The Gospel Part 15

Then another man said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid farewell to those at my house. Jesus said, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of G.o.d.

10 After this the Lord appointed seventy others to go ahead of Him, two by two, to the places He would visit. He said to them, The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few. Ask the master to send forth more laborers into his harvest.

Now, go your way. Behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes; and salute no one along the way.

Into whatever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. If the Son of peace is there, your peace shall rest upon it; if not, it shall return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give; for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Do not go from house to house.

And into whatever city ye enter, from those who receive you, eat such things as are set before you. Heal the sick therein, and say to them, The kingdom of G.o.d is come near you.

But, into whatever city ye enter where they do not receive you, go out into the streets of the same, and say, Even the very dust of your city, which cleaves to us, we wipe off against you and, be ye sure of this, the kingdom of G.o.d is come near to you. But I say to you, it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.

Woe to thee, Chorazin! woe to thee, Bethsaida! If the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they would have, long ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And Capernaum, exalted to heaven, shall be thrust down to h.e.l.l. He that hears you hears me; and he that despises you despises me. He that despises me despises Him that sent me.

The seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject to us through thy name. Jesus said to them, I beheld Satan as lightning falls from heaven. Behold, I give you power to tread on serpents, and scorpions, and all of the enemy. Nothing shall, in any way, hurt you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.

In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou has hid these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed them to babes and, moreso, Father, for it seemed good in thy sight.

All things are delivered to me by my Father. No man knows who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him.

Jesus turned to His disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes that see the things that ye see. Many prophets and kings have desired to see these things ye see and have not seen them; and to hear the things ye hear and have not heard them.

Then a lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said to him, What is written in the law?

How readest thou? The lawyer answered, Thou shall love the Lord thy G.o.d with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.

Jesus said to him, Thou has answered right. Do this and you shall have life. Then, wanting to justify himself, the lawyer asked Jesus, And who is my neighbor? Jesus answered this way, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves who stripped him, wounded him, and left him half dead. By chance, a priest came by. When he saw him, he crossed to the other side. Then, likewise, a Levite came by and looked at him. He also pa.s.sed by on the other side.

Finally a Samaritan came up and, when he saw him, he had compa.s.sion and went to him. He bound up his wounds, pouring oil and wine, and set him on his own beast. He brought him to an inn and took care of him.

When he departed the next morning, he took out some money, gave it to the host, and said, Take care of him. Whatever more you spend, I will repay you on my way back.

Now which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell among the thieves? The lawyer answered, He that showed mercy on him. Then Jesus said to him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Later they came to a village where a woman named Martha received Him into her house. She had a sister, Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word.

Martha was concerned about the serving of the meal. She came to Jesus and said, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me. But Jesus said to her, Martha, Martha, thou art concerned and troubled about so many things. But only one thing is needful and Mary has chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her.

11 After Jesus finished some time in prayer, one of His disciples said, Lord, teach us to pray as John taught his disciples. He said to them, When ye pray, say, Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as in heaven.

Give us, day by day, our daily bread. Forgive our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. Let us not fall into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

Jesus said to them, Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight, and say, Friend, lend me three loaves. A friend of mine has come to me, and I have nothing to feed him and, from inside he calls out, Do not bother me. The door is shut and my children are all asleep in bed and I cannot get up and give you anything?

I tell you, Though he might not get up for another, because he is your friend and because of your circ.u.mstances, he will get up and give you as much as you need.

So, ask, and it shall be given you; seek and you will find; knock and it shall be opened to you. For every friend that asks, receives; and he that seeks, finds; and to the one that knocks, it shall be opened.

If your son asks for bread, will you give him a stone? If he asks for a fish, will you give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will you offer him a scorpion?

If you, who are sinners, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?

It came to pa.s.s, Jesus cast out a devil from a man who previously had been unable to speak. When the devil was gone and the man spoke; the people wondered. But some of them said, He casts out devils by the power of Beelzebub, the chief of the devils. Other people wanted to test Him and wanted Him to produce a sign from heaven.

Jesus knew their thoughts. He said, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to destruction; and a house divided against a house falls. If Satan is also divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand?

You say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. If I, by Beelzebub, cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? So judge by them.

However, I cast out devils with the finger of G.o.d, so, do not doubt that the kingdom of G.o.d is upon you.

When a strong man is properly armed, he keeps his palace and his goods are in peace. But when a man stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, the stronger takes all the armor in which he trusted, then divides his goods. One who is not with me is against me, and one who does not gather with me, scatters.

When an unclean spirit leaves a man, he walks through barren places. He seeks rest but can find none. Then the unclean spirit says, I will return to the house out of which I came. When he goes back, he finds it swept and garnished. So he goes and gathers together seven spirits more wicked than himself. They enter in and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.

As He spoke these things, a woman in the crowd lifted up her voice and said to Him, Blessed is the womb that bore thee, and the b.r.e.a.s.t.s that nursed thee. But He said, Yes, but it is better to say, Blessed are they that hear the word of G.o.d and keep it.

The crowd drew closer together. Jesus said to them, This is an evil generation. They seek a sign but no sign will be given except the sign of Jonas the prophet.

As Jonas was a sign to the Ninevites, so shall the Son of man be to this generation. The queen of the south will rise up in judgment of this generation. She will condemn them for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, one greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineve will rise up in judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, one greater than Jonas is here.

No one with a lighted candle, puts it in a secret place or under a bushel. It is put on a candlestick so those who come in may see the light. The light of the body is the eye. When your eye is single, your whole body is also full of light. But when your eye is evil, your body is full of darkness.

Take heed, therefore, that the light that is in you be not darkness. If thy whole body is full of light, with no dark parts, the whole shall be full of light, and, like the bright s.h.i.+ning of a candle, it gives off the light.

Later, a Pharisee who had invited Him to dinner marvelled that He had not first washed before sitting at the meal. Jesus said to him, You Pharisees make the outside of the cup and the platter clean; but inside they are full of poison and wickedness. Fools, did not He who made what is on the outside, make what is inside also? Give of what you have, then all things will be clean to you.

But woe to you, Pharisees! You t.i.the mint and rue and all kinds of herbs, and ignore judgment and the love of G.o.d. These you ought to have done without ignoring the others also.

Woe to you, Pharisees! You love the best seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are as empty as graves that others walk over and do not see.

One of the lawyers said, Master, in saying this you reproach us also.

Jesus said, Woe to you also, ye lawyers! You load men with unbearable burdens and you yourselves do not so much as lay a finger on one of these burdens.

Woe to you! You build shrines to the prophets and your fathers killed them. You bear witness that you sanction the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them and you build their shrines.

The wisdom of G.o.d said: I will send them prophets and apostles. Some of them they shall slay and persecute that the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation. The blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharias which perished between the altar and the temple shall be required of this generation.

Woe to you, lawyers! You have taken away the key of knowledge. You entered not in yourselves but prevented any others from entering in.

And, as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge and provoke Him to speak of many things. They were laying in wait and trying to catch something He said that they could use against Him.

12 Later, Jesus drew His disciples together and taught them saying, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed; nor hidden that shall not be known. Therefore, whatever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have whispered shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. My friends, Be not afraid of those who kill the body because, after that, there is no more they can do. But I will forewarn you who to fear. Fear the one who, after he has killed, has power to cast you into h.e.l.l. Yes, fear him.

Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins and not one of them is forgotten by G.o.d? Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered by Him. Fear not, then, because you are of more value than many sparrows.

Also, I tell you, Whoever confesses me before men, the Son of man will also confess before the angels of G.o.d. But he that denies me before men shall be denied before the angels of G.o.d. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven.

Now, when they bring you to the synagogues, and before magistrates and powers, take no thought how or what ye shall answer, or what ye shall say. The Holy Spirit shall tell you what to say on the spot.

One of the group said, Master, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. Jesus replied, Who made me a judge or a divider over you? Take heed, and beware of covetousness. A man's life does not consist of the abundance of things he possesses.

Then Jesus spoke a parable to them. He said, The ground of a rich man yielded a plentiful harvest. He wondered and said, What shall I do? I have no room to store my fruit. Finally he said, I will pull down my barns and build larger ones and there will I store my fruit and all my goods. I will say to my soul, Thou has enough goods laid up to last many years. It is time to take ease; eat, drink, and be merry. But G.o.d said to him, Thou fool, tonight thy soul shall be required of thee; then to whom shall all those things belong which thou has stored away?