And from the heavens came a voice--"Thou art my Son, the Beloved; in thee I delight."

Going on a little further, he saw James, Zebediah's son, and his brother John, who also were in their boat mending the nets.

As soon as they had come out from the Synagogue, they went, with James and John, into the house of Simon and Andrew.

But that you may know that the Son of Man has power to forgive sins on earth"--here he said to the paralyzed man--

The man got up, and immediately took up his mat, and went out before them all; at which they were amazed, and, as they praised God, they said: "We have never seen anything like this!"

As he went along, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting in the tax-office, and said to him: "Follow me." Levi got up and followed him.

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

The foul spirits, too, whenever they caught sight of him, flung themselves down before him, and screamed out: "You are the Son of God"!

James, the son of Zebediah, and his brother John (to whom he gave the name of Boanerges, which means the Thunderers),

Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot,

but whoever slanders the Holy Spirit remains unforgiven to the end; he has to answer for an enduring sin."

But, when the sun rose, it was scorched, and, having no root, withered away.

The People meant by the seed that falls along the path are these--where the Message is sown, but, as soon as they have heard it, Satan immediately comes and carries away the Message that has been sown in them.

So, too, those meant by the seed sown on the rocky places are the people who, when they have heard the Message, at once accept it joyfully;

Those meant by the seed sown among the brambles are different; they are the people who hear the Message,

But the people meant by the seed sown on the good ground are those who hear the Message, and welcome it, and yield a return, thirty, sixty, and even a hundred fold."

But, as soon as the crop is ready, immediately he 'puts in the sickle because harvest has come'."

By what can we illustrate it? Perhaps by the growth of a mustard-seed. This seed, when sown in the ground, though it is smaller than all other seeds,

Yet, when sown, shoots up, and becomes larger than any other herb, and puts out great branches, so that even 'the wild birds can roost in its shelter.'"

And, as soon as Jesus had got out of the boat, he met a man coming out of the tombs, who was under the power of a foul spirit,

Shrieking out in a loud voice: "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? For God's sake do not torment me!"

Then those who had seen it related to them all that had happened to the possessed man, as well as about the pigs;

And one of the Presidents of the Synagogue, whose name was Jaeirus, came and, as soon as he saw Jesus, threw himself at his feet with repeated entreaties.

Presently they reached the President's house, where Jesus saw a scene of confusion--people weeping and wailing incessantly.

The little girl stood up at once, and began to walk about; for she was twelve years old. And, as soon as they saw it, they were overwhelmed with amazement;

Is not he the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, and Joses, and Judas, and Simon? And are not his sisters, too, living here among us?" This proved a hindrance to their believing in him;

Here the Pharisees came out, and began to argue with Jesus, asking him for some sign from the heavens, to test him.

Sighing deeply, Jesus said: "Why does this generation ask for a sign? I tell you, no sign shall be given it."

Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo much suffering, and that he must be rejected by the Councillors, and the Chief Priests, and the Teachers of the Law, and be put to death, and rise again after three days.

Whoever is ashamed of me and of my teaching, in this unfaithful and wicked generation, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed, when he comes in his Father's Glory with the holy angels."

"I tell you," he added, "that some of those who are standing here will not know death till they have seen the Kingdom of God come in power."

Then a cloud came down and enveloped them; and from the cloud there came a voice--"This is my Son, the Beloved; him you must hear."

As they were going down the mountain-side, Jesus cautioned them not to relate what they had seen to any one, till after the Son of Man should have risen again from the dead.

"Elijah does indeed come first," answered Jesus, "and re-establish everything; and does not Scripture speak, with regard to the Son of Man, of his undergoing much suffering and being utterly despised?

But, as soon as they saw Jesus, all the people, in great astonishment, ran up and greeted him.

"Teacher," answered a man in the crowd, "I brought my son to see you, as he has a dumb spirit in him;

for he was instructing his disciples, and telling them-- "The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of his fellow men, and they will put him to death, but, when he has been put to death, he will rise again after three days."

"Listen!" he said. "We are going up to Jerusalem; and there the Son of Man will be betrayed to the Chief Priests and the Teachers of the Law, and they will condemn him to death, and they will give him up to the Gentiles,

For even the Son of Man came, not be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

They came to Jericho. When Jesus was going out of the town with his disciples and a large crowd, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the road-side.

Hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to call out: "Jesus, Son of David, take pity on me."

Many of the people kept telling him to be quiet; but the man continued to call out all the louder: "Son of David, take pity on me."

"Go to the village facing you," he said; "and, as soon as you get there, you will find a foal tethered, which no one has ever ridden; untie it, and bring it.

As soon as evening fell, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.

He had still one son, who was very dear to him; and him he sent to them last of all. 'They will respect my son,' he said.

While Jesus was teaching in the Temple Courts, he asked: "How is it that the Teachers of the Law say that the Christ is to be David's son?

David himself calls him 'lord,' how comes it, then, that he is to be his son?" The mass of the people listened to Jesus with delight.

"Tell us when this will be, and what will be the sign when all this is drawing to its close."

As soon, however, as you see 'the Foul Desecration' standing where he ought not" (the reader must consider what this means) "then those of you who are in Judea must take refuge in the mountains;

In those days, after that time of distress, 'the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give her light,

Then will be seen the 'Son of Man coming in clouds' with great power and glory;

Learn the lesson taught by the fig-tree. As soon as its branches are full of sap, and it is bursting into leaf, you know that summer is near.

And so may you, as soon as you see these things happening, know that he is at your doors.

But about 'That Day,' or 'The Hour,' no one knows--not even the angels in Heaven, nor yet the Son--but only the Father.

True, the Son of Man must go, as Scripture says of him, yet alas for that man by whom the Son of Man is being betrayed! For that man 'it would be better never to have been born!'"

A third time he came, and said to them: "Sleep on now, and rest yourselves. Enough! My time has come. Hark! the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of wicked men.

As soon as Judas came, he went up to Jesus at once, and said: "Rabbi!" and kissed him.

But Jesus remained silent, and made no answer. A second time the High Priest questioned him. "Are you," he asked, "the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?"

"I am," replied Jesus, "and you shall all see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of the Almighty; and 'coming in the clouds of heaven'."

But Peter again denied it. Soon afterwards the bystanders again said to him: "You certainly are one of them; why you are a Galilean!"

As soon as it was daylight, the Chief Priests, after holding a consultation with the Councillors and Teachers of the Law--that is to say, the whole High Council--put Jesus in chains, and took him away, and gave him up to Pilate.

The Roman Officer, who was standing facing Jesus, on seeing the way in which he expired, exclaimed: "This man must indeed have been 'God's Son'!"

Yet even they, when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, did not believe it.

Later on, he made himself known to the Eleven themselves as they were at a meal, and reproached them with their want of faith and their stubbornness, because they did not believe those who had seen him after he had risen from the dead.