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Read (and listen!) through the amazing story of Luke and Acts!
Immerse: Luke and Acts is part of Immerse: The Reading Bible, which takes you on a new and unique journey through the books of Luke and Acts in the New Testament. This fresh arrangement of the books highlights the depth of the New Testament’s fourfold witness to Jesus the Messiah. The Son of God, who fulfills all the longings and promises of the collected Scriptures. The goal of Bible reading is to understand the sacred writings in depth so we can learn to live with them. Using the text of the New Living Translation (NLT) from Tyndale Publishing, now you can experience Luke and Acts the same way the original readers did and be fully immersed in the most amazing story of all time!
Samantha: Welcome to Immerse
Luke and Acts, Day nine, Week two
.
After telling this story,
Jesus went on toward Jerusalem,
walking ahead of his disciples.
As he came to the towns of Bethphage
and Bethany, on the Mount of
Olives, he sent two disciples ahead.
Go into that village
over there, he told them.
As you enter it, you will
see a young donkey tied there
that no one has ever ridden.
Untie it and bring it here.
If anyone asks, Why are
you untying that colt?
Just say, The Lord needs it.
So they went and found the
colt, just as Jesus had said.
And sure enough, as they were
untying it, the owners asked them,
Why are you untying that colt?
And the disciples simply
replied, The Lord needs it.
So they brought the colt to
Jesus and threw their garments
over it for Him to ride on.
As He rode along, the crowd spread out
their garments on the road ahead of Him.
When He reached the place where the road
started down the Mount of Olives, all of
His followers began to shout and sing as
they walked along, praising God for all
the wonderful miracles they had seen.
Blessings on the King, who
comes in the name of the Lord.
Peace in heaven and
glory in highest heaven.
But some of the Pharisees among the
crowd said, Teacher, rebuke your
followers for saying things like that.
He replied, If they kept quiet, the stones
along the road would burst into cheers.
But as he came closer to Jerusalem and
saw the city ahead, he began to weep.
How I wish today that you, of all people,
would understand the way to peace.
But now it is too late, and
peace is hidden from your eyes.
Before long, your enemies will build
ramparts against your walls, and encircle
you and close in on you from every side.
They will crush you into the
ground, and your children with you.
Your enemies will not leave a single
stone in place because you did not
recognize it when God visited you.
Then Jesus entered the temple
and began to drive out the people
selling animals for sacrifices.
He said to them, The scriptures declare,
My temple will be a house of prayer, but
you have turned it into a den of thieves.
After that he taught daily in the temple,
but the leading priests, the teachers
of religious law, and the other leaders
of the people began planning how to kill
him, but they could think of nothing.
Because all the people
hung on every word he said.
One day as Jesus was teaching the
people and preaching the good news
in the temple, the leading priests,
the teachers of religious law,
and the elders came up to him.
They demanded, By what authority
are you doing all these things?
Who gave you the right?
Let me ask you a question
first, he replied.
Did John's authority to baptize come
from heaven, or was it merely human?
They talked it over among themselves.
If we say it was from heaven, he
will ask why we didn't believe John.
But if we say it was merely human,
the people will stone us because they
are convinced John was a prophet.
So they finally replied that they
didn't know, and Jesus responded,
Then I won't tell you by what
authority I do these things.
Now Jesus turned to the people
again and told them this story.
A man planted a vineyard, leased it to
tenant farmers, and moved to another
country to live for several years.
At the time of the grape harvest,
he sent one of his servants to
collect his share of the crop.
But the farmers attacked the servant, beat
him up, and sent him back empty handed.
So the owner sent another servant,
but they also insulted him, beat him
up, and sent him away empty handed.
A third man was sent, and they
wounded him and chased him away.
What will I do?
the owner asked himself.
I know.
I'll send my cherished son.
Surely they will respect him.
But when the tenant farmer saw his
son, they said to each other, Here
comes the heir to this estate.
Let's kill him and get
the estate for ourselves.
So they dragged him out of
the vineyard and murdered him.
What do you suppose the owner
of the vineyard will do to them?
Jesus asked.
I'll tell you.
He will come and kill those farmers
and lease the vineyard to others.
How terrible that such a thing should
ever happen, his listeners protested.
Jesus looked at them and said,
Then what does this scripture mean?
The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.
Everyone who stumbles over that
stone will be broken to pieces, and
it will crush anyone it falls on.
The teachers of religious law and the
leading priests wanted to arrest Jesus
immediately, because they realized he
was telling the story against them.
They were the wicked farmers.
But they were afraid of
the people's reaction.
Watching for their opportunity,
the leaders sent spies
pretending to be honest men.
They tried to get Jesus to say something
that could be reported to the Roman
governor so he would arrest Jesus.
Teacher, they said, we know that you
speak and teach what is right and are
not influenced by what others think.
You teach the way of God truthfully.
Now tell us, is it right for us
to pay taxes to Caesar or not?
He saw through their trickery
and said, show me a Roman coin.
Whose picture and title are stamped on it?
Caesar's, they replied.
Well then, he said, give to
Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and
give to God what belongs to God.
So they failed to trap him by what
he said in front of the people.
Instead, they were amazed by his
answer, and they became silent.
Then Jesus was approached by some
Sadducees, religious leaders who say
there is no resurrection from the dead.
They pose this question, Teacher,
Moses gave us a law that if a man
dies, He Leaving a wife but no
children, his brother should marry
the widow and have a child who
will carry on the brother's name.
Well, suppose there were seven brothers.
The oldest one married and
then died without children.
So the second brother married
the widow, but he also died.
Then the third brother married her.
This continued with all seven of
them, who died without children.
Finally, the woman also died.
So tell us, whose wife will
she be in the resurrection?
For all seven were married
to her, Jesus replied.
Marriage is for people here on earth,
but in the age to come, those worthy
of being raised from the dead will
neither marry nor be given in marriage,
and they will never die again.
In this respect, they will be like angels.
They are children of God and
children of the resurrection.
But now, as to whether the dead will
be raised, Even Moses proved this
when he wrote about the burning bush.
Long after Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob had died, he referred to the
Lord as the God of Abraham, the
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
So he is the God of the living, not the
dead, for they are all alive to him.
Well said, teacher, remarked
some of the teachers of religious
law who were standing there.
And then no one dared to
ask him any more questions.
Then Jesus presented them with a question.
Why is it, he asked, that the Messiah
is said to be the son of David?
For David himself wrote in the book
of Psalms, The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit in the place of honor at my right
hand, until I humble your enemies,
making them a footstool under your feet.
Since David called the Messiah,
Lord, how can the Messiah be his son?
Then, with the crowds listening, he turned
to his disciples and said, Beware of
these teachers of religious law, for they
like to parade around in flowing robes
and love to receive respectful greetings
as they walk in the marketplaces, and
how they love the seats of honor in the
synagogues and the head table at banquets.
Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of
their property, and then pretend to be
pious by making long prayers in public.
Because of this, they
will be severely punished.
While Jesus was in the temple, he
watched the rich people dropping
their gifts in the collection box.
Then a poor widow came by and
dropped in two small coins.
I tell you the truth, Jesus said, this
poor widow has given more than all the
rest of them, for they have given a tiny
part of their surplus, but she, poor as
she is, has given everything she has.
Some of his disciples began talking about
the majestic stonework of the temple and
the memorial decorations on the walls.
But Jesus said, The time is
coming when all these things
will be completely demolished.
Not one stone will be
left on top of another.
Teacher, they asked, when
will all this happen?
What sign will show us that these
things are about to take place?
He replied, Don't let anyone mislead you.
For many will come in my name, claiming
I am the Messiah, and saying, The
time has come, but don't believe them.
And when you hear of wars and
insurrections, don't panic.
Yes, these things must take place first,
but the end won't follow immediately.
Then, he added, nation will
go to war against nation,
and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be great earthquakes, and there
will be famines and plagues in many lands,
and there will be terrifying things,
and great miraculous signs from heaven.
But before all this occurs, there
will be a time of great persecution.
You will be dragged into synagogues
and prisons, and you will stand
trial before kings and governors,
because you are my followers.
But this will be your opportunity to
tell them about me, so don't worry in
advance about how to answer the charges
against you, for I will give you the
right words, and such wisdom that none
of your opponents will be able to reply
or refute you, even those closest to you.
Your parents, brothers, relatives
and friends will betray you,
they will even kill some of you.
And everyone will hate you,
because you are my followers.
But not a hair of your head will perish.
By standing firm, you will win your souls.
And when you see Jerusalem surrounded
by armies Then you will know that the
time of its destruction has arrived.
Then those in Judea
must flee to the hills.
Those in Jerusalem must get out.
And those out in the country
should not return to the city.
For those will be days of God's vengeance.
And the prophetic words of the
scriptures will be fulfilled.
How terrible it will be for pregnant women
and for nursing mothers in those days.
For there will be disaster in the land
and great anger against this people.
They will be killed by the sword,
or sent away as captives to
all the nations of the world.
And Jerusalem will be trampled down
by the Gentiles, until the period
of the Gentiles comes to an end.
And there will be strange signs
in the sun, moon, and stars.
And here on earth, the nations will
be in turmoil, perplexed by the
roaring seas and strange tides.
People will be terrified at what they
see coming upon the earth, for the
powers in the heavens will be shaken.
Then everyone will see the
Son of Man coming on a cloud
with power and great glory.
So when all these things begin
to happen, stand and look up,
for your salvation is near.
Then he gave them this illustration.
Notice the fig tree, or any other tree.
When the leaves come out, you know
without being told that summer is near.
In the same way, when you see all
these things taking place, You can
know that the kingdom of God is near.
I tell you the truth.
This generation will not
pass from the scene until all
these things have taken place.
Heaven and Earth will disappear,
but my words will never disappear.
Watch out.
Don't let your hearts be dulled
by carousing and drunkenness,
and by the worries of this life.
Don't let that day catch
you unaware, like a trap.
For that day will come upon
everyone living on the Earth.
Keep alert at all times.
And pray that you might be strong enough
to escape these coming horrors and
stand before the Son of Man every day.
Jesus went to the temple to teach,
and each evening he returned to spend
the night on the Mount of Olives.
The crowds gathered at the temple
early each morning to hear him.
Oliver: This concludes today's
Immerse Reading Experience.
Thank you for joining us.