Information Retrieved -> Matthew 22 - 24(NLT)

Book Chapter Verse Text
Matthew 22 1 Jesus told them several other stories to illustrate the Kingdom. He said,
Matthew 22 2 "The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son.
Matthew 22 3 Many guests were invited, and when the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify everyone that it was time to come. But they all refused!
Matthew 22 4 So he sent other servants to tell them, 'The feast has been prepared, and choice meats have been cooked. Everything is ready. Hurry!'
Matthew 22 5 But the guests he had invited ignored them and went about their business, one to his farm, another to his store.
Matthew 22 6 Others seized his messengers and treated them shamefully, even killing some of them.
Matthew 22 7 "Then the king became furious. He sent out his army to destroy the murderers and burn their city.
Matthew 22 8 And he said to his servants, 'The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren't worthy of the honor.
Matthew 22 9 Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.'
Matthew 22 10 "So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests.
Matthew 22 11 But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn't wearing the proper clothes for a wedding.
Matthew 22 12 'Friend,' he asked, 'how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?' And the man had no reply.
Matthew 22 13 Then the king said to his aides, 'Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
Matthew 22 14 For many are called, but few are chosen."
Matthew 22 15 Then the Pharisees met together to think of a way to trap Jesus into saying something for which they could accuse him.
Matthew 22 16 They decided to send some of their disciples, along with the supporters of Herod, to ask him this question: "Teacher, we know how honest you are. You teach about the way of God regardless of the consequences. You are impartial and don't play favorites.
Matthew 22 17 Now tell us what you think about this: Is it right to pay taxes to the Roman government or not?"
Matthew 22 18 But Jesus knew their evil motives. "You hypocrites!" he said. "Whom are you trying to fool with your trick questions?
Matthew 22 19 Here, show me the Roman coin used for the tax." When they handed him the coin,
Matthew 22 20 he asked, "Whose picture and title are stamped on it?"
Matthew 22 21 "Caesar's," they replied. "Well, then," he said, "give to Caesar what belongs to him. But everything that belongs to God must be given to God."
Matthew 22 22 His reply amazed them, and they went away.
Matthew 22 23 That same day some Sadducees stepped forward--a group of Jews who say there is no resurrection after death. They posed this question:
Matthew 22 24 "Teacher, Moses said, 'If a man dies without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will be the brother's heir.'
Matthew 22 25 Well, there were seven brothers. The oldest married and then died without children, so the second brother married the widow.
Matthew 22 26 This brother also died without children, and the wife was married to the next brother, and so on until she had been the wife of each of them.
Matthew 22 27 And then she also died.
Matthew 22 28 So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For she was the wife of all seven of them!"
Matthew 22 29 Jesus replied, "Your problem is that you don't know the Scriptures, and you don't know the power of God.
Matthew 22 30 For when the dead rise, they won't be married. They will be like the angels in heaven.
Matthew 22 31 But now, as to whether there will be a resurrection of the dead--haven't you ever read about this in the Scriptures? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said,
Matthew 22 32 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' So he is the God of the living, not the dead."
Matthew 22 33 When the crowds heard him, they were impressed with his teaching.
Matthew 22 34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they thought up a fresh question of their own to ask him.
Matthew 22 35 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question:
Matthew 22 36 "Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?"
Matthew 22 37 Jesus replied, "'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.'
Matthew 22 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
Matthew 22 39 A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'
Matthew 22 40 All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments."
Matthew 22 41 Then, surrounded by the Pharisees, Jesus asked them a question:
Matthew 22 42 "What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?" They replied, "He is the son of David."
Matthew 22 43 Jesus responded, "Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, call him Lord? For David said,
Matthew 22 44 'The LORD said to my Lord, Sit in honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.'
Matthew 22 45 Since David called him Lord, how can he be his son at the same time?"
Matthew 22 46 No one could answer him. And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Matthew 23 1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,
Matthew 23 2 "The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the Scriptures.
Matthew 23 3 So practice and obey whatever they say to you, but don't follow their example. For they don't practice what they teach.
Matthew 23 4 They crush you with impossible religious demands and never lift a finger to help ease the burden.
Matthew 23 5 "Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear extra long tassels on their robes.
Matthew 23 6 And how they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the most prominent seats in the synagogue!
Matthew 23 7 They enjoy the attention they get on the streets, and they enjoy being called 'Rabbi.'
Matthew 23 8 Don't ever let anyone call you 'Rabbi,' for you have only one teacher, and all of you are on the same level as brothers and sisters.
Matthew 23 9 And don't address anyone here on earth as 'Father,' for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father.
Matthew 23 10 And don't let anyone call you 'Master,' for there is only one master, the Messiah.
Matthew 23 11 The greatest among you must be a servant.
Matthew 23 12 But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
Matthew 23 13 "How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you won't let others enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and you won't go in yourselves.
Matthew 23 14 See Footnote
Matthew 23 15 Yes, how terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn him into twice the son of hell as you yourselves are.
Matthew 23 16 "Blind guides! How terrible it will be for you! For you say that it means nothing to swear 'by God's Temple'--you can break that oath. But then you say that it is binding to swear 'by the gold in the Temple.'
Matthew 23 17 Blind fools! Which is greater, the gold, or the Temple that makes the gold sacred?
Matthew 23 18 And you say that to take an oath 'by the altar' can be broken, but to swear 'by the gifts on the altar' is binding!
Matthew 23 19 How blind! For which is greater, the gift on the altar, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
Matthew 23 20 When you swear 'by the altar,' you are swearing by it and by everything on it.
Matthew 23 21 And when you swear 'by the Temple,' you are swearing by it and by God, who lives in it.
Matthew 23 22 And when you swear 'by heaven,' you are swearing by the throne of God and by God, who sits on the throne.
Matthew 23 23 "How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest part of your income, but you ignore the important things of the law--justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but you should not leave undone the more important things.
Matthew 23 24 Blind guides! You strain your water so you won't accidentally swallow a gnat; then you swallow a camel!
Matthew 23 25 "How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! You are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy--full of greed and self-indulgence!
Matthew 23 26 Blind Pharisees! First wash the inside of the cup, and then the outside will become clean, too.
Matthew 23 27 "How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs--beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people's bones and all sorts of impurity.
Matthew 23 28 You try to look like upright people outwardly, but inside your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.
Matthew 23 29 "How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed and decorate the graves of the godly people your ancestors destroyed.
Matthew 23 30 Then you say, 'We never would have joined them in killing the prophets.'
Matthew 23 31 "In saying that, you are accusing yourselves of being the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.
Matthew 23 32 Go ahead. Finish what they started.
Matthew 23 33 Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?
Matthew 23 34 I will send you prophets and wise men and teachers of religious law. You will kill some by crucifixion and whip others in your synagogues, chasing them from city to city.
Matthew 23 35 As a result, you will become guilty of murdering all the godly people from righteous Abel to Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered in the Temple between the altar and the sanctuary.
Matthew 23 36 I assure you, all the accumulated judgment of the centuries will break upon the heads of this very generation.
Matthew 23 37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God's messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn't let me.
Matthew 23 38 And now look, your house is left to you, empty and desolate.
Matthew 23 39 For I tell you this, you will never see me again until you say, 'Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord!'"
Matthew 24 1 As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds, his disciples pointed out to him the various Temple buildings.
Matthew 24 2 But he told them, "Do you see all these buildings? I assure you, they will be so completely demolished that not one stone will be left on top of another!"
Matthew 24 3 Later, Jesus sat on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and asked, "When will all this take place? And will there be any sign ahead of time to signal your return and the end of the world?"
Matthew 24 4 Jesus told them, "Don't let anyone mislead you.
Matthew 24 5 For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Messiah.' They will lead many astray.
Matthew 24 6 And wars will break out near and far, but don't panic. Yes, these things must come, but the end won't follow immediately.
Matthew 24 7 The nations and kingdoms will proclaim war against each other, and there will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world.
Matthew 24 8 But all this will be only the beginning of the horrors to come.
Matthew 24 9 "Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because of your allegiance to me.
Matthew 24 10 And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other.
Matthew 24 11 And many false prophets will appear and will lead many people astray.
Matthew 24 12 Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.
Matthew 24 13 But those who endure to the end will be saved.
Matthew 24 14 And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then, finally, the end will come.
Matthew 24 15 "The time will come when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about: the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place"--reader, pay attention!
Matthew 24 16 "Then those in Judea must flee to the hills.
Matthew 24 17 A person outside the house must not go inside to pack.
Matthew 24 18 A person in the field must not return even to get a coat.
Matthew 24 19 How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for mothers nursing their babies in those days.
Matthew 24 20 And pray that your flight will not be in winter or on the Sabbath.
Matthew 24 21 For that will be a time of greater horror than anything the world has ever seen or will ever see again.
Matthew 24 22 In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, the entire human race will be destroyed. But it will be shortened for the sake of God's chosen ones.
Matthew 24 23 "Then if anyone tells you, 'Look, here is the Messiah,' or 'There he is,' don't pay any attention.
Matthew 24 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great miraculous signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God's chosen ones.
Matthew 24 25 See, I have warned you.
Matthew 24 26 "So if someone tells you, 'Look, the Messiah is out in the desert,' don't bother to go and look. Or, 'Look, he is hiding here,' don't believe it!
Matthew 24 27 For as the lightning lights up the entire sky, so it will be when the Son of Man comes.
Matthew 24 28 Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.
Matthew 24 29 "Immediately after those horrible days end, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of heaven will be shaken.
Matthew 24 30 And then at last, the sign of the coming of the Son of Man will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the nations of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man arrive on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Matthew 24 31 And he will send forth his angels with the sound of a mighty trumpet blast, and they will gather together his chosen ones from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.
Matthew 24 32 "Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its buds become tender and its leaves begin to sprout, you know without being told that summer is near.
Matthew 24 33 Just so, when you see the events I've described beginning to happen, you can know his return is very near, right at the door.
Matthew 24 34 I assure you, this generation will not pass from the scene before all these things take place.
Matthew 24 35 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will remain forever.
Matthew 24 36 "However, no one knows the day or the hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.
Matthew 24 37 "When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah's day.
Matthew 24 38 In those days before the Flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat.
Matthew 24 39 People didn't realize what was going to happen until the Flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.
Matthew 24 40 "Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left.
Matthew 24 41 Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.
Matthew 24 42 So be prepared, because you don't know what day your Lord is coming.
Matthew 24 43 "Know this: A homeowner who knew exactly when a burglar was coming would stay alert and not permit the house to be broken into.
Matthew 24 44 You also must be ready all the time. For the Son of Man will come when least expected.
Matthew 24 45 "Who is a faithful, sensible servant, to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his household and feeding his family?
Matthew 24 46 If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward.
Matthew 24 47 I assure you, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns.
Matthew 24 48 But if the servant is evil and thinks, 'My master won't be back for a while,'
Matthew 24 49 and begins oppressing the other servants, partying, and getting drunk--
Matthew 24 50 well, the master will return unannounced and unexpected.
Matthew 24 51 He will tear the servant apart and banish him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
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