(Matthew 6:5–15)
1
And it came to pass, in His being in a certain place praying, as He ceased, a certain one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as also John taught his disciples.”
2
And He said to them, “When you may pray, say: Our Father who is in the heavens, hallowed be Your Name; Your kingdom come, Your will come to pass, as in Heaven also on earth;
3
be giving us daily our appointed bread;
4
and forgive us our sins, for we also ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us; and may You not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil [one].”
Ask, Seek, Knock
(Matthew 7:7–12)
5
And He said to them, “Who of you will have a friend, and will go on to him at midnight, and may say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves,
6
seeing a friend of mine came out of the way to me, and I have not what I will set before him,
7
and he from within answering may say, Do not give me trouble, the door has already been shut, and my children are with me in the bed, I am not able, having risen, to give to you.
8
I say to you, even if he will not give to him, having risen, because of his being his friend, yet because of his persistence, having risen, he will give him as many as he needs;
9
and I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you;
10
for everyone who is asking receives; and he who is seeking finds; and to him who is knocking it will be opened.
11
And of which of you—the father—[if] the son will ask [for] a loaf, will present to him a stone? And [if] a fish, instead of a fish, will present to him a serpent?
12
And [if] he may ask [for] an egg, will present to him a scorpion?
13
If, then, you, being evil, have known to be giving good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father who is from Heaven give the Holy Spirit to those asking Him!”
A House Divided
(Matthew 12:22–30; Mark 3:20–27)
14
And He was casting forth a demon, and it was mute, and it came to pass, the demon having gone forth, the mute man spoke, and the multitudes wondered,
15
and certain of them said, “By Beelzebul, ruler of the demons, He casts forth the demons”;
16
and others, tempting, were asking [for] a sign out of Heaven from Him.
17
And He, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom having been divided against itself is desolated; and house against house falls;
18
and if Satan was also divided against himself, how will his kingdom be made to stand? For you say by Beelzebul is My casting forth the demons,
19
but if I, by Beelzebul, cast forth the demons—your sons, by whom do they cast forth? Because of this they will be your judges;
20
but if by the finger of God I cast forth the demons, then the Kingdom of God came unaware on you.
21
When the strong man may keep his hall armed, his goods are in peace;
22
but when the stronger than he, having come on [him], may overcome him, he takes away his whole armor in which he had trusted, and he distributes his spoils;
23
he who is not with Me is against Me, and he who is not gathering with Me scatters.
An Unclean Spirit Returns
(Matthew 12:43–45)
24
When the unclean spirit may go forth from the man, it walks through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding, it says, I will return to my house from where I came forth;
25
and having come, it finds [it] swept and adorned;
26
then it goes, and takes to it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and having entered, they dwell there, and the last of that man becomes worse than the first.”
True Blessedness
27
And it came to pass, in His saying these things, a certain woman having lifted up the voice out of the multitude, said to Him, “Blessed the womb that carried You, and the breasts that You sucked!”
28
And He said, “Indeed, rather, blessed those hearing the word of God, and keeping [it]!”
The Sign of Jonah
(Jonah 3:1–10; Matthew 12:38–42)
29
And the multitudes crowding together on Him, He began to say, “This generation is evil, it seeks after a sign, and a sign will not be given to it, except the sign of Jonah the prophet,
30
for as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.
31
A queen of the south will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, [One] greater than Solomon [is] here!
32
Men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, because they converted at the proclamation of Jonah; and behold, [One] greater than Jonah [is] here!
The Lamp of the Body
(Matthew 6:22–24)
33
And no one having lighted a lamp, puts [it] in a secret place, nor under the measure, but on the lampstand, that those coming in may behold the light.
34
The lamp of the body is the eye, when then your eye may be simple, your whole body is also lightened; and when it may be evil, your body is also darkened;
35
take heed, then, lest the light that [is] in you is darkness;
36
if then your whole body is lightened, not having any part darkened, the whole will be lightened, as when the lamp by the brightness may give you light.”
Woes to Pharisees and Experts in the Law
(Matthew 23:1–36)
37
And in [His] speaking, a certain Pharisee was asking Him that He might dine with him, and having gone in, He reclined,
38
and the Pharisee having seen, wondered that He did not first immerse Himself before the early meal.
39
And the LORD said to him, “Now you, the Pharisees, make the outside of the cup and of the plate clean, but your inward part is full of robbery and wickedness.
40
Unthinking [ones]! Did He who made the outside not also make the inside?
41
But what you have given [as] alms, and behold, all things are clean to you.
42
But woe to you, the Pharisees, because you tithe the mint, and the rue, and every herb, and you pass by the judgment and the love of God; these things [you] should do, and those not to be neglecting.
43
Woe to you, the Pharisees, because you love the first seats in the synagogues and the salutations in the marketplaces.
44
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you are as the unseen tombs, and the men walking above have not known.”
45
And one of the lawyers answering, says to Him, “Teacher, saying these things, You also insult us”;
46
and He said, “And to you, the lawyers, woe! Because you burden men with burdens [too] grievous to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.
47
Woe to you, because you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.
48
Then you testify, and are well pleased with the works of your fathers, because they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs;
49
because of this also the wisdom of God said: I will send to them prophets, and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,
50
that the blood of all the prophets, that is being poured forth from the foundation of the world, may be required from this generation—
51
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharias, who perished between the altar and the house; yes, I say to you, it will be required from this generation.
52
Woe to you, the lawyers, because you took away the key of the knowledge; you yourselves did not enter; and you hindered those coming in.”
53
And in His speaking these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began fearfully to urge and to press Him to speak about many things,
54
laying wait for Him, and seeking to catch something out of His mouth, that they might accuse Him.
Copyright © 2020 Covenant Press and the CCC - licensed under CC BY-SA