'Found' in the Bible

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by [the power of] the Holy Spirit.

Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.”

When Jesus heard this, He was amazed and said to those who were following Him, “I tell you truthfully, I have not found such great faith [as this] with anyone in Israel.

“Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen;My Beloved in whom My soul is well-pleased;I will put My Spirit upon Him,And He will proclaim justice to the nations.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a [very precious] treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid again; then in his joy he goes and sells all he has and buys that field [securing the treasure for himself].

When the disciples reached the other side of the sea, they realized that they had forgotten to bring bread.

But that same slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began choking him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe!’

And about the eleventh hour (5:00 p.m.) he went out and found others standing around, and he said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’

Seeing a lone fig tree at the roadside, He went to it and found nothing but leaves on it; and He said to it, “Never again will fruit come from you.” And at once the fig tree withered.

Those servants went out into the streets and gathered together all the people they could find, both bad and good; so the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests [sitting at the banquet table].

And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not stay awake and keep watch with Me for one hour?

Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.

They found none, even though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward,

and they found Him and said, “Everybody is looking for You!”

And returning to her home, she found the child lying on the couch [relaxed and resting], the demon having gone.

So they went away [to the village] and found a colt tied outside at a gate in the street, and they untied it.

Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if He would find anything on it. But He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.

The disciples left and went to the city and found everything just as He had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

And He came back and found them sleeping, and He said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Were you unable to keep watch for one hour?

And again He came back and found them sleeping, because their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know how to answer Him.

The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

So they went in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the Baby as He lay in the manger.

Three days later they found Him in the [court of the] temple, sitting among the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.

The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

Now when Jesus heard this, He was amazed at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith [as this man’s].”

When the messengers who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

And people came out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind (mentally healthy); and they were frightened.

When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found there alone. And they kept silent, and told no one at that time any of the things which they had seen [concerning the divine manifestation].

It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his own garden; and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the sky found shelter and nested in its branches.”

And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

And when he gets home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’

And when she has found it, she calls together her [women] friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, because I found the lost coin!’

for this son of mine was [as good as] dead and is alive again; he was lost and has been found.’ So they began to celebrate.

But it was fitting to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was [as good as] dead and has begun to live. He was lost and has been found.’”

Was there no one found to return and to give thanks and praise to God, except this foreigner?”

So those who were sent left and found the colt just as He had told them.

They left and found it just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.

When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow,

They began to accuse Jesus, asserting, “We found this Man misleading and perverting our nation and forbidding us to pay taxes to Caesar, and claiming that He Himself is Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), a King.”

And when he learned that He belonged to the jurisdiction of Herod [Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee], he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.

and said to them, “You brought this man before me as one who corrupts and incites the people to rebellion. After examining Him before you, I have found no guilt in this Man regarding the charges which you make against Him.

A third time he said to them, “Why, what wrong has He done? I have found no guilt [no crime, no offense] in Him demanding death; therefore I will punish Him [to teach Him a lesson] and release Him.”

And they found the [large, circular] stone rolled back from the tomb,

Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women had said, but they did not see Him.”

They got up that very hour and went back to Jerusalem, and found the eleven [apostles] gathered together and those who were with them,

He first looked for and found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means the Christ).

The next day Jesus decided to go into Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me [as My disciple, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher, and walking the same path of life that I walk].”

Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote about—Jesus from Nazareth, the son of Joseph [according to public record].”

And in the temple [enclosure] He found the people who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers sitting at their tables.

Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”

And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they asked Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”

Now the Jews murmured and found fault with Him because He said, “I am the Bread that came down out of heaven.”

So when Jesus arrived, He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.

And Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; just as it is written [in Scripture],

And at once she fell down at his feet and died; and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

“We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened [the doors], we found no one inside.”

but if it is of God [and it appears that it is], you will not be able to stop them; or else you may even be found fighting against God!”

who found favor (grace, spiritual blessing) in the sight of God and asked that he might [be allowed to] find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.

But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the good news [of salvation] to all the cities, until he came to Caesarea [Maritima].

and he asked for letters [of authority] from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any men or women there belonging to the Way [believers, followers of Jesus the Messiah], men and women alike, he could arrest them and bring them bound [with chains] to Jerusalem.

When the brothers found out [about the plot], they brought him down to Caesarea [Maritima] and sent him off to Tarsus [his home town].

There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years and was paralyzed.

As Peter talked with him, he entered [the house] and found a large group of people assembled.

So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision [certain Jewish believers who followed the Law] took issue with him [for violating Jewish customs],

and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. For an entire year they met [with others] in the church and instructed large numbers; and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.

And when He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king: of him He testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart [conforming to My will and purposes], who will do all My will.’

Now at Lystra a man sat who was unable to use his feet, for he was crippled from birth and had never walked.

It happened that while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul went through the upper [inland] districts and came down to Ephesus, and found some disciples.

And many of those who had practiced magical arts collected their books and [throwing book after book on the pile] began burning them in front of everyone. They calculated their value and found it to be 50,000 pieces of silver.

and after finding a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we went on board and set sail.

and I discovered that he was accused in regard to questions and issues in their Law, but [he was] under no accusation that would call for the penalty of death or [even] for imprisonment.

For we have found this man to be a public menace and one who instigates dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the [heretical] sect of the Nazarenes.

They found me in the temple presenting these offerings, after I had undergone [the rites of] purification, without any crowd or uproar. But there were some Jews from [the west coast province of] Asia [Minor],

Or else let these men tell what crime they found [me guilty of] when I stood before the Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court),

But I found that he had done nothing worthy of death; however, since he appealed to the Emperor [Nero], I decided to send him [to Rome].

There the centurion [Julius] found an Alexandrian ship [a grain ship of the Roman fleet] sailing for Italy, and he put us aboard it.

So they took soundings [using a weighted line] and found [the depth to be] twenty fathoms (120 feet); and a little farther on they sounded again and found [the depth to be] fifteen fathoms (90 feet).

There we found some believers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome.

Certainly not! Let God be found true [as He will be], though every person be found a liar, just as it is written [in Scripture],“That You may be justified in Your words,And prevail when You are judged [by sinful men].”

Then Isaiah is very bold and says,“I have been found by those who did not seek Me;I have shown Myself to those who did not [consciously] ask for Me.”

In this case, moreover, it is required [as essential and demanded] of stewards that one be found faithful and trustworthy.

Each one should remain in the condition in which he was [when he was] called.

But by the [remarkable] grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not without effect. In fact, I worked harder than all of the apostles, though it was not I, but the grace of God [His unmerited favor and blessing which was] with me.

so that by putting it on we will not be found naked.

we put no obstruction in anyone’s path, so that the ministry will not be discredited,

We have sent with them our brother, whom we have often tested and found to be diligent in many things, but who is now even more diligent [than ever] because of his great confidence in you.

until we all reach oneness in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, [growing spiritually] to become a mature believer, reaching to the measure of the fullness of Christ [manifesting His spiritual completeness and exercising our spiritual gifts in unity].

as to my zeal [for Jewish tradition], a persecutor of the church; and as to righteousness [supposed right living] which [my fellow Jews believe] is in the Law, I proved myself blameless.

and may be found in Him [believing and relying on Him], not having any righteousness of my own derived from [my obedience to] the Law and its rituals, but [possessing] that [genuine righteousness] which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through [that is, separate you from profane and vulgar things, make you pure and whole and undamaged—consecrated to Him—set apart for His purpose]; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete and [be found] blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

but [instead] when he reached Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me—

So you, my son, be strong [constantly strengthened] and empowered in the grace that is [to be found only] in Christ Jesus.

Where your fathers tried Me by testing [My forbearance and tolerance],And saw My works for forty years[And found I stood their test].

He went once for all into the Holy Place [the Holy of Holies of heaven, into the presence of God], and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, having obtained and secured eternal redemption [that is, the salvation of all who personally believe in Him as Savior].

By faith [that pleased God] Enoch was caught up and taken to heaven so that he would not have a glimpse of death; and he was not found because God had taken him; for even before he was taken [to heaven], he received the testimony [still on record] that he had walked with God and pleased Him.

And if they had been thinking of that country from which they departed [as their true home], they would have had [a continuing] opportunity to return.

He committed no sin, nor was deceit ever found in His mouth.

So, beloved, since you are looking forward to these things, be diligent and make every effort to be found by Him [at His return] spotless and blameless, in peace [that is, inwardly calm with a sense of spiritual well-being and confidence, having lived a life of obedience to Him].

Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I was compelled to write to you [urgently] appealing that you fight strenuously for [the defense of] the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints [the faith that is the sum of Christian belief that was given verbally to believers].

‘I know your deeds and your toil, and your patient endurance, and that you cannot tolerate those who are evil, and have tested and critically appraised those who call themselves apostles (special messengers, personally chosen representatives, of Christ), and [in fact] are not, and have found them to be liars and impostors;