The Lord's Prayer
One day, Jesus had been praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his followers came to him with a request. "Lord," the disciple said, "teach us how to pray, the same way John taught his followers to pray." Jesus responded by giving them these words to say when they prayed: "Father, may your name be honored as holy. May your kingdom come to earth. Give us the food we need for each day. Forgive us for the wrong things we have done, because we also forgive everyone who has wronged us. And do not let us be led into situations where we will be tempted to do evil."
The Parable of the Friend at Midnight
Then Jesus said to them, "Imagine this situation: One of you has a friend, and at midnight you go to his house and knock on his door. You say to him, 'Friend, please let me borrow three loaves of bread. A friend of mine has just arrived from traveling, and I don't have any food to offer him.' "Now suppose your friend inside the house calls back through the door, 'Don't trouble me with this! I've already locked up for the night, and my children and I are all in bed. I can't get up now to give you anything.' "I'm telling you this: Even if that man won't get up and help you simply because you're his friend, he will definitely get up and give you whatever you need because you keep asking and won't give up."
Ask, Seek, Knock
So I'm telling you this: Ask, and you will receive what you ask for. Search, and you will discover what you're looking for. Knock on the door, and it will be opened for you. This is how it works for everyone—every person who asks will receive, every person who searches will find, and every person who knocks will have the door opened. Think about this: If your son came to you asking for a fish to eat, would you hand him a snake instead? Or if he asked you for an egg, would you give him a scorpion? Of course not! Even though you are flawed and sinful people, you still know how to give good things to your children. So think about how much more your Father in heaven will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him for it!
Jesus and Beelzebul
One day Jesus was casting out a demon that had made a man unable to speak. When the demon left, the man who had been silent suddenly began to talk. The crowds watching were filled with wonder at what they had seen. But some people in the crowd said, "He's only able to cast out demons because he's working with Beelzebul, the ruler of all demons." Others wanted to test Jesus further and demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority. Jesus knew exactly what they were thinking. He spoke to them and said, "Any kingdom that fights against itself will be destroyed, and any family that is divided will collapse. If Satan is really fighting against himself, how could his kingdom possibly survive? You claim that I cast out demons by the power of Beelzebul. But if that's true, then tell me—when your own people cast out demons, whose power are they using? They will be the ones to judge whether your accusation makes sense. "But if I am casting out demons by the finger of God, then this proves that God's kingdom has come to you right now. Picture a strong man who is fully armed, standing guard over his own house. As long as he's there, everything he owns stays safe and secure. But if someone even stronger comes and defeats him in battle, that stronger person will take away all the weapons the man trusted in, and then divide up everything he treasured. "Anyone who is not working with me is working against me. Anyone who is not helping to gather people together is actually scattering them apart."
The Return of an Unclean Spirit
When an evil spirit leaves a person, it wanders through dry, empty places looking for somewhere to rest, but it cannot find any place to settle. So the spirit decides, "I will go back to the home I left behind." When the evil spirit returns, it discovers that the person's life has been cleaned up and put back in good order. But then the spirit goes out and finds seven other spirits that are even more wicked than itself. All eight spirits enter the person and make their home there. In the end, that person's condition becomes much worse than it was before the first spirit ever left.
True Blessedness
While Jesus was speaking these words, a woman in the crowd called out loudly to him. "How blessed is the mother who carried you in her womb," she said, "and how blessed are the breasts that fed you as a baby!" But Jesus answered her, "No, the people who are truly blessed are those who listen to God's word and do what it says."
The Sign of Jonah
As more and more people gathered around him, Jesus spoke directly to them. "This generation is evil," he said. "You keep demanding miraculous signs from me, but you will not receive any sign except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so I, the Son of Man, will be a sign to this generation." Jesus continued, "When the time of judgment comes, the Queen of the South will stand up alongside the people of this generation and condemn them. She traveled from the farthest corners of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and here before you now stands someone far greater than Solomon. The people of Nineveh will also stand at the judgment alongside this generation and condemn it, because they turned from their sins when Jonah preached to them. And here before you now stands someone far greater than Jonah."
The Lamp of the Body
Nobody lights a lamp just to hide it away in a basement or cover it with a bowl. Instead, they put it up high on a lampstand so that everyone who comes into the house can see by its light. Your eye works like a lamp for your whole body. When your eye is healthy and clear, your entire body is filled with light. But when your eye is diseased or clouded, your whole body becomes dark inside. So be very careful that what you think is light within you hasn't actually become darkness. If your whole body is truly filled with light, with no dark corners anywhere, then you will shine brightly—just like someone standing in the full glow of a bright lamp.
Woes to the Pharisees and Lawyers
While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat dinner at his house. Jesus went in and sat down at the table. The Pharisee was shocked to see that Jesus didn't wash his hands before eating, as their religious custom required. Jesus said to him, "You Pharisees are careful to clean the outside of your cups and plates, but inside your hearts you're full of greed and evil. You're acting like fools! Don't you realize that the same God who made the outside of things also made the inside? Instead of focusing on outward washing, give generously from your heart to those in need, and then you'll truly be clean. "How terrible it will be for you Pharisees! You're so careful to give God a tenth of every tiny herb from your gardens—your mint and rue and every little plant—but you completely ignore the things that matter most to God: justice and love. You should have done both—cared about justice and love while still giving your offerings. "How terrible it will be for you Pharisees! You love to sit in the most important seats in the synagogues and to have people greet you with respect in the marketplaces. How terrible for you! You're like graves that have no markers—people walk right over them without knowing there are dead bodies underneath." One of the legal experts spoke up and said, "Teacher, when you say these things, you're insulting us too." Jesus replied, "Yes, how terrible it will be for you legal experts as well! You load people down with religious rules that are impossible to carry, like heavy burdens, but you won't lift even one finger to help them bear the weight. "How terrible for you! You build beautiful monuments for the prophets, but it was your ancestors who murdered those same prophets. By building their tombs, you're actually showing that you approve of what your ancestors did—they killed the prophets, and you honor them with monuments. "This is exactly why God in his wisdom said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, and they will kill some of them and persecute others.' Because of this, your generation will be held responsible for the murder of every prophet who has been killed since the world began—from the murder of Abel all the way to the murder of Zechariah, who was killed right in God's temple, between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I'm telling you the truth—your generation will be held accountable for all of it. "How terrible for you experts in religious law! You've taken away the key that opens the door to knowing God. You haven't gone through that door yourselves, and you've blocked the way for others who were trying to enter."
Opposition from Scribes and Pharisees
When Jesus left that place, the religious teachers and Pharisees became intensely hostile toward Him. They pressed Him hard with question after question about all sorts of topics, lying in wait to trap Him with His own words so they could find something to use against Him.