HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1256
MAT T H EW 2 4
faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect
the more important things. 24 Blind guides! You
strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!*
25 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you
are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and
the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed
and self-indulgence! 26 You blind Pharisee! First
wash the inside of the cup and the dish,* and
then the outside will become clean, too.
27 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For
you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on
the outside but filled on the inside with dead
people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. 28 Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and
lawlessness.
29 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For
you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors
killed, and you decorate the monuments of the
godly people your ancestors destroyed. 30 Then
you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would never have joined them in killing
the prophets.’
31 “But in saying that, you testify against
yourselves that you are indeed the descendants
of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Go
ahead and finish what your ancestors started.
33 Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape
the judgment of hell?
34 “Therefore, I am sending you prophets and
wise men and teachers of religious law. But you
will kill some by crucifixion, and you will flog
others with whips in your synagogues, chasing
them from city to city. 35 As a result, you will
be held responsible for the murder of all godly
people of all time—from the murder of righteous
Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you killed in the Temple between
the sanctuary and the altar. 36 I tell you the truth,
this judgment will fall on this very generation.
Jesus Grieves over Jerusalem
37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the
prophets and stones God’s messengers! How
often I have wanted to gather your children
together as a hen protects her chicks beneath
her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. 38 And now,
look, your house is abandoned and desolate.*
39 For I tell you this, you will never see me again
until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes
in the name of the Lord!’*”
Jesus Speaks about the Future
As Jesus was leaving the Temple
grounds, his disciples pointed out to
him the various Temple buildings. 2 But he
responded, “Do you see all these buildings?
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I tell you the truth, they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of
another!”
3 Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His
disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell
us, when will all this happen? What sign will
signal your return and the end of the world?*”
4 Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead
you, 5 for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many.
6 And you will hear of wars and threats of wars,
but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take
place, but the end won’t follow immediately.
7 Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines
and earthquakes in many parts of the world.
8 But all this is only the first of the birth pains,
with more to come.
9 “Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and
killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers.* 10 And many will
turn away from me and betray and hate each
other. 11 And many false prophets will appear
and will deceive many people. 12 Sin will be
rampant everywhere, and the love of many will
grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the
end will be saved. 14 And the Good News about
the Kingdom will be preached throughout the
whole world, so that all nations* will hear it;
and then the end will come.
15 “The day is coming when you will see what
Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causes desecration* standing in the Holy Place.” (Reader, pay attention!)
16 “Then those in Judea must flee to the hills.
17 A person out on the deck of a roof must not
go down into the house to pack. 18 A person out
in the field must not return even to get a coat.
19 How terrible it will be for pregnant women
and for nursing mothers in those days. 20 And
pray that your flight will not be in winter or on
the Sabbath. 21 For there will be greater anguish
than at any time since the world began. And it
will never be so great again. 22 In fact, unless
that time of calamity is shortened, not a single
person will survive. But it will be shortened for
the sake of God’s chosen ones.
23 “Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the
Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it. 24 For
false messiahs and false prophets will rise up
and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. 25 See,
I have warned you about this ahead of time.
26 “So if someone tells you, ‘Look, the Messiah is out in the desert,’ don’t bother to go and
look. Or, ‘Look, he is hiding here,’ don’t believe
23:24 See Lev 11:4, 23, where gnats and camels are both
forbidden as food. 23:26 Some manuscripts do not include
and the dish. 23:38 Some manuscripts do not include and
desolate. 23:39 Ps 118:26. 24:3 Or the age? 24:9 Greek on
account of my name. 24:14 Or all peoples. 24:15 Greek the
abomination of desolation. See Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11.