The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (76 page)

Interpreting the Present Time

54
 He also said to the multitudes, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, 'A shower is coming'; and so it happens.
⁵⁵
And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat'; and it happens.
⁵⁶
You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky; but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

Settling with Your Accuser

57
 "And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?
⁵⁸
As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison.
⁵⁹
I tell you, you will never get out till you have paid the very last copper."

Repent or Perish

13
  
There were some present at that very time who told him of the
Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices
.
²
And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered thus?
³
I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.
⁴
Or those eighteen upon whom the tower in Silo'am fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who dwelt in Jerusalem?
⁵
I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

6
 And he told this parable: "A man had a
fig tree
planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.
⁷
And he said to the vinedresser, 'Behold, these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down; why should it use up the ground?'
⁸
And he answered him, 'Let it alone, sir, this year also, till I dig about it and put on manure.
⁹
And if it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'
 
"

Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman

10
 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.
¹¹
And there was a woman who had had
a spirit of infirmity
for eighteen years; she was bent over and could not fully straighten herself.
¹²
And when Jesus saw her, he called her and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your infirmity."
¹³
And he laid his hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight, and she praised God.
¹⁴
But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the sabbath, said to the people, "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be healed, and not on the sabbath day."
¹⁵
Then the Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to water it?
¹⁶
And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham
whom Satan bound
for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?"
¹⁷
As he said this, all his adversaries were put to shame; and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

18
 He said therefore, "What is the kingdom of God like? And to
what shall I compare it
?
¹⁹
It is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his garden; and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches."

The Parable of the Leaven

20
 And again he said, "To what shall I compare the kingdom of God?
²¹
It is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened."

The Narrow Door

22
 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.
²³
And some one said to him, "Lord, will those who are saved be few?" And he said to them,
²⁴
"Strive to enter by
the narrow door
; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
²⁵
When once the householder has risen up and shut the door, you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, open to us.' He will answer you, 'I do not know where you come from.'
²⁶
Then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.'
²⁷
But he will say, 'I tell you, I do not know where you come from;
depart from me
, all you workers of iniquity!'
²⁸
There you will
weep and gnash
your teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves thrust out.
²⁹
And men will come from
east and west, and from north and south
, and sit at table in the kingdom of God.
³⁰
And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last."

The Lament over Jerusalem

31
 At that very hour some Pharisees came, and said to him, "
Get away from here
, for Herod wants to kill you."
³²
And he said to them, "Go and tell
that fox
, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course.
³³
Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.'
³⁴
O Jerusalem
, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!
³⁵
Behold,
your house is forsaken
. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!' "

Jesus Heals the Man with Dropsyon the Sabbath

14
 
 
One sabbath
when he went to dine at the house of a ruler who belonged to the Pharisees, they were watching him.
²
And behold, there was a man before him who had
dropsy
.
³
And Jesus spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath, or not?"
⁴
But they were silent. Then he took him and healed him, and let him go.
⁵
And he said to them, "Which of you, having a son
^s
or an ox that has fallen into a well, will not immediately pull him out on a sabbath day?"
⁶
And they could not reply to this.

Humility and Hospitality

7
 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he marked how they chose the places of honor, saying to them,
⁸
"When you are invited by any one to a marriage feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest a more eminent man than you be invited by him;
⁹
and he who invited you both will come and say to you, 'Give place to this man,' and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place.
¹⁰
But when you are invited, go and
sit in the lowest place
, so that when your host comes he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher'; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you.
¹¹
For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

12
 He said also to the man who had invited him, "When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your kinsmen or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and you be repaid.
¹³
But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind,
¹⁴
and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you.
You will be repaid
at the resurrection of the just."

The Parable of the Great Banquet

15
 When one of those who sat at table with him heard this, he said to him, "Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!"
¹⁶
But he said to him, "A man once gave
a great banquet
, and invited many;
¹⁷
and at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who
had been invited
, 'Come; for all is now ready.'
¹⁸
But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it; please, have me excused.'
¹⁹
And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them; please, have me excused.'
²⁰
And another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.'
²¹
So the servant came and reported this to his master. Then the householder in anger said to his servant, 'Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and maimed and blind and lame.'
²²
And the servant said, 'Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.'
²³
And the master said to the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedges, and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.
²⁴
For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.' "

The Cost of Discipleship

25
 Now great multitudes accompanied him; and he turned and said to them,
²⁶
"If any one comes to me and does not
hate
his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
 
*
²⁷
Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
²⁸
For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and
count the cost
, whether he has enough to complete it?
²⁹
Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,
³⁰
saying, 'This man began to build, and was not able to finish.'
³¹
Or what king, going to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?
³²
And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an embassy and asks terms of peace.
³³
So therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

About Salt

34
 "Salt is good; but if
salt
has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?
³⁵
It is fit neither for the land nor for the dunghill; men throw it away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

15
  
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him.
²
And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, "This man receives sinners and
eats with them
."

3
 So he told them
this parable
:
⁴
"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it?
⁵
And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
⁶
And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.'
⁷
Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.