Immerse: Messiah - Flipbook - Page 295
12:31–13:2
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the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and
all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor
as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
The teacher of religious law replied, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other. And I know
it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and
all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important
than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.”
Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, “You are
not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask him
any more questions.
Later, as Jesus was teaching the people in the Temple, he asked, “Why do
the teachers of religious law claim that the Messiah is the son of David?
For David himself, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said,
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit in the place of honor at my right hand
until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’
Since David himself called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be
his son?” The large crowd listened to him with great delight.
Jesus also taught: “Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they
like to parade around in flowing robes and receive respectful greetings
as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor
in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. Yet they shamelessly
cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be more severely
punished.”
Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the
crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts.
Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.
Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor
widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions.
For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given
everything she had to live on.”
As Jesus was leaving the Temple that day, one of his disciples said, “Teacher,
look at these magnificent buildings! Look at the impressive stones in the
walls.”
Jesus replied, “Yes, look at these great buildings. But they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!”
