Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way: when his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit.

but did not know her until she had borne a son. And he called his name Jesus.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,

'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'"

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Josnt in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him."

"A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."

Now John wore a garment of camel's hair, and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.

Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, and every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented.

Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee.

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its taste, how shall it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

For I tell you, that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil.

"Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?

Thus you will know them by their fruits.

And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers!'

And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side.

When he had come to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.

Now a herd of many swine was feeding at some distance from them.

But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"he then said to the paralytic"Rise, take up your bed and go home."

But when Jesus heard it, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.

No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse.

Neither do they put new wine into old wineskins; if they do, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and so both are preserved."

And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, "See that no one knows it."

Take no gold, nor silver, nor copper in your belts,

Now whatever village or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there until you go out.

Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.

Now when John heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples

From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force.

"All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.

But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign; but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here.

Some fell on rocky places, where they did not have much soil, and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of soil.

But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.

And he answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. And when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.

Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, but the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the weeds you also root up the wheat with them.

And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been instructed for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."

Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a lonely place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.

Now those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

he is not to honor his father with it. Thus you have made the word of God of no effect for the sake of your tradition.

Then the disciples came and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?"

Now Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have been with me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way."

Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

And in the morning, 'It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.

A wicked and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah." So he left them and departed.

And they discussed among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread."

But Jesus, aware of this, said, "O men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves the fact that you have no bread?

Then he strictly charged his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, "Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead."

But I tell you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands."

Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men,

Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.

So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."

Now behold, one came up and said to him, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to have eternal life?"

Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

They said to him, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.'

But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?

Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them,

But Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking for. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?" They said to him, "We are able."

But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them.

Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples,

And seeing a fig tree by the road he went to it, and found nothing on it but leaves only. And he said to it, "May no fruit ever come from you again!" And immediately the fig tree withered.

So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are true, and teach the way of God in truth, and you care for no man; for you do not regard the position of men.

That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question,

saying, "Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother must marry the widow, and raise up children for his brother.

Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and having no children, he left his wife to his brother.

But Jesus answered them, "You are wrong, because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.

And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did any one dare to ask him any more questions.

Now as he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will this be? And what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?"

And Jesus answered them: "Take heed that no one deceives you.

For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.

And if those days had not been shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.

"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.

So also, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.

"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,

and they did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.

But know this, that if the owner of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house be broken into.

For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them;

But the wise replied, 'No, there may not be enough for both us and you; go rather to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'

But he replied, 'Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.'

Therefore keep watch, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed.

But his master answered him, 'You wicked and lazy servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed?

for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,

"You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified."