Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac of Jacob, Jacob of Judah and his brothers,

Judah of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez of Hezron, Hezron of Ram,

Salmon of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed of Jesse,

Jesse of David the King. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother was Uriah's widow,

After the Exile to Babylon--Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel of Zerubbabel,

Jacob of Joseph, the husband of Mary, who was the mother of Jesus, who is called 'Christ'.

The birth of Jesus Christ took place as follows:--His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but, before the marriage took place, she found herself to be with child by the power of the Holy Spirit.

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

When King Herod heard of this, he was much troubled, and so, too, was all Jerusalem.

He called together all the Chief Priests and Teachers of the Law in the nation, and questioned them as to where the Christ was to be born.

"At Bethlehem in Judea," was their answer; "for it is said in the Prophet--

The Astrologers heard what the King had to say, and then continued their journey. And the star which they had seen in the east led them on, until it reached, and stood over, the place where the child was.

When Herod found that he had been trifled with by the Astrologers, he was very angry. He sent and put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and the whole of that neighborhood, who were two years old or under, guided by the date which he had ascertained from the Astrologers.

'A voice was heard in Ramah, Weeping and much lamentation; Rachel, weeping for her children, Refused all comfort because they were not.'

But, hearing that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as King of Judea, he was afraid to go back there; and having been warned in a dream, he went into the part of the country called Galilee.

This is he who was spoken of in the Prophet Isaiah, where he says--'The voice of one crying aloud in the Wilderness: "Make ready the way of the Lord, Make his paths straight."'

John wore clothing made of camels' hair, with a belt of leather round his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

Then Jesus was led up into the Wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the Devil.

As Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers--Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew--casting a net into the Sea; for they were fishermen.

And he was followed by large crowds from Galilee, the district of the Ten Towns, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

You have heard that to our ancestors it was said--'Thou shalt not commit murder,' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to answer for it to the Court.'

You have heard that it was said--'Thou shalt not commit adultery.'

It was also said--'Let any one who divorces his wife serve her with a notice of separation.'

Again, you have heard that to our ancestors it was said--'Thou shalt not break an oath, but thou shall keep thine oaths as a debt due to the Lord.'

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--'Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thy enemy.'

But, when one of your fasts, let him anoint his head and wash his face,

Yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his splendor was not robed like one of these.

On 'That Day' many will say to me 'Master, Master, was not it in your name that we taught, and in your name that we drove out demons, and in your name that we did many miracles?'

The rain poured down, the rivers rose, the winds blew and struck against that house, and it fell; and great was its downfall."

By the time that Jesus had finished speaking, the crowd was filled with amazement at his teaching.

Stretching out his hand, Jesus touched him, saying as he did so: "I am willing; become clean." Instantly he was made clean from his leprosy;

Jesus was surprised to hear this, and said to those who were following him: "Never I tell you, in any Israelite have I met with such faith as this!

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

"Master," said another, who was a disciple, "let me first go and bury my father."

Suddenly so great a storm came on upon the Sea, that the waves broke right over the boat. But Jesus was asleep;

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.

A long way off, there was a drove of many pigs, feeding;

And, later on, when he was at table in the house, a number of tax-gatherers and outcasts came in and took their places at table with Jesus and his disciples.

While Jesus was saying this, a President of a Synagogue came up and bowed to the ground before him. "My daughter," he said, "Has just died; but come and place your hand on her, and she will be restored to life."

Turning and seeing her, Jesus said: "Courage, Daughter! your faith has delivered you." And the woman was delivered from her malady from that very hour.

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!"

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

But, when he saw the crowds, his heart was moved with compassion for them, because they were distressed and harassed, 'like sheep without a shepherd';

Now John had heard in prison what the Christ was doing, and he sent a message by his disciples,

The answer of Jesus to the question was-- "Go and report to John what you hear and see--

And--if you are ready to accept it--John is himself the Elijah who was destined to come.

How he went into the House of God, and how they ate the consecrated bread, through it was not allowable for him or his companions to eat it, but only for the priests?

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.

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.

Jesus, however, was aware of what was passing in their minds, and said to them: "Any kingdom divided against itself becomes a desolation, and any town or household divided against itself will not last.

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.

While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and brothers were standing outside, asking to speak to him.

That same day, when Jesus had left the house and was sitting by the Sea,

As he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.

As soon as the sun had risen, it was scorched, and, having no root, withered away.

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.

But, while every one was asleep, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and then went away.

On this the owner's servants came to him, and said 'Was not it good seed that you sowed in your field? Where, then, do the tares in it come from?'

'An enemy has done this,' was his answer. 'Do you wish us, then,' they asked,' to go and gather them together?'

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.

This was another parable which Jesus related-- "The Kingdom of Heaven is like some yeast which a woman took and covered up in three pecks of flour, until the whole had risen."

Or again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net which was cast into the sea, and caught fish of all kinds.

When it was full, they hauled it up on the beach, and sat down and sorted the good fish into baskets, but threw the worthless ones away.

Yet, though Herod wanted to put him to death, he was afraid of the people, because they looked on John as a Prophet.

The king was distressed at this; yet, on account of his oath and of the guests at his table, he ordered it to be given her.

And his head was brought on a dish and given to the girl, and she took it to her mother.

On getting out of the boat, Jesus saw a great crowd, and his heart was moved at the sight of them; and he cured all the sick among them.

"Bring them here to me," was his reply.

After dismissing the crowds, he went up the hill by himself to pray; and, when evening fell, he was there alone.

The boat was by this time some miles from shore, laboring in the waves, for the wind was against her.

But, when he felt the wind, he was frightened, and, beginning to sink, cried out: "Master! Save me!"

"How is it that your disciples break the traditions of our ancestors? For they do not wash their hands when they eat food."

His reply was: "How is it that you on your side break God's commandments out of respect for your own traditions?

Hypocrites! It was well said by Isaiah when he prophesied about you--

"I was not sent," replied Jesus, "to any one except the lost sheep of Israel."

"Your faith is great," was his reply to the woman; "it shall be as you wish!" And her daughter was cured that very hour.

How is it that you do not see that I was not speaking about bread? Be on your guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

Then he charged his disciples not to tell any one that he was the Christ.

There his appearance was transformed before their eyes; his face shown like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and there was a voice from the cloud that said-- "This is my Son, the Beloved, in whom I delight; him you must hear."

Then the disciples understood that it was of John the Baptist that he had spoken to them.

Then Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy; and he was cured from that very hour.

Afterwards the disciples came up to Jesus, and asked him privately: "Why was it that we could not drive it out?"

When he had begun to do so, one of them was brought to him who owed him six million pounds;

The master was moved with compassion; and he let him go, and forgave him the debt.

"Moses, owing to the hardness of your hearts," answered Jesus, "permitted you to divorce your wives, but that was not so at the beginning.

'My friend,' was his reply to one of them, 'I am not treating you unfairly. Did not you agree with me for two shillings?

When Jesus was on the point of going up to Jerusalem, he gathered the twelve disciples round him by themselves, and said to them as they were on their way:

"You do not know what you are asking," was Jesus' answer. "Can you drink the cup that I am to drink?" "Yes," they exclaimed, "we can."

Two blind men who were sitting by the road-side, hearing that Jesus was passing, called out: "Take pity on us, Master, Son of David!"

When he had entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred, and asked--

While he was still in the Temple Courts, some blind and some lame people came up to him, and he cured them.

After Jesus had come into the Temple Courts, the Chief Priests and the Councillors of the Nation came up to him as he was teaching, and said: " What authority have you to do these things? Who gave you this authority?"

It is about John's baptism. What was its origin? divine or human?" But they began arguing among themselves: "If we say 'divine,' he will say to us 'Why then did not you believe him?'

So the answer they gave Jesus was--"We do not know." "Then I," he said, "refuse to tell you what authority I have to do these things.