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. |