How We Enter It

¹⁶ But Jesus called them to him, saying, Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. ¹⁷ Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.

³ Jesus answered him, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. ⁴ Nicodemus said to him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born? ⁵ Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

² Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

¹⁷ From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

²⁸ What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, Son, go and work in the vineyard today. ²⁹ And he answered, I will not, but afterward he changed his mind and went. ³⁰ And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, I go, sir, but did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father? They said, The first. Jesus said to them, Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. ³² For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him. ³³ Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. ³⁴ When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. ³⁵ And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. ³⁶ Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. ³⁷ Finally he sent his son to them, saying, They will respect my son. ³⁸ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance. ³⁹ And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. ⁴⁰ When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants? ⁴¹ They said to him, He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.

¹¹ And he said to them, To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables,

¹⁶ The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it.

²¹ Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? ²³ And then will I declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.

⁴⁴ The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. ⁴⁵ Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, ⁴⁶ who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. ⁴⁷ Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. ⁴⁸ When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. ⁴⁹ So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous ⁵⁰ and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

²² strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

⁴ Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring. ⁵ This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering —

¹⁰ nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

²¹ envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

¹¹ For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

¹⁵ When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God! ¹⁶ But he said to him, A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. ¹⁷ And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, Come, for everything is now ready. ¹⁸ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused. ¹⁹ And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused. ²⁰ And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. ²¹ So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame. ²² And the servant said, Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room. ²³ And the master said to the servant, Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. ²⁴ For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.

¹³ He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,