Now John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he used to live on dried locusts and wild honey.

And as they could not get him near to Jesus, on account of the crowd, they dug through the roof over the spot where He was standing and let the pallet down that the paralyzed man was lying on.

Which is easier, to say to the paralyzed man, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say to him, 'Get up, pick up your pallet and start walking!"

"I tell you, get up, pick up your pallet, and go home."

Then he got up and at once picked up his pallet, and went out before them all. The result was that they were all dumbfounded and began to praise God and say, "We have never seen anything like this before."

Then He began to speak to them in stories. "A man once planted a vineyard and fenced it in and hewed out a wine-vat and built a watchtower; then he rented it to tenant farmers, and went abroad.

Then He said to them, "This is my blood which ratifies the covenant, the blood which is to be poured out for many.

"We ourselves have heard Him say, 'I will tear down this temple built by men's hands, and in three days I will build another, made without hands.'"

And the passers-by kept hissing at Him, shaking their heads and saying, "Aha! You are the man who would tear down the temple and build another in three days!