Hello.
Welcome to my Bible readings.
In this sleep series,
I will be looking at the gospel according to Luke.
In much of the classic literature I read,
There are references to the Bible and religious teachings.
If we wish to educate ourselves fully in a literary capacity,
It makes sense that we should dive into this for reference.
And so here we are.
It is time for sleep.
Close your eyes and take a deep breath in through your nose.
That's it.
Then let it out on a long sigh.
This is your time and your space.
A time where you can relax,
Safe in the knowledge there is nothing to do and nowhere to go.
Happy listening.
Chapter 11.
The Demand for a Miracle.
As the people crowded around Jesus,
He went on to say,
How evil are the people of this day!
They ask for a miracle,
But none will be given them except the miracle of Jonah.
In the same way the prophet Jonah was a sign,
So the Son of Man will be a sign for the people of this day.
On Judgment Day,
The Queen of Sheba will stand up and accuse the people of today,
Because she travelled all the way from her country to listen to King Solomon's wise teaching.
And I tell you there is something here greater than Solomon.
On Judgment Day,
The people will stand up and accuse you,
Because they turned from their sins when they heard Jonah preach.
And I assure you there is something here greater than Jonah.
The Light of the Body.
No one lights a lamp,
Then hides it or puts it under a bowl.
Instead,
He puts it on the lampstand so people may see the light as they come in.
Your eyes are like a lamp for the body.
When your eyes are sound,
Your whole body is full of light.
But when your eyes are no good,
Your whole body will be in darkness.
Make certain,
Then,
That the light in you is not darkness.
If your whole body is full of light with no part of it in darkness,
It will be bright all over,
As when a lamp shines on you with its brightness.
Jesus Accuses the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law.
When Jesus finished speaking,
A Pharisee invited him to sit with him.
He went down and sat to eat.
The Pharisee was surprised when he noticed Jesus had not washed before eating.
So the Lord said to him,
Now then,
You Pharisees clean the outside of your cup and plate,
But inside you are full of violence and evil.
Fools,
Did not God who made the outside also make the inside?
But give what is in your cups and plates to the poor,
And everything will be ritually clean for you.
How terrible for you Pharisees!
You give God a tenth of the seasoning herbs,
Such as mint and rue and all the other herbs,
But you neglect justice and love for God.
These are the things you should practice without neglecting the others.
How terrible for you Pharisees!
You love the reserved seats in the synagogues and to be treated with respect in the marketplaces.
How terrible!
You are like unmarked graves which people walk on without knowing it.
One of the teachers of the law said to him,
Teacher,
When you say this you insult us too.
Then Jesus answered,
How terrible also for you,
Teachers of the law!
You put loads on people's backs which are hard to carry,
But you yourselves will not stretch out a finger to help them carry those loads.
How terrible!
You make fine tombs for the prophets,
The very prophets your ancestors murdered.
You yourselves admit then,
That you approve of what your ancestors did.
They murdered the prophets and you build their tombs.
For this reason the wisdom of God said,
I will send them prophets and messengers.
They will kill some of them and persecute others.
So the people of this time will be punished for the murder of all the prophets killed since the creation of the world.
From the murder of Abel to the murder of Zechariah who was killed between the altar and the holy place.
Yes,
I tell you,
The people of this time will be punished for them all.
How terrible for you,
Teachers of the law!
You have kept the key that opens the door to the house of knowledge.
You yourselves will not go in and you stop those who are trying to.
When Jesus left that place,
The teachers of the law and the Pharisees began to criticise him bitterly and ask him questions about many things.
Trying to lay traps for him and catch him saying something wrong.
A warning against hypocrisy.
As thousands of people crowded together so that they were stepping on each other,
Jesus said first to his disciples,
Be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees.
I mean their hypocrisy.
Whatever is covered up will be uncovered and every secret will be made known.
So then,
Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in broad daylight and whatever you have whispered in private in a closed room will be shouted from the housetops.
Who to fear?
I tell you,
My friends,
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot afterwards do anything worse.
I will show you whom to fear.
Fear God,
Who,
After killing,
Has the authority to throw into hell.
Believe me,
He is the one you must fear.
Aren't five sparrows sold for two pennies?
Yet not one sparrow is forgotten by God.
Even the hairs on your head have all been counted.
So do not be afraid.
You are worth much more than many sparrows.
Confessing and rejecting Christ.
I assure you that for those who declare publicly they belong to me the Son of Man will do the same before the angels of God.
But those who reject me publicly the Son of Man will also reject before the angels of God.
Whoever says a word against the Son of Man can be forgiven but those who say evil things against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
When they bring you to be tried in the synagogues or before governors or rulers do not be worried about how you will defend yourself or what you will say for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.
The parable of the rich fool.
A man in the crowd said to Jesus Teacher,
Tell my brother to divide with me the property our father left us.
Jesus answered My friend,
Who gave me the right to judge or divide the property between you two?
And he went on to say to them all Watch out and guard yourself from every kind of greed because a person's true life is not made up of the thing he owns no matter how rich he may be.
Then Jesus told them this parable There was once a rich man who had land which bore good crops.
He began to think to himself I haven't anywhere to keep all my crops,
What can I do?
This is what I will do,
He told himself I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones where I will store my corn and all my other goods.
Then I will say to myself Lucky man,
You have taken all the good things you need for many years.
Take life easy,
Eat,
Drink and enjoy yourself.
But God said to him You fool,
This very night you will have to give up your life then who will get all these things you have kept for yourself?
And Jesus concluded This is how it is with those who pile up riches for themselves but are not rich in God's sight.
Trust in God Then Jesus said And so I tell you not to worry about the food you need to stay alive or about the clothes you need for your body.
Life is much more important than food and the body much more important than clothes.
Look at the crows They don't sow seeds or gather a harvest They don't have storerooms or barns God feeds them You are worth so much more than birds Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it?
If you can't manage even such a small thing why worry about the other things?
Look how the wild flowers grow They don't work or make clothes for themselves But I tell you that not even King Solomon with all his wealth had clothes as beautiful as one of these flowers It is God who clothes the wild grass grass that is here today and gone tomorrow burnt up in the oven Won't he be all the more sure to clothe you?
How little faith you have So don't be all upset all concerned about what you will eat and drink For the pagans of this world are always concerned about these things Your father knows you need these things So instead be concerned with his kingdom and he will provide you with these things
