One of Jesus' disciples asked the Lord to teach them to pray and Jesus said they should ask God the Father for the kingdom to come, for daily bread, for forgiveness, for distance from temptation and the disposition to forgive. Jesus taught persistence in prayer, "ask and it will be given to you" because if you ask for fish you will not be given a snake, so God will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask. Next came accusations that Jesus was driving out demons by Beelzebub after he had delivered a mute. Jesus of course refuted this showing that "Satan divided against himself would not stand". Then Jesus said, "He who is not with me is against me". He then warned about post-deliverance care which can produce a situation where "the final condition is worse than the first". Jesus then criticized "this wicked generation for asking for a miraculous sign" whereas the only sign that would be given was "the sign of Jonah". Jesus says Jonah's generation would condemn the current one and "one greater than Jonah was here". Jesus then says that no-one lights a lamp to hide it... so "if your whole body is full of light... it will be completely lighted, as when the lamp shines on you". Finally Jesus is criticized by a Pharisee for non-ceremonial washing but Jesus criticizes the man for external ritual lacking in internal virtues. Woe to you Pharisees, declares Jesus, who pay tithes but neglect justice and love; who covet the best seats in the synagogue; who burden the people with insupportable rules; who build tombs for the prophets that your own forefathers killed; and "have taken away the key to knowledge".
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