The Parable of the Persistent Widow

¹And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought ralways to pray and not slose heart. ²He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who tneither feared God nor respected man. ³And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ ⁴For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, u‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, ⁵yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” ⁶And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. ⁷And vwill not God give justice to whis elect, xwho cry to him day and night? yzWill he delay long over them? ⁸I tell you, he will give justice to them aspeedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, bwill he find faith on earth?”

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

⁹He also told this parable to some cwho trusted din themselves that they were righteous, eand treated others with contempt: ¹⁰“Two men fwent up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee, gstanding by himself, prayed1 hthus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹²iI fast twice a week; jI give tithes of all that I get.’ ¹³But the tax collector, gstanding far off, kwould not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but lbeat his breast, saying, ‘God, mbe merciful to me, a sinner!’ ¹⁴I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For neveryone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Let the Children Come to Me

¹⁵oNow they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they prebuked them. ¹⁶But Jesus called them to him, saying, q“Let the children come to me, and rdo not hinder them, qfor to such belongs the kingdom of God. ¹⁷sTruly, I say to you, whoever does not treceive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

The Rich Ruler

¹⁸uAnd a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to vinherit eternal life?” ¹⁹And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. ²⁰You know the commandments: w‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” ²¹And he said, x“All these I have kept from my youth.” ²²When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. ySell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have ztreasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” ²³aBut when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. ²⁴Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, b“How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter cthe kingdom of God! ²⁵For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter cthe kingdom of God.” ²⁶Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷But he said, d“What is impossible with man is possible with God.” ²⁸And Peter said, “See, ewe have left our homes and followed you.” ²⁹And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, fthere is no one who has left house or wife or brothers2 or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, ³⁰who will not receive gmany times more hin this time, and in ithe age to come eternal life.”

Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time

³¹jAnd taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, kwe are going up to Jerusalem, and leverything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. ³²For he will be mdelivered over to the Gentiles and will be nmocked and shamefully treated and ospit upon. ³³And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on pthe third day he will rise.” ³⁴qBut they understood none of these things. rThis saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar

³⁵sAs he drew near to Jericho, ta blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. ³⁶And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. ³⁷They told him, u“Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” ³⁸And he cried out, “Jesus, vSon of David, have mercy on me!” ³⁹And those who were in front wrebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁰And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, ⁴¹x“What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” ⁴²And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; yyour faith has zmade you well.” ⁴³And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, aglorifying God. And ball the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.