And he said to the man who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your rich neighbors, for then they will invite you in return and you will be repaid.

Then you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the upright."

One of the other guests heard this, and said to him, "Blessed is the man who shall be at the banquet in the Kingdom of God!"

And the master said to the slave, 'Go out on the roads, and among the hedges, and make them come so that my house may be full.

"If anyone comes to me without hating his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, and his very life too, he cannot be a disciple of mine.

For no one who does not take up his own cross and come after me can be a disciple of mine.

In just that way, no one of you who does not say goodbye to all he has can be a disciple of mine.

Salt is good; but if salt loses its strength, what can it be seasoned with?

I tell you, in just that way 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.

Not many days later, the younger son gathered up all he had, and went away to a distant country, and there he squandered his property by fast living.

After he had spent it all, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in want.

I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired men!" '

His son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your eyes; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired men!'

But we had to celebrate and be glad, because your brother was dead, and has come to life, and was lost and is found!' "

So he called him in and said to him, 'What is this that I hear about you? Make an accounting for your conduct of my affairs, for you cannot be manager any longer!'

The man who can be trusted in a very small matter can be trusted in a large one, and the man who cannot be trusted in a very small matter cannot be trusted in a large one.

No servant can belong to two masters, for he will either hate one and love the other, or he will stand by one and make light of the other. You cannot serve God and money!"

And it came about that the beggar died and was carried away by the angels to the companionship of Abraham, and the rich man too died and was buried.

He answered, 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead!' "

He might better have a millstone hung around his neck, and be thrown into the sea, than be a hindrance to one of these humble people.

And the Master said, "If your faith is as big as a mustard seed, you might have said to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and planted in the sea,' and it would have obeyed you!

He was once asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, and he answered, "The Kingdom of God is not coming visibly,

And he said to his disciples, "The time will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not be able to do so.

for just as when the lightning flashes, it shines from one end of the sky to the other, that will be the way with the Son of Man.

But first he must go through much suffering, and be refused by this age.

In the time of the Son of Man it will be just as it was in the time of Noah.

It will be like that on the day when the Son of Man appears.

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

There will be two women grinding together; one will be taken and the other left!"

They said to him, "Where will this be, Master?" And he said to them, "Wherever there is a dead body the vultures will flock!"

I fast two days in the week; I pay tithes on everything I get.'

I tell you, it was he who went back to his house with God's approval, and not the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted."

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "There is one thing that you still lack. Sell all that you have, and divide the money among the poor, and then you will have riches in heaven; and come back and be a follower of mine."

And when Jesus saw it, he said, "How hard it will be for those who have money to get into the Kingdom of God!

And those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?"

And he took the Twelve aside and said to them, "See! we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything written in the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.

For he will be handed over to the heathen, and ridiculed and insulted and spat upon,

As he approached Jericho, a blind man happened to be sitting by the roadside begging.

And hearing a crowd going by he asked what it meant.

They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was coming by.

And those who were in front reproved him and told him to be quiet, but he cried out all the louder, "You Son of David, take pity on me!"

And Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came up, Jesus asked him,

But Zaccheus stopped and said to the Master, "See, Master! I will give half my property to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay him four times as much."

And when he had secured the appointment and returned, he ordered the slaves to whom he had given the money to be called in, so that he could find out how much they had made.

And he said to him, 'Well done, my excellent slave! You have proved trustworthy about a very small amount, you shall be governor of ten towns.'

And he said to him, 'And you shall be governor of five towns!'

They said to him, 'He has two hundred, sir!'??26 'I tell you, the man who has will have more given him, and from the man who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away!

When he was near Bethphage and Bethany by the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples

and to say, "Blessed is the king who comes in the Lord's name, Peace be in heaven and glory on high!"

and he said to them, "The Scripture says, 'And my house shall be a house of prayer,' but you have made it a den of robbers!"

Whoever falls on that stone will be shattered, but whoever it falls upon will be pulverized."

So they kept watch of him and set some spies who pretended to be honest men to fasten on something that he said, so that they might hand him over to the control and authority of the governor.

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

He said to them, "Then pay the emperor what belongs to the emperor, and pay God what belongs to God!"

Now at the resurrection, which one's wife will the woman be? For all seven of them married her."

David then calls him lord. So how can he be his son?"

"Beware of the scribes who like to go about in long robes, and love to be saluted with respect in public places, and to have the front seats in the synagogues and the best places at banquets??47 men who eat up widows' houses and to cover it up make long prayers! They will get all the heavier sentence!"

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

Then they asked him, "Master, when will this happen, and what will be the sign that it is going to take place?"

And he said, "Take care not to be misled. For many will come under my name, and say, 'I am he,' and 'The time is at hand.' Do not follow them.

But when you hear of wars and outbreaks, do not be alarmed. These have to come first, but the end does not follow immediately."

There will be great earthquakes, and pestilence and famine here and there. There will be horrors and great signs in the sky.

for I will give you such wisdom of utterance as none of your opponents will be able to resist or dispute.

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

and you will be hated by everyone because you bear my name.

It is by your endurance that you will win your souls.

But when you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, then you must understand that her devastation is at hand.

for those are the days of vengeance, when all that is written in the Scriptures will be fulfilled.

But alas for women who are with child at that time, or who have babies, for there will be great misery in the land and anger at this people.

They will fall by the edge of the sword, and be carried off as prisoners among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the heathen, until the time of the heathen comes.

There will be signs too in sun, moon, and stars, and on earth dismay among the heathen, bewildered at the roar of the sea and the waves.

But when this begins to happen, look up and raise your heads, for your deliverance will be at hand."

But take care that your hearts are not loaded down with self-indulgence and drunkenness and worldly cares, and that day takes you by surprise, like a trap.

But you must be vigilant and always pray that you may succeed in escaping all this that is going to happen, and in standing in the presence of the Son of Man."

And they were delighted and agreed to pay him for it.

When the day of Unleavened Bread came, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed,

For the Son of Man is going his way, as it has been decreed, but alas for the man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!"

A dispute also arose among them, as to which one of them ought to be considered the greatest.

But you are not to do so, but whoever is greatest among you must be like the youngest, and the leader like a servant.

But it is you who have stood by me in my trials.

He said to them, "But now, if a man has a purse let him take it, and a bag too. And a man who has no sword must sell his coat and buy one.

For I tell you that this saying of Scripture must find its fulfilment in me: 'He was rated an outlaw.' Yes, that saying about me is to be fulfilled!"

And when he reached the spot, he said to them, "Pray that you may not be subjected to trial."

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

And he said to them, "Why are you asleep? Get up, and pray that you may not be subjected to trial!"

A maid saw him sitting by the fire and looked at him and said, "This man was with him too."

But from this time on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of God Almighty!"

and they made this charge against him: "Here is a man whom we have found misleading our nation, and forbidding the payment of taxes to the emperor, and claiming to be an anointed king himself."

But they persisted and said, "He is stirring up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He began in Galilee and he has come here."

When Herod saw Jesus he was delighted, for he had wanted for a long time to see him, because he had heard about him and he hoped to see some wonder done by him.

Meanwhile the high priests and the scribes stood by and vehemently accused him.

But they persisted with loud outcries in demanding that he be crucified, and their shouting won.

And Pilate pronounced sentence that what they asked for should be done.

He was followed by a great crowd of people and of women who were beating their breasts and lamenting him.

And they divided up his clothes among them by drawing lots for them,

And he said to him, "I tell you, you will be in Paradise with me today!"

when he said that the Son of Man must be handed over to wicked men and be crucified and rise again on the third day."

But the story seemed to them to be nonsense and they would not believe them.

and how the high priests and our leading men gave him up to be sentenced to death, and had him crucified.

But we were hoping that he was to be the deliverer of Israel. Why, besides all this, it is three days since it happened.