Gerhard Lohfink (1934-2024), was professor of New Testament exegesis at the University of Tübingen. His many award-winning books include Between Heaven and Earth, The Forty Parables of Jesus, No Irrelevant Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth, Is This All There Is?, The Our Father, and Prayer Takes Us Home, all from Liturgical Press.

• ContentsPreface    xiOpening Remarks    xiiiAbbreviations    xviiPart One: The Coming of the Reign of God1. The Proclamation of the Reign of God (Mark 1:15)    52. The Least Is Greater Than the Greatest (Luke 7:28)    103. Blessed Are Those Who See What You See (Luke 10:23-24)    134. The Miracles of the Time of Salvation (Luke 7:22-23)    175. Expelling the Demons (Luke 11:20)    216. The Fall of the Adversary (Luke 10:18)    257. Blessed Are You Poor! (Luke 6:20-21)    288. New Wine in New Wineskins (Mark 2:21-22)    329. Fasting at a Wedding? (Mark 2:19)    3510. The “Violent” in the Reign of God (Matt 11:12-13)    37Part Two: The Mission of the Twelve11. Like Lambs in the Midst of Wolves (Luke 10:3)    4812. Take Nothing for Your Journey! (Luke 9:3)    5013. Greet No One on the Way! (Luke 10:4)    5314. When You Enter a House (Luke 10:5-12)    5715. Bread for the Day to Come (Matt 6:11)    6216. Whoever Listens to You Listens to Me (Luke 10:16)   65 Part Three: A Disciple’s Existence17. Foxes Have Holes (Luke 9:57-58)    7318. Let the Dead Bury Their Own Dead! (Luke 9:59-60)    7619. Whoever Puts a Hand to the Plow (Luke 9:61-62)    7920. Jesus’ Single Life (Matt 19:12)    8121. Without Concern for One’s Own Family (Luke 14:26)    8322. Already a Hundredfold (Mark 10:29-30)    8623. Only One Is Your Father (Matt 23:9)    8924. Whoever among You Wants to Be First (Mark 10:43-44)    9125. Taking Up One’s Cross (Luke 14:27 // Matt 10:38)    9526. Those Who Lose Their Life Will Save It (Mark 8:35)    9727. When the Salt Loses Its Savor (Luke 14:34-35)    10028. The Millstone around the Neck (Luke 17:1-2)    10229. A Cup of Cold Water (Matt 10:42)    105Part Four: Living in Light of the Reign of God30. If You Are Angry with a Brother or Sister (Matt 5:21-22)    11731. No Reconciliation, No Liturgy (Matt 5:23-24)    12132. Adultery with the Eyes (Matt 5:27-28)    12333. Divorce: A Capital Crime (Matt 5:31-32)    12534. Better to Cut Off Your Hand (Mark 9:43-48)    13035. You Shall Not Swear At All (Matt 5:33-37)    13236. Nonviolence (Matt 5:38-42)    13537. Love of Enemies (Luke 6:27-28)    14138. God Knows What You Need (Matt 6:7-8)    15039. Stone, Not Bread? (Matt 7:9-11)    15340. Do Not Judge! (Matt 7:1)    15741. Speck and Log (Matt 7:3)    15942. No One Can Serve Two Masters (Matt 6:24)    16243. Camel and Needle’s Eye (Mark 10:25)    164 44. What Makes People Unclean (Mark 7:15)    16745. Give the Emperor What Belongs to the Emperor! (Mark 12:17)    17246. Like a Child (Mark 10:15)    17647. Seek First the Reign of God! (Luke 12:31)    180Part Five: Jesus’ Exalted Claim48. Your Sins Are Forgiven You (Mark 2:5)    18949. Amen, I Tell You (Matt 8:10)    19350. More Than Solomon Is Here (Luke 11:31-32)    19651. Not Peace, but a Sword (Matt 10:34-36)     19952. Everyone Who Acknowledges Me (Luke 12:8-9)    20353. I Am (Mark 14:62)    212           Part Six: Israel’s Crisis54. You Strain out Gnats (Matt 23:24)    22555. Woe to You, Lawyers! (Luke 11:52)    22756. For Those Outside, Everything Comes in Riddles (Mark 4:11)    23157. When You See a Cloud Rising in the West (Luke 12:54-56)    23558. Not through Observation (Luke 17:20-21)    23959. No Sign from Heaven (Luke 11:29)    24260. Whoever Does Not Gather with Me (Luke 11:23)    24761. But You Were Not Willing (Luke 13:34-35)    25062. Woe to You, Chorazin! (Luke 10:13-15)    25363. Shut Out of the Eschatological Banquet (Luke 13:28-29)    256Part Seven: In View of Death64. With a Baptism Must I Be Baptized (Luke 12:49-50)    27065. On the Third Day I Will Be Finished (Luke 13:31-32)    27466. Fear Not, Little Flock! (Luke 12:32)    276 67. Judges Over the Twelve Tribes of Israel (Matt 19:28)    27968. Ransom for Many (Mark 10:45)    28569. The Words at the Last Supper (Mark 14:22-24   ) 29170. Toward the Eschatological Feast (Mark 14:25)    303Closing Reflections    309Acknowledgments    317Works Cited    319Index of Important Topics    327Index of Scriptural Passages    329Liturgical Table    339

"Gerhard Lohfink has graced us with many books that have helped us to see the New Testament in a refreshingly new way. In The Most Important Words of Jesus, he explains seventy of Jesus’s sayings that deal with his mission and its meaning for contemporary life. Those familiar with Lohfink’s writings will not be disappointed. Those who have not read his works will be amazed. This is a sure resource for those who preach the gospel and for those who seek to be nourished by it."Frank J. Matera, Professor Emeritus, The Catholic University of America