What did Jesus say about Joy?

¹¹ “A certain man had two sons.

¹² The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of your property.’ So he divided his livelihood between them.

¹³ Not many days after, the younger son gathered all of this together and traveled into a far country. There he wasted his property with riotous living.

¹⁴ When he had spent all of it, there arose a severe famine in that country, and he began to be in need.

¹⁵ He went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed pigs.

¹⁶ He wanted to fill his belly with the pods that the pigs ate, but no one gave him any.

¹⁷ But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough to spare, and I’m dying with hunger!

¹⁸ I will get up and go to my father, and will tell him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight.

¹⁹ I am no more worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired servants.”’

²⁰ “He arose and came to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion, and ran, fell on his neck, and kissed him.

²¹ The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.

²³ Bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let’s eat and celebrate;

²⁴ for this, my son, was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found.’ Then they began to celebrate.

²⁵ “Now his elder son was in the field. As he came near to the house, he heard music and dancing.

²⁶ He called one of the servants to him and asked what was going on.

²⁷ He said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and healthy.’

²⁸ But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and begged him.

²⁹ But he answered his father, ‘Behold, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed a commandment of yours, but you never gave me a goat, that I might celebrate with my friends.

³⁰ But when this your son came, who has devoured your living with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’

³¹ “He said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.

³² But it was appropriate to celebrate and be glad, for this, your brother, was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found.’”

⁹ Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love.

¹⁰ If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, even as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.

¹¹ I have spoken these things to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be made full.

¹² “This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you.

¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

¹⁴ You are my friends if you do whatever I command you.

¹⁵ No longer do I call you servants, for the servant doesn’t know what his lord does. But I have called you friends, for everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you.

¹⁶ You didn’t choose me, but I chose you and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatever you will ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

¹⁷ “I command these things to you, that you may love one another.

¹⁶ “A little while, and you will not see me. Again a little while, and you will see me.”

¹⁷ ‘A little while, and you won’t see me, and again a little while, and you will see me;’ […] ‘Because I go to the Father’

¹⁸ ‘A little while’

¹⁹ “Do you inquire among yourselves concerning this, that I said, ‘A little while, and you won’t see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’?

²⁰ Most certainly I tell you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.

²¹ A woman, when she gives birth, has sorrow because her time has come. But when she has delivered the child, she doesn’t remember the anguish any more, for the joy that a human being is born into the world.

²² Therefore you now have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.

²³ “In that day you will ask me no questions. Most certainly I tell you, whatever you may ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.

²⁴ Until now, you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be made full.

²⁰ “Blessed are you who are poor, for God’s Kingdom is yours.

²¹ Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

²² Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude and mock you, and throw out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake.

²³ Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven, for their fathers did the same thing to the prophets.

²⁴ “But woe to you who are rich! For you have received your consolation.

²⁵ Woe to you, you who are full now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.

²⁶ Woe, when men speak well of you, for their fathers did the same thing to the false prophets.

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

⁴ Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

⁵ Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

⁷ Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.

¹⁰ Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

¹² Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

⁶ “I revealed your name to the people whom you have given me out of the world. They were yours, and you have given them to me. They have kept your word.

⁷ Now they have known that all things whatever you have given me are from you,

⁸ for the words which you have given me I have given to them; and they received them, and knew for sure that I came from you. They have believed that you sent me.

⁹ I pray for them. I don’t pray for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.

¹⁰ All things that are mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.

¹¹ I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them through your name which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are.

¹² While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. I have kept those whom you have given me. None of them is lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

¹³ But now I come to you, and I say these things in the world, that they may have my joy made full in themselves.

¹⁴ I have given them your word. The world hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

¹⁵ I pray not that you would take them from the world, but that you would keep them from the evil one.

¹⁶ They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

¹⁷ Sanctify them in your truth. Your word is truth.

¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, even so I have sent them into the world.

¹⁹ For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.

⁴⁹ “I don’t have a demon, but I honor my Father and you dishonor me.

⁵⁰ But I don’t seek my own glory. There is one who seeks and judges.

⁵¹ Most certainly, I tell you, if a person keeps my word, he will never see death.”

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⁵⁴ “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is our God.

⁵⁵ You have not known him, but I know him. If I said, ‘I don’t know him,’ I would be like you, a liar. But I know him and keep his word.

⁵⁶ Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it and was glad.”

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⁵⁸ “Most certainly, I tell you, before Abraham came into existence, I AM.”

²⁵ “I have said these things to you while still living with you.

²⁶ But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things, and will remind you of all that I said to you.

²⁷ Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, I give to you. Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.

²⁸ You heard how I told you, ‘I am going away, and I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced because I said ‘I am going to my Father;’ for the Father is greater than I.

²⁹ Now I have told you before it happens so that when it happens, you may believe.

³⁰ I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world comes, and he has nothing in me.

³¹ But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father commanded me, even so I do. Arise, let’s go from here.

³² “I have food to eat that you don’t know about.”

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³⁴ “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.

³⁵ Don’t you say, ‘There are yet four months until the harvest’? Behold, I tell you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, that they are white for harvest already.

³⁶ He who reaps receives wages and gathers fruit to eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.

³⁷ For in this the saying is true, ‘One sows, and another reaps.’

³⁸ I sent you to reap that for which you haven’t labored. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

⁴ “This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, that God’s Son may be glorified by it.”

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⁷ “Let’s go into Judea again.”

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⁹ “Aren’t there twelve hours of daylight? If a man walks in the day, he doesn’t stumble, because he sees the light of this world.

¹⁰ But if a man walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light isn’t in him.”

¹¹ “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going so that I may awake him out of sleep.”

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¹⁴ “Lazarus is dead.

¹⁵ I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe. Nevertheless, let’s go to him.”

¹² “Do you know what I have done to you?

¹³ You call me, ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord.’ You say so correctly, for so I am.

¹⁴ If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.

¹⁵ For I have given you an example, that you should also do as I have done to you.

¹⁶ Most certainly I tell you, a servant is not greater than his lord, neither is one who is sent greater than he who sent him.

¹⁷ If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

¹⁸ I don’t speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me.’

¹⁹ From now on, I tell you before it happens, that when it happens, you may believe that I am he.

²⁰ Most certainly I tell you, he who receives whomever I send, receives me; and he who receives me, receives him who sent me.”

¹⁴ “For it is like a man going into another country, who called his own servants and entrusted his goods to them.

¹⁵ To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his own ability. Then he went on his journey.

¹⁶ Immediately he who received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents.

¹⁷ In the same way, he also who got the two gained another two.

¹⁸ But he who received the one talent went away and dug in the earth and hid his lord’s money.

¹⁹ “Now after a long time the lord of those servants came, and settled accounts with them.

²⁰ He who received the five talents came and brought another five talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents. Behold, I have gained another five talents in addition to them.’

²¹ “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

²² “He also who got the two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents. Behold, I have gained another two talents in addition to them.’

²³ “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things. I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

²⁴ “He also who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you that you are a hard man, reaping where you didn’t sow, and gathering where you didn’t scatter.

²⁵ I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the earth. Behold, you have what is yours.’

²⁶ “But his lord answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant. You knew that I reap where I didn’t sow, and gather where I didn’t scatter.

²⁷ You ought therefore to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received back my own with interest.

²⁸ Take away therefore the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents.

²⁹ For to everyone who has will be given, and he will have abundance, but from him who doesn’t have, even that which he has will be taken away.

³⁰ Throw out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

¹⁴ “Man, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you?”

¹⁵ “Beware! Keep yourselves from covetousness, for a man’s life doesn’t consist of the abundance of the things which he possesses.”

¹⁶ “The ground of a certain rich man produced abundantly.

¹⁷ He reasoned within himself, saying, ‘What will I do, because I don’t have room to store my crops?’

¹⁸ He said, ‘This is what I will do. I will pull down my barns, build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.

¹⁹ I will tell my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry.”’

²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘You foolish one, tonight your soul is required of you. The things which you have prepared—whose will they be?’

²¹ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”