In his preaching John said, "One who is more powerful than I am will follow my ministry. I am not [even] worthy to stoop down and loosen the straps of His sandals [i.e., to serve as His slave].

And Jesus said to them, "Come, follow me and I will make you fishermen for people."

When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for you."

He said to them, "Let us go on to the next towns so that I can preach there also, for this was why I came out [i.e., Jesus was sent by God to preach to other towns as well as Capernaum. See Luke 4:43]."

And being moved with deep pity, Jesus reached out His hand, touched him and said, "I do want to; be healed."

When Jesus saw [the evidence of] their faith, He said to the paralyzed man, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

And immediately Jesus perceived in His spirit what they were reasoning in their minds and said to them, "Why are you reasoning like this in your minds?

But, so you will know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins (He then said to the paralyzed man),

And as He walked along He saw Levi [i.e., the same person as Matthew. See Matt. 9:9], the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the toll booth [i.e., collecting taxes]. He said to him, "Become my follower." And he got up and followed Him.

And when the experts in the law of Moses, being Pharisees [i.e., a strict sect of the Jewish religion], saw that He was eating with tax collectors and worldly people, they said to His disciples, "Why does Jesus eat and drink with tax collectors and worldly people?"

When Jesus heard [about] this, He said to them, "People who are healthy do not need a doctor, but [only] sick people do. I did not come to call those who do right, but sinners [instead]."

And Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath day was made for man's [benefit], and not man for the Sabbath [day's benefit].

And He said to the man whose hand was deformed, "Step forward."

Then He said to the Pharisees, "Is it permissible by the law of Moses to do something good, or something harmful on the Sabbath day? To save a life or to kill it?" But they did not reply.

And when He had looked around at them with righteous indignation, being grieved over their stubbornness, He said to the man, "Reach out your hand." And when he reached it out, his hand was restored [to normal use].

Jesus said all this because these experts in the law of Moses had been saying, "He has an evil spirit in him."

Someone in the large crowd that was sitting around Him said to Him, "Look, your mother and your brothers are outside looking for you."

Then He looked out over those gathered around Him and said, "Look, [here is] my mother and my brothers

He taught the people many things using parables [to illustrate His lessons]. In His teaching He said to them,

And Jesus said, "Whoever has ears to hear with ought to listen [to this] carefully."

He said to them, "You disciples are being given an understanding of the secret of the kingdom of God, but to outsiders everything will be told in parables.

Then He said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be put under a bushel-sized container, or under the bed, instead of on its stand?

And He said to them, "Pay attention to what you are hearing from me. The standard you use in giving [to others] is the standard they will use on you, with even more added.

And Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is like a farmer who scattered seed on the ground,

When evening came that day He said to the disciples, "Let us go over to the other side [i.e., the east side of Lake Galilee]."

And He said to His disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you not still have [any] faith?"

And they were extremely afraid, and said to one another, "Who can this man be that even the wind and water obey him?"

And shouting with a loud voice, he said, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, in God's name, do not torture me."

And His disciples said to Him, "You see the large crowd thronging you and yet you ask 'Who touched me'?"

And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be [i.e., remain] healed from your affliction."

While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the synagogue official's house and said [to the official], "Your daughter is dead; why are you bothering the Teacher any more?"

But Jesus disregarded what the person said and told the official, "Do not be afraid; just believe [i.e., in my power to restore your daughter]."

And when He entered [the house] He said to them, "Why are you making such a commotion and crying? The child is not [really] dead, but only sleeping."

And taking the child by the hand He said to her, "Talitha cumi," which means "Little girl," (I tell you), "get up."

Then Jesus said to them, "A prophet does not go without receiving honor, except in his own home town, and among his own relatives, and among his own family members."

And He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that place.

Now King Herod heard about this [i.e., what Jesus was doing] because His name had become well known. He said, "John the Immerser has risen from the dead and it is his powers that are at work in Jesus."

But others said, "He is [the prophet] Elijah" [while] others said, "He is a prophet like one of the prophets [of old]."

But when King Herod heard [about Jesus], he said, "John, whom I [had] decapitated, has risen."

For John had said to Herod, "It is unlawful for you to marry your brother's wife."

And when Herodias' daughter [Note: According to Josephus her name was Salome] came in and danced [in front of them, sensually], she pleased Herod and his party guests so much that the king said to the young woman, "Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you."

So, she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" And her mother said, " [Ask for] the head of John the Immerser."

At once she hurried in to the king and said, "I would like you to give me the head of John the Immerser on a [large] platter right away."

He said to them, "You men, leave here and go to a deserted place and rest for awhile." For there were so many people coming and going [i.e., to listen to preaching, receive healing, etc.], that they had no opportunity even to eat.

And when the day was nearly over His disciples came to Him and said, "This place is deserted and the day is almost over;

And He said to them, "How many loaves [of bread] do you have? Go and see." And when had found out, they said, "Five [barley] loaves [See John 6:9] and two [probably smoked] fish."

becoming [very] frightened when they saw Him. But He immediately spoke to them and said, "Take courage, and do not be afraid, it is I."

And He said to them, "You are good at rejecting the commandment of God so you can keep your traditions.

For Moses said, [Ex. 20:12] 'Give honor to your father and mother,' and [Ex. 21:17 says], 'Whoever says bad things about his father or mother should surely be put to death.'

Then He called the crowd to Him again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand [what I am saying].

He said to them, "Are you also as lacking in understanding [as the others]? Do you not understand that whatever enters a person's body from the outside cannot [spiritually] corrupt him?

And He said, "Whatever proceeds out of a man's life is what [spiritually] corrupts him.

So, He said to her, "Children should be the first ones to eat until they are full, for it is not proper to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs."

And He said to her, "Because you have said this, go on your way; the evil spirit has left your daughter."

and, looking up to heaven, He sighed and said, "Ephphatha," which means, "Be opened."

In those days, when a large crowd again assembled [i.e., to listen to Jesus' teaching] and did not have anything to eat, Jesus called His disciples and said to them,

Then He sighed deeply in His spirit and said, "Why does this generation of people look for a [supernatural] sign? Truly I tell you, there will not be any [supernatural] sign given to this generation."

Jesus, being aware of what they were thinking, said, "Why are you reasoning about not having any bread? Have you not yet perceived or understood? Have your hearts become insensitive?

When I divided the five loaves of bread among the five thousand persons, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you gather up?" They said to Him, "Twelve baskets full."

He again asked, "And when the seven loaves were divided among the four thousand persons, how many large basketfuls of broken pieces did you gather up?" And they said to Him, "Seven large basketfuls."

Then He said to them, "Do you not understand yet?"

The man looked up and said, " [Yes], I see people, but they look like trees walking around."

And He called the crowd to Him, along with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wants to be my follower, he should deny himself [i.e., of always having his own way] and accept his cross [i.e., his responsibilities, with all their difficulties] and then he can become my follower.

And Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, there are some people standing here who will surely not experience death until they see that God's kingdom has come in [a demonstration of] power."

And Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi [i.e., Teacher], it is good for us to be here. Let us build three small shelters, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." [See note at Matt. 17:4]

Jesus said to them, "You generation of faithless people How long must I be with you [i.e., before you understand]? How long do I have to be patient with you? Bring the sick boy to me."

And Jesus said to him, "'If you can.' [Note: By repeating the man's words Jesus seems to be saying, "You mean, if YOU can believe"]. Everything is possible to the person who believes [it can happen]."

So, He sat down and called the twelve apostles and said to them, "If anyone [of you] should [try to] be first [in importance] he will [end up] being last, and become the servant of all [the others].

And He took a little child and placed it in front of them, and lifting the child up into His arms, He said to them,

[Then] John [the apostle] said to Him, "Teacher, we saw someone driving out evil spirits by using your name, so we told him to stop doing it, because he was not following [You] with us."

But Jesus said, "Do not try to stop him, for there is not anyone who performs a supernatural deed using my name who will be able to quickly say something bad about me.

But Jesus said to them, "He wrote you this commandment [only] because of the rebellious spirit of you [Jews].

And He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another [woman] commits sexual unfaithfulness [toward her].

But when Jesus saw it, He was moved with [righteous] indignation, and said to them, "Allow these little children to come to me and stop trying to prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such [humble ones. See Matt. 18:4].

And Jesus looked at him, and filled with love, said to him, "There is one thing you [still] lack. Go and sell your possessions and give [the money] to poor people; become my follower, then you will have treasure in heaven."

Then Jesus looked around Him and said to His disciples, "How difficult it is for rich people to enter the kingdom of God "

And His disciples were amazed at what He said. But Jesus spoke to them again and said, "How difficult it is [for anyone] to enter the kingdom of God

And they were utterly amazed and said to Him, "Then who can [possibly] be saved?"

Jesus looked at them and said, "This would be impossible with men, but not with God, for everything is possible with God."

Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, no one who has left his house, or brothers, or sisters, or mother, or father, or children or property for my sake and the Gospel's sake [i.e., to become a servant of the Lord],

He said, "Look, we are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of man will be turned over to the leading priests and experts in the law of Moses. They will condemn Him to death and turn Him over to the [unconverted] Gentiles.

Now James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over to Jesus and said to Him, "We would like you to do for us whatever we ask you."

And He said to them, "What do you want me to do for you?"

But Jesus said to them, "You [really] do not know what you are asking for. Are you able to drink the cup [i.e., of suffering] that I will drink? Or [are you able] to be immersed with the immersion that I am [to be] immersed with?" [i.e., to be overwhelmed with agony].

And they said to Him, " [Yes], we are able to." And Jesus said to them, "The cup [of suffering] that I [will] drink, you [also] will drink. And the immersion [with agony] with which I am [to be] immersed, you [also] will be immersed.

Jesus called them [i.e., probably all twelve apostles] to Him and said, "You are aware that those who are regarded as rulers among the [unconverted] Gentiles lord it over their own people, and their important men domineer over them [as well].

So, Jesus stopped and said, "Call that man [to me]." Then the crowd called the blind man, saying to him, "Cheer up, Jesus is calling you."

Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" And the blind man answered, "Rabboni [i.e., Teacher], I want to have my sight restored."

And Jesus said to him, "Go on your way, your faith [in me] has made you well." And immediately his sight was restored, and he began following Jesus along the road.

Some bystanders said to them, "What are you doing, untying that colt?"

Therefore, He said to the tree, "From now on no one will ever eat fruit from you." Now His disciples heard Him say this.

Then Peter remembered [what Jesus had done to the fig tree on a recent occasion], and said to Him, "Rabbi [i.e., Teacher], look, the fig tree you cursed [the other day] has withered up."

Truly I tell you, whoever will say to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the ocean' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he said will happen, he will have his request granted.

and said, "By what authority are you doing these things [i.e., miracles and teaching]? Or who gave you the authority to do these things?"

So, they answered Jesus and said, "We do not know [where John got his authority to immerse]." Jesus replied to them, " [Then] neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things [i.e., miracles and teaching]."

But the tenant farmers said to one another, 'This is the heir [to the vineyard]. Come on, let us kill him and then the inheritance will be ours.'

Then the Pharisees sent certain ones of their number [See Matt. 22:15-16] along with the Herodians [Note: This refers to members of a political party favoring King Herod] to attempt to trap Him by what He said.

And when they arrived, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and [that you] do not care for [i.e., do not fear or give in to] anyone. For you do not allow [the position of] any person to influence you, but teach the truth about God's way. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?

Should we pay it, or should we not pay it?" But Jesus was aware of their hypocrisy and said to them, "Bring me the coin so I can see it." [Note: The amount of this coin was equivalent to one day of a farm laborer's pay, or about $60-$84 in 1994].

So, they brought it to Him and He said to them, "Whose image and inscription [are on this coin]?" And they answered Him, "Caesar's."