THE LORD'S PRAYER AND OTHER SAYINGS OF CHRIST
[Sidenote: St. Luke 11]
AND it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when
he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray,
as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray,
say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom
come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day
our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one
that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us
from evil.
And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go
unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;
for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing
to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me
not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot
rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give
him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will
rise and give him as many as he needeth. And I say unto you, Ask, and
it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall
be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that
seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son
shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a
stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? or
if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being
evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more
shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass,
when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered.
But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the
chief of the devils. And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign
from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every
kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house
divided against a house falleth. If Satan also be divided against
himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out
devils through Beelzebub. And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by
whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.
But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom
of God is come upon you. When a strong man armed keepeth his palace,
his goods are in peace: but when a stronger than he shall come upon
him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he
trusted, and divideth his spoils. He that is not with me is against me:
and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. When the unclean spirit
is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and
finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.
And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he,
and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and
they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse
than the first.
[Illustration: CHRIST DISPUTING WITH THE DOCTORS, BY LUINI
IN THE NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON]
And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and
he went in, and sat down to meat. And when the Pharisee saw it, he
marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner. And the Lord said
unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and
the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.
Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which
is within also? But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and,
behold, all things are clean unto you.
When there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people,
insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his
disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which
is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed;
neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have
spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have
spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.
And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the
body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn
you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power
to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him. Are not five sparrows
sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?
But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not
therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.
[Sidenote: St. Luke 12]
Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall
the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: but he that
denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God. And
whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be
forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it
shall not be forgiven. And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and
unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye
shall answer, or what ye shall say: for the Holy Ghost shall teach you
in the same hour what ye ought to say.
And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that
he divide the inheritance with me. And he said unto him, Man, who made
me a judge or a divider over you? And he said unto them, Take heed,
and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the
abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spake a parable
unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth
plentifully: and he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do,
because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This
will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will
I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul,
thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat,
drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy
soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be,
which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself,
and is not rich toward God.
[Sidenote: St. Luke 12]
And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no
thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what
ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than
raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which
neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more
are ye better than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can
add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing
which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies
how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you,
that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If
then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to
morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye
of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall
drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the
nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have
need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all
these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is
your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye
yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return
from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto
him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he
cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird
himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and
serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the
third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this
know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief
would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house
to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man
cometh at an hour when ye think not.
Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us,
or even to all? And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise
steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give
them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom
his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you,
that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. But and if that
servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin
to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be
drunken; the lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh
not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in
sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that
servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither
did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he
that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten
with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be
much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will
ask the more.
He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his
vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then
said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I
come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why
cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it
alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: and if it
bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.
And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And,
behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen
years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.
And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman,
thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her:
and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. And the
ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus
had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six
days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed,
and not on the sabbath day. The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou
hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his
ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this
woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these
eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day? And when
he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all
the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.
[Sidenote: St. Luke 13]