As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

Look, I am sending My messenger ahead of You,
who will prepare Your way.

The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were flocking to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.

As soon as He came up out of the water, He saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending to Him like a dove.

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the good news!”

As He was passing along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, Simon’s brother. They were casting a net into the sea, since they were fishermen.

They were astonished at His teaching because, unlike the scribes, He was teaching them as one having authority.

“What do You have to do with us, Jesus—Nazarene? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”

Then they were all amazed, so they began to argue with one another, 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 into Simon and Andrew’s house with James and John.

And He said to them, “Let’s go on to the neighboring villages so that I may preach there too. This is why I have come.”

telling him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go and show yourself to the priest, and offer what Moses prescribed for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”

Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk’?

Immediately he got up, picked up the mat, and went out in front of everyone. As a result, they were all astounded and gave glory to God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot fast while the groom is with them, can they? As long as they have the groom with them, they cannot fast.

But the time will come when the groom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.

No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new patch pulls away from the old cloth, and a worse tear is made.

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost as well as the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”

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 time of Abiathar the high priest and ate the sacred bread—which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests—and also gave some to his companions?”

Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

He told the man with the paralyzed hand, “Stand before us.”

Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do what is good or to do what is evil, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent.

and to James the son of Zebedee,
and to his brother John,
He gave the name “Boanerges”
(that is, “Sons of Thunder”);

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

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

And if Satan rebels against himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is finished!

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.”

As he sowed, this occurred: Some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.

These are the ones along the path where the word is sown: when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word sown in them.

He also said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket or under a bed? Isn’t it to be put on a lampstand?

For nothing is concealed except to be revealed, and nothing hidden except to come to light.

Then He said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear. By the measure you use, it will be measured and added to you.

“The kingdom of God is like this,” He said. “A man scatters seed on the ground;

But as soon as the crop is ready, he sends for the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

And He said: “How can we illustrate the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use to describe it?

It’s like a mustard seed that, when sown in the soil, is smaller than all the seeds on the ground.

He would speak the word to them with many parables like these, as they were able to understand.

And they were terrified and asked one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

As soon as He got out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came out of the tombs and met Him.

“What is your name?” He asked him.

“My name is Legion,” he answered Him, “because we are many.”

The demons begged Him, “Send us to the pigs, so we may enter them.”

As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed kept begging Him to be with Him.

and kept begging Him, “My little daughter is at death’s door. Come and lay Your hands on her so she can get well and live.”

While He was still speaking, people came from the synagogue leader’s house and said, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher anymore?”

He went in and said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.”

Then He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”).

When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard Him were astonished. “Where did this man get these things?” they said. “What is this wisdom given to Him, and how are these miracles performed by His hands?

Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t His sisters here with us?” So they were offended by Him.

Then Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his household.”

If any place does not welcome you and people refuse to listen to you, when you leave there, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife!”

So as He stepped ashore, He saw a huge crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Then He began to teach them many things.

When it was already late, His disciples approached Him and said, “This place is a wilderness, and it is already late!

He saw them being battered as they rowed, because the wind was against them. Around three in the morning He came toward them walking on the sea and wanted to pass by them.

for they all saw Him and were terrified. Immediately He spoke with them and said, “Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

As they got out of the boat, people immediately recognized Him.

They observed that some of His disciples were eating their bread with unclean—that is, unwashed—hands.

He answered them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written:

These people honor Me with their lips,
but their heart is far from Me.

They worship Me in vain,
teaching as doctrines the commands of men.

But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or mother: Whatever benefit you might have received from me is Corban’” (that is, a gift committed to the temple),

And He said to them, “Are you also as lacking in understanding? Don’t you realize that nothing going into a man from the outside can defile him?

For it doesn’t go into his heart but into the stomach and is eliminated.” (As a result, He made all foods clean.)

Instead, immediately after hearing about Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit came and fell at His feet.

Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed deeply and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”).

They also had a few small fish, and when He had blessed them, He said these were to be served as well.

Aware of this, He said to them, “Why are you discussing that you do not have any bread? Don’t you understand or comprehend? Is your heart hardened?

For whoever is ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

and His clothes became dazzling—extremely white as no launderer on earth could whiten them.

Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it’s good for us to be here! Let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—

A cloud appeared, overshadowing them, and a voice came from the cloud:

This is My beloved Son;
listen to Him!

As they were coming down from the mountain, He ordered them to tell no one what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

“Elijah does come first and restores everything,” He replied. “How then is it written about the Son of Man that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt?

But I tell you that Elijah really has come, and they did whatever they pleased to him, just as it is written about him.”

“And many times it has thrown him into fire or water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

Then Jesus said to him, “‘If You can’? Everything is possible to the one who believes.”

For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill Him, and after He is killed, He will rise three days later.”

“Whoever welcomes one little child such as this in My name welcomes Me. And whoever welcomes Me does not welcome Me, but Him who sent Me.”

John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him because he wasn’t following us.”

“Don’t stop him,” said Jesus, “because there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name who can soon afterward speak evil of Me.

For whoever is not against us is for us.

And if your hand causes your downfall, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and go to hell—the unquenchable fire,

[where

Their worm does not die,
and the fire is not quenched.]

And if your foot causes your downfall, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell— [the unquenchable fire,

where

Their worm does not die,
and the fire is not quenched.]

And if your eye causes your downfall, gouge 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 should lose its flavor, how can you make it salty? Have salt among yourselves and be at peace with one another.”

He set out from there and went to the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Then crowds converged on Him again and, as He usually did, He began teaching them once more.

Some Pharisees approached Him to test Him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”

They said, “Moses permitted us to write divorce papers and send her away.”

When Jesus saw it, He was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me. Don’t stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“Why do you call Me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good but One—God.

Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”

But the disciples were astonished at His words. Again Jesus said to them, “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 person to enter the kingdom of God.”

Looking at them, Jesus said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God, because all things are possible with God.”

“I assure you,” Jesus said, “there is no one who has left house, brothers or sisters, mother or father, children, or fields because of Me and the gospel,

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached Him and said, “Teacher, we want You to do something for us if we ask You.”