Then he added,
“Pay close attention to what you hear.
The closer you listen,
the more understanding you will be given—
and you will receive even more.
To those who listen to my teaching,
more understanding will be given.
But for those who are not listening,
even what little understanding they have
will be taken away from them.”
Then Jesus said to them,
“The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people,
and not people to meet the requirements
of the Sabbath.
So the Son of Man is Lord,
even over the Sabbath.”
After sending them home,
he went up into the hills by himself to pray.
Night fell while he was there alone.
—-
After telling everyone good-bye,
he went up into the hills by himself to pray.
—-
When Jesus saw that they were ready
to force him to be their king,
he slipped away into the hills by himself.
Matthew 14:23; Mark 6:46; John 6:15
One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee,
and John baptized him in the Jordan River.
As Jesus came up out of the water,
he saw the heavens splitting apart
and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove.
And a voice from heaven said,
“You are my dearly loved Son,
and you bring me great joy.”
“Then the King will say to those on his right,
‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father,
inherit the Kingdom prepared for you
from the creation of the world.
For I was hungry,
and you fed me.
I was thirsty,
and you gave me a drink.
I was a stranger,
and you invited me into your home.
I was naked,
and you gave me clothing.
I was sick,
and you cared for me.
I was in prison,
and you visited me.’”
Jesus replied,
“‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart,
all your soul,
and all your mind.’
This is the first and greatest commandment.
A second is equally important:
‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Matthew 22:37-39
Then Jesus asked them,
“Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures?
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.
This is the LORD’s doing,
and it is wonderful to see.’”
“I also tell you this:
If two of you agree here on earth
concerning anything you ask,
my Father in heaven will do it for you.
For where two or three gather together
as my followers,
I am there among them.”
“I tell you the truth,
unless you turn from your sins
and become like little children,
you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.
So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Beware that you don’t look down
on any of these little ones.
For I tell you that in heaven
their angels are always in the presence
of my heavenly Father.”
Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately,
“Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?”
“You don’t have enough faith,”
Jesus told them.
“I tell you the truth,
if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed,
you could say to this mountain,
‘Move from here to there,’
and it would move.
Nothing would be impossible.”
Matthew 17:19-20
