True reverence for the Lord’s passion means fixing the eyes of our heart on Jesus crucified and recognizing in him our own humanity. The earth – our earthly nature – should tremble at the suffering of its Redeemer. The rocks – the hearts of unbelievers – should burst asunder. The dead, imprisoned in the tombs of their mortality, should come forth, the massive stones now ripped apart. Foreshadowings of the future resurrection should appear in the holy city, the Church of God: what is to happen to our bodies should now take place in our hearts. No one, however weak, is denied a share in the victory of the cross. No one is beyond the help of the prayer of Christ. His prayer brought benefit to the multitude that raged against him. How much more does it bring to those who turn to him in repentance. Ignorance has been destroyed, obstinacy has been overcome. The sacred blood of Christ has quenched the flaming sword that barred access to the tree of life. The age-old night of sin has given pla

What is Apollos, after all, and what is Paul? Ministers through whom you became believers, just as the Lord assigned each one.  6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth.  7 Therefore, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth.  8 The one who plants and the one who waters are equal, and each will receive wages in proportion to his labor.  9 For we are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.  10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But each one must be careful how he builds upon it, 11 for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ.  12 If anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, 13 the work of each will come to light, for the Day will disclose it. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire [itself] will test the quality of each

After this, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  2 Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep [Gate] a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes.  3 In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled. [ 4 ]  5 One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.  6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be well?”  7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.”  8 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.”  9 Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked. Now that day was a sabbath.  10 So the Jews said to the man who was cured, “It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.”  11 He answered them, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’”  12 They asked him, “Who is the man who tol

A woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years, who [had spent her whole livelihood on doctors and] was unable to be cured by anyone, 44 came up behind him and touched the tassel on his cloak. Immediately her bleeding stopped.  45 Jesus then asked, “Who touched me?” While all were denying it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds are pushing and pressing in upon you.”  46 But Jesus said, “Someone has touched me; for I know that power has gone out from me.”  47 When the woman realized that she had not escaped notice, she came forward trembling. Falling down before him, she explained in the presence of all the people why she had touched him and how she had been healed immediately.  48 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you; go in peace.” A woman with a menstrual flow (v. 43) would be ritually unclean (Lv. 15:19-31) and anyone she touched would become ritually unclean (v. 44).  At first the everyone denied touching Jesus (v. 45) but then the woman, out of fear, confessed on he

I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.  22 And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one,  23 I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me.  24 Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world.  25 Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me.  26 I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.” Jesus now prayed for all who will come to believe through the word of the disciples and th

And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are.  12 When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled.  13 But now I am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely.  14 I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.  15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one.  16 They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.  17 Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth.  18 As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world.  19 And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth. Jesu

When Jesus had said this, he raised his eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, 2 just as you gave him authority over all people, so that he may give eternal life to all you gave him.  3 Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.  4 I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.  5 Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began.  6 “I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.  7 Now they know that everything you gave me is from you, 8 because the words you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me.  9 I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, bec

Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and put this question to him, 19 saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us, ‘If someone’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother.’  20 Now there were seven brothers. The first married a woman and died, leaving no descendants.  21 So the second married her and died, leaving no descendants, and the third likewise.  22 And the seven left no descendants. Last of all the woman also died.  23 At the resurrection [when they arise] whose wife will she be? For all seven had been married to her.”  24 Jesus said to them, “Are you not misled because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God?  25 When they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they are like the angels in heaven.  26 As for the dead being raised, have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God told him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, [t

Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went off to the chief priests to hand him over to them.  11 When they heard him they were pleased and promised to pay him money. Then he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.  12 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?”  13 He sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city and a man will meet you, carrying a jar of water. Follow him.  14 Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’  15 Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there.”  16 The disciples then went off, entered the city, and found it just as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover.  17 When it was evening, he came with the Twelve.  18 And as they reclined at tabl

Then he made his disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side toward Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.  46 And when he had taken leave of them, he went off to the mountain to pray.  47 When it was evening, the boat was far out on the sea and he was alone on shore.  48 Then he saw that they were tossed about while rowing, for the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them.  49 But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out.  50 They had all seen him and were terrified. But at once he spoke with them, “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!”  51 He got into the boat with them and the wind died down. They were [completely] astounded.  52 They had not understood the incident of the loaves. On the contrary, their hearts were hardened. This story is an epiphany.  Only the divine could walk on water but the disciples did not understand the true ident

Great crowds were traveling with him, and he turned and addressed them, 26 “If any one comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.  27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.  28 Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion?  29 Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him 30 and say, ‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’  31 Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?  32 But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.  33 In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce a

One of his fellow guests on hearing this said to him, “Blessed is the one who will dine in the kingdom of God.”  16 He replied to him, “A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many.  17 When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, ‘Come, everything is now ready.’  18 But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, ‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it; I ask you, consider me excused.’  19 And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen and am on my way to evaluate them; I ask you, consider me excused.’  20 And another said, ‘I have just married a woman, and therefore I cannot come.’  21 The servant went and reported this to his master. Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.’  22 The servant reported, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out and sti

He told a parable to those who had been invited, noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table.  8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, 9 and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place.  10 Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, ‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’ Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table.  11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”  12 Then he said to the host who invited him, “When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment

When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35 and one of them [a scholar of the law] tested him by asking, 36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”  37 He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  38 This is the greatest and the first commandment.  39 The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  40 The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” The religious leaders were always testing Jesus to try to accuse him of blasphemy and punish him by stoning him to death.  One of the Scribes, who was a scholar of the Torah and a Pharisee, asked which commandment was the greatest (v. 36).  Jesus had healed many on the Sabbath so this could have been taken by the Jewish leaders as a sign of disrespect towards God since the Sabbath was for worshipping God.  It appeared to them that he had placed acts of mercy and the needs of

When he had come into the temple area, the chief priests and the elders of the people approached him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?”  24 Jesus said to them in reply, “I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me, then I shall tell you by what authority I do these things.  25 Where was John’s baptism from? Was it of heavenly or of human origin?” They discussed this among themselves and said, “If we say ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’  26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we fear the crowd, for they all regard John as a prophet.”  27 So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.” He himself said to them, “Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things. The religious and civil leaders of the Jewish community challenged Jesus’ power and authority to perform the healings, exorcisms and miracles, as well as to interpret the Law.  They were t

Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all those engaged in selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.  13 And he said to them, “It is written: ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a den of thieves.”  14 The blind and the lame approached him in the temple area, and he cured them.  15 When the chief priests and the scribes saw the wondrous things he was doing, and the children crying out in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant 16 and said to him, “Do you hear what they are saying?” Jesus said to them, “Yes; and have you never read the text, ‘Out of the mouths of infants and nurslings you have brought forth praise’?”  17 And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany, and there he spent the night.   By his words and actions, Jesus was reforming the way the Jews worshipped and he had no tolerance for actions that debased God’s Temple or the true me

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.  2 He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.  3 You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.  4 Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.  5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.  6 Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned.  7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.  8 By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.  9 As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love.  10 If you keep my commandments, you will re