A Warning against Hypocrisy

121 Under these circumstances , after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another , He began saying to His disciples first of all, " Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy . . 2 " But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed , and hidden that will not be known . 3 "Accordingly , whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light , and what you have whispered e e in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops .

Whom to Fear

4 "I say to you, My friends , do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no e more that they can do . 5 "But I will warn you whom to fear : fear the One who, after He has killed , has authority to cast into hell ; yes , I tell you, fear Him! 6 "Are not five sparrows sold for two cents ? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God . 7 " Indeed e , the very hairs of your head are all numbered . Do not fear ; you are more valuable than many sparrows .

Confessing Christ before Men

8 "And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men , the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God ; 9 but he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God . 10 " And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man , it will be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit , it will not be forgiven him. 11 "When they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities , do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense , or what you are to say ; 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say ."

The Parable of the Rich Fool

13 Someone in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher , tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." 14 But He said to him, " Man , who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?" 15 Then He said to them, " Beware , and be on your guard against every form of greed ; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions ." 16 And He told them a parable , saying , "The land of a rich man was very productive . 17 "And he began reasoning to himself , saying , 'What shall I do , since I have no place to store my crops ?' 18 "Then he said , 'This is what I will do : I will tear down my barns and build larger ones , and there I will store all my grain and my goods . 19 'And I will say to my soul , "Soul , you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease , eat , drink and be merry ."' 20 "But God said to him, ' You fool ! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared ?' 21 "So is the man who stores up treasure for himself , and is not rich toward God ."

Care and Anxiety

22 And He said to His disciples , " For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life , as to what you will eat ; nor for your body , as to what you will put on. 23 "For life is more than food , and the body more than clothing . 24 "Consider the ravens , for they neither sow nor reap ; they have no storeroom nor barn , and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds ! 25 "And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life's span ? 26 "If then you cannot e do even a very little thing , why do you worry about other matters ? 27 "Consider the lilies , how they grow : they neither toil nor spin ; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these . 28 "But if God so clothes the grass in the field , which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace , how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith ! 29 "And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink , and do not keep worrying . 30 "For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek ; but your Father knows that you need these things . 31 "But seek His kingdom , and these things will be added to you.

Treasure in Heaven

32 " Do not be afraid , little flock , for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom . 33 " Sell your possessions and give to charity ; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven , where no thief comes near nor moth destroys . 34 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also .

Watchful Servants

35 " Be dressed in readiness , and keep your lamps lit . 36 "Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast , so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks . 37 "Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes ; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. 38 " Whether he comes in the second watch , or even in the third , and finds them so , blessed are those slaves. 39 " But be sure of this , that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming , he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 40 " You too , be ready ; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect ."

The Unfaithful Servant

41 Peter said , "Lord , are You addressing this parable to us, or to everyone else as well ?" 42 And the Lord said , " Who then is the faithful and sensible steward , whom his master will put in charge of his servants , to give them their rations at the proper time ? 43 "Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes . 44 "Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions . 45 "But if that slave says in his heart , 'My master will be a long time in coming ,' and begins to beat the slaves e , both men and women , and to eat and drink and get drunk ; 46 the master of that slave 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 a place with the unbelievers . 47 "And that slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will , will receive many lashes , 48 but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging , will receive but few . From everyone who has been given much , much will be required ; and to whom they entrusted much , of him they will ask all the more .

Jesus the Cause of Division

49 "I have come to cast fire upon the earth ; and how I wish it were already kindled ! 50 "But I have a baptism to undergo , and how distressed I am until it is accomplished ! 51 " Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth ? I tell you, no , but rather division ; 52 for from now on five members in one household will be divided , three against two and two against three . 53 "They will be divided , father against son and son against father , mother against daughter and daughter against mother , mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law ."

Discerning the Times

54 And He was also saying to the crowds , " When you see a cloud rising in the west , immediately you say , 'A shower is coming ,' and so it turns out. 55 "And when you see a south wind blowing , you say , 'It will be a hot day,' and it turns out that way. 56 "You hypocrites ! You know how to analyze the appearance of the earth and the sky , but why do you not analyze this present time ?

Agree with Your Adversary

57 "And why do you not even on your own initiative judge what is right ? 58 "For while you are going with your opponent to appear before the magistrate , on your way there make an effort to settle with him, so that he may not drag you before the judge , and the judge turn you over to the officer , and the officer throw you into prison . 59 "I say to you, you will not get out of there until you have paid the very last cent ."

The Preaching of John the Baptist

31 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar , when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea , and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee , and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis , and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene , 2 in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas , the word of God came to John , the son of Zacharias , in the wilderness . 3 And he came into all the district around the Jordan , preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins ; 4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet , " THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS , 'MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE Lord , MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT . 5 ' EVERY RAVINE WILL BE FILLED , AND EVERY MOUNTAIN AND HILL WILL BE BROUGHT LOW ; THE CROOKED WILL BECOME e STRAIGHT , AND THE ROUGH ROADS SMOOTH ; 6 AND ALL FLESH WILL SEE THE SALVATION OF GOD .' " 7 So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, " You brood of vipers , who warned you to flee from the wrath to come ? 8 "Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance , and do not begin to say to yourselves , ' We have Abraham for our father ,' for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham . 9 "Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees ; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire ." 10 And the crowds were questioning him, saying , " Then what shall we do ?" 11 And he would answer and say to them, "The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none ; and he who has food is to do likewise ." 12 And some tax collectors also came to be baptized , and they said to him, "Teacher , what shall we do ?" 13 And he said to them, "Collect no more than what you have been ordered to." 14 Some soldiers were questioning him, saying , "And what about us, what shall we do ?" And he said to them, "Do not take money from anyone by force , or accuse anyone falsely , and be content with your wages ."

15 Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts about John , as to whether he was the Christ , 16 John answered and said to them all , "As for me, I baptize you with water ; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals ; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire . 17 "His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor , and to gather the wheat into His barn ; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire ." 18 So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people . 19 But when Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him because of Herodias , his brother's wife , and because of all the wicked things which Herod had done , 20 Herod also added this to them all : he locked John up in prison .

The Baptism of Jesus

21 Now when all the people were baptized , Jesus was also baptized , and while He was praying , heaven was opened , 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove , and a voice came out of heaven , " You are My beloved Son , in You I am well-pleased ."

The Genealogy of Jesus

23 When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age , being , as was supposed , the son of Joseph , the son of Eli , 24 the son of Matthat , the son of Levi , the son of Melchi , the son of Jannai , the son of Joseph , 25 the son of Mattathias , the son of Amos , the son of Nahum , the son of Hesli , the son of Naggai , 26 the son of Maath , the son of Mattathias , the son of Semein , the son of Josech , the son of Joda , 27 the son of Joanan , the son of Rhesa , the son of Zerubbabel , the son of Shealtiel , the son of Neri , 28 the son of Melchi , the son of Addi , the son of Cosam , the son of Elmadam , the son of Er , 29 the son of Joshua , the son of Eliezer , the son of Jorim , the son of Matthat , the son of Levi , 30 the son of Simeon , the son of Judah , the son of Joseph , the son of Jonam , the son of Eliakim , 31 the son of Melea , the son of Menna , the son of Mattatha , the son of Nathan , the son of David , 32 the son of Jesse , the son of Obed , the son of Boaz , the son of Salmon , the son of Nahshon , 33 the son of Amminadab , the son of Admin , the son of Ram , the son of Hezron , the son of Perez , the son of Judah , 34 the son of Jacob , the son of Isaac , the son of Abraham , the son of Terah , the son of Nahor , 35 the son of Serug , the son of Reu , the son of Peleg , the son of Heber , the son of Shelah , 36 the son of Cainan , the son of Arphaxad , the son of Shem , the son of Noah , the son of Lamech , 37 the son of Methuselah , the son of Enoch , the son of Jared , the son of Mahalaleel , the son of Cainan , 38 the son of Enosh , the son of Seth , the son of Adam , the son of God .