But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit.

She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”

“In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet:

And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the leaders of Judah:
because out of you will come a leader
who will shepherd My people Israel.”

A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children;
and she refused to be consoled,
because they were no more.

saying, “Get up! Take the child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, because those who sought the child’s life are dead.”

and saying, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!”

Jesus answered him, “Allow it for now, because this is the way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him to be baptized.

From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!”

“The poor in spirit are blessed,
for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

Those who mourn are blessed,
for they will be comforted.

The gentle are blessed,
for they will inherit the earth.

Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are blessed,
for they will be filled.

The merciful are blessed,
for they will be shown mercy.

The pure in heart are blessed,
for they will see God.

The peacemakers are blessed,
for they will be called sons of God.

Those who are persecuted for righteousness are blessed,
for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

“You are blessed when they insult and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of Me.

Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

But I tell you, don’t take an oath at all: either by heaven, because it is God’s throne;

or by the earth, because it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King.

Neither should you swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black.

“Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. I assure you: They’ve got their reward!

Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask Him.

Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock.

because He was teaching them like one who had authority, and not like their scribes.

No one patches an old garment with unshrunk cloth, because the patch pulls away from the garment and makes the tear worse.

“Leave,” He said, “because the girl isn’t dead, but sleeping.” And they started laughing at Him.

When He saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were weary and worn out, like sheep without a shepherd.

Because people will hand you over to sanhedrins and flog you in their synagogues, beware of them.

You will even be brought before governors and kings because of Me, to bear witness to them and to the nations.

because you are not speaking, but the Spirit of your Father is speaking through you.

You will be hated by everyone because of My name. But the one who endures to the end will be delivered.

Anyone finding his life will lose it, and anyone losing his life because of Me will find it.

Anyone who welcomes a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. And anyone who welcomes a righteous person because he’s righteous will receive a righteous person’s reward.

And whoever gives just a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a disciple—I assure you: He will never lose his reward!”

And if anyone is not offended because of Me, he is blessed.”

Then He proceeded to denounce the towns where most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent:

At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to infants.

Yes, Father, because this was Your good pleasure.

All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves.

Because of this, I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.

The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah’s proclamation; and look—something greater than Jonah is here!

The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and look—something greater than Solomon is here!

He answered them, “Because the secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given for you to know, but it has not been given to them.

For this reason I speak to them in parables, because looking they do not see, and hearing they do not listen or understand.

“But your eyes are blessed because they do see, and your ears because they do hear!

Yet he has no root in himself, but is short-lived. When pressure or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he stumbles.

And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.

Although the king regretted it, he commanded that it be granted because of his oaths and his guests.

But the boat was already over a mile from land, battered by the waves, because the wind was against them.

He answered them, “And why do you break God’s commandment because of your tradition?

he does not have to honor his father.’ In this way, you have revoked God’s word because of your tradition.

Yet He did not say a word to her. So His disciples approached Him and urged Him, “Send her away because she cries out after us.”

Now Jesus summoned His disciples and said, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry; otherwise they might collapse on the way.”

He answered them: “When evening comes you say, ‘It will be good weather because the sky is red.’

And in the morning, ‘Today will be stormy because the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to read the appearance of the sky, but you can’t read the signs of the times.

And Jesus responded, “Simon son of Jonah, you are blessed because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father in heaven.

But He turned and told Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me because you’re not thinking about God’s concerns, but man’s.”

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will find it.

“Lord,” he said, “have mercy on my son, because he has seizures and suffers severely. He often falls into the fire and often into the water.

“Because of your little faith,” He told them. “For I assure you: If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.

Woe to the world because of offenses. For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes.

“See that you don’t look down on one of these little ones, because I tell you that in heaven their angels continually view the face of My Father in heaven.

“Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.

He told them, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of the hardness of your hearts. But it was not like that from the beginning.

For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb, there are eunuchs who were made by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves that way because of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.”

Then Jesus said, “Leave the children alone, and don’t try to keep them from coming to Me, because the kingdom of heaven is made up of people like this.”

When the young man heard that command, he went away grieving, because he had many possessions.

And everyone who has left houses, brothers or sisters, father or mother, children, or fields because of My name will receive 100 times more and will inherit eternal life.

“‘Because no one hired us,’ they said to him.

“‘You also go to my vineyard,’ he told them.

Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my business? Are you jealous because I’m generous?’

But if we say, ‘From men,’ we’re afraid of the crowd, because everyone thought John was a prophet.”

Although they were looking for a way to arrest Him, they feared the crowds, because they regarded Him as a prophet.

Jesus answered them, “You are deceived, because you don’t know the Scriptures or the power of God.

Therefore do whatever they tell you, and observe it. But don’t do what they do, because they don’t practice what they teach.

“But as for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi,’ because you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers.

Do not call anyone on earth your father, because you have one Father, who is in heaven.

And do not be called masters either, because you have one Master, the Messiah.

You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet.

“Then they will hand you over for persecution, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of My name.

Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold.

Unless those days were limited, no one would survive. But those days will be limited because of the elect.

This is why you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

But the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’

“Therefore be alert, because you don’t know either the day or the hour.

Then Jesus said to them, “Tonight all of you will run away because of Me, for it is written:

I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.

Peter told Him, “Even if everyone runs away because of You, I will never run away!”

And He came again and found them sleeping, because they could not keep their eyes open.

Then Jesus told him, “Put your sword back in its place because all who take up a sword will perish by a sword.

For he knew they had handed Him over because of envy.

While he was sitting on the judge’s bench, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for today I’ve suffered terribly in a dream because of Him!”

Suddenly there was a violent earthquake, because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached the tomb. He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it.

But the angel told the women, “Don’t be afraid, because I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified.

They were astonished at His teaching because, unlike the scribes, He was teaching them as one having authority.

and He healed many who were sick with various diseases and drove out many demons. But He would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew Him.

Since they were not able to bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above where He was. And when they had broken through, they lowered the mat on which the paralytic was lying.

While He was reclining at the table in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were also guests with Jesus and His disciples, because there were many who were following Him.

Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and around Tyre and Sidon. The large crowd came to Him because they heard about everything He was doing.