saying to him, "See that you say nothing about this to anybody, but begone! show yourself to the priest, and in proof of your cure make the offerings for your purification which Moses prescribed."

"Why does this man talk so? This is blasphemy. Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

Jesus, at once perceiving by his spirit that they were pondering over this, said to them, "Why do you ponder over this in your minds?

Which is easier, to say to this paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say to him, "Get up and pick up your mat and walk'?

And he got up, and immediately picked up his mat and went out before them all, so that they were all astonished and acknowledged the power of God, saying, "We never saw anything like this before."

This was because they said, "He is possessed by a foul spirit."

And Jesus said, "If you do not understand this figure, then how will you understand my other figures?

This man lived among the tombs, and no one could any longer secure him even with a chain,

For he was saying to him, "You foul spirit, come out of this man."

And he went into the house and said to them, "What is the meaning of all this confusion and crying? The child is not dead, she is asleep."

When the Sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue. And the people were astonished when they heard him, and said, "Where did he get all this? How does he come to have such wisdom? How are such marvelous things done through him?

When it grew late his disciples came up to him and said, "This is a lonely place and it is getting late.

But he said to them, "It was about you hypocrites that Isaiah prophesied so finely, in the words, " 'This people honor me with their lips, Yet their hearts are far away from me.

He called the people to him again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand this.

When he had left the crowd and gone home, his disciples asked him what he meant by this figure.

His disciples replied, "Where can anyone get bread enough, here in this solitude, to satisfy these people's hunger?"

And he sighed deeply and said, "Why do the men of this day ask for a sign? I tell you, no sign will be given them."

And he warned them not to say this about him to anyone.

He told them this plainly. And Peter took him aside, and began to reprove him for it.

For if anyone is ashamed of me and my teachings in this unfaithful and sinful age, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of him, when he comes back in his Father's glory, with the holy angels."

Six days after this Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him, and led them up on a high mountain, off by themselves. And his appearance underwent a change in their presence,

And a cloud came and overshadowed them, and from the cloud came a voice, "This is my Son, my Beloved. Listen to him,"

Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?" And he said,

He said to them, "This kind of thing can be driven out only by prayer."

"Whoever welcomes one child like this on my account is welcoming me, and whoever welcomes me, welcomes not me but him who has sent me."

When they reached the house the disciples asked him about this again.

but will receive now in this life a hundred times as much in homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and lands, though not without persecution??nd in the coming age eternal life.

When the other ten heard of this they were at first very indignant at James and John.

The high priests and the scribes heard of this, and they cast about for a way of destroying him, for they were afraid of him, for all the people were amazed at what he taught.

I tell you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Get up and throw yourself into the sea!' and has no doubt in his mind, but has faith that what he says will happen, shall have it.

But the tenants said to one another, 'This is his heir! Come on, let us kill him, and the property will belong to us!'

Did you never read this passage of Scripture: " 'That stone which the builders rejected Has become the cornerstone;

This came from the Lord And seems marvelous to us'?"

And they brought him one. He said to them, "Whose head and title is this?" And they told him, "The emperor's."

Jesus said to them, "Does not this show that you are wrong, and do not understand either the Scriptures or the power of God?

And this is the second: 'You must love your neighbor as you do yourself.' No other command is greater than these."

And he called his disciples to him and said, "I tell you that this poor widow has put in more than all these others who have been putting money into the treasury.

"Tell us when this is to happen, and what the sign will be when it is all just going to be carried out."

And Jesus said to them, "Take care that no one misleads you about this.

For nation will rise in arms against nation and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes here and there, there will be famines. This is only the beginning of the sufferings.

But as soon as you see the dreadful desecration standing where he has no right to stand" (the reader must take note of this), "then those who are in Judea must fly to the hills;

As they were eating, he took a loaf and blessed it, and he broke it in pieces and gave it to them saying, "Take this. It is my body."

And he said to them, "This is my blood which ratifies the agreement, and is to be poured out for many people.

Jesus said to him, "I tell you, this very night before the cock crows twice you yourself will disown me three times!"

and he said, "Abba!" that is, Father, "anything is possible for you! Take this cup away from me! Yet not what I please but what you do!"

When he came back for the third time, he said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough of this! The time has come. See! the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of wicked men.

Some got up and gave false testimony against him to this effect:

"We ourselves have heard him say, 'I will tear down this sanctuary built by men's hands, and in three days I will build another, made without hands.' "

and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, "You were with this Jesus of Nazareth too!"

And the maid saw him there and began again to tell the bystanders, "This fellow is one of them!"

But he began to swear with the strongest oaths, "I do not know this man that you are talking about!"

Let this Christ, the king of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see it and believe!" And the men who were crucified with him abused him.

And when the captain who stood facing him saw how he expired he said, "This man was certainly a son of God!"

But he said to them, "You must not be amazed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here. See! This is where they laid him.

This will bring gladness and delight to you, and many will rejoice over his birth.

Zechariah said to the angel, "How am I to know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in life."

The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the very presence of God. I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.

Now you will keep silent and be unable to speak until the day when this happens, because you have not believed what I have said, for it will all be fulfilled in due time."

"This is what the Lord has done for me," she said, "now that he has deigned to remove the disgrace I have endured."

But she was startled at what he said, and wondered what this greeting meant.

Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, when I have no husband?"

And your relative, Elizabeth, although she is old, is going to give birth to a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was said to be barren.

For he has noticed his slave in her humble station, For from this time all the ages will think me favored!

and everyone who heard them kept them in mind, and said, "What is this child going to be?" For the Lord's hand was with him.

"By the lips of his holy prophets he promised of old to do this??71 To save us from our enemies and from the hands of all who hate us,

And this will prove it to you: You will find a baby wrapped up and lying in a manger."

When the angels left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Come! Let us go over to Bethlehem, and see this thing that has happened, that the Lord has told us of!"

When they saw this, they told what had been said to them about this child.

And he gave them his blessing, and said to Mary, the child's mother, "This child is destined to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a portent that will be much debated??35 you yourself will be pierced to the heart??nd so the thoughts of many minds will be revealed."

When his parents saw him they were amazed, and his mother said to him. "My child, why did you treat us like this? Here your father and I have been looking for you, and have been very anxious."

As all this aroused people's expectations, and they were all wondering in their hearts whether John was the Christ,

And the devil said to him, "If you are God's son, tell this stone to turn into bread!"

And the devil said to him, "I will give you all this power and their splendor, for it has been turned over to me, and I can give it to anyone I please.

And he began by saying to them, "This passage of Scripture has been fulfilled here in your hearing today!"

He said to them, "No doubt you will quote this proverb to me: 'Doctor, cure yourself! Do the things here in your own country that we hear you did at Capernaum.'

And when the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all very angry,

And they were all amazed and said to one another, "What is the meaning of this teaching? For he gives orders authoritatively and effectually to the foul spirits, and they come out."

And the scribes and the Pharisees began to debate and say, "Who is this man who talks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

After this he went out, and he saw a tax-collector named Levi sitting at the tollhouse, and he said to him, "Follow me!"

He used this figure also in speaking to them: "No one tears a piece from a new coat and sews it on an old one, or if he does, he will both tear the new one and the piece from the new one will not match the old one.

If anyone comes to me and listens to this teaching of mine and acts upon it, I will show you whom he is like.

When he had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he went to Capernaum.

And they went to Jesus and urged him strongly to do it, and said, "He deserves to have you do this for him,

When Jesus heard this, he was astonished at him, and turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such faith as this even in Israel!"

This story about him spread all over Judea and the surrounding country.

John's disciples told him of all this,

This is the man of whom the Scripture says, " 'Here I send my messenger on before you, He will prepare the road ahead of you!'

So what is there to which I can compare the men of this age? What are they like?

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were really a prophet, he would know who and what the woman is who is touching him, for she leads a wicked life."

And turning to the woman, he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came to your house; you did not give me any water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with tears and wiped them with her hair.

The men at table with him began to say to themselves, "Who is this man, who even forgives sins?"

And some fell on good soil, and grew up and yielded a hundred fold!" As he said this he called out, "Let him who has ears to hear with, listen!"

His disciples asked him what this figure meant.

This is what the figure means. The seed is God's message.

But Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who can this be about whom I hear such reports?" And he endeavored to see him.

But he warned them particularly not to tell this to anyone,

It was about eight days after Jesus said this that he took Peter, John, and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.

And from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my Son, my Chosen! Listen to him!"

and said to them, "Whoever welcomes this child on my account is welcoming me, and whoever welcomes me, welcomes him who has sent me. For it is the lowliest among you all who is really great."

When the disciples, James and John, saw this, they said, "Master, will you have us order fire to come down from heaven and consume them?"