Jesus

Turn back to God. The kingdom of heaven is close.

Blessed are the poor in spirit: the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Blessed are those who mourn: they’ll be comforted. Blessed are the humble: the earth will be theirs. Blessed are the merciful: they’ll be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: they’ll see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: they’ll be called children of God.

You are the light of the world. A town on a hill can’t be hidden.

If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other one to them too.

If someone forces you to go one mile, go two.

Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

So pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your kingdom come and your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we’ve forgiven the people who owe us. Don’t lead us into temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.

Your heart will always end up where your treasure is.

You can’t serve both God and money.

Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest, and your Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than they are? Can worrying add a single hour to your life?

Don’t worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will worry about itself.

Why look at the speck in your brother’s eye and ignore the plank in your own?

Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened.

Treat people the way you want them to treat you.

The road to destruction is wide, and lots of people take it. The road to life is narrow, and only a few find it.

Hear my words and do them, and you’re the wise man who built his house on the rock. Hear them and don’t, and you built on sand. And it fell. With a great crash.

Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.

I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. Be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

Not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Even the hairs on your head are all counted. So don’t be afraid.

I didn’t come to bring peace. I came to bring a sword.

Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

Even a cup of cold water given to one of these little ones won’t go unrewarded.

John came not eating or drinking, and they say he has an evil spirit. The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, “A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.”

Come to me, all of you who are tired and weighed down, and I’ll give you rest. My yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined. If Satan drives out Satan, how can his kingdom stand?

No sign will be given except the sign of Jonah. As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Whoever does what my Father in heaven wants is my brother and sister and mother.

A farmer sowed seed. Some fell on the path, some on rocks, some among thorns. Some fell on good soil and produced a crop, a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. If you’ve got ears, listen.

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. The smallest seed, and it grows into a tree the birds nest in.

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. A man found it, and in his joy sold everything to buy that field.

The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. He found one of great value, went and sold everything he had, and bought it.

It isn’t what goes into your mouth that makes you unclean. It’s what comes out of it.

If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.

Red sky at night, fine weather. Red sky in the morning, storm. You can read the sky, but not the signs of the times.

Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

You are Peter, and on this rock I’ll build my church, and the gates of Hades won’t overpower it.

What good is it to gain the whole world and lose your soul?

If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “Move,” and it will move.

If a man has a hundred sheep and one wanders off, won’t he leave the ninety-nine and go looking for the one?

Where two or three gather in my name, I am there with them.

A servant was let off a debt he could never pay, then went and throttled a man who owed him a few months’ wages. Shouldn’t you have had mercy, as I had mercy on you?

It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

Workers hired at dawn and workers hired at five in the afternoon all got a day’s wage. The landowner said: are you jealous because I’m generous? So the last will be first, and the first last.

We’re going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over, condemned, mocked, flogged and crucified. And on the third day he will be raised.

The Son of Man didn’t come to be served. He came to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

My house will be called a house of prayer. But you’re making it a den of robbers.

Last of all he sent his son. But the tenants said, “This is the heir. Let’s kill him.” The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

Many are called, but few are chosen.

God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And love your neighbour as yourself.

Do what they tell you, but don’t do what they do. They don’t practise what they preach.

You strain out a gnat and swallow a camel.

How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees. Hypocrites. You’re like whitewashed tombs: beautiful on the outside, full of dead people’s bones inside.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem. How often I’ve wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. And you wouldn’t let me.

You will hear of wars and rumours of wars. Don’t be alarmed. The end is still to come.

No one knows that day or hour, not the angels, not the Son, only the Father.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words never will.

I was hungry and you fed me. I was a stranger and you took me in. I was in prison and you visited me. Whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me.

Passover is two days away, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.

Wherever this good news is preached in the whole world, what she’s done will be told in memory of her.

Take it and eat. This is my body. All of you, drink from it. This is my blood of the covenant, poured out for many, so that sins can be forgiven.

My Father, if it’s possible, take this cup away from me. But not what I want. What you want.

Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And I’m with you always, right to the very end of the age.

The time has come. God’s kingdom is close. Turn back to God, and believe the good news.

Nobody pours new wine into old wineskins.

The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath.

A farmer went out to sow. Some seed fell on the path, some on rock, some among thorns. Some fell on good soil and gave a crop: thirty, sixty, a hundred times over. If you’ve got ears, listen.

These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

Nothing that goes into you from outside can make you unclean. It’s what comes out of the heart.

The Son of Man is going to be handed over and killed. And three days after he’s killed, he will rise.

Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of everyone.

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. Better to go into life missing a hand than to go into hell with two.

Have faith in God. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them.

Go into all the world and preach the good news to everyone.

Nobody pours new wine into old wineskins. The skins burst and the wine's lost. New wine needs new skins.

Blessed are you who are poor. God's kingdom is yours. Blessed are you who are hungry now. You'll be filled. Blessed are you who cry now. You'll laugh.

But how terrible for you who are rich. You've already had your comfort.

Love your enemies. Do good to people who hate you. Bless people who curse you. Pray for people who treat you badly. Treat others the way you'd want them to treat you.

Why do you call me “Lord, Lord” and not do what I say? Anyone who hears my words and does them is like someone who dug deep and built on rock. The flood came, and the house didn't even shake.

Your mouth speaks out of whatever your heart is full of.

John came fasting and not drinking wine, and you said he had an evil spirit. The Son of Man comes eating and drinking, and you say, “Look at him. Greedy, a drunk, friends with tax collectors and sinners.”

Her sins, and there are a lot of them, are forgiven. That's why she's shown so much love. Whoever has been forgiven little loves little.

The Son of Man has to suffer many things. Rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law. Killed. And on the third day, raised to life.

If you want to follow me, you have to say no to yourself, pick up your cross every day, and follow me. What good is it to gain the whole world and lose yourself?

Nobody who puts their hand to the plough and keeps looking back is fit for God's kingdom.

A man is beaten by robbers on the Jericho road and left half dead. A priest sees him and walks past on the other side. So does a Levite. Then a Samaritan stops, bandages him, takes him to an inn and pays for his care.

Ask, and you'll be given. Look, and you'll find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.

You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you're full of greed and wickedness. You give God a tenth of every little herb, and ignore justice and the love of God.

Aren't five sparrows sold for two small coins? God doesn't forget a single one of them. Even the hairs on your head are all counted. So don't be afraid. You're worth more than lots of sparrows.

A rich man's harvest is huge, so he plans bigger barns and an easy life. Eat, drink, enjoy yourself. But God says to him: “You fool. Tonight your life is being asked back from you.”

Wherever your treasure is, that's where your heart will be too.

From everyone who's been given much, much will be asked.

I came to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already burning. Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No. Division.

A man's fig tree hasn't had a single fig in three years. Cut it down. But the gardener says: sir, give it one more year. Let me dig round it and fertilise it. If it bears fruit next year, great. If not, cut it down.

Make every effort to get in through the narrow door. Some who are last will be first, and some who are first will be last.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem. You kill the prophets and stone the people sent to you. How often I've longed to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. And you weren't willing.

When you're invited to a wedding, don't take the best seat. Take the lowest one. Everyone who lifts themselves up will be brought down, and everyone who humbles themselves will be lifted up.

Big banquet, lots of guests invited, and the excuses roll in: “Just bought a field.” “Just bought five pairs of oxen.” “Just got married.” So the host sends out for the poor, the disabled, the blind and the lame.

If anyone comes to me and doesn't hate their father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even their own life, they can't be my disciple. Whoever doesn't carry their cross and follow me can't be my disciple.

Lose one sheep out of a hundred, and you'd leave the ninety-nine and go after it. There's more joy in heaven over one sinner who turns back to God than over ninety-nine who don't need to.

A woman has ten silver coins and loses one. She lights a lamp, sweeps the house and searches every corner until she finds it. Then she calls her friends and neighbours round: celebrate with me, I've found my coin. That's the joy in front of God's angels over one sinner who turns back to God.

A man has two sons. The younger asks for his share now and blows the lot in a far country. Ends up feeding pigs, starving. Then he comes to his senses: I'll go home and tell my father I don't deserve to be called his son.

While he's still a long way off, his father sees him and runs. Throws his arms round him. Best robe, ring, sandals, the fattened calf. “This son of mine was dead and is alive again. He was lost, and he's found.”

The older brother won't come in. All these years I've slaved for you. His father: “You're always with me, and everything I have is yours. But your brother was dead and is alive again. He was lost, and he's found.”

No one can serve two masters. You can't serve both God and money.

Whoever can be trusted with very little can be trusted with much.

A rich man feasts every day. At his gate lies Lazarus, poor and covered in sores. Both die. Lazarus is carried to Abraham's side. The rich man, in torment, begs for a drop of water. But there's a great gap between them nobody can cross.

The rich man begs Abraham: send Lazarus to warn my five brothers. Abraham: they have Moses and the Prophets. If they won't listen to them, they won't be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.

If your brother or sister wrongs you and says sorry, forgive them. Even if it's seven times in one day.

God's kingdom doesn't come in a way you can watch for. Nobody will say, “Here it is!” or “There it is!” Because God's kingdom is among you.

Remember Lot's wife. Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses it will keep it.

There's a judge who doesn't fear God or care what anyone thinks. A widow keeps coming to him: get me justice! For a while he won't. Then he thinks: I'll give her justice, or she'll wear me out.

Two men pray in the temple. The Pharisee: thank you, God, that I'm not like other people. Like this tax collector. The tax collector won't even look up: God, have mercy on me, a sinner. He's the one who went home right with God.

Today salvation has come to this house. The Son of Man came to look for the lost, and to save them.

A nobleman leaves his servants money to trade with. When he's back, one returns his untouched: “I kept it in a cloth. I was afraid of you.” Everyone who has will be given more. Whoever has nothing will lose even what they have.

I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will shout.

Watch out for the teachers of the law. They love walking round in long robes, being greeted in the market and the best seats. They swallow up widows' houses and then show off with long prayers.

Watch out that you're not fooled. Many will come in my name. They'll arrest you and persecute you because of me, and some of you they'll put to death. But not a hair of your head will be lost. Stand firm, and you'll win life.

They'll see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When it begins, stand up and lift your heads, because your rescue is close. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words never will.

The hand of the one who's going to betray me is here with mine on the table.

The greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the leader like the one who serves. I am among you as one who serves.

Have you come out with swords and clubs, as if I were leading a rebellion? Every day I was with you in the temple, and you never laid a hand on me. But this is your hour, when darkness rules.

The Messiah would suffer and rise on the third day, and in his name, turning back to God and forgiveness of sins would be announced to every nation, starting in Jerusalem. You're witnesses. Stay in the city until you're given power from heaven.

Destroy this temple, and I'll raise it up again in three days.

The wind blows wherever it wants. You hear it, but you can't tell where it comes from or where it's going. It's the same with everyone born of the Spirit.

God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him won't perish but will have eternal life.

Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. Whoever drinks the water I give will never be thirsty.

My food is doing what the one who sent me wants, and finishing his work.

You study the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. They are about me.

I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry.

Anyone who's thirsty, come to me and drink.

Whichever one of you has never sinned can throw the first stone at her.

I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in the dark.

You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

Before Abraham was born, I am.

Neither this man nor his parents sinned. It happened so that God's work could be seen in him.

The thief only comes to steal and kill and destroy. I've come so they can have life, and have it to the full.

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives up his life for the sheep.

The Father and I are one.

I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though they die.

Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it stays just one seed. But if it dies, it produces a big harvest.

I've given you an example. Do what I've done for you.

I'm giving you a new command: love each other. Love each other the way I've loved you.

Don't let your hearts be troubled. You trust God; trust me too. There are plenty of rooms in my Father's house.

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

I'm leaving you peace. My own peace, I'm giving it to you. And not the way the world gives.

I am the vine; you are the branches. Apart from me you can do nothing.

Nobody has greater love than this: to give up your life for your friends.

In this world you'll have trouble. But be brave. I've overcome the world.

Blessed are the people who haven't seen me and still believe.

You’ll receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. And you’ll be my witnesses: in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

I am the First and the Last. The Living One. I was dead, and look, I’m alive for ever and ever. I hold the keys of death and of the place of the dead.

I correct and discipline the people I love. Look, I’m standing at the door, knocking. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I’ll come in and eat with them, and they with me.

Look, I’m coming like a thief. Blessed is whoever stays awake and dressed, so they’re not caught naked and ashamed.

Look, I’m coming soon, and I’m bringing my reward with me, to repay everyone for what they’ve done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

I, Jesus, sent my angel to tell you all this for the churches. I am the Root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.

Yes, I’m coming soon.