What did Jesus say about Joy?

²⁵ “There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and on the earth anxiety of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the waves;

²⁶ men fainting for fear and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

²⁷ Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

²⁸ But when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is near.”

¹⁸ “Hear, then, the parable of the farmer.

¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of the Kingdom and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away that which has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown by the roadside.

²⁰ What was sown on the rocky places, this is he who hears the word and immediately with joy receives it;

²¹ yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.

²² What was sown among the thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

²³ What was sown on the good ground, this is he who hears the word and understands it, who most certainly bears fruit and produces, some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.”

¹⁵ “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

¹⁶ No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch would tear away from the garment, and a worse hole is made.

¹⁷ Neither do people put new wine into old wineskins, or else the skins would burst, and the wine be spilled, and the skins ruined. No, they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”

¹⁰ “To you it is given to know the mysteries of God’s Kingdom, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’

¹¹ “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

¹² Those along the road are those who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved.

¹³ Those on the rock are they who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; but these have no root. They believe for a while, then fall away in time of temptation.

¹⁴ What fell among the thorns, these are those who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life; and they bring no fruit to maturity.

¹⁵ Those in the good ground, these are those who with an honest and good heart, having heard the word, hold it tightly, and produce fruit with perseverance.

¹⁶ “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces, who call to their companions

¹⁷ and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you didn’t dance. We mourned for you, and you didn’t lament.’

¹⁸ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’

¹⁹ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children.”

⁵⁰ “Cheer up! It is I! Don’t be afraid.”