Luke 10:17–12:12

¹⁷The 72 returned with joy. They said, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we speak in your name.”

¹⁸Jesus replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹I have given you authority to walk all over snakes and scorpions. You will be able to destroy all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you. ²⁰But do not be glad when the evil spirits obey you. Instead, be glad that your names are written in heaven.”

²¹At that time Jesus was full of joy through the Holy Spirit. He said, “I praise you, Father. You are Lord of heaven and earth. You have hidden these things from the wise and educated. But you have shown them to little children. Yes, Father. This is what you wanted.

²²“My Father has given all things to me. The Father is the only one who knows who the Son is. And the only ones who know the Father are the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to make the Father known.”

²³Then Jesus turned to his disciples. He said to them in private, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. ²⁴I tell you, many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see. But they didn’t see it. They wanted to hear what you hear. But they didn’t hear it.”

The Story of the Good Samaritan

²⁵One day an authority on the law stood up to put Jesus to the test. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to receive eternal life?”

²⁶“What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied. “How do you understand it?”

²⁷He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your strength and with all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ ”

²⁸“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do that, and you will live.”

²⁹But the man wanted to make himself look good. So he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

³⁰Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. Robbers attacked him. They stripped off his clothes and beat him. Then they went away, leaving him almost dead. ³¹A priest happened to be going down that same road. When he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³²A Levite also came by. When he saw the man, he passed by on the other side too.

³³But a Samaritan came to the place where the man was. When he saw the man, he felt sorry for him. ³⁴He went to him, poured olive oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey. He took him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵The next day he took out two silver coins. He gave them to the owner of the inn. ‘Take care of him,’ he said. ‘When I return, I will pay you back for any extra expense you may have.’

³⁶“Which of the three do you think was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by robbers?”

³⁷The authority on the law replied, “The one who felt sorry for him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do as he did.”

Jesus at the Home of Martha and Mary

³⁸Jesus and his disciples went on their way. Jesus came to a village where a woman named Martha lived. She welcomed him into her home. ³⁹She had a sister named Mary.

Mary sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. ⁴⁰But Martha was busy with all the things that had to be done. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, my sister has left me to do the work by myself. Don’t you care? Tell her to help me!”

⁴¹“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered. “You are worried and upset about many things. ⁴²But only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better. And it will not be taken away from her.”

Jesus Teaches About Prayer

11One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples spoke to him. “Lord,” he said, “teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

²Jesus said to them, “When you pray, this is what you should say.

“ ‘Father,

may your name be honored.

May your kingdom come.

³Give us each day our daily bread.

⁴Forgive us our sins,

as we also forgive everyone who sins against us.

Keep us from falling into sin when we are tempted.’ ”

⁵Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose someone has a friend. He goes to him at midnight. He says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread. ⁶A friend of mine on a journey has come to stay with me. I have nothing for him to eat.’

⁷“Then the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked. My children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’

⁸“I tell you, that person will not get up. And he won’t give the man bread just because he is his friend. But because the man keeps on asking, he will get up. He will give him as much as he needs.

⁹“So here is what I say to you. Ask, and it will be given to you. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰Everyone who asks will receive. He who searches will find. And the door will be opened to the one who knocks.

¹¹“Fathers, suppose your son asks for a fish. Which of you will give him a snake instead? ¹²Or suppose he asks for an egg. Which of you will give him a scorpion? ¹³Even though you are evil, you know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more will your Father who is in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Jesus and Beelzebub

¹⁴Jesus was driving out a demon. The man who had the demon could not speak. When the demon left, the man began to speak. The crowd was amazed.

¹⁵But some of them said, “Jesus is driving out demons by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons.” ¹⁶Others put Jesus to the test by asking for a miraculous sign from heaven.

¹⁷Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said to them, “Any kingdom that fights against itself will be destroyed. A family that is divided against itself will fall. ¹⁸If Satan fights against himself, how can his kingdom stand?

“I say this because of what you claim. You say I drive out demons by the power of Beelzebub. ¹⁹Suppose I do drive out demons with Beelzebub’s help. With whose help do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. ²⁰But suppose I drive out demons with the help of God’s powerful finger. Then God’s kingdom has come to you.

²¹“When a strong man is completely armed and guards his house, what he owns is safe. ²²But when someone stronger attacks, he is overpowered. The attacker takes away the armor the man had trusted in. Then he divides up what he has stolen.

²³“Anyone who is not with me is against me. Anyone who does not gather sheep with me scatters them.

²⁴“What happens when an evil spirit comes out of a man? It goes through dry areas looking for a place to rest. But it doesn’t find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ ²⁵When it arrives there, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. ²⁶Then the evil spirit goes and takes seven other spirits more evil than itself. They go in and live there. That man is worse off than before.”

²⁷As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out. She shouted, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.”

²⁸He replied, “Instead, blessed are those who hear God’s word and obey it.”

The Miraculous Sign of Jonah

²⁹As the crowds grew larger, Jesus spoke to them. “The people of today are evil,” he said. “They ask for a miraculous sign from God. But none will be given except the sign of Jonah. ³⁰He was a sign from God to the people of Nineveh. In the same way, the Son of Man will be a sign from God to the people of today.

³¹“The Queen of the South will stand up on judgment day with the men now living. And she will prove that they are guilty. She came from very far away to listen to Solomon’s wisdom. And now one who is more important than Solomon is here.

³²“The men of Nineveh will stand up on judgment day with the people now living. And the Ninevites will prove that those people are guilty. The men of Nineveh turned away from their sins when Jonah preached to them. And now one who is more important than Jonah is here.

The Eye Is the Lamp of the Body

³³“No one lights a lamp and hides it. No one puts it under a bowl. Instead, people put a lamp on its stand. Then those who come in can see the light.

³⁴“Your eye is like a lamp for your body. Suppose your eyes are good. Then your whole body also is full of light. But suppose your eyes are bad. Then your body also is full of darkness. ³⁵So make sure that the light inside you is not darkness.

³⁶“Suppose your whole body is full of light. And suppose no part of it is dark. Then your body will be completely lit up. It will be as when the light of a lamp shines on you.”

Six Warnings

³⁷Jesus finished speaking. Then a Pharisee invited him to eat with him. So Jesus went in and took his place at the table. ³⁸But the Pharisee noticed that Jesus did not wash before the meal. He was surprised.

³⁹Then the Lord spoke to him. “You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish,” he said. “But inside you are full of greed and evil. ⁴⁰You foolish people! Didn’t the one who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹Give to poor people what is inside the dish. Then everything will be clean for you.

⁴²“How terrible it will be for you Pharisees! You give God a tenth of your garden plants, such as mint and rue. But you have forgotten to be fair and to love God. You should have practiced the last things without failing to do the first.

⁴³“How terrible for you Pharisees! You love the most important seats in the synagogues. You love having people greet you in the market places.

⁴⁴“How terrible for you! You are like graves that are not marked. People walk over them without knowing it.”

⁴⁵An authority on the law spoke to Jesus. He said, “Teacher, when you say things like that, you say bad things about us too.”

⁴⁶Jesus replied, “How terrible for you authorities on the law! You put such heavy loads on people that they can hardly carry them. But you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.

⁴⁷“How terrible for you! You build tombs for the prophets. It was your people of long ago who killed them. ⁴⁸So you give witness that you agree with what your people did long ago. They killed the prophets, and now you build the prophets’ tombs.

⁴⁹“So God in his wisdom said, ‘I will send prophets and apostles to them.…