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"THE PROTESTANT ETHIC AND THE SPIRIT OF CAPITALISM" written by Max Weber in 1905, translated by Talcott Parsons in 1930

2011-11-09T21:08:00.000+02:00

Chapter 1: RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION AND SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
Chapter 2: THE SPIRIT OF CAPITALISM
Chapter 3: LUTHER'S CONCEPTION OF THE CALLING
Chapter 4: THE RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS OF WORLDLY ASCETICISM
Chapter 5: ASCETICISM AND THE SPIRIT OF CAPITALISM

Chapter 1: RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION AND SOCIAL STRATIFICATION

A glance at the occupational statistics of any country of mixed religious composition brings to light with remarkable frequency a situation which has several times provoked discussion in the Catholic press and literature, and in Catholic congresses in Germany, namely, the fact that business leaders and owners of capital, as well as the higher grades of skilled labor, and even more the higher technically and commercially trained personnel of modern enterprises, are overwhelmingly Protestant. This is true not only in cases where the difference in religion coincides with one of nationality, and thus of cultural development, as in Eastern Germany between Germans and Poles. The same thing is shown in the figures of religious affiliation almost wherever capitalism, at t he time of its great expansion, has had a free hand to alter the social distribution of the population in accordance with its needs, and to determine its occupational structure. The more freedom it has had, the more clearly is the effect shown. It is true that the greater relative participation of Protestants in the ownership of capital, in management, and the upper ranks of labor in great modern industrial and commercial enterprises, may in part be explained in terms of historical circumstances, which extend far back into the past, and in which religious affiliation is not a cause of the economic conditions, but to a certain extent appears to be a result of them. Participation in the above economic functions usually involves some previous ownership of capital, and generally an expensive education; often both. These are today largely dependent on the possession of inherited wealth, or at least on a certain degree of material well being. A number of those sections of the old Empire which were most highly developed economically and most favored by natural resources and situation, in particular a majority of the wealthy towns went over to Protestantism in the sixteenth century The results of that circumstance favor the Protestants even today in their struggle for economic existence. There arises thus the historical question: why were the districts of highest economic development at the same time particularly favorable to a revolution in the Church? The answer is by no means so simple as one might think.

The emancipation from economic traditionalism appears, no doubt, to be a factor which would greatly strengthen the tendency to doubt the sanctity of the religious tradition, as of all traditional authorities. But it is necessary to note, what has often been forgotten, that the Reformation meant not the elimination the Church's control over everyday life, but rather the substitution of a new form of control for the previous, one. It meant the repudiation of a control which was very lax, at that time scarcely perceptible in practice, and hardly more than formal, in favor of a regulation, of the whole of conduct which, penetrating to all departments of private and public life, was infinitely burdensome and earnestly enforced. The rule of the Catholic Church, "punishing the heretic, but indulgent. to the sinner", as it was in the past even more than today, is now tolerated by peoples of thoroughly modern economic character, and was borne by the richest and economically most advanced peoples on earth at about the turn of the fifteenth century. The rule of Calvinism, on the other hand, as it was enforced in the sixteenth century in Geneva and in Scotland, at the turn of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in large parts of the Netherlands, in the seventeenth in New England, and for a time in England itself, would be for us the most absolutely unbearable form of ecclesiastical control of the individual which could possibly exist. That was exactly what large numbers of the old commercial aristocracy of those times, in Geneva as well as in Holland and England, felt about it. And what the reformers complained of in those areas of high economic development was not too much supervision of life on the part of the Church, but too little. Now how does it happen that at that time those countries which were most advanced economically, and within them the rising bourgeois middle classes, not only failed to resist this unexampled tyranny of Puritanism, but even developed a heroism in its defense? For bourgeois classes as such have seldom before and never since displayed heroism. It was "the last of our heroisms", as Carlyle, not without reason, has said.

But further, and especially important: it may be, as has been claimed, that the greater participation of Protestants in the positions of ownership and management in modern economic life may today be understood, in part at least, simply as a result of the greater material wealth they have inherited. But there are certain other phenomena which cannot be explained in the same way. Thus, to mention only a few facts: there is a great difference discoverable in Baden, in Bavaria, in Hungary, in the type of higher education which Catholic parents, as opposed to Protestant, give their children. That the percentage of Catholics among the students and graduates of higher educational institutions in general lags behind their proportion of the total population," may, to be sure, be largely explicable in terms of inherited differences of wealth. But among the Catholic graduates themselves the percentage of those graduating from the institutions preparing, in particular, for technical studies and industrial and commercial occupations, but in general from those preparing for middle-class business life, lags still farther behind the percentage of Protestants. On the other hand, Catholics prefer the sort of training which the humanistic Gymnasium affords. That is a circumstance to w hich the above explanation does not apply, but which, on the contrary, is one reason why so few Catholics are engaged in capitalistic enterprise.

Even more striking is a fact which partly explains the smaller proportion of Catholics among the skilled laborers of modern industry. It is well known that the factory has taken its skilled labor to a large extent from young men in the handicrafts; but this is much more true of Protestant than of Catholic journeymen. Among journeymen, in other words, the Catholics show a stronger propensity to remain in their crafts, that is they more often become master craftsmen, whereas the Protestants are attracted to a larger extent into the factories in order to fill the upper ranks skilled labor and administrative positions. The explanation of these cases is undoubtedly that the mental and spiritual peculiarities acquired from the environment, here the type of education favored by the religious atmosphere of the home community and the parental home, have determined the choice of occupation, and through it the professional career.

The smaller participation of Catholics in the modern business life of Germany is all the more striking because it runs counter to a tendency which has been observed at all times including the present. National or religious minorities which are in a position of subordination to a group of rulers are likely, through their voluntary or involuntary exclusion from positions of political influence, to be driven with peculiar force into economic activity. Their ablest members seek to satisfy the desire for recognition of their abilities in this field, since there is no opportunity in the service of the State. This has undoubtedly been true of the Poles in Russia and Eastern Prussia, who have without question been undergoing a more rapid economic advance than in Galicia, where they have been in the ascendant. It has in earlier times been true of the Huguenots in France under Louis XIV, the Nonconformists and Quakers in England, and, last but not least, the Jew for two thousand years. But the Catholics in Germany have shown no striking evidence of such a result of their position. In the past they have, unlike the Protestants, undergone no particularly prominent economic development in the times when they, were persecuted or only tolerated, either in Holland or in England. On the other hand, it is a fact that the Protestants (especially certain branches of the movement to be fully discussed later) both as ruling classes and as ruled, both as majority and as minority, have shown a special tendency to develop economic rationalism which cannot be observed to the same extent among Catholics either in the one situation or in the other. Thus the principal explanation of this difference must be sought in the permanent intrinsic character of their religious beliefs, and not only in their temporary external historico-political situations. It will be our task to investigate these religions with a view to finding out what peculiarities they have or have had which might have resulted in the behavior we have described. On superficial analysis, and on the basis of certain current impressions, one might be tempted to express the difference by saying that the greater other-worldliness of Catholicism, the ascetic character of its highest ideals, must have brought up its adherents to a greater indifference toward the good things of this world. Such an explanation f its the popular tendency in the judgment of both religions. On the Protestant side it is used as a basis of criticism of those (real or imagined) ascetic ideals of the 'Catholic way of life, while the Catholics answer with the accusation that materialism results from the secularization of all ideals through Protestantism. One recent writer has attempted to formulate the difference of their attitudes toward economic life in the following manner: "The Catholic is quieter, having less of the acquisitive impulse; he prefers a life of the greatest possible security, even with a smaller income, to a life of risk and excitement, even though it may bring the chance of gaining honor and riches. The proverb says jokingly, 'either eat well or sleep well'. In the pre sent case the Protestant prefers to eat well, the Catholic to sleep undisturbed."

In fact, this desire to eat well may be a correct though incomplete characterization of the motives of many nominal Protestants in Germany at the present time. But things were very different in the past: the English, Dutch, and American Puritans were characterized by the exact opposite of the joy of living, a fact which is indeed, as we shall see, most important for our present study. Moreover, the French Protestants, among others, long retained, and retain to a certain extent up to the present, the characteristics which were impressed upon the Calvinistic Churches everywhere, especially under the cross in the time of the religious struggles. Nevertheless (or was it, perhaps, as we shall ask later, precisely on that account?) it is well known that these characteristics were one of the most important factors in the industrial and capitalistic development of France, and on the small scale permitted them by their persecution remained so. If we may call this seriousness and the strong predominance of religious interests in the whole conduct of life otherworldliness, then the French Calvinists were and still are at least as otherworldly as, for instance, the North German Catholics, to whom their Catholicism is undoubtedly as vital a matter as religion is to any other people in the world. Both differ from the predominant religious trends in their respective countries in much the same way. The Catholics of France are, in their lower ranks, greatly interested in the enjoyment of life, in the upper directly hostile to religion. Similarly, the Protestants of Germany are today absorbed in worldly economic life, and their upper ranks are most indifferent to religion. Hardly anything shows so clearly as this parallel that, with such vague ideas as that of the alleged otherworldliness of Catholicism, and the alleged materialistic joy of living of Protestantism, and others like them, nothing can be accomplished for our purpose. In such general terms the distinction does not even adequately fit the facts of today, and certainly not of the past. If, however, one wishes to make use of it at all, several other observations present themselves at once which, combined with the above remarks, suggest that the supposed conflict between other-worldliness, asceticism, and ecclesiastical piety on the one side, and participation in capitalistic acquisition on the other, might actually turn out to be an intimate relationship. As a matter of fact it is surely remarkable, to begin with quite a superficial observation, how large is the number of representatives of the most spiritual forms of Christian piety who have sprung from commercial circles. In particular, very many of the most zealous adherents of Pietism are of this origin. It might be explained as a sort of reaction against mammonism on the part of sensitive natures not adapted to commercial life, and, as in the case of Francis of Assisi, man Pietists have themselves interpreted the process of their conversion in these terms. Similarly, the remarkable circumstance that so many of the greatest capitalistic entrepreneurs-down to Cecil Rhodes-have come from clergymen's families might be explained reaction against their ascetic upbringing. But this form of explanation fails where an extraordinary capitalistic business sense is combined in the same persons and groups with the most intensive forms of a piety which penetrates and dominates their whole lives. Such cases are not isolated, but these traits are characteristic of many of the most important Churches and sects in the history of Protestantism. Especially Calvinism, wherever it has appeared, has shown this combination. However little, in the time of the expansion of the Reformation, it (or any other Protestant belief) was bound up with any particular social class, it is characteristic and in a certain sense typical that in French Huguenot Churches monks and businessmen (merchants, craftsmen) were particularly numerous among the proselytes, especially at the time of the persecution. Even the Spaniards knew that heresy (i.e. the Calvinism of the Dutch) promoted trade, and this coincides with the opinions which Sir William Petty expressed in his discussion of the reasons for the capitalistic development of the Netherlands. Gothein rightly calls the Calvinistic diaspora the seedbed of capitalistic economy. Even in this case one might consider the decisive factor to be the superiority of the French and Dutch economic cultures from which these communities sprang, or perhaps the immense influence of exile in the breakdown of traditional relationships. But in France the situation was, as we know from Colbert's struggles, the same even in the seventeenth century. Even Austria, not to speak of other countries, directly imported Protestant craftsmen.

But not all the Protestant denominations seem to have had an equally strong influence in this direction. That of Calvinism, even in Germany, was among the strongest, it seems, and the reformed faith more than the others seems to have promoted the development of the spirit of capitalism, in the Wupperthal as well as elsewhere. Much more so than Lutheranism, as comparison both in general and in particular instances, especially in the Wupperthal, seems to prove. For Scotland, Buckle, and among English poets, Keats have emphasized these same relationships. Even more striking, as it is only necessary to mention, is the connection of a religious way of life with the most intensive development of business acumen among those sects whose otherworldliness is proverbial as their wealth, especially the Quakers and the Mennonites. The part which the former have played in England and North America fell to the latter in Germany and the Netherlands. That in East Prussia Frederick William I tolerated the Mennonites as indispensable to industry, in spite of their absolute refusal to perform military service, is only one of the numerous well-known cases which illustrates the fact, though, considering the character of that monarch, it is one of the most striking. Finally, that this combination of intense piety with just as strong a development of business acumen, was also characteristic of the Pietists, common knowledge.

It is only necessary to think of the Rhine country and of Calw. In this purely introductory discussion it is unnecessary to pile up more examples. For these few already all show one thing: that the spirit of hard work, of progress, or whatever else it might may be called, the awakening of which one is inclined to ascribe to Protestantism, must not be understood, as there is a tendency to do, as joy of living nor in any other sense as connected with the Enlightenment. The old Protestantism of Luther, Calvin, Knox, Voet, had precious little to do with what today is called progress. The whole aspects of modern life which the most extreme religionist would not wish to suppress today, it was directly hostile. If any inner relationship between certain expressions of the old Protestant spirit and modern capitalistic culture is to be found, we must attempt to find it, for better or worse, not in its alleged more or less materialistic or at least anti-ascetic joy of living, but in its purely religious characteristics. Montesquieu says (Esprit des Lois, Book XX, chap. 7) of the English that they "had progressed the farthest of all peoples of the world in three important things: in piety, in commerce, and in freedom". Is it not possible that their commercial superiority and their adaptation to free political institutions are connected in someway with that record of piety which Montesquieu ascribes to them? A large number of possible relationships, vaguely perceived, occur to us when we put the question in this way. It will now be our task to formulate what occurs to us confusedly as clearly as is possible, considering the inexhaustible diversity to be found in all historical material. But in order to do this it is necessary to leave behind the vague and general concepts with which we have dealt up to this point, and attempt to Penetrate into the peculiar characteristics of and the differences between those great worlds of religious thought which have existed historically in the various branches of Christianity.

Before we can proceed to that, however, a few remarks are necessary, first on the peculiarities of the phenomenon of which we are seeking an historical explanation, then concerning the sense in which such an explanation is possible at all within the limits of these investigations.

2009-05-07T21:31:00.019+03:00

The Denial of Saint Peter by Caravaggio (16^th century) → results from bibleGateway.com:

Matthew 26:31
[ Jesus Predicts Peter's Denial ] Then Jesus told them, "This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: " 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'
Matthew 26:30-32 (in Context) Matthew 26 (Whole Chapter)
Mark 14:27
[ Jesus Predicts Peter's Denial ] "You will all fall away," Jesus told them, "for it is written: " 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.'
Mark 14:26-28 (in Context) Mark 14 (Whole Chapter)
John 13:31
[ Jesus Predicts Peter's Denial ] When he was gone, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him.
John 13:30-32 (in Context) John 13 (Whole Chapter)
John 18:15
[ Peter's First Denial ] Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest's courtyard,
John 18:14-16 (in Context) John 18 (Whole Chapter)
John 18:25
[ Peter's Second and Third Denials ] As Simon Peter stood warming himself, he was asked, "You are not one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it, saying, "I am not."
John 18:24-26 (in Context) John 18 (Whole Chapter)

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. The "NIV" and "New International Version" trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society.

Матеј 26:31
[ Петар се заветува на верност ] Тогаш Исус им рече на Своите ученици: „Во текот на оваа ноќ сите вие ќе Ме напуштите, како што е претскажано во Светото Писмо: ,Ќе удрам по Пастирот, и овците ќе се разбегаат ^[a]!‘
Матеј 26:30-32 (контекстуално) Матеј 26 (целата глава)
Марко 14:27
[Петар се заветува на верност] Тогаш Исус им рече на Своите ученици: „Сите вие ќе Ме напуштите, како што е запишано: ,Ќе удрам по Пастирот и овците ќе се разбегаат!‘
Марко 14:26-28 (контекстуално) Марко 14 (целата глава)
Јован 13:31
Кога Јуда излезе, Исус рече: „Сега Синот Човечки ќе биде прославен и Тој ќе Му донесе слава на Бог. Јован 13:30-32 (контекстуално) Јован 13 (целата глава)
Јован 18:15
Симон Петар и еден друг ученик одеа по Исус. Тој ученик се познаваше со Првосвештеникот, па влезе заедно со Исус во дворот на Првосвештеникот...
Јован 18:14-16 (контекстуално) Јован 18 (целата глава)
Јован 18:25
Додека Симон Петар се уште стоеше таму и се грееше, некој го праша: „Да не си и ти еден од учениците на Оној човек?“ Петар вторпат одрече, велејќи: „Не сум!“
Јован 18:24-26 (контекстуално) Јован 18 (целата глава)

Фусноти: а. Матеј 26:31 Цитат од Книгата на пророкот Захарија, 13:7.

2009-04-02T21:27:00.043+03:00

The Betrayal of Christ by Caravaggio (1602)

Matthew 26:47-49 (New International Version)

Jesus Arrested

⁴⁷While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. ⁴⁸Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: "The one I kiss is the man; arrest him." ⁴⁹Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed him.

Mark 14:43-45 (New International Version)

Jesus Arrested

⁴³Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders.

⁴⁴Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: "The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard." ⁴⁵Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Rabbi!" and kissed him.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
The "NIV" and "New International Version" trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society.

ЕВАНГЕЛИЕ СПОРЕД МАТЕЈ , Глава 26

¹ А кога Исус ги заврши сите тие беседи, им рече на Своите ученици:
² ”Знаете дека Пасхата е по два дни, и ќе Го предадат Човечкиот Син, за да Го распнат.”
³ Тогаш големите свештеници и народните старешини се собраа во дворот на првосвештеникот, кој се викаше Кајафа,
⁴ и се договорија да Го фатат Исуса на измама и да Го убијат.
⁵ Но велеа: „Не на празникот, за да не се побуни народот.”
⁶ А кога Исус беше во Витанија, во куќата на лепрозниот Симон,
⁷ Му се приближи жена, со сад од алавастер со скапоцено миро, па го излеа врз Неговата глава, додека беше прилегнат до столот.
⁸ Штом учениците го видоа тоа, негодуваа и рекоа: „За што е ова растурање?
⁹ Оти тоа миро можеше да биде продадено скапо, и сребрениците да им се дадат на сиромасите!”
¹⁰ Но Исус го разбра тоа и им рече: „Зошто и здодевате на жената? Таа Ми направи добро дело,
¹¹ зашто сиромасите ги имате секогаш со себе, а Мене Ме немате секогаш;
¹² зашто кога таа го излеа мирото врз Моето тело, го стори тоа за Моето погребение.
¹³ Вистина ви велам, каде и да биде проповедано Евангелието по целиот свет, ќе се раскажува и тоа што го направи таа, за нејзин спомен.
¹⁴ Тогаш еден од Дванаесетмината, кој се вика Јуда Искариотски отиде при првосвештениците и им рече:
¹⁵ ”Што ќе ми дадете, за да ви Го предадам?” А тие му предложија триесет сребреници.
¹⁶ И оттогаш бараше згоден случај за да Го предаде.
¹⁷ А во првиот ден на Бесквасните лебови, учениците пристапија при Исуса и Го прашаа: „Каде сакаш да Ти приготвиме да јадеш Пасха?”
¹⁸ Тој рече: „Отидете во градот при тој и тој човек и речете Му: Учителот вели: Моето време е близу; кај тебе ќе ја празнувам Пасхата со Своите ученици.”
¹⁹ И учениците направија како што им заповеда Исус, и ја приготвија Пасхата.
²⁰ А кога се стемни, Тој прилегна со Дванаесетте ученици на трпезата.
²¹ И додека јадеа, им рече: „Вистина ви велам, дека еден од вас ќе Ме предаде.”
²² И многу се нажалија и почнаа да зборуваат, еден по друг: „Да не сум јас, Господи?”
²³ А Тој одговори: „Оној што ќе ја накваси - со Мене - раката во чинијата, тој ќе Ме предаде!
²⁴ И така, Човечкиот Син си оди како што е напишано за Него, но тешко му на оној човек, преку кого ќе биде предаден Човечкиот Син; добро би било за тој човек, ако не беше се родил!”
²⁵ А Јуда, кој Го предаде, во одговор рече: „Да не сум јас, Учителе?” Му кажа: „Ти рече!”
²⁶ А кога јадеа, Исус зеде леб, благослови, го раскрши и им го раздаде на учениците, и рече: „Земете, јадете, ова е Моето тело.”
²⁷ Тогаш ја зеде чашата и заблагодари, им ја даде и рече: „Пијте сите од неа,
²⁸ зашто ова е Мојата крв на Заветот, која се пролева за мнозина, за проштавање на гревовите.
²⁹ Но, ви велам, отсега нема да пијам од овој лозов плод до оној ден, кога ќе го пијам со вас нов во Царството на Мојот Татко.”
³⁰ И откако испеаја благодарствена песна, излегоа на Маслиновата Гора.
³¹ Тогаш Исус им рече: „Сите вие ќе се соблазните во Мене, во оваа ноќ, зашто е пишано: „Ќе го удрам Пастирот и овците од стадото ќе се разбегаат!”
³² А по Моето воскресение ќе отидам, пред вас, во Галилеја.”
³³ Тогаш Петар одговори и рече: „Ако сите се соблазнат во Тебе, јас никогаш нема да се соблазнам.”
³⁴ Исус му рече: „Вистина ти велам, уште ноќеска трипати ќе се одречеш од Мене, пред да пропее петел.”
³⁵ Петар Му рече: „Ако треба и да умрам со Тебе, нема да се одречам од Тебе.” Така рекоа и сите ученици.
³⁶ Тогаш Исус дојде со нив на местото, кое се вика Гетсеманија, и им рече на учениците: „Седете тука додека Јас отидам онаму да се помолам.”
³⁷ И ги поведе со себе Петра и двајцата Зеведееви синови и почна да тагува и да се вознемирува.
³⁸ Тогаш им рече: „Мојата душа е длабоко натажена до смрт; останете тука и бдејте со Мене!”
³⁹ И отиде малку потаму и падна на Своето лице и се помоли, велејќи: „Татко Мој! Ако е можно, нека Ме одмине оваа чаша; но не како што сакам Јас, туку како Ти!”
⁴⁰ И дојде при учениците, и ги најде како што спијат, и му рече на Петра: „Така! Не можевте ли да пробдеете со Мене еден час?
⁴¹ Бдејте и молете се, за да не паднете во искушение! Духот е бодар, но телото е слабо!”
⁴² Пак, повторно отиде и се помоли, велејќи: „Татко Мој! Ако не е можно да Ме одмине оваа чаша, да не ја пијам, нека биде Твојата волја.”
⁴³ И кога дојде пак ги најде како што спијат, зашто очите им беа натежнале.
⁴⁴ И пак ги остави и отиде да се помоли, по третпат, и ги изговори истите зборови.
⁴⁵ Тогаш дојде при учениците и им рече: „Само спијте и почивајте. Еве, наближи часот кога Човечкиот Син ќе биде предаден во рацете на грешниците.
⁴⁶ Станете, да одиме! Ете, наближи Мојот предавник.”
⁴⁷ И додека Тој уште зборуваше, ете, Јуда, еден од Дванаесетмината, дојде со големо множество, со ножеви и стапови, испратени од првосвештениците и народните старешини.
⁴⁸ А Неговиот предавник им беше дал знак, велејќи: „Кого ќе Го целивам јас - Тој е, фатете Го!”
⁴⁹ И веднаш се приближи до Исуса и Го целива.
⁵⁰ А Исус му рече: „Пријателе, зошто дојде?” Тогаш пристапија, положија раце на Исуса и Го фатија.
⁵¹ И ете, еден од оние, кои беа со Исуса, извади нож и го удри слугата на првосвештеникот и му го отсече увото.
⁵² Тогаш Исус му рече: „Врати го твојот нож на неговото место; зашто сите, кои се фаќаат за нож - од нож ќе загинат.
⁵³ Или мислиш дека не можам да Го помолам Мојот Татко, и ќе Ми испрати веднаш повеќе од дванаесет легии ангели?
⁵⁴ Но, како би се исполниле Писмата, дека така треба да биде?”
⁵⁵ Во оној час, Исус му рече на народот: „Излеговте како на разбојник, со ножеви и стапови, за да Ме фатите. Секој ден седев во Храмот и поучував и не Ме фативте.
⁵⁶ А ова сè се збидна, за да се исполнат пророчките Писма.” Тогаш сите ученици Го оставија и се разбегаа.
⁵⁷ А оние, кои Го фатија Исуса, Го одведоа при првосвештеникот Кајафа, каде беа собрани книжниците и старешините.
⁵⁸ А Петар врвеше по Него оддалеку до дворот на првосвештеникот, и откако влезе внатре, седна со слугите, за да го види крајот.
⁵⁹ А главните свештеници и целиот Синедрион бараа лажно сведоштво против Исуса, за да Го убијат, и не најдоа,
⁶⁰ иако дојдоа многу лажни сведоци.
⁶¹ Најпосле дојдоа двајца и рекоа: „Овој рече: ‘Можам да го разурнам Божјиот Храм и да го соѕидам за три дни.’”
⁶² Тогаш првосвештеникот стана и Му рече: „Ништо ли не одговараш? Што сведочат овие против Тебе?”
⁶³ А Исус молчеше. Првосвештеникот Му рече: „Те заколнувам во живиот Бог да ни кажеш дали си Ти Христос, Божјиот Син?”
⁶⁴ Исус му кажа: „Ти рече! Но, Јас ви велам: отсега ќе Го гледате Човечкиот Син, како седи оддесно на Силата и како доаѓа на небесните облаци.”
⁶⁵ Тогаш првосвештеникот ја раскина својата облека и рече: „Го хули Бога! Зошто ни се потребни уште сведоци? Ете, сега ја чувте хулата?
⁶⁶ Што мислите?” А тие одговорија и рекоа: „Заслужува смрт!”
⁶⁷ Тогаш Го плукаа во лицето и Го удираа со тупаници,
⁶⁸ а други му удираа плесници, говорејќи: „Проречи ни, Христе, кој Те удри?”
⁶⁹ А Петар седеше надвор, во дворот, и една слугинка дојде при него и му рече:”И ти беше со Галилеецот Исус!”
⁷⁰ А тој се одрече пред сите, велејќи: „Не знам што зборуваш!”
⁷¹ А кога излезе пред главниот влез, го виде друга и им рече на тие, кои беа таму: „И овој беше со Назареецот Исус.”
⁷² Тој пак се одрече со заклетва: „Не го знам Човекот.”
⁷³ Малку потоа му се приближија оние, кои стоеја, и му рекоа на Петра: „Навистина, и ти си од нив, зашто и твојот говор те издава.”
⁷⁴ Тогаш почна да се проколнува и да се заколнува: „Не го знам Човекот.”
⁷⁵ И веднаш запеа петел. Тогаш Петар се сети на Исусовите зборови што му ги рече: „Пред да пропее петел, трипати ќе се одречеш од Мене.” И излезе надвор и плачеше горко.

Macedonian New Testament (MNT) Copyright 1999 by HBC Radosna Vest

2009-02-24T20:50:00.020+02:00

The Raising of Lazarus by Caravaggio (1608-1609)

John 11 (New International Version)

The Death of Lazarus

¹Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ²This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. ³So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick."

⁴When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." ⁵Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.

⁷Then he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea."

⁸"But Rabbi," they said, "a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?"

⁹Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light. ¹⁰It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light."

¹¹After he had said this, he went on to tell them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up."

¹²His disciples replied, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better." ¹³Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

¹⁴So then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, ¹⁵and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."

¹⁶Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."

Jesus Comforts the Sisters

¹⁷On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. ¹⁸Bethany was less than two miles^[a] from Jerusalem, ¹⁹and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. ²⁰When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

²¹"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²²But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."

²³Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."

²⁴Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."

²⁵Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; ²⁶and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

²⁷"Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ,^[b] the Son of God, who was to come into the world."

²⁸And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. "The Teacher is here," she said, "and is asking for you." ²⁹When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. ³⁰Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. ³¹When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

³²When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."

³³When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ³⁴"Where have you laid him?" he asked.
"Come and see, Lord," they replied.

³⁵Jesus wept.

³⁶Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"

³⁷But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"

Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead

³⁸Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ³⁹"Take away the stone," he said.
"But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days."

⁴⁰Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"

⁴¹So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴²I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."

⁴³When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" ⁴⁴The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."

The Plot to Kill Jesus

⁴⁵Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. ⁴⁶But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. ⁴⁷Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.

"What are we accomplishing?" they asked. "Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. ⁴⁸If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place^[c] and our nation."

⁴⁹Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, "You know nothing at all! ⁵⁰You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish."

⁵¹He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, ⁵²and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. ⁵³So from that day on they plotted to take his life.

⁵⁴Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the Jews. Instead he withdrew to a region near the desert, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.

⁵⁵When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. ⁵⁶They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple area they asked one another, "What do you think? Isn't he coming to the Feast at all?" ⁵⁷But the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that if anyone found out where Jesus was, he should report it so that they might arrest him.

John 12 (New International Version)

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

¹Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ²Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. ³Then Mary took about a pint^[aa] of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

⁴But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, ⁵"Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages.^[bb]" ⁶He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

⁷"Leave her alone," Jesus replied. " It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. ⁸You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me."

⁹Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. ¹⁰So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, ¹¹for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him.

Footnotes:

a. John 11:18 Greek fifteen stadia (about 3 kilometers)
b. John 11:27 Or Messiah
c. John 11:48 Or temple
aa. John 12:3 Greek a litra (probably about 0.5 liter)
bb. John 12:5 Greek three hundred denarii

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
The "NIV" and "New International Version" trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society.

ЕВАНГЕЛИЕ СПОРЕД ЈОВАН, глава 11

Исус го воскреснува Својот пријател Лазар

¹ Еден пријател на Исус, по име Лазар, се разболе. Тој беше од селото Бетанија, и живееше со своите сестри Марија и Марта. ² (Тоа беше онаа Марија што подоцна Го помаза Господа со скапоцен парфем и Му ги избриша стапалата со својата коса; нејзиниот брат, Лазар, беше тој што се разболе.) ³ Тогаш сестрите испратија ваква порака до Исус: “Господе, твојот драг пријател се разболе!“ ⁴ Штом го слушна тоа, Исус рече: „Оваа болест на Лазар не е за тој да умре, туку за да Му донесе слава на Бог и за да се прослави Божјиот Син преку неа.“ ⁵ (Исус многу ги сакаше Марта, нејзината сестра и нивниот брат Лазар.) ⁶ Сепак, откако слушна дека Лазар е болен, Тој остана уште два дена таму каде што беше. ⁷ Потоа им рече на Своите ученици: „Ајде сега да се вратиме во Јудеја!“ ⁸ „Учителе!“ - Му рекоа учениците - „Еврејските верски водачи штотуку сакаа да Те каменуваат, а Ти повторно сакаш да одиш таму!?“ ⁹ Исус им одговори: „Денот има дванаесет часа, нели? Тој што оди дење не се сопнува, бидејќи пред себе ја има дневната светлина. ¹⁰ Ако човек оди ноќе тој се сопнува, бидејќи пред себе нема светлина.“ ¹¹ Откако го рече ова, Исус им најави: „Нашиот пријател Лазар заспал, и Јас одам таму за да го разбудам.“ ¹² „Господе“, - Му рекоа учениците - „Штом заспал, значи дека заздравува од болеста!“ ¹³ (Исус сакаше да каже дека Лазар умрел, но тие претпоставија дека зборува за обично спиење.) ¹⁴ Тогаш Исус отворено им рече: „Лазар умре. ¹⁵ Мило ми е што Јас не бев таму, зашто сега ќе добиете уште една можност да поверувате. Но, ајде да одиме кај него.“ ¹⁶ Во тој момент, Тома, кого го викаа Близнак, им рече на учениците: „Да одиме со Учителот и ние да умреме со Него!“

¹⁷ Кога Исус пристигна во Бетанија, Му кажаа дека Лазар е веќе четврт ден во гробот. ¹⁸ Бетанија беше близу до Ерусалим, на оддалеченост од околу три километри. ¹⁹ Многу сонародници на Марта и Марија беа кај нив, за да ги утешуваат по повод смртта на нивниот брат. ²⁰ Кога Марта дозна дека Исус доаѓа, таа Му појде во пресрет, а Марија остана дома. ²¹ Марта Му рече на Исус: „Господе, да беше Ти овде мојот брат немаше да умре! ²² Но, знам дека Бог ќе Ти даде и сега, се што ќе посакаш од Него!“

²³ „Брат ти ќе воскресне!“ - и одговори Исус. ²⁴ Марта Му рече: „Знам дека ќе воскресне на крајот, кога ќе биде воскресението.“ ²⁵ Тогаш Исус и одговори: „Јас сум Тој што воскреснува и дава живот! Секој што верува во Мене, ќе живее, дури и ако умре! ²⁶ Секој што ќе поверува во Мене за време на својот живот, никогаш нема да вкуси вечна смрт! Веруваш ли во тоа?“ ²⁷ „Да, Господе“, - Му одговори Марта - „јас поверував дека Ти си Месијата, Божјиот Син, што Го очекувавме да дојде на светот!“

²⁸ Откако го рече ова, Марта си замина и кришум ја повика својата сестра Марија, па и соопшти: „Учителот е овде и те вика!“ ²⁹ Штом го слушна тоа, Марија бргу стана и Му појде во пресрет. ³⁰ (Исус се уште не беше влегол во селото, туку беше на местото каде што Марта Го пресретна.) ³¹ Кога Евреите што беа со неа во куќата за да ја утешуваат видоа како Марија бргу стана и замина, тргнаа по неа. Претпоставуваа дека таа оди на гробот на својот брат Лазар за да плаче. ³² Кога Марија дојде до местото каде што беше Исус и кога Го виде, клекна пред Неговите нозе и Му рече: „Господе, да беше Ти овде мојот брат немаше да умре!“ ³³ Кога виде Исус како плачат Марија и Евреите што беа со неа длабоко се натажи и се потресе. ³⁴ „Каде го погребавте?“ - запраша Тој. „Господе“, - Му рекоа тие - „дојди да видиш.“ ³⁵ Исус заплака. ³⁶ Тогаш присутните Евреи говореа: „Види колку го сакал својот пријател Лазар!“ ³⁷ Некои, пак, од нив рекоа: „Зарем Овој Човек што му ги отвори очите на слепиот не можеше да ја спречи смртта на Лазар!?“ ³⁸ Пак длабоко трогнат, Исус дојде до гробот. Тоа беше една пештера чиј влез беше затворен со камен.

³⁹ „Тргнете го каменот!“ - рече Исус. „Господе“, - Му рече Марта, сестрата на умрениот - „четири дена поминаа откако брат ми умре и телото веќе смрди!“ ⁴⁰ Исус и одговори: „Нели ти реков дека, ако веруваш, ќе ја видиш Божјата слава!?“ ⁴¹ Тогаш луѓето го тргнаа каменот. Исус го подигна погледот кон небото и рече: „Татко, Ти благодарам што Ми ја услиши молитвата. ⁴² Јас знам дека Ти секогаш Ми одговараш на молитвите, но ова го реков заради народот што стои наоколу, за да поверуваат дека Јас сум Твој пратеник.“ ⁴³ Кога Исус ја заврши молитвата, извика: „Лазаре, излези надвор!“ ⁴⁴ Умрениот излезе, завиткан со повои околу нозете и рацете, а околу лицето му беше замотана шамија. „Одврзете го и пуштете го да оди!“ - им рече Исус. ⁴⁵ Тогаш мнозина од Евреите, кои беа дојдени кај Марија и видоа што направи Исус, поверуваа во Него. ⁴⁶ Но некои од нив отидоа кај фарисеите и им кажаа што направи Исус. ⁴⁷ Тогаш свештеничките поглавари и фарисеите го свикаа Синедрионот и почнаа да се советуваат: „Што да правиме? Овој човек прави многу чуда! ⁴⁸ Ако го оставиме да продолжи вака сите ќе поверуваат во Него, па ќе дојдат Римјаните и ќе ни ги уништат и храмот и нацијата!“ ⁴⁹ Тогаш еден од нив, по име Кајафа, кој таа година беше Првосвештеник, им рече: „Вие ништо не разбирате! ⁵⁰ Не сфаќате ли дека е подобро еден човек да умре за народот, отколку целата нација да ни биде уништена!?“ ⁵¹ Ова тој не го кажа од себе, туку, бидејќи таа година беше Првосвештеник, тој прорече дека Исус мора да умре за еврејскиот народ. ⁵² И не само за тој народ, туку и за да ги собере и обедини во едно сите распрснати Божји чеда. ⁵³ Од тој ден, еврејските верски водачи решија да Го убијат Исуса. ⁵⁴ Поради тоа, Исус повеќе не можеше слободно да патува по Јудеја. Тој оттаму замина кон пределот близу до пустината. Влезе во едно гратче по име Ефраим и таму остана со Своите ученици. ⁵⁵ Наближуваше еврејскиот празник Пасха. Голем број луѓе од внатрешноста се искачија во Ерусалим пред Пасха, за да го извршат церемонијалното исчистување. ⁵⁶ Тие го бараа Исуса и собрани во храмот си зборуваа меѓу себе: „Што мислите, дали Тој ќе се осмели да дојде на празникот?“ ⁵⁷ Свештеничките поглавари и фарисеите издадоа заповед, ако некој дознае каде е Исус - веднаш да им јави, за да Го уапсат.

ЕВАНГЕЛИЕ СПОРЕД ЈОВАН, глава 12

Помазанието на Исус

¹ Шест дена пред празникот Пасха, Исус се врати во Бетанија. Тоа беше местото каде што живееше Лазар, кого Исус го оживе од мртвите. ² Таму Му беше приредена вечера на Исус. Марта послужуваше, а Лазар беше еден од оние што седеа на трпезата заедно со Исус. ³ Тогаш Марија зеде половина литар чист и скапоцен нардов парфем, Му ги полеа стапалата на Исус и Му ги избриша со својата коса. По куќата се рашири пријатниот мирис на парфемот.

⁴ Еден од Исусовите ученици, Јуда Искариот, (кој подоцна Го предаде) рече: ⁵ „Овој парфем можеше да се продаде за триста денарии, а парите да им се разделат на сиромасите!“ ⁶ Ова не го рече од грижа за сиромасите, туку затоа што беше крадец. Имено, тој беше благајник и си земаше од парите што беа кај него.

⁷ „Оставете ја!“ - одговори Исус на тоа. „Парфемот бил чуван за да послужи за Мојот погреб. ⁸ Сиромаси секогаш ќе има меѓу вас, а Мене Ме немате секогаш.“

⁹ Во меѓувреме голем број Евреи дознаа дека Исус е таму, па дојдоа, не само заради Него, туку и да го видат Лазара, кого Тој го оживе од мртвите. ¹⁰ Тогаш свештеничките поглавари решија да го убијат и Лазара, ¹¹ бидејќи заради него голем број Евреи ги напуштаа свештениците и почнуваа да веруваат во Исус.

Macedonian New Testament (MNT) Copyright 1999 by HBC Radosna Vest

2009-01-08T07:42:00.001+02:00

The Calling of Saint Matthew by Caravaggio (1599-1600; Oil on canvas)

Mark 2 (New International Version)

The Calling of Levi

¹³Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. ¹⁴As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. ¹⁵While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. ¹⁶When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the "sinners" and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
¹⁷On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Luke 5 (New International Version)

The Calling of Levi

²⁷After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, ²⁸and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. ²⁹Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. ³⁰But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
³¹Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ³²I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
The "NIV" and "New International Version" trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society.

Марко 2:13-17 (Macedonian New Testament)

Исус го повикува Левиј (Матеј) за апостол

(Мт. 9:9-13; Лк. 5:27-32) ¹³Исус повторно отиде на брегот на Галилејското Езеро. Голема толпа луѓе се собра околу Него и Тој ги поучуваше. ¹⁴Одејќи, Исус го забележа Алфеевиот син Левиј. Тој седеше на своето работно место - собирач^[а] на данок. Исус го повика: „Дојди и биди Мој следбеник!“ Левиј стана и Му се придружи на Исус.

¹⁵Подоцна Исус и Неговите ученици беа поканети на вечера кај Левиј. Меѓу поканетите беа и голем број собирачи на данок и други грешници кои одеа по Исус.

¹⁶Некои од вероучителите беа припадници на фарисеите^[б]. Гледајќи како Исус вечера со грешници и собирачи на данок, тие им приговорија на Исусовите ученици, велејќи: „Зошто Исус вечера со собирачи на данок и со грешници!?“

¹⁷Исус ги слушна и им одговори: „На здравите луѓе не им е потребен лекар, туку на болните. За Мои следбеници не дојдов да поканувам „праведници“, туку грешници!“

Фуснота:

а. Марко 2:14 Собирачите на данок биле Евреи кои работеле за римската окупациска власт, наплатувајќи данок од народот, а земајќи пари и за себе. Затоа меѓу својот народ тие биле намразени и сметани за предавници, отпадници и грешници.
б. Марко 2:16 Фарисеи - фундаменталистичка група меѓу Евреите. Види за нив во Мт. 9:34, фуснота.

Лука 5:27-32 (Macedonian New Testament)

Повикувањето на Левиј (Матеј)

(Матеј 9:9-13; Марко 2:13-17) ²⁷Потоа Исус излезе и здогледа еден собирач на данок, по име Левиј, кој седеше на даночна тезга, па му рече: „Дојди и биди Мој следбеник!“ ²⁸Левиј стана и оставајќи сe тргна по Исус.

²⁹Набргу потоа Левиј приготви голема гозба во својот дом, во чест на Исус, а меѓу гостите, покрај другите луѓе, имаше и многу собирачи на данок. ³⁰А фарисеите и вероучителите од нивната група почнаа да негодуваат и им рекоа на Исусовите ученици: „Зошто јадете и пиете со собирачи на данок и со други отпадници?“ ³¹На ова, Исус им одговори: „Не им треба лекар на здравите, туку на болните! ³²Јас не дојдов да повикувам праведници на покајание, туку грешници.“

Macedonian New Testament (MNT) Copyright 1999 by HBC Radosna Vest

2008-12-06T22:24:00.000+02:00

Adorazione dei pastori by Caravaggio (16^th century; Oil on canvas)

Luke 1 (New International Version)

Introduction

¹Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, ²just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. ³Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, ⁴so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

⁵In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. ⁶Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly. ⁷But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.

⁸Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, ⁹he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

¹¹Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. ¹²When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. ¹³But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. ¹⁴He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, ¹⁵for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. ¹⁶Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. ¹⁷And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

¹⁸Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years."

¹⁹The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. ²⁰And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time."

²¹Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. ²²When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.

²³When his time of service was completed, he returned home. ²⁴After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. ²⁵"The Lord has done this for me," she said. "In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people."

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

²⁶In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. ²⁸The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."

²⁹Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. ³¹You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. ³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

³⁴"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

³⁵The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. ³⁶Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. ³⁷For nothing is impossible with God."

³⁸"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, ⁴⁰where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴²In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! ⁴³But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

Mary's Song

⁴⁶And Mary said:
"My soul glorifies the Lord
⁴⁷and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
⁴⁹for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
⁵⁰His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
⁵¹He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
⁵²He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
⁵³He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
⁵⁴He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
⁵⁵to Abraham and his descendants forever,
even as he said to our fathers."

⁵⁶Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

The Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

⁵⁹On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, ⁶⁰but his mother spoke up and said, "No! He is to be called John."

⁶¹They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who has that name."

⁶²Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. ⁶³He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone's astonishment he wrote, "His name is John." ⁶⁴Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God. ⁶⁵The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. ⁶⁶Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, "What then is this child going to be?" For the Lord's hand was with him.

Zechariah's Song

⁶⁷His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

⁶⁸"Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come and has redeemed his people.
⁶⁹He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
⁷⁰(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
⁷¹salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
⁷²to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
⁷³the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
⁷⁴to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
⁷⁵in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
⁷⁶And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
⁷⁷to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
⁷⁸because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
⁷⁹to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace."

⁸⁰And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel.

Luke 2 (New International Version)

The Birth of Jesus

¹In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ²(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³And everyone went to his own town to register.

⁴So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴"Glory to God in the highest,and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

¹⁶So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Jesus Presented in the Temple

²¹On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.

²²When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ²³(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"), ²⁴and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."

²⁵Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. ²⁷Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, ²⁸Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

²⁹"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss your servant in peace.
³⁰For my eyes have seen your salvation,
³¹which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel."

³³The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, ³⁵so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."

³⁶There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, ³⁷and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. ³⁸Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

³⁹When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. ⁴⁰And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
The "NIV" and "New International Version" trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society.

Calvin and Hobbes

2008-10-25T18:05:00.000+02:00

"Each heart knows its own bitterness,

and no one else can share its joy." — Proverbs 14:10 NIV

Where to Find Help When...

2008-10-02T20:44:00.000+03:00

Afraid
Psalm 34:4
Matthew 10:28
II Timothy 1:7
Hebrews 13:5-6

Anxious
Psalm 46
Matthew 6:19-34
Philippians 4:6
I Peter 5:6-7

Backsliding
Psalm 51
I John 1:4-9

Bereaved
Matthew 5:4
II Corinthians 1:3-4

Bitter or Critical
I Corinthians 13

Conscious of Sin
Proverbs 28:13

Defeated
Romans 8:31-39

Depressed
Psalm 34

Disaster Threatens
Psalm 91
Psalm 118:5-6
Luke 8:22-25

Discouraged
Psalm 23
Psalm 42:6-11
Psalm 55:22
Matthew 5:11-12
II Corinthians 4:8-18
Philippians 4:4-7

Doubting
Matthew 8:25-26
Hebrews 11

Facing a Crisis
Psalm 121
Matthew 6:25-34
Hebrews 4:16

Faith Fails
Psalm 42:5
Hebrews 11

Friends Fail
Psalm 41:9-13
Luke 17:3-4
Romans 12:14-21
II Timothy 4:16-18

Leaving Home
Psalm 121
Matthew 10:16-20

Lonely
Psalm 23
Hebrews 13:5-6

Needing God's Protection
Psalm 27:1-6
Psalm 91
Philippians 4:19

Needing Guidance
Psalm 32:8
Proverbs 3:5-6

Needing Peace
John 14:1-6
John 16:33
Romans 5:1-5
1 Corinthians 15:19
Philippians 4:6-7

Needing Rules for Living
Romans 12

Overcome
Psalm 6
Romans 8:31-39
Romans 5:1-5
I John 1:4-9

Prayerful
Psalm 4
Psalm 42
Luke 11:1-13
John 17
I John 5:14,15
James 4

Protected
Psalm 18:1-3
Psalm 34:7

Sick or in Pain
Psalm 38
Matthew 26:36-45
Romans 5:3-5
II Corinthians 12:9-10
I Peter 4:12-19

Sorrowful
Psalm 51
Matthew 5
John 14
II Corinthians 1:3-4
I Thessalonians 4:13-18

Tempted
Psalm 1
Psalm 139:23-24
Matthew 26:41
I Corinthians 10:12-14
Philippians 4:8
James 4:7-10
James 1:13-15
II Peter 2:4-10
II Peter 3

Thankful
Psalm 100
I Thessalonians 5:16-18
Hebrews 13:15

Traveling
Psalm 121

In Trouble
Psalm 16
Psalm 31
John 14:1-4
Hewbrews 7

Weary
Psalm 90
Matthew 11:28-30
Matthew 5:3-12
I Corinthians 15:58
Galatians 6:9-10

Worried
Matthew 6:19-34
I Peter 5:6-7

Adultery
Matthew 5:27-32

Adversity
Matthew 10:16-39

Anger
Matthew 5:22-24

Anxiety
Matthew 6:19-34

Conceit
Luke 18:9-14

False Confidence
Matthew 7:24-27

Covetousness
Mark 7:21-23

Crime
Matthew 15:17-20

Death
John 11

Deceit
Matthew 23:27-28

Depravity
John 3:19-21

Divorce
Mark 10:2-12

Doubt
Matthew 14:22-31

Drunkeness
Luke 21:34-36

Enemies
Matthew 5:43-48

Excuses
Luke 14:15-24

Extravagance
I Timothy 6:7-12

Falsehood
Revelation 21:8

Faultfinding
Matthew 7:1-5

Fear
Luke 12:5

Flesh
Romans 13:8-14

Greed
Luke 12:13-31

Hatred
Romans 12

Intemperance
Proverbs 20:1

Judging
Matthew 7:1

Lip-Service
Matthew 7:21

Lust
Mark 4:18-19

Pride
I John 2:15-17

Revenge
Matthew 5:43-48

Self-Exultation
Luke 14:11

Self-Righteousness
Luke 18:11-14

Sin
John 8:34-36

Submission
I Peter 2:13-17
Romans 13:1-7

Swearing
Colossians 3:8

Temptation
I Corinthians 10:13

Tribulation
John 16:33

Worldliness
I John 2:15-17

Abundant Life
John 10:10

Citizenship
Romans 13:1-7
Titus 3:1-2

Cleanliness
II Corinthians 7:1

Consecration
Romans 12:1-2

Contentment
I Timothy 6:6

Courage
Psalm 27:14

Diligence
Romans 12:11
Hebrews 6:10-12

Duty
Luke 20:21-25

Endurance
Luke 21:9-19
II Timothy 2:3

Faith
Matthew 8:5-13
Mark 11:22-24

Faithfullness
Matthew 25:23

Forgiveness
Mark 11:25
Ephesians 4:31-32

Freedom
John 8:31-36

Fruitfulness
John 15:1-8

Godliness
Titus 2:11-14

Happiness
Matthew 5:3-12

Holiness
I Peter 1:13-16

Honesty
II Corinthians 8:21

Honor
I Peter 2:17
Proverbs 15:33

Honor to Parents
Matthew 15:4
Exodus 20:12

Hope
I Peter 1:13

Humility
Luke 18:9-14
Philippians 2:3-11

Joy
Luke 10:20
John 15:11

Kindness
Colossians 3:12-13

Labor
John 9:4

Love
Luke 10:27
I Corinthians 13

Obedience
John 14:15-24
Acts 5:29

Overcoming
John 16:33
Revelation 3:12

Patience
Hebrews 10:36

Peacefulness
John 14:27
Romans 12:18

Perseverance
Mark 13:5-13
James 1:2-4
James 1:12

Prayer
Luke 11:1-13
Ephesians 6:18

Pure Thinking
Philippians 4:8

Purity
Matthew 5:27-32
II Timothy 2:22

Reading the Bible
John 5:39
Psalm 1:2
Psalm 119:97

Resolution
Ephesians 6:10-18
Luke 9:23

Reverence
Psalm 89:7

Righteousness
Matthew 5:6
Matthew 6:33

Sincerity
Philippians 1:9-10

Stedfastness
I Corinthians 15:58

Temperance
I Thessalonians 5:6-8

Trust
Psalm 37:3-6
Proverbs 3:5-6

Truth
John 14:6
John 17:17
Ephesians 4:14-15

Usefulness
II Timothy 2:20-21

Victory
I Corinthians 15:57
I John 5:4

Watchfulness
Mark 13:34-37

Worship
John 4:23-24

Zeal
John 2:13-17
John 6:27

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
The "NIV" and "New International Version" trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society.

2008-09-01T19:54:00.000+03:00

The Sacrifice of Isaac by Caravaggio (1590-1610; Oil on canvas; Uffizi)

Genesis 22 (New International Version)

Genesis 22

Abraham Tested

¹ Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.

² Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

³ Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. ⁴ On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵ He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."

⁶ Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, ⁷ Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?"
"Yes, my son?" Abraham replied.
"The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"

⁸ Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.

⁹ When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. ¹¹But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.

¹²"Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."

¹³ Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram ^[a] caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."

¹⁵ The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time ¹⁶ and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷ I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, ¹⁸ and through your offspring ^[b] all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

¹⁹ Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
The "NIV" and "New International Version" trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society.

†

"THE PROTESTANT ETHIC AND THE SPIRIT OF CAPITALISM" written by Max Weber in 1905, translated by Talcott Parsons in 1930

Table of contents

Jesus Arrested

Jesus Arrested

The Death of Lazarus

Jesus Comforts the Sisters

Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead

The Plot to Kill Jesus

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

Исус го воскреснува Својот пријател Лазар

Помазанието на Исус

The Calling of Levi

The Calling of Levi

Исус го повикува Левиј (Матеј) за апостол

Повикувањето на Левиј (Матеј)

Introduction

The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

Mary Visits Elizabeth

Mary's Song

The Birth of John the Baptist

Zechariah's Song

The Birth of Jesus

The Shepherds and the Angels

Jesus Presented in the Temple

Calvin and Hobbes

Where to Find Help When...

Genesis 22

Abraham Tested