Category: Luke

[11:27] When Jesus had said this, a woman spoke up from the crowd and said to him, “How happy is the woman who bore you and nursed you!”

[11:28] But Jesus answered, “Rather, how happy are those who hear the word of God and obey it!”

[11:29] As the people crowded around Jesus, he went on to say, “How evil are the people of this day! They ask for a miracle, but none will be given them except the miracle of Jonah.

[11:30] In the same way that the prophet Jonah was a sign for the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be a sign for the people of this day.

[11:31] On the Judgment Day the Queen of Sheba will stand up and accuse the people of today, because she traveled all the way from her country to listen to King Solomon's wise teaching; and there is something here, I tell you, greater than Solomon.

[11:32] On the Judgment Day the people of Nineveh will stand up and accuse you, because they turned from their sins when they heard Jonah preach; and I assure you that there is something here greater than Jonah!

[11:33] “No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a bowl; instead, it is put on the lampstand, so that people may see the light as they come in.

[11:34] Your eyes are like a lamp for the body. When your eyes are sound, your whole body is full of light; but when your eyes are no good, your whole body will be in darkness.

[11:35] Make certain, then, that the light in you is not darkness.

[11:36] If your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be bright all over, as when a lamp shines on you with its brightness.”

[11:37] When Jesus finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and sat down to eat.

[11:38] The Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus had not washed before eating.

[11:39] So the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of your cup and plate, but inside you are full of violence and evil.

[11:40] Fools! Did not God, who made the outside, also make the inside?

[11:41] But give what is in your cups and plates to the poor, and everything will be ritually clean for you.

[11:42] “How terrible for you Pharisees! You give to God one tenth of the seasoning herbs, such as mint and rue and all the other herbs, but you neglect justice and love for God. These you should practice, without neglecting the others.

[11:43] “How terrible for you Pharisees! You love the reserved seats in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces.

[11:44] How terrible for you! You are like unmarked graves which people walk on without knowing it.”

[11:45] One of the teachers of the Law said to him, “Teacher, when you say this, you insult us too!”

[11:46] Jesus answered, “How terrible also for you teachers of the Law! You put onto people's backs loads which are hard to carry, but you yourselves will not stretch out a finger to help them carry those loads.

[11:47] How terrible for you! You make fine tombs for the prophets—the very prophets your ancestors murdered.

[11:48] You yourselves admit, then, that you approve of what your ancestors did; they murdered the prophets, and you build their tombs.

[11:49] For this reason the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and messengers; they will kill some of them and persecute others.’

[11:50] So the people of this time will be punished for the murder of all the prophets killed since the creation of the world,

[11:51] from the murder of Abel to the murder of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the Holy Place. Yes, I tell you, the people of this time will be punished for them all!

[11:52] “How terrible for you teachers of the Law! You have kept the key that opens the door to the house of knowledge; you yourselves will not go in, and you stop those who are trying to go in!”

[11:53] When Jesus left that place, the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees began to criticize him bitterly and ask him questions about many things,

[11:54] trying to lay traps for him and catch him saying something wrong.

[12:1] As thousands of people crowded together, so that they were stepping on each other, Jesus said first to his disciples, “Be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees—I mean their hypocrisy.

[12:2] Whatever is covered up will be uncovered, and every secret will be made known.

[12:3] So then, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in broad daylight, and whatever you have whispered in private in a closed room will be shouted from the housetops.

[12:4] “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot afterward do anything worse.

[12:5] I will show you whom to fear: fear God, who, after killing, has the authority to throw into hell. Believe me, he is the one you must fear!

[12:6] “Aren't five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one sparrow is forgotten by God.

[12:7] Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth much more than many sparrows!

[12:8] “I assure you that those who declare publicly that they belong to me, the Son of Man will do the same for them before the angels of God.

[12:9] But those who reject me publicly, the Son of Man will also reject them before the angels of God.

[12:10] “Whoever says a word against the Son of Man can be forgiven; but whoever says evil things against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

[12:11] “When they bring you to be tried in the synagogues or before governors or rulers, do not be worried about how you will defend yourself or what you will say.

[12:12] For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”

[12:13] A man in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide with me the property our father left us.”

[12:14] Jesus answered him, “Friend, who gave me the right to judge or to divide the property between you two?”

[12:15] And he went on to say to them all, “Watch out and guard yourselves from every kind of greed; because your true life is not made up of the things you own, no matter how rich you may be.”

[12:16] Then Jesus told them this parable: “There was once a rich man who had land which bore good crops.

[12:17] He began to think to himself, ‘I don't have a place to keep all my crops. What can I do?

[12:18] This is what I will do,’ he told himself; ‘I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, where I will store the grain and all my other goods.

[12:19] Then I will say to myself, Lucky man! You have all the good things you need for many years. Take life easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!’

[12:20] But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night you will have to give up your life; then who will get all these things you have kept for yourself?’”

[12:21] And Jesus concluded, “This is how it is with those who pile up riches for themselves but are not rich in God's sight.”

[12:22] Then Jesus said to the disciples, “And so I tell you not to worry about the food you need to stay alive or about the clothes you need for your body.

[12:23] Life is much more important than food, and the body much more important than clothes.

[12:24] Look at the crows: they don't plant seeds or gather a harvest; they don't have storage rooms or barns; God feeds them! You are worth so much more than birds!

[12:25] Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it?

[12:26] If you can't manage even such a small thing, why worry about the other things?

[12:27] Look how the wild flowers grow: they don't work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that not even King Solomon with all his wealth had clothes as beautiful as one of these flowers.

[12:28] It is God who clothes the wild grass—grass that is here today and gone tomorrow, burned up in the oven. Won't he be all the more sure to clothe you? What little faith you have!

[12:29] “So don't be all upset, always concerned about what you will eat and drink.

[12:30] (For the pagans of this world are always concerned about all these things.) Your Father knows that you need these things.

[12:31] Instead, be concerned with his Kingdom, and he will provide you with these things.

[12:32] “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the Kingdom.

[12:33] Sell all your belongings and give the money to the poor. Provide for yourselves purses that don't wear out, and save your riches in heaven, where they will never decrease, because no thief can get to them, and no moth can destroy them.

[12:34] For your heart will always be where your riches are.