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Parables on Prayer

¹ Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ^(C1)ought to pray and not to ^(C2)lose heart,² saying, "In a certain city there was a certain judge who did not fear God and did not ^(C1)respect man.³ "Now there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Give me justice from my opponent.'⁴ "And for a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, 'Even though I do not fear God nor ^(C1)respect man,⁵ yet ^(C1)because this widow is bothering me, I will give her justice, lest by continually coming she ^(F1)(C2)wears me out.'"⁶ And ^(C1)the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge ^(*)said.⁷ "Now, will God not ^(C1)bring about justice for His ^(C2)elect who cry to Him day and night, ^(F1)and will He ^(C3)delay long over them?⁸ "I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, ^(C1)will He find that faith on the earth?"

⁹ And He also told this parable to some people who ^(C1)trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and ^(C2)viewed others with contempt:¹⁰ "Two men ^(C1)went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.¹¹ "The Pharisee ^(C1)stood and was praying these things to himself: 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.¹² 'I ^(C1)fast twice a week; I ^(C2)pay tithes of all that I get.'¹³ "But the tax collector, ^(C1)standing some distance away, ^(C2)was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but ^(C3)was ^(F1)beating his chest, saying, 'God, be ^(F2)merciful to me, the sinner!'¹⁴ "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other, ^(C1)for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted."

^15 (C1)And they were bringing even their babies to Him so that He would touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they were rebuking them.¹⁶ But Jesus called for them, saying, "Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.¹⁷ "Truly I say to you, ^(C1)whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it."

The Rich Young Ruler

^18 (C1)And a ruler questioned Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"¹⁹ And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.²⁰ "You know the commandments, '^(C1)DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.'"²¹ And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth."²² And when Jesus heard this, He said to him, "One thing you still lack: ^(C1)sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have ^(C2)treasure in heaven. And come, follow Me."²³ But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.²⁴ And Jesus looked at him and said, "^(C1)How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!²⁵ "For ^(C1)it is easier for a camel to ^(F1)go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."²⁶ And those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?"²⁷ But He said, "^(C1)The things that are impossible with people are possible with God."

²⁸ And Peter said, "Behold, ^(C1)we have left all that is our own and followed You."²⁹ And He said to them, "Truly I say to you, ^(C1)there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God,³⁰ who will not receive many times more at this time and in ^(C1)the age to come, eternal life."

^31 (C1)But when He took the twelve aside, He said to them, "Behold, ^(C2)we are going up to Jerusalem, and ^(C3)all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be ^(F1)completed.³² "^(C1)For He will be ^(F1)delivered over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon,³³ and after they have flogged Him, they will kill Him, and the third day He will rise again."³⁴ But ^(C1)the disciples understood none of these things, and this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.

Bartimaeus Regains His Sight

^35 (C1)Now it happened that as ^(F1)(C2)Jesus was approaching Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging.³⁶ Now hearing a crowd going by, he began to inquire what this was.³⁷ They reported to him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by."³⁸ And he called out, saying, "Jesus, ^(C1)Son of David, have mercy on me!"³⁹ And those who went ahead were rebuking him so that he would be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, "^(C1)Son of David, have mercy on me!"⁴⁰ And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him, and when he came near, He questioned him,⁴¹ "What do you want Me to do for you?" And he said, "Lord, I want to regain my sight!"⁴² And Jesus said to him, "^(F1)Receive your sight; ^(C1)your faith has ^(F2)saved you."⁴³ Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, ^(C1)glorifying God. And when ^(C2)all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.