The Parable of the
Persistent
Widow
1 Then Jesus told his
disciples
a parable
to show
them that
they
should
always
pray and
not give
up.
2 He
said: “In
a certain
town there
was a
judge who
neither
feared God
nor cared
what
people
thought.
3 And
there was
a widow in
that town
who kept
coming to
him with
the plea,
‘Grant me
justice
against my
adversary.’
4 “For some time he
refused.
But
finally he
said to
himself,
‘Even
though I
don’t fear
God or
care what
people
think,
5 yet
because
this widow
keeps
bothering
me, I will
see that
she gets
justice,
so that
she won’t
eventually
come and
attack
me!’”
6 And the Lord said,
“Listen to
what the
unjust
judge
says.
7 And
will not
God bring
about
justice
for his
chosen
ones, who
cry out to
him day
and night?
Will he
keep
putting
them off?
8 I tell
you, he
will see
that they
get
justice,
and
quickly.
However,
when the
Son of Man
comes,
will he
find faith
on the
earth?”
The Parable of the
Pharisee
and the
Tax
Collector
9 To some who were
confident
of their
own
righteousness
and looked
down on
everyone
else,
Jesus told
this
parable:
10 “Two
men went
up to the
temple to
pray, one
a Pharisee
and the
other a
tax
collector.
11 The
Pharisee
stood by
himself
and
prayed:
‘God, I
thank you
that I am
not like
other
people—robbers,
evildoers,
adulterers—or
even like
this tax
collector.
12 I fast
twice a
week and
give a
tenth of
all I
get.’
13 “But the tax collector
stood at a
distance.
He would
not even
look up to
heaven,
but beat
his breast
and said,
‘God, have
mercy on
me, a
sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this
man,
rather
than the
other,
went home
justified
before
God. For
all those
who exalt
themselves
will be
humbled,
and those
who humble
themselves
will be
exalted.”
The Little
Children
and Jesus
15 People were also
bringing
babies to
Jesus for
him to
place his
hands on
them. When
the
disciples
saw this,
they
rebuked
them.
16 But
Jesus
called the
children
to him and
said, “Let
the little
children
come to
me, and do
not hinder
them, for
the
kingdom of
God
belongs to
such as
these.
17 Truly I
tell you,
anyone who
will not
receive
the
kingdom of
God like a
little
child will
never
enter it.”
The Rich and the
Kingdom of
God
18 A certain ruler asked
him, “Good
teacher,
what must
I do to
inherit
eternal
life?”
19 “Why do you call me
good?”
Jesus
answered.
“No one is
good—except
God alone.
20 You
know the
commandments:
‘You shall
not commit
adultery,
you shall
not
murder,
you shall
not steal,
you shall
not give
false
testimony,
honor your
father and
mother.’”
21 “All these I have kept
since I
was a
boy,” he
said.
22 When Jesus heard this,
he said to
him, “You
still lack
one thing.
Sell
everything
you have
and give
to the
poor, and
you will
have
treasure
in heaven.
Then come,
follow
me.”
23 When he heard this, he
became
very sad,
because he
was very
wealthy.
24 Jesus
looked at
him and
said, “How
hard it is
for the
rich to
enter the
kingdom of
God!
25 Indeed,
it is
easier for
a camel to
go through
the eye of
a needle
than for
someone
who is
rich to
enter the
kingdom of
God.”
26 Those who heard this
asked,
“Who then
can be
saved?”
27 Jesus replied, “What is
impossible
with man
is
possible
with God.”
28 Peter said to him, “We
have left
all we had
to follow
you!”
29 “Truly I tell you,”
Jesus said
to them,
“no one
who has
left home
or wife or
brothers
or sisters
or parents
or
children
for the
sake of
the
kingdom of
God
30 will
fail to
receive
many times
as much in
this age,
and in the
age to
come
eternal
life.”
Jesus Predicts His
Death a
Third Time
31 Jesus took the Twelve
aside and
told them,
“We are
going up
to
Jerusalem,
and
everything
that is
written by
the
prophets
about the
Son of Man
will be
fulfilled.
32 He will
be
delivered
over to
the
Gentiles.
They will
mock him,
insult him
and spit
on him;
33 they
will flog
him and
kill him.
On the
third day
he will
rise
again.”
34 The disciples did not
understand
any of
this. Its
meaning
was hidden
from them,
and they
did not
know what
he was
talking
about.
A Blind Beggar
Receives
His Sight
35 As Jesus approached
Jericho, a
blind man
was
sitting by
the
roadside
begging.
36 When he
heard the
crowd
going by,
he asked
what was
happening.
37 They
told him,
“Jesus of
Nazareth
is passing
by.”
38 He called out, “Jesus,
Son of
David,
have mercy
on me!”
39 Those who led the way
rebuked
him and
told him
to be
quiet, but
he shouted
all the
more, “Son
of David,
have mercy
on me!”
40 Jesus stopped and
ordered
the man to
be brought
to him.
When he
came near,
Jesus
asked him,
41 “What
do you
want me to
do for
you?”
“Lord, I want to see,” he
replied.
42 Jesus said to him,
“Receive
your
sight;
your faith
has healed
you.”
43 Immediately
he
received
his sight
and
followed
Jesus,
praising
God. When
all the
people saw
it, they
also
praised
God.