Read the Gospels in 40 Days
Sin, Forgiveness, Faith, and Service
17 Jesus[a] said to his disciples, “Stumbling blocks are sure to come, but woe[b] to the one through whom they come! 2 It would be better for him to have a millstone[c] tied around his neck and be thrown into the sea[d] than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.[e] 3 Watch[f] yourselves! If[g] your brother[h] sins, rebuke him. If[i] he repents, forgive him. 4 Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive[j] him.”
5 The[k] apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”[l] 6 So[m] the Lord replied,[n] “If[o] you had faith the size of[p] a mustard seed, you could say to this black mulberry[q] tree, ‘Be pulled out by the roots and planted in the sea,’[r] and it would obey[s] you.
7 “Would any one of you say[t] to your slave[u] who comes in from the field after plowing or shepherding sheep, ‘Come at once and sit down for a meal’?[v] 8 Won’t[w] the master[x] instead say to him, ‘Get my dinner ready, and make yourself ready[y] to serve me while[z] I eat and drink. Then[aa] you may eat and drink’? 9 He won’t thank the slave because he did what he was told,[ab] will he?[ac] 10 So you too, when you have done everything you were commanded to do, should say, ‘We are slaves undeserving of special praise;[ad] we have only done what was our duty.’”[ae]
The Grateful Leper
11 Now on[af] the way to Jerusalem,[ag] Jesus[ah] was passing along[ai] between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As[aj] he was entering[ak] a village, ten men with leprosy[al] met him. They[am] stood at a distance, 13 raised their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy[an] on us.” 14 When[ao] he saw them he said, “Go[ap] and show yourselves to the priests.”[aq] And[ar] as they went along, they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw he was healed, turned back, praising[as] God with a loud voice. 16 He[at] fell with his face to the ground[au] at Jesus’ feet and thanked him.[av] (Now[aw] he was a Samaritan.)[ax] 17 Then[ay] Jesus said,[az] “Were[ba] not ten cleansed? Where are the other[bb] nine? 18 Was no one found to turn back and give praise to God except this foreigner?”[bc] 19 Then[bd] he said to the man,[be] “Get up and go your way. Your faith has made you well.”[bf]
The Coming of the Kingdom
20 Now at one point[bg] the Pharisees[bh] asked Jesus[bi] when the kingdom of God[bj] was coming, so he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs[bk] to be observed, 21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is[bl] in your midst.”[bm]
The Coming of the Son of Man
22 Then[bn] he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days[bo] of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 Then people[bp] will say to you, ‘Look, there he is!’[bq] or ‘Look, here he is!’ Do not go out or chase after them.[br] 24 For just like the lightning flashes[bs] and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.[bt] 25 But first he must[bu] suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26 Just[bv] as it was[bw] in the days of Noah,[bx] so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 People[by] were eating,[bz] they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage—right up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then[ca] the flood came and destroyed them all.[cb] 28 Likewise, just as it was[cc] in the days of Lot, people[cd] were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; 29 but on the day Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.[ce] 30 It will be the same on the day the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day, anyone who is on the roof,[cf] with his goods in the house, must not come down[cg] to take them away, and likewise the person in the field must not turn back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife![ch] 33 Whoever tries to keep[ci] his life[cj] will lose it,[ck] but whoever loses his life will preserve it. 34 I tell you, in that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken and the other left.[cl] 35 There will be two women grinding grain together;[cm] one will be taken and the other left.”[cn]
37 Then[co] the disciples[cp] said[cq] to him, “Where,[cr] Lord?” He replied to them, “Where the dead body[cs] is, there the vultures[ct] will gather.”[cu]
Prayer and the Parable of the Persistent Widow
18 Then[cv] Jesus[cw] told them a parable to show them they should always[cx] pray and not lose heart.[cy] 2 He said,[cz] “In a certain city[da] there was a judge[db] who neither feared God nor respected people.[dc] 3 There was also a widow[dd] in that city[de] who kept coming[df] to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For[dg] a while he refused, but later on[dh] he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor have regard for people,[di] 5 yet because this widow keeps on bothering me, I will give her justice, or in the end she will wear me out[dj] by her unending pleas.’”[dk] 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says![dl] 7 Won’t[dm] God give justice to his chosen ones, who cry out[dn] to him day and night?[do] Will he delay[dp] long to help them? 8 I tell you, he will give them justice speedily.[dq] Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith[dr] on earth?”
The Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector
9 Jesus[ds] also told this parable to some who were confident that they were righteous and looked down[dt] on everyone else. 10 “Two men went up[du] to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee[dv] and the other a tax collector.[dw] 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this:[dx] ‘God, I thank[dy] you that I am not like other people:[dz] extortionists,[ea] unrighteous people,[eb] adulterers—or even like this tax collector.[ec] 12 I fast twice[ed] a week; I give a tenth[ee] of everything I get.’ 13 The tax collector, however, stood[ef] far off and would not even look up[eg] to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful[eh] to me, sinner that I am!’[ei] 14 I tell you that this man went down to his home justified[ej] rather than the Pharisee.[ek] For everyone who exalts[el] himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Jesus and Little Children
15 Now people[em] were even bringing their babies[en] to him for him to touch.[eo] But when the disciples saw it, they began to scold those who brought them.[ep] 16 But Jesus called for the children,[eq] saying, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of God[er] belongs to such as these.[es] 17 I tell you the truth,[et] whoever does not receive[eu] the kingdom of God like a child[ev] will never[ew] enter it.”
The Wealthy Ruler
18 Now[ex] a certain leader[ey] asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”[ez] 19 Jesus[fa] said to him, “Why do you call me good?[fb] No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’”[fc] 21 The man[fd] replied, “I have wholeheartedly obeyed[fe] all these laws[ff] since my youth.”[fg] 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have[fh] and give the money[fi] to the poor,[fj] and you will have treasure[fk] in heaven. Then[fl] come, follow me.” 23 But when the man[fm] heard this he became very sad,[fn] for he was extremely wealthy. 24 When Jesus noticed this,[fo] he said, “How hard[fp] it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God![fq] 25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle[fr] than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 Those who heard this said, “Then[fs] who can be saved?”[ft] 27 He replied, “What is impossible[fu] for mere humans[fv] is possible for God.” 28 And Peter said, “Look, we have left everything we own[fw] to follow you! 29 Then[fx] Jesus[fy] said to them, “I tell you the truth,[fz] there is no one who has left home or wife or brothers[ga] or parents or children for the sake of God’s kingdom 30 who will not receive many times more[gb] in this age[gc]—and in the age to come, eternal life.”[gd]
Another Prediction of Jesus’ Passion
31 Then[ge] Jesus[gf] took the twelve aside and said to them, “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.[gg] 32 For he will be handed over[gh] to the Gentiles; he will be mocked,[gi] mistreated,[gj] and spat on.[gk] 33 They will flog him severely[gl] and kill him. Yet[gm] on the third day he will rise again.” 34 But[gn] the twelve[go] understood none of these things. This[gp] saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp[gq] what Jesus meant.[gr]
Healing a Blind Man
35 As[gs] Jesus[gt] approached[gu] Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. 36 When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was going on. 37 They[gv] told him, “Jesus the Nazarene is passing by.” 38 So[gw] he called out,[gx] “Jesus, Son of David,[gy] have mercy[gz] on me!” 39 And those who were in front[ha] scolded[hb] him to get him to be quiet, but he shouted[hc] even more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 So[hd] Jesus stopped and ordered the beggar[he] to be brought to him. When the man[hf] came near, Jesus[hg] asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” He replied,[hh] “Lord, let me see again.”[hi] 42 Jesus[hj] said to him, “Receive[hk] your sight; your faith has healed you.”[hl] 43 And immediately he regained[hm] his sight and followed Jesus,[hn] praising[ho] God. When[hp] all the people saw it, they too[hq] gave praise to God.
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