Jesus’ own words · red-letter
What Jesus taught
Browse Jesus’ teaching by topic. Every verse below is his own words, the red-letter text, so you can trace each one back to the Gospel it comes from. Red-letter marks which verses are Jesus speaking; it is an editorial convention of English Bibles, not a mark in the Greek manuscripts.
Forgiveness
Jesus on forgiving others.
“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”
Matthew 6:14 · trace“Jesus answered, “I tell you, not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!”
Matthew 18:22 · trace“That is how My heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.””
Matthew 18:35 · trace“And when you stand to pray, if you hold anything against another, forgive it, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your trespasses as well.””
Mark 11:25 · trace“Watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.”
Luke 17:3 · trace“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”
Luke 6:37 · trace
Prayer
Jesus on how to pray.
“But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
Matthew 6:6 · trace“So then, this is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.”
Matthew 6:9 · trace“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.”
Matthew 7:7 · trace“So I tell you: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.”
Luke 11:9 · trace“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
Mark 11:24 · trace“Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.”
John 16:24 · trace
Money & wealth
Jesus on money and possessions.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.”
Matthew 6:19 · trace“No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Matthew 6:24 · trace“And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.””
Luke 12:15 · trace“Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.”
Luke 12:33 · trace“Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!””
Mark 10:23 · trace“No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.””
Luke 16:13 · trace
Worry & anxiety
Jesus on worry and rest.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?”
Matthew 6:25 · trace“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”
Matthew 6:27 · trace“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.[’’]”
Matthew 6:34 · trace“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.”
Luke 12:22 · trace“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28 · trace“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.”
John 14:27 · trace
Loving your enemies
Jesus on enemies and retaliation.
“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”
Matthew 5:44 · trace“But I tell you not to resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also;”
Matthew 5:39 · trace“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.’”
Matthew 5:43 · trace“But to those of you who will listen, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,”
Luke 6:27 · trace“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.”
Luke 6:35 · trace“Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
Luke 6:31 · trace
Wisdom
Jesus on wise and foolish living.
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
Matthew 7:24 · trace“Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”
Matthew 10:16 · trace“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”
Matthew 25:13 · trace“Which of you, wishing to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost to see if he has the resources to complete it?”
Luke 14:28 · trace“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field.”
Matthew 13:44 · trace
The kingdom of God
Jesus on God's kingdom.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.”
Matthew 6:33 · trace““The time is fulfilled,” He said, “and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe in the gospel!””
Mark 1:15 · trace“He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in his field.”
Matthew 13:31 · trace“Nor will people say, ‘Look, here it is,’ or ‘There it is.’ For you see, the kingdom of God is in your midst.””
Luke 17:21 · trace“Jesus also said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed on the ground.”
Mark 4:26 · trace“Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.””
John 3:3 · trace
Judging others
Jesus on judging and condemning.
““Do not judge, or you will be judged.”
Matthew 7:1 · trace“For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Matthew 7:2 · trace“Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye but fail to notice the beam in your own eye?”
Matthew 7:3 · trace“You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Matthew 7:5 · trace“Stop judging by outward appearances, and start judging justly.””
John 7:24 · trace“When they continued to question Him, He straightened up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone at her.””
John 8:7 · trace
Humility
Jesus on humility and pride.
“For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
Matthew 23:12 · trace“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.””
Luke 14:11 · trace“I tell you, this man, rather than the Pharisee, went home justified. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.””
Luke 18:14 · trace“Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 18:4 · trace“Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the last of all and the servant of all.””
Mark 9:35 · trace“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
Matthew 5:5 · trace
The Sabbath
Jesus on the Sabbath.
“Then Jesus declared, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”
Mark 2:27 · trace“Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.””
Mark 2:28 · trace“How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.””
Matthew 12:12 · trace“Then should not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be released from her bondage on the Sabbath day?””
Luke 13:16 · trace“But Jesus answered them, “To this very day My Father is at His work, and I too am working.””
John 5:17 · trace“If a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses will not be broken, why are you angry with Me for making the whole man well on the Sabbath?”
John 7:23 · trace
Hell & judgment
Jesus on judgment and hell.
“And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.””
Matthew 25:46 · trace“Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
Matthew 25:41 · trace“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Matthew 10:28 · trace“If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two hands and go into hell, into the unquenchable fire.”
Mark 9:43 · trace“So will it be at the end of the age: The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous”
Matthew 13:49 · trace“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.”
Matthew 7:13 · trace
The greatest commandment
Jesus on the greatest commandment.
“Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’”
Matthew 22:37 · trace“And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Matthew 22:39 · trace“All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.””
Matthew 22:40 · trace“Jesus replied, “This is the most important: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.”
Mark 12:29 · trace“The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.””
Mark 12:31 · trace“A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another.”
John 13:34 · trace
Discipleship & the cost
Jesus on following him.
“Then Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”
Luke 9:23 · trace“Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.”
Matthew 16:24 · trace“Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;”
Matthew 10:37 · trace“and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.”
Matthew 10:38 · trace“Then Jesus declared, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and then looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.””
Luke 9:62 · trace“In the same way, any one of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be My disciple.”
Luke 14:33 · trace
Faith
Jesus on faith and trust.
““Because you have so little faith,” He answered. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.””
Matthew 17:20 · trace““Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen.”
Matthew 21:21 · trace“And the Lord answered, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.”
Luke 17:6 · trace“But Jesus overheard their conversation and said to Jairus, “Do not be afraid; just believe.””
Mark 5:36 · trace““You of little faith,” Jesus replied, “why are you so afraid?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it was perfectly calm.”
Matthew 8:26 · trace“Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.””
John 20:29 · trace
Hypocrisy
Jesus on hypocrisy.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity.”
Matthew 23:27 · trace“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.”
Matthew 23:23 · trace“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.”
Matthew 23:13 · trace“So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.”
Matthew 6:2 · trace“You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you:”
Matthew 15:7 · trace“In the meantime, a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling one another. Jesus began to speak first to His disciples: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”
Luke 12:1 · trace
Eternal life
Jesus on eternal life.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 · trace“Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life.”
John 5:24 · trace“For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.””
John 6:40 · trace“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.”
John 10:28 · trace“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.”
John 11:25 · trace“Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”
John 17:3 · trace
Servanthood
Jesus on serving others.
“But it shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,”
Mark 10:43 · trace“and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all.”
Mark 10:44 · trace“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.””
Mark 10:45 · trace“It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,”
Matthew 20:26 · trace“So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.”
John 13:14 · trace“But you shall not be like them. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who leads like the one who serves.”
Luke 22:26 · trace
Marriage & divorce
Jesus on marriage and divorce.
“Jesus answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’”
Matthew 19:4 · trace“and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?”
Matthew 19:5 · trace“So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.””
Matthew 19:6 · trace“Now I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.””
Matthew 19:9 · trace“However, from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’”
Mark 10:6 · trace“But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, brings adultery upon her. And he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”
Matthew 5:32 · trace
The end times
Jesus on the end of the age.
“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. These things must happen, but the end is still to come.”
Matthew 24:6 · trace“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
Matthew 24:14 · trace“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.”
Matthew 24:35 · trace“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
Matthew 24:36 · trace“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day on which your Lord will come.”
Matthew 24:42 · trace“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
Mark 13:32 · trace
These are Jesus’ words as marked in red-letter editions (shown here from the public-domain World English Bible). Red-letter is an editorial convention, it marks which verses are Jesus speaking, not a feature of the Greek manuscripts (BB-35), and a few of his sayings reported indirectly may be unmarked. We show an established translation and never machine-translate a primary text (BB-42).