Study Desk

Now it happened that as Jesus was praying privately, the disciples were with Him, and He asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"

And He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter replied, "The Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) of God!"

"Go your way; listen carefully: I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.

"I have a baptism [of great suffering] with which to be baptized, and how [greatly] I am distressed until it is accomplished!

"Another one said, 'I have purchased five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.'

"And another said, 'I have [recently] married a wife, and for that reason I am unable to come.'

"But when he [finally] came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have more than enough food, while I am dying here of hunger!

"I am no longer worthy to be called your son; [just] treat me like one of your hired men."'

"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.'

"The manager [of the estate] said to himself, 'What will I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig [for a living], and I am ashamed to beg.

'I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from the management, people [who are my master's debtors] will welcome me into their homes.'

"And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in severe agony in this flame.'

"The Pharisee stood [ostentatiously] and began praying to himself [in a self-righteous way, saying]: 'God, I thank You that I am not like the rest of men—swindlers, unjust (dishonest), adulterers—or even like this tax collector.

"But the tax collector, standing at a distance, would not even raise his eyes toward heaven, but was striking his chest [in humility and repentance], saying, 'God, be merciful and gracious to me, the [especially wicked] sinner [that I am]!'

Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, "See, Lord, I am [now] giving half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone out of anything, I will give back four times as much."

Then Jesus said to them, "Nor am I telling you by what [kind of] authority I do these things."

He said, "Be careful and see to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name [appropriating for themselves the name Messiah which belongs to Me alone], saying, 'I am He,' and, 'The time is near!' Do not follow them.

"For who is the 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.

And Peter said to Him, "Lord, I am ready to go with You both to prison and to death!"

A little later someone else saw him and said, "You are one of them too." But Peter said, "Man, I am not!"