Perhaps it will bear fruit next year, but if not, you can cut it down.’”

He said, therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like, and what can I compare it to?

Again He said, “What can I compare the kingdom of God to?

So he called the manager in and asked, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you can no longer be my manager.’

No household slave can be the slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t be slaves to both God and money.”

Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that those who want to pass over from here to you cannot; neither can those from there cross over to us.’

“If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,” the Lord said, “you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

Instead, will he not tell him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, get ready, and serve me while I eat and drink; later you can eat and drink’?

Those who heard this asked, “Then who can be saved?”

Then He said to them, “How can they say that the Messiah is the Son of David?

David calls Him ‘Lord’; how then can the Messiah be his Son?”

As soon as they put out leaves you can see for yourselves and recognize that summer is already near.

Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover meal for us, so we can eat it.”

Tell the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks you, “Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover with My disciples?”’

Look at My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself! Touch Me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.”

“Who are you, then?” they asked. “We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What can you tell us about yourself?”

“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael asked him.

“Come and see,” Philip answered.

On the third day a wedding took place in Cana of Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and

Jesus performed this first sign in Cana of Galilee. He displayed His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.

“But how can anyone be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked Him. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?”

“How can these things be?” asked Nicodemus.

John responded, “No one can receive a single thing unless it’s given to him from heaven.

You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but I’ve been sent ahead of Him.’

The reaper is already receiving pay and gathering fruit for eternal life, so the sower and reaper can rejoice together.

Then He went again to Cana of Galilee, where He had turned the water into wine. There was a certain royal official whose son was ill at Capernaum.

“I can do nothing on My own. I judge only as I hear, and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

How can you believe? While accepting glory from one another, you don’t seek the glory that comes from the only God.

Therefore, when Jesus looked up and noticed a huge crowd coming toward Him, He asked Philip, “Where will we buy bread so these people can eat?”

“What can we do to perform the works of God?” they asked.

They were saying, “Isn’t this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can He now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day.

At that, the Jews argued among themselves, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”

Therefore, when many of His disciples heard this, they said, “This teaching is hard! Who can accept it?”

He said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless it is granted to him by the Father.”

so His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go to Judea so Your disciples can see Your works that You are doing.

Yet, look! He’s speaking publicly and they’re saying nothing to Him. Can it be true that the authorities know He is the Messiah?

“We are descendants of Abraham,” they answered Him, “and we have never been enslaved to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will become free’?”

Who among you can convict Me of sin? If I tell the truth, why don’t you believe Me?

We must do the works of Him who sent Me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work.

So again the Pharisees asked him how he received his sight.

“He put mud on my eyes,” he told them. “I washed and I can see.”

Therefore some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for He doesn’t keep the Sabbath!” But others were saying, “How can a sinful man perform such signs?” And there was a division among them.

He answered, “Whether or not He’s a sinner, I don’t know. One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I can see!”

Others were saying, “These aren’t the words of someone demon-possessed. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

Then the crowd replied to Him, “We have heard from the scripture that the Messiah will remain forever. So how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”

“Lord,” Peter asked, “why can’t I follow You now? I will lay down my life for You!”

“Lord,” Thomas said, “we don’t know where You’re going. How can we know the way?”

Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time without your knowing Me, Philip? The one who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.

“I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now.

Simon Peter, Thomas (called “Twin”), Nathanael from Cana of Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of His disciples were together.

“Brothers, I can confidently speak to you about the patriarch David: He is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we can appoint to this duty.

“How can I,” he said, “unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

“Can anyone withhold water and prevent these people from being baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”

After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any message of encouragement for the people, you can speak.”

In fact, we run a risk of being charged with rioting for what happened today, since there is no justification that we can give as a reason for this disorderly gathering.”

as both the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. After I received letters from them to the brothers, I traveled to Damascus to bring those who were prisoners there to be punished in Jerusalem.

Also provide mounts so they can put Paul on them and bring him safely to Felix the governor.”

Neither can they provide evidence to you of what they now bring against me.

But Paul said: “I am standing at Caesar’s tribunal, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as even you can see very well.

If then I am doing wrong, or have done anything deserving of death, I do not refuse to die, but if there is nothing to what these men accuse me of, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar!”

and told them, “Men, I can see that this voyage is headed toward damage and heavy loss, not only of the cargo and the ship but also of our lives.”

since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them.

What then can we say that Abraham, our physical ancestor, has found?

Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect?
God is the One who justifies.

Who can separate us from the love of Christ?
Can affliction or anguish or persecution
or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

You will say to me, therefore, “Why then does He still find fault? For who can resist His will?”

I can testify about them that they have zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.

But how can they call on Him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about Him? And how can they hear without a preacher?

And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who announce the gospel of good things!

if I can somehow make my own people jealous and save some of them.

so that no one can say you were baptized in my name.

so that no one can boast in His presence.

The spiritual person, however, can evaluate everything, yet he himself cannot be evaluated by anyone.

For no one can lay any other foundation than what has been laid down. That foundation is Jesus Christ.

No one should deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks he is wise in this age, he must become foolish so that he can become wise.

For you can have 10,000 instructors in Christ, but you can’t have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

I say this to your shame! Can it be that there is not one wise person among you who is able to arbitrate between his brothers?

Run from sexual immorality! “Every sin a person can commit is outside the body.” On the contrary, the person who is sexually immoral sins against his own body.

Were you called while a slave? It should not be a concern to you. But if you can become free, by all means take the opportunity.

But if any man thinks he is acting improperly toward his virgin, if she is past marriageable age, and so it must be, he can do what he wants. He is not sinning; they can get married.

If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you gather together you will not come under judgment. And I will give instructions about the other matters whenever I come.

Therefore I am informing you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

If I have the gift of prophecy
and understand all mysteries
and all knowledge,
and if I have all faith
so that I can move mountains
but do not have love, I am nothing.

Therefore the person who speaks in another language should pray that he can interpret.

For you can all prophesy one by one, so that everyone may learn and everyone may be encouraged.

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say, “There is no resurrection of the dead”?

Therefore, no one should look down on him. Send him on his way in peace so he can come to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers.

while you join in helping us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gift that came to us through the prayers of many.

Now we are writing nothing to you other than what you can read and also understand. I hope you will understand completely—

We are taking this precaution so no one can criticize us about this large sum administered by us.

For if I want to boast, I will not be a fool, because I will be telling the truth. But I will spare you, so that no one can credit me with something beyond what he sees in me or hears from me,

But when I saw that they were deviating from the truth of the gospel, I told Cephas in front of everyone, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel Gentiles to live like Jews?”

But now, since you know God, or rather have become known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and bankrupt elemental forces? Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again?

not from works, so that no one can boast.

Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil.

so that you can approve the things that are superior and can be pure and blameless in the day of Christ,

Hold firmly to the message of life. Then I can boast in the day of Christ that I didn’t run or labor for nothing.