VII. His Ministry in and around Perea (13:22;19:27)
The Narrow Door (13:22-30)Warning concerning Herod (13:31-35)At a Pharisee's House (14:1-23)The Cost of Discipleship (14:24-35)- The Parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin and the Lost Son (ch. 15)
- The Parable of the Shrewd Manager (16:1-18)
- The Rich Man and Lazarus (16:19-31)
Miscellaneous Teachings (17:1-10)Ten Healed of Leprosy (17:11-19)The Coming of the Kingdom (17:20-37)The Persistent Widow (18:1-8)The Pharisee and the Tax Collector (18:9-14)Jesus and the Children (18:15-17)The Rich Young Ruler (18:18-30)Christ Foretells His Death (18:31-34)A Blind Beggar Given His Sight (18:35-43)Jesus and Zacchaeus (19:1-10)The Parable of the Ten Minas (19:11-27)
Luke
15 NLT
1 Tax collectors and other notorious
sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach.
2 This made the Pharisees and teachers of
religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even
eating with them!
3 So Jesus told them this story:
4 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of
them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the
wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it?
5 And when he has found it, he will
joyfully carry it home on his shoulders.
6 When he arrives, he will call together
his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my
lost sheep.’
7 In the same way, there is more joy in
heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over
ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!
8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins
and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search
carefully until she finds it?
9 And when she finds it, she will call in
her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my
lost coin.’
10 In the same way, there is joy in the
presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”
11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus
told them this story: “A man had two sons.
12 The younger son told his father, ‘I want
my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his
wealth between his sons.
13 “A few days later this younger son
packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all
his money in wild living.
14 About the time his money ran out, a
great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve.
15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him,
and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs.
16 The young man became so hungry that even
the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him
anything.
17 “When he finally came to his senses, he
said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare,
and here I am dying of hunger!
18 I will go home to my father and say,
“Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you,
19 and I am no longer worthy of being
called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’
20 “So he returned home to his father. And
while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love
and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.
21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have
sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called
your son. ’
22“But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick!
Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger
and sandals for his feet.
23 And kill the calf we have been
fattening. We must celebrate with a feast,
24 for this son of mine was dead and has
now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party
began.
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the
fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house,
26 and he asked one of the servants what
was going on.
27 ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told,
‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of
his safe return.’
28 “The older brother was angry and
wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him,
29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve
slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And
in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my
friends.
30 Yet when this son of yours comes back
after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the
fattened calf!’
31 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear
son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours.
32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For
your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is
found!’”
Luke
16 NLT
1 Jesus
told this story to his disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a
manager handling his affairs. One day a report came that the manager was
wasting his employer’s money.
2 So
the employer called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Get your
report in order, because you are going to be fired.’
3 “The
manager thought to himself, ‘Now what? My boss has fired me. I don’t have the
strength to dig ditches, and I’m too proud to beg.
4 Ah,
I know how to ensure that I’ll have plenty of friends who will give me a home
when I am fired.’
5 “So
he invited each person who owed money to his employer to come and discuss the
situation. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe him?’
6 The
man replied, ‘I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.’ So the manager told
him, ‘Take the bill and quickly change it to 400 gallons. ’
7 “‘And
how much do you owe my employer?’ he asked the next man. ‘I owe him 1,000
bushels of wheat,’ was the reply. ‘Here,’ the manager said, ‘take the bill and
change it to 800 bushels. ’
8 “The
rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true
that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world
around them than are the children of the light.
9 Here’s
the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends.
Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an
eternal home.
10 “If
you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if
you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater
responsibilities.
11And
if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true
riches of heaven?
12 And
if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted
with things of your own?
13 “No
one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will
be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and
money.”
14 The
Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, heard all this and scoffed at
him.
15 Then
he said to them, “You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your
hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.
16 “Until
John the Baptist, the law of Moses and the messages of the prophets were your
guides. But now the Good News of the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone
is eager to get in.
17 But
that doesn’t mean that the law has lost its force. It is easier for heaven and
earth to disappear than for the smallest point of God’s law to be
overturned.
18 “For
example, a man who divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery.
And anyone who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.”
19 Jesus
said, “There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and
fine linen and who lived each day in luxury.
20 At
his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores.
21 As
Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would
come and lick his open sores.
22 “Finally,
the poor man died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich
man also died and was buried,
23 and
his soul went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in
the far distance with Lazarus at his side.
24 “The
rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to
dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these
flames.’
25 “But
Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had
everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being
comforted, and you are in anguish.
26 And
besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you
from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’
27 “Then
the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s
home.
28 For
I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this
place of torment.’
29 “But
Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read
what they wrote.’
30 “The
rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the
dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’
31 “But Abraham said, ‘If they
won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone
rises from the dead.’”
