Can you take away a soldier's loot? Can you rescue the prisoners of a tyrant?

The LORD replies, "That is just what is going to happen. The soldier's prisoners will be taken away, and the tyrant's loot will be seized. I will fight against whoever fights you, and I will rescue your children.

But now many nations will marvel at him, and kings will be speechless with amazement. They will see and understand something they had never known."

I will make you and the woman hate each other; her offspring and yours will always be enemies. Her offspring will crush your head, and you will bite her offspring's heel."

Ask, and I will give you all the nations; the whole earth will be yours.

You saw how a stone broke loose from a cliff without anyone touching it and how it struck the statue made of iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The great God is telling Your Majesty what will happen in the future. I have told you exactly what you dreamed, and have given you its true meaning."

No, it is not Beelzebul, but God's Spirit, who gives me the power to drive out demons, which proves that the Kingdom of God has already come upon you.

"No one can break into a strong man's house and take away his belongings unless he first ties up the strong man; then he can plunder his house.

You are to open their eyes and turn them from the darkness to the light and from the power of Satan to God, so that through their faith in me they will have their sins forgiven and receive their place among God's chosen people.'

He was humble and walked the path of obedience all the way to death--- his death on the cross.

And so, in honor of the name of Jesus all beings in heaven, on earth, and in the world below will fall on their knees,

He rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us safe into the kingdom of his dear Son,

by whom we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven.

And on that cross Christ freed himself from the power of the spiritual rulers and authorities; he made a public spectacle of them by leading them as captives in his victory procession.

Since the children, as he calls them, are people of flesh and blood, Jesus himself became like them and shared their human nature. He did this so that through his death he might destroy the Devil, who has the power over death,

and in this way set free those who were slaves all their lives because of their fear of death.

My strength is gone, gone like water spilled on the ground. All my bones are out of joint; my heart is like melted wax.

Perhaps my life's blood is to be poured out like an offering on the sacrifice that your faith offers to God. If that is so, I am glad and share my joy with you all.

Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross! On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for him, he thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and he is now seated at the right side of God's throne.

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For I tell you that the scripture which says, 'He shared the fate of criminals,' must come true about me, because what was written about me is coming true."

He set free the man they wanted, the one who had been put in prison for riot and murder, and he handed Jesus over for them to do as they wished.

Two other men, both of them criminals, were also led out to be put to death with Jesus.

When they came to the place called "The Skull," they crucified Jesus there, and the two criminals, one on his right and the other on his left.

After a life of suffering, he will again have joy; he will know that he did not suffer in vain. My devoted servant, with whom I am pleased, will bear the punishment of many and for his sake I will forgive them.

For there is one God, and there is one who brings God and human beings together, the man Christ Jesus,

who gave himself to redeem the whole human race. That was the proof at the right time that God wants everyone to be saved,

He gave himself for us, to rescue us from all wickedness and to make us a pure people who belong to him alone and are eager to do good.

for then he would have had to suffer many times ever since the creation of the world. Instead, now when all ages of time are nearing the end, he has appeared once and for all, to remove sin through the sacrifice of himself.

In the same manner Christ also was offered in sacrifice once to take away the sins of many. He will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are waiting for him.

Jesus said, "Forgive them, Father! They don't know what they are doing." They divided his clothes among themselves by throwing dice.

Who, then, will condemn them? Not Christ Jesus, who died, or rather, who was raised to life and is at the right side of God, pleading with him for us!

And so he is able, now and always, to save those who come to God through him, because he lives forever to plead with God for them.

For Christ did not go into a Holy Place made by human hands, which was a copy of the real one. He went into heaven itself, where he now appears on our behalf in the presence of God.

I am writing this to you, my children, so that you will not sin; but if anyone does sin, we have someone who pleads with the Father on our behalf---Jesus Christ, the righteous one.

I write to you, my children, because your sins are forgiven for the sake of Christ.