As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: "Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way";

And he preached, saying, "After me comes One who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.

and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel."

And as he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the Sea; for they were fishermen.

And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.

saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you arethe Holy One of God!"

And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this? A new teaching! With authority he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him."

As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John, and entered the house of Simon and Andrew.

and when they found him, they said to him, "Everyone is looking for you."

And he said to them, "Let us go on to the next towns, so I may preach there also; for that is why I have come."

and he said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

"Why does this man speak like this? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, take up your pallet and walk'?

As he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, "Follow me." So he rose and followed him.

And as he sat at table in Levi's house, many tax collectors and sinners were sitting with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many who followed him.

And Jesus said to them, "Can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.

"No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; if he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, and the tear is made worse.

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins."

One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain.

And the Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?"

how he entered the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful to eat, except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?"

So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

Then he said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they kept silent.

James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder";

When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."

And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebub, and by the prince of demons he casts out the demons."

If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end.

but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin"

Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother."

And as he sowed the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but to those outside everything is in parables;

And these are the ones along the path where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in them.

And he said to them, "Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand?

For there is nothing hidden, except to be revealed; nor is anything secret, but that it should come to light.

Then he said to them, "Take heed what you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you; and more will be given you.

And he said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground,

But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."

And he said, "With what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it?

It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is the smallest of all seeds in the earth;

yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."

With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go over to the other side."

And leaving the crowd, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.

And they were filled with awe, and said to one another, "Who is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!"

Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" And he replied, "My name is Legion, for we are many."

So all the demons begged him, "Send us to the swine, that we may enter them."

And as he was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged him that he might be with him.

and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, "My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be healed, and live."

While he was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?"

And when he came in, he said to them, "Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping."

And when the Sabbath had come, he began to teach in the synagogue. And many who heard him were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to him, that such mighty works are performed by his hands!

Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him.

But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house."

And if any place will not receive you and they refuse to hear you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet for a testimony against them."

King Herod heard of it, for Jesus' name had become well known. Some said, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why these powers are at work in him."

But others said, "It is Elijah." And others said, "It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old."

But when Herod heard, he said, "This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!"

For John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."

When it was late in the day, his disciples came to him and said, "This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late.

for they all saw him, and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I; do not be afraid."

Wherever he entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched him were made well.

they saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed.

And he said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites; as it is written: 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

In vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.'

But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban' (that is, a gift devoted to God),

there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him."

And he said, "What comes out of a man is what defiles a man.

But a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit heard about him, and she came and fell at his feet.

And he said to her, "Let the children first be fed, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."

And looking up to heaven he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened."

And they discussed it with one another, saying, "It is because we have no bread."

For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

and his clothes became dazzling, exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth could bleach them.

And Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. And let us make three tabernaclesone for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him!"

And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

Then he said to them, "Elijah does come first and restores all things. And how is it written of the Son of Man, that he must suffer many things and be treated with contempt?

But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him."

And it has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us."

And the spirit cried out, convulsed him terribly, and came out. And the boy was like a corpse; so that many of them said, "He is dead."

For he was teaching his disciples and said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and when he is killed, after three days he will rise."

John said to him, "Teacher, we saw a man casting out demons in your name and we forbade him, because he was not one of us."

For he who is not against us is for us.

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, to the fire that shall never be quenched.

And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell.

And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,

where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'

Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another."

Then he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan. And crowds gathered to him again; and again, as his custom was, he taught them.

The Pharisees came and in order to test him asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?"

And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.

Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!"

And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God."

Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel,

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask."