Study Desk

Now He said to His disciples, "^(C1)It is inevitable that ^(F1)stumbling blocks come, but woe to one through whom they come!

"^(C1)It is better for him if a millstone is hung around his neck and he ^(F1)is thrown into the sea, than that he may cause one of these little ones to ^(F2)sin.

"^(F1)Be on your guard! ^(C1)If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

"And if he sins against you ^(C1)seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."

^(C1)The apostles said to ^(C2)the Lord, "Increase our faith!"

But ^(C1)the Lord said, "If you ^(F1)had faith ^(F2)the size of ^(C2)a mustard seed, you could say to this ^(C3)mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and be planted in the sea'; and it would ^(F3)obey you.

"Now which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him after he comes in from the field, 'Come immediately and recline at the table to eat'?

"On the contrary, will he not say to him, '^(C1)Prepare something for me to eat, and properly ^(F1)clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and ^(F2)afterward you ^(F3)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 were commanded you, say, 'We are ^(F1)unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.'"

While He was ^(C1)on the way to Jerusalem, ^(C2)He was passing ^(F1)between Samaria and Galilee.

And as He entered a village, ten men with leprosy who ^(C1)stood at a distance met Him;

and they raised their voices, saying, "Jesus, ^(C1)Master, have mercy on us!"

When He saw them, He said to them, "^(C1)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, ^(C1)glorifying God with a loud voice,

and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a ^(C1)Samaritan.

But Jesus responded and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they?

"^(F1)Was no one found who returned to ^(C1)give glory to God, except this foreigner?"

And He said to him, "Stand up and go; ^(C1)your faith has ^(F1)made you well."

Now He was questioned by the Pharisees ^(C1)as to when the kingdom of God was coming, and He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God is not coming with ^(F1)(C2)signs that can be observed;

nor will ^(C1)they say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is ^(F1)in your midst."

And He said to the disciples, "^(C1)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.

"^(C1)And they will say to you, 'Look there,' or, 'Look here!' Do not leave, and do not run after them.

"^(C1)For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part ^(F1)of the sky, shines to the other part ^(F1)of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day.

"^(C1)But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

"^(C1)And just as it happened ^(C2)in the days of Noah, so will it also be in the days of the Son of Man:

people were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, and they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

"^(F1)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, and they were building;

but on the day that Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and ^(F1)brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.

"It will be ^(F1)just the same on the day that the Son of Man ^(C1)is revealed.

"On that day, the one who will be ^(C1)on the ^(F1)housetop, ^(F2)with his goods in the house, must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one in the field must not turn back.

"^(C1)Remember Lot's wife.

"^(C1)Whoever strives to ^(F1)save his ^(F2)life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will keep it.

"I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left.

"^(C1)There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken and the other will be left.

["^(F1)(C1)Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left."]

And responding, they ^(*)said to Him, "Where, Lord?" And He said to them, "^(C1)Where the body is, there also the ^(F1)vultures will be gathered."

Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ^(C1)ought to pray and not ^(C2)become discouraged,

saying, "In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not ^(C1)respect any person.

"Now there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Give me justice against my ^(F1)opponent.'

"For a while he was unwilling; but later he said to himself, 'Even though I do not fear God nor ^(C1)respect any person,

yet ^(C1)because this widow is bothering me, I will give her justice; otherwise ^(F1)by continually coming she will ^(C2)wear me out.'"

And ^(C1)the Lord said, "Listen to what the unrighteous judge ^(*)said;

now, will God not ^(C1)bring about justice for His ^(C2)elect who cry out to Him day ^(F1)and night, and will He ^(C3)delay long for them?

"I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, ^(C1)will He find ^(F1)faith on the earth?"

Now He also told this parable to some people who ^(C1)trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and ^(C2)viewed others with contempt:

"Two men ^(C1)went up into the ^(F1)temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

"The Pharisee ^(C1)stood and began praying this in regard to himself: 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, crooked, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

'I ^(C1)fast twice a week; I ^(C2)pay tithes of all that I get.'

"But the tax collector, ^(C1)standing some distance away, ^(C2)was even unwilling to raise his eyes toward heaven, but ^(C3)was beating his chest, saying, 'God, be ^(F1)merciful to me, the sinner!'

"I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other one; ^(C1)for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

^(C1)Now 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 ^(F1)the little ones, saying, "Allow the children to come to Me, and do not ^(F2)forbid them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

"Truly I say to you, ^(C1)whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all."

^(C1)A ruler questioned Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

But Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me ^(F1)good? No one is ^(F1)good except God alone.

"You know the commandments, '^(C1)DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT GIVE FALSE TESTIMONY, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.'"

And he said, "All these things I have kept since my youth."

Now when Jesus heard this, He said to him, "One thing you still lack; ^(C1)sell all that you possess and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have ^(C2)treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."

But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely wealthy.

And Jesus looked at him and said, "^(C1)How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!

"For ^(C1)it is easier for a camel to ^(F1)go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God!"

Those who heard Him said, "And so who can be saved?"

But He said, "^(C1)The things that are impossible with people are possible with God."

Peter said, "Behold, ^(C1)we have left ^(F1)our own homes and followed You."

And He said to them, "Truly I say to you, ^(C1)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 ^(C1)the age to come, eternal life."

Now He took the twelve aside and said to them, "Behold, ^(C2)we are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things that have been written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished.

"^(C1)For He will be ^(F1)handed over to the Gentiles, and will be ridiculed, and abused, and spit upon,

and after they have flogged Him, they will kill Him; and on the third day He will rise."

^(F1)(C1)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.

^(C1)Now as ^(F1)(C2)Jesus was approaching Jericho, a man who was blind was sitting by the road, begging.

But when he heard a crowd going by, he began inquiring what this was.

They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.

And he called out, saying, "Jesus, ^(C1)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, "^(C1)Son of David, have mercy on me!"

And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him; and when he came near, He asked 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, "Regain your sight; ^(C1)your faith has ^(F1)made you well."

And immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, ^(C1)glorifying God; and when ^(C2)all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.

Jesus ^(C1)entered Jericho and was passing through.

And ^(F1)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 he was unable due to the crowd, because he was short in stature.

So he ran on ahead and climbed up a ^(F1)(C1)sycamore tree in order to see Him, because He was about to pass through that way.

And 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 ^(F1)joyfully.

When the people saw this, they all began to complain, saying, "He has gone in ^(F1)to be the guest of a man who is a sinner!"

But Zaccheus stopped and said to ^(C1)the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I am giving to the poor, and if I have ^(C2)extorted anything from anyone, I am giving back ^(C3)four times as much."

And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is ^(C1)a son of Abraham.

"For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

Now while they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because ^(C1)He was near Jerusalem and they thought that ^(C2)the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately.

So He said, "^(C1)A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then to return.

"And he called ten of his own slaves and gave them ten ^(F1)minas, and said to them, 'Do business with this money ^(F2)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 summoned to him so that he would learn how much they had made by the business they had done.

"The first slave appeared, saying, '^(F1)Master, your ^(F2)mina has made ten minas more.'

"And he said to him, 'Well done, good slave; since you have been ^(C1)faithful in a very little thing, you are to have authority over ten cities.'

"The second one came, saying, 'Your ^(F1)mina, ^(F2)master, has made five minas.'

"And he said to him also, 'And you are to be over five cities.'

"And then another came, saying, 'Master, here is your mina, which I kept tucked away in a handkerchief;

for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding man; you take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow.'

"He ^(*)said to him, '^(F1)From your own lips I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am a demanding man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow?

'And so why did you not put my money in the bank, and when I came back, I would have collected it with interest?'

"And then he said to the other slaves who were present, 'Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.'

"And they said to him, 'Master, he already has ten minas.'

'^(C1)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 as for ^(C1)these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and ^(C2)slaughter them in my presence.'"

After Jesus said these things, He ^(C1)was going on ahead, ^(C2)going up to Jerusalem.

^(C1)When He approached Bethphage and ^(C2)Bethany, near the ^(F1)mountain that is called ^(C3)Olivet, He sent two of the disciples,

saying, "Go into the village ^(F1)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.

"And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' you shall say this: '^(F1)The Lord has need of it.'"

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

And as they were untying the colt, its ^(F1)owners said to them, "Why are you untying the colt?"

They said, "^(F1)The Lord has need of it."

And they brought it to Jesus, ^(C1)and they threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it.

Now as He was going, they were spreading their cloaks on the road.

And as soon as He was approaching, near the descent of ^(C1)the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to ^(C2)praise God ^(F1)joyfully with a loud voice for all the ^(F2)miracles which they had seen,

^(F1)shouting: "^(C1)BLESSED IS the ^(C2)King, THE ONE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Peace in heaven and ^(C3)glory in the highest!"

^(C1)And yet some of the Pharisees ^(F1)in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!"

Jesus replied, "I tell you, if these stop speaking, ^(C1)the stones will cry out!"

When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and ^(C1)wept over it,

saying, "If you had known on this day, even you, the conditions for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes.

"For the days will come upon you ^(F1)when your enemies will ^(C1)put up a ^(F2)barricade against you, and ^(C2)surround you and hem you in on every side,

and they will level you to the ground, and throw down your children within you, and ^(C1)they will not leave in you one stone upon ^(F1)another, because you did not recognize ^(C2)the time of your visitation."

^(C1)And Jesus entered the temple grounds and began to drive out those who were selling,

saying to them, "It is written: '^(C1)AND MY HOUSE WILL BE A HOUSE OF PRAYER,' ^(C2)but you have made it a DEN OF ROBBERS."

And ^(C1)He was teaching daily in the temple; but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people ^(C2)were trying to put Him to death,

and yet they could not find ^(F1)anything that they might do, for all the people were hanging on to ^(F2)every word He said.

^(C1)On one of the days while ^(C2)He was teaching the people in the temple and ^(C3)preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders ^(C4)confronted Him,

and they declared, saying to Him, "Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?"

But He replied to them, "I will also ask you a ^(F1)question, and you tell Me:

"Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?"

They discussed 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, since they are convinced that John was a ^(C1)prophet."

And so they answered that they did not know where it came from.

And Jesus said to them, "Neither am I telling you by what authority I do these things."

^(C1)But He began to tell the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard and leased it to ^(F1)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 his share 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; but they beat him also and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.

"And he proceeded to send a third; but this one too they wounded and threw out.

"Now the ^(F1)owner of the vineyard said, 'What am I to do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will ^(C1)respect him.'

"But when the vine-growers saw him, they discussed with one another, saying, 'This is the heir; let's kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.'

"And so they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will the ^(F1)owner of the vineyard do to them?

"He will come and ^(C1)put these vine-growers to death, and will give the vineyard to others." However, when they heard this, they said, "^(C2)May it never happen!"

But ^(F1)Jesus looked at them and said, "Then what is this statement that has been written: '^(C1)A STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS HAS BECOME ^(C2)THE ^(F2)CHIEF CORNERSTONE'?

"^(C1)Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will crush him."

The scribes and the chief priests ^(C1)tried to lay hands on Him that very hour, and yet they feared the people; for they were aware that He had spoken this parable against them.

^(C1)And so they watched Him ^(F1)closely, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order ^(C2)that they might catch Him in some statement, so that they could hand Him over to the jurisdiction and authority of ^(C3)the governor.

And the spies questioned Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and You ^(F1)are not partial to anyone, but You teach the way of God on the basis of truth.

"Is it ^(F1)permissible for us ^(C1)to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"

But He saw through their trickery and said to them,

"Show Me a ^(F1)denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?" They said, "Caesar's."

And He said to them, "Then ^(C1)pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."

And they were unable to ^(C1)catch Him in a statement in the presence of the people; and they were amazed at His answer, and said nothing.

^(C1)Now some of the ^(C2)Sadducees (who maintain that there is no resurrection) came to Him,

and they questioned Him, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that ^(C1)if ^(F1)a man's brother dies, ^(F2)leaving a wife, and he is childless, that his brother is to ^(F3)marry the wife and raise up children ^(F4)for his brother.

"So then, there were seven brothers; and the first took a wife and died childless;

and the second

and the third ^(F1)married her; and in the same way ^(F2)all seven ^(F3)died, leaving no children.

"Finally the woman also died.

"Therefore, in the resurrection, ^(F1)which one's wife does the woman become? For ^(F2)all seven ^(F3)married her."

Jesus said to them, "The sons of ^(C1)this age marry and the women are given in marriage,

but those who are considered worthy to attain to ^(C1)that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage;

for they cannot even die anymore, for they are like angels, and are ^(C1)sons of God, being ^(F1)sons of the resurrection.

"But as for the fact that the dead are raised, even Moses revealed this in ^(C1)the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord ^(C2)THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB.

"^(C1)Now He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; for ^(C2)all live to Him."

Some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well."

For ^(C1)they did not have the courage to question Him any longer about anything.

^(C1)But He said to them, "How is it that they say the ^(F1)Christ is ^(C2)David's son?

"For David himself says in the book of Psalms, '^(C1)THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,

^(C1)UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET."'

"Therefore David calls Him 'Lord,' and so how is He his son?"

^(C1)And while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples,

"Beware of the scribes, ^(C1)who like to walk around in long robes, and love personal greetings in the marketplaces, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets,

who ^(F1)devour widows' houses, and for appearance's sake offer long prayers. These will receive all the more condemnation."