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Take a breath, find your place, and read deeply. Discover the joy of reading God’s word with the Immerse New Living Translation (NLT) Bible.
This daily Bible podcast will take you through the Bible in a year following the Immerse Bible Reading Experience. So grab your family and small group and go through the Bible in a year together with Immerse. Each of the 6 volumes is available online or at your favorite Christian bookstore.
Henry: Welcome To Immerse: The
Daily Bible Reading Experience.
Day 45
as Jesus and his disciples approached
Jerusalem, they came to the towns of
Beji and Bethany on the Mount of Olives.
Jesus sent two of them on ahead,
go into that village over there.
He told them, as soon as you enter
it, you'll see a young donkey tied
there that no one has ever ridden.
Untie it and bring it here.
If anyone asks, what are you doing?
Just say the Lord needs it
and will return it Soon.
The two disciples left and found
the cult standing in the street
tied outside the front door.
As they were untying it, some
bystanders demanded, what are
you doing on tying that cult?
They said what Jesus had told them to
say and they were permitted to take it.
Then they brought the colt to
Jesus and threw their garments
over it, and he sat on it.
Many in the crowd spread their
garments on the road ahead of him
and others spread leafy branches.
They had cut in the fields.
Jesus was in the center of the
procession, and the people all
around him were shouting, praise God.
Blessings on the one who
comes in the name of the Lord.
Blessings on the coming
kingdom of our ancestor, David.
Praise God in highest heaven.
So Jesus came to Jerusalem
and went into the temple.
After looking around carefully
at everything, he left because
it was late in the afternoon.
Then he returned to Bethany with the
12 disciples The next morning, as they
were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry.
He noticed a F fig tree in
full leaf a little way off.
So he went over to see if he could
find any figs, but there were
only leaves because it was too
early in the season for fruit.
Then Jesus said to the tree, may
no one ever eat your fruit again.
And the disciples heard him say it
when they arrived back in Jerusalem.
Jesus entered the temple and began
to drive out the people buying and
selling animals for sacrifices.
He knocked over the tables of the
money changers and the chairs of those
selling doves, and he stopped everyone
from using the temple as a marketplace.
He said to them, the scriptures
declare my temple will be called
a house of prayer for all nations.
But you have turned it
into a den of thieves.
When the leading priests and teachers
of religious law heard what Jesus
had done, they began planning how
to kill him, but they were afraid
of him because the people were so
amazed at his teaching that evening.
Jesus and the disciples left the city.
The next morning as they passed by the
fig tree, he had cursed the disciples
noticed it had withered from the roots up.
Peter remembered what Jesus had said
to the tree on the previous day and
exclaimed, look, rabbi, the fig tree
you cursed, has withered and died.
Then Jesus said to the
disciples, have faith in God.
I tell you the truth.
You can say to this mountain, may
you be lifted up and thrown into
the sea and it will happen, but you
must really believe it will happen
and have no doubt in your heart.
I tell you, you can pray for anything
and if you believe that you've
received it, it will be yours.
But when you are praying first,
forgive anyone you are holding a
grudge against so that your father
in heaven will forgive your sins too.
Again, they entered Jerusalem as Jesus
was walking through the temple area, 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 to do them?
I'll tell you by what
authority I do these things.
If you answer one question, Jesus replied.
Did John's authority to baptize come from
heaven or was it merely human answer me?
They talked it over among themselves.
If we say it was from heaven, he will
ask why We didn't believe John, but do we
dare say it was merely human for they were
afraid of what the people would do because
everyone believed that John was a prophet.
So they finally replied, we don't know.
And Jesus responded, then I won't tell
you by what authority I do these things.
Then Jesus began teaching
them with stories.
A man planted a vineyard.
He built a wall around it, dug
a pit for pressing out the grape
juice and built a lookout tower.
Then he leased the vineyard to tenant
farmers and moved to another country.
At the time of the grape harvest, he
sent one of his servants to collect
his share of the crop, but the
farmers grabbed the servant, beat him
up, and sent him back empty handed.
The owner then sent another
servant, but they insulted him
and beat him over the head.
The next servant he sent was killed.
Others he sent were either beaten or
killed until there was only one left.
His son, whom he loved dearly.
The owner finally sent him thinking,
surely they will respect my son, but
the tenant farmer said to one another,
here comes the heir to this estate.
Let's kill him and get
the estate for ourselves.
So they grabbed him and murdered him
and threw his body out of the vineyard.
What do you suppose the owner
of the vineyard will do?
Jesus asked.
I'll tell you.
He will come and kill those farmers
and lease the vineyard to others.
Didn't you ever read
this in the scriptures?
The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord's doing,
and it is wonderful to see.
The religious leaders wanted to
arrest Jesus because they realized he
was telling the story against them.
They were the wicked farmers.
But they were afraid of the crowd,
so they left him and went away.
Later, the leaders sent some
Pharisees and supporters of Herod
to trap Jesus into saying something
for which he could be arrested.
Teacher, they said, we
know how honest you are.
You are impartial and
don't play favorites.
You teach the way of God truthfully.
Now tell us, is it right to
pay taxes to Caesar or not?
Should we pay them or shouldn't we?
Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and
said, why are you trying to trap me?
Show me a Roman coin, and I'll tell you.
When they handed it to him, he asked
Whose picture and title or stamped on it?
Caesars, they replied.
Well, then Jesus said, give to
Caesar what belongs to Caesar and
give to God what belongs to God.
His reply completely amazed them.
Then Jesus was approached by some
Sadducees religious leaders who say,
there is no resurrection from the dead.
They posed this question.
Teacher Moses gave us a law that if
a man dies leaving a wife without
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 without children.
Then the third brother married her.
This continued with all seven of them
and still there were no children.
Last of all, the woman also died.
So tell us whose wife will she be
in the resurrection for all seven.
Were married to her.
Jesus replied, you mistake is
that you don't know the scriptures
and you don't know the power
of God for when the dead rise.
They will neither marry
nor be given in marriage.
In this respect, they will
be like the angels in heaven.
But now as to whether the dead will
be raised, haven't you ever read
about this in the writings of Moses?
In the story of the burning bush,
long after Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob had died, God said to Moses,
I am the God of Abraham, the God
of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
So he is the God of the
living, not the dead.
You have made a serious error.
One of the teachers of religious law was
standing there listening to the debate.
He realized that Jesus had answered well,
so he asked Of all the commandments, which
is the most important, Jesus replied,
the most important commandment is this.
Listen.
No, Israel, the Lord, our
God is the one and only Lord.
And you must love the Lord your God
with all your heart, all your soul,
all your mind, and all your strength.
The second is equally important.
Love your neighbor as your yourself.
No other commandment
is greater than these.
The teacher of religious law
replied, well said teacher.
You have spoken the truth by saying
that there is only one God and no
other, and I know it is important to
love him with all my heart and all
my understanding and all my strength,
and to love my neighbor as myself.
This is more important than to
offer all of the burnt offerings
and sacrifices required in the law.
Realizing how much the man understood
Jesus said to him, you are not
far from the kingdom of God.
After that, no one dared to
ask him any more questions.
Later, as Jesus was teaching the
people in the temple, he asked Why do
the teachers of religious law claim
that the Messiah is the son of David,
for David himself speaking under
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit?
Said the Lord said to my Lord.
Sit in the place of honor at
my right hand until I humble
your enemies beneath your feet.
Since David himself called the Messiah,
my Lord, how can the Messiah be his son?
The large crowd listened
to him with great delight.
Jesus also taught beware of these
teachers of religious law for they
like to parade around in flowing
robes and 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 more severely punished.
Jesus sat down near the collection
box in the temple and watched as
the crowds dropped in their money.
Many rich people put in large amounts.
Then a poor widow came and
dropped in two small coins.
Jesus called his disciples to him
and said, I tell you the truth.
This poor widow has given
more than all the others who
are making contributions for.
They gave a tiny part of their
surplus, but she poor as she is, has
given everything she had to live on.
As Jesus was leaving the temple that
day, one of his disciples said, teacher,
look at these magnificent buildings.
Look at the impressive
stones in the walls.
Jesus replied, yes, look at
these great buildings, but they
will be completely demolished.
Not one stone will be
left on top of another.
Later, Jesus sat on the mount of Olives
across the valley from the temple.
Peter, James, John and Andrew came
to him privately and asked him,
tell us when will all this happen?
What sign will show us that these
things are about to be fulfilled?
Jesus replied, don't
let anyone mislead you.
For many will come in my name,
claiming I am the Messiah.
They will deceive many and you
will hear of wars and threats
of wars, but don't panic.
Yes, these things must take place,
but the end won't follow immediately.
Nation will go to war against
Nation and Kingdom Against Kingdom.
There will be earthquakes in many parts
of the world as well as famines, but
this is only the first of the birth
pains with more to come when these
things begin to happen, watch out.
You will be handed over to the local
councils and beaten in the synagogues.
You will stand trial before governors
and kings because you are my
followers, but this will be your
opportunity to tell them about me.
For the good news must first
be preached to all nations.
But when you are arrested and stand trial,
don't worry in advance about what to say.
Just say what God tells you at that time.
For it is not you who will be
speaking, but the Holy Spirit.
A brother will betray
his brother to death.
A father will betray his own child
and children will rebel against their
parents and cause them to be killed.
And everyone will hate you because
you are my followers, but the one
who endures to the end will be saved.
The day is coming.
When you will see the sacrilegious object
that causes desecration standing where he
should not be reader pay attention, then
those in Judea must flee to the hills.
A person out on the deck of a roof
must not go down in the house to
pack a person out in the field.
Must not return even to get a coat.
How terrible it will be for pregnant women
and for nursing mothers in those days.
And pray that your flight will not be
in winter for, there will be greater
anguish in those days than at any
time since God created the world
and it will never be so great again.
In fact, unless the Lord shortens
that time of calamity, not a
single person will survive.
But for the sake of his chosen
ones, he has shortened those days.
Then if anyone tells you, look,
here is the Messiah, or there he is.
Don't believe it.
For false messiahs and false prophets
will rise up and perform signs and
wonders so as to deceive if possible,
even God's chosen ones watch out.
I have warned you about
this ahead of time.
At that time.
After the anguish of those
days, the sun will be darkened.
The moon will give no light.
The stars will fall from the sky and the
powers in the heavens will be shaken.
Then everyone will see the son of
man coming on the clouds with great
power and glory, and he will send out
his angels to gather his chosen ones
from all over the world, from the
farthest ends of the earth and heaven.
Now learn a lesson from the fig tree.
When its branches, bud and
its leaves begin to sprout.
You know that summer is near
in the same way when you see
all these things taking place.
You can know that his return
is very near right at the door.
I tell you the truth, this generation
will not pass from the scene
before all these things take place.
Heaven and earth will disappear,
but my words will never disappear.
However, no one knows the day or
hour when these things will happen.
Not even the angels in
heaven or the son himself.
Only the father knows.
And since you don't know when
that time will come beyond guard.
Stay alert.
The coming of the son of man
can be illustrated by the story
of a man going on a long trip.
When he left home, he gave each of
his slaves instructions about the
work they were to do and he told the
gatekeeper to watch for his return.
You too must keep watch for.
You don't know when the master
of the household will return.
In the evening at midnight
before Dawn or at Daybreak.
Don't let him find you sleeping.
When he arrives without warning, I
say to you what I say to everyone.
Watch for him.
This concludes today's
immerse reading experience.
Thank you for joining us.