The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (75 page)

24
 "When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places seeking rest; and finding none he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'
²⁵
And when he comes he finds it swept and put in order.
²⁶
Then he goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and
the last state
of that man becomes worse than the first."

True Blessedness

27
 As he said this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked!"
²⁸
But he said, "
Blessed
rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"

The Sign of Jonah

29
 When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, "This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of
Jonah
.
³⁰
For as Jonah became a sign to the men of Nin'eveh, so will the Son of man be to this generation.
³¹
The queen of the South will arise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
³²
The men of Nin'eveh will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

The Light of the Body

33
 "
No one after lighting a lamp
puts it in a cellar or under a bushel, but on a stand, that those who enter may see the light.
³⁴
Your eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is sound, your whole body is full of light; but when it is
not sound
, your body is full of darkness.
³⁵
Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness.
³⁶
If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light."

Jesus Denounces the Hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Lawyers

37
 While he was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him; so he went in and sat at table.
³⁸
The Pharisee was astonished to see that he
did not first wash
before dinner.
³⁹
And the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees
cleanse the outside
of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of extortion and wickedness.
⁴⁰
You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also?
⁴¹
But give for alms those things which are within; and behold, everything is clean for you.

42
 "But
woe to you
Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
⁴³
Woe to you Pharisees! for you love the best seat in the synagogues and salutations in the market places.
⁴⁴
Woe to you! for you are
like graves
which are not seen, and men walk over them without knowing it."

45
 One of the lawyers answered him, "Teacher, in saying this you reproach us also."
⁴⁶
And he said, "Woe to you lawyers also! for you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.
⁴⁷
Woe to you! for you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed.
⁴⁸
So you are witnesses and consent to the deeds of your fathers; for they killed them, and you build their tombs.
⁴⁹
Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,'
⁵⁰
that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation,
⁵¹
from the blood of
Abel to the blood of Zechari'ah
, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it shall be required of this generation.
⁵²
Woe to you lawyers! for you have taken away
the key of knowledge
; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering."

53
 As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard, and to provoke him to speak of many things,
⁵⁴
lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.

A Warning against Hypocrisy

12
  
In the meantime, when so many thousands of the multitude had gathered together that they trod upon one another, he began to say to his disciples first, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is
hypocrisy
.
²
Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.
³
Whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.

Whom to Fear

4
 "I tell you, my friends,
do not fear
those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
⁵
But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has power to cast into hell;
^m
yes, I tell you, fear him!
⁶
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God.
⁷
Why, even
the hairs of your head
are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

8
 "And I tell you, every one who acknowledges me before men, the Son of man also will acknowledge before the angels of God;
⁹
but he who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.
¹⁰
And every one who speaks a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
¹¹
And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how or what you are to answer or what you are to say;
¹²
for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."

The Parable of the Rich Fool

13
 One of the multitude said to him, "Teacher, bid my brother divide
the inheritance
with me."
¹⁴
But he said to him, "Man, who made me a judge or divider over you?"
¹⁵
And he said to them, "Take heed, and beware of all covetousness; for a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
¹⁶
And he told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully;
¹⁷
and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?'
¹⁸
And he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and build larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
¹⁹
And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease,
eat, drink, be merry
.'
²⁰
But God said to him, '
Fool
! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?'
²¹
So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."

Do Not Be Anxious

22
 And he said to his disciples, "
Therefore I tell you
, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat, nor about your body, what you shall put on.
²³
For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.
²⁴
Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!
²⁵
And which of you by being anxious can add a cubit to his span of life?
^n
26
If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?
²⁷
Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin;
^o
yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.
²⁸
But if God so clothes the grass which is alive in the field today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O men of little faith!
²⁹
And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be of anxious mind.
30
sup>
For all the nations of the world seek these things; and your Father knows that you need them.
³¹
Instead, seek his
^p
kingdom, and these things shall be yours as well.

32
 "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
³³
Sell your possessions, and
give alms
; provide yourselves with purses that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.
³⁴
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

The Necessity of Watchfulness

35
 "Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning,
³⁶
and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the marriage feast, so that they may open to him at once when he comes and knocks.
³⁷
Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes; truly, I say to you, he will put on his apron and have them sit at table, and he will come and serve them.
³⁸
If he comes in the
second watch, or in the third
, and finds them so, blessed are those servants!
³⁹
But know this, that if the householder had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would have been awake and
^q
would not have left his house to be broken into.
⁴⁰
You also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

The Faithful and the Unfaithful Servant

41
 Peter said, "Lord, are you telling
this parable
for us or for all?"
⁴²
And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time?
⁴³
Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes will find so doing.
⁴⁴
Truly I tell you, he will set him over all his possessions.
⁴⁵
But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and drink and get drunk,
⁴⁶
the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will punish
^r
him, and put him with the unfaithful.
⁴⁷
And that servant who knew his master's will, but did not make ready or act according to his will, shall receive a severe beating.
⁴⁸
But he who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, shall receive a light beating. Every one to whom much is given, of him will much be required; and of him to whom men commit much they will demand the more.

Jesus the Cause of Division

49
 "I came to cast
fire
upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled!
⁵⁰
I have
a baptism
to be baptized with; and how I am constrained until it is accomplished!
⁵¹
Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division;
⁵²
for henceforth in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three;
⁵³
they will be divided
, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against her mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."