For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its savior.

Nor does the Father himself judge anyone. He has given his Son the full right to judge,

"I am telling you the truth: those who hear my words and believe in him who sent me have eternal life. They will not be judged, but have already passed from death to life.

Just as the Father is himself the source of life, in the same way he has made his Son to be the source of life.

You make judgments in a purely human way; I pass judgment on no one.

Then the LORD reached out, touched my lips, and said to me, "Listen, I am giving you the words you must speak.

Today I give you authority over nations and kingdoms to uproot and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."

Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, "This child is chosen by God for the destruction and the salvation of many in Israel. He will be a sign from God which many people will speak against

Then those who are now last will be first, and those who are now first will be last."

For those who are being lost, it is a deadly stench that kills; but for those who are being saved, it is a fragrance that brings life. Who, then, is capable for such a task?

"I do not know if he is a sinner or not," the man replied. "One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I see."

The man answered, "Tell me who he is, sir, so that I can believe in him!"

"I believe, Lord!" the man said, and knelt down before Jesus.

Jesus spoke to the Pharisees again. "I am the light of the world," he said. "Whoever follows me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness."

I have come into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness.

the blind can see, the lame can walk, those who suffer from dreaded skin diseases are made clean, the deaf hear, the dead are brought back to life, and the Good News is preached to the poor.

and to shine from heaven on all those who live in the dark shadow of death, to guide our steps into the path of peace."

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed

At that very time Jesus healed many people from their sicknesses, diseases, and evil spirits, and gave sight to many blind people.

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.'

They do not believe, because their minds have been kept in the dark by the evil god of this world. He keeps them from seeing the light shining on them, the light that comes from the Good News about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

The God who said, "Out of darkness the light shall shine!" is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts, to bring us the knowledge of God's glory shining in the face of Christ.

for anything that is clearly revealed becomes light. That is why it is said, "Wake up, sleeper, and rise from death, and Christ will shine on you."

But you are the chosen race, the King's priests, the holy nation, God's own people, chosen to proclaim the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into his own marvelous light.

This is how the judgment works: the light has come into the world, but people love the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds are evil.

"God has blinded their eyes and closed their minds, so that their eyes would not see, and their minds would not understand, and they would not turn to me, says God, for me to heal them."

Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him.

So he told me to go and give the people this message: "No matter how much you listen, you will not understand. No matter how much you look, you will not know what is happening."

The LORD has made you drowsy, ready to fall into a deep sleep. The prophets should be the eyes of the people, but God has blindfolded them.

The LORD says, "Listen, you deaf people! Look closely, you that are blind!

Israel, you have seen so much, but what has it meant to you? You have ears to hear with, but what have you really heard?"

Such people are too stupid to know what they are doing. They close their eyes and their minds to the truth.

but if your eyes are no good, your body will be in darkness. So if the light in you is darkness, how terribly dark it will be!

The reason I use parables in talking to them is that they look, but do not see, and they listen, but do not hear or understand.

because their minds are dull, and they have stopped up their ears and have closed their eyes. Otherwise, their eyes would see, their ears would hear, their minds would understand, and they would turn to me, says God, and I would heal them.'

Your eyes are like a lamp for the body. When your eyes are sound, your whole body is full of light; but when your eyes are no good, your whole body will be in darkness.

Make certain, then, that the light in you is not darkness.

What then? The people of Israel did not find what they were looking for. It was only the small group that God chose who found it; the rest grew deaf to God's call.

And David says, "May they be caught and trapped at their feasts; may they fall, may they be punished!

and use every kind of wicked deceit on those who will perish. They will perish because they did not welcome and love the truth so as to be saved.

But if we hate others, we are in the darkness; we walk in it and do not know where we are going, because the darkness has made us blind.