Daily Bible Reading
Day 117
Today's reading: Matthew 22-24
Look for the promises in God’s word. As you read and find them, write them in your journal along with the scripture reference.
Matthew 22
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet
1. Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying:
2. “The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.
3. He sent his slaves to summon those who had been invited to the banquet, but they would not come.
4. Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look! The feast I have prepared for you is ready. My oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.”’
5. But they were indifferent and went away, one to his farm, another to his business.
6. The rest seized his slaves, insolently mistreated them, and killed them.
7. The king was furious! He sent his soldiers, and they put those murderers to death and set their city on fire.
8. Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but the ones who had been invited were not worthy.
9. So go into the main streets and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’
10. And those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all they found, both bad and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11. But when the king came in to see the wedding guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.
12. And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But he had nothing to say.
13. Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’
14. For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Paying Taxes to Caesar
15. Then the Pharisees went out and planned together to entrap him with his own words.
16. They sent to him their disciples along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful, and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You do not court anyone’s favor because you show no partiality.
17. Tell us then, what do you think? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
18. But Jesus realized their evil intentions and said, “Hypocrites! Why are you testing me?
19. Show me the coin used for the tax.” So they brought him a denarius.
20. Jesus said to them, “Whose image is this, and whose inscription?”
21. They replied, “Caesar’s.” He said to them, “Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
22. Now when they heard this they were stunned, and they left him and went away.
Marriage and the Resurrection
23. The same day Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to him and asked him,
24. “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and father children for his brother.’
25. Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children he left his wife to his brother.
26. The second did the same, and the third, down to the seventh.
27. Last of all, the woman died.
28. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.”
29. Jesus answered them, “You are deceived, because you don’t know the scriptures or the power of God.
30. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
31. Now as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God,
32. ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living!”
33. When the crowds heard this, they were amazed at his teaching.
The Greatest Commandment
34. Now when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they assembled together.
35. And one of them, an expert in religious law, asked him a question to test him:
36. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
37. Jesus said to him, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
38. This is the first and greatest commandment.
39. The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
40. All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
The Messiah: David’s Son and Lord
41. While the Pharisees were assembled, Jesus asked them a question:
42. “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said, “The son of David.”
43. He said to them, “How then does David by the Spirit call him ‘Lord,’ saying,
44. ‘The Lord said to my lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet”’?
45. If David then calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?”
46. No one was able to answer him a word, and from that day on no one dared to question him any longer.
Matthew 23
Seven Woes
1. Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,
2. “The experts in the law and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat.
3. Therefore pay attention to what they tell you and do it. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they teach.
4. They tie up heavy loads, hard to carry, and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing even to lift a finger to move them.
5. They do all their deeds to be seen by people, for they make their phylacteries wide and their tassels long.
6. They love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues
7. and elaborate greetings in the marketplaces, and to have people call them ‘Rabbi.’
8. But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher and you are all brothers.
9. And call no one your ‘father’ on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.
10. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one teacher, the Christ.
11. The greatest among you will be your servant.
12. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
13. “But woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You keep locking people out of the kingdom of heaven! For you neither enter nor permit those trying to enter to go in.
14. [[EMPTY]]
15. “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You cross land and sea to make one convert, and when you get one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves!
16. “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple is bound by nothing. But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by the oath.’
17. Blind fools! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred?
18. And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing. But if anyone swears by the gift on it he is bound by the oath.’
19. You are blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
20. So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.
21. And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and the one who dwells in it.
22. And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and the one who sits on it.
23. “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you neglect what is more important in the law – justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You should have done these things without neglecting the others.
24. Blind guides! You strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel!
25. “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
26. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside may become clean too!
27. “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean.
28. In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29. “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous.
30. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have participated with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
31. By saying this you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets.
32. Fill up then the measure of your ancestors!
33. You snakes, you offspring of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
34. “For this reason I am sending you prophets and wise men and experts in the law, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town,
35. so that on you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
36. I tell you the truth, this generation will be held responsible for all these things!
Judgment on Israel
37. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would have none of it!
38. Look, your house is left to you desolate!
39. For I tell you, you will not see me from now until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
Matthew 24
The Destruction of the Temple
1. Now as Jesus was going out of the temple courts and walking away, his disciples came to show him the temple buildings.
2. And he said to them, “Do you see all these things? I tell you the truth, not one stone will be left on another. All will be torn down!”
Signs of the End of the Age
3. As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
4. Jesus answered them, “Watch out that no one misleads you.
5. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will mislead many.
6. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Make sure that you are not alarmed, for this must happen, but the end is still to come.
7. For nation will rise up in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
8. All these things are the beginning of birth pains.
Persecution of Disciples
9. “Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and will kill you. You will be hated by all the nations because of my name.
10. Then many will be led into sin, and they will betray one another and hate one another.
11. And many false prophets will appear and deceive many,
12. and because lawlessness will increase so much, the love of many will grow cold.
13. But the person who endures to the end will be saved.
14. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole inhabited earth as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
The Abomination of Desolation
15. “So when you see the abomination of desolation – spoken about by Daniel the prophet – standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
16. then those in Judea must flee to the mountains.
17. The one on the roof must not come down to take anything out of his house,
18. and the one in the field must not turn back to get his cloak.
19. Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing their babies in those days!
20. Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.
21. For then there will be great suffering unlike anything that has happened from the beginning of the world until now, or ever will happen.
22. And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
23. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe him.
24. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
25. Remember, I have told you ahead of time.
26. So then, if someone says to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe him.
27. For just like the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so the coming of the Son of Man will be.
28. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
The Arrival of the Son of Man
29. “Immediately after the suffering of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken.
30. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
The Parable of the Fig Tree
32. “Learn this parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.
33. So also you, when you see all these things, know that he is near, right at the door.
34. I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
35. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
Be Ready!
36. “But as for that day and hour no one knows it – not even the angels in heaven – except the Father alone.
37. For just like the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be.
38. For in those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark.
39. And they knew nothing until the flood came and took them all away. It will be the same at the coming of the Son of Man.
40. Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one left.
41. There will be two women grinding grain with a mill; one will be taken and one left.
42. “Therefore stay alert, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
43. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have been alert and would not have let his house be broken into.
44. Therefore you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
The Faithful and Wise Slave
45. “Who then is the faithful and wise slave, whom the master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves their food at the proper time?
46. Blessed is that slave whom the master finds at work when he comes.
47. I tell you the truth, the master will put him in charge of all his possessions.
48. But if that evil slave should say to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’
49. and he begins to beat his fellow slaves and to eat and drink with drunkards,
50. then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee,
51. and will cut him in two, and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.