As these men were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: 

What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothes? See, those who wear soft clothes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: 

See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way before you. 

Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has appeared, but the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been suffering violence, and the violent have been seizing it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you’re willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. Let anyone who has ears listen. 

To what should I compare this generation? It’s like children sitting in the marketplaces who call out to other children: 

We played the flute for you, 

but you did not dance; 

we sang a lament, 

but you did not mourn! 

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.

(Matthew 11:2-19)

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Can the blind guide the blind? Won’t they both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher. 

Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye, but don’t notice the beam of wood in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the splinter that is in your eye,’ when you yourself don’t see the beam of wood in your eye? Hypocrite! First take the beam of wood out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye. 

A good tree doesn’t produce bad fruit; neither does a bad tree produce good fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs aren’t gathered from thornbushes, or grapes picked from a brambles. A good person produces good out of the good stored up in his heart. An evil person produces evil out of the evil stored up in his heart, for his mouth speaks from the abundance of the heart. 

Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things I say? I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the water crashed against that house and couldn’t shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The water crashed against it, and immediately it collapsed. And the destruction of that house was great.

(Luke 6:17-49)

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Then he (Jesus) left the crowds and went into the house.

His disciples approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” 

He replied, 

The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world; and the good seed ,  these are the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. Therefore, just as the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom all who cause sin and those guilty of lawlessness. They will throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. The one having ears let him hear.

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he found one priceless pearl, he went and sold everything he had and bought it.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a large net thrown into the sea. It collected every kind of fish, and when it was full, they dragged it ashore, sat down, and gathered the good fish into containers, but threw out the worthless ones. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out, separate the evil people from the righteous, and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

Have you understood all these things? 

They answered him, “Yes.” 

He said to them, 

Therefore, every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his treasured things new and old.

(Matthew 13:34-52)

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and that’s enough for us.” 

Jesus said to him, 

Have I been among you all this time and you do not know me, Philip? The one who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who lives in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Otherwise, believe because of the works themselves. 

Truly, truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. 

If you love me, you will keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever. He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive him because it doesn’t see him or know him. But you do know him, because he remains with you and will be in you. 

I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Because I live, you will live too. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, you are in me, and I am in you. The one who has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. And the one who loves me will be loved by my Father. I also will love him and will reveal myself to him.

Judas, not Iscariot, said to him, 

Lord, how is it you’re going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world? 

Jesus answered, 

If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. The one who doesn’t love me will not keep my words. The word that you hear is not mine but is from the Father who sent me. 

I have spoken these things to you while I remain with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you. 

Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful. You have heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens so that when it does happen you may believe. I will not talk with you much longer, because the ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over me. On the contrary, so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do as the Father commanded me. 

And answering Jesus said to them, 

Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many. You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these events are the beginning of labor pains.

Then they will hand you over to be persecuted, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name. Then many will fall away, betray one another, and hate one another. Many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

So when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place, — let the reader understand — then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. A man on the housetop must not come down to get things out of his house, and a man in the field must not go back to get his coat. Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days! Pray that your escape may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For at that time there will be great distress, the kind that has not taken place from the beginning of the world until now and never will again. Unless those days were cut short, no one would be saved. But those days will be cut short because of the elect.

If anyone tells you then, ‘See, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Over here!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Behold, have told you in advance. So if they tell you, ‘See, he’s in the wilderness! ’ do not go out; or, ‘See, he’s in the storerooms! ’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the carcass is, there the vultures will gather.

Immediately after the distress of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the peoples of the earth will mourn; and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

(Matthew 24:1-31)

Now some Greeks were among those who went up to worship at the festival. So they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and requested of him, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 

Jesus replied to them, 

The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it produces much fruit. The one who loves his life will lose it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me. Where I am, there my servant also will be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

Now my soul is troubled. What should I say ? Father, save me from this hour. But that is why I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name.

Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 

The crowd standing there heard it and said it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” 

Jesus responded, 

This voice came, not for me, but for you. Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. As for me, if I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all people to myself.

He said this to indicate what kind of death he was about to die. 

Then the crowd replied to him, “We have heard from the law that the Messiah will remain forever. So how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?” 

Jesus answered, 

The light will be with you only a little longer. Walk while you have the light so that darkness doesn’t overtake you. The one who walks in darkness doesn’t know where he’s going. While you have the light, believe in the light so that you may become children of light.

Jesus said this, then went away and hid from them. (John 12:20-36)

One of the scribes approached. 

When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which command is the most important of all?”  

Jesus answered, 

The most important is 

Listen, Israel! 

The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 

Love the Lord your God 

with all your heart, 

with all your soul, 

with all your mind, and 

with all your strength. 

The second is, 

Love your neighbor as yourself. 

There is no other command greater than these.

Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, teacher. You have correctly said that he is one, and there is no one else except him. And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 

When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him,

You are not far from the kingdom of God.

And no one dared to question him any longer. 

“Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are truthful and teach truthfully the way of God. You don’t care what anyone thinks nor do you show partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 

Perceiving their malicious intent, Jesus said, 

Why are you testing me, hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax.

They brought him a denarius.

Jesus asked them,

Whose image and inscription is this?

They said to him, “Caesar’s.” 

Then he said to them, 

Give, then, to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.

When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away. 

That same day some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came up to him and questioned him: “Teacher, Moses said, if a man dies, having no children, his brother is to marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were seven brothers among us. The first got married and died. Having no offspring, he left his wife to his brother. The same thing happened to the second also, and the third, and so on to all seven. Last of all, the woman died. In the resurrection, then, whose wife will she be of the seven? For they all had her.” 

Jesus answered them, 

You are mistaken, because you don’t know the Scriptures or the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven. Now concerning the resurrection of the dead, haven’t you read what was spoken to you by God: I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

And when the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching. (Matthew 22:1-33)

Then the scribes and the chief priests looked for a way to get their hands on him that very hour, because they knew he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. (Luke 20:1-19)

Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables: 

The kingdom of heaven is like a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to summon those invited to the banquet, but they didn’t want to come. Again, he sent out other servants and said, ‘Tell those who are invited: See, I’ve prepared my dinner; my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’ 

But they paid no attention and went away, one to his own farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged, and he sent out his troops, killed those murderers, and burned down their city. 

Then he told his servants, ‘The banquet is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Go then to where the roads exit the city and invite everyone you find to the banquet.’ So those servants went out on the roads and gathered everyone they found, both evil and good. The wedding banquet was filled with guests. When the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless. 

Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

For many are invited, but few are chosen.

Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to trap him by what he said. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians.

(Matt 22:1-16)

When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority?” 

Jesus answered them, 

I will also ask you one question, and if you answer it for me, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Did John’s baptism come from heaven, or was it of human origin?

They discussed it among themselves, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him? ’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we’re afraid of the crowd, because everyone considers John to be a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” 

And he said to them, 

Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

What do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘My son, go work in the vineyard today.’

He answered, ‘I will not,’ but later he repented and went. Then the man went to the other and said the same thing. ‘I will, sir,’ he answered, but he didn’t go. Which of the two did his father’s will?

They said, “The first.” 

Jesus said to them, 

Truly I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you didn’t believe him. Tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; but you, when you saw it, didn’t even change your minds then and believe him.

Listen to another parable: There was a landowner, who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. He leased it to tenant farmers and went away. When the time came to harvest fruit, he sent his servants to the farmers to collect his fruit. The farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Again, he sent other servants, more than the first group, and they did the same to them. Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?

They told him, “He will completely destroy those terrible men, and lease his vineyard to other farmers who will give him his fruit at the harvest.” 

Jesus said to them, 

Have you never read in the Scriptures: 

The stone that the builders rejected 

has become the cornerstone. 

This is what the Lord has done 

and it is wonderful in our eyes?

Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to people producing its fruit. Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will shatter him.

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew he was speaking about them. Although they were looking for a way to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because the people regarded him as a prophet. (Matthew 21:23-46)