The Life of the Christ - ForMinistry

Luke 11
out demons, whose power do your own followers
use to force them out? They are the ones who will
judge you. 20 But if I use God’s power to force out
demons, it proves that God’s kingdom has already
come to you.
21 When a strong man arms himself and guards
his home, everything he owns is safe. 22 But if a
stronger man comes and defeats him, he will carry off
the weapons in which the strong man trusted. Then
he will divide with others what he has taken. 23 If
you are not on my side, you are against me. If you
don’t gather in the crop with me, you scatter it.
Return of an Evil Spirit
24 When an evil spirit leaves a person, it travels
through the desert, looking for a place to rest. But
when it doesn’t find a place, it says, “I will go back to
the home I left.” 25 When it gets there and finds the
place clean and fixed up, 26 it goes off and finds seven
other evil spirits even worse than itself. They all come
and make their home there, and that person ends up
in worse shape than before.
Being Really Blessed
27 While Jesus was still talking, a woman in the crowd spoke
up, “The woman who gave birth to you and nursed you is
blessed!”
28 Jesus replied, “That’s true, but the people who are really
blessed are the ones who hear and obey God’s message!”
A Sign from God
29 As crowds were gathering around Jesus, he said:
You people of today are evil! You keep looking
for a sign from God. But what happened to Jonah is
the only sign you will be given. 30 Just as Jonah was a
sign to the people of Nineveh, the Son of Man will
be a sign to the people of today. 31 When the judgment
comes, the Queen of the South will stand there
with you and condemn you. She traveled a long way
to hear Solomon’s wisdom, and yet here is something
far greater than Solomon. 32 The people of
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Nineveh will also stand there with you and condemn
you. They turned to God when Jonah preached, and
yet here is something far greater than Jonah.
Light
33 No one lights a lamp and then hides it or
puts it under a clay pot. A lamp is put on a lampstand,
so that everyone who comes into the house can see
the light. 34 Your eyes are the lamp for your body.
When your eyes are good, you have all the light you
need. But when your eyes are bad, everything is dark.
35 So be sure that your light isn’t darkness. 36 If you
have light, and nothing is dark, then light will be
everywhere, as when a lamp shines brightly on you.
Jesus Condemns the Pharisees
and Teachers of the Law of Moses
37 When Jesus finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him
home for a meal. Jesus went and sat down to eat. 38 The Pharisee
was surprised that he did not wash his hands before eating. 39 So the
Lord said to him:
You Pharisees clean the outside of cups and
dishes, but on the inside you are greedy and evil.
40 You fools! Didn’t God make both the outside and
the inside? 41 If you would only give what you have to
the poor, everything you do would please God.
42 You Pharisees are in for trouble! You give
God a tenth of the spices from your gardens, such as
mint and rue. But you cheat people, and you don’t
love God. You should be fair and kind to others and
still give a tenth to God.
43 You Pharisees are in for trouble! You love
the front seats in the meeting places, and you like to
be greeted with honor in the market. 44 But you are in
for trouble! You are like unmarked graves that people
walk on without even knowing it.
45 A teacher of the Law of Moses spoke up, “Teacher, you
said cruel things about us.”
46 Jesus replied:
You teachers are also in for trouble! You load
people down with heavy burdens, but you won’t lift
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Jesus Goes to Jerusalem