Untitled Sermon (4)
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 35 viewsNotes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.
Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.
God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”
God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.
God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.
Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so.
God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good.
Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them”; and it was so.
The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.
There was evening and there was morning, a third day.
Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years;
and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so.
God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also.
God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,
and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.
There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.”
God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good.
God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”
There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind”; and it was so.
God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;
and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so.
God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Genesis is the book of beginnings. The seed of every Bible Doctrine can be found in this book, and indded this book should be referred to in any doctrinal study. The foundation for the total depravity of man, and the universal salvation in Christ is established in the first three chapters of this book. Title: Genesis is a Greek word meaning “origin, source, generation, or beginning.” The original Hebrew title bere’shiyth means “In the Beginning.” Author: Moses is unquestionably the author of Genesis (and all the Penteteuch). Only in modern times have the antiChristian Bible-haters made “scholarly” attempts to discredit Mosaic authorship as a part of their overall attempt to deny Divine authorship of the Bible.
Thoughts & Notes on Chapter One 1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (). The first statement of Scripture is a direct assertion of Divine Creation. No Bible-believing Christian can
accept any form of evolution. Darwinism, and every other manifestation of Secular Humanism, will be repeatedly rejected throughout this Bible survey in accordance with . 2. The creation of angellic beings is not dealt with in Genesis. Angels were on-hand to observe the creation of the Earth (), and it is therefore a natural conclusion to place their creation between the creation of the heavens (2nd & 3rd) and the creation of the earth. 3. The earth was formless and void (). It was not created this way (), but came about because of the angelic rebellion and war (; ). It is therefore a natural conclusion to place a gap between & .
Bible Texts for the Week Sunday: Monday: Tuesday: &2 Wednesday: Thursday: Friday: , Saturday:
Four Events Four People Foc us 1:1 11:9 11:10 50:26
Creation
Fall
Flood
Nations
Abraham
Isaac
Jacob
Joseph
Divisions
1:1 22:25
3:1 5:32
6:1 9:29
10:1 11:9 11:10 25:825:19 26:35 27:1 36:4337:1 50:26 Beginning of the Human Race Beginning of the Hebrew Race
Topics
Historical Biographical
Place
Fertile Crescent (Eden—Haran)
Canaan (Haran—Canaan) Egypt
Time
c.2000+ Years (c.4004-2090B.C.)
193 Years (2090-1897B.C.) 93 Years
Chapter Titles
. Creation & Recreation 3. The Fall of Man 4. Cain Murders Abel 5. Genealogies 6. The Flood 7. The Flood 8. The Flood 9. The Rainbow & Capital Punishment 10. Genealogies 11. The Tower of Babel 12. The Call of Abraham 13. The Cowboy Conflict 14. The Kidnapping of Lot 15. Abraham Believed God
Austin Bible Church Pastor Bob Bolender - 1 -
One Year Through the Bible Week 1: December 30th through January 5th 4. א ָ רָ בּ bara’ #1254: to create is used in vv.1&21, and 3 times in v.27. This is creation ex nihilo (out of nothing). 5. ה ָשָׂ ע ‘asah #6213: to make, fashion is used in vv.7,25,26,&31. 6. The work of God in . is the restoration of the Earth to habitable conditions, and the creation of man to occupy and have dominion within the physical realm. 7. Adam & Eve were literal people (), and the human race is descended from them () st . This is a fundamental issue, and cannot be treated lightly.
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts.
By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven.
Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.
But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground.
Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.
Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers.
The name of the first is Pishon; it flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there.
The name of the second river is Gihon; it flows around the whole land of Cush.
The name of the third river is Tigris; it flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.
The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;
but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”
Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.
The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.
So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place.
The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.
The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones,
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.”
For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.
And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
Thoughts & Notes on Chapter Two 1. is not a contradictory account of creation, but a supplementary account. It goes back to the specific details of the creation of man. 2. The seventh day as a (sabbath) day of rest was established as a principle for the human race, long before the codification of the Sabbath day. The Law of the Sabbath, as incorporated into the Law of Moses does not apply to Church Age believers, but the principle of Sabbath rest certainly does, as it comes from the creation itself (,). 3. Man’s body is a physical part of this physical creation (). 4. Man’s soul and spirit is a spiritual part of God’s spiritual creation (). a. The breath of “lives” is plural. God imparted physical life to the body, soul life to the soul, and spiritual life to the human spirit of Adam. b. Eve was taken out of Adam and fashioned with physical, soul, & spiritual life. There is no mention of a second “breathing” by God into Eve. c. There is also no Scripture which indicates a newborn baby receives God’s direct “breathing” of the breath of lives. d. Human babies receive bodies, souls, & (dead) human spirits from their parents.
At salvation the spirit is made alive (; ) st . 5. The Lord planted a garden in Eden and assigned work responsibilities to the man (). 6. The Lord also established standards of righteous obedience, and tested the faith of man (,). a. The One Commandment was to not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil. b. The penalty for sin was death ( cp. ). 7. The Lord made provision for man’s helpmate, to assist man in carrying out his work-assignment (.).
Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
breath of lives; bodies will perish biological life soul life spirit life Hebrew plural three or more. Breath of lives three or more. Bios physical life, soul life psuche life, and there is the pneuma life. the spiritual man is the pneuma teka body fallen body when god put the breath of lives he became a living soul nephesh kieem
Jan 2
Jan 2
Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”
Thoughts & Notes on Chapter Three 1. The Adversary, Satan, took the form of a serpent, and worked to deceive the woman, and bring about the volitional fall of man (; ). a. He cast doubt upon the content of God’s revealed word (). b. He observed Eve’s lack of understanding of God’s revealed word (,). c. He put forth a lie in contradiction of God’s revealed word (,). 2. Adam & Eve attempted to cover for their sin through human effort (fig leaves) (). 3. The Lord taught them that only through the shedding of blood, and the offering of a blood sacrifice could sin be covered (). 4. The first promise of a Redeemer is given in the promise within the curse (). The Seed of the Woman will crush the serpent’s head. 5. The curse upon the earth is man’s judgment for his volitional rebellion against the Lord (). 6. The Lord drove Adam & Eve out of the garden so that they might not achieve everlasting physical life apart from everlasting spiritual life ().
Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”
Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have gotten a manchild with the help of the Lord.”
Again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground.
Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering;
but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?
“If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”
He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground.
“Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
“When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; you will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth.”
Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is too great to bear!
“Behold, You have driven me this day from the face of the ground; and from Your face I will be hidden, and I will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
So the Lord said to him, “Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord appointed a sign for Cain, so that no one finding him would slay him.
Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
Cain had relations with his wife and she conceived, and gave birth to Enoch; and he built a city, and called the name of the city Enoch, after the name of his son.
Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad became the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael became the father of Methushael, and Methushael became the father of Lamech.
Lamech took to himself two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other, Zillah.
Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock.
His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe.
As for Zillah, she also gave birth to Tubal-cain, the forger of all implements of bronze and iron; and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.
Lamech said to his wives,
“Adah and Zillah,
Listen to my voice,
You wives of Lamech,
Give heed to my speech,
For I have killed a man for wounding me;
And a boy for striking me;
If Cain is avenged sevenfold,
Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”
Adam had relations with his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, for, she said, “God has appointed me another offspring in place of Abel, for Cain killed him.”
To Seth, to him also a son was born; and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord.
Thoughts & Notes on Chapter Four 1. The first human birth recognizes God’s Sovereignty in the gift of grace to parents (). a. Cain. ןִי ַ ק qayin #7014: possession. fr. הָנ ָ ק qanah #7069: to get, acquire, buy, possess. b. Abel. לֶב ֶ ה hebel #1893: breath. Same as #1892: vapour, breath, vanity. 2. Abel’s sacrifice was accepted by the Lord (), as an offering by faith (), according to the revealed Word of God (). 3. Cain’s sacrifice was rejected by the Lord (), as an offering without faith (), under the influence of Satanic teaching () st . 4. Even after the murder, the Lord provides Cain with the opportunity to repent and confess (). 5. Even in Divine judgement, the Lord shows mercy to Cain (). 6. Cain’s civilization flourished apart from the presence of the Lord (). 7. God graciously provides a Godly son for the blessing of Adam & Eve (,; ; ,). Seth ת ֵשׁ sheth #8352: compensation, fr. ית ִ שׁ shiyth #7896: to put, set.
To Seth, to him also a son was born; and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord.
Beginning of Corporate worship
This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.
He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them Man in the day when they were created.
When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth.
Then the days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he had other sons and daughters.
So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died.
Seth lived one hundred and five years, and became the father of Enosh.
Then Seth lived eight hundred and seven years after he became the father of Enosh, and he had other sons and daughters.
So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died.
Enosh lived ninety years, and became the father of Kenan.
Then Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years after he became the father of Kenan, and he had other sons and daughters.
So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years, and he died.
Kenan lived seventy years, and became the father of Mahalalel.
Then Kenan lived eight hundred and forty years after he became the father of Mahalalel, and he had other sons and daughters.
So all the days of Kenan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died.
Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Jared.
Then Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years after he became the father of Jared, and he had other sons and daughters.
So all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years, and he died.
Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and became the father of Enoch.
Then Jared lived eight hundred years after he became the father of Enoch, and he had other sons and daughters.
So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years, and he died.
Enoch lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Methuselah.
Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters.
So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.
Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.
Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and became the father of Lamech.
Then Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years after he became the father of Lamech, and he had other sons and daughters.
So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and he died.
Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and became the father of a son.
Now he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the Lord has cursed.”
Then Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years after he became the father of Noah, and he had other sons and daughters.
So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years, and he died.
Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Thoughts & Notes on Chapter Five 1. tracks 2000+ years of Gentile history, from Adam to Noah’s 3 sons. 2. Adam was made in the likeness of God, but Adam’s sons were born in Adam’s image (). 3. Summary of Generations: A.M. = Anno Mundi Adam b. d. 930 A.M. Seth b. 130 d. 1042 Enosh b. 235 d. 1140 Kenan b. 325 d. 1235 Mahalalel b. 395 d. 1290 Jared b. 460 d. 1422 Enoch b. 622 d. 987 Methuselah b. 687 d. 1656* Lamech b. 874 d. 1651 Noah b. 1056 d. 2006 A.M.
* The year of the flood, perhaps 2348 B.C.
4. Enoch becomes the Gentile type of ChurchAge believer when he is “raptured” to heaven ()
Adam created in image and likeness of God not seth
Chapter of death and He died except for enoch
Nature of sin in chapter 5
Enoch's blessing was being brought home
Alot of bible study with Adam and eve
noah is the first generation that had no direct revelation from ADam
elijah is jew raptured and Enoch is raptured
1
1
This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.
Jan 3
Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them,
that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.
Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”
The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
The Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.”
But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.
Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence.
God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.
Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.
“Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch.
“This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.
“You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and set the door of the ark in the side of it; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.
“Behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish.
“But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.
“And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.
“Of the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive.
“As for you, take for yourself some of all food which is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it shall be for food for you and for them.”
Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.
Thoughts & Notes on Chapter Six 1. The sons of God are (fallen) angels (; ; ). 2. The daughters of men are human women. 3. Their offspring are Nephilim “fallen ones” (). These giants are committed enemies of the Lord, and servants of their fallen angelic parents (). 4. The pollution of the entire human race was nearly achieved (). The adversary nearly corrupted the “seed of the woman” that God promised would bruise his head. 5. Noah became the object of God’s grace (). 6. Noah’s family was preserved through the flood as an expression of God’s grace in delivering believers through their trials (,) nd . 7. God instructed Noah to construct an Ark for the preservation of his family, and the animals of the world (). a. The ark was 450’ long, 75’ wide, and 45’ high, with a displacement of 13,960 tons. (The Mayflower was only 90’ long). b. The ark was a vessel of three decks with a capacity of 1,396,000 cubic feet, and a deck area of 95,000 square feet. c. For a discussion on the thousands of animal species, and the ark’s capacity to contain these animals, see John C. Whitcomb, Jr., and Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Flood, pp.65–70. 8. The flood of the world was a universal flood, that destroyed the entire human race except for Noah, his three sons, and their four wives (; ) nd . 9. The preservation of the animal realm was achieved by taking a mating pair of each bird, animal, and creeping thing ().
Nephelim are not part of the natural order appears before and after the flood
fallen angels sons of God
Daughter of man are human women
Giants in the land in numbers
noah's become an object of God's grace
seeking of pollute the human race
floating barge
Flood legions all over the world
Then the Lord said to Noah, “Enter the ark, you and all your household, for you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this time.
“You shall take with you of every clean animal by sevens, a male and his female; and of the animals that are not clean two, a male and his female;
also of the birds of the sky, by sevens, male and female, to keep offspring alive on the face of all the earth.
“For after seven more days, I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights; and I will blot out from the face of the land every living thing that I have made.”
Noah did according to all that the Lord had commanded him.
Now Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of water came upon the earth.
Then Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him entered the ark because of the water of the flood.
Of clean animals and animals that are not clean and birds and everything that creeps on the ground,
there went into the ark to Noah by twos, male and female, as God had commanded Noah.
It came about after the seven days, that the water of the flood came upon the earth.
In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened.
The rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights.
On the very same day Noah and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark,
they and every beast after its kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, all sorts of birds.
So they went into the ark to Noah, by twos of all flesh in which was the breath of life.
Those that entered, male and female of all flesh, entered as God had commanded him; and the Lord closed it behind him.
Then the flood came upon the earth for forty days, and the water increased and lifted up the ark, so that it rose above the earth.
The water prevailed and increased greatly upon the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water.
The water prevailed more and more upon the earth, so that all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens were covered.
The water prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered.
All flesh that moved on the earth perished, birds and cattle and beasts and every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind;
of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died.
Thus He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky, and they were blotted out from the earth; and only Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark.
The water prevailed upon the earth one hundred and fifty days.
Thoughts & Notes on Chapter Seven 1. Noah’s family was delivered as Noah was the only believer in his generation on the face of the earth (). 2. The preparation for man’s animal sacrifices, and man’s new carnivorous diet was achieved by taking seven mating pairs of each clean animal and bird (; ; ,). 3. Noah & his family entered into the ark after 100 years of preparation (; ). 4. After waiting within the ark for 7 days, the water came (). The day was the 17th day of the 2nd month, in the 600th year of Noah’s life. 5. The flood was a world-wide flood, with the waters exceeding the highest mountains by 15 cubits (,). 6. The waters came from above and below (), fell for 40 days (,), and prevailed upon the earth an additional 150 days ().
Preaching the gospel and getting no fruit can't compare with what Noah did 100 years and no fruit
But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark; and God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water subsided.
Also the fountains of the deep and the floodgates of the sky were closed, and the rain from the sky was restrained;
and the water receded steadily from the earth, and at the end of one hundred and fifty days the water decreased.
In the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat.
The water decreased steadily until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains became visible.
Then it came about at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made;
and he sent out a raven, and it flew here and there until the water was dried up from the earth.
Then he sent out a dove from him, to see if the water was abated from the face of the land;
but the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, so she returned to him into the ark, for the water was on the surface of all the earth. Then he put out his hand and took her, and brought her into the ark to himself.
So he waited yet another seven days; and again he sent out the dove from the ark.
The dove came to him toward evening, and behold, in her beak was a freshly picked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the water was abated from the earth.
Then he waited yet another seven days, and sent out the dove; but she did not return to him again.
Now it came about in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the water was dried up from the earth. Then Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold, the surface of the ground was dried up.
In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry.
Then God spoke to Noah, saying,
“Go out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and your sons’ wives with you.
“Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you, birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, that they may breed abundantly on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”
So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him.
Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by their families from the ark.
Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
The Lord smelled the soothing aroma; and the Lord said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.
“While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
And cold and heat,
And summer and winter,
And day and night
Shall not cease.”
Thoughts & Notes on Chapter Eight 1. After the destruction of all life on earth, God remembered Noah, and allowed the waters to drain (). 2. On the 17th day of the 7th month, the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat (). 3. Water continued to drain until Noah and his family were able to leave the ark on the 27th day of the 2nd month, in the 601st year of Noah’s life (). 4. Noah offered a sacrifice to the Lord, and the Lord promised to never again destroy the population of the world by means of flood (; ).
And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.
“The fear of you and the terror of you will be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given.
“Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant.
“Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.
“Surely I will require your lifeblood; from every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every man’s brother I will require the life of man.
“Whoever sheds man’s blood,
By man his blood shall be shed,
For in the image of God
He made man.
“As for you, be fruitful and multiply;
Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it.”
Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying,
“Now behold, I Myself do establish My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you;
and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you; of all that comes out of the ark, even every beast of the earth.
“I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.”
God said, “This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations;
I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.
“It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud,
and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh.
“When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”
And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”
Now the sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem and Ham and Japheth; and Ham was the father of Canaan.
These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.
Then Noah began farming and planted a vineyard.
He drank of the wine and became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent.
Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.
But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it upon both their shoulders and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were turned away, so that they did not see their father’s nakedness.
When Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him.
So he said,
“Cursed be Canaan;
A servant of servants
He shall be to his brothers.”
He also said,
“Blessed be the Lord,
The God of Shem;
And let Canaan be his servant.
“May God enlarge Japheth,
And let him dwell in the tents of Shem;
And let Canaan be his servant.”
Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood.
So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died.
Thoughts & Notes on Chapter Nine 1. Noah, his sons, and their wives are commanded to repopulate & fill the earth (,). 2. A new fear of man is imputed into the animal kingdom, as man and animals are given carnivorous diets ().
3. The significance of man’s blood is highlighted and capital punishment is mandated (,). 4. God established a covenant with Noah, and fixed the rainbow as its sign (). 5. Noah’s Drunkenness (). a. An unknown period of time passes between &18. By the time of this incident, Ham is the father of Canaan (,) his fourth son (). b. Noah’s father, Lamech, prophesied that Noah would provide rest for the human race’s toil upon the earth (). Noah’s “invention” of wine () is the fulfillment of that prophecy (; ; ; ), and the snare of drunkenness is immediately recognized (; ; ; &8; ). c. Ham “saw the nakedness of his father” (). This was a deed “had done” of Ham’s against Noah (“to him”) (). d. Semitic and Japhetic blessings are granted by Noah because of Shem & Japheth’s reverence (&27). Hametic blessings are forfeited e. Canaan’s curse is a prophetic oracle against the people of Canaan, as their sexual perversions are reflections of their “father” Ham (,). 6. The blessing of YHWH as the God of Shem (), and the tents of Shem (), are indicative that the “seed of the woman” blessing is going to come from the line of Shem (). 7. The blessings of Japheth are temporal life blessings so long as Japheth is oriented to the tents of Shem. 8. Ham is blessed by God (), and is not cursed by Noah (; ).
human life is precious even animals are put to death capitol punishment is mandated if we allow murderer to escape justice God will take the innnocence
colors of the rainbow not random
fill the earth be fruitful same mandate to adam fruitful bear fruit
Noah most righteous and now he is drunk
from these the whole earth is populated farming
Now the sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem and Ham and Japheth; and Ham was the father of Canaan.
These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.
Then Noah began farming and planted a vineyard.
He drank of the wine and became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent.
Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.
But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it upon both their shoulders and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were turned away, so that they did not see their father’s nakedness.
Now these are the records of the generations of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah; and sons were born to them after the flood.
The sons of Japheth were Gomer and Magog and Madai and Javan and Tubal and Meshech and Tiras.
The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz and Riphath and Togarmah.
The sons of Javan were Elishah and Tarshish, Kittim and Dodanim.
From these the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.
The sons of Ham were Cush and Mizraim and Put and Canaan.
The sons of Cush were Seba and Havilah and Sabtah and Raamah and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.
Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth.
He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.”
The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
From that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah,
and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.
Mizraim became the father of Ludim and Anamim and Lehabim and Naphtuhim
and Pathrusim and Casluhim (from which came the Philistines) and Caphtorim.
Canaan became the father of Sidon, his firstborn, and Heth
and the Jebusite and the Amorite and the Girgashite
and the Hivite and the Arkite and the Sinite
and the Arvadite and the Zemarite and the Hamathite; and afterward the families of the Canaanite were spread abroad.
The territory of the Canaanite extended from Sidon as you go toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; as you go toward Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.
These are the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, by their nations.
Also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, and the older brother of Japheth, children were born.
The sons of Shem were Elam and Asshur and Arpachshad and Lud and Aram.
The sons of Aram were Uz and Hul and Gether and Mash.
Arpachshad became the father of Shelah; and Shelah became the father of Eber.
Two sons were born to Eber; the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan.
Joktan became the father of Almodad and Sheleph and Hazarmaveth and Jerah
and Hadoram and Uzal and Diklah
and Obal and Abimael and Sheba
and Ophir and Havilah and Jobab; all these were the sons of Joktan.
Now their settlement extended from Mesha as you go toward Sephar, the hill country of the east.
These are the sons of Shem, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, according to their nations.
These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, by their nations; and out of these the nations were separated on the earth after the flood.
Thoughts & Notes on Chapter Ten 1. The Japhetic peoples are the northern and western Eurasian races and nations ().
2. The Hametic peoples are the southern, African races and nations (,,).
3. The Semitic peoples are the eastern, Asian races and nations ().
4. The prominent King and Empire following the flood was the Hametic Babylonian empire of Nimrod ().
5. Languages, families, and nations are God’s divisions for the orderly function of the human race under the Laws of Marriage, Family, & Nations (,,).
6. God will enforce His will for the division of the human race at the judgment of Babel (), during the days of Peleg ().
Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words.
It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar.
They said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
The Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.
The Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them.
“Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”
So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city.
Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.
These are the records of the generations of Shem. Shem was one hundred years old, and became the father of Arpachshad two years after the flood;
and Shem lived five hundred years after he became the father of Arpachshad, and he had other sons and daughters.
Arpachshad lived thirty-five years, and became the father of Shelah;
and Arpachshad lived four hundred and three years after he became the father of Shelah, and he had other sons and daughters.
Shelah lived thirty years, and became the father of Eber;
and Shelah lived four hundred and three years after he became the father of Eber, and he had other sons and daughters.
Eber lived thirty-four years, and became the father of Peleg;
and Eber lived four hundred and thirty years after he became the father of Peleg, and he had other sons and daughters.
Peleg lived thirty years, and became the father of Reu;
and Peleg lived two hundred and nine years after he became the father of Reu, and he had other sons and daughters.
Reu lived thirty-two years, and became the father of Serug;
and Reu lived two hundred and seven years after he became the father of Serug, and he had other sons and daughters.
Serug lived thirty years, and became the father of Nahor;
and Serug lived two hundred years after he became the father of Nahor, and he had other sons and daughters.
Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and became the father of Terah;
and Nahor lived one hundred and nineteen years after he became the father of Terah, and he had other sons and daughters.
Terah lived seventy years, and became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.
Now these are the records of the generations of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran; and Haran became the father of Lot.
Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans.
Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and Iscah.
Sarai was barren; she had no child.
Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans in order to enter the land of Canaan; and they went as far as Haran, and settled there.
The days of Terah were two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran.
Thoughts & Notes on Chapter Eleven 1. Nimrod’s empire attempted to thwart the intentions of God, by establishing one world government and one world religion (; ).
2. God ended that rebellion by confusing man’s languages (,), scattering man’s populations (,), and dividing men from one another (). a. Confuse.
לַלָ בּ balal #1101. b. Scatter.
פּוּץ puwts #6327. c. Divide.
גַלָ פּ palag #6385. 3. The line of Shem is traced down to Abraham () as God’s faithfulness to preserve the “seed of the woman”, “line of Christ” is manifest (). 4. The Generations of Adam (), The Generations of Noah (), The Generations of Shem, Ham, & Japheth (), and The Generations of Shem (), are succeeded by the Generations of Terah (). 5. The families of Abraham & Lot set the stage for the remainder of Genesis, and much of the Old Testament ().
Now the Lord said to Abram,
“Go forth from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father’s house,
To the land which I will show you;
And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
So Abram went forth as the Lord had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan.
Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land.
The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.
Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.
Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev.
Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.
It came about when he came near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman;
and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live.
“Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may live on account of you.”
It came about when Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.
Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.
Therefore he treated Abram well for her sake; and gave him sheep and oxen and donkeys and male and female servants and female donkeys and camels.
But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.
Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?
“Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife, take her and go.”
Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they escorted him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him.
Thoughts & Notes on Chapter Twelve
1. The Abrahamic Covenant is a vital study to the Bible student. It consists of land, seed, & blessing ().
a. The land promise is the land of Canaan, which Abraham sojourned in, and God promised.
b. The seed promise is the provision of many descendants to Abraham, and specifically the “seed of the woman” lineage through him.
c. The blessing promise is an eternal blessing to all the human race through Abraham’s seed, the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. The Abrahamic Covenant guarantees temporal life blessings and cursings upon the nations that bless and curse the Jewish people ().
a. The Abrahamic Covenant will be confirmed to Isaac (,) . Ishmael is not considered to be a part of God’s “chosen people.” Neither are the Arabian descendants of Keturah. b. The Abrahamic Covenant will be reconfirmed to Jacob (,). Esau is not considered to be a part of God’s “chosen people.” c. Thus, God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (; ), and only the Jews are God’s “chosen people” as an earthly nation among other earthly nations. 3. The Abrahamic Covenant is unconditional. There are no stipulations, or requirements for Abraham to keep, and thus, there is no way for Abraham to violate the covenant. 4. Abraham was commanded to separate himself from his idolatrous family (; &3). His nephew, Lot, was a believer () nd , and thus followed Abraham’s spiritual leadership. 5. Abraham dwelt in the land of Canaan, among the Canaanites (), and worshipped the Lord Who was promising him the land.
Austin Bible Church Pastor Bob Bolender - 5 -
One Year Through the Bible Week 1: December 30th through January 5th
6. Abraham departed from God’s geographic will when he feared the famine, and fled to Egypt (). a. His fear motivated his lies (). b. His lies brought evil to Sarah (,). c. His lies brought Divine discipline to Pharaoh (). d. None of Abraham’s failures ever will, or ever can break the Abrahic Covenant.
So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him.
Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold.
He went on his journeys from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,
to the place of the altar which he had made there formerly; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord.
Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.
And the land could not sustain them while dwelling together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together.
And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land.
So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers.
“Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left.”
Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar.
So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other.
Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom.
Now the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the Lord.
The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward;
for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever.
“I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered.
“Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you.”
Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.
Thoughts & Notes on Chapter Thirteen 1. Abraham returns to God’s geographic will for his life, and faces division within his own family (). 2. Abraham blesses Lot, and grants him the choice of lands within his Divine land grant (). Lot chooses the valley of Sodom, and becomes a leading figure in Sodom. Lot’s descendants, the Ammonites & Moabites, will be objects of God’s mercy & grace because of Abraham’s grace gift to Lot (; ). 3. The Abrahamic Covenant is again declared to Abraham, after his separation from Lot (). a. In the illustration of Abraham’s descendants is given as dust of the earth. b. In the illustration of Abraham’s descendants is given as stars in heaven. c. Abraham will have both earthly descendants, and spiritual (heavenly) descendants.
Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him,
“I am God Almighty;
Walk before Me, and be blameless.
“I will establish My covenant between Me and you,
And I will multiply you exceedingly.”
Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying,
“As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you,
And you will be the father of a multitude of nations.
“No longer shall your name be called Abram,
But your name shall be Abraham;
For I will make you the father of a multitude of nations.
“I have made you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you.
“I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.
“I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
God said further to Abraham, “Now as for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.
“This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised.
“And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you.
“And every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, a servant who is born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants.
“A servant who is born in your house or who is bought with your money shall surely be circumcised; thus shall My covenant be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
“But an uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.
“I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”
Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”
And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before You!”
But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.
“As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.
“But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year.”
When He finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham.
Then Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all the servants who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s household, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the very same day, as God had said to him.
Now Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
In the very same day Abraham was circumcised, and Ishmael his son.
All the men of his household, who were born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
Covenant is in effect. Unconditional covenant. Sign of a covenant not a stipulation. evedence of faith. at the age of 99. Blameless the Christian way of life. change names. Renames for his purpose. Only place he renames a woman. Instruction as a reminder physical points to the spiritual. Laughter may be in wonder. Zac did not believe and muted. Burden for ishmael. He will still bless ishmael.
Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him,
“I am God Almighty;
Walk before Me, and be blameless.
“I will establish My covenant between Me and you,
And I will multiply you exceedingly.”
Covenant information being delivered fourth recorded time.
Now the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day.
When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth,
and said, “My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not pass Your servant by.
“Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree;
and I will bring a piece of bread, that you may refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have visited your servant.” And they said, “So do, as you have said.”
So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quickly, prepare three measures of fine flour, knead it and make bread cakes.”
Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and choice calf and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it.
He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree as they ate.
Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “There, in the tent.”
He said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him.
Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing.
Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”
And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?’
“Is anything too difficult for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
Sarah denied it however, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
Then the men rose up from there, and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off.
The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,
since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed?
“For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.”
And the Lord said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave.
“I will go down now, and see if they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”
Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the Lord.
Abraham came near and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
“Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it?
“Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?”
So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account.”
And Abraham replied, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes.
“Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the whole city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
He spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty.”
Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
And he said, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.”
Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.”
As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham the Lord departed, and Abraham returned to his place.
be careful how you entertain you might be entertaining angels. Grace giving you must be eager. How do you lie to an omniscience God. God is not in the practice of hiding himself seek and you will find. He hides what you can't handle. deut 29 29
29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.
Your accountable to what God reveals to you otherwise don't worry about it.
7
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;
Thoughts & Notes on Chapter Eighteen 1. The (Angel of the) Lord appeared to Abraham, along with two other angels in human form (,,; ). 2. Though the three “men” appear to be travelling, Abraham convinces them to stay and enjoy his hospitality (; ) nd . 3. The Lord repeats his previous promise of a son in Sarah’s hearing, and she laughs even as Abraham had done (). 4. Abraham was sexually dead, and yet he and Sarah had faith in the promise of God (,; ). 5. The Lord determined that He would not conceal His purpose from His steward (), although there are times when He must do so (; ).
6. The defiled land of Sodom and Gomorroah demanded investigation and annihilation (,; cp. ; ; ; ).
7. Abraham understands the Lord’s intention, and undertakes an intercessory prayer ministry on behalf of his nephew, Lot ().
a. Abraham is incredulous that the Lord’s Divine discipline would also impact the righteous alongside the wicked (,; ).
b. Abraham requests the Lord to spare Sodom for the sake of 50 believers, in a city of perhaps 30,000-50,000 inhabitants.
c. The Lord agrees to spare Sodom on account of 50 believers, which causes Abraham to fear that he had estimated too generously ().
d. Abraham continues to “auction” his prayer request a total of six times. e. Abraham limits his own prayers to a “final answer” ().
The Lord demonstrates patience with Abraham. A picture of Lamb. YOu never ask for too much. God never says thats enough. Abraham did not cut Abraham off He cut himself off.
f. The Lord answered Abraham’s “final” prayer and departed (,), and yet had regard for the desire of Abraham’s heart when he answered the request Abraham never stated ().
Never mentions lot but God answers Abraham's desire.
Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in Gerar.
Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.
But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married.”
Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You slay a nation, even though blameless?
“Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.”
Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.
“Now therefore, restore the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”
So Abimelech arose early in the morning and called all his servants and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were greatly frightened.
Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.”
And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What have you encountered, that you have done this thing?”
Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.
“Besides, she actually is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife;
and it came about, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is the kindness which you will show to me: everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.” ’ ”
Abimelech then took sheep and oxen and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and restored his wife Sarah to him.
Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; settle wherever you please.”
To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; behold, it is your vindication before all who are with you, and before all men you are cleared.”
Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maids, so that they bore children.
For the Lord had closed fast all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
Thoughts & Notes on Chapter Twenty 1. Abraham sojourned in the land of Gerar ().
Abimilech, King of Gerar, was one of the earliest Philistines to inhabit the land of Canaan (; ).
2. Abraham fails another test of fear for personal safety (,,; ,).
3. God appears to Abimelech and pronounces judgment upon him ().
a. Abimelech addresses God as Adonai.
b. Abimilech describes his nation as righteous.
c. Abimelech pleads his integrity and innocence.
d. God and Abimelech bear witness to Sarah’s sexual purity.
4. Abraham is then required by God to pray for Abimilech, and the Philistine kingdom ().
a. Abimelech fears God (v.11).
b. Abimelech is mindful of sin in his life and in his kingdom (v.9).
c. Abimelech provides temporal-life blessings to God’s prophet, Abraham (vv.7,14-16).
d. All of Abimelech’s people are called to witness Sarah’s purity (vv.8,16).
e. Abraham intercedes for Abimilech and the Lord opens the wombs of Abimlech’s household (vv.17,18
Because of Abrahams failure he almost causes must bad things to fall upon abimelech and the Land
Getting close to the birth of Isaac.
Then the Lord took note of Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had promised.
So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him.
Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.
Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.
Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.”
And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.
Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking.
Therefore she said to Abraham, “Drive out this maid and her son, for the son of this maid shall not be an heir with my son Isaac.”
The matter distressed Abraham greatly because of his son.
But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed because of the lad and your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for through Isaac your descendants shall be named.
“And of the son of the maid I will make a nation also, because he is your descendant.”
So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder, and gave her the boy, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba.
When the water in the skin was used up, she left the boy under one of the bushes.
Then she went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away, for she said, “Do not let me see the boy die.” And she sat opposite him, and lifted up her voice and wept.
God heard the lad crying; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter with you, Hagar? Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.
“Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him by the hand, for I will make a great nation of him.”
Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the skin with water and gave the lad a drink.
God was with the lad, and he grew; and he lived in the wilderness and became an archer.
He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
Now it came about at that time that Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, “God is with you in all that you do;
now therefore, swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my posterity, but according to the kindness that I have shown to you, you shall show to me and to the land in which you have sojourned.”
Abraham said, “I swear it.”
But Abraham complained to Abimelech because of the well of water which the servants of Abimelech had seized.
And Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor did I hear of it until today.”
Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.
Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.
Abimelech said to Abraham, “What do these seven ewe lambs mean, which you have set by themselves?”
He said, “You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand so that it may be a witness to me, that I dug this well.”
Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because there the two of them took an oath.
So they made a covenant at Beersheba; and Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, arose and returned to the land of the Philistines.
Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God.
And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines for many days.
Thoughts & Notes on Chapter Twenty-One
1. The Lord faithfully provided for the birth of Isaac, even as He had promised ().
No matter how humanly impossible that it seems it might be the Lord will faithfully provide.
2. Sarah’s Mental Attitude Sin of jealousy prompted her continued hatred for Hagar & Ishmael ().
3. Abraham was grieved over Sarah’s hatred, because he had developed a love for Ishmael (; ).
Do not get the person of Ishmael confused with Ishmael the nation. Ishmael may have been a believer
4. The Lord provides for Hagar as a singlemother ().
Hagar is a Godly woman and prays to the Lord
5. Abraham will bestow gifts upon Ishmael after Sarah’s death, and Ishmael will join with Isaac in burying Abraham at his death (,).
Chapter 22 Thoughts & Notes on Chapter Twenty-Two 1. God tested Abraham (). הָ סָ נ nasah #5254: to test, try (; ; ; ; ) nd .
Chapter 22 Thoughts & Notes on Chapter Twenty-Two 1. God tested Abraham (). הָ סָ נ nasah #5254: to test, try (; ; ; ; ) nd .
Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.”
So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.
On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance.
Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.”
Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together.
Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.
Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.
Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the Lord it will be provided.”
Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven,
and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son,
indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.
“In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham lived at Beersheba.
Now it came about after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, “Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor:
Uz his firstborn and Buz his brother and Kemuel the father of Aram
and Chesed and Hazo and Pildash and Jidlaph and Bethuel.”
Bethuel became the father of Rebekah; these eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother.
His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah and Gaham and Tahash and Maacah.
Thoughts & Notes on Chapter Twenty-Two
1. God tested Abraham (). הָ סָ נ nasah #5254: to test, try (; ; ; ; ) nd .
2. The test was a test of Abraham’s faith and fear of God (). 3. Abraham was instructed to take his “only begotten son,” the son that he loved, and sacrifice him ().
a. This is the first use of “love” in Scripture.
b. The “only son” does not disavow Ishmael’s existence, but affirms Isaac’s prominence.
c. Abraham becomes a type (picture) of God the Father, Who sacrifices His only begotten son (), Whom He loves ().
4. Human sacrifice, and specifically child sacrifice was a feature of pagan, Satanic religions (; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ,; ) nd .
5. Mt. Moriah will later be the sight for Solomon’s temple () nd .
6. “On the third day” after pronouncing death for Isaac, God provided for Isaac’s life (), picturing an even greater resurrection life that will occur on the third day (; ) st .
7. Abraham confidently told his servants that both he and Isaac would worship and return (; ).
Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.”
Plural indicating both will return
Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Now Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah.
Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
Then Abraham rose from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying,
“I am a stranger and a sojourner among you; give me a burial site among you that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”
The sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him,
“Hear us, my lord, you are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our graves; none of us will refuse you his grave for burying your dead.”
So Abraham rose and bowed to the people of the land, the sons of Heth.
And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your wish for me to bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and approach Ephron the son of Zohar for me,
that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he owns, which is at the end of his field; for the full price let him give it to me in your presence for a burial site.”
Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the sons of Heth; even of all who went in at the gate of his city, saying,
“No, my lord, hear me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the presence of the sons of my people I give it to you; bury your dead.”
And Abraham bowed before the people of the land.
He spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If you will only please listen to me; I will give the price of the field, accept it from me that I may bury my dead there.”
Then Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him,
“My lord, listen to me; a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.”
Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, commercial standard.
So Ephron’s field, which was in Machpelah, which faced Mamre, the field and cave which was in it, and all the trees which were in the field, that were within all the confines of its border, were deeded over
to Abraham for a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city.
After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field at Machpelah facing Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.
So the field and the cave that is in it, were deeded over to Abraham for a burial site by the sons of Heth.
Thoughts & Notes on Chapter Twenty-Three
1. Sarah’s lifespan is the only recorded lifespan in Scripture given for a woman (). Her life was relatively short, as her father Terah lived 205 years (); her ½ brother & husband Abraham lived 175 years (); her son Isaac lived 180 years (); her grandson Jacob lived 147 years (); and her greatgrandson Joseph lived 110 years ().
2. Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (Hebron) ().
Austin Bible Church Pastor Bob Bolender - 3 -
One Year Through the Bible
Week 2: January 6th through 12th
3. Abraham considered himself as a stranger and sojourner within the land that God had promised him ().
4. Abraham will purchase the burial place for Sarah within the land that God had promised him ().
a. Some of the Hittite inhabitants of Canaan have an orientation to Elohim, and understand that Abraham is God’s mighty prince (v.6).
b. The cave of Machpelah becomes the burial place for Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, & Leah ().
Cave they fight over of today.
c. 400 shekels of silver is a vast sum of money in that day. A common laborer would only earn 1/30th of a shekel in a day, or 8-12 shekels each year (Code of Hammurabi, #273-277).
d. In the next generation, these Hittites will become grevious to Isaac & Rebekah (,; ; ).
Living in ones faith. I turned down man's support. Abrahams mighty prince verse 6 recognize whose God he is.
Abraham breathed his last and died in a ripe old age, an old man and satisfied with life; and he was gathered to his people.
Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die.”
Then Jacob’s anger burned against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”
She said, “Here is my maid Bilhah, go in to her that she may bear on my knees, that through her I too may have children.”
So she gave him her maid Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her.
Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.
Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me, and has indeed heard my voice and has given me a son.” Therefore she named him Dan.
Rachel’s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.
So Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and I have indeed prevailed.” And she named him Naphtali.
When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took her maid Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.
Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son.
Then Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad.
Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.
Then Leah said, “Happy am I! For women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher.
Now in the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”
But she said to her, “Is it a small matter for you to take my husband? And would you take my son’s mandrakes also?” So Rachel said, “Therefore he may lie with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.”
When Jacob came in from the field in the evening, then Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night.
God gave heed to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.
Then Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I gave my maid to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.
Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob.
Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good gift; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.
Afterward she bore a daughter and named her Dinah.
Then God remembered Rachel, and God gave heed to her and opened her womb.
So she conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.”
She named him Joseph, saying, “May the Lord give me another son.”
Now it came about when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my own country.
“Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me depart; for you yourself know my service which I have rendered you.”
But Laban said to him, “If now it pleases you, stay with me; I have divined that the Lord has blessed me on your account.”
He continued, “Name me your wages, and I will give it.”
But he said to him, “You yourself know how I have served you and how your cattle have fared with me.
“For you had little before I came and it has increased to a multitude, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I turned. But now, when shall I provide for my own household also?”
So he said, “What shall I give you?” And Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this one thing for me, I will again pasture and keep your flock:
let me pass through your entire flock today, removing from there every speckled and spotted sheep and every black one among the lambs and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and such shall be my wages.
“So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come concerning my wages. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, will be considered stolen.”
Laban said, “Good, let it be according to your word.”
So he removed on that day the striped and spotted male goats and all the speckled and spotted female goats, every one with white in it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and gave them into the care of his sons.
And he put a distance of three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.
Then Jacob took fresh rods of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white stripes in them, exposing the white which was in the rods.
He set the rods which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the gutters, even in the watering troughs, where the flocks came to drink; and they mated when they came to drink.
So the flocks mated by the rods, and the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted.
Jacob separated the lambs, and made the flocks face toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban; and he put his own herds apart, and did not put them with Laban’s flock.
Moreover, whenever the stronger of the flock were mating, Jacob would place the rods in the sight of the flock in the gutters, so that they might mate by the rods;
but when the flock was feeble, he did not put them in; so the feebler were Laban’s and the stronger Jacob’s.
So the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks and female and male servants and camels and donkeys.
Thoughts & Notes on Chapter Thirty 1. Rachel’s lack of children produced terrible mental attitude sin against Leah, to the point of her becoming suicidal
(). 2. Jacob rebukes Rachel for her failure to recognize God’s sovereignty
(). 3. Rachel insists on her own “motherhood” in competition with Leah, and chooses to put her handmaiden to that task
(,,). a. Rachel’s wordly viewpoint motivates her naming of Bilhah’s children. 1) She views her “victory” in motherhood as God’s favorable judgment, and names Bilhah’s firstborn Dan: “he judged” (v.6). 2) She views her competition with Leah as a wrestling struggle, and names Bilhah’s second son Naphtali: “wrestling” (v.8). b. Human effort only produced half of what God graciously gave Leah. 4. Leah is now “outnumbered” two wives to one, and gives Jacob her maid Zilpah to even the score
(). a. Leah sees this fifth son as fortunate, and names Zilpah’s firstborn Gad: “fortune” (v11). b. Leah is caught up in human happiness, and names Zilpah’s second son Asher: “happy” (v.13). 5. Reuben makes a mandrake discovery, and Leah finds that she now has bargaining power over Rachel
mandrakes Mandrakes (duda'im in Hebrew) were believed in the ancient Near East to have magical fertility powers. The plant has no stalk, but it has large leaves with violet flowers and yellow fruit similar in size and shape to a tomato. It ripens in March or April.
(). a. Rachel had “taken” Jacob’s attention away from Leah (v.15), and Leah had been praying to the Lord to return her husband back to her (v.17a). b. Rachel becomes so desparate in her lust for motherhood that she will attempt to use mandrakes to improve her fertility (v.14). c. Leah purchases Jacob’s bed services from Rachel in exchange for Reuben’s mandrakes (vv.15,16). 6. Leah regrets her actions in giving Zilpah to Jacob, and repents of her mental attitude sin, as reflected in the names she gives her next three children
().
a. She realizes that she has reaped wages for her sin, and names her fifth son Issachar: “wages” (v.18). b. She anticipates that her husband will honor her, and names her sixth son Zebulun: “honor” (v.20). c. Leah’s logic for the naming of Dinah is not given, but the feminine form of Dan means “judgment” and likely reflects Leah’s spiritual recognition of the Divine judgment that Jacob’s family will face. 7. God mercifully gives Rachel a son
(). a. Rachel celebrates that her reproach is gone (v.23). b. Rachel immediately expresses a desire for more children and names her firstborn son Joseph: “may He add” (v.24). 8. Upon completion of his second marriage contract, Joseph declares his intention to depart, but Laban once again cuts a deal
(). a. Laban knows that he is reaping temporal-life blessings so long as Jacob stays with him (vv.27,30). b. Laban continues to push the sale, and closes the deal with a third work contract (vv.31-34). c. Jacob strikes a bargain that seems foolish, but he apparently does so under Divine inspiration. 9. Jacob undertakes six years of animal husbandry, manipulating the mating habits of Laban’s flock, and making a fortune for himself
(). a. Externally, Jacob utilized a mysterious colored rod method to control the color of the offspring. b. The reality of the matter, though, was that Jacob was simply following God’s guidance on a daily basis, as the Lord communicated instructions to Jacob by means of his nightly dreams
().
c. Ten times in the course of the third contract, Laban changed the terms of the agreement (,). d. Jacob is finally learning how to leave his dealings in God’s hands, and how to walk by means of grace through faith ().
Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Now Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and from what belonged to our father he has made all this wealth.”
Jacob saw the attitude of Laban, and behold, it was not friendly toward him as formerly.
Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.”
So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to his flock in the field,
and said to them, “I see your father’s attitude, that it is not friendly toward me as formerly, but the God of my father has been with me.
“You know that I have served your father with all my strength.
“Yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times; however, God did not allow him to hurt me.
“If he spoke thus, ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flock brought forth speckled; and if he spoke thus, ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock brought forth striped.
“Thus God has taken away your father’s livestock and given them to me.
“And it came about at the time when the flock were mating that I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the male goats which were mating were striped, speckled, and mottled.
“Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am.’
“He said, ‘Lift up now your eyes and see that all the male goats which are mating are striped, speckled, and mottled; for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you.
‘I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to Me; now arise, leave this land, and return to the land of your birth.’ ”
Rachel and Leah said to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance in our father’s house?
“Are we not reckoned by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and has also entirely consumed our purchase price.
“Surely all the wealth which God has taken away from our father belongs to us and our children; now then, do whatever God has said to you.”
Then Jacob arose and put his children and his wives upon camels;
and he drove away all his livestock and all his property which he had gathered, his acquired livestock which he had gathered in Paddan-aram, to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac.
When Laban had gone to shear his flock, then Rachel stole the household idols that were her father’s.
And Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was fleeing.
So he fled with all that he had; and he arose and crossed the Euphrates River, and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.
When it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled,
then he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him a distance of seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the hill country of Gilead.
God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream of the night and said to him, “Be careful that you do not speak to Jacob either good or bad.”
Laban caught up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his kinsmen camped in the hill country of Gilead.
Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done by deceiving me and carrying away my daughters like captives of the sword?
“Why did you flee secretly and deceive me, and did not tell me so that I might have sent you away with joy and with songs, with timbrel and with lyre;
and did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters? Now you have done foolishly.
“It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful not to speak either good or bad to Jacob.’
“Now you have indeed gone away because you longed greatly for your father’s house; but why did you steal my gods?”
Then Jacob replied to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force.
“The one with whom you find your gods shall not live; in the presence of our kinsmen point out what is yours among my belongings and take it for yourself.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.
So Laban went into Jacob’s tent and into Leah’s tent and into the tent of the two maids, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent.
Now Rachel had taken the household idols and put them in the camel’s saddle, and she sat on them. And Laban felt through all the tent but did not find them.
She said to her father, “Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is upon me.” So he searched but did not find the household idols.
Then Jacob became angry and contended with Laban; and Jacob said to Laban, “What is my transgression? What is my sin that you have hotly pursued me?
“Though you have felt through all my goods, what have you found of all your household goods? Set it here before my kinsmen and your kinsmen, that they may decide between us two.
“These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten the rams of your flocks.
“That which was torn of beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it myself. You required it of my hand whether stolen by day or stolen by night.
“Thus I was: by day the heat consumed me and the frost by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes.
“These twenty years I have been in your house; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flock, and you changed my wages ten times.
“If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had not been for me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, so He rendered judgment last night.”
Then Laban replied to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, and the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne?
“So now come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.”
Then Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar.
Jacob said to his kinsmen, “Gather stones.” So they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap.
Now Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed.
Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore it was named Galeed,
and Mizpah, for he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from the other.
“If you mistreat my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no man is with us, see, God is witness between you and me.”
Laban said to Jacob, “Behold this heap and behold the pillar which I have set between you and me.
“This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass by this heap to you for harm, and you will not pass by this heap and this pillar to me, for harm.
“The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac.
Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his kinsmen to the meal; and they ate the meal and spent the night on the mountain.
Early in the morning Laban arose, and kissed his sons and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.
Thoughts & Notes on Chapter Thirty-One 1. Jacob observes a growing hostility on the part of Laban and his sons
(,). 2. The Lord informs Jacob that the time has come for his return to Canaan
(,). Note: God calls himself the God of Bethel, and holds Jacob to his foolish vow (). 3. Jacob summons his two main wives, and plans the escape
(). a. They make their plans in the field, away from Laban’s sons or servants. b. Rachel and Leah agree that they can no longer remain with their father (vv.14-16). 4. Jacob arrived in Haran fleeing from one hostile brother, and he now departs Haran fleeing from many hostile brothers-in-law and a hostile father-in-law
(). a. He flees as fast as he can with four wives, twelve children, and great numbers of camels & livestock (vv.17,18). b. Rachel, unbeknownst to Jacob, steals Laban’s teraphim (household idols) (v.19). c. Jacob gets three days away from Laban before the escape is discovered (v.22). 5. Laban chases Jacob, and catches him on the seventh day
(). a. The night before catching Jacob, Laban is visited by God, and commanded to not “speak to Jacob either good or bad” (vv.24,29; ). b. Laban demanded an explanation from Jacob for his secret departure (vv.26-28). c. Laban claims that he is only sparing Jacob because of God’s interference on Jacob’s behalf (v.29).
d. Laban also demands that Jacob explain himself for the theft of the teraphim (v.30). In the Mesopotamian culture, those teraphim could be used by Jacob in an inheritance dispute. e. Jacob confesses his flight was motivated by fear, but denies that he took the teraphim (vv.31,32). f. Laban ransacked Jacob’s encampment, but was out-Labaned by his daughter Rachel (vv.33-35). g. After Laban’s unsuccessful search, Jacob can freely make accusations against Laban’s unfair treatment over the past 20 years (vv.36-42). h. Laban concludes his side of the argument by claiming that everything of Jacob’s is really his (v.43). i. Laban & Jacob part ways by entering into their fourth contract—an obligation on Jacob’s part to take no more wives, and treat Laban’s daughters well, and a mutual contract to remain apart from one another (vv.44-55).
Now as Jacob went on his way, the angels of God met him.
Jacob said when he saw them, “This is God’s camp.” So he named that place Mahanaim.
Then Jacob sent messengers before him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
He also commanded them saying, “Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: ‘Thus says your servant Jacob, “I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed until now;
I have oxen and donkeys and flocks and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.” ’ ”
The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and furthermore he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”
Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and the herds and the camels, into two companies;
for he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the company which is left will escape.”
Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord, who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your relatives, and I will prosper you,’
I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant; for with my staff only I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies.
“Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, that he will come and attack me and the mothers with the children.
“For You said, ‘I will surely prosper you and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which is too great to be numbered.’ ”
So he spent the night there. Then he selected from what he had with him a present for his brother Esau:
two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,
thirty milking camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.
He delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass on before me, and put a space between droves.”
He commanded the one in front, saying, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and to whom do these animals in front of you belong?’
then you shall say, ‘These belong to your servant Jacob; it is a present sent to my lord Esau. And behold, he also is behind us.’ ”
Then he commanded also the second and the third, and all those who followed the droves, saying, “After this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him;
and you shall say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob also is behind us.’ ” For he said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me. Then afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.”
So the present passed on before him, while he himself spent that night in the camp.
Now he arose that same night and took his two wives and his two maids and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.
He took them and sent them across the stream. And he sent across whatever he had.
Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.
When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him.
Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But he said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.”
He said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.”
Then Jacob asked him and said, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And he blessed him there.
So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.”
Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh.
Therefore, to this day the sons of Israel do not eat the sinew of the hip which is on the socket of the thigh, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew of the hip.
Thoughts & Notes on Chapter Thirty-Two 1. Jacob encountered the angels of God on his way out of Canaan, and he now encounters them again on his way back into Canaan (; ). 2. Jacob names the place Mahanaim: “two camps” in recognition of the angelic camp along-side his human camp (). a. Mahanaim was briefly the capital of Ish-bosheth’s kingdom after Saul’s death (,,) nd . b. David fled to Mahanaim during Absalom’s revolt (,) nd . 3. Jacob sends emmisaries ahead of his main caravan body, in an attempt to reestablish contact with Esau (). 4. Jacob’s servants report back that Esau is enroute with 400 men (). 5. Jacob divides his camp into two companies, in a human effort to preserve some of his possessions (,).
Austin Bible Church Pastor Bob Bolender - 9 -
One Year Through the Bible
Week 2: January 6th through 12th
6. Jacob then prays to the God of Abraham and Isaac, and confesses his sinful fear (). 7. Jacob sent an elaborate procession of emmisaries and gifts ahead of him to meet Esau, and to attempt to buy his favor (). 8. Jacob finally sent his wives and children across the Jabbok, while he remained outside of Canaan for a night of prayer (). a. He wrestled with God in his prayers (,). b. He wrestled with the Angel of the Lord in his body (v.24). c. Jacob understood that letting go of the angel would mean a forfeiture of blessings (v.26). d. The Lord blesses Jacob with the new name of Israel (v.28). e. Jacob goes even further by requesting a greater intimacy with the Lord (v.29; cp. ,). f. Jacob named that place Peniel/Penuel in commemoration of seeing the Lord face to face (v.30). g. Jacob will live with a physical disability, apparently for the rest of his life (vv.25,31,32).
Then Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two maids.
He put the maids and their children in front, and Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last.
But he himself passed on ahead of them and bowed down to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.
He lifted his eyes and saw the women and the children, and said, “Who are these with you?” So he said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.”
Then the maids came near with their children, and they bowed down.
Leah likewise came near with her children, and they bowed down; and afterward Joseph came near with Rachel, and they bowed down.
And he said, “What do you mean by all this company which I have met?” And he said, “To find favor in the sight of my lord.”
But Esau said, “I have plenty, my brother; let what you have be your own.”
Jacob said, “No, please, if now I have found favor in your sight, then take my present from my hand, for I see your face as one sees the face of God, and you have received me favorably.
“Please take my gift which has been brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me and because I have plenty.” Thus he urged him and he took it.
Then Esau said, “Let us take our journey and go, and I will go before you.”
But he said to him, “My lord knows that the children are frail and that the flocks and herds which are nursing are a care to me. And if they are driven hard one day, all the flocks will die.
“Please let my lord pass on before his servant, and I will proceed at my leisure, according to the pace of the cattle that are before me and according to the pace of the children, until I come to my lord at Seir.”
Esau said, “Please let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But he said, “What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.”
So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir.
Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built for himself a house and made booths for his livestock; therefore the place is named Succoth.
Now Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan-aram, and camped before the city.
He bought the piece of land where he had pitched his tent from the hand of the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred pieces of money.
Then he erected there an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.
Thoughts & Notes on Chapter Thirty-Three 1. Jacob encounters Esau with a fresh element of courage, standing in front of his wives and children (). 2. Esau greets Jacob in a tearful, joyful reunion (). 3. Esau inquires about the abundant gifts, and expresses no desire in keeping Jacob’s blessings, but Jacob insists on sharing the grace gifts of God’s lovingkindness (). 4. Esau & Jacob part ways, with Jacob promising to come to him in Seir (). 5. Jacob, however, settled his family first in Succoth (), then in Shechem ().
a. He and his family remained in Succoth for a number of years (8-11, probably 10). b. Jacob built a house, but there is no mention of an altar being built in Succoth. Succoth is NOT in Canaan. c. After a period of time, Jacob moves into Canaan, and settles at Shechem. Reuben is 21-24 years old. Simeon is 20-23 and Levi is 19-22 years old. Joseph is 14-17. Dinah is 13-16 years old.
Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land.
When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force.
He was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her.
So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young girl for a wife.”
Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter; but his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob kept silent until they came in.
Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him.
Now the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved, and they were very angry because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing ought not to be done.
But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; please give her to him in marriage.
“Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us and take our daughters for yourselves.
“Thus you shall live with us, and the land shall be open before you; live and trade in it and acquire property in it.”
Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “If I find favor in your sight, then I will give whatever you say to me.
“Ask me ever so much bridal payment and gift, and I will give according as you say to me; but give me the girl in marriage.”
But Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor with deceit, because he had defiled Dinah their sister.
They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us.
“Only on this condition will we consent to you: if you will become like us, in that every male of you be circumcised,
then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will live with you and become one people.
“But if you will not listen to us to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and go.”
Now their words seemed reasonable to Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son.
The young man did not delay to do the thing, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. Now he was more respected than all the household of his father.
So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying,
“These men are friendly with us; therefore let them live in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters in marriage, and give our daughters to them.
“Only on this condition will the men consent to us to live with us, to become one people: that every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised.
“Will not their livestock and their property and all their animals be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will live with us.”
All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and to his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.
Now it came about on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came upon the city unawares, and killed every male.
They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and went forth.
Jacob’s sons came upon the slain and looted the city, because they had defiled their sister.
They took their flocks and their herds and their donkeys, and that which was in the city and that which was in the field;
and they captured and looted all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives, even all that was in the houses.
Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me odious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and my men being few in number, they will gather together against me and attack me and I will be destroyed, I and my household.”
But they said, “Should he treat our sister as a harlot?”
Thoughts & Notes on Chapter Thirty-Four 1. Dinah became involved with the Canaanite women (). 2. Shechem (the person) prince of Shechem (the city) Shechem has sexual relations with Dinah against her will (). Shechem loved Dinah, and he spoke tenderly to her (). The Hebrew here does not speak necessarily in any kind of sequence. This was evidently a seduction, over time, but was consummated prior to marriage, and without Dinah’s consent. 3. Shechem’s soul was bonded to Dinah’s soul, and he requested his father to arrange for their marriage (,). Dinah is likely kept in Shechem’s home the entire time (). 4. Jacob receives news of Dinah’s rape, but fails to take leadership in dealing with the situation (). 5. Hamor makes a gracious plea to Jacob and his sons, and tells them to name their price for the bridal payment (). 6. Jacob fails again to take the leadership, and surrenders the negotiations to his sons (). a. The sons answer with deceit (v.13). b. They claim their obligations under the Abrahamic Covenant will not permit intermarriage with any uncircumcised gentiles (v.14), and stipulate that they will agree to the marriage if the Shechemites become circumcized like them (vv.15-17).
Austin Bible Church Pastor Bob Bolender - 10 -
One Year Through the Bible
Week 2: January 6th through 12th
7. Hamor and Shechem agree to the terms, and convince the Shechemites to agree with the plan (). 8. The lie of Jacob’s sons is followed by murder, as Simeon & Levi take advantage of the Shechemites’ weakness and massacre the city (). 9. Jacob again fails in his spiritual responsibility and stewardship, when he does not judge his sons for their great evil (). Jacob is too preoccupied with his own insecurities that he tolerates his sons’ wickedness (,; cf. ; )+++
Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and live there, and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”
So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods which are among you, and purify yourselves and change your garments;
and let us arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.”
So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods which they had and the rings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the oak which was near Shechem.
As they journeyed, there was a great terror upon the cities which were around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.
So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him.
He built an altar there, and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed Himself to him when he fled from his brother.
Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the oak; it was named Allon-bacuth.
Then God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and He blessed him.
God said to him,
“Your name is Jacob;
You shall no longer be called Jacob,
But Israel shall be your name.”
Thus He called him Israel.
God also said to him,
“I am God Almighty;
Be fruitful and multiply;
A nation and a company of nations shall come from you,
And kings shall come forth from you.
“The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac,
I will give it to you,
And I will give the land to your descendants after you.”
Then God went up from him in the place where He had spoken with him.
Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He had spoken with him, a pillar of stone, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it.
So Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him, Bethel.
Then they journeyed from Bethel; and when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and she suffered severe labor.
When she was in severe labor the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for now you have another son.”
It came about as her soul was departing (for she died), that she named him Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin.
So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
Jacob set up a pillar over her grave; that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day.
Then Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.
It came about while Israel was dwelling in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine, and Israel heard of it.
Now there were twelve sons of Jacob—
the sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, then Simeon and Levi and Judah and Issachar and Zebulun;
the sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin;
and the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maid: Dan and Naphtali;
and the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maid: Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.
Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre of Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned.
Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years.
Isaac breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, an old man of ripe age; and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
Thoughts & Notes on Chapter Thirty-Five 1. Jacob relocates his house from Shechem to Bethel in obedience to the revealed Will of God
(). a. Jacob makes it a priority to remove all forms of idolatry from his house (vv.2-4). b. God graciously placed fear upon the Canaanites, and Jacob’s family travelled in peace (vv.5,6). c. During Jacob’s stay at Bethel, he will bury Rebekah’s nurse, Deborah (v.8). We are left to assume that Rebekah is dead by this time, and that Jacob never does see her again after he flees from Canaan (). 2. At Bethel, Jacob enjoys the greatest fellowship with the Lord that he has ever had
(). a. God reminded Jacob of his new name— Israel (v.10). b. As El Shaddai, He reconfirms the Abrahamic Covenant to Jacob (vv.11,12). This time, Jacob is on his way into the promised land, and walking by faith. c. Jacob sets up a pillar of stone, and offers a drink offering without any foolish vows (vv.13,14). 3. Jacob moves from Bethel to Ephrath (Bethlehem)
().
a. Along the way, Rachel will die giving birth to Ben-oni: “son of my sorrow” (v.18). b. Jacob renames the baby Benjamin: “son of the right hand.” c. Jacob buries Rachel on the road to Ephrath (vv.19,20; ) st . d. After Rachel’s death, Reuben commits adultery with Rachel’s maid (and Jacob’s concubine) Bilhah (v.22). 4. Jacob is finally reunited with his father Isaac shortly before Isaac’s death at the age of 180 ().
Then it came about after these things, the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt.
Pharaoh was furious with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker.
So he put them in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, in the jail, the same place where Joseph was imprisoned.
The captain of the bodyguard put Joseph in charge of them, and he took care of them; and they were in confinement for some time.
Then the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt, who were confined in jail, both had a dream the same night, each man with his own dream and each dream with its own interpretation.
When Joseph came to them in the morning and observed them, behold, they were dejected.
He asked Pharaoh’s officials who were with him in confinement in his master’s house, “Why are your faces so sad today?”
Then they said to him, “We have had a dream and there is no one to interpret it.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell it to me, please.”
So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “In my dream, behold, there was a vine in front of me;
and on the vine were three branches. And as it was budding, its blossoms came out, and its clusters produced ripe grapes.
“Now Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; so I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.”
Then Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days;
within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office; and you will put Pharaoh’s cup into his hand according to your former custom when you were his cupbearer.
“Only keep me in mind when it goes well with you, and please do me a kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh and get me out of this house.
“For I was in fact kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing that they should have put me into the dungeon.”
When the chief baker saw that he had interpreted favorably, he said to Joseph, “I also saw in my dream, and behold, there were three baskets of white bread on my head;
and in the top basket there were some of all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”
Then Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days;
within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh off you.”
Thus it came about on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants.
He restored the chief cupbearer to his office, and he put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand;
but he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had interpreted to them.
Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
Thoughts & Notes on Chapter Forty 1. God the Father sovereignly arranged for Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker to be imprisoned with Joseph (). 2. God the Father sovereignly provided for Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker to have troubling dreams for Joseph to interpret (). a. Joseph was sensitive to their troubled demeanor (vv.6,7). b. Joseph uses the opportunity to give glory to God (v.8). c. Joseph interprets the cupbearer’s dream, and asks that the cupbearer remember him before Pharaoh when he is released (vv.9-15). d. Joseph also interprets the baker’s dream, but doesn’t bother to ask for the baker’s assistance ☺ (vv.16-19). 3. Joseph’s dream interpretations were accurate (). 4. The cupbearer failed to remember Joseph’s ministry, and failed to make mention of him to Pharaoh for an additional two years (; ,).
All the persons who came from the loins of Jacob were seventy in number, but Joseph was already in Egypt.
Order of line the Children of Leah then Rachel then
The Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel to labor rigorously;
and they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they rigorously imposed on them.
Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other was named Puah;
and he said, “When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.”
But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live.
So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and let the boys live?”
God said I bless those who bless you and I will curse those who curse you
The Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel to labor rigorously;
and they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they rigorously imposed on them.
The Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel to labor rigorously;
and they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they rigorously imposed on them.
13 The … imposed on them.
13 The … imposed on them.
The Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel to labor rigorously;
and they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they rigorously imposed on them.
The Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel to labor rigorously;
and they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they rigorously imposed on them.
Their careers taken away from them they were no longer shepherds but construction workers. the world took away their nitch in order to work its own agenda.
Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other was named Puah;
and he said, “When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.”
But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live.
So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and let the boys live?”
Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other was named Puah;
and he said, “When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.”
But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live.
So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and let the boys live?”
Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other was named Puah;
and he said, “When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.”
But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live.
and he said, “When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.”
But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live.
So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and let the boys live?”
The Maid servant went against the Government and even lied to the athorities such as Rahab did when she his the spies and yet God blessed the Mid wives. but God blessed them. God said I will bless those who bless you and I will curse those who curse you.
Another example of the enmity Her seed your seed
and he said, “When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.”
But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live.
So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and let the boys live?”
and he said, “When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.”
But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live.
So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and let the boys live?”
So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied, and became very mighty.
Because the midwives feared God, He established households for them.
But when she could hide him no longer, she got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile.
But when she could hide him no longer, she got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile.
the child was put into the same water which other hebrew babies were drowned in. It was the babtism of Moses who was identified with death and drawn out from it. type of Jesus's baptism
The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. And she named him Moses, and said, “Because I drew him out of the water.”
The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. And she named him Moses, and said, “Because I drew him out of the water.”
It was Pharaoh's daughter that named the child. Was there another hebrew name for Moses?
Then she gave birth to a son, and he named him Gershom, for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.”
The Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe in you forever.” Then Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.
Kings
The Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe in you forever.” Then Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.
All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel.
they remined willingly ignorant
Thus Samuel grew and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fail.
He was careful in speech noteworthy in the bible
Samuel said,
“Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
As in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
Some folks walking in darkness will add sacrifices such as prayer but will be walking in disobiedience
“For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
He has also rejected you from being king.”
“For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
He has also rejected you from being king.”
Then Bildad the Shuhite answered,
“How long will you say these things,
And the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?
Bildad has made up his mind
“If your sons sinned against Him,
Then He delivered them into the power of their transgression.
your love ones got what they deserved no compasssion on Bildad
“If you would seek God
And implore the compassion of the Almighty,
Job you need to confess
Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,
“Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge
And fill himself with the east wind?
“Should he argue with useless talk,
Or with words which are not profitable?
“Indeed, you do away with reverence
And hinder meditation before God.
“For your guilt teaches your mouth,
And you choose the language of the crafty.
“Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;
And your own lips testify against you.
“Were you the first man to be born,
Or were you brought forth before the hills?
“Do you hear the secret counsel of God,
And limit wisdom to yourself?
“What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that we do not?
“Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us,
Older than your father.
“Are the consolations of God too small for you,
Even the word spoken gently with you?
“Why does your heart carry you away?
And why do your eyes flash,
That you should turn your spirit against God
And allow such words to go out of your mouth?
“What is man, that he should be pure,
Or he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
“Behold, He puts no trust in His holy ones,
And the heavens are not pure in His sight;
How much less one who is detestable and corrupt,
Man, who drinks iniquity like water!
“I will tell you, listen to me;
And what I have seen I will also declare;
What wise men have told,
And have not concealed from their fathers,
To whom alone the land was given,
And no alien passed among them.
“The wicked man writhes in pain all his days,
And numbered are the years stored up for the ruthless.
“Sounds of terror are in his ears;
While at peace the destroyer comes upon him.
“He does not believe that he will return from darkness,
And he is destined for the sword.
“He wanders about for food, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows that a day of darkness is at hand.
“Distress and anguish terrify him,
They overpower him like a king ready for the attack,
Because he has stretched out his hand against God
And conducts himself arrogantly against the Almighty.
“He rushes headlong at Him
With his massive shield.
“For he has covered his face with his fat
And made his thighs heavy with flesh.
“He has lived in desolate cities,
In houses no one would inhabit,
Which are destined to become ruins.
“He will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure;
And his grain will not bend down to the ground.
“He will not escape from darkness;
The flame will wither his shoots,
And by the breath of His mouth he will go away.
“Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself;
For emptiness will be his reward.
“It will be accomplished before his time,
And his palm branch will not be green.
“He will drop off his unripe grape like the vine,
And will cast off his flower like the olive tree.
“For the company of the godless is barren,
And fire consumes the tents of the corrupt.
“They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity,
And their mind prepares deception.”
For Job's benefit Job will grow from the suffering.
Second round of debates
1. Eliphaz makes a second attempt to correct Job, and declares that Job’s carnality is corrupting his wisdom ().
2. Eliphaz attempts to humble Job, by putting his stature down in comparison with the post-deluvian patriarchs ().
3. Eliphaz insists that he is attempting to gently help Job ().
4. Eliphaz makes a second appeal to human observation ( cp. 4:8), and urges Job to depart from the company of the godless (, esp. v.34).
Then Job answered,
“I have heard many such things;
Sorry comforters are you all.
“Is there no limit to windy words?
Or what plagues you that you answer?
“I too could speak like you,
If I were in your place.
I could compose words against you
And shake my head at you.
“I could strengthen you with my mouth,
And the solace of my lips could lessen your pain.
“If I speak, my pain is not lessened,
And if I hold back, what has left me?
“But now He has exhausted me;
You have laid waste all my company.
“You have shriveled me up,
It has become a witness;
And my leanness rises up against me,
It testifies to my face.
“His anger has torn me and hunted me down,
He has gnashed at me with His teeth;
My adversary glares at me.
“They have gaped at me with their mouth,
They have slapped me on the cheek with contempt;
They have massed themselves against me.
“God hands me over to ruffians
And tosses me into the hands of the wicked.
“I was at ease, but He shattered me,
And He has grasped me by the neck and shaken me to pieces;
He has also set me up as His target.
“His arrows surround me.
Without mercy He splits my kidneys open;
He pours out my gall on the ground.
“He breaks through me with breach after breach;
He runs at me like a warrior.
“I have sewed sackcloth over my skin
And thrust my horn in the dust.
“My face is flushed from weeping,
And deep darkness is on my eyelids,
Although there is no violence in my hands,
And my prayer is pure.
“O earth, do not cover my blood,
And let there be no resting place for my cry.
“Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven,
And my advocate is on high.
“My friends are my scoffers;
My eye weeps to God.
“O that a man might plead with God
As a man with his neighbor!
“For when a few years are past,
I shall go the way of no return.
1. Job declares that his friends have been no help at all (). 2. Job realizes that continual complaints are getting him nowhere, but as he has no other options, he will continue (). 3. Job states that God has destroyed him thoroughly for no reason whatsoever (). 4. Job expects that God’s wrath will kill him ().
a. When he dies, the earth will cry out for vengeance (v.18 cp. ).
b. When he dies, he will finally have the opportunity to confront his witness and his advocate (v.19). c. Still, Job’s only thought is to legally contend with God (v.20), for which he has to wait until physical death (v.21). 5. Job shows eagerness to embrace his
physical death ().
a. He considers what his name will mean to those left behind (vv.6-9). b. He invites his unwise counsellors to join him in death (vv.10,16). c. He embraces Sheol like a place of refuge & family (vv.11-15).
Leaving the results to the Lord
Then Bildad the Shuhite responded,
“How long will you hunt for words?
Show understanding and then we can talk.
“Why are we regarded as beasts,
As stupid in your eyes?
“O you who tear yourself in your anger—
For your sake is the earth to be abandoned,
Or the rock to be moved from its place?
“Indeed, the light of the wicked goes out,
And the flame of his fire gives no light.
“The light in his tent is darkened,
And his lamp goes out above him.
“His vigorous stride is shortened,
And his own scheme brings him down.
“For he is thrown into the net by his own feet,
And he steps on the webbing.
“A snare seizes him by the heel,
And a trap snaps shut on him.
“A noose for him is hidden in the ground,
And a trap for him on the path.
“All around terrors frighten him,
And harry him at every step.
“His strength is famished,
And calamity is ready at his side.
“His skin is devoured by disease,
The firstborn of death devours his limbs.
“He is torn from the security of his tent,
And they march him before the king of terrors.
“There dwells in his tent nothing of his;
Brimstone is scattered on his habitation.
“His roots are dried below,
And his branch is cut off above.
“Memory of him perishes from the earth,
And he has no name abroad.
“He is driven from light into darkness,
And chased from the inhabited world.
“He has no offspring or posterity among his people,
Nor any survivor where he sojourned.
“Those in the west are appalled at his fate,
And those in the east are seized with horror.
“Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked,
And this is the place of him who does not know God.”
Then Bildad the Shuhite responded,
“How long will you hunt for words?
Show understanding and then we can talk.
“Why are we regarded as beasts,
As stupid in your eyes?
“O you who tear yourself in your anger—
For your sake is the earth to be abandoned,
Or the rock to be moved from its place?
“Indeed, the light of the wicked goes out,
And the flame of his fire gives no light.
“The light in his tent is darkened,
And his lamp goes out above him.
“His vigorous stride is shortened,
And his own scheme brings him down.
“For he is thrown into the net by his own feet,
And he steps on the webbing.
“A snare seizes him by the heel,
And a trap snaps shut on him.
“A noose for him is hidden in the ground,
And a trap for him on the path.
“All around terrors frighten him,
And harry him at every step.
“His strength is famished,
And calamity is ready at his side.
“His skin is devoured by disease,
The firstborn of death devours his limbs.
“He is torn from the security of his tent,
And they march him before the king of terrors.
“There dwells in his tent nothing of his;
Brimstone is scattered on his habitation.
“His roots are dried below,
And his branch is cut off above.
“Memory of him perishes from the earth,
And he has no name abroad.
“He is driven from light into darkness,
And chased from the inhabited world.
“He has no offspring or posterity among his people,
Nor any survivor where he sojourned.
“Those in the west are appalled at his fate,
And those in the east are seized with horror.
“Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked,
And this is the place of him who does not know God.”
1. Bildad makes a second attempt to correct Job, though he is insulted by Job’s words, and insults Job right back ().
2. Bildad’s attempt to correct Job is a lengthy description of how terrible the life and death of the unbeliever can be ().
a. The light in his tent is darkened (v.6a). The tent is the body () nd , and the light within is the Divine evidence God has placed there (). b. His lamp goes out above him (v.6b). The light of the gospel of the glory of Christ () nd , which is there for all unbelievers walking in the world of God’s grace. c. He is torn from the security of his tent (v.14). The believer is delighted to be set free from the body of death (), but the unbeliever is addicted to his own fallen body (,; ). d. This is the place of him who does not know God (v.21). Bildad suggests that perhaps Job has never been saved in the first place.
Bildad second round,
Prosperity doctrine is in full swing in first century
Physical death you who carry yourself who do you think you are Job that God is going to stop every thing to involve himself with you
Light of the wicked goes out
How bout considering here is a believer that needs some help.
Then Job responded,
“How long will you torment me
And crush me with words?
“These ten times you have insulted me;
You are not ashamed to wrong me.
“Even if I have truly erred,
My error lodges with me.
“If indeed you vaunt yourselves against me
And prove my disgrace to me,
Know then that God has wronged me
And has closed His net around me.
“Behold, I cry, ‘Violence!’ but I get no answer;
I shout for help, but there is no justice.
“He has walled up my way so that I cannot pass,
And He has put darkness on my paths.
“He has stripped my honor from me
And removed the crown from my head.
“He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone;
And He has uprooted my hope like a tree.
“He has also kindled His anger against me
And considered me as His enemy.
“His troops come together,
And build up their way against me
And camp around my tent.
“He has removed my brothers far from me,
And my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.
“My relatives have failed,
And my intimate friends have forgotten me.
“Those who live in my house and my maids consider me a stranger.
I am a foreigner in their sight.
“I call to my servant, but he does not answer;
I have to implore him with my mouth.
“My breath is offensive to my wife,
And I am loathsome to my own brothers.
“Even young children despise me;
I rise up and they speak against me.
“All my associates abhor me,
And those I love have turned against me.
“My bone clings to my skin and my flesh,
And I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth.
“Pity me, pity me, O you my friends,
For the hand of God has struck me.
“Why do you persecute me as God does,
And are not satisfied with my flesh?
“Oh that my words were written!
Oh that they were inscribed in a book!
“That with an iron stylus and lead
They were engraved in the rock forever!
“As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
And at the last He will take His stand on the earth.
“Even after my skin is destroyed,
Yet from my flesh I shall see God;
Whom I myself shall behold,
And whom my eyes will see and not another.
My heart faints within me!
“If you say, ‘How shall we persecute him?’
And ‘What pretext for a case against him can we find?’
“Then be afraid of the sword for yourselves,
For wrath brings the punishment of the sword,
So that you may know there is judgment.”
pg 42 on notes
1. Job affirms that he is the one that has been insulted—ten times through his friends’ tormenting and crushing words (,).
Ten times is idiomatic
2. Job states that even if he is wrong, and sinful, his friends are not the ones to whom he’s accountable. God is the one who judges, and God is the one who has unfairly mistreated Job (,,).
3. Job cries out: “instead of judging me, pity me!” and describes extensively how complete his personal destruction has been ().
a. Job no longer receives answers to prayer (v.7).
b. Job no longer receives Divine guidance (v.8).
c. Job no longer has a reputation for integrity (v.9).
d. Job no longer has hope for his future (v.10).
e. Job is now God’s enemy (vv.11,12).
f. Job is stripped of every positive human relationship (vv.13-19). g. Job suffers physically on the verge of death (v.20).
4. Job laments that his suffering will not be preserved for history (,).
5. Job comforts himself in the foundation of his faith, and his positive anticipation of eternal life (). In the depths of our anguish, sometimes that’s the only thing we have to cling to (; ) st .
6. Job warns his friends that if they continue in their unjust condemnation of him, they will come into judgment themselves (,; ).
Then Zophar the Naamathite answered,
“Therefore my disquieting thoughts make me respond,
Even because of my inward agitation.
“I listened to the reproof which insults me,
And the spirit of my understanding makes me answer.
“Do you know this from of old,
From the establishment of man on earth,
That the triumphing of the wicked is short,
And the joy of the godless momentary?
“Though his loftiness reaches the heavens,
And his head touches the clouds,
He perishes forever like his refuse;
Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’
“He flies away like a dream, and they cannot find him;
Even like a vision of the night he is chased away.
“The eye which saw him sees him no longer,
And his place no longer beholds him.
“His sons favor the poor,
And his hands give back his wealth.
“His bones are full of his youthful vigor,
But it lies down with him in the dust.
“Though evil is sweet in his mouth
And he hides it under his tongue,
Though he desires it and will not let it go,
But holds it in his mouth,
Yet his food in his stomach is changed
To the venom of cobras within him.
“He swallows riches,
But will vomit them up;
God will expel them from his belly.
“He sucks the poison of cobras;
The viper’s tongue slays him.
“He does not look at the streams,
The rivers flowing with honey and curds.
“He returns what he has attained
And cannot swallow it;
As to the riches of his trading,
He cannot even enjoy them.
“For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor;
He has seized a house which he has not built.
“Because he knew no quiet within him,
He does not retain anything he desires.
“Nothing remains for him to devour,
Therefore his prosperity does not endure.
“In the fullness of his plenty he will be cramped;
The hand of everyone who suffers will come against him.
“When he fills his belly,
God will send His fierce anger on him
And will rain it on him while he is eating.
“He may flee from the iron weapon,
But the bronze bow will pierce him.
“It is drawn forth and comes out of his back,
Even the glittering point from his gall.
Terrors come upon him,
Complete darkness is held in reserve for his treasures,
And unfanned fire will devour him;
It will consume the survivor in his tent.
“The heavens will reveal his iniquity,
And the earth will rise up against him.
“The increase of his house will depart;
His possessions will flow away in the day of His anger.
“This is the wicked man’s portion from God,
Even the heritage decreed to him by God.”
Elders remember the flood, Ham Shem and Japheth. Noah is still around times past refers to the flood. The Lord is a long suffering waithing for people to repent, v16 uses loftiness concept as a new concept to accuse Job, Their saying Job might not be saved. self promotion but you are going to die like dung. like refuse. Abadono fallen agnel that will have control over fallen angel. food in his stomach nature of addiction.
Then Job continued his discourse and said,
“As God lives, who has taken away my right,
And the Almighty, who has embittered my soul,
For as long as life is in me,
And the breath of God is in my nostrils,
My lips certainly will not speak unjustly,
Nor will my tongue mutter deceit.
“Far be it from me that I should declare you right;
Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.
“I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go.
My heart does not reproach any of my days.
“May my enemy be as the wicked
And my opponent as the unjust.
“For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off,
When God requires his life?
“Will God hear his cry
When distress comes upon him?
“Will he take delight in the Almighty?
Will he call on God at all times?
“I will instruct you in the power of God;
What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
“Behold, all of you have seen it;
Why then do you act foolishly?
“This is the portion of a wicked man from God,
And the inheritance which tyrants receive from the Almighty.
“Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword;
And his descendants will not be satisfied with bread.
“His survivors will be buried because of the plague,
And their widows will not be able to weep.
“Though he piles up silver like dust
And prepares garments as plentiful as the clay,
He may prepare it, but the just will wear it
And the innocent will divide the silver.
“He has built his house like the spider’s web,
Or as a hut which the watchman has made.
“He lies down rich, but never again;
He opens his eyes, and it is no longer.
“Terrors overtake him like a flood;
A tempest steals him away in the night.
“The east wind carries him away, and he is gone,
For it whirls him away from his place.
“For it will hurl at him without sparing;
He will surely try to flee from its power.
“Men will clap their hands at him
And will hiss him from his place.
“Surely there is a mine for silver
And a place where they refine gold.
“Iron is taken from the dust,
And copper is smelted from rock.
“Man puts an end to darkness,
And to the farthest limit he searches out
The rock in gloom and deep shadow.
“He sinks a shaft far from habitation,
Forgotten by the foot;
They hang and swing to and fro far from men.
“The earth, from it comes food,
And underneath it is turned up as fire.
“Its rocks are the source of sapphires,
And its dust contains gold.
“The path no bird of prey knows,
Nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it.
“The proud beasts have not trodden it,
Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.
“He puts his hand on the flint;
He overturns the mountains at the base.
“He hews out channels through the rocks,
And his eye sees anything precious.
“He dams up the streams from flowing,
And what is hidden he brings out to the light.
“But where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
“Man does not know its value,
Nor is it found in the land of the living.
“The deep says, ‘It is not in me’;
And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
“Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it,
Nor can silver be weighed as its price.
“It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
In precious onyx, or sapphire.
“Gold or glass cannot equal it,
Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold.
“Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned;
And the acquisition of wisdom is above that of pearls.
“The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
Nor can it be valued in pure gold.
“Where then does wisdom come from?
And where is the place of understanding?
“Thus it is hidden from the eyes of all living
And concealed from the birds of the sky.
“Abaddon and Death say,
‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’
“God understands its way,
And He knows its place.
“For He looks to the ends of the earth
And sees everything under the heavens.
“When He imparted weight to the wind
And meted out the waters by measure,
When He set a limit for the rain
And a course for the thunderbolt,
Then He saw it and declared it;
He established it and also searched it out.
“And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
And to depart from evil is understanding.’ ”
And Job again took up his discourse and said,
“Oh that I were as in months gone by,
As in the days when God watched over me;
When His lamp shone over my head,
And by His light I walked through darkness;
As I was in the prime of my days,
When the friendship of God was over my tent;
When the Almighty was yet with me,
And my children were around me;
When my steps were bathed in butter,
And the rock poured out for me streams of oil!
“When I went out to the gate of the city,
When I took my seat in the square,
The young men saw me and hid themselves,
And the old men arose and stood.
“The princes stopped talking
And put their hands on their mouths;
The voice of the nobles was hushed,
And their tongue stuck to their palate.
“For when the ear heard, it called me blessed,
And when the eye saw, it gave witness of me,
Because I delivered the poor who cried for help,
And the orphan who had no helper.
“The blessing of the one ready to perish came upon me,
And I made the widow’s heart sing for joy.
“I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
My justice was like a robe and a turban.
“I was eyes to the blind
And feet to the lame.
“I was a father to the needy,
And I investigated the case which I did not know.
“I broke the jaws of the wicked
And snatched the prey from his teeth.
“Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my nest,
And I shall multiply my days as the sand.
‘My root is spread out to the waters,
And dew lies all night on my branch.
‘My glory is ever new with me,
And my bow is renewed in my hand.’
“To me they listened and waited,
And kept silent for my counsel.
“After my words they did not speak again,
And my speech dropped on them.
“They waited for me as for the rain,
And opened their mouth as for the spring rain.
“I smiled on them when they did not believe,
And the light of my face they did not cast down.
“I chose a way for them and sat as chief,
And dwelt as a king among the troops,
As one who comforted the mourners.
Longs for the good ole days.
When the morning stars sang together
And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
Or you will also be like him.
Answer a fool as his folly deserves,
That he not be wise in his own eyes.
Prematurely by into the unbelievers agenda you don't have to answer all questions. they are traps we don't have to buy the question you might have to rephrase the question.
answer the fool according to his folly if the unbeliever says he does not believe answer the fool unless he thinks his position is right. Unbeliever does not know where their unbelief leads them. He started it continue through.
For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited),
“I am the Lord, and there is none else.
“Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.
flood God's wrath
The words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders from Tekoa, which he envisioned in visions concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
He said,
“The Lord roars from Zion
And from Jerusalem He utters His voice;
And the shepherds’ pasture grounds mourn,
And the summit of Carmel dries up.”
I will stand on my guard post
And station myself on the rampart;
And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me,
And how I may reply when I am reproved.
Then the Lord answered me and said,
“Record the vision
And inscribe it on tablets,
That the one who reads it may run.
“For the vision is yet for the appointed time;
It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail.
Though it tarries, wait for it;
For it will certainly come, it will not delay.
verse 4 Gospel of grace successful not of works
The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:
Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram.
Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon.
Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse.
Jesse was the father of David the king.
David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah.
Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa.
Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah.
Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.
Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah.
Josiah became the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel.
Zerubbabel was the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor.
Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud.
Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob.
Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.
So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.
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 Holy Spirit.
And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.
But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
“Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”
And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife,
but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.
matthew to jewish audience
Old testement langua
77 generations according to Luke
66 generations with Luke
matthew 1 1 son of david son of abraham establishment legitamate to the son of David and blessing under Abrahamic as far as jews are conerned Jesus as Christ as the rightful kingship and jewish
Legal inheritance
The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:
if you want to understand matthew must understand it as Jesus Christian
If Jesus is the King where is the kingdom? Matthew Gospel the kingdom program not cancelled
traces the offer of the Kingdom to Israel only given to Israel it is not christ to the nation it is to Israel Remember that all nations of the earth will be blessed.
but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.
“Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
not a kingdom now message or theology. first clause; not an adoration of God; kingdom request for the kingdom to come pray for the time when God's name is reveared pray for the time in history to the Jews goes back to two passages IS 29 23 both have to do with his name we're praying for the manifestation of the kingdom.
‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
the Kingdom is not yet here why is he instructing them to pray unless the kingdom is not yet here? pray for the arrival what the ot describes. Not defined here but defined in the OT. Theocratic Kingdom rules kingdom on God's behalf. Offer is the restoration. story of the bible is the restoration. and verse 4
on earth as it is in heaven. In heaven unchallenge authority. Pray for God's sovereignty unhindered state pray that it will come to the earth in the kingd om age
‘Give us this day our daily bread.
until the kingdom comes I have tempral needs physical general nourishment amos 9 13 is 65 21 22 zac 8 12 until that time those thing are a reality world rebells against us
‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
no appitite for Sin no dual nature ask for God's forgivness and forgive others spiritual provision sanctification passage not initual salvation point is that it begins with Our Father
‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’
Protection from the evil one; to allow the testing but be rescured from the snare. Satan will be in the Abyss when the kingdom arrives so this prayer will not be necessary.
“From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.
“For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John.
“And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come.
“And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come.
The servants are the apostles the people had second shot at believing after the resurrection
“For many are called, but few are chosen.”
eklektos choice or select ones
Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us,
just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word,
it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus;
so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.
But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years.
Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division,
according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering.
And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense.
Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him.
But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John.
“You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.
“For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb.
“And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.
“It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
Zacharias said to the angel, “How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.”
The angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.
“And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”
The people were waiting for Zacharias, and were wondering at his delay in the temple.
But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them; and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he kept making signs to them, and remained mute.
When the days of his priestly service were ended, he went back home.
After these days Elizabeth his wife became pregnant, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying,
“This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to take away my disgrace among men.”
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”
But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.
The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.
“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.
“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;
and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.
“And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.
“For nothing will be impossible with God.”
And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah,
and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
“And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me?
“For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.
“And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”
And Mary said:
“My soul exalts the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
“For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave;
For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.
“For the Mighty One has done great things for me;
And holy is His name.
“And His mercy is upon generation after generation
Toward those who fear Him.
“He has done mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.
“He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has exalted those who were humble.
“He has filled the hungry with good things;
And sent away the rich empty-handed.
“He has given help to Israel His servant,
In remembrance of His mercy,
As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and his descendants forever.”
And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.
Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.
And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias, after his father.
But his mother answered and said, “No indeed; but he shall be called John.”
And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name.”
And they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called.
And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, “His name is John.” And they were all astonished.
And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God.
Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea.
All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.
And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,
And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of David His servant—
As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old—
Salvation from our enemies,
And from the hand of all who hate us;
To show mercy toward our fathers,
And to remember His holy covenant,
The oath which He swore to Abraham our father,
To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
For you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways;
To give to His people the knowledge of salvation
By the forgiveness of their sins,
Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.
This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.
Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,
in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.
While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.
And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.
And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;
for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
“This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”
So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.
When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.
And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.
But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.
The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.
And when eight days had passed, before His circumcision, His name was then called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.
And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord
(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”),
and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law,
then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,
“Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace,
According to Your word;
For my eyes have seen Your salvation,
Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
A Light of revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”
And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him.
And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed—
and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,
and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers.
At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
When they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth.
The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.
Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.
And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast;
and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents were unaware of it,
but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day’s journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances.
When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him.
Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.
And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.
When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.”
And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”
But they did not understand the statement which He had made to them.
And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,
in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.
And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins;
as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘Make ready the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight.
‘Every ravine will be filled,
And every mountain and hill will be brought low;
The crooked will become straight,
And the rough roads smooth;
And all flesh will see the salvation of God.’ ”
So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
“Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.
“Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “Then what shall we do?”
And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.”
And some tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?”
And he said to them, “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.”
Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.”
Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he was the Christ,
John answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
“His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people.
But when Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the wicked things which Herod had done,
Herod also added this to them all: he locked John up in prison.
Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened,
and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”
When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli,
the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,
the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Hesli, the son of Naggai,
the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda,
the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri,
the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er,
the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,
the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim,
the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,
the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon,
the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,
the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,
the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Heber, the son of Shelah,
the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,
the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan,
the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness
for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry.
And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’ ”
And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.
“Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.”
Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’ ”
And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here;
for it is written,
‘He will command His angels concerning You to guard You,’
and,
‘On their hands they will bear You up,
So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’ ”
And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.
And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district.
And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.
And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.
And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”
And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”
And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’ ”
And He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown.
“But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land;
and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.
“And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things;
and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff.
But passing through their midst, He went His way.
And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath;
and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority.
In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice,
“Let us alone! What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, he came out of him without doing him any harm.
And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another saying, “What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.”
And the report about Him was spreading into every locality in the surrounding district.
Then He got up and left the synagogue, and entered Simon’s home. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him to help her.
And standing over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her; and she immediately got up and waited on them.
While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them.
Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But rebuking them, He would not allow them to speak, because they knew Him to be the Christ.
When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them.
But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.”
So He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret;
and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets.
And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat.
When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”
Simon answered and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.”
When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break;
so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink.
But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!”
For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken;
and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.”
When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.
While He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him.
And He ordered him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses.
But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.
One day He was teaching; and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing.
And some men were carrying on a bed a man who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him.
But not finding any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus.
Seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”
The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?”
But Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts?
“Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?
“But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—He said to the paralytic—“I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.”
Immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God.
They were all struck with astonishment and began glorifying God; and they were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today.”
After that He went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, “Follow Me.”
And he left everything behind, and got up and began to follow Him.
And Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a great crowd of tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them.
The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling at His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?”
And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick.
“I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
And they said to Him, “The disciples of John often fast and offer prayers, the disciples of the Pharisees also do the same, but Yours eat and drink.”
And Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the attendants of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you?
“But the days will come; and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.”
And He was also telling them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old.
“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined.
“But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.
“And no one, after drinking old wine wishes for new; for he says, ‘The old is good enough.’ ”
Now it happened that He was passing through some grainfields on a Sabbath; and His disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating the grain.
But some of the Pharisees said, “Why do you do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”
And Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him,
how he entered the house of God, and took and ate the consecrated bread which is not lawful for any to eat except the priests alone, and gave it to his companions?”
And He was saying to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
On another Sabbath He entered the synagogue and was teaching; and there was a man there whose right hand was withered.
The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He healed on the Sabbath, so that they might find reason to accuse Him.
But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!” And he got up and came forward.
And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?”
After looking around at them all, He said to him, “Stretch out your hand!” And he did so; and his hand was restored.
But they themselves were filled with rage, and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.
It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.
And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles:
Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew;
and Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot;
Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon,
who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured.
And all the people were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all.
And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
“Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
“Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.
“Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.
“But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.
“Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
“Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.
“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
“Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.
“Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.
“Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
“If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
“If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.
“But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.
“Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”
And He also spoke a parable to them: “A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?
“A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.
“Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
“Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.
“For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit.
“For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush.
“The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.
“Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
“Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like:
he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.
“But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”
When He had completed all His discourse in the hearing of the people, He went to Capernaum.
And a centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die.
When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders asking Him to come and save the life of his slave.
When they came to Jesus, they earnestly implored Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him;
for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue.”
Now Jesus started on His way with them; and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof;
for this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.
“For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”
Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled 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.”
When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.
Soon afterwards He went to a city called Nain; and His disciples were going along with Him, accompanied by a large crowd.
Now as He approached the gate of the city, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a sizeable crowd from the city was with her.
When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, “Do not weep.”
And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!”
The dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother.
Fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited His people!”
This report concerning Him went out all over Judea and in all the surrounding district.
The disciples of John reported to him about all these things.
Summoning two of his disciples, John sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?”
When the men came to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, to ask, ‘Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?’ ”
At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind.
And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them.
“Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”
When the messengers of John had left, He began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?
“But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who are splendidly clothed and live in luxury are found in royal palaces!
“But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and one who is more than a prophet.
“This is the one about whom it is written,
‘Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You,
Who will prepare Your way before You.’
“I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
When all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John.
But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.
“To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like?
“They are like children who sit in the market place and call to one another, and they say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’
“For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’
“The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
“Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”
Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.
And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume,
and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume.
Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.”
And Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he replied, “Say it, Teacher.”
“A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.
“When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?”
Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.”
Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
“You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet.
“You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume.
“For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.”
Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.”
Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?”
And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Soon afterwards, He began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him,
and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,
and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means.
When a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable:
“The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the air ate it up.
“Other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.
“Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out.
“Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great.” As He said these things, He would call out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
His disciples began questioning Him as to what this parable meant.
And He said, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.
“Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God.
“Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.
“Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.
“The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.
“But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.
“Now no one after lighting a lamp covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light.
“For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.
“So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.”
And His mother and brothers came to Him, and they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd.
And it was reported to Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wishing to see You.”
But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”
Now on one of those days Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they launched out.
But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger.
They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm.
And He said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?”
Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.
And when He came out onto the land, He was met by a man from the city who was possessed with demons; and who had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs.
Seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.”
For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.
And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him.
They were imploring Him not to command them to go away into the abyss.
Now there was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain; and the demons implored Him to permit them to enter the swine. And He gave them permission.
And the demons came out of the man and entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported it in the city and out in the country.
The people went out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened.
Those who had seen it reported to them how the man who was demon-possessed had been made well.
And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to leave them, for they were gripped with great fear; and He got into a boat and returned.
But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might accompany Him; but He sent him away, saying,
“Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.
And as Jesus returned, the people welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him.
And there came a man named Jairus, and he was an official of the synagogue; and he fell at Jesus’ feet, and began to implore Him to come to his house;
for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as He went, the crowds were pressing against Him.
And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone,
came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped.
And Jesus said, “Who is the one who touched Me?” And while they were all denying it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on You.”
But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me.”
When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed.
And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”
While He was still speaking, someone came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; do not trouble the Teacher anymore.”
But when Jesus heard this, He answered him, “Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she will be made well.”
When He came to the house, He did not allow anyone to enter with Him, except Peter and John and James, and the girl’s father and mother.
Now they were all weeping and lamenting for her; but He said, “Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep.”
And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died.
He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Child, arise!”
And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He gave orders for something to be given her to eat.
Her parents were amazed; but He instructed them to tell no one what had happened.
And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases.
And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing.
And He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, neither a staff, nor a bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have two tunics apiece.
“Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that city.
“And as for those who do not receive you, as you go out from that city, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”
Departing, they began going throughout the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was happening; and he was greatly perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead,
and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen again.
Herod said, “I myself had John beheaded; but who is this man about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see Him.
When the apostles returned, they gave an account to Him of all that they had done. Taking them with Him, He withdrew by Himself to a city called Bethsaida.
But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing.
Now the day was ending, and the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the crowd away, that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging and get something to eat; for here we are in a desolate place.”
But He said to them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go and buy food for all these people.”
(For there were about five thousand men.) And He said to His disciples, “Have them sit down to eat in groups of about fifty each.”
They did so, and had them all sit down.
Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them, and broke them, and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the people.
And they all ate and were satisfied; and the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up, twelve baskets full.
And it happened that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, “Who do the people say that I am?”
They answered and said, “John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen again.”
And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”
But He warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone,
saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.”
And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.
“For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?
“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
“But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”
Some eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.
And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming.
And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah,
who, appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
Now Peter and his companions had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men standing with Him.
And as these were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles: one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not realizing what he was saying.
While he was saying this, a cloud formed and began to overshadow them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.
Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!”
And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent, and reported to no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.
On the next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Him.
And a man from the crowd shouted, saying, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my only boy,
and a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly screams, and it throws him into a convulsion with foaming at the mouth; and only with difficulty does it leave him, mauling him as it leaves.
“I begged Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not.”
And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”
While he was still approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground and threw him into a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy and gave him back to his father.
And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.
But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples,
“Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.”
But they did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.
An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest.
But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side,
and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.”
John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow along with us.”
But Jesus said to him, “Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is for you.”
When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem;
and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him.
But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem.
When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”
But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of;
for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” And they went on to another village.
As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.”
And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.”
But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”
Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.”
But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come.
And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.
“Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.
“Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way.
“Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’
“If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.
“Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house.
“Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you;
and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’
“But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say,
‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’
“I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city.
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had been performed in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
“But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you.
“And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!
“The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”
The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”
And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.
“Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.
“Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”
At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.
“All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”
Turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see,
for I say to you, that many prophets and kings wished to see the things which you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things which you hear, and did not hear them.”
And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?”
And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”
And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”
But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead.
“And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
“Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
“But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion,
and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him.
“On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’
“Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?”
And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”
Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.
She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word.
But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.”
But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things;
but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.”
And He said to them, “When you pray, say:
‘Father, hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
‘Give us each day our daily bread.
‘And forgive us our sins,
For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.’ ”
Then He said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves;
for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’;
and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’
“I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
“For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.
“Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he?
“Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he?
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”
And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute; when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed.
But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”
Others, to test Him, were demanding of Him a sign from heaven.
But He knew their thoughts and said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself falls.
“If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.
“And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? So they will be your judges.
“But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are undisturbed.
“But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away from him all his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder.
“He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.
“When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’
“And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order.
“Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”
While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed.”
But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”
As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, “This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah.
“For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
“The Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
“The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
“No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light.
“The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness.
“Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness.
“If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no dark part in it, it will be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays.”
Now when He had spoken, a Pharisee asked Him to have lunch with him; and He went in, and reclined at the table.
When the Pharisee saw it, he was surprised that He had not first ceremonially washed before the meal.
But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter; but inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness.
“You foolish ones, did not He who made the outside make the inside also?
“But give that which is within as charity, and then all things are clean for you.
“But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of garden herb, and yet disregard justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.
“Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the chief seats in the synagogues and the respectful greetings in the market places.
“Woe to you! For you are like concealed tombs, and the people who walk over them are unaware of it.”
One of the lawyers said to Him in reply, “Teacher, when You say this, You insult us too.”
But He said, “Woe to you lawyers as well! For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers.
“Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and it was your fathers who killed them.
“So you are witnesses and approve the deeds of your fathers; because it was they who killed them, and you build their tombs.
“For this reason also the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and some they will persecute,
so that the blood of all the prophets, shed since the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation,
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be charged against this generation.’
“Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.”
When He left there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to question Him closely on many subjects,
plotting against Him to catch Him in something He might say.
Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
“But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.
“Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops.
“I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do.
“But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!
“Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God.
“Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.
“And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God;
but he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.
“And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him.
“When they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say;
for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”
But He said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?”
Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”
And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive.
“And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’
“Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.” ’
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’
“So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on.
“For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.
“Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!
“And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span?
“If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters?
“Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.
“But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!
“And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying.
“For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things.
“But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.
“Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys.
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
“Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit.
“Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks.
“Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them.
“Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
“But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
“You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.”
Peter said, “Lord, are You addressing this parable to us, or to everyone else as well?”
And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time?
“Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.
“Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
“But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk;
the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers.
“And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes,
but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.
“I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled!
“But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!
“Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division;
for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three.
“They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
And He was also saying to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it turns out.
“And when you see a south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a hot day,’ and it turns out that way.
“You hypocrites! You know how to analyze the appearance of the earth and the sky, but why do you not analyze this present time?
“And why do you not even on your own initiative judge what is right?
“For while you are going with your opponent to appear before the magistrate, on your way there make an effort to settle with him, so that he may not drag you before the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison.
“I say to you, you will not get out of there until you have paid the very last cent.”
Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.
And Jesus said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate?
“I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
“Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem?
“I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
And He began telling this parable: “A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any.
“And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’
“And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer;
and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’ ”
And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.
And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all.
When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your sickness.”
And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made erect again and began glorifying God.
But the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, “There are six days in which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”
But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him?
“And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?”
As He said this, all His opponents were being humiliated; and the entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him.
So He was saying, “What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it?
“It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his own garden; and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”
And again He said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God?
“It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”
And He was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem.
And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” And He said to them,
“Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
“Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’
“Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’;
and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; depart from Me, all you evildoers.’
“In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out.
“And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God.
“And behold, some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last.”
Just at that time some Pharisees approached, saying to Him, “Go away, leave here, for Herod wants to kill You.”
And He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I reach My goal.’
“Nevertheless I must journey on today and tomorrow and the next day; for it cannot be that a prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem.
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it!
“Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you will not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”
It happened that when He went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching Him closely.
And there in front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy.
And Jesus answered and spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?”
But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away.
And He said to them, “Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?”
And they could make no reply to this.
And He began speaking a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them,
“When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him,
and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last place.
“But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you.
“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
And He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment.
“But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,
and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”
But He said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many;
and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’
“But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.’
“Another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’
“Another one said, ‘I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’
“And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’
“And the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’
“And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled.
‘For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.’ ”
Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them,
“If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.
“Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
“For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?
“Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him,
saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
“Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
“Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.
“So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.
“Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned?
“It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him.
Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
So He told them this parable, saying,
“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?
“When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
“And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’
“I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
“Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?
“When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’
“In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
And He said, “A man had two sons.
“The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them.
“And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living.
“Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished.
“So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
“And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him.
“But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!
‘I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight;
I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.” ’
“So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
“And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
“But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet;
and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;
for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.
“Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.
“And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be.
“And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’
“But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him.
“But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends;
but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’
“And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.
‘But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’ ”
Now He was also saying to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and this manager was reported to him as squandering his possessions.
“And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’
“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg.
‘I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes.’
“And he summoned each one of his master’s debtors, and he began saying to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
“And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’
“Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’
“And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light.
“And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.
“He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.
“Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?
“And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?
“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him.
And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.
“The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.
“But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.
“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries one who is divorced from a husband commits adultery.
“Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day.
“And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores,
and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores.
“Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.
“In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.
“And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’
“But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony.
‘And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’
“And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house—
for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
“But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’
“But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’
“But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”
He said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come!
“It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble.
“Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
“And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you.
“Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down to eat’?
“But will he not say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink’?
“He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he?
“So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’ ”
While He was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee.
As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him;
and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed.
Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice,
and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan.
Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they?
“Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?”
And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.”
Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed;
nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
And He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.
“They will say to you, ‘Look there! Look here!’ Do not go away, and do not run after them.
“For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day.
“But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
“And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:
they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
“It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building;
but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.
“It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.
“On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one who is in the field must not turn back.
“Remember Lot’s wife.
“Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.
“I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left.
“There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken and the other will be left.
“Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left.”
And answering they said to Him, “Where, Lord?” And He said to them, “Where the body is, there also the vultures will be gathered.”
Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart,
saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man.
“There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’
“For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man,
yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’ ”
And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said;
now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?
“I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt:
“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
“The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’
“But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’
“I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
And they were bringing even their babies to Him so that He would touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they began rebuking them.
But Jesus called for them, saying, “Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
“Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”
A ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.
“You know the commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’ ”
And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.”
When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.
And Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!
“For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
They who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?”
But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”
Peter said, “Behold, we have left our own homes and followed You.”
And He said to them, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God,
who will not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come, eternal life.”
Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished.
“For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon,
and after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him; and the third day He will rise again.”
But the disciples understood none of these things, and the meaning of this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.
As Jesus was approaching Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging.
Now hearing a crowd going by, he began to inquire what this was.
They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.
And he called out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet; but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him; and when he came near, He questioned him,
“What do you want Me to do for you?” And he said, “Lord, I want to regain my sight!”
And Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.”
Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, glorifying God; and when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.
He entered Jericho and was passing through.
And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich.
Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature.
So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way.
When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”
And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly.
When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”
Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.”
And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham.
“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
While they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately.
So He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return.
“And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten minas and said to them, ‘Do business with this until I come back.’
“But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’
“When he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him so that he might know what business they had done.
“The first appeared, saying, ‘Master, your mina has made ten minas more.’
“And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.’
“The second came, saying, ‘Your mina, master, has made five minas.’
“And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’
“Another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I kept put away in a handkerchief;
for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man; you take up what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow.’
“He said to him, ‘By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am an exacting man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow?
‘Then why did you not put my money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?’
“Then he said to the bystanders, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’
“And they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas already.’
“I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.
“But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence.”
After He had said these things, He was going on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
When He approached Bethphage and Bethany, near the mount that is called Olivet, He sent two of the disciples,
saying, “Go into the village ahead of you; there, as you enter, you will find a colt tied on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here.
“If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of it.’ ”
So those who were sent went away and found it just as He had told them.
As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
They said, “The Lord has need of it.”
They brought it to Jesus, and they threw their coats on the colt and put Jesus on it.
As He was going, they were spreading their coats on the road.
As soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen,
shouting:
“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord;
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.”
But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!”
When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it,
saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes.
“For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side,
and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling,
saying to them, “It is written, ‘And My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a robbers’ den.”
And He was teaching daily in the temple; but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people were trying to destroy Him,
and they could not find anything that they might do, for all the people were hanging on to every word He said.
On one of the days while He was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders confronted Him,
and they spoke, saying to Him, “Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?”
Jesus answered and said to them, “I will also ask you a question, and you tell Me:
“Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?”
They reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’
“But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.”
So they answered that they did not know where it came from.
And Jesus said to them, “Nor will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
And He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and rented it out to vine-growers, and went on a journey for a long time.
“At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, so that they would give him some of the produce of the vineyard; but the vine-growers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
“And he proceeded to send another slave; and they beat him also and treated him shamefully and sent him away empty-handed.
“And he proceeded to send a third; and this one also they wounded and cast out.
“The owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’
“But when the vine-growers saw him, they reasoned with one another, saying, ‘This is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’
“So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do to them?
“He will come and destroy these vine-growers and will give the vineyard to others.” When they heard it, they said, “May it never be!”
But Jesus looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written:
‘The stone which the builders rejected,
This became the chief corner stone’?
“Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”
The scribes and the chief priests tried to lay hands on Him that very hour, and they feared the people; for they understood that He spoke this parable against them.
So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order that they might catch Him in some statement, so that they could deliver Him to the rule and the authority of the governor.
They questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth.
“Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
But He detected their trickery and said to them,
“Show Me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.”
And He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
And they were unable to catch Him in a saying in the presence of the people; and being amazed at His answer, they became silent.
Now there came to Him some of the Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection),
and they questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife, and he is childless, his brother should marry the wife and raise up children to his brother.
“Now there were seven brothers; and the first took a wife and died childless;
and the second
and the third married her; and in the same way all seven died, leaving no children.
“Finally the woman died also.
“In the resurrection therefore, which one’s wife will she be? For all seven had married her.”
Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage,
but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage;
for they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
“But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
“Now He is not the God of the dead but of the living; for all live to Him.”
Some of the scribes answered and said, “Teacher, You have spoken well.”
For they did not have courage to question Him any longer about anything.
Then He said to them, “How is it that they say the Christ is David’s son?
“For David himself says in the book of Psalms,
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” ’
“Therefore David calls Him ‘Lord,’ and how is He his son?”
And while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples,
“Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets,
who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”
And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury.
And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins.
And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them;
for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.”
And while some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts, He said,
“As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down.”
They questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?”
And He said, “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not go after them.
“When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately.”
Then He continued by saying to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom,
and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.
“But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake.
“It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony.
“So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves;
for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.
“But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death,
and you will be hated by all because of My name.
“Yet not a hair of your head will perish.
“By your endurance you will gain your lives.
“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near.
“Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city;
because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled.
“Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people;
and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
“There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves,
men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
“Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
“But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
Then He told them a parable: “Behold the fig tree and all the trees;
as soon as they put forth leaves, you see it and know for yourselves that summer is now near.
“So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near.
“Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place.
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
“Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap;
for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth.
“But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Now during the day He was teaching in the temple, but at evening He would go out and spend the night on the mount that is called Olivet.
And all the people would get up early in the morning to come to Him in the temple to listen to Him.
Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching.
The chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might put Him to death; for they were afraid of the people.
And Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, belonging to the number of the twelve.
And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he might betray Him to them.
They were glad and agreed to give him money.
So he consented, and began seeking a good opportunity to betray Him to them apart from the crowd.
Then came the first day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.
And Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat it.”
They said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare it?”
And He said to them, “When you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house that he enters.
“And you shall say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” ’
“And he will show you a large, furnished upper room; prepare it there.”
And they left and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.
When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him.
And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;
for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves;
for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.”
And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.
“But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with Mine on the table.
“For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!”
And they began to discuss among themselves which one of them it might be who was going to do this thing.
And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest.
And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’
“But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant.
“For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves.
“You are those who have stood by Me in My trials;
and just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you
that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat;
but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
But he said to Him, “Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!”
And He said, “I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.”
And He said to them, “When I sent you out without money belt and bag and sandals, you did not lack anything, did you?” They said, “No, nothing.”
And He said to them, “But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one.
“For I tell you that this which is written must be fulfilled in Me, ‘And He was numbered with transgressors’; for that which refers to Me has its fulfillment.”
They said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.” And He said to them, “It is enough.”
And He came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him.
When He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray,
saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.”
Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him.
And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.
When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow,
and said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
While He was still speaking, behold, a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was preceding them; and he approached Jesus to kiss Him.
But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
When those who were around Him saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?”
And one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear.
But Jesus answered and said, “Stop! No more of this.” And He touched his ear and healed him.
Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders who had come against Him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as you would against a robber?
“While I was with you daily in the temple, you did not lay hands on Me; but this hour and the power of darkness are yours.”
Having arrested Him, they led Him away and brought Him to the house of the high priest; but Peter was following at a distance.
After they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter was sitting among them.
And a servant-girl, seeing him as he sat in the firelight and looking intently at him, said, “This man was with Him too.”
But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know Him.”
A little later, another saw him and said, “You are one of them too!” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!”
After about an hour had passed, another man began to insist, saying, “Certainly this man also was with Him, for he is a Galilean too.”
But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed.
The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.”
And he went out and wept bitterly.
Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking Him and beating Him,
and they blindfolded Him and were asking Him, saying, “Prophesy, who is the one who hit You?”
And they were saying many other things against Him, blaspheming.
When it was day, the Council of elders of the people assembled, both chief priests and scribes, and they led Him away to their council chamber, saying,
“If You are the Christ, tell us.” But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe;
and if I ask a question, you will not answer.
“But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”
And they all said, “Are You the Son of God, then?” And He said to them, “Yes, I am.”
Then they said, “What further need do we have of testimony? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth.”
Then the whole body of them got up and brought Him before Pilate.
And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.”
So Pilate asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He answered him and said, “It is as you say.”
Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.”
But they kept on insisting, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching all over Judea, starting from Galilee even as far as this place.”
When Pilate heard it, he asked whether the man was a Galilean.
And when he learned that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who himself also was in Jerusalem at that time.
Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him.
And he questioned Him at some length; but He answered him nothing.
And the chief priests and the scribes were standing there, accusing Him vehemently.
And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him, dressed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate.
Now Herod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day; for before they had been enemies with each other.
Pilate summoned the chief priests and the rulers and the people,
and said to them, “You brought this man to me as one who incites the people to rebellion, and behold, having examined Him before you, I have found no guilt in this man regarding the charges which you make against Him.
“No, nor has Herod, for he sent Him back to us; and behold, nothing deserving death has been done by Him.
“Therefore I will punish Him and release Him.”
Now he was obliged to release to them at the feast one prisoner.
But they cried out all together, saying, “Away with this man, and release for us Barabbas!”
(He was one who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection made in the city, and for murder.)
Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again,
but they kept on calling out, saying, “Crucify, crucify Him!”
And he said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has this man done? I have found in Him no guilt demanding death; therefore I will punish Him and release Him.”
But they were insistent, with loud voices asking that He be crucified. And their voices began to prevail.
And Pilate pronounced sentence that their demand be granted.
And he released the man they were asking for who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, but he delivered Jesus to their will.
When they led Him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, coming in from the country, and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus.
And following Him was a large crowd of the people, and of women who were mourning and lamenting Him.
But Jesus turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.
“For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’
“Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’
“For if they do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
Two others also, who were criminals, were being led away to be put to death with Him.
When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.
But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.
And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.”
The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine,
and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!”
Now there was also an inscription above Him, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!”
But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
“And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”
And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!”
And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”
It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour,
because the sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two.
And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last.
Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent.”
And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, beating their breasts.
And all His acquaintances and the women who accompanied Him from Galilee were standing at a distance, seeing these things.
And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man
(he had not consented to their plan and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God;
this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain.
It was the preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.
Now the women who had come with Him out of Galilee followed, and saw the tomb and how His body was laid.
Then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes.
And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.
And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing;
and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead?
“He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee,
saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”
And they remembered His words,
and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.
Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles.
But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them.
But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.
And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem.
And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place.
While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them.
But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him.
And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad.
One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?”
And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people,
and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him.
“But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened.
“But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning,
and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive.
“Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.”
And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
“Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”
Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.
And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He were going farther.
But they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.” So He went in to stay with them.
When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them.
Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.
They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”
And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them,
saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.”
They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.
While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be to you.”
But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit.
And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
“See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.
While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?”
They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish;
and He took it and ate it before them.
Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day,
and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
“You are witnesses of these things.
“And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.
While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven.
And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
and were continually in the temple praising God.
When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.”
And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
While they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately.
the greatness of the kingdom pg 18
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
There came a man sent from God, whose name was John.
He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him.
He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.
There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,
who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ ”
For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.
For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”
Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”
He said, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.
They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
John answered them saying, “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know.
“It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”
These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
“This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’
“I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.”
John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him.
“I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’
“I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples,
and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?”
He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.
One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ).
He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).
The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.”
Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter.
Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”
Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.”
Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”
And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there;
and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.
When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”
And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.”
His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each.
Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim.
And He said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it to him.
When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom,
and said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.”
This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and His brothers and His disciples; and they stayed there a few days.
The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables.
And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables;
and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.”
His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house will consume me.”
The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?”
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?”
But He was speaking of the temple of His body.
So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.
Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing.
But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men,
and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.
Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews;
this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
“Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
“The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?”
Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?
“Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony.
“If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
“No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.
“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;
so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
“He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
“For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
“But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and baptizing.
John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people were coming and were being baptized—
for John had not yet been thrown into prison.
Therefore there arose a discussion on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about purification.
And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, He is baptizing and all are coming to Him.”
John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven.
“You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’
“He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full.
“He must increase, but I must decrease.
“He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.
“What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.
“He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true.
“For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure.
“The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand.
“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John
(although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were),
He left Judea and went away again into Galilee.
And He had to pass through Samaria.
So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph;
and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”
For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)
Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
She said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water?
“You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?”
Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again;
but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.”
He said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.”
The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’;
for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.”
The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.
“Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.
“You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
“But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.”
Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
At this point His disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why do You speak with her?”
So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men,
“Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?”
They went out of the city, and were coming to Him.
Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”
But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.”
So the disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?”
Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.
“Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.
“Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.
“For in this case the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’
“I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”
From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.”
So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.
Many more believed because of His word;
and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.”
After the two days He went forth from there into Galilee.
For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.
So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves also went to the feast.
Therefore He came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum.
When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death.
So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.”
The royal official said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”
Jesus said to him, “Go; your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off.
As he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living.
So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.”
So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives”; and he himself believed and his whole household.
This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.
After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes.
In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, waiting for the moving of the waters;
for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted.
A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, “Do you wish to get well?”
The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
Jesus said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.”
Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk.
Now it was the Sabbath on that day.
So the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.”
But he answered them, “He who made me well was the one who said to me, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk.’ ”
They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk’?”
But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place.
Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.”
The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath.
But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.”
For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.
Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.
“For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel.
“For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.
“For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son,
so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
“For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself;
and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.
“Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice,
and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
“I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
“If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true.
“There is another who testifies of Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true.
“You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth.
“But the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.
“He was the lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.
“But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.
“And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form.
“You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent.
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;
and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.
“I do not receive glory from men;
but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves.
“I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him.
“How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?
“Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope.
“For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me.
“But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias).
A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick.
Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples.
Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.
Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?”
This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do.
Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.”
One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him,
“There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?”
Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted.
When they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.”
So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.
Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.
Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea,
and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.
The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing.
Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened.
But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”
So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.
The next day the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there, except one, and that Jesus had not entered with His disciples into the boat, but that His disciples had gone away alone.
There came other small boats from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks.
So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus.
When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”
Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.
“Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”
Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?”
Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”
So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform?
“Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’ ”
Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven.
“For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”
Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.
“But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe.
“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.
“For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
“This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.
“For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.”
They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?”
Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not grumble among yourselves.
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.
“It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.
“Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.
“I am the bread of life.
“Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
“This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.
“I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”
Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”
So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.
“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
“For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.
“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.
“As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me.
“This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.”
These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.
Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?”
But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble?
“What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?
“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
“But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him.
And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”
As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.
So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?”
Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.
“We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”
Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?”
Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.
After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him.
Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near.
Therefore His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing.
“For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.”
For not even His brothers were believing in Him.
So Jesus said to them, “My time is not yet here, but your time is always opportune.
“The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil.
“Go up to the feast yourselves; I do not go up to this feast because My time has not yet fully come.”
Having said these things to them, He stayed in Galilee.
But when His brothers had gone up to the feast, then He Himself also went up, not publicly, but as if, in secret.
So the Jews were seeking Him at the feast and were saying, “Where is He?”
There was much grumbling among the crowds concerning Him; some were saying, “He is a good man”; others were saying, “No, on the contrary, He leads the people astray.”
Yet no one was speaking openly of Him for fear of the Jews.
But when it was now the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and began to teach.
The Jews then were astonished, saying, “How has this man become learned, having never been educated?”
So Jesus answered them and said, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me.
“If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself.
“He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.
“Did not Moses give you the Law, and yet none of you carries out the Law? Why do you seek to kill Me?”
The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who seeks to kill You?”
Jesus answered them, “I did one deed, and you all marvel.
“For this reason Moses has given you circumcision (not because it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and on the Sabbath you circumcise a man.
“If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the Law of Moses will not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made an entire man well on the Sabbath?
“Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
So some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is this not the man whom they are seeking to kill?
“Look, He is speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to Him. The rulers do not really know that this is the Christ, do they?
“However, we know where this man is from; but whenever the Christ may come, no one knows where He is from.”
Then Jesus cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, “You both know Me and know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.
“I know Him, because I am from Him, and He sent Me.”
So they were seeking to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.
But many of the crowd believed in Him; and they were saying, “When the Christ comes, He will not perform more signs than those which this man has, will He?”
The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about Him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to seize Him.
Therefore Jesus said, “For a little while longer I am with you, then I go to Him who sent Me.
“You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
The Jews then said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find Him? He is not intending to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks, is He?
“What is this statement that He said, ‘You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come’?”
Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ ”
But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Some of the people therefore, when they heard these words, were saying, “This certainly is the Prophet.”
Others were saying, “This is the Christ.” Still others were saying, “Surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee, is He?
“Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?”
So a division occurred in the crowd because of Him.
Some of them wanted to seize Him, but no one laid hands on Him.
The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, “Why did you not bring Him?”
The officers answered, “Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks.”
The Pharisees then answered them, “You have not also been led astray, have you?
“No one of the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him, has he?
“But this crowd which does not know the Law is accursed.”
Nicodemus (he who came to Him before, being one of them) said to them,
“Our Law does not judge a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?”
They answered him, “You are not also from Galilee, are you? Search, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.”
Everyone went to his home.
But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them.
The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court,
they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act.
“Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?”
They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground.
But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.
When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court.
Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?”
She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”
Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
So the Pharisees said to Him, “You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true.”
Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.
“You judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone.
“But even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me.
“Even in your law it has been written that the testimony of two men is true.
“I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me.”
So they were saying to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.”
These words He spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come.
Then He said again to them, “I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.”
So the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”
And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.
“Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
So they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “What have I been saying to you from the beginning?
“I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.”
They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father.
So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.
“And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”
As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.
So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;
and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.
“The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever.
“So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
“I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.
“I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.”
They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham.
“But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do.
“You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.”
Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.
“Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word.
“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
“But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.
“Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me?
“He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”
The Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?”
Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.
“But I do not seek My glory; there is One who seeks and judges.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death.”
The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death.’
“Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be?”
Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’;
and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word.
“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”
So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.”
Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.
As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth.
And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?”
Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
“We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.
“While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”
When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes,
and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing.
Therefore the neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, “Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?”
Others were saying, “This is he,” still others were saying, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the one.”
So they were saying to him, “How then were your eyes opened?”
He answered, “The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash’; so I went away and washed, and I received sight.”
They said to him, “Where is He?” He said, “I do not know.”
They brought to the Pharisees the man who was formerly blind.
Now it was a Sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes.
Then the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his sight. And he said to them, “He applied clay to my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”
Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, “This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others were saying, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And there was a division among them.
So they said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?” And he said, “He is a prophet.”
The Jews then did not believe it of him, that he had been blind and had received sight, until they called the parents of the very one who had received his sight,
and questioned them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?”
His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;
but how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself.”
His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.
For this reason his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
So a second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, “Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner.”
He then answered, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
So they said to him, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”
He answered them, “I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?”
They reviled him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.
“We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from.”
The man answered and said to them, “Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes.
“We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him.
“Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind.
“If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.”
They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?” So they put him out.
Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
He answered, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”
Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.”
And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him.
And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.”
Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?”
Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.
“But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep.
“To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
“When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.
“A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.”
This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them.
So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
“All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
“I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
“He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
“He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep.
“I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me,
even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
“I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.
“For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again.
“No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”
A division occurred again among the Jews because of these words.
Many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?”
Others were saying, “These are not the sayings of one demon-possessed. A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he?”
At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem;
it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon.
The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me.
“But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;
and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
“My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
“I and the Father are one.”
The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him.
Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?”
The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.”
Jesus answered them, “Has it not been written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’?
“If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken),
do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
“If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;
but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.”
Therefore they were seeking again to seize Him, and He eluded their grasp.
And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He was staying there.
Many came to Him and were saying, “While John performed no sign, yet everything John said about this man was true.”
Many believed in Him there.
Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.
So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”
But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.”
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was.
Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”
The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?”
Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.
“But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”
This He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.”
The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”
Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep.
So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead,
and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.”
Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”
So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.
Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off;
and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother.
Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed at the house.
Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.
“Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,
and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.”
When she had said this, she went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”
And when she heard it, she got up quickly and was coming to Him.
Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met Him.
Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and consoling her, when they saw that Mary got up quickly and went out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled,
and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”
Jesus wept.
So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him!”
But some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?”
So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.
Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.”
Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.
“I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.”
When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.”
The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him.
But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done.
Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs.
“If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all,
nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.”
Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,
and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.
So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.
Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went away from there to the country near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples.
Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover to purify themselves.
So they were seeking for Jesus, and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think; that He will not come to the feast at all?”
Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him.
Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him.
Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said,
“Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?”
Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.
Therefore Jesus said, “Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial.
“For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”
The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead.
But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also;
because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.
On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.”
Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written,
“Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”
These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him.
So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him.
For this reason also the people went and met Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign.
So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.”
Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast;
these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus.
And Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
“He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.
“If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
“Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.
“Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “An angel has spoken to Him.”
Jesus answered and said, “This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes.
“Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.
“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”
But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die.
The crowd then answered Him, “We have heard out of the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”
So Jesus said to them, “For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes.
“While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.”
These things Jesus spoke, and He went away and hid Himself from them.
But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him.
This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again,
“He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and be converted and I heal them.”
These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him.
Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue;
for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.
And Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me.
“He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me.
“I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.
“If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.
“He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.
“For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.
“I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”
Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him,
Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God,
got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself.
Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.
So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?”
Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.”
Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”
Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.”
Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.”
For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, “Not all of you are clean.”
So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you?
“You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am.
“If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
“For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him.
“If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.
“I do not speak of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen; but it is that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats My bread has lifted up his heel against Me.’
“From now on I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am He.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”
When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.”
The disciples began looking at one another, at a loss to know of which one He was speaking.
There was reclining on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.
So Simon Peter gestured to him, and said to him, “Tell us who it is of whom He is speaking.”
He, leaning back thus on Jesus’ bosom, said to Him, “Lord, who is it?”
Jesus then answered, “That is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him.” So when He had dipped the morsel, He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.
After the morsel, Satan then entered into him. Therefore Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.”
Now no one of those reclining at the table knew for what purpose He had said this to him.
For some were supposing, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus was saying to him, “Buy the things we have need of for the feast”; or else, that he should give something to the poor.
So after receiving the morsel he went out immediately; and it was night.
Therefore when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him;
if God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him immediately.
“Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered, “Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later.”
Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You.”
Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times.
“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.
“In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
“If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
“And you know the way where I am going.”
Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”
Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”
Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
“Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.
“Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.
“Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
“If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;
that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
“After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also.
“In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.
“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”
Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?”
Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.
“He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.
“These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you.
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
“You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
“Now I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe.
“I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me;
but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me. Get up, let us go from here.
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.
“You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.
“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
“If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
“My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.
“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.
“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
“These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.
“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
“You are My friends if you do what I command you.
“No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.
“You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.
“This I command you, that you love one another.
“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.
“If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.
“Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
“But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.
“If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.
“He who hates Me hates My Father also.
“If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well.
“But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’
“When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,
and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning.
“These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling.
“They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God.
“These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me.
“But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.
“But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’
“But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.
“But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
“And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;
concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me;
and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me;
and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.
“I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
“He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.
“All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.
“A little while, and you will no longer see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me.”
Some of His disciples then said to one another, “What is this thing He is telling us, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I go to the Father’?”
So they were saying, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not know what He is talking about.”
Jesus knew that they wished to question Him, and He said to them, “Are you deliberating together about this, that I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me’?
“Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy.
“Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world.
“Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.
“In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you.
“Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.
“These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but will tell you plainly of the Father.
“In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf;
for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father.
“I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Father.”
His disciples said, “Lo, now You are speaking plainly and are not using a figure of speech.
“Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we believe that You came from God.”
Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?
“Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.
“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You,
even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.
“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
“I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.
“Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
“I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
“Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You;
for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me.
“I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours;
and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them.
“I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.
“While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.
“But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves.
“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
“I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.
“They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.
“As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
“For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
“I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word;
that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
“The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one;
I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.
“Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
“O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me;
and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples.
Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with His disciples.
Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.
So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, “Whom do you seek?”
They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them.
So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
Therefore He again asked them, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.”
Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,”
to fulfill the word which He spoke, “Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.”
Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus.
So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?”
So the Roman cohort and the commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him,
and led Him to Annas first; for he was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.
Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was expedient for one man to die on behalf of the people.
Simon Peter was following Jesus, and so was another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest,
but Peter was standing at the door outside. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought Peter in.
Then the slave-girl who kept the door said to Peter, “You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.”
Now the slaves and the officers were standing there, having made a charcoal fire, for it was cold and they were warming themselves; and Peter was also with them, standing and warming himself.
The high priest then questioned Jesus about His disciples, and about His teaching.
Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and I spoke nothing in secret.
“Why do you question Me? Question those who have heard what I spoke to them; they know what I said.”
When He had said this, one of the officers standing nearby struck Jesus, saying, “Is that the way You answer the high priest?”
Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me?”
So Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.
Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You are not also one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it, and said, “I am not.”
One of the slaves of the high priest, being a relative of the one whose ear Peter cut off, said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?”
Peter then denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed.
Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.
Therefore Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?”
They answered and said to him, “If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you.”
So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death,”
to fulfill the word of Jesus which He spoke, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die.
Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”
Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?”
Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?”
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”
Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?”
And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, “I find no guilt in Him.
“But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover; do you wish then that I release for you the King of the Jews?”
So they cried out again, saying, “Not this Man, but Barabbas.” Now Barabbas was a robber.
Pilate then took Jesus and scourged Him.
And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe on Him;
and they began to come up to Him and say, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and to give Him slaps in the face.
Pilate came out again and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him.”
Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold, the Man!”
So when the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out saying, “Crucify, crucify!” Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him.”
The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God.”
Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid;
and he entered into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer.
So Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?”
Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”
As a result of this Pilate made efforts to release Him, but the Jews cried out saying, “If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar.”
Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha.
Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold, your King!”
So they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”
So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified.
They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha.
There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between.
Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin and in Greek.
So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’; but that He said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’ ”
Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”
Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made four parts, a part to every soldier and also the tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece.
So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be”; this was to fulfill the Scripture: “They divided My outer garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.”
Therefore the soldiers did these things.
But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!”
Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour the disciple took her into his own household.
After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, “I am thirsty.”
A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth.
Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was crucified with Him;
but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.
But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.
And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.
For these things came to pass to fulfill the Scripture, “Not a bone of Him shall be broken.”
And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.”
After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body.
Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight.
So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.
Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.
Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb.
So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”
So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb.
The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first;
and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in.
And so Simon Peter also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there,
and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself.
So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed.
For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.
So the disciples went away again to their own homes.
But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb;
and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying.
And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”
When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher).
Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’ ”
Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her.
So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
“If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”
But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”
Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;
but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.
After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way.
Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together.
Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will also come with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.
But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
So Jesus said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?” They answered Him, “No.”
And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.
Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea.
But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about one hundred yards away, dragging the net full of fish.
So when they got out on the land, they saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread.
Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have now caught.”
Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn.
Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples ventured to question Him, “Who are You?” knowing that it was the Lord.
Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and the fish likewise.
This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead.
So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.”
He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.”
He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.”
Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!”
Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?”
So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?”
Jesus said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”
Therefore this saying went out among the brethren that that disciple would not die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but only, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?”
This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true.
And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.
There are different beginning
The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.
The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.
The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.
“Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”
Point of Doctrine: The Mountain where Jacob and he people return
2. they worshipped upon the mountain
“But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
“But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
“But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
“But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
“But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
“But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
“But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
“But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
“But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
“But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach,
until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen.
To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.
The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach,
until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen.
To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.
The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach,
until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen.
To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.
The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach,
until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen.
To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.
The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach,
until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen.
To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.
The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach,
until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen.
To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.
The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach,
until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen.
To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.
The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach,
until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen.
To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.
The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach,
The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach,
the Book of Acts is precedence and is the foundation of the church
Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me;
Wait... they were not to go off half cocked but all was to be executed by the power of the spirit the teaching of the spirit and the timing of the spirit.
They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
The believer is born again into a new found mission. He has work to do. there is learning to be accomplished there is ministry that grows out of that learning and there is an urgency of time for the angels wasted no time to kick the disciples in the pants to tell them to get busy. Our deaths will come soon enough our reunion with Christ will come soon enough now is the time that we work.
In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks.
But the Jews who disbelieved stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren.
Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands.
But the people of the city were divided; and some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles.
And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and the Jews with their rulers, to mistreat and to stone them,
they became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the surrounding region;
Paul was never intimidated
For
For
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
not public humiliation. the Gospel is trustworthy.
17 For … live by faith.”
17 For … live by faith.”
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”
Gospel is always by faith righteousness from God. Quote hab 2:4 586 BC end of the nation of Israel 70 year exile prior to the exile
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Every thing that I am by way of my comformity to Christ is be the will of God and not by my own choosing. As I may in deed with +v bow a knee to the Lord it is he who sent the call it is he who provided the asset it is He by his own determination of will to make us what he chooses us to be.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus:
At the right hand of the Father it is Jesus Christ who is doing the will of the father in his appointment of Paul. Christ is the doer of Divine will. God's will is always seen in the singular the will of God for Salvaton the will of God for his son the will of God for the Apostles all in unity or for one divine overlaying purpose. The will is brought to its consumation in the Lords prayer in Thy kingdom come your will (singular) be done on earth as it is in heaven
there is no division of wills that God should will this and that for one and something else for another though each may have certain divine spiritually gifted tasks all are brought under on heading the will of God. The will of God for Paul fits into the over laying will of God for the church and for each of us individually. The part of our salvation is to go from our own will and move under the orientation and the submission of God's will. Paul was doing the will of man when he was persecuting the followers of the way. He would be a pharasee by the will and purpose of the pharasetcial order but now be becomes in comformative with God's plan an apostle appointed by Christ Jesus by the will of the father. As an Apostle Paul is not at liberty to act as an independent agent. His orders come from one above. He must orient to that authority understand that authority respond to that authority.
Orientation to the will of God in complete subjection to under orders of it is God that stands as the Logistical officer. the one executing God's will will also be supplied with all that he will require to accomplish the divine mandate.
My Grace is sufficient for you
Provision begins with the empowerment of the HS as was with Christ at the baptism and the word of God which scripture said that Jesus grew in wisdom. Apart from those two essentual provision it is impossible to do the will of God. both are authority based
This act of self-will is opposed by the One who with His coming into the world sacrifices His own will to the One who sends Him.
Kittel, G., Bromiley, G. W., & Friedrich, G. (Eds.). (1964–). Theological dictionary of the New Testament (electronic ed., Vol. 3, p. 56). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
Paul as we do will struggle with self will
14 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold cinto bondage to sin.
15 For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.
16 But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good.
17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.
19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.
20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
21 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.
22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man,
23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.
New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Ro 7:14–23). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
and as it is where there is on comprehensive will of the father, who am I that I should place my will over the will of the father in heaven.
it is paul who is the apostle of Christ Jesus serving as an envoy messanger under the subordination of the son by the will of the Father is is always the will of God never the will of Jesus
Also understand that at one point Paul was persecuting the followers of the way which was based upon and had its foundations with a risen christ. Jesus at that point was dead in the mind of Paul. No one ever survived a roman crucifixion and there was no way that this Jesus had. But as some point there is the metanoreo the change of mind. Paul claims that Jesus Christ is very much alive for as we have laid out the points of what it takes to be an apostle there is another point that should be written down. An apostle serves a living officer. If the Admiral or the General dies what service would then the apostle carry out? Aknowledging himself as an apostle Paul aknowledges that the one whom his is the apostle is very much alive
even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
past tense not looking at the future but we were born dead spiritually dead
And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,
so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ;
13
13
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope,
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope,
Apostle one sent from somebody to represent somebody APO from stello SENT God our savior is the father Christ our Savior is the Son. Paul is saying he is under orders
apostle
apostle
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope,
Apo from - sotolo sent out
To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
genasio own true genuine teknon - born one emphasis is on parent child relationship
point of doctrine
1. tim apparently came to know christ as savior under paul's ministry pauls first journey while at Lytrhra central turky today 49
2. Tim had been taught the facts of scripture from childhood but this did not save him 2 tim 1 5 and 3 15 learning
3. Tim joins paul by Paul's request on the 2nd misionary Journey and was closely associated with Paul until his death until Paul's death circa 25 to 27 years later.
tim is in his 30 or 40 Paul is in his 60's he is 41 when paul writes this book 17 on the first journey relationship had endured
4. Tim was left at Eph as a representative to reaffirm Pauline doctrine Paul went on to masidonia.
As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines,
For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well.
mother and grandmother was a regenerated old Testament Jews but it is not until adult that Tim became a beleiver from time 1 2 Tim is Paul's child
For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well.
Persuded
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
Monday, February 24, 2014
What am I doing if it is not God's word that I communicate from the Pulpit?
and if I am not teaching Gods word from the pulpit am I not arrogantly proclaiming my own word above that of the Lord.
Should I not as a pastor be very careful.
Paul tells Timothy to carefully handle God's word if I teach my own words then I'm not only not carefully handling God's word but I am ignoring God's word all together.
I MUST learn the original languages. I must make the goal of this ministry to convey within the minds of the flock that this book is God's thinking and to direct their attention to this, not the man in the pulpit.
Thus let it be my drive to teach people, to direct people's attention the words of the book.
Thank you Lord with this week off with pay from my company to convalesce from my surgery and a week of study. Thank you for your providence and a wife who supports my study by an interest to learn herself. What a glorious helpmate you have given to me. I look forward to being with and studying with her this week.
Let me also pray this week for the conference that is going to take place in March. Guide the organizers Lord and for those that are going to teach and those that are going to hear may it be a blessing to all of us.
Direct my course of action this week Lord, let it be a new start to the ministry that you would have me to do.
Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.
you are going to be useful if you do these things. If you cleanse yourself. God uses prepared believers, those who are walking in the spirit p
But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared,
God our savior is the father who planned Christ our Savior is the one who executed the plan
When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.
When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.
When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.
When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.
When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.
For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place.
For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place.
For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place.
For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place.
For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place.
For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place.
For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place.
The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing,
The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing,
The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing,
The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing,
The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing,
The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing,
The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing,
The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing,
The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing,
which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience,
which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience,
which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience,
which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience,
which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience,
which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience,
15 but … gentleness and reverence;
15 but … gentleness and reverence;
but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;
To be ready after Sanctifying the LOrd in your hearts
which
which
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John,
The Father reveals that which the son did not formally know to the Son
‘Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds.
CDP
CDP
CDP
CDP
a
CDP
CDP
CDP
CDP
CDP
CDP
CDP
CDP
CDP
CDP
CDP
CDP
CDP
CDP
CDP
CDP
CDP
CDP
CDP
CDP
BTLC:GM
BTLC:GM
WPNT
Carry on of history. Where did the work of the Apostles started so that I know where to pick up the work and lead others to pick up the work.