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 17 continued.
The coming of the kingdom.
Some Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would come.
His answer was,
The kingdom of God does not come in such a way as to be seen.
No one will say,
Look,
Here it is or there it is,
Because the kingdom of God is within you.
Then he said to the disciples,
The time will come when you will wish you could see one of the days of the Son of Man,
But you will not see it.
There will be those who will say to you,
Look over there or over there,
But don't go out looking for it.
As the lightning flashes across the sky and lights it up from one side to the other,
So will the Son of Man be in his day.
But first he must suffer much and be rejected by the people of this day.
As it was in the time of Noah,
So it shall be in the days of the Son of Man.
Everybody kept on eating and drinking and men and women married up to the very day Noah went into the boat and the flood came and killed them all.
It will be as it was in the time of Lot.
Everybody kept on eating and drinking,
Buying and selling,
Planting and building.
On the day Lot left Sodom,
Fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and killed them all.
That is how it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
On that day,
Someone who is on the roof of his house must not go down into the house to get any belongings.
In the same way,
Anyone who is out in the field must not go back to the house.
Remember Lot's wife.
Whoever tries to save his own life will lose it.
Whoever loses his life will save it.
On that night,
I tell you,
There will be two people sleeping in the same bed.
One will be taken away.
The other will be left behind.
Two women will be grinding corn together.
One will be taken away.
The other will be left behind.
The disciples asked,
Where,
Lord?
And Jesus answered,
Wherever there is a dead body,
The vultures will gather.
Chapter 18 The Parable of the Widow and the Judge Jesus then told his disciples a parable to teach them that they should always pray and never become discouraged.
In a certain town,
He said,
There was a judge who neither feared God nor respected people.
And there was a widow in that same town who kept coming to him and pleading for her rights,
Saying,
Help me against my opponent.
For a long time the judge refused to act,
But at last he said to himself,
Even though I don't fear God or respect people,
Yet because of all the trouble this widow is giving me,
I will see to it she gets her rights.
If I don't,
She'll keep coming and finally wear me out.
Then the Lord continued,
Listen to what that corrupt judge said.
Now will God not judge in favor of his own people who cry to him day and night for help?
Will he be slow to help them?
I tell you,
He will judge in their favor and do it quickly.
But will the Son of Man find faith on earth when he comes?
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector Jesus also told this parable to people who were sure of their own goodness and despised everybody else.
Once there were two men who went up to the temple to pray.
One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
The Pharisee stood apart by himself and said,
Thank you,
God.
He said,
I'm not greedy,
Dishonest or an adulterer like everybody else.
I thank you I'm not like that tax collector over there.
I fast two days a week and I give you a tenth of all my income.
But the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even raise his face to heaven,
But beat on his breast and said,
God have pity on me,
A sinner.
I tell you,
Said Jesus,
The tax collector and not the Pharisee was in the right with God when he went home.
For all who make themselves great will be humbled,
And all who humble themselves will be made great.
Jesus blesses little children.
Some people brought their babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them.
The disciples saw them and scolded them for doing so.
But Jesus called the children to him and said,
Let the children come to me and do not stop them,
Because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
Remember,
Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.
The rich man.
A Jewish leader asked Jesus,
Good teacher,
What must I do to receive eternal life?
Why do you call me good?
Jesus asked.
No one is good except God alone.
You know the commandments,
Do not commit adultery,
Do not commit murder,
Do not steal,
Do not accuse anyone falsely,
Respect your father and your mother.
The man replied,
Ever since I was young,
I've obeyed all these commandments.
When Jesus heard this,
He said to him,
There is still one more thing you need to do.
Sell all you have and give the money to the poor,
And you will have riches in heaven.
Then come and follow me.
When the man heard this,
He became very sad because he was very rich.
Jesus saw he was sad and said,
How hard it is for rich people to enter the kingdom of God.
It is much harder for a rich person to enter than for a camel to go through the eye of an eagle.
Who then can be saved?
Said the people who heard him.
Jesus answered,
What is humanly impossible is possible for God.
Peter said,
Look,
We've left our homes to follow you.
Yes,
Jesus replied.
And I assure you that anyone who leaves home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will receive much more in this present age and eternal life than in the age to come.
Jesus speaks a third time about his death.
Jesus took the twelve disciples aside and said,
Listen,
We are going to Jerusalem where everything the prophets wrote about the Son of Man will come true.
He will be handed over to the Gentiles who will mock him,
Insult him and spit on him.
They will whip him and kill him.
But three days later,
He will rise to life.
The disciples did not understand any of these things.
The meaning of the words was hidden from them and they did not know what Jesus was talking about.
Jesus heals a blind beggar.
As Jesus was coming near Jericho,
There was a blind man sitting by the road begging.
When he heard the crowd passing by,
He asked,
What is this?
Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.
They told him.
Jesus,
Son of David,
He cried out,
Take pity on me.
The people in front scolded him and told him to be quiet,
But he shouted even more.
Son of David,
Take pity on me.
So Jesus stopped and ordered the blind man to be brought to him.
What do you want me to do for you?
He asked.
Sir,
Said the blind man,
I want to see again.
Then you shall see your faith,
Said Jesus,
Has made you well.
At once the blind man was able to see and he followed Jesus giving thanks to God.
And when the crowd saw it,
They too all praised God.
