng of the disciples began to praise God exultantly and loudly for all the wonder-works that they had seen,

and said to Him, "Tell us what sort of authority you have for doing as you do, or who is it that gave you such authority?"

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

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

So at the proper time He sent a slave to the tenants, that they might pay him his part of the grape-crop, but the tenants beat him and sent him back empty-handed.

But when the tenants saw him, they argued among themselves, 'This is the heir; let us kill him, so that what he inherits may be ours.'

But He glanced at them and said, "Then what does this Scripture mean: 'That stone which the builders threw away has now become the cornerstone'?

Everyone who falls upon that stone will be shattered, and he on whom it falls will be crushed to dust."

Then the scribes and the high priests tried to arrest Him at that very hour, but they were afraid of the people, for they knew that He meant this story for them.

They asked Him, "Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and show no favors to anyone, but teach the way of God honestly.

Then some of the Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection, came up and asked Him,