Category: Teachings

¹“Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.²Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.³The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps,⁴but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil.⁵When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell …

³⁷“When the Son of Man ^greturns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day.³⁸In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat.³⁹People 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 …

1As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds, his disciples pointed out to him the various Temple buildings.2But he responded, “Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!”

3Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign …

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.³⁸And now, look, your house is abandoned and desolate.³⁹For I tell you this, you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in …

¹³“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. ^kHypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.

¹⁵“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice …

⁵“Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels.⁶And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues.⁷They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘^jRabbi.’

⁸…

¹Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,²“The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses.³So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach.⁴They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.…

⁴¹Then, surrounded by the Pharisees, Jesus asked them a question:⁴²“What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”

They replied, “He is the son of David.”

⁴³Jesus responded, “Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, call the Messiah ‘my Lord’? For David said,

⁴⁴‘The LORD said to my Lord,

Sit in the place of honor at my right hand…

34But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. 35One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

37Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all …