Jesus Teaches About Prayer
(Mt. 6:9–15)
1One time Jesus was praying in a place. When Jesus finished praying, one of his followers said to him, “John
2Jesus said to the followers, “When you pray, pray like this: ‘ Father, we pray that your name will always be kept holy. We pray that your kingdom will come.
3Give us the food we need for each day.
4Forgive us the sins we have done, because we forgive every person that has done wrong to us. And don’t let us be tempted (tested).’”
Continue to Ask
(Mt. 7:7–11)
5Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose one of you went to your friend’s house very late at night and said to him, ‘A friend of mine has come into town to visit me. But I have nothing for him to eat. Please give me three loaves of bread.’
6(11:5)
7Your friend inside the house answers, ‘Go away! Don’t bother me! The door is already locked. My children and I are in bed. I cannot get up and give you the bread now.’
8I tell you, maybe friendship is not enough to make him get up to give you the bread. But he will surely get up to give you what you need if you continue to ask.
9So I tell you, continue to ask, and God will give to you. Continue to search, and you will find. Continue to knock, and the door will open for you.
10Yes, if a person continues asking, that person will receive. If a person continues looking, that person will find. And if a person continues knocking, the door will open for that person.
11Does any of you have a son? What would you do if your son asked you for a fish? Would any father give his son a snake? No! You would give him a fish.
12Or, if your son asks for an egg, would you give him a scorpion
13{You are like all other people}—you are evil. But you know how to give good things to your children. So surely your heavenly Father knows how to give the Holy Spirit
Jesus’ Power Is from God
(Mt. 12:22–30; Mk. 3:20–27)
14One time Jesus was sending a demon
15But some of the people said, “He uses the power of Beelzebul (the devil) to force demons out of people. Beelzebul is the ruler of demons.”
16Other people wanted to test Jesus. They asked Jesus to show them a sign (proof) from heaven.
17But Jesus knew the things they were thinking. So Jesus said to the people, “Every kingdom that is divided and fights against itself will be destroyed. And a family that fights against itself will break apart.
18So if Satan (the devil) is fighting against himself, then how will his kingdom continue? You say that I use the power of Beelzebul (the devil) to force out demons.
19But if I use the power of Beelzebul to force out demons, then what power do your people use when they force out demons? So your own people will prove that you are wrong.
20But I use the power of God to force out demons. This shows that the kingdom of God has come to you!
21“When a strong man with many weapons guards his own house, then the things in his house are safe.
22But suppose a stronger man comes and defeats him. The stronger man will take away the weapons that the first man trusted to keep his house safe. Then the stronger man will do what he wants with the other man’s things.
23“If a person is not with me, he is against me. The person that does not work with me is working against me.
The Empty Person
(Mt. 12:43–45)
24“When an evil spirit {from the devil} comes out of a person, that spirit travels through dry places, looking for a place to rest. But that spirit finds no place to rest. So the spirit says, ‘I will go back to the home (person) I left.’
25When the spirit comes back to that person, the spirit finds that home (person) swept clean and made neat.
26Then the evil spirit goes out and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself. Then all the evil spirits go into that person and live there. And that person has even more trouble than he had before.”
The People That Are Truly Happy
27When Jesus said these things, a woman with the people there began to speak. She said to Jesus, “What a great blessing God gave your mother, because she gave birth to you and fed you.”
28But Jesus said, “The people that hear the teaching of God and obey it—they are the people that are truly happy!”
Give Us Proof!
(Mt. 12:38–42; Mk. 8:12)
29The group of people grew larger and larger. Jesus said, “The people that live today are evil. They ask for a miracle
30Jonah was a sign for those people that lived in Nineveh. It is the same with the Son of Man.
31On the judgment day, you people that live now will be compared with the Queen of the South,
32On the judgment day, you people that live now will also be compared with the people from Nineveh,
Be a Light for the World
(Mt. 5:15; 6:22–23)
33“No person takes a light and puts it under a bowl or hides it. Instead, a person puts the light on a lamp table so that the people that come in can see.
34Your eye is a light for the body. If your eyes are good, then your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, then your whole body will be full of darkness (sin).
35So be careful! Don’t let the light in you become dark.
36If your whole body is full of light, and none of it is dark, then it will be all bright. It will be like you have the light of a lamp shining on you.”
Jesus Criticizes the Religious Leaders
(Mt. 23:1–36; Mk. 12:38–40; Lk. 20:45–47)
37After Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee
38But the Pharisee was surprised when he saw that Jesus did not wash his hands
39The Lord (Jesus) said to him, “You Pharisees {think that washing the outside of the body is so important. That’s like} cleaning only the outside of a cup or a dish! {The inside is more important.} And what is inside you? You want only to cheat and hurt people.
40You are foolish! The same One (God) that made what is outside also made what is inside.
41So pay attention to what is inside. Give to the people that need help. Then you will be fully clean.
42But it will be bad for you Pharisees! You give God one-tenth of {everything you own}— even your mint, your rue, and every other little plant in your garden. But you forget to be fair to other people and to love God. These are the things you should do. And you should also continue to do those other things—{like giving one-tenth}.
43It will be bad for you Pharisees because you love to get the most important seats in the synagogues.
44It will be bad for you, because you are like hidden graves. People walk on them without knowing it.”
45One of the teachers of the law said to Jesus, “Teacher, when you say these things about the Pharisees,
46Jesus answered, “It will be bad for you, you teachers of the law! You make strict rules that are very hard for people to obey.
47It will be bad for you, because you build tombs
48And now you show all people that you agree with what your fathers did. They killed the prophets, and you build tombs for the prophets!
49This is why the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send prophets and apostles
50So you people that live now will be punished for the deaths of all the prophets that were killed since the beginning of the world.
51You will be punished for the killing of Abel.
52“It will be bad for you, you teachers of the law. You have taken away the key to learning about God. You yourselves would not learn, and you stopped others from learning, too.”
53When Jesus was leaving, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees
54They were trying to find a way to catch Jesus saying something wrong.