but after he had planned this, there appeared an angel of the Lord to him in a dream saying, "Joseph, son of David, fear not to take Mary your wife home, for what is begotten in her comes from the holy Spirit.

All this happened for the fulfilment of what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

The news of this troubled king Herod and all Jerusalem as well;

where he stayed until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what the Lord had said by the prophet: I called my Son from Egypt.

(This was the man spoken of by the prophet Isaiah: The voice of one who cries in the desert, 'Make the way ready for the Lord, level the paths for him.')

This John had his clothes made of camel's hair, with a leather girdle round his loins; his food was locusts and wild honey.

But Jesus answered him, "Come now, this is how we should fulfil all our duty to God." Then John gave in to him.

And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, in him is my delight."

At this the devil left him, and angels came up and ministered to him.

Let this be how you pray: 'our Father in heaven, thy name be revered,

For though I am a man under authority myself, I have soldiers under me; I tell one man to go, and he goes, I tell another to come, and he comes, I tell my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

When Jesus heard that, he marvelled; "I tell you truly," he said to his followers, "I have never met faith like this anywhere in Israel.

Men marvelled at this; they said, "What sort of man is this? the very winds and sea obey him!"

So when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with taxgatherers and sinners?"

Go and learn the meaning of this word, I care for mercy not for sacrifice. For I have not come to call just men but sinners."

As he said this, an official came in and knelt before him, saying, "My daughter is just dead; do come and lay your hand on her, and she will live."

what she said to herself was this, "If I can only touch his robe, I will recover."

The report of this went all over that country.

When he went indoors the blind men came up to him, and Jesus asked them, "Do you believe I can do this?" They said, "Yes, sir."

and their eyes were opened. Jesus sternly charged them, "See, nobody is to know of this."

This is he of whom it is written, Here I send my messenger before your face to prepare the way for you.

He who has an ear, let him listen to this.

But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplace, who call to their playmates,

I tell you this, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.

And you, O Capharnahum! Exalted to heaven? No, you will sink to Hades! ??for if the miracles performed in you had been performed in Sodom, Sodom would have lasted to this day.

At that time Jesus spoke and said, "I praise thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding all this from the wise and learned and revealing it to the simpleminded;

Besides, if you had known what this meant, I care for mercy not for sacrifice, you would not have condemned men who are not guilty.

And all the crowds were amazed; they said, "Can this be the Son of David?"

But when the Pharisees heard of it they said, "This fellow only casts out daemons by Beelzebul the prince of daemons."

Whoever says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the holy Spirit will never be forgiven, neither in this world nor in the world to come.

The men of Ninive will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for when Jonah preached they did repent, and here is One greater than Jonah.

The queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and here is One greater than Solomon.

Then it goes off to fetch seven other spirits worse than itself; they go in and dwell there, and the last state of that man is worse than the first. This is how it will be with the present evil generation."

But he replied to the man who told him this, "Who is my mother? and who are my brothers?"

He who has an ear, let him listen to this."

This is why I speak to them in parables, because for all their seeing they do not see and for all their hearing they do not hear or understand.

For the heart of this people is obtuse, their ears are heavy of hearing, their eyes they have closed, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they understand with their heart and turn again, and I cure them.

He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Then would you like us to go and gather them?'

Jesus said all this to the crowds in parables; he never spoke to them except in a parable ??35 to fulfil what had been said by the prophet, I will open my mouth in parables, I will speak out what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.

Then the just will shine like the sun in the Realm of their Father. He who has an ear, let him listen to this.

Have you understood all this?" They said to him, "Yes."

and went to his native place, where he taught the people in the synagogue till they were astounded. They said, "Where did he get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?

Is this not the son of the joiner? Is not his mother called Mary, and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?

Are not his sisters settled here among us? Then where has he got all this?"

And he said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead. That is why miraculous powers are working through him."

And she, at the instigation of her mother, said, "Give me John the Baptist's head this moment on a dish."

But you say, whoever tells his father or mother, 'This money might have been at your service but it is dedicated to God,'

This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me:

Then he called the crowd and said to them, "Listen, understand this:

Peter answered, "Explain this parable to us at anyrate."

This made the crowd wonder, to see dumb people speaking, the lame walking, and the blind seeing.

When Jesus noted this he said, "How little trust you have in me! Why all this talk, because you have brought no bread?

Jesus answered him, "You are a blessed man, Simon Bar-jona, for it was my Father in heaven, not flesh and blood, that revealed this to you.

Now I tell you, Peter is your name and on this rock I will build my church; the powers of Hades shall not succeed against it.

Peter took him and began to reprove him for it; "God forbid, Lord," he said, "This must not be."

He was still speaking when a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, in him is my delight: listen to him."

As they went down the hill Jesus ordered them, "Tell this vision to nobody until the Son of man is raised from the dead."

He said to them, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you truly, if you had faith the size of a grain of mustard-seed, you could say to this hill, 'Move from here to there,' and remove it would; nothing would be impossible for you."

they will kill him, but on the third day he will be raised." They were greatly distressed at this.

Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the Realm of heaven;

and whoever receives a little child like this for my sake, receives me.

When Jesus finished saying this he moved from Galilee and went to the territory of Judaea that lies across the Jordan.

He said to them, "True, but this truth is not practicable for everyone, it is only for those who have the gift.

When the disciples heard this they were utterly astounded; they said, "Who then can possibly be saved?"

Jesus looked at them and said, "This is impossible for men, but anything is possible for God."

Take what belongs to you and be off. I choose to give this last man the same as you.

When the ten heard of this, they were angry at the two brothers,

This took place for the fulfilment of what had been spoken by the prophet,

When he entered Jerusalem the whole city was in excitement over him. "Who is this?" they said,

and the crowds replied, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazaret in Galilee!"

and noticing a fig tree by the roadside he went up to it, but found nothing on it except leaves. He said to it, "May no fruit ever come from you after this!" And instantly the fig tree withered up.

When the disciples saw this they marvelled. "How did the fig tree wither up in an instant?" they said.

Jesus answered, "I tell you truly, if you have faith, if you have no doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree but even if you say to this hill, 'Take and throw yourself into the sea,' it will be done.

When he entered the temple, the high priests and elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, "What authority have you for acting in this way? Who gave you this authority?"

Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures, The stone that the builders rejected is the chief stone now of the corner: this is the doing of the Lord, and a wonder to our eyes?

[Everyone who falls on this stone will be shattered, and whoever it falls upon will be crushed.]"

Tell us, then, what you think about this. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"

Then Jesus said to them, "Whose likeness, whose inscription is this?"

That same day some Sadducees came up to him, men who hold there is no resurrection. They put this question to him:

This is the greatest and chief command.

This is why I will send you prophets, wise men, and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, some of whom you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town;

I tell you truly, it will all come upon this generation.

but he replied to them, "You see all this? I tell you truly, not a stone here will be left upon another, without being torn down."

So as he sat on the Hill of Olives the disciples came up to him in private and said, "Tell us, when will this happen? What will be the sign of your arrival and of the end of the world?"

This gospel of the Reign shall be preached all over the wide world as a testimony to all the Gentiles, and then the end will come.

So when you see the appalling Horror spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing erect in the holy place (let the reader note this),

(I am telling you this beforehand.)

so, whenever you see all this happen, you may be sure He is at hand, at the very door.

I tell you truly, the present generation will not pass away till all this happens.

But be sure of this, that if the householder had known at what watch in the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the watch, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

When Jesus finished saying all this he said to his disciples,

"You know the passover is to be held two days after this; and the Son of man will be delivered up to be crucified."

When the disciples saw this they were angry. "What is the use of this waste?" they said;

In pouring this perfume on my body she has acted in view of my burial.

I tell you truly, wherever this gospel is preached through all the world, men will speak of what she has done in memory of her."

They were greatly distressed at this, and each of them said to him, "Lord, surely it is not me."

As they were eating he took a loaf and after the blessing he broke it; then he gave it to the disciples saying, "Take and eat this, it means my body."

this means my blood, the new covenant-blood, shed for many, to win the remission of their sins.

I tell you, after this I will never drink this produce of the vine till the day I drink it new with you in the Realm of my Father."

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