John himself had a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on the rock.

But everyone who hears these words of Mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.

And Jesus responded, “Simon son of Jonah, you are blessed because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father in heaven.

And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the forces of Hades will not overpower it.

“Listen to another parable: There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. He leased it to tenant farmers and went away.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous,

and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we wouldn’t have taken part with them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’

So all the righteous blood shed on the earth will be charged to you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.

For this is My blood that establishes the covenant; it is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins.

“I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,” he said.

“What’s that to us?” they said. “See to it yourself!”

The chief priests took the silver and said, “It’s not lawful to put it into the temple treasury, since it is blood money.”

Therefore that field has been called “Blood Field” to this day.

When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that a riot was starting instead, he took some water, washed his hands in front of the crowd, and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. See to it yourselves!”

All the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”