something that causes ruin or destruction
—When the school refused to let us use a classroom for our meetings, it was the kiss of death for our plans to form a new club.

Judas, one of Jesus’ twelve disciples, agreed to hand Jesus over to the Jewish authorities in exchange for 30 pieces of silver. The opportunity for his betrayal came in the Garden of Gethsemane. After praying, Jesus said, 

“Look, the hour is approaching, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us go. Look! My betrayer is approaching!”

While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent by the chief priests and elders of the people. (Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I kiss is the man. Arrest him!”) Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi,” and kissed him. (Matthew 26:45-49)

This kiss of betrayal has given us the phrase kiss of death. Also, any action that betrays someone can be called a Judas kiss, and the name Judas can be given to “a traitor, especially someone who betrays a friend.”

From kiss of death, we also get kiss of life, meaning “something that revives a business or other kind of project.” Kiss of life (like breath of life, in Genesis) is also a name for mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

a person wants to do something, but he lacks the skill, energy, or strength to follow through
—I’d love to play tennis with you, but my 60-year-old body doesn’t agree. I guess the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

The Jewish authorities knew that Jesus said that they deserved God’s judgment. The more they heard him the more angry they became, and they wanted to arrest Jesus and kill him. Knowing that the Jewish leaders would succeed and that he would die soon, Jesus went with his disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray:

Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and became anguished and distressed. Then he said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, even to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me.” Going a little farther, he threw himself down with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if possible, let this cup pass from me! Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. He said to Peter, “So, couldn’t you stay awake with me for one hour? Stay awake and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak [the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak].” (Matthew 26:36-41)

In modern English, gethsemane can mean “a time or place of great suffering.”

to sort a group into the good and the bad, the qualified and the unqualified, the skilled and the unskilled, etc., often by using a test or competition
—Now that the auditions have been completed, it’s time for the judges to make their decisions and separate the sheep from the goats.

Many of the Jewish people were expecting that when the Christ (or “Anointed One”) came, he would become king of their country and free them from the rule of the Romans. But Jesus taught that he, as the Christ, would not show his true power as king until he came a second time, saying,

When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats [divideth his sheep from the goats]. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” (Matthew 25:31-36)

A phrase with a similar meaning to separate the sheep from the goats is separate the wheat from the chaff, with “chaff” being the worthless husks and stalks that are gathered with the wheat grains when they are harvested. In Biblical times, the wheat was separated from the chaff (“winnowed”) using a “winnowing fork,” or “winnowing fan.” John the Baptist referred to this process when he described the coming judgment of Christ, separating the righteous from the unrighteous:

His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clean out his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the storehouse, but the chaff he will burn up with inextinguishable fire (Matthew 3:12)

ability
—We are surprised that our daughter has so much musical talent, because her father and I can’t even hum a tune.

Jesus told a story about a man who went away on a trip. Before the man left, he divided his money between his slaves. The money he gave them was called “talents.” We don’t know exactly how much a talent was worth, but it was a large amount.

To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The one who had received five talents went off right away and put his money to work and gained five more. In the same way, the one who had two gained two more. But the one who had received one talent went out and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money in it. (Matthew 25:15-18)

When the master returned, he was happy with the two slaves who had doubled the money given to them, calling them “good and faithful.” He told them, “You have been faithful in a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.” But he was angry with the third slave. He called him “evil and lazy,” took away the money given to him, and cast him into the “outer darkness.”

Talent originally meant a measurement of weight that was used for an amount of money. But because of Jesus’ story of the talents, it now means, in English, “ability or skill.” That is because when most people read Jesus’ story of the talents, they believe that Jesus is teaching that God gives everyone abilities that he expects them to use wisely in serving him. Others believe that the talents more correctly represent responsibilities, opportunities, or resources. But either way, the main idea is that God expects his followers to do their best with what he has given them.

the threat that fighting will happen
—No matter how peaceful it may seam, there are always rumors of war coming from somewhere in the world.

When Jesus said that the temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed, his disciples said to him,

“Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus answered them, “Watch out that no one misleads you. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will mislead many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Make sure that you are not alarmed, for this must happen, but the end is still to come.” (Matthew 22:3-6)

to be troubled over small problems but accept or overlook big ones
—My mother doesn’t eat candy because she says it’s unhealthy, but she smokes a pack of cigarettes every day. I guess she’s willing to strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.

Jesus often spoke of the hypocritical actions of the Jewish teachers and Pharisees as examples of what not to do. This was the case when he condemned their following small details of God’s law (such as giving to God a tenth of their spices) but ignoring the more important issues, on which the law was built. He said, 

Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you neglect what is more important in the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You should have done these things without neglecting the others (Matthew 23:23)

Included in God’s Old Testament laws is a list of animals that should not be eaten. Jesus referred to two of these animals when he said, 

Blind guides! You strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel [strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel]! (Matthew 23:24)

The phrase strain at, from the King James Bible, is in an older form of English and means “strain out.” But what does it mean to “strain out” a gnat? A very careful Jew would drink his wine through a cloth, in order to catch any tiny insects that might have fallen into his cup, keeping him from swallowing them. But Jesus said that attention to details such as that meant nothing if the same person didn’t stop committing bigger sins.

fulfill your duties to the government
—I don’t like paying taxes, but I have to render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s.

The Pharisees tried to trick Jesus, questioning him on whether the Jews should pay taxes to Caesar, the Roman king. They even teamed up with the Herodians, people loyal to Herod and his family. They did this even though the Pharisees were strongly opposed to Roman rule and to Herod, who was loyal to Rome. Both groups were hoping Jesus’ answer would offend someone, either those who sided with the Romans or those who hated Caesar.

They sent to him their disciples along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful, and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You do not court anyone’s favor because you show no partiality. Tell us then, what do you think? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

But Jesus realized their evil intentions and said, “Hypocrites! Why are you testing me? Show me the coin used for the tax.” So they brought him a denarius. Jesus said to them, “Whose image is this, and whose inscription?” They replied, “Caesar’s.” He said to them, “Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s [Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s], and to God the things that are God’s.” Now when they heard this they were stunned, and they left him and went away. (Matthew 22:16-22)

Even though the word render is not often used today with the meaning of “pay,” the phrase render unto Caesar is used—especially when it is time to pay taxes—with the attitude that we have no choice but to submit to the will of the government.

a place where bad people gather or hide; a group of people who commit crimes
—After the local post office admitted that some of its workers were overcharging customers, the mayor called it a den of thieves and vowed to punish those in charge.

The temple in Jerusalem was surrounded by an outer courtyard, called the Court of the Gentiles. It had this name because non-Jews (Gentiles) were not allowed into the areas closer to the temple building. Jesus was angry to see that this courtyard was filled with merchants selling animals, to be used for sacrifices, and exchanging money, to be used for offerings. This meant that the only place where Gentiles could worship at the temple had become a noisy, crowded marketplace. Chasing the merchants away, he quoted from the Books of Jeremiah and Isaiah:

Jesus entered the temple area and began to drive out those who were selling and buying in the temple courts. He turned over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and he would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. Then he began to teach them and said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have turned it into a den of robbers [den of thieves]!” The chief priests and the experts in the law heard it and they considered how they could assassinate him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed by his teaching. (Mark 11:15-18)

Similar, related phrases using den are den of iniquity and den of sin, both meaning “a place of immorality.”

not many are selected or achieve a certain accomplishment
—Only the top ten percent of applicants are admitted to the university, and only twenty percent of them will graduate. Many are called but few are chosen.

Jesus used the “Parable of the Wedding Banquet” to teach that while God calls all people into his kingdom, not everyone will accept the invitation or respond in the right way. In the story, a king sent out his servants to invite selected guests to a banquet for his son, but the people did not listen. Instead,

they were indifferent [made light of it] and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. (Matthew 22:5)

Some of the people even killed the servants. Of course, the king was angry, and he sent his army to kill the murderers and burn their city. The king then told his servants to go out and invite anyone they could find, both good and bad. Later, when the wedding hall was full, the king came to the guests and found one man who was not properly dressed.

And he said to him, “Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?” But he had nothing to say. Then the king said to his attendants, “Tie him up hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!” For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:12-14)

Make light of now means “to talk about something as if it’s unimportant or not serious.”

the last possible moment
—Most of the students wasted their time and waited until the eleventh hour to study for the test.

Jesus told a story about a landowner who went out in the early morning and hired some men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them each a silver coin, called a denarius, and they began working. Later in the day, he went out three more times and hired more men. Finally, he hired the last group of workers at the “eleventh hour.” When it was time, he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last-hired workers first:

When those hired about five o’clock [the eleventh hour] came, each received a full day’s pay. And when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more. But each one also received the standard wage. When they received it, they began to complain against the landowner, saying, “These last fellows worked one hour, and you have made them equal to us who bore the hardship and burning heat of the day.” And the landowner replied to one of them, “Friend, I am not treating you unfairly. Didn’t you agree with me to work for the standard wage? Take what is yours and go. I want to give to this last man the same as I gave to you. Am I not permitted to do what I want with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?” So the last will be first, and the first last [the last shall be first, and the first last].” (Matthew 20:9-16)

Jesus used this parable to teach that the gift of salvation is the same for all, no matter when it is accepted.

For the Jews in the Bible, the eleventh hour was not only the last hour of the work day, but it was the final hour of the calendar day, as well. This is because their 24-hour day began at sunset—about 6:00 pm—rather than at sunrise. Then the daylight portion was divided into twelve hours, beginning at approximately 6:00 am (7:00 am was the “first hour”) and ending at about 6:00 pm, the “twelfth hour.” Therefore, their eleventh hour was about 5:00 pm.

This story also gives us the last shall be first and the first shall be last, now used to mean “the outcome will show a complete reversal of circumstances.”