Matthew 23

Jesus Condemns the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law of Moses

1 (Mark 12.38-40; Luke 11.37-52; 20.45-47) Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:

2 The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law are experts in the Law of Moses.

3 So obey everything they teach you, but don’t do as they do. After all, they say one thing and do something else.
4 They pile heavy burdens on people’s shoulders and won’t lift a finger to help.5 t5 Everything they do is just to show off in front of others. They even make a big show of wearing Scripture verses on their foreheads and arms, and they wear big tasselst for everyone to see.6 They love the best seats at banquets and the front seats in the meeting places.

7 And when they are in the market, they like to have people greet them as their teachers.
8 But none of you should be called a teacher. You have only one teacher, and all of you are like brothers and sisters.9 Don’t call anyone on earth your father. All of you have the same Father in heaven.10 None of you should be called the leader. The Messiah is your only leader.11 t11 Whoever is the greatest should be the servant of the others.

12 t12 If you put yourself above others, you will be put down. But if you humble yourself, you will be honored.

13-14 You Pharisees and teachers of the Law of Moses are in for trouble! You’re nothing but show-offs. You lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. You won’t go in yourselves, and you keep others from going in. t

15 You Pharisees and teachers of the Law of Moses are in for trouble! You’re nothing but show-offs. You travel over land and sea to win one follower. And when you have done so, you make that person twice as fit for hell as you are.
16 You are in for trouble! You are supposed to lead others, but you are blind. You teach that it doesn’t matter if a person swears by the temple. But you say that it does matter if someone swears by the gold in the temple.

17 You blind fools! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred?
18 You also teach that it doesn’t matter if a person swears by the altar. But you say that it does matter if someone swears by the gift on the altar.19 Are you blind? Which is more important, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?20 Anyone who swears by the altar also swears by everything on it.21 And anyone who swears by the temple also swears by God, who lives there.

22 t22 To swear by heaven is the same as swearing by God’s throne and by the one who sits on that throne.
23 t You Pharisees and teachers are show-offs, and you’re in for trouble! You give God a tenth of the spices from your garden, such as mint, dill, and cumin. Yet you neglect the more important matters of the Law, such as justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These are the important things you should have done, though you should not have left the others undone either.

24 You blind leaders! You strain out a small fly but swallow a camel.
25 You Pharisees and teachers are show-offs, and you’re in for trouble! You wash the outside of your cups and dishes, while inside there is nothing but greed and selfishness.

26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of a cup, and then the outside will also be clean.
27 t You Pharisees and teachers are in for trouble! You’re nothing but show-offs. You’re like tombs that have been whitewashed.t On the outside they are beautiful, but inside they are full of bones and filth.

28 That’s what you are like. Outside you look good, but inside you are evil and only pretend to be good.
29 You Pharisees and teachers are nothing but show-offs, and you’re in for trouble! You build monuments for the prophets and decorate the tombs of good people.30 And you claim that you would not have taken part with your ancestors in killing the prophets.31 But you prove that you really are the relatives of the ones who killed the prophets.32 So keep on doing everything they did.

33 t33 You are nothing but snakes and the children of snakes! How can you escape going to hell?
34 I will send prophets and wise people and experts in the Law of Moses to you. But you will kill them or nail them to a cross or beat them in your meeting places or chase them from town to town.35 t35 That’s why you will be held guilty for the murder of every good person, beginning with the good man Abel. This also includes Barachiah’s son Zechariah,t the man you murdered between the temple and the altar.36 I can promise that you people living today will be punished for all these things!

Jesus Loves Jerusalem

37 (Luke 13.34, 35) Jerusalem, Jerusalem! Your people have killed the prophets and have stoned the messengers who were sent to you. I have often wanted to gather your people, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you wouldn’t let me.38 t38 And now your temple will be deserted.

39 t39 You won’t see me again until you say, “Blessed is the one who comes
in the name of the Lord.”

Matthew 24

The Temple Will Be Destroyed

1 (Mark 13.1, 2; Luke 21.5, 6) After Jesus left the temple, his disciples came over and said, “Look at all these buildings!”

2 Jesus replied, “Do you see these buildings? They will certainly be torn down! Not one stone will be left in place.”

Warning About Trouble

3 (Mark 13.3-13; Luke 21.7-19) Later, as Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him in private and asked, “When will this happen? What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the world?”

4 Jesus answered: Don’t let anyone fool you.

5 Many will come and claim to be me. They will say that they are the Messiah, and they will fool many people.
6 You will soon hear about wars and threats of wars, but don’t be afraid. These things will have to happen first, but that isn’t the end.7 Nations and kingdoms will go to war against each other. People will starve to death, and in some places there will be earthquakes.

8 But this is just the beginning of troubles.
9 t You will be arrested, punished, and even killed. Because of me, you will be hated by people of all nations.10 Many will give up and will betray and hate each other.11 Many false prophets will come and fool a lot of people.12 Evil will spread and cause many people to stop loving others.13 t13 But if you keep on being faithful right to the end, you will be saved.14 When the good news about the kingdom has been preached all over the world and told to all nations, the end will come.

The Horrible Thing

15 (Mark 13.14-23; Luke 21.20-24) t Someday you will see that “Horrible Thing” in the holy place, just as the prophet Daniel said. Everyone who reads this must try to understand!16 If you are living in Judea at that time, run to the mountains.17 t17 If you are on the rooft of your house, don’t go inside to get anything.18 If you are out in the field, don’t go back for your coat.19 It will be a terrible time for women who are expecting babies or nursing young children.20 And pray that you won’t have to escape in winter or on a Sabbath.t21 t21 This will be the worst time of suffering since the beginning of the world, and nothing this terrible will ever happen again.

22 If God doesn’t make the time shorter, no one will be left alive. But because of God’s chosen ones, he will make the time shorter.
23 Someone may say, “Here is the Messiah!” or “There he is!” But don’t believe it.24 False messiahs and false prophets will come and work great miracles and signs. They will even try to fool God’s chosen ones.25 But I have warned you ahead of time.26 t26 If you are told that the Messiah is out in the desert, don’t go there! And if you are told that he is in some secret place, don’t believe it!27 The coming of the Son of Man will be like lightning that can be seen from east to west.28 t28 Where there is a corpse, there will always be buzzards. t

When the Son of Man Appears

29 (Mark 13.24-27; Luke 21.25-28) t Right after those days of suffering, “The sun will become dark,
and the moon
will no longer shine.
The stars will fall,
and the powers in the sky t will be shaken.”

30 t Then a sign will appear in the sky. And there will be the Son of Man.t All nations on earth will weep when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.31 At the sound of a loud trumpet, he will send his angels to bring his chosen ones together from all over the earth.

A Lesson from a Fig Tree

32 (Mark 13.28-31; Luke 21.29-33) Learn a lesson from a fig tree. When its branches sprout and start putting out leaves, you know that summer is near.33 So when you see all these things happening, you will know that the time has almost come.t34 I can promise you that some of the people of this generation will still be alive when all this happens.35 The sky and the earth won’t last forever, but my words will.

No One Knows the Day or Time

36 (Mark 13.32-37; Luke 17.26-30, 34-36) No one knows the day or hour. The angels in heaven don’t know, and the Son himself doesn’t know.t Only the Father knows.37 t37 When the Son of Man appears, things will be just as they were when Noah lived.38 People were eating, drinking, and getting married right up to the day that the flood came and Noah went into the big boat.

39 t39 They didn’t know anything was happening until the flood came and swept them all away. That is how it will be when the Son of Man appears.
40 Two men will be in the same field, but only one will be taken. The other will be left.41 Two women will be together grinding grain, but only one will be taken. The other will be left.42 So be on your guard! You don’t know when your Lord will come.43 t43 Homeowners never know when a thief is coming, and they are always on guard to keep one from breaking in.44 Always be ready! You don’t know when the Son of Man will come.

Faithful and Unfaithful Servants

45 (Luke 12.35-48) Who are faithful and wise servants? Who are the ones the master will put in charge of giving the other servants their food supplies at the proper time?46 Servants are fortunate if their master comes and finds them doing their job.47 You may be sure that a servant who is always faithful will be put in charge of everything the master owns.48 But suppose one of the servants thinks that the master won’t return until late.49 Suppose that evil servant starts beating the other servants and eats and drinks with people who are drunk.50 If that happens, the master will surely come on a day and at a time when the servant least expects him.

51 That servant will then be punished and thrown out with the ones who only pretended to serve their master. There they will cry and grit their teeth in pain.

Matthew 25

A Story About Ten Girls

1 t The kingdom of heaven is like what happened one night when ten girls took their oil lamps and went to a wedding to meet the groom.t2 Five of the girls were foolish and five were wise.3 The foolish ones took their lamps, but no extra oil.

4 The ones who were wise took along extra oil for their lamps.
5 The groom was late arriving, and the girls became drowsy and fell asleep.

6 Then in the middle of the night someone shouted, “Here’s the groom! Come to meet him!”
7 When the girls got up and started getting their lamps ready,

8 the foolish ones said to the others, “Let us have some of your oil! Our lamps are going out.”

9 The girls who were wise answered, “There’s not enough oil for all of us! Go and buy some for yourselves.”
10 While the foolish girls were on their way to get some oil, the groom arrived. The girls who were ready went into the wedding, and the doors were closed.

11 t11 Later the other girls returned and shouted, “Sir, sir! Open the door for us!”

12 But the groom replied, “I don’t even know you!”
13 So, my disciples, always be ready! You don’t know the day or the time when all this will happen.

A Story About Three Servants

14 (Luke 19.11-27) t The kingdom is also like what happened when a man went away and put his three servants in charge of all he owned.

15 The man knew what each servant could do. So he handed five thousand coins to the first servant, two thousand to the second, and one thousand to the third. Then he left the country.
16 As soon as the man had gone, the servant with the five thousand coins used them to earn five thousand more.17 The servant who had two thousand coins did the same with his money and earned two thousand more.

18 But the servant with one thousand coins dug a hole and hid his master’s money in the ground.
19 Some time later the master of those servants returned. He called them in and asked what they had done with his money.

20 The servant who had been given five thousand coins brought them in with the five thousand that he had earned. He said, “Sir, you gave me five thousand coins, and I have earned five thousand more.”

21 “Wonderful!” his master replied. “You are a good and faithful servant. I left you in charge of only a little, but now I will put you in charge of much more. Come and share in my happiness!”

22 Next, the servant who had been given two thousand coins came in and said, “Sir, you gave me two thousand coins, and I have earned two thousand more.”

23 “Wonderful!” his master replied. “You are a good and faithful servant. I left you in charge of only a little, but now I will put you in charge of much more. Come and share in my happiness!”
24 The servant who had been given one thousand coins then came in and said, “Sir, I know that you are hard to get along with. You harvest what you don’t plant and gather crops where you haven’t scattered seed.

25 I was frightened and went out and hid your money in the ground. Here is every single coin!”
26 The master of the servant told him, “You are lazy and good-for-nothing! You know that I harvest what I don’t plant and gather crops where I haven’t scattered seed.

27 You could have at least put my money in the bank, so that I could have earned interest on it.”
28 Then the master said, “Now your money will be taken away and given to the servant with ten thousand coins!29 t29 Everyone who has something will be given more, and they will have more than enough. But everything will be taken from those who don’t have anything.30 t30 You are a worthless servant, and you will be thrown out into the dark where people will cry and grit their teeth in pain.”

The Final Judgment

31 t When the Son of Man comes in his glory with all of his angels, he will sit on his royal throne.

32 The people of all nations will be brought before him, and he will separate them, as shepherds separate their sheep from their goats.
33 He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.34 Then the king will say to those on his right, “My father has blessed you! Come and receive the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world was created.35 When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me,

36 and when I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in jail, you visited me.”
37 Then the ones who pleased the Lord will ask, “When did we give you something to eat or drink?38 When did we welcome you as a stranger or give you clothes to wear

39 or visit you while you were sick or in jail?”

40 The king will answer, “Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me.”
41 Then the king will say to those on his left, “Get away from me! You are under God’s curse. Go into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels!42 I was hungry, but you did not give me anything to eat, and I was thirsty, but you did not give me anything to drink.

43 I was a stranger, but you did not welcome me, and I was naked, but you did not give me any clothes to wear. I was sick and in jail, but you did not take care of me.”

44 Then the people will ask, “Lord, when did we fail to help you when you were hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in jail?”

45 The king will say to them, “Whenever you failed to help any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you failed to do it for me.”

46 t Then Jesus said, “Those people will be punished forever. But the ones who pleased God will have eternal life.”