and said, "If you are God's Son, throw yourself down; for it is written, "'To His angels He will give orders concerning thee, and on their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any moment thou shouldst strike thy foot against a stone.'"

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for to them belongs the Kingdom of the Heavens.

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

To him who asks, give: from him who would borrow, turn not away.

But I command you all, love your enemies, and pray for your persecutors;

But you, whenever you pray, go into your own room and shut the door: then pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father--He who sees in secret--will recompense you.

"In this manner therefore pray: 'Our Father who art in Heaven, may Thy name be kept holy;

But, whenever you fast, pour perfume on your hair and wash your face,

A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a poisonous tree good fruit.

in order that this prediction of the Prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled, "He took on Him our weaknesses, and bore the burden of our diseases."

And the crowds were awe-struck when they saw it, and ascribed the glory to God who had entrusted such power to a man.

Nor do people pour new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the skins would split, the wine would escape, and the skins be destroyed. But they put new wine into fresh skins, and both are saved."

But the Pharisees maintained, "It is by the power of the Prince of the demons that he drives out the demons."

and you will even be put on trial before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness to them and to the Gentiles.

"blind eyes receive sight, and cripples walk; lepers are cleansed, and deaf ears hear; the dead are raised to life, and the poor have the Good News proclaimed to them;

For it is good to bear my yoke, and my burden is light."

The Pharisees heard it and said, "This man only expels demons by the power of Baal-zebul, the Prince of demons."

And if it is by Baal-zebul's power that I expel the demons, by whose power do your disciples expel them? They therefore shall be your judges.

But if it is by the power of the Spirit of God that I expel the demons, it is evident that the Kingdom of God has come upon you.

When He had done this, He climbed the hill to pray in solitude. Night came on, and he was there alone.

"Blessed are you, Simon Bar-jonah," said Jesus; "for mere human nature has not revealed this to you, but my Father in Heaven.

Then young children were brought to Him for Him to put His hands on them and pray; but the disciples interfered.

"If you desire to be perfect," replied Jesus, "go and sell all that you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have wealth in Heaven; and come, follow me."

"That, I tell you, is the reason why the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and given to a nation that will exhibit the power of it.

The reply of Jesus was, "You are in error, through ignorance of the Scriptures and of the power of God.

"So that you bear witness against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the Prophets.

"But pray that your flight may not be in winter, nor on the Sabbath;

Then will appear the Sign of the Son of Man in the sky; and then will all the nations of the earth lament, when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with great power and glory.

and consulted how to get Jesus into their power by stratagem and put Him to death.

"for this might have been sold for a considerable sum, and the money given to the poor."

The poor you always have with you, but me you have not always.

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane. And He said to the disciples, "Sit down here, whilst I go yonder and there pray."

Keep awake, and pray that you may not enter into temptation: the spirit is right willing, but the body is frail."

Jesus however came near and said to them, "All power in Heaven and over the earth has been given to me.

when all at once, there in their synagogue, a man under the power of a foul spirit screamed out:

The Scribes, too, who had come down from Jerusalem said, "He has Baal-zebul in him; and it is by the power of the Prince of the demons that he expels the demons."

and besought Him with many entreaties. "My little daughter," he said, "is at the point of death: I pray you come and lay your hands upon her, that she may recover and live."

Immediately Jesus, well knowing that healing power had gone from within Him, turned round in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"

But wherever they will not receive you or listen to you, when you leave shake off the very dust from under your feet to bear witness concerning them."

He then bade the people farewell, and went away up the hill to pray.

He went on to say, "In solemn truth I tell you that some of those who are standing here will certainly not taste death till they have seen the Kingdom of God already come in power."

and wherever it comes upon him, it dashes him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth, and he is pining away. I begged your disciples to expel it, but they had not the power."

Then Jesus looked at him and loved him, and said, "One thing is lacking in you: go, sell all you possess and give the proceeds to the poor, and you shall have riches in Heaven; and come and be a follower of mine."

At these words his brow darkened, and he went away sad; for he was possessed of great wealth.

That is why I tell you, as to whatever you pray and make request for, if you believe that you have received it it shall be yours.

"Is not this the cause of your error," replied Jesus--"your ignorance alike of the Scriptures and of the power of God?

But there came one poor widow and dropped in two farthings, equal in value to a halfpenny.

So He called His disciples to Him and said, "In solemn truth I tell you that this widow, poor as she is, has thrown in more than all the other contributors to the Treasury;

"But pray that it may not come in the winter.

And then will they see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.

Take care, be on the alert, and pray; for you do not know when it will happen.

Now when He was at Bethany, in the house of Simon the Leper, while He was at table, there came a woman with a jar of pure, sweet-scented ointment very costly: she broke the jar and poured the ointment over His head.

For that ointment might have been sold for fifteen pounds or more, and the money have been given to the poor." And they were exceedingly angry with her.

For you always have the poor among you, and whenever you choose you can do acts of kindness to them; but me you have not always.

One youth indeed did follow Him, wearing only a linen cloth round his bare body. Of him they laid hold,

"I am," replied Jesus, "and you and others will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the divine Power, and coming amid the clouds of the sky."

But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your petition has been heard: and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call his name John.

and he will be His forerunner in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn fathers' hearts to the children, and cause the rebellious to walk in the wisdom of the upright, to make a people perfectly ready for the lord."

You will conceive in your womb and bear a son; and you are to call His name JESUS.

The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for this reason your holy offspring will be called 'the Son of God.'

To deliver us from our foes and from the power of all who hate us.

To grant us to be rescued from the power of our foes And so render worship to Him free from fear,

And they also offered a sacrifice as commanded in the Law of the Lord, "a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons."

and 'On their hands they shall bear thee up, Lest at any moment thou shouldst strike thy foot against a stone.'"

Then Jesus returned in the Spirit's power to Galilee; and His fame spread through all the adjacent districts.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to proclaim Good News to the poor; He has sent me to announce release to the prisoners of war and recovery of sight to the blind: to send away free those whom tyranny has crushed,

They rose, hurried Him outside the town, and brought Him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, to throw Him down the cliff;

All were astonished and awe-struck; and they asked one another, "What sort of language is this? For with authority and real power He gives orders to the foul spirits and they come out."

One day He was teaching, and there were Pharisees and teachers of the Law sitting there who had come from every village in Galilee and Judaea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present for Him to cure people.

Again they said to Him, "John's disciples fast often and pray, as do also those of the pharisees; but yours eat and drink."

Nor does any one pour new wine into old wine-skins. Otherwise the new wine would burst the skins, the wine itself would be spilt, and the skins be destroyed.

About that time He went out on one occasion into the hill country to pray; and He remained all night in prayer to God.

The whole crowd were eager to touch Him, because power went forth from him and cured every one.

Then fixing His eyes upon His disciples, Jesus said to them, "Blessed are you poor, because the Kingdom of God is yours.

bless those who curse you; pray for those who revile you.

give, and gifts shall be bestowed on you. Full measure, pressed, shaken down, and running over, shall they pour into your laps; for with the same measure that you use they shall measure to you in return."

Then He answered the messengers, "Go and report to John what you have seen and heard. Blind men receive sight, the lame walk, lepers are purified, deaf persons hear, the dead are raised to life, the poor have the Good News proclaimed to them.

No oil did you pour even on my head; but she has poured perfume upon my feet.

"Some one has touched me," Jesus replied, "for I feel that power has gone out from me."

Then calling the Twelve together He conferred on them power and authority over all the demons and to cure diseases;

It was about eight days after this that Jesus, taking with Him Peter, John, and James, went up the mountain to pray.

"O unbelieving and perverse generation!" replied Jesus; "how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here to me."

And all were awe-struck at the mighty power of God. And while every one was expressing wonder at all that He was doing, He said to his disciples,

"I have given you power to tread serpents and scorpions underfoot, and to trample on all the power of the Enemy; and in no case shall anything do you harm.

At one place where He was praying, when He rose from His knees one of His disciples said to Him, "Master, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."

So He said to them, "When you pray, say, 'Father may Thy name be kept holy; let Thy Kingdom come;

But some among them said, "It is by the power of Baal-zebul, the Prince of the demons, that he expels the demons."

And if Satan really has engaged in fierce conflict with himself, how shall his kingdom stand?--because you say that I expel demons by the power of Baal-zebul.

And if it is by the power of Baal-zebul that I expel the demons, by whom do your disciples expel them? They therefore shall be your judges.

But if it is by the power of God that I drive out the demons, it is evident that the Kingdom of God has come upon you.

It follows that you bear testimony to the actions of your forefathers and that you fully approve thereof. They slew, you build.

I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who after killing has power to throw into Gehenna: yes, I say to you, fear him.

For when, with your opponent, you are going before the magistrate, on the way take pains to get out of his power; for fear that, if he should drag you before the judge, the judge may hand you over to the officer of the court, and the officer lodge you in prison.

But when you entertain, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind;

"But they all without exception began to excuse themselves. The first told him, "'I have purchased a piece of land, and must of necessity go and look at it. Pray hold me excused.'

"A second pleaded, "'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and am on my way to try them. Pray hold me excused.'

"So the servant came and brought these answers to his master, and they stirred his anger. "'Go out quickly,' he said, 'into the streets of the city--the wide ones and the narrow. You will see poor men, and crippled, blind, lame: fetch them all in here.'

He also taught them by a parable that they must always pray and never lose heart.

"Two men went up to the Temple to pray," He said; "one being a Pharisee and the other a tax-gatherer.

On receiving this answer Jesus said to him, "There is still one thing wanting in you. Sell everything you possess and give the money to the poor, and you shall have wealth in Heaven; and then come, follow me."