So when they gathered to ask this, Pilate said to them, "Which one do you want me to release for you, Barabbas, or Jesus, the so-called Christ?"

For he knew that they had handed him over to him out of envy.

And the governor answered, "Which of the two do you want me to release for you?" They said, "Barabbas!"

Pilate said to them, "Then what am I to do with Jesus, the so-called Christ?" They all said, "Have him crucified!"

He said, "Why, what has he done that is wrong?" But they shouted all the louder, "Have him crucified!"

And they stripped him and put a red cloak on him,

and made a wreath of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a stick in his hand, and knelt down before him in mockery, saying, "Long live the king of the Jews!"

And they spat at him, and took the stick and struck him on the head.

And when they had finished making sport of him, they took off the cloak, and put his own clothes on him, and led him away to be crucified.

As they went out of the city they came upon a Cyrenian named Simon, and they forced him to carry Jesus' cross.

When they came to a place called Golgotha, which means the Place of the Skull,

they offered him a drink of wine mixed with gall, and when he tasted it he would not drink it.

And they crucified him and divided up his clothes among them by drawing lots,

They put above his head the charge against him, which read, "This is Jesus, the king of the Jews."

Some of the bystanders when they heard it said, "The man is calling for Elijah!"

And the captain and the men with him who were watching Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and all that was happening, were dreadfully frightened and said, "He surely must have been a son of God!"

And they went and set the guard and put a seal on the stone.

And they hurried away from the tomb frightened and yet overjoyed, and ran to tell the news to his disciples.

And Jesus himself met them, and said, "Good morning!" And they went up to him and clasped his feet, and bowed to the ground before him.

Jesus said to them, "You need not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee and they will see me there."

While they were on their way, some of the guard went into the city and reported to the high priests all that had happened.

And they got together and consulted with the elders, and gave the soldiers a large sum of money,

So they took the money and did as they were told. And this story has been current among the Jews ever since.

There they saw him and bowed down before him, though some were in doubt about it.

As he was passing along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets in the sea, for they were fishermen.

They immediately abandoned their nets and followed him.

He went on a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; they too were in their boat putting their nets in order.

He immediately called them. And they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and went off after him.

They proceeded to Capernaum, and on the very first Sabbath he went to the synagogue and taught.

And they were amazed at his teaching, for he taught them like one who had authority, and not like the scribes.

And they were all so amazed that they discussed it with one another, and said, "What does this mean? It is a new teaching! He gives orders with authority even to the foul spirits, and they obey him!"

As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the house of Simon and Andrew.

Simon's mother-in-law was in bed, sick with a fever, and they immediately told him about her.

In the evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed by demons,

And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and drove out many demons, and he would not let the demons speak, because they knew that he was Christ.

and found him, and said to him, "They are all looking for you!"

As they could not get him near Jesus on account of the crowd, they broke open the roof just over his head, and through the opening they lowered the mat with the paralytic lying on it.

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?

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."

And when the scribes who were of the Pharisees' party saw that he was eating with irreligious people and tax-collectors, they said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax-collectors and irreligious people?"

Jesus said to them, "Can wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.

But a time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and when that day comes, they will fast.

He happened to be passing through the wheat fields on the Sabbath, and his disciples began to pick the heads of wheat as they made their way through.

And the Pharisees said to him, "Look! Why are they doing what it is against the law to do on the Sabbath?"

And they were watching him closely, to see whether he would cure him on the Sabbath, in order to get a charge to bring against him.

And he said to them, "Is it allowable to do people good on the Sabbath, or to do them harm? To save life or kill?" But they made no answer.

And whenever the foul spirits saw him, they fell down before him and screamed out, "You are the Son of God!"

And he went up the hillside and summoned to him those whom he wanted, and they went to him.

His relatives heard of it and came over to stop him, for they said that he was out of his mind.

I tell you, men will be forgiven for everything, for all their sins and all the abusive things they say.

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

And his mother and his brothers came. And they stood outside the house and sent word in to him to come outside to them.

There was a crowd sitting around him when they told him, "Your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you."

so that " 'They may look and look and yet not see, And listen and listen and yet not understand, Lest possibly they should turn and be forgiven.' ",

The ones by the path are those into whose hearts the message falls, and as soon as they hear it Satan comes and carries off the message that has been sown in their hearts.

It is so too with the ones sown on the rocky ground; they gladly accept the message as soon as they hear it,

but it takes no real root in them and they last only a little while; then when trouble or persecution comes because of the message they give it up at once.

It is different with those sown among the thorns. They are people who listen to the message,

For people who have will have more given them, and from people who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.

With many such figures he told them the message, as far as they were able to receive it.

So they left the crowd and took him away in the boat in which he was sitting. There were other boats with him.

He was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him up and said to him, "Master, does it make no difference to you that we are sinking?"

And they were very much frightened, and said to one another, "Who can he be? For even the wind and the sea obey him."

So they reached the other side of the sea, and landed in the region of Gerasa.

And they begged him earnestly not to send them out of that country.

And they implored him, "Send us among the pigs, let us go into them."

When they came to Jesus and found the demoniac sitting quietly with his clothes on and in his right mind??he same man who had been possessed by Legion??hey were frightened.

And they began to beg him to leave their district.

And he went off and began to tell everybody in the Ten Towns all Jesus had done for him; and they were all astonished.

But Jesus paid no attention to what they said, but said to the leader of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid, just have faith."

They came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, and there he found everything in confusion, and people weeping and wailing.

And they laughed at him. But he drove them all out, and took the child's father and mother and the men who were with him and went into the room where the child was lying.

And the little girl immediately got up and walked about, for she was twelve years old. The moment they saw it they were utterly amazed.

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?

And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, "A prophet is treated with honor everywhere except in his native place and among his relatives and at his home."

they were to go in sandals, and not to wear two shirts.

So they went out and preached that men should repent,

When his disciples heard of it they came and took his body away and put it in a tomb.

The apostles rejoined Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.

And he said to them, "Come away by yourselves to some quiet place, and rest a little while." For people were coming and going in large numbers, and they had no time even for meals.

So they set off by themselves in their boat for a secluded place.

So when he got out of the boat, he found a great crowd gathered, and his heart was touched at the sight of them, because they were like sheep that have no shepherd; and he proceeded to teach them a great deal.

But he answered, "Give them food yourselves." They said to him, "Can we go and buy forty dollars' worth of bread and give it to them to eat?"

But he said to them, "How many loaves have you? Go and see." They looked, and told him. "Five, and two fish."

And they threw themselves down in groups, in hundreds and in fifties.

And they all ate and had enough.

And the pieces they gathered up filled twelve baskets, besides the pieces of the fish.

And he saw that they were straining at the oars, for the wind was against them, and toward morning he went out to them, walking on the sea, and was going to join them.

They saw him walking on the sea, and thought it was a ghost and screamed aloud,

for they all saw him and were terrified. But he immediately spoke to them and said, "Take courage, it is I. Do not be afraid."

Then he went up to them and got into the boat. And the wind fell. And they were perfectly beside themselves,

for they had not understood about the loaves, but their minds were blinded.

They crossed over to the other side and came to Gennesaret and moored the boat.

As soon as they came ashore, the people recognized Jesus,

and they hurried all over the countryside and began to bring the sick to him on their mats, wherever they heard he was.

And whatever village or town or farm he went to, they would lay their sick in the market-place and beg him to let them touch just the tassel of his cloak, and all who touched it were cured.

They had noticed that some of his disciples ate their food without first giving their hands a ceremonial washing to purify them.

For the Pharisees and all the Jews observe the rules handed down from their ancestors, and will not eat until they have washed their hands in a particular way,

and they will not eat anything from the market without first purifying it by sprinkling it, and they have a number of other observances which have come down to them, in the way of washing cups, pitchers, and basins.

But their worship of me is all in vain, For the lessons they teach are but human precepts.'