Thematic Bible


Thematic Bible



But when they give you up, you must have no anxiety about how to speak or what to say, for you will be told at the very moment what you ought to say, for it is not you who will speak, it is the Spirit of your Father that will speak through you.







Jesus sent these twelve out, after giving them these directions: "Do not go among the heathen, or to any Samaritan town, but proceed instead to the lost sheep of Israel's house. And as you go about, preach and say, 'The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!' read more.
Cure the sick, raise the dead, heal lepers, drive out demons. Give without payment, just as you received without payment. Do not accept gold or silver or copper money to put in your pockets, and do not take a bag for your journey, nor two shirts, nor shoes, nor a staff, for the workman deserves his food! Whatever town or village you come to, inquire for some suitable person, and stay with him till you leave the place. And as you go into his house, wish it well. If the house deserves it, the peace you wish it will come over it, but if it does not deserve it, your blessing will come back upon yourselves. And where no one will welcome you, or listen to you, leave that house or town and shake off its very dust from your feet. I tell you, the land of Sodom and Gomorrah will fare better on the Day of Judgment than that town. "Here I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. So you must be wise like serpents, and guileless like doves. But be on your guard against men, for they will give you up to their courts, and have you flogged in their synagogues, and you will be brought before governors and kings on my account, to bear your testimony before them and the heathen. But when they give you up, you must have no anxiety about how to speak or what to say, for you will be told at the very moment what you ought to say, for it is not you who will speak, it is the Spirit of your Father that will speak through you. One brother will give up another to death, and a father his child, and children will turn against their parents, and have them put to death. You will be hated by everybody on my account, but the man who holds out to the very end will be saved. But when they persecute you in one town, make your escape to another, for I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man arrives. A pupil is not better than his teacher, nor a slave better than his master. A pupil should be satisfied to come to be like his teacher, or a slave, to come to be like his master. If men have called the head of the house Beelzebub, how much worse names will they give to the members of his household! So do not be afraid of them. For there is nothing covered up that is not going to be uncovered, nor secret that is not going to be known. What I tell you in the dark you must say in the light, and what you hear whispered in your ear, you must proclaim from the housetops. Have no fear of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. You had better be afraid of one who can destroy both soul and body in the pit. Do not sparrows sell two for a cent? And yet not one of them can fall to the ground against your Father's will! But the very hairs on your heads are all counted. You must not be afraid; you are worth more than a great many sparrows! Therefore everyone who will acknowledge me before men I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven, but anyone who disowns me before men, I will disown before my Father in heaven. "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father and a daughter against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man's enemies will be in his own household. No one who loves father or mother more than he loves me is worthy of me, and no one who loves son or daughter more than he loves me is worthy of me, and no one who will not take up his cross and follow me is worthy of me. Whoever gains his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will gain it. "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes him who has sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet because he is a prophet will have the same reward as a prophet, and whoever welcomes an upright man because he is upright will have the same reward as an upright man. And no one who will give the humblest of my disciples even a cup of cold water because he is my disciple, I tell you, can ever fail of his reward."

If any place refuses to receive you or to listen to you, when you leave it shake off the very dust from the soles of your feet as a warning to them." Verse ConceptsGesturesFeetHospitality, A Duty Of God's PeopleOpportunities, And SalvationWiping DustPeople Abandoning Peoplefatedustwelcome

After this the Master appointed seventy-two others, and sent them on before him, two by two, to every town or place to which he intended to come. And he said to them, "The harvest is abundant enough, but the reapers are few. So pray to the owner of the harvest to send reapers to gather it. Now go. Here I send you out like lambs among wolves. read more.
Carry no purse nor wallet nor shoes, and do not stop to exchange civilities with anyone on the way. Whenever you go to stay at a house, first say, 'Peace to this household!' If there is anyone there who loves peace, your blessing will rest upon him, but if there is not, it will come back to you. Stay at the same house, eating and drinking what they offer you, for the workman deserves his pay. Do not change from one house to another. Whenever you come to a town and they welcome you, eat what is offered you, and cure the sick there, and say to them, 'The Kingdom of God is close upon you!' But whenever you come to a town and they do not welcome you, go out into the open streets and say, 'The very dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off in protest. But understand this: the Kingdom of God is at hand!' I tell you, on that Day Sodom will fare better than that town! Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! For if the wonders that have been done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes! But Tyre and Sidon will fare better than you at the Judgment! And you, Capernaum! Are you to be exalted to the skies? You will go down among the dead! Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever disregards you disregards me, and whoever disregards me disregards him who sent me."

These are the instructions that I intrust to you, my son Timothy, and they are in accordance with the predictions made long ago about you. Fight the good fight with their aid, keeping hold of faith and a good conscience. For some people have let that go and have had their faith ruined, like Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I turned over to Satan, to be taught not to blaspheme.

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Never reprove an older man, but appeal to him as to a father. Treat younger men like brothers, older women like mothers, younger ones like sisters, with absolute purity. Look after widows who are really dependent. read more.
If a widow has children or grandchildren, let them learn first to show piety in the treatment of their own families, and to return the care of those who brought them up, for that is what God approves. But a woman who is really a widow, and has no children, has fixed her hope on God, and devotes herself to prayers and entreaties night and day. A widow who gives herself up to pleasure is dead while she is still alive. Insist upon these points, so that people may be irreproachable. Whoever fails to provide for his own relatives, and particularly for members of his own family, has disowned the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. No one under sixty years of age should be put on the list of widows. A widow must have been married but once, and have a good reputation for Christian service, such as bringing up children, being hospitable to strangers, washing the feet of God's people, helping people in distress, or devoting herself to any form of doing good. Do not put young women on the list of widows, for when their youthful vigor comes between them and Christ, they want to marry, and become guilty of breaking their previous pledge. Besides, as they go about from house to house they learn to be idle, and not only idle but gossips and busybodies, and talk of things they ought not to mention. So I would have young women marry and have children and keep house and avoid giving our opponents any excuse for abusing us. For some widows have already turned aside to follow Satan. Any Christian woman who has widowed relatives should look after them, and relieve the church, so that it can look after widows who are really dependent. Elders who do their duties well should be considered as deserving twice as much as they get, particularly those who work at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, "You must not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain," and the workman deserves his wages. Do not listen to an accusation made against an elder, unless it is supported by two or three witnesses. Those who are found guilty you must reprove publicly, as a warning to others. I charge you before God and Christ Jesus and the chosen angels to observe these rules without any discrimination, and to be perfectly impartial. Never ordain anyone hastily; do not make yourself responsible for the sins of others; keep your life pure.

For this reason I would remind you to rekindle the divine gift that you received when I laid my hands upon you. For the Spirit God has given us is a spirit not of timidity but of power, love, and self-discipline. So you must not be ashamed to testify to our Lord, nor be ashamed of me who am in prison for his sake, but join with me in suffering for the good news, through the power of God. read more.
He saved us and called us to a consecrated life, not for anything we had done, but of his own accord and out of the mercy which he bestowed upon us ages ago through Christ Jesus, which has now been revealed through the appearance of our Savior Christ Jesus. He has taken away the power of death and brought life and immortality to light through the good news, of which I have been appointed a herald, apostle and teacher. This is why I am suffering as I am, but I am not ashamed of it, for I know whom I have trusted and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have intrusted to him for that Day. As your example in wholesome instruction, keep before you what you learned from me, in the faith and love that come through union with Christ Jesus.

I charge you in the sight of God and Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom, preach the message; be at it in season and out of season; convince, reprove, exhort people, with perfect patience and willingness to teach. For a time will come when they will not listen to wholesome instruction, but will overwhelm themselves with teachers to suit their whims and tickle their fancies, read more.
and they will turn from listening to the truth and wander off after fictions. But you must always be composed; do not shrink from hardship; do your work as a missionary, and your whole duty as a minister. My life is already being poured out, and the time has come for my departure. I have had a part in the great contest, I have run my race, I have preserved my faith. Now the crown of uprightness awaits me, which the Lord, the upright judge, will award me on that Day, and not only me but also all who have loved and hoped for his appearing.

But as they contradicted and abused him, he shook his clothes in protest, and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am not to blame for it! After this I will go to the heathen." Verse ConceptsGentiles, In NtConfrontationBlood, as symbol of guiltInsultsSpiritual Warfare, Causes OfAbuse, To God's PeopleRejection Of God's CallShakingName CallingThe Gentiles ConversionPreaching Gospel To ForeignersResponsibility For Blood ShedPeople Abandoning PeopleBlasphemy



And where no one will welcome you, or listen to you, leave that house or town and shake off its very dust from your feet. I tell you, the land of Sodom and Gomorrah will fare better on the Day of Judgment than that town. "Here I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. So you must be wise like serpents, and guileless like doves. read more.
But be on your guard against men, for they will give you up to their courts, and have you flogged in their synagogues, and you will be brought before governors and kings on my account, to bear your testimony before them and the heathen. But when they give you up, you must have no anxiety about how to speak or what to say, for you will be told at the very moment what you ought to say, for it is not you who will speak, it is the Spirit of your Father that will speak through you. One brother will give up another to death, and a father his child, and children will turn against their parents, and have them put to death. You will be hated by everybody on my account, but the man who holds out to the very end will be saved. But when they persecute you in one town, make your escape to another, for I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man arrives. A pupil is not better than his teacher, nor a slave better than his master. A pupil should be satisfied to come to be like his teacher, or a slave, to come to be like his master. If men have called the head of the house Beelzebub, how much worse names will they give to the members of his household! So do not be afraid of them. For there is nothing covered up that is not going to be uncovered, nor secret that is not going to be known. What I tell you in the dark you must say in the light, and what you hear whispered in your ear, you must proclaim from the housetops. Have no fear of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. You had better be afraid of one who can destroy both soul and body in the pit. Do not sparrows sell two for a cent? And yet not one of them can fall to the ground against your Father's will! But the very hairs on your heads are all counted. You must not be afraid; you are worth more than a great many sparrows! Therefore everyone who will acknowledge me before men I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven, but anyone who disowns me before men, I will disown before my Father in heaven. "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father and a daughter against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man's enemies will be in his own household. No one who loves father or mother more than he loves me is worthy of me, and no one who loves son or daughter more than he loves me is worthy of me, and no one who will not take up his cross and follow me is worthy of me. Whoever gains his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will gain it. "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes him who has sent me.

Therefore I declare to you today that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you, for I have not shrunk from letting you know God's purpose without reserve.

"Here I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. So you must be wise like serpents, and guileless like doves. But be on your guard against men, for they will give you up to their courts, and have you flogged in their synagogues, and you will be brought before governors and kings on my account, to bear your testimony before them and the heathen. read more.
But when they give you up, you must have no anxiety about how to speak or what to say, for you will be told at the very moment what you ought to say, for it is not you who will speak, it is the Spirit of your Father that will speak through you. One brother will give up another to death, and a father his child, and children will turn against their parents, and have them put to death. You will be hated by everybody on my account, but the man who holds out to the very end will be saved. But when they persecute you in one town, make your escape to another, for I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man arrives.


All this is only the beginning of the sufferings. Then they will hand you over to persecution and they will put you to death, and you will be hated by all the heathen because you bear my name. Then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. read more.
Many false prophets will appear, and many will be misled by them, and because of the increase of wickedness, most men's love will grow cold. But he who holds out to the end will be saved.

But it is you who have stood by me in my trials. So just as my Father has conferred a kingdom on me I confer on you the right to eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and to sit on thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel!

"Here I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. So you must be wise like serpents, and guileless like doves. But be on your guard against men, for they will give you up to their courts, and have you flogged in their synagogues, and you will be brought before governors and kings on my account, to bear your testimony before them and the heathen. read more.
But when they give you up, you must have no anxiety about how to speak or what to say, for you will be told at the very moment what you ought to say, for it is not you who will speak, it is the Spirit of your Father that will speak through you. One brother will give up another to death, and a father his child, and children will turn against their parents, and have them put to death. You will be hated by everybody on my account, but the man who holds out to the very end will be saved.

Brother will give up brother to be put to death, and the father his child, and children will turn against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone, because you bear my name. But he who holds out to the end will be saved.

"Here I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. So you must be wise like serpents, and guileless like doves. But be on your guard against men, for they will give you up to their courts, and have you flogged in their synagogues, and you will be brought before governors and kings on my account, to bear your testimony before them and the heathen. read more.
But when they give you up, you must have no anxiety about how to speak or what to say, for you will be told at the very moment what you ought to say, for it is not you who will speak, it is the Spirit of your Father that will speak through you. One brother will give up another to death, and a father his child, and children will turn against their parents, and have them put to death. You will be hated by everybody on my account, but the man who holds out to the very end will be saved.

And Jesus left the Temple and was going away, when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to the Temple buildings. But he answered, "Do you see all this? I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another but shall be torn down." As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came up to him by themselves, and said to him, "Tell us when this is to happen, and what will be the sign of your coming, and of the close of the age." read more.
Jesus answered, "Take care that no one misleads you about this. For many will come under my name, and say, 'I am the Christ,' and many will be misled by them. You will hear of wars and rumors of war; do not let yourselves be alarmed. They have to come, but that is not the end. For nation will rise in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes here and there. All this is only the beginning of the sufferings. Then they will hand you over to persecution and they will put you to death, and you will be hated by all the heathen because you bear my name.

As he was leaving the Temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Master! What wonderful stones and buildings!" Jesus said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left here upon another that shall not be torn down." As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the Temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him, apart from the others, read more.
"Tell us when this is to happen, and what the sign will be when it is all just going to be carried out." And Jesus said to them, "Take care that no one misleads you about this. Many will come under my name and say 'I am he,' and many will be misled by them. But when you hear of wars and rumors of war, you must not be alarmed. They have to come, but it is not yet the end. For nation will rise in arms against nation and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes here and there, there will be famines. This is only the beginning of the sufferings. But you must be on your guard; they will hand you over to courts and you will be taken into synagogues and beaten, and you will be brought before governors and kings on my account, to testify to them. For before the end the good news must be preached to all the heathen. When they are taking you off to trial do not worry beforehand about what you ought to say, but say whatever is given you when the time comes, for it is not you that will speak, but the holy Spirit. Brother will give up brother to be put to death, and the father his child, and children will turn against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone, because you bear my name. But he who holds out to the end will be saved.

When some spoke about the Temple and its decoration with costly stone and votive offerings, he said, "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?" read more.
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." Then he said to them, "Nation will rise in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and pestilence and famine here and there. There will be horrors and great signs in the sky. But before all this, men will arrest you and persecute you, and hand you over to synagogues and prisons and have you brought before kings and governors on my account. It will all lead to your testifying. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense, 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.

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the cultivator. Any branch of mine that does not bear fruit he trims away, and he prunes every branch that bears fruit, to make it bear more. You are pruned already because of the teaching that I have given you. read more.
You must remain united to me and I will remain united to you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains united to the vine, you cannot unless you remain united to me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Anyone who remains united to me, with me united to him, will be very fruitful, for you cannot do anything apart from me. Anyone who does not remain united to me is thrown away like a branch and withers up, and they gather them and throw them into the fire and burn them. If you remain united to me and my words remain in your hearts, ask for whatever you please and you shall have it. When you are very fruitful and show yourselves to be disciples of mine, my Father is honored. I have loved you just as the Father has loved me. You must retain my love. If you keep my commands you will retain my love, just as I have observed the Father's commands and retain his love. I have told you all this so that you may have the happiness that I have had, and your happiness may be complete. The command that I give you is to love one another just as I have loved you. No one can show greater love than by giving up his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you to do. I do not call you slaves any longer, for a slave does not know what his master is doing, but now I call you friends, for I have made known to you everything that I have learned from my Father. It was not you who chose me, it is I that have chosen you, and appointed you to go and bear fruit??ruit that shall be lasting, so that the Father may grant you whatever you ask him for as my followers. "What I command you to do is to love one another. If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love what was its own. But it is because you do not belong to the world, but I have selected you from the world, that the world hates you.

When Jesus had said all this he raised his eyes to heaven and said, "Father, the time has come. Do honor to your son, that your son may do honor to you, just as you have done in giving him power over all mankind, so that he may give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And eternal life means knowing you as the only true God, and knowing Jesus your messenger as Christ. read more.
I have done honor to you here on earth, by completing the work which you gave me to do. Now, Father, do such honor to me in your presence as I had done me there before the world existed. "I have revealed your real self to the men you gave me from the world. They were yours and you gave them to me, and they have obeyed your message. Now at last they know that all that you have given me comes from you, for I have given them the truths that you gave me, and they have accepted them and been convinced that I came from you, and they believe that you sent me. I have a request to make for them. I make no request for the world, but only for those whom you have given me, for they are yours??10 all that is mine is yours and what is yours is mine??nd they have done me honor. Now I am to be no longer in this world, but they are to remain in the world, while I return to you. Holy Father, keep them by your power which you gave me, so that they may be one just as we are. As long as I was with them I kept them by your power which you gave me, and I protected them, and not one of them was lost (except the one who was destined to be lost), so that what the Scripture says might come true. But now I am coming to you, and I say this here in this world in order that they may have the happiness that I feel fully realized in their own hearts. I have given them your message, and the world has come to hate them, for they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.

For the message you have heard from the beginning is this: We must love one another. We must not be like Cain who was a child of the evil one, and butchered his brother. And why did he butcher him? Because his own actions were wicked and his brother's upright. You must not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you!


But when they give you up, you must have no anxiety about how to speak or what to say, for you will be told at the very moment what you ought to say, for it is not you who will speak, it is the Spirit of your Father that will speak through you.






When they bring you before the synagogues or the magistrates or the authorities, you must have no anxiety about how to defend yourselves or what to say, for at the very moment the holy Spirit will teach you what you ought to say."

But before all this, men will arrest you and persecute you, and hand you over to synagogues and prisons and have you brought before kings and governors on my account. It will all lead to your testifying. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense, read more.
for I will give you such wisdom of utterance as none of your opponents will be able to resist or dispute.

So we have the message of the prophets more fully guaranteed. Please pay attention to that message as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. You must understand this in the first place, that no prophecy in Scripture can be understood through one's own powers, for no prophecy ever originated in the human will, but under the influence of the holy Spirit men spoke for God.



For it seems to me, God has exhibited us apostles at the very end of the procession, like the men condemned to die in the arena. For we have become a spectacle to the whole universe, angels as well as men. We are made fools of, for the sake of Christ, while you are men of sense, through being united with him. We are weak, you are strong. You are distinguished, we are despised. To this day we have gone hungry, thirsty, and ill-clad; we have had rough usage, we have had no home, read more.
we have worked with our hands for a living. When people abuse us, we bless them, when they persecute us, we put up with it, when they slander us, we try to conciliate them. We have come to be like the scum of the earth, the dregs of the world, and we are so now.

As he was leaving the Temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Master! What wonderful stones and buildings!" Jesus said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left here upon another that shall not be torn down." As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the Temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him, apart from the others, read more.
"Tell us when this is to happen, and what the sign will be when it is all just going to be carried out." And Jesus said to them, "Take care that no one misleads you about this. Many will come under my name and say 'I am he,' and many will be misled by them. But when you hear of wars and rumors of war, you must not be alarmed. They have to come, but it is not yet the end. For nation will rise in arms against nation and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes here and there, there will be famines. This is only the beginning of the sufferings. But you must be on your guard; they will hand you over to courts and you will be taken into synagogues and beaten, and you will be brought before governors and kings on my account, to testify to them. For before the end the good news must be preached to all the heathen. When they are taking you off to trial do not worry beforehand about what you ought to say, but say whatever is given you when the time comes, for it is not you that will speak, but the holy Spirit. Brother will give up brother to be put to death, and the father his child, and children will turn against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone, because you bear my name. But he who holds out to the end will be saved.

"Here I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. So you must be wise like serpents, and guileless like doves. But be on your guard against men, for they will give you up to their courts, and have you flogged in their synagogues, and you will be brought before governors and kings on my account, to bear your testimony before them and the heathen. read more.
But when they give you up, you must have no anxiety about how to speak or what to say, for you will be told at the very moment what you ought to say, for it is not you who will speak, it is the Spirit of your Father that will speak through you. One brother will give up another to death, and a father his child, and children will turn against their parents, and have them put to death. You will be hated by everybody on my account, but the man who holds out to the very end will be saved. But when they persecute you in one town, make your escape to another, for I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man arrives. A pupil is not better than his teacher, nor a slave better than his master. A pupil should be satisfied to come to be like his teacher, or a slave, to come to be like his master. If men have called the head of the house Beelzebub, how much worse names will they give to the members of his household!

And Jesus left the Temple and was going away, when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to the Temple buildings. But he answered, "Do you see all this? I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another but shall be torn down." As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came up to him by themselves, and said to him, "Tell us when this is to happen, and what will be the sign of your coming, and of the close of the age." read more.
Jesus answered, "Take care that no one misleads you about this. For many will come under my name, and say, 'I am the Christ,' and many will be misled by them. You will hear of wars and rumors of war; do not let yourselves be alarmed. They have to come, but that is not the end. For nation will rise in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes here and there. All this is only the beginning of the sufferings. Then they will hand you over to persecution and they will put you to death, and you will be hated by all the heathen because you bear my name. Then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.

When some spoke about the Temple and its decoration with costly stone and votive offerings, he said, "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?" read more.
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." Then he said to them, "Nation will rise in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and pestilence and famine here and there. There will be horrors and great signs in the sky. But before all this, men will arrest you and persecute you, and hand you over to synagogues and prisons and have you brought before kings and governors on my account. It will all lead to your testifying. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense, 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. Yet not a hair of your head will perish! It is by your endurance that you will win your souls.

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the cultivator. Any branch of mine that does not bear fruit he trims away, and he prunes every branch that bears fruit, to make it bear more. You are pruned already because of the teaching that I have given you. read more.
You must remain united to me and I will remain united to you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains united to the vine, you cannot unless you remain united to me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Anyone who remains united to me, with me united to him, will be very fruitful, for you cannot do anything apart from me. Anyone who does not remain united to me is thrown away like a branch and withers up, and they gather them and throw them into the fire and burn them. If you remain united to me and my words remain in your hearts, ask for whatever you please and you shall have it. When you are very fruitful and show yourselves to be disciples of mine, my Father is honored. I have loved you just as the Father has loved me. You must retain my love. If you keep my commands you will retain my love, just as I have observed the Father's commands and retain his love. I have told you all this so that you may have the happiness that I have had, and your happiness may be complete. The command that I give you is to love one another just as I have loved you. No one can show greater love than by giving up his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you to do. I do not call you slaves any longer, for a slave does not know what his master is doing, but now I call you friends, for I have made known to you everything that I have learned from my Father. It was not you who chose me, it is I that have chosen you, and appointed you to go and bear fruit??ruit that shall be lasting, so that the Father may grant you whatever you ask him for as my followers. "What I command you to do is to love one another. If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love what was its own. But it is because you do not belong to the world, but I have selected you from the world, that the world hates you. Remember what I said to you: No slave is greater than his master. If they have persecuted me they will persecute you too. If they have observed my teaching, they will observe yours too.

"I have told you this to keep you from faltering. They will exclude you from their synagogues; why, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is doing religious service to God. They will do this because they do not know the Father or me. read more.
But I have told you about these things in order that when the time comes for them to happen, you may remember that I told you of them. I did not tell you this at first because I was still staying with you.


But when they give you up, you must have no anxiety about how to speak or what to say, for you will be told at the very moment what you ought to say, for it is not you who will speak, it is the Spirit of your Father that will speak through you.






When they bring you before the synagogues or the magistrates or the authorities, you must have no anxiety about how to defend yourselves or what to say, for at the very moment the holy Spirit will teach you what you ought to say."

But before all this, men will arrest you and persecute you, and hand you over to synagogues and prisons and have you brought before kings and governors on my account. It will all lead to your testifying. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense, read more.
for I will give you such wisdom of utterance as none of your opponents will be able to resist or dispute.

So we have the message of the prophets more fully guaranteed. Please pay attention to that message as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. You must understand this in the first place, that no prophecy in Scripture can be understood through one's own powers, for no prophecy ever originated in the human will, but under the influence of the holy Spirit men spoke for God.
















"Here I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. So you must be wise like serpents, and guileless like doves. But be on your guard against men, for they will give you up to their courts, and have you flogged in their synagogues, and you will be brought before governors and kings on my account, to bear your testimony before them and the heathen. read more.
But when they give you up, you must have no anxiety about how to speak or what to say, for you will be told at the very moment what you ought to say, for it is not you who will speak, it is the Spirit of your Father that will speak through you. One brother will give up another to death, and a father his child, and children will turn against their parents, and have them put to death. You will be hated by everybody on my account, but the man who holds out to the very end will be saved.

And Jesus left the Temple and was going away, when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to the Temple buildings. But he answered, "Do you see all this? I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another but shall be torn down." As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came up to him by themselves, and said to him, "Tell us when this is to happen, and what will be the sign of your coming, and of the close of the age." read more.
Jesus answered, "Take care that no one misleads you about this. For many will come under my name, and say, 'I am the Christ,' and many will be misled by them. You will hear of wars and rumors of war; do not let yourselves be alarmed. They have to come, but that is not the end. For nation will rise in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes here and there. All this is only the beginning of the sufferings. Then they will hand you over to persecution and they will put you to death, and you will be hated by all the heathen because you bear my name.

As he was leaving the Temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Master! What wonderful stones and buildings!" Jesus said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left here upon another that shall not be torn down." As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the Temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him, apart from the others, read more.
"Tell us when this is to happen, and what the sign will be when it is all just going to be carried out." And Jesus said to them, "Take care that no one misleads you about this. Many will come under my name and say 'I am he,' and many will be misled by them. But when you hear of wars and rumors of war, you must not be alarmed. They have to come, but it is not yet the end. For nation will rise in arms against nation and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes here and there, there will be famines. This is only the beginning of the sufferings. But you must be on your guard; they will hand you over to courts and you will be taken into synagogues and beaten, and you will be brought before governors and kings on my account, to testify to them. For before the end the good news must be preached to all the heathen. When they are taking you off to trial do not worry beforehand about what you ought to say, but say whatever is given you when the time comes, for it is not you that will speak, but the holy Spirit. Brother will give up brother to be put to death, and the father his child, and children will turn against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone, because you bear my name. But he who holds out to the end will be saved.

When some spoke about the Temple and its decoration with costly stone and votive offerings, he said, "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?" read more.
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." Then he said to them, "Nation will rise in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and pestilence and famine here and there. There will be horrors and great signs in the sky. But before all this, men will arrest you and persecute you, and hand you over to synagogues and prisons and have you brought before kings and governors on my account. It will all lead to your testifying. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense, 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.

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the cultivator. Any branch of mine that does not bear fruit he trims away, and he prunes every branch that bears fruit, to make it bear more. You are pruned already because of the teaching that I have given you. read more.
You must remain united to me and I will remain united to you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains united to the vine, you cannot unless you remain united to me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Anyone who remains united to me, with me united to him, will be very fruitful, for you cannot do anything apart from me. Anyone who does not remain united to me is thrown away like a branch and withers up, and they gather them and throw them into the fire and burn them. If you remain united to me and my words remain in your hearts, ask for whatever you please and you shall have it. When you are very fruitful and show yourselves to be disciples of mine, my Father is honored. I have loved you just as the Father has loved me. You must retain my love. If you keep my commands you will retain my love, just as I have observed the Father's commands and retain his love. I have told you all this so that you may have the happiness that I have had, and your happiness may be complete. The command that I give you is to love one another just as I have loved you. No one can show greater love than by giving up his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you to do. I do not call you slaves any longer, for a slave does not know what his master is doing, but now I call you friends, for I have made known to you everything that I have learned from my Father. It was not you who chose me, it is I that have chosen you, and appointed you to go and bear fruit??ruit that shall be lasting, so that the Father may grant you whatever you ask him for as my followers. "What I command you to do is to love one another. If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love what was its own. But it is because you do not belong to the world, but I have selected you from the world, that the world hates you.

When Jesus had said all this he raised his eyes to heaven and said, "Father, the time has come. Do honor to your son, that your son may do honor to you, just as you have done in giving him power over all mankind, so that he may give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And eternal life means knowing you as the only true God, and knowing Jesus your messenger as Christ. read more.
I have done honor to you here on earth, by completing the work which you gave me to do. Now, Father, do such honor to me in your presence as I had done me there before the world existed. "I have revealed your real self to the men you gave me from the world. They were yours and you gave them to me, and they have obeyed your message. Now at last they know that all that you have given me comes from you, for I have given them the truths that you gave me, and they have accepted them and been convinced that I came from you, and they believe that you sent me. I have a request to make for them. I make no request for the world, but only for those whom you have given me, for they are yours??10 all that is mine is yours and what is yours is mine??nd they have done me honor. Now I am to be no longer in this world, but they are to remain in the world, while I return to you. Holy Father, keep them by your power which you gave me, so that they may be one just as we are. As long as I was with them I kept them by your power which you gave me, and I protected them, and not one of them was lost (except the one who was destined to be lost), so that what the Scripture says might come true. But now I am coming to you, and I say this here in this world in order that they may have the happiness that I feel fully realized in their own hearts. I have given them your message, and the world has come to hate them, for they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.

For the message you have heard from the beginning is this: We must love one another. We must not be like Cain who was a child of the evil one, and butchered his brother. And why did he butcher him? Because his own actions were wicked and his brother's upright. You must not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you!