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The Parable of the Persistent Widow
1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them
that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In
a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor
cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that
town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice
against my adversary.’
4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to
himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people
think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will
see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come
and attack me!’ ”
6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge
says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen
ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting
them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice,
and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he
find faith on the earth?”
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 To some who were confident of their own
righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told
this parable:
10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a
Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee
stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not
like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even
like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a
tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He
would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and
said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other,
went home justified before God. For all those who exalt
themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves
will be exalted.”
The Little Children and Jesus
15 People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him
to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this,
they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called the children to him
and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not
hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as
these. 17 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the
kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
The Rich and the Kingdom of God
18 A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must
I do to inherit eternal life?”
19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one
is good—except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘You
shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall
not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your
father and mother.’ ”
21 “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.
22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still
lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the
poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come,
follow me.”
23 When he heard this, he became very sad, because he
was very wealthy. 24 Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard
it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed,
it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be
saved?”
27 Jesus replied, “What is impossible with human
beings is possible with God.”
28 Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to
follow you!”
29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who
has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or
children for the sake of the kingdom of God 30 will fail to
receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to
come eternal life.”
Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time
31 Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are
going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the
prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. 32 He will
be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him,
insult him and spit on him; 33 they will flog him and kill
him. On the third day he will rise again.”
34 The disciples did not understand any of this. Its
meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he
was talking about.
A Blind Beggar Receives His Sight
35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was
sitting by the roadside begging. 36 When he heard the crowd
going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him,
“Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”
38 He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on
me!”
39 Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to
be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have
mercy on me!”
40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to
him. When he came near, Jesus asked him,
41 “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord, I want
to see,” he replied.
42 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith
has healed you.” 43 Immediately he received his sight and
followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it,
they also praised God.
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Cults 
Why Did God Permit Sin?
