Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus:
Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness.
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn,
No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you.
You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will remain—so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.
Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and knelt down to make a request of Him.
“What do you want?” He inquired. She answered, “Declare that in Your kingdom one of these two sons of mine may sit at Your right hand, and the other at Your left.”
“You do not know what you are asking,” Jesus replied. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” the brothers answered.
“You will indeed drink My cup,” Jesus said. “But to sit at My right or left is not Mine to grant. These seats belong to those for whom My Father has prepared them.”
When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers.
. . .
“You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may consider and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed, and after Me none will come.
When Jesus had washed their feet and put on His outer garments, He reclined with them again and asked, “Do you know what I have done for you?
You call Me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, because I am.
So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.
I have set you an example so that you should do as I have done for you.
Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, for the Lord and not for men,
because you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as your reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’
His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’
No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
Now it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.
Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.
. . .
For God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown for His name as you have ministered to the saints and continue to do so.
It was now just before the Passover Feast, and Jesus knew that His hour had come to leave this world and return to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the very end.
When Jesus had washed their feet and put on His outer garments, He reclined with them again and asked, “Do you know what I have done for you?
You call Me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, because I am.
So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.
I have set you an example so that you should do as I have done for you.
Truly, truly, I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
. . .
A dispute also arose among the disciples as to which of them would be considered the greatest.
So Jesus declared, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in authority over them call themselves benefactors.
But you shall not be like them. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who leads like the one who serves.
For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines? But I am among you as one who serves.
You are the ones who have stood by Me in My trials.
. . .
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them.
But it shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all.
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
But Jesus called them aside and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them.
It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave—
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus:
Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.
Hallelujah! Give praise, O servants of the LORD; praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD both now and forevermore.
From where the sun rises to where it sets, the name of the LORD is praised.
how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God!
He says: “It is not enough for You to be My Servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the protected ones of Israel. I will also make You a light for the nations, to bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.”
So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them.
But it shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all.
“Here is My Servant, whom I have chosen, My beloved, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will proclaim justice to the nations.
He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear His voice in the streets.
A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish, till He leads justice to victory.
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, when they foretold the things now announced by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
As soon as night had fallen, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went into the Jewish synagogue.
Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.
Keep watch over yourselves and the entire flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood.
And now I stand on trial because of my hope in the promise that God made to our fathers,
the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to realize as they earnestly serve God day and night. It is because of this hope, O king, that I am accused by the Jews.
For I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me face to face,
that they may be encouraged in heart, knit together in love, and filled with the full riches of complete understanding, so that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ,
in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
I say this so that no one will deceive you by smooth rhetoric.
For although I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I delight to see your orderly condition and firm faith in Christ.
. . .
Continue in brotherly love.
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.
Remember those in prison as if you were bound with them, and those who are mistreated as if you were suffering with them.
Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”
. . .
But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.
In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting for God, for whom and through whom all things exist, to make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.
For both the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.
He says: “I will proclaim Your name to My brothers; I will sing Your praises in the assembly.”
And again: “I will put My trust in Him.” And once again: “Here am I, and the children God has given Me.”
. . .
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.
It was now just before the Passover Feast, and Jesus knew that His hour had come to leave this world and return to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the very end.
The evening meal was underway, and the devil had already put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.
Jesus knew that the Father had delivered all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was returning to God.
So He got up from the supper, laid aside His outer garments, and wrapped a towel around His waist.
After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel that was around Him.
. . .
When Jesus had washed their feet and put on His outer garments, He reclined with them again and asked, “Do you know what I have done for you?
You call Me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, because I am.
So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.
I have set you an example so that you should do as I have done for you.
Truly, truly, I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
You call Me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, because I am.
So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.
I have set you an example so that you should do as I have done for you.
Truly, truly, I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you.
A dispute also arose among the disciples as to which of them would be considered the greatest.
So Jesus declared, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in authority over them call themselves benefactors.
But you shall not be like them. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who leads like the one who serves.
For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines? But I am among you as one who serves.
Therefore if you have any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,
then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being united in spirit and purpose.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves.
Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus:
. . .
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves.
Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus:
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves.
Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus:
Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness.
Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness.
This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon come to pass. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John,
who testifies to everything he saw. This is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and obey what is written in it, because the time is near.
John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from Him who is and was and is to come, and from the seven Spirits before His throne,
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood,
. . .
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you.
Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good.
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another.
Do not let your zeal subside; keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, persistent in prayer.
Share with the saints who are in need. Practice hospitality.
For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s servant, an agent of retribution to the wrongdoer.