121 . THE PARABLE OF THE WATCHFUL SERVANTS
Matthew 24 : 45 – 51 ; Luke 12 : 35 – 38 , 41 – 48
“Keep your loins girded 158 and your lamps lit. Be like servants who are waiting for their master to come home from the marriage feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.
“Blessed are those servants whom the master finds watchful when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for serving, and have them sit at the table, and will come and serve them himself. If he comes late in the second or third watch of the night, and finds them alert, fortunate are those servants.”
Peter asked, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?” And the Lord said, “Who is truly the faithful and wise steward, whom his master will set over his household, to give the people their allowance of food at the proper time? Fortunate is the servant whose master finds him at work when he comes. I tell you truly, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions.
“But instead suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and he begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards. Then the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him to a place with the hypocrites and unbelievers, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
“The servant who knew his master’s will, but did not prepare or act according to his will, shall be beaten with many lashes. But the one who did not know, and so did things worthy of punishment, shall be beaten with few lashes. For from him who has been given much, much shall be required; and from those to whom much has been entrusted, still more will be demanded.”
122 . WHO CAN SEE THE COMING FIRE?
Luke 1 2 : 49 – 57
“I have come to bring a fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism I must first undergo, and I will be under a heavy burden until that is accomplished! 159
“Do you think that I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on there will be five divided in one family, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against her mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”
He also said to the people, “When you see a cloud forming in the west, you say at once, ‘The rain is coming,’ and so it does. And when you see a south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a hot day,’ and so it is. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky; so why do you not know how to interpret the present times? And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?”
123 . ALL MUST REPENT OR PERISH
Luke 13 : 1 – 9
Some of those present then told Yeshua about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with the blood of their sacrifices. 160 And Yeshua responded, “Do you think that those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in that way? No, I tell you! Unless you repent you will all perish as well.
“Or those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and killed them. Do you think they were worse sinners than all others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you! Unless you repent you will all perish as well.”
And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came to look for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, ‘Lo, these three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I still find none. So cut it down; why should it cumber the ground?’
“But the gardener answered him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for one more year, until I can dig around it and put down manure. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, then you may cut it down.’”
124 . HEALING THE STOOPED WOMAN
Luke 13 : 10 – 17
One day Yeshua was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And a woman was there who had been crippled by an evil spirit for eighteen years. She was hunched over and could not by any effort straighten herself.
When Yeshua saw her, he called her to him and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” He laid his hands upon her; and immediately she stood up straight, and she praised God.
But the leader of the synagogue was indignant because Yeshua had healed on the sabbath, and he said to the people, “There are six days on which work may be done; come on those days to be healed, and not on the sabbath day.”
But the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! On the sabbath do not each of you untie your ox or your ass from the stall, and lead it out to give it water? And so should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, be likewise loosed from her bond on the sabbath day?”
With these words all his opponents were put to shame; but all the people rejoiced at the splendid things that Yeshua was doing.
125 . Yeshua ANNOUNCES THAT HE IS THE CHRIST
John 10 : 22 – 39
And then it was winter in Jerusalem, and time for Hanukkah, the Feast of Dedication. 161 Yeshua was walking through Solomon’s Colonnade in the temple courtyard. And a crowd gathered around him and demanded of him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
Yeshua answered them, “I have already told you, but you do not believe me. 162 The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness on my behalf; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my flock. My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; and no one shall pluck them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all others, and no one can wrest anything from his hand. And I and my Father are one.”
At this the crowd again took up stones to stone him. Yeshua challenged them, “At my Father’s direction I have done many good works among you; for which of these do you wish to stone me?” The crowd answered him, “We do not stone you for any good work, but for blasphemy; because you, although only a man, make yourself out to be God.”
Yeshua answered them, “Is it not written in your scriptures that God once said to the judges of Israel , ‘I say you are gods’? 163 But if he called them ‘gods’ to whom nothing more than the word of God came—and scripture cannot be disregarded—then what would you call the one whom the Father specially consecrated and sent into the world? Why do you charge, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
“If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, then even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father.”
Again they tried to seize him, but he eluded their grasp.
12 6 . WITHDRAWAL FROM JERUSALEM
John 10 : 40 – 42
Then Yeshua withdrew again beyond the Jordan, to the place where John had been baptizing at first; and there he stayed for a time.
Many people went to Yeshua, and they said, “John did no miracles, but all the things he spoke about this man were true.” And many believed in Yeshua there.
VIII. The Last Itinerant Ministry
127 . SETTING OFF ON THE CIRCUIT
Luke 13 : 22
After a while Yeshua set out through the towns and villages, teaching as he went.
T his last journey would take him in a circle, north to Galilee, and then back south again with the Passover crowds, always making his way toward Jerusalem. 164
128 . WHETHER MANY OR FEW WILL BE SAVED
Luke 13 : 23 – 30
One day someone asked Yeshua, “Lord, will only a few be saved?” And Yeshua replied, “Strive to get in through the narrow gate; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
“When once the householder has gotten up and shut the door, you will be left to stand outside and knock, saying, ‘Sir, open the door to us.’ He will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will say, ‘We have eaten and drunk with you, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from; depart from me, all you evildoers!’
“Then there will be weeping there and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets at home in the kingdom of God, while you yourselves are thrust out. People will come from east and west, and from north and south, and take their place at the table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some who are last will be first, and some who are first will be last.”
129 . LAMENT OVER JERUSALEM
Matthew 23 : 37 – 39 ; Luke 13 : 31 – 35
On that same day some Pharisees came to Yeshua and said, “Leave this place and go somewhere else, for Herod wishes to kill you.” And Yeshua said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I will be casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will complete my work. Nonetheless I must continue on my way steadily today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish in any place but Jerusalem.’
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings; but you were not willing!
“Behold, your house is left to you desolate and forsaken! For I tell you, you will not see me again until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
130 . TAKING PLACES AT THE TABLE
Luke 14 : 1 – 24
One sabbath Yeshua went to dine at the house of one of the chief Pharisees; and all of the dinner guests were watching him closely.
A man was there whose limbs were swollen from dropsy. Yeshua spoke to the Pharisees and the specialists in religious law, asking, “Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath, or not?” But they were silent. So he took the man and healed him, and sent him away. Then he said to the guests, “Which of you, having an ass or an ox that has fallen into a pit on a sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” And they could not reply to this.
When Yeshua saw how the guests all sought to take the most prominent places at the table for themselves, he counseled them, saying, “When you are invited by any one to a marriage feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited; and the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give your seat to this man,’ and then you must move with shame to take the lowest place. Instead, when you are invited, first go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher,’ and then you will be honored in front of all the other guests. For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Then Yeshua said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your kinsmen or rich neighbors. For they will invite you in return, and you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they do not have anything to repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
When one of those at the table with Yeshua heard this, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who shall dine in the kingdom of God!”
But Yeshua said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet, and invited many; and when the time came he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’
“But then they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go inspect it; I pray you, allow me to be excused.’ Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and am on my way to try them out; I pray you, allow me to be excused.’ And another said, ‘I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.’
“The servant came and reported this to his master. Then the master in anger said to his servant, ‘Go out at once into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in the poor and the lame and the halt and the blind.’ And later the servant said, ‘Sir, what you have commanded has been done, and there is still room.’
“The master said to the servant, ‘Then go out to the highways and hedges, and prevail on even the vagabonds to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those who were invited shall taste my banquet.’”
13 1 . RAISING LAZARUS FROM THE DEAD
John 11 : 1 – 44
Now a certain man named Lazarus was ill. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay ill, was the one who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair. 165
So the sisters sent word to Yeshua, saying, “Lord, your good friend is very sick.” But when Yeshua heard this he said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God might be glorified through it.”
Now Yeshua loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he remained two days longer in the place where he was. Then after that he said to his disciples, “Let us go back into Judea.”
The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, only a few days ago the people there were seeking to stone you, and now you are going there again?” Yeshua answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any one walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he can see by the light of this world. But if any one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 166
Then Yeshua said, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” His disciples replied, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will soon be well.” In fact Yeshua had been speaking of his death, but the disciples thought he meant only taking rest in sleep. So then Yeshua told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. And for your sakes I am glad I was not there, so that you can be given reason to believe. Now let us go to him.”
Then Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go with Yeshua , so that we may die with him.”
When Yeshua arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away, and many of the people there had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother.
8 . When Martha heard that Yeshua was approaching, she went and met him, while Mary remained sitting in the house. Martha said to Yeshua, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that whatever you ask from God, even now, God will give you.”
9 . Yeshua said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Yeshua said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live; and whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is to come into the world.”
10 . When Martha had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside, saying quietly, “The Teacher is here and is asking for you.” And when Mary heard this, she rose quickly and went to him. For Yeshua had not yet come into the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the mourners who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise and leave so quickly, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
1When Mary came to the place where Yeshua was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” And as Yeshua saw her weeping, and the mourners who had come with her also weeping, he was troubled in his spirit and moved by a deep anger, 167 and he asked, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Yeshua wept. So the mourners said, “See how much he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not someone who opened the eyes of the blind man have also kept this man from dying?”
1Then Yeshua, once more deeply moved in spirit, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone covered its entrance.
1Yeshua said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” Yeshua said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you had faith, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone.
1Then Yeshua lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank thee for hearing me. I know that you always hear me, but I have said this aloud for the sake of the people standing by, so that they may believe that you have sent me.”
1When he had said this, he shouted with a great voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped in a headcloth. Yeshua said to the people around, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
132 . THE HIGH COUNCIL BEGINS TO PLOT
John 11 : 45 – 5 4
Many of the Jews, who had come to visit Mary and had seen what Yeshua did, believed in him; but some went to the Pharisees and told them what he had done.
So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the high council of the Sanhedrin and asked, “What are we to do? For this man performs many miracles. If we allow him to go on in this way, every one will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.” 168
Then one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all! You do not understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, than that the whole nation should be destroyed.” He did not speak these words of his own accord, but being high priest that year he was inspired to speak in prophecy, that Yeshua would indeed die for the nation—but not for that nation only, but also for all the children of God who are scattered over the world, to bring them together into one body. 169
So from that day forth the council began to plot Yeshua’ death. 170
Yeshua therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but withdrew from Bethany to the country near the edge of the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim; and there he stayed with his disciples.
133 . THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP 171
Luke 14 : 25 – 35
At this time great crowds were traveling with Yeshua, and he turned and said to them, “If any one comes to me and is not prepared to forsake his own father and mother, and his wife and children, and his brothers and sisters—yes, and even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. 172 Whoever does not bear his own cross and follow me, cannot be my disciple.
“For which of you, wanting to build a tower, would not first sit down and calculate the cost, whether he has enough money to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it will mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build, and was not able to finish.’
“Or what king, going out to meet another king in war, will not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to resist one who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if he cannot, then while the other is still a great way off, he will send a delegation to ask for terms of peace.
“So likewise, whoever of you does not renounce everything that he has cannot be my disciple. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its taste, how can it be made salty again? Half-hearted salt is not useful either for conditioning the soil or for fertilizer; men throw it away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
134 . PARABLE OF THE LOST SHEEP
Luke 15 : 1 – 7
Now tax-gatherers and other sinners often came to Yeshua to hear him teach. But the Pharisees and the scribes still grumbled about this, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and even eats with them.”
So Yeshua told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine on the hillsides, 173 and seek after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he finds it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. When he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.’
“Likewise, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” 174
135 . PARABLE OF THE LOST COIN
Luke 15 : 8 – 10
“Or consider a woman who has ten silver coins and loses one of them. Does she not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost.’
“Likewise, I tell you, there is joy among the angels of God over even one sinner who repents.”
136 . PARABLE OF THE PRODIGAL SON
Luke 15 : 11 – 32
And Yeshua said, “There was a man who had two sons; and the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, let me have now the share of the property that will be coming to me.’ And so the father divided his property between them.
“A few days later, the younger son gathered together all that he had, and journeyed to a distant country, and there he wasted his substance in riotous living.
“But after he had spent everything, a great famine arose in the land, and he began to be in want. So he went and hired himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him out into his fields to feed the swine. He would gladly have filled himself with the husks that the swine were eating; but no one gave him anything.
“When he finally came to his senses he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, while I perish here with hunger! I will rise and return to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants.’ And he arose and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with love and pity for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Make haste! Bring forth the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and sandals on his feet; and bring out the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
“Now the elder son had been working in the field, and as he came and drew near the house, he heard the music and dancing. He called one of his servants and asked what this meant. And the servant said to him, ‘Your brother has come home, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’
“But the elder brother was angry and refused to go into the house. His father came out and began to plead with him, but he answered his father, ‘I have served you for, lo, these many years, and I never disobeyed your command; yet you never gave me so much as a young goat so that I might make merry with my friends. But when this son of yours comes home, who has squandered your property on harlots, for him you killed the fatted calf!’
“Then the father said to him, ‘My son, you have always stood by me, and all that I have is yours. 175 But it was fitting that we should make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”
137 . PARABLE OF THE DISHONEST MANAGER
Luke 16 : 1 – 15
Yeshua also told this story to his disciples: 176 “There was a rich man who had a manager to handle his affairs; and a report was brought to him that the man was wasting his money. So he called in the manager and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Prepare a final accounting of your work, for you can no longer be my manager.’
“And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now, since my master is taking the job away from me? I have not the strength to dig, and am ashamed to beg. But I do know what I can do to make sure that people will still receive me into their houses after I am put out of my position.’
“So calling in his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ The debtor said, ‘A hundred measures of olive oil.’ And the manager said to him, ‘Take your account, sit down quickly, and write fifty instead.’
“Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ The man said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ The manager said to him, ‘Take your account, and make it eighty.’
“In this the master had to acknowledge the practical shrewdness of the dishonest manager; 177 for the children of this world are wiser than the children of light in dealing with their own kind. And I tell you, there is a lesson here for you as well : if you possess the wealth of this world, even though that wealth is unrighteous in itself, you should use it to make friends and to do good, so that when your life is over you will be received into the eternal dwelling places.
“He who is faithful in little things is also faithful in large ones; and he who is dishonest in little things is also dishonest in large ones. So if you have not been faithful in the use of the unrighteous wealth of this world, who will entrust you with the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?
“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon.”
8 . The Pharisees, who were great lovers of money, heard all this, and they began to ridicule Yeshua. But he said to them, “You like to present yourselves as righteous before men, but God knows your hearts; and what is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.”
138 . THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS
Luke 16 : 19 – 31
Yeshua continued, “There was a certain rich man, who dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, 178 full of sores, who hoped only to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table; and the dogs came and licked his sores.
“It came to pass that the poor man died, and was carried by the angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried; and in Hades, where he was in torment, he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus at his side.
“And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in these flames.’ But Abraham said, ‘My child, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner received evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in torment.
“‘And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set, so that those who wish to pass from here to you will not be able, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
“The rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send Lazarus to my father’s house, where I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, and they will not also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let your brothers hear them.’ The rich man said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if some one comes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But Abraham said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded even if some one should rise from the dead.’”
139 . TEACHINGS ABOUT SERVICE AND DUTY
Luke 17 : 7 – 10
And Yeshua said, “Will any one, who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep, say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once, sit down, and eat with me?’ Will he not instead say to him, ‘Prepare my meal, and put on your apron, and serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did as he was told? Of course not.
“So you too, when you have done all that is commanded of you, should say, ‘There is no special merit in our service; we have only done our duty.’”
140 . TEN LEPERS ARE HEALED, BUT ONLY ONE GIVES THANKS
Luke 17 : 11 – 19
One day, on his way back to Jerusalem, Yeshua was traveling near the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and raised their voices and called, “Yeshua, Master, take pity on us!”
When Yeshua saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And it came to pass that, as they were on their way, they were made clean.
One of the lepers, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell facedown at Yeshua’ feet, giving him thanks. And this man was a Samaritan.
Yeshua asked, “Were not ten made clean? But where are the other nine? Do we find no one returning to praise God except this foreigner?” And he said to the healed man, “Rise and be on your way; your faith has made you well.”
141 . WHERE IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD?
Luke 1 7 : 20 – 25
One day Yeshua was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come. He replied, “The kingdom of God is not coming with outward signs for you to observe, nor will people be able to say, ‘See, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’
“ Instead I say to the righteous, behold, the kingdom of God is already within you; and I say to the unrighteous, beware, the kingdom of God is already among you.” 179
And he explained to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days when the Son of Man is with you, and you will not see it. And people will say to you, ‘See, here he is!’ or ‘There he is!’ Do not go; do not follow them. For the Son of Man in his coming will be like the lightning that blazes out and lights the sky from one end to the other. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.”
142 . PARABLE OF THE UNRIGHTEOUS JUDGE
Luke 18 : 1 – 8
And Yeshua told his disciples a parable, to show that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought; and there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and pleading, ‘Grant me justice; vindicate me against my adversary.’
“For a while the judge refused, but finally he said to himself, ‘Though I do not fear God or regard man, yet because this widow keeps troubling me I will give her justice, or else she will wear me out by her continual pleas.’”
And Yeshua continued, “Learn a lesson from this unrighteous judge. Will God not give justice to his own elect, when they cry out to him day and night? Will he delay forever over them? I tell you, he will see that they receive justice, and will do so quickly. Yet even so, when the Son of Man comes, will he find any faithful ones on the earth?”
143 . THE PHARISEE AND THE TAX GATHERER
Luke 18 : 9 – 14
He also told this parable to some who trusted in their own righteousness, and looked down on others. “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax gatherer.
“The Pharisee stood and prayed his way about himself: ‘God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are—extortioners, evildoers, adulterers—or even as this tax gatherer is. I fast twice a week, and I give tithes of all that I get.’
“The tax gatherer, standing at a distance, would not so much as lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ But I tell you, this man, rather than the other, went back to his house justified before God; for every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
144 . MARRIAGE, DIVORCE, AND CHASTITY
Matthew 19 : 1 – 12 ; Mark 10 : 1 – 12 ; Luke 16 : 18
When Yeshua finished saying these things, he departed from Galilee and headed for the region of Judea, going by way of the lands beyond the Jordan. Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there, and, as was his custom, he taught them.
Some Pharisees came up to him and, in an effort to ensnare him, they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason he wishes?”
“What did Moses command you?,” Yeshua replied. They said, “Moses permitted a man to give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away.” Yeshua said, “Moses allowed you to put away your wives because your hearts were hard. But in the beginning it was not this way.
“Have you not read that the Creator who made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let no man put asunder.”
When they were back in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. And he said to them, “I tell you, whoever divorces his wife, except for unfaithfulness, and marries another, commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery. And he who marries a woman divorced from her husband likewise commits adultery.”
The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation of a man with his wife, then it is not good to marry.” And he said to them, “Not all men can accept that conclusion, but only those to whom the gift of chastity is given. Some men have been eunuchs from birth, and some have been made eunuchs by men, and some have decided to live like eunuchs 180 for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to follow this course, let him follow it.”
145 . BLESSING THE LITTLE CHILDREN
Matthew 19 : 13 – 15 ; Mark 10 : 13 – 16 ; Luke 18 : 15 – 1 7
Then some little children were brought to Yeshua so that he might lay his hands on them and pray for them. People were bringing even infants so that he might touch them. And when his disciples saw this, they rebuked the parents.
But when Yeshua saw what the disciples were doing he was angry with them. He called the children to him, saying, “Allow the little children to come to me, and do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you truly, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
And he took the children in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands upon them; and then he went on his way.
146 . THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE
Matthew 19 : 16 – 3 0 ; Mark 10 : 17 – 31 ; Luke 18 : 18 – 30
As Yeshua was setting out to continue his journey, an influential young man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good teacher, what good thing must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Yeshua said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? And why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. But if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
“Which ones?” the man asked. And Yeshua said, “You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not defraud; honor thy father and mother; and love thy neighbor as thyself.’”
The young man said to him “Teacher, all these commandments I have followed from my youth. What do I still lack?” And Yeshua, looking upon him, loved him and said to him, “You lack one thing. If you would be perfect, go, sell all that you have, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, and follow me.”
When the man heard this his face fell, and he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Yeshua looked at him and said to his disciples, “I tell you truly, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven!” The disciples were amazed at his words. But Yeshua said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God. It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, and they asked one another, “Who then can be saved?” Yeshua looked at them and said, “With men alone it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”
8 . Then Peter said to him, “Remember, we have forsaken everything to follow you. What will we have for that?” Yeshua said to them, “I tell you truly, in the new world, when the Son of Man shall sit upon his glorious throne, then you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 181 And I tell you truly, there is no one who has left house or wife, or brothers or sisters, or mother or father, or children or lands, for my name’s sake and for the gospel, and for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will fail to receive back many times as much. In this present age he will receive a hundred times as much—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands—along with persecutions—and in the world to come he will receive eternal life.
“Thus many that are first shall be last, and many who are last shall be first.”
147 . PARABLE OF THE VINEYARD WORKERS
Matthew 20 : 1 – 16
A nd Yeshua explained, “The kingdom of heaven is like the landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. When he had agreed with the laborers on a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
“Then going out about the third hour of the day 182 he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ And so they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same thing. And about the eleventh hour 183 he went out and found still others standing, and he asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ So he said to them, ‘You go and work in the vineyard as well.’
“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call in the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired, up until the first.’
“When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Then when the first came, they thought they would be given more; but each of them received a denarius as well. And upon receiving it they protested to the landowner, saying, ‘These last men worked only one hour, but you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and heat of the day.’
“But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me on a denarius a day? Take what is yours, and go. I wish to give to this last one as much as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do as I wish with my own things? Or do you resent my generosity to others?’
“So the last shall be first, and the first shall be last.”
148 . Yeshua PREDICTS HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION A THIRD TIME
Matthew 20 : 17 – 1 9 ; Mark 10 : 32 – 34 ; Luke 18 : 31 – 34
They were now on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Yeshua was walking ahead of the group. The disciples were amazed at his courage in going there , and the people following behind were filled with dread.
Once more he took the twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that has been written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.
“For he will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes. They will condemn him to death, and will hand him over to the foreigners to be mocked and insulted and spat upon. And after they have flogged him they will crucify him; but on the third day he will rise again.”
But the disciples understood none of these things. Yeshua’ meaning was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what he said.
149 . CORRECTING TWO AMBITIOUS APOSTLES
Matthew 20 : 2 0 – 28 ; Mark 10 : 35 – 45
Later the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to Yeshua with her sons, James and John, and kneeling before him they asked him for a favor. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?”
The mother said, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” And James and John asked the same, to sit at his side in his glory.
But Yeshua answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink, or be baptized with the baptism with which I will be baptized?” And they said to him, “We are able.”
Yeshua replied to them, “You will indeed drink my cup; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized. But to sit at my right hand or at my left is not for me to grant. Those places are for those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
When the other ten heard of this, they became indignant at James and John. So Yeshua called them all to him and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles, those who are recognized as rulers lord it over the people, and their great men dominate the others.
“But it shall not be so among you. Whoever would be great among you must be your servant; and whoever would be first among you must be the slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” 184
150 . ZACCHAEUS CLIMBS A SYCAMORE TREE
Mark 10 : 46 a; Luke 19 : 1 – 10
Then they came to Jericho. 185 Yeshua entered the city and was passing through it. A man named Zacchaeus was there; he was a supervisor of the tax gatherers, and rich.
Zacchaeus sought to see what Yeshua looked like, but could not, on account of the crowd, because he was short of stature. So he ran on ahead, along the way where Yeshua was to pass, and climbed up into a sycamore 186 tree to see him.
And when Yeshua came to that place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for I must be a guest in your home today.” So Zacchaeus came down at once, and received Yeshua into his house with joy.
When the crowd saw this they all began to grumble, “He has gone in to be the guest of a sinful man.” But Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, I will give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have wrongly exacted anything from any man, I will restore it fourfold.”
Yeshua said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham. And the Son of Man has come to seek for and to save that which was lost.”
151 . THE PARABLE OF THE INVESTMENTS
Luke 19 : 11 – 28
As the people were listening to these things, Yeshua went on to tell them a parable, because he was close to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God was about to appear very soon.
So he said, “A nobleman was called away to a distant country to be invested with kingly powers and then return. Calling ten of his servants, he divided among them ten pounds of silver and said to them, ‘Manage this money for me until I come back.’
“But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’
“When he returned, having received the kingly power nonetheless , he called for the servants, to whom he had given the money, so that he might learn what they had gained by trading with it. The first one came before him and said, ‘Lord, your pound has made ten pounds more.’ And the king said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, you shall have authority over ten cities.’
“The second came and said, ‘Lord, your pound has made five pounds more.’ And the king said to him, ‘Then you are to rule over five cities.’
“Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your pound, which I kept stored away safely, wrapped up in a cloth. I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man; you take out what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ And the king said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a harsh man, taking out what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? They why did you not place my money with the moneychangers, so that at my return I could have collected it with interest?’
“And the king said to the people who were standing by, ‘Take the pound from him, and give it to the man who has the ten pounds.’ The people said to him, ‘Lord, he already has ten pounds!’ But the king replied, ‘I tell you, that to every one who has, more will be given; but from him who has not, even what he does have will be taken away. And as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to rule over them, bring them here and slaughter them in front of me.’” 187
8 . And when Yeshua had finished this story, he went on ahead, going up 188 to Jerusalem.
152 . THE BLIND BEGGAR BARTIMAEUS
Matthew 20 : 29 – 34 ; Mark 10 : 46 b– 52 ; Luke 18 : 35 – 43
As Yeshua was leaving 189 Jericho, with his disciples and a great crowd following him, two blind men were sitting by the roadside. One of these men , Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was begging there.
Hearing the crowd going by, Bartimaeus asked what this was. They told him, “Yeshua of Nazareth is passing by.” And when he heard this, he began to shout, “Lord Yeshua, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Those who were leading the procession rebuked him, telling him to be silent, but he cried out all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Then Yeshua stopped, and ordered the man to be brought to him. So they called Bartimaeus, saying to him, “Take heart! Rise; he is summoning you!” And throwing aside his cloak he sprang up and went to Yeshua. When he came near, Yeshua asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”
He said, “Lord, I want to see.” Yeshua had compassion on him and touched his eyes, and said to him, “Receive your sight. Go; your faith has made you well.”
Immediately Bartimaeus received his sight, as did the other man , and then they followed Yeshua along the road, praising God. And when they saw this, all the people also gave praise to God.
15 3 . THE PASSOVER CROWDS LOOK FOR Yeshua
John 11 : 55 – 57
Now it was almost time for the Jewish celebration of the Passover. Many people had gone up to Jerusalem from the country, to purify themselves before the feast. They were looking for Yeshua and asking one another as they stood in the temple courtyards, “What do you think? Surely he will not come to the festival, will he?”
For the chief priests and the Pharisees had both given orders that if any one knew where Yeshua was, he should report it, so that they might arrest him. 190
1 54 . MARY ANOINTS Yeshua AT BETHANY
Matthew 26 : 6 – 13 ; Mark 14 : 3 – 9 ; John 12 : 1 – 8
Six day before the Passover, 191 Yeshua arrived at Bethany, just outside of Jerusalem , 192 the home town of Lazarus, whom Yeshua had raised from the dead.
There a dinner was given for Yeshua at the house of Simon the Leper. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those who reclined at the table with him. 193
Mary came in with an alabaster jar containing a pound of very precious ointment, made of pure nard. 194 She broke open the jar and poured the ointment over Yeshua’ head and feet, and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
When the disciples saw this, they were indignant, saying to one another, “To what purpose was this waste?” One of the disciples, Judas Iscariot, who would later betray Yeshua, reproached her, saying, “Why was this ointment not sold, and the money given to the poor? It could have brought more than a year’s wages.” This he said, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; and having charge of the moneybag he used to steal from what was put into it.
But Yeshua, aware of this talk, said to them, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble this woman? She has done a beautiful thing for me. She has kept this ointment against the day of my burial. For you have the poor always with you, and you may do them good whenever you wish; but you will not always have me.
“She has done what she could. In pouring this perfume on my body, she has anointed it beforehand to prepare me for burial. And I tell you truly, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”
155 . MURDER IS IN THE AIR
John 12 : 9 – 11
In the meantime a great crowd had learned that Yeshua was there; and they came, not only on account of him, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.
So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, because he was the reason why many of the Jews were falling away from them and believing in Yeshua.
IX. Holy Week
PALM SUNDAY
156 . THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM
Matthew 21 : 1 – 11 ; Mark 11 : 1 – 11 ; Luke 19 : 29 – 44 ; John 12 : 12 – 19
The next day, a great crowd of people who had come for the festival heard that Yeshua was coming to Jerusalem. So they took fronds of palm trees and went out to greet him.
When Yeshua and his disciples drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples on ahead, saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as soon as you enter it you will find a donkey tied there, and with her a colt which no one has ever ridden. 195 Untie them and bring them here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of them and will send them back shortly.’ And he will let you have them at once.”
So the messengers went away, and found things as Yeshua had told them. They found the colt in the open street, tied up at a doorway. And as they were untying it, its owners and some bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” They answered with the words Yeshua had said, “The Lord has need of it;” and the owners let them go.
The disciples brought the donkey and the colt to Yeshua; and they threw their cloaks on the colt, and Yeshua sat upon it. All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the prophet, who said,
Tell the daughter of Zion, Fear not!
Behold, thy king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey—
upon a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.
His disciples did not understand this prophecy at first; but after Yeshua was glorified, then they remembered that they had done these things for him, and realized that this had been written about him.
As Yeshua rode along, many people in the great crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the trees in the fields.
And as Yeshua approached the place where the road starts down the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the miracles that they had seen, saying, “Blessed be the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
And the crowds that went before him and that followed after him shouted out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel! Hosanna to the Son of David! 196 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”
8 . Now the people that had been with Yeshua when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead had continued to tell others about it. For this reason also the crowd went out to meet him, because they heard he had performed this miracle. The Pharisees then said to one another, “You see that we can do nothing about this; look, the whole world has gone after him.”
9 . And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Yeshua, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, even if these disciples were to keep silent, then the very stones would cry out in celebration.” 197
10 . But as Yeshua drew closer to Jerusalem and saw the city he began to weep over it, saying, “How I wish that you, of all places, could recognize on this day the things that would bring you peace! But they are hidden from your eyes. So the days shall come upon you, when your enemies will build up a barricade around you, and surround you, and hem you in on every side; and they will level you to the ground—you and all your children within your walls. They will not leave one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time when God came to offer you his care.” 198
1And when Yeshua entered Jerusalem, and went into the temple, all the city was in a commotion, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds answered, “This is Yeshua, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
1By the time Yeshua had looked around at everything it had become late, and so he went back out to Bethany with the twelve.
FIG MONDAY
157 . CURSING THE UNFRUITFUL FIG TREE
Matthew 21 : 18 – 19 ; Mark 11 : 12 – 14
In the morning of the following day, as they left Bethany and were returning to the city, Yeshua was hungry. Seeing a fig tree in the distance, in leaf by the roadside, he went to see if he could find anything on it. But when he came to it he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.
And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” His disciples heard him say this. And the fig tree began to wither at once. 199
158 . CLEANSING THE TEMPLE
Matthew 21 : 12 – 16 ; Mark 11 : 15 – 18 ; Luke 19 : 45 – 48 ; John 2 : 14 – 22
After that they came to Jerusalem. Yeshua entered the temple of God, and there he found those who were selling cattle and sheep and doves, and the moneychangers at their business. 200
Making a whip of small cords, he drove all who were buying and selling there out of the temple, along with the sheep and cattle. He poured out the coins of the moneychangers, and overturned their tables. He overturned the seats of those who sold doves, and he told them, “Take these things away; you shall not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” And he taught them all, saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a den of thieves.” And he would not allow any one to carry merchandise through the temple courtyards.
His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for thy house will consume me.”
The leaders of the temple responded by demanding of him, “What can you show us as your authority for doing these things?” Yeshua answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.” The temple leaders then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you will raise it up in three days?” But Yeshua was speaking about the temple of his own body. When he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the words which Yeshua had spoken.
After this he began to teach daily in the temple. And the blind and the lame came to him there, and he healed them.
But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that he did, and heard the children calling out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were sorely displeased, and they said to him, “Do you hear what these children are saying?” And Yeshua said to them, “Yes; have you never read,
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings
Thou has brought perfect praise?”
When the chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people heard this they sought a way to destroy Yeshua; for they feared him, because the entire crowd was astonished at his teaching. But they could not find anything they could do, because the people hung on his words.
159 . WHAT Yeshua’ DEATH WILL ACCOMPLISH
John 12 : 20 – 36 a
Among those who had gone up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. These came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to meet Yeshua.” Philip went and told Andrew; and Andrew and Philip went together to tell Yeshua.
And Yeshua answered them, “Now the time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you truly, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains only a single seed; but if it dies in this way, it will bring forth much new fruit. He who loves his life will lose it, but he who cares nothing for his life in this world will keep it to live for all eternity. Whoever serves me, must follow me; and wherever I am, there my servant will also be; and if any one serves me, the Father will honor him.
“Now my soul is troubled. But what shall I say about that ? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No; it was for this very purpose that I have come to this hour. Instead, ‘ Father, bring glory to thy name.’” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have already glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 201
When the crowd there heard this voice, some said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Yeshua said, “This voice did not speak for my sake, but for yours. The time for judgment on the world has now come, and now Satan , the ruler of this world, shall be cast out. 202 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to me.” He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.
But the crowd said to him, “We have learned from the scriptures that the Christ will remain forever. How then can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” Yeshua answered them, “The light will be with you just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest the darkness overtake you; for those who walk in darkness do not know where they are going. While you have the light, put your trust in the light, so that you may become children of the light.”
160 . MOST STILL REJECT Yeshua
Matthew 21 : 17 ; Mark 11 : 19 ; John 1 2 : 36 b– 50
After Yeshua had said this, he departed and hid himself from the crowd. Although he had done so many miracles before them, still they did not believe in him. This was so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “Lord, who has believed our message, and to whom has the power of the Lord been revealed?” Therefore they could not believe. And Isaiah had foretold that as well:
He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts,
lest they should see with their eyes,
and understand with their hearts,
and turn, and I would heal them.
Isaiah said these things because he foresaw Yeshua’ glory and spoke of him.
Nevertheless many people, even among the leaders of the Jews, did believe in him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, out of fear that they would be expelled from the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men more than the approval of God.
Then Yeshua said in a loud voice, “He who believes in me, does not believe in me only, but also in the one who sent me. And he who sees me is also seeing the one who sent me. I have come as a light into the world, so that whoever believes in me shall not remain in darkness. If any one hears my words and does not follow them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. He who rejects me and rejects my teachings will nonetheless have a judge; he will be judged on the last day in accordance with the words that I have spoken. For I have not spoken on my own authority; the Father who sent me has himself told me what I should say and how I should say it. And I know that his commandments lead to eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say just as the Father has bidden me.”
And when evening came, Yeshua left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and he lodged there for the night.
HOLY TUESDAY
161 . THE FIG TREE IS COMPLETELY WITHERED
Matthew 21 : 20 – 22 ; Mark 11 : 20 – 26
As Yeshua and his disciples passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. Peter remembered and said to Yeshua, “Master, look! The fig tree that you cursed has completely withered.”
When the disciples saw this they marveled, asking, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” And Yeshua answered them, “Have faith in God. I tell you truly, if you have faith, you will not only be able to do what has been done to the fig tree, but you can even say to this mountain, ‘Be uprooted and cast into the sea.’ If you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you.
“Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have already received it, and it will be yours.
“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against any one, first forgive them; so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your own transgressions. For if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your transgressions.”
1 62 . THE TEMPLE LEADERS CHALLENGE Yeshua’ AUTHORITY
Matthew 21 : 23 – 27 ; Mark 11 : 27 – 33 ; Luke 20 : 1 – 8
Then they came again to Jerusalem and entered the temple. As Yeshua was walking in the temple courtyards, teaching the people and preaching the gospel, the chief priests, scribes and elders 203 came up and asked, “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you that authority?”
Yeshua answered them, “I in turn will ask you one question; and if you give me the answer, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. So tell me! John’s authority to perform baptisms 204 —where did that come from? From heaven or from men?
The delegation took council among themselves. “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 205 But if we say, ‘From men,’ then the people will stone us, for they are all convinced that John was a true prophet.”
So they answered Yeshua, “We do not know where it was from.” And Yeshua said to them, “Then neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”