Study Desk

But if we say, ‘It was from other people,' the crowd will be against us." (These leaders were afraid of the people, because all the people believed that John was a prophet.)

They came to him and said, "Teacher, we know that you are an honest man. You are not afraid of what other people think about you, because you pay no attention to who they are. And you teach the truth about God's way. Tell us: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?

"You must be careful. People will arrest you and take you to court and beat you in their synagogues. You will be forced to stand before kings and governors, to tell them about me. This will happen to you because you follow me.

When you are arrested and judged, don't worry ahead of time about what you should say. Say whatever is given you to say at that time, because it will not really be you speaking; it will be the Holy Spirit.

All people will hate you because you follow me, but those people who keep their faith until the end will be saved.

because those days will be full of trouble. There will be more trouble than there has ever been since the beginning, when God made the world, until now, and nothing as bad will ever happen again.

Be careful! Always be ready, because you don't know when that time will be.

So always be ready, because you don't know when the owner of the house will come back. It might be in the evening, or at midnight, or in the morning while it is still dark, or when the sun rises.

But they said, "We must not do it during the feast, because the people might cause a riot."

Then Jesus told the followers, "You will all stumble in your faith, because it is written in the Scriptures: ‘I will kill the shepherd, and the sheep will scatter.' Zechariah 13:7

Then he went back to his followers, and again he found them asleep, because their eyes were very heavy. And they did not know what to say to him.

Again Peter said that it was not true. A short time later, some people were standing near Peter saying, "Surely you are one of those who followed Jesus, because you are from Galilee, too."

Pilate knew that the leading priests had turned Jesus in to him because they were jealous.

The women were confused and shaking with fear, so they left the tomb and ran away. They did not tell anyone about what happened, because they were afraid.

Later Jesus showed himself to the eleven apostles while they were eating, and he criticized them because they had no faith. They were stubborn and refused to believe those who had seen him after he had risen from the dead.

But they had no children, because Elizabeth could not have a baby, and both of them were very old.

One day Zechariah was serving as a priest before God, because his group was on duty.

He will bring you joy and gladness, and many people will be happy because of his birth.

Now, listen! You will not be able to speak until the day these things happen, because you did not believe what I told you. But they will really happen."

You are blessed because you believed that what the Lord said to you would really happen."