As He spoke these things, a woman in the crowd lifted up her voice and
said to Him, Blessed is the womb that bore thee, and the breasts that
nursed thee. But He said, Yes, but it is better to say, Blessed are
they that hear the word of God and keep it.
The crowd drew closer together. Jesus said to them, This is an evil
generation. They seek a sign but no sign will be given except the sign
of Jonas the prophet.
As Jonas was a sign to the Ninevites, so shall the Son of man be to
this generation. The queen of the south will rise up in judgment of
this generation. She will condemn them for she came from the utmost
parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, one
greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineve will rise up in
judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, for they repented
at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, one greater than Jonas is here.
No one with a lighted candle, puts it in a secret place or under a
bushel. It is put on a candlestick so those who come in may see the
light. The light of the body is the eye. When your eye is single, your
whole body is also full of light. But when your eye is evil, your body
is full of darkness.
Take heed, therefore, that the light that is in you be not darkness. If
thy whole body is full of light, with no dark parts, the whole shall be
full of light, and, like the bright shining of a candle, it gives off
the light.
Later, a Pharisee who had invited Him to dinner marvelled that He had
not first washed before sitting at the meal. Jesus said to him, You
Pharisees make the outside of the cup and the platter clean; but inside
they are full of poison and wickedness. Fools, did not He who made what
is on the outside, make what is inside also? Give of what you have,
then all things will be clean to you.
But woe to you, Pharisees! You tithe mint and rue and all kinds of
herbs, and ignore judgment and the love of God. These you ought to have
done without ignoring the others also.
Woe to you, Pharisees! You love the best seats in the synagogues, and
greetings in the markets. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! You are as empty as graves that others walk over and do not
see.
One of the lawyers said, Master, in saying this you reproach us also.
Jesus said, Woe to you also, ye lawyers! You load men with unbearable
burdens and you yourselves do not so much as lay a finger on one of
these burdens.
Woe to you! You build shrines to the prophets and your fathers killed
them. You bear witness that you sanction the deeds of your fathers, for
they killed them and you build their shrines.
The wisdom of God said: I will send them prophets and apostles. Some of
them they shall slay and persecute that the blood of all the prophets,
which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of
this generation. The blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharias which
perished between the altar and the temple shall be required of this
generation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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