Her husband, Joseph, was a religious man and, being unwilling to expose her to contempt, resolved to put an end to their betrothal privately.

But Jesus answered: "Scripture says--'It is not on bread alone that man is to live, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

"Come and follow me," Jesus said, "and I will set you to fish for men."

The two men left their nets at once and followed him.

Going further on, he saw two other men who were also brothers, James, Zebediah's son, and his brother John, in their boat with their father, mending their nets. Jesus called them,

Be glad and rejoice, because your reward in Heaven will be great; for so men persecuted the Prophets who lived before you.

Men do not light a lamp and put it under the corn-measure, but on the lamp-stand, where it gives light to every one in the house.

Let your light so shine before the eyes of your fellow men, that, seeing your good actions, they may praise your Father who is in Heaven.

And, when you pray, you are not to behave as hypocrites do. They like to pray standing in the Synagogues and at the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. There, I tell you, is their reward!

And, when you fast, do not put on gloomy looks, as hypocrites do who disfigure their faces that they may be seen by men to be fasting. That, I tell you, is their reward!

That he may not be seen by men to be fasting, but by his Father who dwells in secret; and his Father, who sees what is secret, will recompense him.

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate one and love the other, or else he will attach himself to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

If God so clothes even the grass of the field, which is living to-day and to-morrow will be thrown into the oven, will not he much more clothe you, O men of little faith?

Beware of false Teachers--men who come to you in the guise of sheep, but at heart they are ravenous wolves.

Hence it is by the fruit of their lives that you will know such men.

Everyone, therefore, that listens to this teaching of mine and acts upon it may be compared to a prudent man, who built his house upon the rock.

And every one that listens to this teaching of mine and does not act upon it may be compared to a foolish man, who built his house on the sand.

For I myself am a man under the orders of others, with soldiers under me; and, if I say to one of them 'Go,' he goes, and to another 'Come,' he comes, and to my slave 'Do this,' he does it."

Then Jesus said to the Captain: "Go now, and it shall be according to your faith." And the man was cured that very hour.

"Foxes have holes," answered Jesus, "and wild birds their roosting-places, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."

"Why are you so timid?" he said. "O men of little faith!" Then Jesus rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and a great calm followed.

The men were amazed, and exclaimed: "What kind of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!"

And on getting to the other side--the country of the Gadarenes--Jesus met two men who were possessed by demons, coming out of the tombs. They were so violent that no one was able to pass that way.

At this the men who tended them ran away and went to the town, carrying the news of all that had occurred, and of what had happened to the possessed men.

And there some people brought to him a paralyzed man on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man: "Courage, Child! Your sins are forgiven."

Then some of the teachers of the Law said to themselves: "This man is blaspheming!"

But, that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins"--then he said to the paralyzed man-- "Get up, take up your bed, and return to your home."

The man got up and went to his home.

When the crowd saw this, they were awe-struck, and praised God for giving such power to men.

As Jesus went along, he saw a man, called Matthew, sitting in the tax-office, and said to him: "Follow me." Matthew got up and followed him.

No man ever puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for such a patch tears away from the garment, and a worse rent is made.

As Jesus was passing on from there, he was followed by two blind men, who kept calling out: "Take pity on us, Son of David!"

When he had gone indoors, the blind men came up to him; and Jesus asked them: "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" "Yes, Master!" they answered.

But the men went out, and spread the news about him through all that part of the country.

Just as they were going out, some people brought up to Jesus a dumb man who was possessed by a demon;

And, as soon as the demon had been driven out, the dumb man spoke. The people were astonished at this, and exclaimed: "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!"

Be on your guard against your fellow men, for they will betray you to courts of law, and scourge you in their Synagogues;

And you will be hated by every one on account of my Name. Yet the man that endures to the end shall be saved.

But, when they persecute you in one town, escape to the next; for, I tell you, you will not have come to the end of the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

Every one, therefore, who shall acknowledge me before his fellow men, I, too, will acknowledge before my Father who is in Heaven;

But, if any one disowns me before his fellow men, I, too, will disown him before my Father who is in Heaven.

For I have come to set--'a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

A man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'

And the man who does not take his cross and follow in my steps is not worthy of me.

He who welcomes a Prophet, because he is a Prophet, shall receive a Prophet's reward; and he who welcomes a good man, because he is a good man, shall receive a good man's reward.

And blessed is the man who finds no hindrance in me."

While these men were going back, Jesus began to say to the crowds with reference to John:

"What did you go out into the Wilderness to look at? A reed waving in the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man richly dressed? Why, those who wear rich things are to be found in the courts of kings!

This is the man of whom Scripture says--'Behold, I am myself sending my Messenger before thy face, And he shall prepare thy way before thee.'

From the time of John the Baptist to this very hour, the Kingdom of Heaven has been taken by force, and men using force have been seizing it.

For, when John came, neither eating nor drinking, men said 'He has a demon in him';

And now that the Son of Man has come, eating and drinking, they are saying 'Here is a glutton and a wine-drinker, a friend of tax-gatherers and outcasts!' And yet Wisdom is vindicated by her actions."

For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath."

And there he saw a man with a withered hand. Some people asked Jesus whether it was allowable to work a cure on the Sabbath- -so that they might have a charge to bring against him.

And how much more precious a man is than a sheep! Therefore it is allowable to do good on the Sabbath."

Then he said to the man. "Stretch out your hand." The man stretched it out; and it had become as sound as the other.

Then some people brought to Jesus a possessed man, who was blind and dumb; and he cured him, so that the man who had been dumb both talked and saw.

How, again, can any one get into a strong man's house and carry off his goods, without first securing him? And not till then will he plunder his house.

Therefore, I tell you, men will be forgiven every sin and slander; but slander against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

Whoever speaks against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in the present age, or in the age to come.

A good man, from his good stores, produces good things; while an evil man, from his evil stores, produces evil things.

I tell you that for every careless thing that men say, they must answer on the 'Day of Judgment.'

For, just as 'Jonah was inside the sea-monster three days and three nights,' so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

At the Judgment, the men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation, and will condemn it, because they repented at Jonah's proclamation; and here is more than a Jonah!

No sooner does a foul spirit leave a man, than it passes through places where there is no water, in search of rest, and does not find it.

Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in, and make their home there; and the last state of that man proves to be worse than the first. So, too, will it be with this wicked generation."

For I tell you that many Prophets and good men have longed for the sight of the things which you are seeing, yet never saw them, and to hear the things which you are hearing, yet never heard them.

When any one hears the Message of the Kingdom without understanding it, the Evil One comes and snatches away what has been sown in his mind. This is the man meant by the seed which was sown along the path.

By the seed which was sown on rocky places is meant the man who hears the Message, and at once accepts it joyfully;

By the seed which was sown among the brambles is meant the man who hears the Message, but the cares of life and the glamour of wealth completely choke the Message, so that it gives no return.

But by the seed which was sown on the good ground is meant the man who hears the Message and understands it, and really yields a return, sometimes one hundred, sometimes sixty, sometimes thirty fold."

Another parable which Jesus told them was this-- "The Kingdom of Heaven is compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.

Another parable which he told them was this-- "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard-seed, which a man took and sowed in his field.

And he answered: "The sower of the good seed is the Son of Man.

The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom all that hinders and those who live in sin,

The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid again, and then, in his delight, went and sold everything that he had, and bought that field.

The men who ate were about five thousand in number, without counting women and children.

Instantly Jesus stretched out his hand, and caught hold of him. "O man of little faith!" he said, "Why did you falter?"

But the men in the boat threw themselves on their faces before him, and said: "You are indeed God's Son."

But you say 'Whenever any one says to his father or mother "Whatever of mine might have been of service to you is 'Given to God,'"

But vainly do they worship me, For they teach but the precepts of men.'"

It is not what enters a man's mouth that 'defiles' him, but what comes out from his mouth--that does defile him!"

Let them be; they are but blind guides; and, if one blind man guides another, both of them will fall into a ditch."

But the things that come out from the mouth proceed from the heart, and it is these that defile a man;

These are the things that defile a man; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile a man."

The men who ate were four thousand in number without counting women and children.

On noticing this, Jesus said: "Why are you talking among yourselves about your being short of bread, O men of little faith?

On coming into the neighborhood of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked his disciples this question-- "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"

Jesus, however, turning to Peter, said: "Out of my way, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you look at things, not as God does, but as man does."

Then Jesus said to his disciples: "If any man wishes to walk in my steps, let him renounce self, and take up his cross, and follow me.

What good will it do a man to gain the whole world, if he forfeits his life? or what will a man give that is of equal value with his life?

For the Son of Man is to come in his Father's Glory, with his angels, and then he 'will give to every man what his actions deserve.'

I tell you, some of those who are standing here will not know death till they have seen the Son of Man coming into his Kingdom."

As they were going down the mountain side, Jesus gave them this warning-- "Do not speak of this vision to any one, until the Son of Man has risen from the dead."

And I tell you that Elijah has already come, and people have not recognized him, but have treated him just as they pleased. In the same way, too, the Son of Man is destined to undergo suffering at men's hands."

When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, and, kneeling down before him, said:

While Jesus and his disciples were together in Galilee, he said to them: "The Son of Man is destined to be betrayed into the hands of his fellow-men,

Still, that we may not shock them, go and throw a line into the Sea; take the first fish that rises, open its mouth, and you will find in it a piece of money. Take that, and give it to the collectors for both of us."

Therefore, any one who will humble himself like this child-- that man shall be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Alas for the world because of such snares! There cannot but be snares; yet alas for the man who is answerable for the snare!