The Divine Kingdom

⁴⁴ And in the days of those kings the ^(A)God of heaven will ^(B)set up a ^(C)kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be ^[a]left for another people; it will ^(D)crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.

^17 (A)From that time Jesus began to ^[a]preach and say, “^(B)Repent, for the kingdom of heaven ^[b]is at hand.”

Ministry in Galilee

²³ Jesus was going ^(A)about in all of Galilee, ^(B)teaching in their synagogues and ^(C)proclaiming the ^[a]gospel of the kingdom, and ^(D)healing every disease and every sickness among the people.

⁷ And as you go, ^[a]preach, saying, ‘^(A)The kingdom of heaven ^[b]has come near.’

¹⁵ and saying, “^(A)The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God ^[a]is at hand; ^(B)repent and ^[b]believe in the gospel.”

⁹ and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘^(A)The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ ¹⁰ But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ¹¹ ‘^(B)Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet ^[a]be sure of this, that ^(C)the kingdom of God has come near.’ ¹² I say to you, ^(D)it will be more tolerable on that day for ^(E)Sodom than for that city.

¹³ “^(F)Woe to you, ^(G)Chorazin! Woe to you, ^(H)Bethsaida! For if the ^[b]miracles that occurred in you had occurred in ^(I)Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in ^[c](J)sackcloth and ashes. ¹⁴ But it will be more tolerable for ^(K)Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you. ¹⁵ And you, ^(L)Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!

¹⁶ “^(M)The one who listens to you listens to Me, and ^(N)the one who rejects you rejects Me; but the one who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”

The Joyful Results

¹⁷ Now the ^[d]seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even ^(O)the demons are subject to us ^[e]in Your name!” ¹⁸ And He said to them, “I watched ^(P)Satan fall from heaven like lightning. ¹⁹ Behold, I have given you authority to ^(Q)walk on snakes and scorpions, and authority over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. ²⁰ Nevertheless, do not ^[f]rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that ^(R)your names are recorded in heaven.”

^21 (S)At that very ^[g]time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I ^[h]praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for doing so was well pleasing in Your sight. ^22 (T)All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and ^(U)no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son determines to reveal Him.”

^23 (V)Turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see the things you see; ²⁴ for I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see the things that you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things that you hear, and did not hear them.”

^25 (W)And behold, a ^[i](X)lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? ^[j]How does it read to you?” ²⁷ And he answered, “^(Y)You shall love the Lord your God ^[k]with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸ And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; ^(Z)do this and you will live.” ²⁹ But wanting ^(AA)to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

The Good Samaritan

³⁰ Jesus replied and said, “A man was ^(AB)going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he encountered robbers, and they stripped him and ^[l]beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. ³¹ And by coincidence a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. ³² Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a ^(AC)Samaritan who was on a journey came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, ³⁴ and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ On the next day he took out two ^[m]denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you.’ ³⁶ Which of these three do you think ^[n]proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” ³⁷ And he said, “The one who showed compassion to him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do ^[o]the same.”

Martha and Mary

³⁸ Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named ^(AD)Martha welcomed Him into her home. ³⁹ And she had a sister called ^(AE)Mary, who was also ^(AF)seated at the Lord’s feet, and was listening to His word. ⁴⁰ But ^(AG)Martha was distracted with ^[p]all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do the serving ^[q]by myself? Then tell her to help me.” ⁴¹ But the Lord answered and said to her, “^(AH)Martha, Martha, you are ^(AI)worried and distracted by many things; ^42 (AJ)but only one thing is necessary; for ^(AK)Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

²⁰ But if I cast out the demons by ^[a]the ^(A)finger of God, then ^(B)the kingdom of God has come upon you.

³¹ So you too, when you see these things happening, ^[a]recognize that ^(A)the kingdom of God is near.