But just as this thought occurred to him, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, and said, "Joseph, descendant of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for it is through the influence of the Holy Spirit that she has become an expectant mother.

and asked, "Where is He that is born King of the Jews? We saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him."

Then Herod, because he saw that a trick had been played on him by the stargazers, was very angry, and sent and slaughtered all the boy babies in Bethlehem and in all that neighborhood, from two years down, in accordance with the time which he had found out from the stargazers.

But because he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in the place of his father, Herod, he was afraid to go there; and because he was divinely warned in a dream, he set out for the region of Galilee.

He went to a town called Nazareth and made his home there, so that the saying of the prophet was fulfilled: "He shall be called a Nazarene."

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to escape from the wrath that is coming?

Produce, then, fruit that is consistent with the repentance you profess,

Now the axe is already lying at the roots of the trees. Every tree then that fails to bear good fruit is to be cut down and thrown into the fire.

I am baptizing you in water to picture your repentance. But He that is coming after me is stronger than I am, and I am not fit to carry His shoes. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire;

His winnowing-fork is in His hand, and He will clean out His threshing-floor and store His wheat in His barn, but He will burn up the chaff with fire that never can be put out."

But he answered, "The Scripture says, 'Not on bread alone can man live, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, He set out for Galilee.

The people that were living in darkness have seen a great light, and on those that were living in the land of the shadow of death; a light has dawned."

From that time Jesus continued to preach and say, "Repent! For the kingdom of heaven is near."

And as He was going on from that point, He saw two others, brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, getting their nets in order; and He called them.

You are the light of the world. A city that is built upon a hill cannot be hidden.

People do not light a lamp and put it under a peck-measure but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all that are in the house.

Let your light shine before people in such a way that they may see your good deeds, and praise your Father in heaven.

"Do not suppose that I have come to set aside the law or the prophets.

I have not come to set them aside but to fill them up to the brim. For I solemnly say to you, heaven and earth would sooner pass away than the dotting of an 'i' or the crossing of a 't' from the law, until it all becomes in force.

For I tell you that unless your righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven at all.

"You have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'You must not murder,' and 'Whoever murders will have to answer to the court.'

So if, in the very act of presenting your gift at the altar, you remember that your brother has something against you,

Be quick to come to terms with your opponent while you are on the road to court with him, so that he may not turn you over to the judge and the judge turn you over to the officer, and you be put in prison.

But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman so as to have an evil desire for her at once has already committed adultery with her in his heart,

So if your right eye causes you to do wrong, pluck it out of your way; for it is better to have one part of your body suffer loss than to have your whole body go down to the pit.

And if your right hand causes you to do wrong, cut it off and put it out of your way, for it is better to have one part of your body suffer loss than to have your whole body go down to the pit.

But I tell you that whoever divorces his wife for any other ground than unfaithfulness, causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a wife who is thus divorced commits adultery.

"Again, you have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'You must not swear falsely, but you must perform your oaths as a religious duty.'

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'

"You have heard that it was said, 'You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'

to prove that you are sons of your Father in heaven, for He makes His sun rise on bad as well as good people, and makes the rain come down on doers of right and of wrong alike.

For if you practice loving only those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even the tax-collectors practice that?

And if you say 'Good morning' to your brothers only, what more than others are you doing?

so that your deed of charity may be secret, and your Father who sees what is secret will reward you.

And whenever you pray, you must not keep on repeating set phrases, as the heathen do, for they suppose that they will be heard in accordance with the length of their prayers,

so that your fasting may be seen, not by men but by your Father who is unseen, and your Father who sees what is secret will reward you.

But if your eye is unsound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the very source of light in you is darkness, how dense is that darkness!

So I tell you, stop worrying about your life, as to what you will have to eat or drink, or about your body, as to what you will have to wear. Is not life worth more than food and the body worth more than clothes?

Take a good look at the wild birds, for they do not sow or reap, or store up food in barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps on feeding them. Are you not worth more than they?

For the heathen are greedily pursuing all such things; and surely your heavenly Father well knows that you need them all.

"Stop criticizing others, so that you may not be criticized yourselves.

For exactly as you criticize others, you will be criticized, and in accordance with the measure that you give to others, it will be measured back to you.

How can you say to your brother, 'Let me get that tiny speck out of your eye,' while all the time there is a girder in your own?

"You must never give the things that are sacred to dogs, and you must never throw your pearls before hogs, for fear they might trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces.

"Go in by the narrow gate, for broad and roomy is the road that leads to destruction, and many are going in by it.

But narrow is the gate and hard is the road that leads to life, and few are they that find it.

Any tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and burned up.

Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, was it not in your name that we prophesied, and in your name that we drove out demons, and in your name that we did many wonder-works?'

And the rain fell, and the rivers rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, but it did not fall, for its pillars had been laid on a rocky foundation.

And the rain fell, and the rivers rose, and the wind blew and beat against that house, and it collapsed, and the wreck of it was complete."

When Jesus had closed this address, the result was that the crowds were dumbfounded at His teaching,

Then Jesus said to him, "See that you tell nobody, but go, show yourself to the priest, and, to testify to the people, make the offering that Moses prescribed."

Then Jesus said to the captain, "Go; it must be done for you as you have believed." And his servant-boy was cured that very hour.

And suddenly a furious storm came up, so that the boat was being covered over by the bursting billows, but He kept on sleeping.

When He reached the other side, in the district of Gadara, there faced Him two men, who were under the power of demons, who were just coming out from the tombs. They were such terrors that nobody could pass that way.

But to show you that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth" -- turning to the paralyzed man, He said to Him -- "Get up, pick up your bed, and go home."

And when He heard it, He said, "It is not well, but sick people that have to send for a doctor.

Go, learn what this means, 'It is mercy and not sacrifice that I want.' It is not upright but sinful people that I have come to invite."

Nobody sews a patch of brand-new goods on an old coat, for such a patch would tear away from the coat, and the hole would be bigger than ever.

And Jesus, on turning and seeing her, said, "Cheer up, my daughter! Your faith has cured you." And from that moment the woman was well.

And the news about her spread all over that country.

After He had gone into the house, and the blind men had gone up to Him, Jesus said to them, "Do you really believe that I can do this?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."

And their eyes received strength to see. Then Jesus sternly charged them, "See that nobody knows it."

But they went out and spread the news about Him all over that country.

But the Pharisees kept on saying, "It is by the help of the prince of the demons that He drives them out."

Then He called His twelve disciples to Him, and gave them authority over foul spirits, so that they could drive them out, and so that they could cure any disease or ailment.

And whoever will not welcome you, or listen to your words, on leaving that place shake off from your feet its very dust.

I tell you, the punishment on the day of judgment will be lighter for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

But when they turn you over to the courts, you must not worry at all about how or what you ought to speak, for it will be given you at that hour what you ought to speak.

For it is not you who are speaking, but the Spirit of your Father that is speaking through you.

No pupil is better than his teacher, and no slave is better than his master.

So you must never be afraid of them, for there is nothing covered that will not be uncovered, nor a secret that will not be known.

So stop being afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace but a sword.

Anybody who loves father or mother more than he loves me is not worthy of me,

But as they were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: "What did you go out into the desert to gaze at? A reed that is tossed to and fro by the wind?

If not, what did you go out there to see? A man dressed in silks and satins? No, people who dress in that way are found in the palaces of kings.

"I solemnly say to you, of all men born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has ever appeared; and yet the one who is least important in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Moreover, I tell you, on the day of judgment the punishment will be lighter for Tyre and Sidon than for you!

But I tell you, on the day of judgment the punishment will be lighter for the land of Sodom than for you!"

At that time Jesus said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for concealing these matters from wise and learned men, and for revealing them to little children.

Yes, Father, I thank You that Your good pleasure made it so.

At that time Jesus walked one sabbath through the wheat fields, and His disciples became hungry, and began to pull the heads of wheat and eat them.

And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Just look! Your disciples are doing something that it is against the law to do on the sabbath!"

Or, did you never read in the law that the priests in the temple break the sabbath, and yet are not guilty?

But I tell you, there is something greater than the temple here!

If you only knew what that saying means, 'It is mercy and not sacrifice that I want,' you would not have condemned men who are not guilty.

And how much more a man is worth than a sheep! So it is right to do good on the sabbath."

Then He said to the man, "Hold out your hand." And he held it out, and it was cured so that it became like the other.

At that time some people brought to Him a man under the power of demons, who was blind and dumb, and He cured him, so that the dumb man could talk and see.

But because He knew their thoughts, He said to them, "Any kingdom that is not united is in the process of destruction, and any city or family that is not united cannot last.

Or, how can anyone get into a giant's house and carry off his goods, unless he first binds the giant? After that he can make a clean sweep of his house.

You brood of vipers! How can you, wicked as you are, say anything that is good? For the mouth talks about the things that fill the heart.

So I tell you, for every worthless word that men utter they will have to give account on the day of judgment;

for it is by your words that you will be acquitted and by your words that you will be condemned."

The men of Nineveh will rise with the leaders of this age at the judgment and condemn them, for they turned to the message preached by Jonah, and there is more than Jonah here!

The queen of the south will rise with the leaders of this age at the judgment and condemn them, for she came from the farthest limits of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and there is more than Solomon here!

"Then it goes and gets seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and make their home there, and so the end of that man is worse than the beginning. This is the way it will be with the wicked leaders of this age."

That same day Jesus went out of His house and was sitting on the seashore.