30In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.
31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.
32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.
34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him.
35The next day he took out two denarii A denarius was the usual daily wage of a day laborer (see Matt. 20:2). and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
At the Home of Martha and Mary
38As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.
39She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.
40But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
41“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,
42but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Some manuscripts but only one thing is needed Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Jesus’ Teaching on Prayer
1One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
2He said to them, “When you pray, say: “ ‘Father, Some manuscripts Our Father in heaven hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Some manuscripts come. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
3Give us each day our daily bread.
4Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. Greek everyone who is indebted to us And lead us not into temptation. Some manuscripts temptation, but deliver us from the evil one ’ ”
5Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread;
6a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’
7And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’
8I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity Or yet to preserve his good name he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.
9“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
10For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
11“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for Some manuscripts for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?
12Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
13If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Jesus and Beelzebul
14Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed.
15But some of them said, “By Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.”
16Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.
17Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall.
18If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebul.
19Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.
20But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
21“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe.
22But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder.
23“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
24“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’
25When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order.
26Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”
27As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.”
28He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
The Sign of Jonah
29As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.
30For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.
31The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom; and now something greater than Solomon is here.
32The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now something greater than Jonah is here.
The Lamp of the Body
33“No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light.
34Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, The Greek for healthy here implies generous. your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, The Greek for unhealthy here implies stingy. your body also is full of darkness.
35See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.
36Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.”
Woes on the Pharisees and the Experts in the Law
37When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table.
THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.