But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:

He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘Make ready the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight!’”

But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he *permitted Him.

and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

“Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.

‘Give us this day our daily bread.

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

“In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.

This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases.”

The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

And some of the scribes said to themselves, “This fellow blasphemes.”

But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?”

But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.

But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

This news spread throughout all that land.

When He entered the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus *said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They *said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”

And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them: “See that no one knows about this!”

After the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”

This is the one about whom it is written,
‘Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You,
Who will prepare Your way before You.’

“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children,

And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day.

Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.

But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.”

But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire compassion, and not a sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all,

This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?”

But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges.

Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

For the heart of this people has become dull,
With their ears they scarcely hear,
And they have closed their eyes,
Otherwise they would see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart and return,
And I would heal them.’

When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.

The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;

And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’

and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
“I will open My mouth in parables;
I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”

He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?

Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?

And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”

and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities.

When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”

he is not to honor his father or his mother.’ And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me.

It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”

Then the disciples *came and *said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?”

The disciples *said to Him, “Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?”

They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “He said that because we did not bring any bread.”

But Jesus, aware of this, said, “You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread?

And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.”

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!”

When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified.

And He *said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.

[But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”]

Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

“For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.

and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?

He *said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way.

The disciples *said to Him, “If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.”

But He said to them, “Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given.

For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it.”

But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?”

And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.

He *said to them, “My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.”

And hearing this, the ten became indignant with the two brothers.

It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant,

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?”

And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Seeing this, the disciples were amazed and asked, “How did the fig tree wither all at once?”

And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen.

When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?”

For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.

But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’

Jesus *said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures,
‘The stone which the builders rejected,
This became the chief corner stone;
This came about from the Lord,
And it is marvelous in our eyes’?

And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”

And He *said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”

And hearing this, they were amazed, and leaving Him, they went away.

When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

This is the great and foremost commandment.

Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.