Streetlights New Testament - Flipbook - Page 25
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M at t h e w 8
Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened
to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives.
Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone
who knocks, the door will be opened.
9 “You parents—if your children ask for a
loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead?
10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a
snake? Of course not! 11So if you sinful people
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your heavenly Father give
good gifts to those who ask him.
winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse
because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone
who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is
foolish, like a person who builds a house on
sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and
the winds beat against that house, it will col
lapse with a mighty crash.”
28 When
Jesus had finished saying these
things, the crowds were amazed at his teach
ing, 29for he taught with real a uthority—quite
unlike their teachers of religious law.
The Golden Rule
12 “Do to others whatever you would like them
to do to you. This is the essence of all that is
taught in the law and the prophets.
Jesus Heals a Man with Leprosy
Large crowds followed J esus as he came
down the mountainside. 2Suddenly, a man
with leprosy approached him and knelt before
him. “Lord,” the man said, “if you are willing,
you can heal me and make me clean.”
3 Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am
willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the
leprosy disappeared. 4 Then J esus said to him,
“Don’t tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the
priest and let him examine you. Take along
the offering required in the law of Moses for
those who have been healed of leprosy. This
will be a public testimony that you have been
cleansed.”
The Narrow Gate
13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through
the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad,
and its gate is wide for the many who choose
that way. 14But the gateway to life is very nar
row and the road is difficult, and only a few
ever find it.
The Tree and Its Fruit
15 “Beware of false prophets who come dis
guised as harmless sheep but are really vicious
wolves. 16You can identify them by their fruit,
that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes
from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17A
good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree
produces bad fruit. 18A good tree can’t produce
bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good
fruit. 19 So every tree that does not produce
good fruit is chopped down and thrown into
the fire. 20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree
by its fruit, so you can identify people by their
actions.
True Disciples
21 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord!
Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only
those who actually do the will of my Father in
heaven will enter. 22On judgment day many will
say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your
name and cast out demons in your name and
performed many miracles in your name.’ 23But
I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from
me, you who break God’s laws.’
Building on a Solid Foundation
24“Anyone who listens to my teaching and
follows it is wise, like a person who builds a
house on solid rock. 25Though the rain comes
in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the
8
The Faith of a Roman Officer
5 When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman
officer came and pleaded with him, 6“Lord, my
young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in ter
rible pain.”
7 Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.”
8 But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy
to have you come into my home. Just say the
word from where you are, and my servant will
be healed. 9I know this because I am under the
authority of my superior officers, and I have
authority over my soldiers. I only need to say,
‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And
if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”
10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed.
Turning to those who were following him, he
said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith
like this in all Israel! 11And I tell you this, that
many Gentiles will come from all over the
world—from east and west—and sit down
with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast
in the Kingdom of Heaven. 12 But many Isra
elites—those for whom the Kingdom was pre
pared—will be thrown into outer darkness,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth.”
13 Then J
esus said to the Roman officer,
“Go back home. Because you believed, it has
