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Jesus Teaches about Forgiving

¹ Jesus said to His followers, "For sure, things will come that will make people sin. But it is bad for the person who makes someone else sin. ² It would be better for him to have a large rock put around his neck and be thrown into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.

³ "Watch yourselves! If your brother sins, speak sharp words to him. If he is sorry and turns from his sin, forgive him. ⁴ What if he sins against you seven times in one day? If he comes to you and says he is sorry and turns from his sin, forgive him."

⁵ The followers said to the Lord, "Give us more faith." ⁶ The Lord said, "If your faith was as a mustard seed, you could say to this tree, ‘Be pulled out of the ground and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.

Jesus Teaches about Being Faithful

⁷ "What if you owned a servant who was working in the field or taking care of sheep? Would you say to him when he came in from his work, ‘Come and sit down to eat?' ⁸ No, instead you would say, ‘Get my supper ready. Dress yourself and care for me until I am through eating and drinking. Then you can eat and drink.' ⁹ Does the servant get thanks for doing what he was told to do? I am sure he does not. ¹⁰ It is the same with you also. When you do everything you have been told to do, you must say, ‘We are not any special servants. We have done only what we should have done.'"

Jesus Heals Ten Men with a Bad Skin Disease

¹¹ Jesus went on His way to Jerusalem. He was passing between the countries of Samaria and Galilee. ¹² As He was going into one of the towns, ten men with a bad skin disease came to Him. They stood a little way off. ¹³ They called to Him, "Jesus! Teacher! Take pity on us!" ¹⁴ When Jesus saw them, He said, "Go and show yourselves to the religious leaders." As they went, they were healed. ¹⁵ One of them turned back when he saw he was healed. He thanked God with a loud voice. ¹⁶ He got down on his face at the feet of Jesus and thanked Him. He was from the country of Samaria. ¹⁷ Jesus asked, "Were there not ten men who were healed? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸ Is this stranger from another country the only one who turned back to give thanks to God?" ¹⁹ Then Jesus said to him, "Get up and go on your way. Your trust in God has healed you."

Jesus Teaches about the Holy Nation of God

²⁰ The proud religious law-keepers asked when the holy nation of God would come. Jesus said to them, "The holy nation of God is not coming in such a way that can be seen with the eyes. ²¹ It will not be said, ‘See, here it is!' or, ‘There it is!' For the holy nation of God is in you."

Jesus Tells of His Second Coming

²² Jesus said to His followers, "The time will come when you will wish you could see the Son of Man for one day. But you will not be able to. ²³ They will say to you, ‘He is here,' or, ‘He is there,' but do not follow them. ²⁴ When the Son of Man comes, He will be as lightning that shines from one part of the sky to the other. ²⁵ But before that, He must suffer many hard things. The people of this day will have nothing to do with Him.

²⁶ "As it was in the time of Noah, so will it be when the Son of Man comes back. ²⁷ People ate and drank. They married and were given in marriage. They did these things until the day Noah went into the large boat. Then the flood came and killed all the people on earth. ²⁸ It was the same in the time of Lot. People ate and drank. They bought and sold. They planted and built. ²⁹ But the day Lot left the city of Sodom, fire and sulphur came down from heaven like rain. It killed all the people of Sodom.

³⁰ "It will be the same on the day when the Son of Man comes again. ³¹ In that day the man who is on top of a house should not come down to take his things out of the house. In the same way, the man who is in the field should not go back to his house. ³² Remember Lot's wife!

³³ "He who wants to keep his life will have it taken away from him. He who loses his life will have it given back to him. ³⁴ I tell you, on that night there will be two men in the same bed. One of them will be taken. The other will be left. ³⁵ Two women will be grinding grain together. One of them will be taken. The other will be left. ³⁶ *Two men will be working in a field. One will be taken. The other will be left."

³⁷ Then they asked Jesus, "Where will this happen?" He said to them, "Birds also gather where there is a dead body."