18
About a widow woman and a judge
1 Then Jesus told his disciples a story so they would know that they should always pray and not get tired and discouraged.
2 There was once a ruler. His work was to judge whether people were good or bad, but he didn't take notice of God or anyone else. 3-4 A woman who lived in the same town came to him for help. She was a widow and she said, “Please help me, because a man has made trouble for me. So decide between us and speak to him for me, because he is a troublemaker.”
But the judge didn't want to and he kept on putting her off and not helping her. She kept on and on coming to him all the time, but the judge still refused to help her.
Then at last he said to himself, “I don't take any notice of God or anyone else, 5 but I am tired of this widow. So I will have to help her. If I don't decide something good for her, she will keep on and on coming to me and I will be more tired of her than ever.”
6 The Lord Jesus told his disciples this story, and then he said to them, “Think about that judge. At last he helped the widow even though he was bad. 7 But God always hears his people and looks after them. So when you call out to God day and night he will hear you, and he will decide what is good for you. He will help the people he has chosen to be his own. He won't wait. 8 He will help you quickly. Truly I, the one who was born in this world, will come back here. Maybe people will be waiting for me and still trusting me, but maybe they won't.”
About the Pharisee and the tax collector
9 This is another story that Jesus told. He told it to some proud people who were always saying, “We are all good, but you people are bad.”
10 There were two men living in Jerusalem. One was a Pharisee and the other man worked for the Roman rulers and collected tax money from people. They both went to the temple to pray to God.
11 The Pharisee went inside and stood by himself praying. He said, “God, I thank you because I am not like other people are today. They steal money and things and they are greedy. They are very bad and they keep running off with women. I am not like them. And I am not at all like that bad man over there who works for the Romans. 12 I go without food twice a week so that I can worship you. And when I get any money I count it, and I always give you one tenth.”
13 The other man didn't come near anyone but he stood by himself a long way away. When he prayed, he didn't look up to heaven. He beat his chest because he was ashamed. He said, “God, I am a sinner. Have pity on me.”
14 After Jesus had told the people this story, he said to them, “God wasn't pleased with the Pharisee but he was pleased with that tax collector. So if you aren't proud, God will say to you, ‘You are important.’ But if any of you are proud, God will make you ashamed.”
About people bringing children to Jesus
15 Then some people brought their little children to Jesus for him to touch them. But Jesus' disciples saw them coming to him, and they got cross with them, because they didn't like the children coming.
16 But Jesus called the children to come to him. Then he said to his disciples, “Don't stop them, leave the children alone and let them come to me. Listen! When any of you come to God like these little children have come to me today, you will know that God is ruling over you now. 17 But if any of you don't trust in God, you won't know about God ruling over you. You should trust in God too, just like these little children trust in him.”
About a rich man who came to Jesus
18 Later a Jewish leader came to Jesus and said, “Good Teacher, tell me, what must I do to live forever?”
19 Jesus said, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God. 20 You know the commandments. They tell us not to take other people's wives or husbands, not to murder and not to steal and not to tell lies about people, and to respect our fathers and mothers.”
21 “Yes,” the man answered. “I know them. I have obeyed all those commandments from when I was a child, right up until today.”
22 When Jesus heard that, he said to him, “There is still one more thing you should do. You should give money to poor people. First sell everything you have and then give all the money you get to the poor. If you do that, then later God will give you many good things in heaven. First of all do as I have said, and then come and follow me.”
23 When the man heard that, he was very sad, because he was very rich and had a lot of money and things.
24 Jesus saw that he was sad and said, “How can rich people get into heaven? 25 It is hard for a rich person to trust in God, and it is hard for him to get into heaven. Tell me this. Can a big camel get through a tiny hole? Of course not! It can't get through. And can a rich man easily get into heaven? No, he can't!”
26 Some other people heard what Jesus said, and they were surprised. They said, “Then who can God save?”
27 So Jesus said, “God can do everything. People can't, but God can.”
28 Then Peter said, “We have left everything and followed you.”
29 Jesus said to Peter and all the people, “Yes, I know. Maybe one of you will leave your house and your father and mother and your brother and your wife and your children too. Maybe you will leave everything so that God can be your ruler. 30 If you leave everything you have, then God will give many things back to you. You will get much more in this world, and when you die you will go to heaven and stay there forever.”
Jesus speaking about his death again
31 Then Jesus took his twelve disciples aside by themselves. He spoke to them and said, “Listen to me. We are going to Jerusalem now. Long ago the prophets spoke about me, the one who was born in this place. Their words were written down in a book, and now all the things they spoke about will happen there in Jerusalem.
32 “In Jerusalem some men will take me to people who aren't Jews, and they will make fun of me, and tease me and spit on me. 33 And they will beat me and kill me. But on the third day after I die, I will rise again.”
34 But Jesus' disciples didn't understand him. They heard with their ears, but the meaning of the words was lost, because they didn't know what Jesus was talking about.
About Jesus healing a blind man
35 Jesus and the people who were with him kept on following the road that went to Jerusalem. They went on and on until they came near Jericho. There was a blind man there sitting beside the road, and when people went past him he asked them for money. 36 When the blind man heard the crowd going past, he asked someone, “What is happening?”
37 They said, “Jesus of Nazareth is here! And he is coming along the road!”
38 The blind man called out to Jesus. “Jesus! Son of David, have pity on me!”
39 The people who were walking in front got cross with him. “Be quiet!” they said.
But he shouted more loudly, “Son of David! Have pity on me!”
40 So Jesus stopped and told some men to bring the blind man over to him. They brought him to Jesus, and Jesus said to him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?”
“Master,” he said, “I want to see again.”
42 Then Jesus said to him, “Then see! Because you didn't doubt me, and you knew I could heal you, now you are well.”
43 Straight away the man who had been blind could see. And he followed Jesus and praised God. And many people there saw that he could see, and they praised God too.