Scripture referenced 18 passages
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
-
Psalm 126:3 opening worship, 'the Lord has done great things for us, we are glad'
3 Yahweh has done great things for us, and we are glad.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Keep this verse
Matthew 11:2-19
primary text, John the Baptist's question from prison and Jesus' response
2 Now when John heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples
3 and said to him, “Are you he who comes, or should we look for another?”
4 Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:
5 the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.
6 Blessed is he who finds no occasion for stumbling in me.”
7 As these went their way, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?
8 But what did you go out to see? A man in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.
9 But why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet.
10 For this is he, of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’
11 Most certainly I tell you, among those who are born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptizer; yet he who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.
12 From the days of John the Baptizer until now, the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.
13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
14 If you are willing to receive it, this is Elijah, who is to come.
15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces, who call to their companions
17 and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you didn’t dance. We mourned for you, and you didn’t lament.’
18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’
19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children.”
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Luke 7:18-35
parallel account of John's question and Jesus' response
18 The disciples of John told him about all these things.
19 John, calling to himself two of his disciples, sent them to Jesus, saying, “Are you the one who is coming, or should we look for another?”
20 When the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptizer has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you he who comes, or should we look for another?’”
21 In that hour he cured many of diseases and plagues and evil spirits; and to many who were blind he gave sight.
22 Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John the things which you have seen and heard: that the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.
23 Blessed is he who finds no occasion for stumbling in me.”
24 When John’s messengers had departed, he began to tell the multitudes about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?
25 But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are gorgeously dressed, and live delicately, are in kings’ courts.
26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet.
27 This is he of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’
28 “For I tell you, among those who are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptizer, yet he who is least in God’s Kingdom is greater than he.”
29 When all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they declared God to be just, having been baptized with John’s baptism.
30 But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the counsel of God, not being baptized by him themselves.
31 “To what then will I liken the people of this generation? What are they like?
32 They are like children who sit in the marketplace, and call to one another, saying, ‘We piped to you, and you didn’t dance. We mourned, and you didn’t weep.’
33 For John the Baptizer came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’
34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man, and a drunkard; a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
35 Wisdom is justified by all her children.”
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Matthew 11:28-30
closing text, Jesus' invitation to come and find rest
28 “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Matthew 4
Jesus withdrawing to Galilee after John was taken into custody
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
2 When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry afterward.
3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
4 But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took him into the holy city. He set him on the pinnacle of the temple,
6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will put his angels in charge of you.’ and, ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you don’t dash your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again, it is written, ‘You shall not test the Lord, your God.’”
8 Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory.
9 He said to him, “I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me.”
10 Then Jesus said to him, “Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’”
11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and served him.
12 Now when Jesus heard that John was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee.
13 Leaving Nazareth, he came and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,
15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles,
16 the people who sat in darkness saw a great light, to those who sat in the region and shadow of death, to them light has dawned.”
17 From that time, Jesus began to preach, and to say, “Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”
18 Walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers: Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
19 He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men.”
20 They immediately left their nets and followed him.
21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them.
22 They immediately left the boat and their father, and followed him.
23 Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.
24 The report about him went out into all Syria. They brought to him all who were sick, afflicted with various diseases and torments, possessed with demons, epileptics, and paralytics; and he healed them.
25 Great multitudes from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and from beyond the Jordan followed him.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Luke 3
John's earlier message about the one coming who is mightier
1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,
2 in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.
3 He came into all the region around the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for remission of sins.
4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight.
5 Every valley will be filled. Every mountain and hill will be brought low. The crooked will become straight, and the rough ways smooth.
6 All flesh will see God’s salvation.’”
7 He said therefore to the multitudes who went out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8 Therefore produce fruits worthy of repentance, and don’t begin to say among yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father;’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones!
9 Even now the ax also lies at the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire.”
10 The multitudes asked him, “What then must we do?”
11 He answered them, “He who has two coats, let him give to him who has none. He who has food, let him do likewise.”
12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what must we do?”
13 He said to them, “Collect no more than that which is appointed to you.”
14 Soldiers also asked him, saying, “What about us? What must we do?” He said to them, “Extort from no one by violence, neither accuse anyone wrongfully. Be content with your wages.”
15 As the people were in expectation, and all men reasoned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he was the Christ,
16 John answered them all, “I indeed baptize you with water, but he comes who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to loosen. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire,
17 whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and will gather the wheat into his barn; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
18 Then with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people,
19 but Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things which Herod had done,
20 added this also to them all, that he shut up John in prison.
21 Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus also had been baptized, and was praying. The sky was opened,
22 and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form like a dove on him; and a voice came out of the sky, saying “You are my beloved Son. In you I am well pleased.”
23 Jesus himself, when he began to teach, was about thirty years old, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli,
24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,
25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai,
26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah,
27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri,
28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er,
29 the son of Jose, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,
30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim,
31 the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,
32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon,
33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Aram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,
34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,
35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah,
36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,
37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan,
38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Psalm 118:26
referenced as 'blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord, the coming one'
26 Blessed is he who comes in Yahweh’s name! We have blessed you out of Yahweh’s house.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Deuteronomy 18:18
Moses foretelling a prophet to come, 'I will raise up for them a prophet from among their countrymen like you'
18 I will raise them up a prophet from among their brothers, like you. I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I shall command him.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
John 6
people saw Jesus' sign and said 'surely this is the prophet who has come into the world'
1 After these things, Jesus went away to the other side of the sea of Galilee, which is also called the Sea of Tiberias.
2 A great multitude followed him, because they saw his signs which he did on those who were sick.
3 Jesus went up into the mountain, and he sat there with his disciples.
4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.
5 Jesus therefore lifting up his eyes, and seeing that a great multitude was coming to him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, that these may eat?”
6 This he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.
7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that everyone of them may receive a little.”
8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him,
9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these among so many?”
10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in that place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
11 Jesus took the loaves; and having given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to those who were sitting down; likewise also of the fish as much as they desired.
12 When they were filled, he said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces which are left over, that nothing be lost.”
13 So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves, which were left over by those who had eaten.
14 When therefore the people saw the sign which Jesus did, they said, “This is truly the prophet who comes into the world.”
15 Jesus therefore, perceiving that they were about to come and take him by force, to make him king, withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea,
17 and they entered into the boat, and were going over the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not come to them.
18 The sea was tossed by a great wind blowing.
19 When therefore they had rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia, they saw Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing near to the boat; and they were afraid.
20 But he said to them, “It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
21 They were willing therefore to receive him into the boat. Immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.
22 On the next day, the multitude that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except the one in which his disciples had embarked, and that Jesus hadn’t entered with his disciples into the boat, but his disciples had gone away alone.
23 However boats from Tiberias came near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks.
24 When the multitude therefore saw that Jesus wasn’t there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats, and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.
25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”
26 Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves, and were filled.
27 Don’t work for the food which perishes, but for the food which remains to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has sealed him.”
28 They said therefore to him, “What must we do, that we may work the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
30 They said therefore to him, “What then do you do for a sign, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you do?
31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness. As it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’”
32 Jesus therefore said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, it wasn’t Moses who gave you the bread out of heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread out of heaven.
33 For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”
34 They said therefore to him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not be hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
36 But I told you that you have seen me, and yet you don’t believe.
37 All those whom the Father gives me will come to me. He who comes to me I will in no way throw out.
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.
39 This is the will of my Father who sent me, that of all he has given to me I should lose nothing, but should raise him up at the last day.
40 This is the will of the one who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son, and believes in him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
41 The Jews therefore murmured concerning him, because he said, “I am the bread which came down out of heaven.”
42 They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then does he say, ‘I have come down out of heaven?’”
43 Therefore Jesus answered them, “Don’t murmur among yourselves.
44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day.
45 It is written in the prophets, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who hears from the Father, and has learned, comes to me.
46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except he who is from God. He has seen the Father.
47 Most certainly, I tell you, he who believes in me has eternal life.
48 I am the bread of life.
49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
50 This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, that anyone may eat of it and not die.
51 I am the living bread which came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. Yes, the bread which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
52 The Jews therefore contended with one another, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
53 Jesus therefore said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his…
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Malachi 3:1
Jesus identifies John as the messenger sent ahead to prepare the way
1 “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, behold, he comes!” says Yahweh of Armies.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Malachi 4:5
God sending Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Yahweh comes.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Habakkuk 2
the vision is for an appointed time, 'though it delays, wait for it'
1 I will stand at my watch, and set myself on the ramparts, and will look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint.
2 Yahweh answered me, “Write the vision, and make it plain on tablets, that he who runs may read it.
3 For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it hurries toward the end, and won’t prove false. Though it takes time, wait for it; because it will surely come. It won’t delay.
4 Behold, his soul is puffed up. It is not upright in him, but the righteous will live by his faith.
5 Yes, moreover, wine is treacherous. A haughty man who doesn’t stay at home, who enlarges his desire as Sheol, and he is like death, and can’t be satisfied, but gathers to himself all nations, and heaps to himself all peoples.
6 Won’t all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, ‘Woe to him who increases that which is not his, and who enriches himself by extortion! How long?’
7 Won’t your debtors rise up suddenly, and wake up those who make you tremble, and you will be their victim?
8 Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples will plunder you, because of men’s blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city and to all who dwell in it.
9 Woe to him who gets an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil!
10 You have devised shame to your house, by cutting off many peoples, and have sinned against your soul.
11 For the stone will cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the woodwork will answer it.
12 Woe to him who builds a town with blood, and establishes a city by iniquity!
13 Behold, isn’t it of Yahweh of Armies that the peoples labor for the fire, and the nations weary themselves for vanity?
14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Yahweh’s glory, as the waters cover the sea.
15 “Woe to him who gives his neighbor drink, pouring your inflaming wine until they are drunk, so that you may gaze at their naked bodies!
16 You are filled with shame, and not glory. You will also drink, and be exposed! The cup of Yahweh’s right hand will come around to you, and disgrace will cover your glory.
17 For the violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, and the destruction of the animals, which made them afraid; because of men’s blood, and for the violence done to the land, to every city and to those who dwell in them.
18 “What value does the engraved image have, that its maker has engraved it; the molten image, even the teacher of lies, that he who fashions its form trusts in it, to make mute idols?
19 Woe to him who says to the wood, ‘Awake!’ or to the mute stone, ‘Arise!’ Shall this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all within it.
20 But Yahweh is in his holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before him!”
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Daniel 7
one like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven to the Ancient of Days
1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head on his bed. Then he wrote the dream and told the sum of the matters.
2 Daniel spoke and said, “I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the sky broke out on the great sea.
3 Four great animals came up from the sea, different from one another.
4 “The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings. I watched until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand on two feet as a man. A man’s heart was given to it.
5 “Behold, there was another animal, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth. They said this to it: ‘Arise! Devour much flesh!’
6 “After this I saw, and behold, another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The animal also had four heads; and dominion was given to it.
7 “After this I saw in the night visions, and, behold, there was a fourth animal, awesome and powerful, and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth. It devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet. It was different than all the animals that were before it. It had ten horns.
8 “I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots: and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.
9 “I watched until thrones were placed, and one who was ancient of days sat. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool. His throne was fiery flames, and its wheels burning fire.
10 A fiery stream issued and came out from before him. Thousands of thousands ministered to him. Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The judgment was set. The books were opened.
11 “I watched at that time because of the voice of the great words which the horn spoke. I watched even until the animal was slain, and its body destroyed, and it was given to be burned with fire.
12 As for the rest of the animals, their dominion was taken away; yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
14 Dominion was given him, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away, and his kingdom that which will not be destroyed.
15 “As for me, Daniel, my spirit was grieved within my body, and the visions of my head troubled me.
16 I came near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth concerning all this. “So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.
17 ‘These great animals, which are four, are four kings, who will arise out of the earth.
18 But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.’
19 “Then I desired to know the truth concerning the fourth animal, which was different than all of them, exceedingly terrible, whose teeth were of iron, and its nails of brass; which devoured, broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet;
20 and concerning the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, and before which three fell, even that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spoke great things, whose look was more stout than its fellows.
21 I saw, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them,
22 until the ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High, and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
23 “Thus he said, ‘The fourth animal will be a fourth kingdom on earth, which will be different than all the kingdoms, and will devour the whole earth, and will tread it down, and break it in pieces.
24 As for the ten horns, ten kings will arise out of this kingdom. Another will arise after them; and he will be different than the former, and he will put down three kings.
25 He will speak words against the Most High, and will wear out the saints of the Most High. He will plan to change the times and the law; and they will be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time.
26 “‘But the judgment will be set, and they will take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it to the end.
27 The kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole sky, will be given to the people of the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions will serve and obey him.’
28 “Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts much troubled me, and my face was changed in me; but I kept the matter in my heart.”
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Luke 4
Jesus' first sermon in Nazareth reading from Isaiah 61
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness
2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. He ate nothing in those days. Afterward, when they were completed, he was hungry.
3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”
5 The devil, leading him up on a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 The devil said to him, “I will give you all this authority, and their glory, for it has been delivered to me; and I give it to whomever I want.
7 If you therefore will worship before me, it will all be yours.”
8 Jesus answered him, “Get behind me Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’”
9 He led him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down from here,
10 for it is written, ‘He will put his angels in charge of you, to guard you;’
11 and, ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest perhaps you dash your foot against a stone.’”
12 Jesus answering, said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”
13 When the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him until another time.
14 Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and news about him spread through all the surrounding area.
15 He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
16 He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. He entered, as was his custom, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
17 The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He opened the book, and found the place where it was written,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed,
19 and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
20 He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 He began to tell them, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
22 All testified about him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth, and they said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”
23 He said to them, “Doubtless you will tell me this parable, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done at Capernaum, do also here in your hometown.’”
24 He said, “Most certainly I tell you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.
25 But truly I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land.
26 Elijah was sent to none of them, except to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.
27 There were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed, except Naaman, the Syrian.”
28 They were all filled with wrath in the synagogue, as they heard these things.
29 They rose up, threw him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill that their city was built on, that they might throw him off the cliff.
30 But he, passing through the middle of them, went his way.
31 He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. He was teaching them on the Sabbath day,
32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word was with authority.
33 In the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice,
34 saying, “Ah! what have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know you who you are: the Holy One of God!”
35 Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” When the demon had thrown him down in the middle of them, he came out of him, having done him no harm.
36 Amazement came on all, and they spoke together, one with another, saying, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!”
37 News about him went out into every place of the surrounding region.
38 He rose up from the synagogue, and entered into Simon’s house. Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a great fever, and they begged him for her.
39 He stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her. Immediately she rose up and served them.
40 When the sun was setting, all those who had any sick with various diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.
41 Demons also came out of many, crying out, and saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of God!” Rebuking them, he didn’t allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
42 When it was day, he departed and went into an uninhabited place, and the multitudes looked for him, and came to him, and held on to him, so that he wouldn’t go away from them.
43 But he said to them, “I must preach the good news of God’s Kingdom to the other cities also. For this reason I have been sent.”
44 He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Isaiah 61
the Spirit of the Lord anointing Jesus to bring good news to the poor, release to captives, recovery of sight to the blind
1 The Lord Yahweh’s Spirit is on me; because Yahweh has anointed me to preach good news to the humble. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to those who are bound;
2 to proclaim the year of Yahweh’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;
3 to provide for those who mourn in Zion, to give to them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Yahweh, that he may be glorified.
4 They will rebuild the old ruins. They will raise up the places long devastated. They will repair the ruined cities, that have been devastated for many generations.
5 Strangers will stand and feed your flocks, and foreigners will work your fields and your vineyards.
6 But you will be called Yahweh’s priests. Men will call you the servants of our God. You will eat the wealth of the nations, and you will boast in their glory.
7 Instead of your shame you will have double. Instead of dishonor, they will rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land, they will possess double. Everlasting joy will be to them.
8 “For I, Yahweh, love justice. I hate robbery and iniquity. I will give them their reward in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their offspring will be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge them, that they are the offspring which Yahweh has blessed.”
10 I will greatly rejoice in Yahweh! My soul will be joyful in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation. He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth produces its bud, and as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring up; so the Lord Yahweh will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Jeremiah 6:16
stand by the ways, ask for the ancient paths where the good way is and walk in it
16 Yahweh says, “Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, ‘Where is the good way?’ and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Philippians 2
Jesus did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, found in the form of a man
1 If therefore there is any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassion,
2 make my joy full, by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind;
3 doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself;
4 each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.
5 Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross.
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name;
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
12 So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
13 For it is God who works in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure.
14 Do all things without murmurings and disputes,
15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without defect in the middle of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you are seen as lights in the world,
16 holding up the word of life; that I may have something to boast in the day of Christ, that I didn’t run in vain nor labor in vain.
17 Yes, and if I am poured out on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice, and rejoice with you all.
18 In the same way, you also rejoice, and rejoice with me.
19 But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered up when I know how you are doing.
20 For I have no one else like-minded, who will truly care about you.
21 For they all seek their own, not the things of Jesus Christ.
22 But you know the proof of him, that, as a child serves a father, so he served with me in furtherance of the Good News.
23 Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it will go with me.
24 But I trust in the Lord that I myself also will come shortly.
25 But I counted it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, fellow soldier, and your apostle and servant of my need;
26 since he longed for you all, and was very troubled, because you had heard that he was sick.
27 For indeed he was sick, nearly to death, but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, that I might not have sorrow on sorrow.
28 I have sent him therefore the more diligently, that, when you see him again, you may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful.
29 Receive him therefore in the Lord with all joy, and hold such in honor,
30 because for the work of Christ he came near to death, risking his life to supply that which was lacking in your service toward me.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
1 John 1:9
if you confess your sins, He is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse from all unrighteousness
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
This sermon followed the passage in Matthew 11 and Luke 7 where John the Baptist, imprisoned by Herod, sends his disciples to ask Jesus whether He is truly the coming one. Pastor Jonathan traced that question through the Old Testament voices John would have known, and then walked through Jesus' response, His words about John, His woe on unrepentant cities, and His closing invitation to come and rest.
What was said
John the Baptist is in prison, probably for a year or more, and he is in despair. The man who boldly preached repentance and the nearness of the kingdom has arrived at the question: are you the one, or did I get it wrong? Pastor Jonathan pointed out that this is not simply weakness. It is a recognizable human place, the place of David crying "how long, oh Lord," and John's situation made it worse, because he, the actual voice of God in that moment, was locked up while Herod, a lascivious and corrupt man, was in the palace. Anyone who has trusted God and watched circumstances go the wrong way knows that place.
John's phrase "the coming one" carried enormous freight. Pastor Jonathan moved through the Old Testament, from Moses in Deuteronomy promising a prophet like himself, to Psalm 118, to Zechariah, to Malachi, to Daniel's son of man coming with the clouds. John's question was not random confusion. It was a compressed form of everything Israel had been waiting for across four hundred years of prophetic silence. The problem was that John's own message had emphasized the winnowing fork, the burning of chaff, the day of vengeance, and Jesus was not doing that. He was healing, raising the dead, and preaching good news to the poor.
Jesus told John's disciples to go back and report what they saw and heard, listing the healings in a way that directly echoed Isaiah 61. Pastor Jonathan paused here to note that when Jesus stood up in Nazareth and read from that scroll, He stopped mid-sentence, right before "and the day of vengeance of our God," rolled it up, and sat down. The acceptable year of the Lord was open. The day of vengeance was on hold. That was the shape of His ministry, and it confused people, including John, who had preached the full package.
Once John's disciples left, Jesus turned to the crowds and asked them what they had gone out into the wilderness to see. The questions build, and each expected answer is obviously no: not a reed blown by the wind, not a man in fine clothing. A prophet, yes, and more than a prophet. Jesus identified John as the messenger of Malachi 3, and then said plainly that if they were willing to accept it, John himself was the Elijah who was to come. The one who has ears to hear, let him hear.
Pastor Jonathan then noted the contrast in response. The ordinary people and tax collectors, having been baptized by John, acknowledged God's justice. The Pharisees and lawyers, who had not been baptized by John, rejected God's purpose for themselves. Jesus compared that generation to children in the marketplace who found fault no matter what they heard. John was an ascetic, so they said he had a demon. Jesus ate and drank with people, so they called Him a glutton and a friend of sinners. The fault-finding never stopped regardless of what God was doing.
The woe passages that followed showed what is at stake when familiarity produces no repentance. Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, the places where most of Jesus' miracles happened, were the places least likely to turn. Pastor Jonathan said plainly that this is a hard word for a church: the people most used to Jesus can be the ones least moved by Him. He connected this to the question of expecting people who do not know Jesus to behave as if they do, noting that the cities like Sodom would face a more tolerable judgment than the cities that had seen everything and shrugged.
The sermon closed with Jesus' invitation in Matthew 11:28-30. Pastor Jonathan stayed with the image of a yoke, two animals moving together at the same pace, and the idea that Jesus sets the pace and knows the way. He brought in Jeremiah's "ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it," hearing it as the background Jesus was drawing on. The word translated "easy" in some versions, he noted, also means comfortable, kindly, and pleasant. Walking yoked to Jesus, in humility and submission to the Spirit, is where the burden becomes light, not because the path is effortless, but because it is His mission and He carries the sin debt that would otherwise make the load impossible.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- Pastor Mark pointed out that John the Baptist, who boldly proclaimed the coming kingdom, ended up in prison doubting whether Jesus was really the one he had been announcing. Have you ever trusted God in a clear direction and then found yourself wondering if you got it wrong? What did that feel like, and what helped?
- Jesus stopped reading Isaiah 61 before the line about the day of vengeance, rolled up the scroll, and said the scripture was fulfilled right then. What does it mean to you that Jesus deliberately left that part on hold, and how does it change the way you think about what the church is supposed to be doing right now?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Read the full transcript 7,455 words
Share this message
Every word on these came out of the message. Download one and post it anywhere.
