“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But the gate is narrow, and the way is hard that leads to life, and few are those who find it. Beware of false prophets! They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inside they are ravenous wolves. 

Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The foolish ones, when they took their lamps, did not take any oil with them; but the wise ones, along with their lamps, also took oil in jars. 

“A few days later, Jesus returned to Capernaum. Word spread that He was at home, and so many people gathered right away that there was no more room even outside the door. He was teaching them the Word. Some men came to Him, bringing a paralytic carried by four men. 

They began to lie in wait for Jesus; and they sent some spies who pretended to be righteous, to trap Him in His words and hand Him over to the authorities and to the power of the governor. These spies asked Him, “Teacher, we know that You speak and teach people righteously, and that You do not show partiality, but teach the way of God in truth. 

“Among the Pharisees was a man named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus at night and said to Him, ‘Teacher, we know that You are a Teacher who has come from God; for no one can perform the signs that You do unless God is with him.’

“Israel has sinned; they have broken My covenant that I made with them; they have taken some of the things set apart for destruction, stolen them, lied about them, and hidden them among their own possessions. That is why the people of Israel cannot stand up to their enemies; they will turn their backs before their enemies, for they are marked for destruction;