Study Desk

"What sorrow awaits you who are rich, for you have your only happiness now.

What sorrow awaits you who are fat and prosperous now, for a time of awful hunger awaits you. What sorrow awaits you who laugh now, for your laughing will turn to mourning and sorrow.

What sorrow awaits you who are praised by the crowds, for their ancestors also praised false prophets.

Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.

"If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them!

And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.

"Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.

Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back."

"for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us."

So Jesus went with them. But just before they arrived at the house, the officer sent some friends to say, "Lord, don't trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor.

The disciples of John the Baptist told John about everything Jesus was doing. So John called for two of his disciples,

and he sent them to the Lord to ask him, "Are you the Messiah we've been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?"

John's two disciples found Jesus and said to him, "John the Baptist sent us to ask, ‘Are you the Messiah we've been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?'"

Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet.

When they heard this, all the people—even the tax collectors—agreed that God's way was right, for they had been baptized by John.

But the Pharisees and experts in religious law rejected God's plan for them, for they had refused John's baptism.

For John the Baptist didn't spend his time eating bread or drinking wine, and you say, ‘He's possessed by a demon.'

Simon answered, "I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt." "That's right," Jesus said.

Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture.

The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don't have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation.