Persecution Will Come

16 ^o“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be ^pwise as serpents and ^qinnocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for ^rthey will deliver you over to courts and flog you ^sin their synagogues, 18 ^rand you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, ^tto bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19 ^rWhen ^uthey deliver you over, ^vdo not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for ^wwhat you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 ^xFor it is not you who speak, but ^ythe Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 ^zBrother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 ^aand you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. ^bBut the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they ^cpersecute you in one town, ^dflee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel ^ebefore the Son of Man comes.

24 ^f“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant¹ above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. ^gIf they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign² those of his household.

Have No Fear

26 “So have no fear of them, ⁱfor nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on ^jthe housetops. 28 And ^kdo not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him ^lwho can destroy both soul and body in hell.³ 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?⁴ And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But ^meven the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; ⁿyou are of more value than many sparrows. 32 ^oSo everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but ^pwhoever denies me before men, ^qI also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Not Peace, but a Sword

34 ^r“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. ^sI have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 ^rFor I have come ^tto set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 ^uAnd a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 ^vWhoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And ^wwhoever does not take his cross and ^xfollow me is not worthy of me. 39 ^yWhoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

1 “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. 2 ^xThey will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, ^ythe hour is coming when ^zwhoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3 And they will do these things ^abecause they have not known the Father, nor me. 4 But ^bI have said these things to you, that when ^ctheir hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.

The Work of the Holy Spirit

“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, ^dbecause I was with you. 5 But now ^eI am going to him who sent me, and ^fnone of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, ^gsorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for ^hif I do not go away, ⁱthe Helper will not come to you. But ^jif ^kI go, ^lI will send him to you. 8 ^mAnd when he comes, he will ⁿconvict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, ^obecause they do not believe in me; 10 ^pconcerning righteousness, ^qbecause I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 ^rconcerning judgment, because the ruler of this world ^sis judged.

12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When ^tthe Spirit of truth comes, ^uhe will ^vguide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but ^wwhatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will ^xglorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 ^yAll that the Father has is mine; ^ztherefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Your Sorrow Will Turn into Joy

16 ^a“A little while, and you will see me no longer; and ^bagain a little while, and you will see me.” 17 So ^csome of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ^d‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ^e‘because I am going to the Father’?” 18 So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? ^fWe do not know what he is talking about.” 19 ^gJesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, ^hyou will weep and lament, but ⁱthe world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but ^jyour sorrow will turn into joy. 21 ^kWhen a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 ^lSo also you have sorrow now, but ^mI will see you again, and ⁿyour hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. 23 ^oIn that day you will ^pask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, ^qwhatever you ask of the Father in my name, ^rhe will give it to you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. ^sAsk, and you will receive, ^tthat your joy may be full.

I Have Overcome the World

25 “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. ^uThe hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27 ^vfor the Father himself loves you, because ^wyou have loved me and ^xhave believed that I came from God.¹ 28 ^yI came from the Father and have come into the world, and now ^zI am leaving the world and going to the Father.”

29 His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not ^ausing figurative speech! 30 Now we know that ^byou know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that ^cyou came from God.” 31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Behold, ^dthe hour is coming, indeed it has come, when ^eyou will be scattered, each to his own home, and ^fwill leave me alone. ^gYet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33 I have said these things to you, that ^hin me you may have peace. ⁱIn the world you will have ^jtribulation. But ^ktake heart; ^lI have overcome the world.”

All Scripture Is Breathed Out by God

10 ^pYou, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me ^qat Antioch, ^rat Iconium, and ^sat Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet ^tfrom them all ^uthe Lord rescued me. 12 Indeed, all who desire to ^vlive a godly life in Christ Jesus ^wwill be persecuted, 13 while ^xevil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and ^ybeing deceived. 14 But as for you, ^zcontinue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom¹ you learned it 15 and how ^afrom childhood you have been acquainted with ^bthe sacred writings, ^cwhich are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 ^dAll Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that ^ethe man of God² may be complete, ^fequipped ^gfor every good work.

Peace with God Through Faith

1 ^aTherefore, since we have been justified by faith, ^bwe¹ have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also ^cobtained access by faith² into this grace ^din which we stand, and ^ewe³ rejoice⁴ in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we ^frejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering ^gproduces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and ^hhope does not put us to shame, because God’s love ⁱhas been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

6 For ^jwhile we were still weak, at the right time ^kChrist died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but ^lGod shows his love for us in that ^mwhile we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, ⁿwe have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from ^othe wrath of God. 10 For if ^pwhile we were enemies ^qwe were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by ^rhis life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received ^sreconciliation.