The men at the table began to say to themselves, "Who is this man, who even forgives sins?"

But He said to the woman, "It is your faith that has saved you; go on in peace."

Now as a great crowd was coming together and people were coming to Him from one town after another, He said by way of a story:

"A sower went out to sow his seed. As he was sowing, some of the seed fell along the path, and were trodden down, and the wild birds ate them up.

Another portion of them fell upon the rock, and as soon as they sprang up, they withered, because they had no moisture.

And another portion fell in rich soil and grew and yielded a crop of a hundredfold." As He said this, He exclaimed, "Let him who has ears to hear with, listen!"

This is what the story means: The seed is God's message.

And the portion of them falling among the thorns illustrates those who hear it, but as soon as they pass on they are choked out by the worries and wealth and pleasures of life, and thus yield no mature fruit.

For there is nothing hidden which shall not come out into the open, and nothing kept secret which shall not be known and come to light.

One day He got into a boat with His disciples, and He said to them, "Let us cross to the other side of the lake." So they set sail.

Now as they were sailing along, He fell off to sleep. But a furious squall of wind rushed down upon the lake, and they were filling up and were in impending peril.

Then He said to them, "Where is your faith?" But they were frightened and astounded, and continued to say to one another, "Who can He be? For He gives orders even to the winds and the water, and they obey Him."

They landed in the neighborhood of Gerasa, which is just across the lake from Galilee.

As soon as He stepped out upon the shore, there met Him a man from town, who was under the power of demons; and for a long time he had worn no clothes, and did not stay in a house but in tombs.

So Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" And he answered, "Legion!" For many demons had gone into him.

Now as Jesus was returning, the crowd welcomed Him, for they were all expecting Him.

Then Jesus said, "Who was it that touched me?" But as all were denying that they had done so, Peter said, "Master, the crowds are jamming you and jostling you."

So He said to her, "My daughter, it is your faith that has cured you; go on in peace."

While He was still speaking, someone came from the house of the leader of the synagogue and said, "Your daughter is dead; stop troubling the Teacher anymore."

Now they were all weeping and wailing over her. But He said, "Stop weeping! For she is not dead but asleep."

Into whatever house you go, stay there and continue to go out from it as headquarters.

And when you leave that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a protest against all the people who do not welcome you."

As the day began to decline, the Twelve came up and said to Him, "Send the crowd off to the villages and farms around, to get lodging and to find food there, for we are in a destitute place here."

as He said, "The Son of Man has to endure great suffering and be disowned by the elders, the high priests, and the scribes, and be put to death but be raised to life on the third day."

For whoever is ashamed of me and my teaching, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him, when He comes back in all the splendor of His Father and of the holy angels.

And just as they were starting to leave Him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- although he did not know what he was saying.

But as he was saying this, a cloud came and was circling over them, and they were frightened as the two visitors entered into the cloud.

Then a voice came out of the cloud and said, "This is my Son, my Chosen One; continue to listen to Him!"

Then a man in the crowd at once shouted, "Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, because he is my only child;

"You must store away in your memories these words, for the Son of Man is going to be turned over to the hands of men!"

Now a controversy sprang up among them as to which of them might be the greatest.

But Jesus, as He knew that the controversy was going on in their hearts, took a little child and had it stand by His side.

Then He said to them, "Whoever welcomes this little child on my account is welcoming me, and whoever welcomes me is welcoming Him who sent me; for the one who is lowliest among you all is really great."

Then John answered, "Master, we saw a man driving out demons by the use of your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not belong to our followers."

Jesus said to him, "Stop hindering him, for the man who is not against you is for you."

Now as the time was coming to a head when He should be taken up to heaven, He firmly set His face to continue His journey to Jerusalem;

When the disciples, James and John, saw this, they said, "Lord, do you want us to bid fire come down from heaven and consume them?"

Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow, and then continues to look back, is fitted for service in the kingdom of God."

So He was saying to them: "The harvest is plentiful, but the reapers are scarce. So pray the Lord of the harvest to send out reapers to His harvest-field.

Go on. Listen! I am sending you out as lambs surrounded by wolves.

And if you go into any town and they welcome you, continue to eat what is offered you,

to cure the sick there, and to say, 'The kingdom of God is close upon you.'

'We are wiping off against you the very dust from your town that has stuck to our feet. But understand this, the kingdom of God is close by.'

Now the seventy returned and joyously reported, "Lord, even the demons are submitting to us in your name."

At that very moment, by the power of the Holy Spirit, He exulted and said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for concealing these matters from wise and learned men, and for revealing them to little children. Yes, Father, I thank you that your good pleasure made it so.

All things have been entrusted to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is but the Father, and who the Father is but the Son, and anyone to whom the Son chooses to make Him known."

And He answered him, "What is written in the law? How does it read?"

Then he answered, "You must love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole strength, and your whole mind, and your neighbor as you do yourself."

But he, as he wished to justify his question, said, "But who is my neighbor?"

Now as they were journeying on, He came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him to her house.

But there is actual need of few things, really of only one thing. For Mary has chosen the good portion which must not be taken away from her."

Once He was praying in a certain place, and when He ceased, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples."

continue giving us day by day our daily bread,

and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who does us wrong, and do not let us be subjected to temptation.'"

And suppose he answers from inside, 'Stop bothering me; the door is now locked, and my children are packed about me in bed; I cannot get up and give you any.'

I tell you, although he will not get up and give you any because he is your friend, yet because of your persistence he will get up and give you all your needs.

Now is there a father among you who, if his son asks him for a fish, will give him a snake instead?

So if you, in spite of your being bad, know how to give your children what is good, how much more surely will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who continue to ask Him?"

But some of them said, "It is with the help of Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that He is driving the demons out."

But He knew what they were thinking, and so said to them, "Any kingdom that is not united is in the process of destruction, and one house falls after another.

And if Satan is really disunited, how can his kingdom last? Yet you say that I am driving the demons out with Beelzebub's help.

Now if I with Beelzebub's help am driving the demons out, with whose help do your sons drive them out?

When a strong man well armed keeps guard over his dwelling, his property is secure.

But when a man stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he strips him of all his arms on which he relied, and distributes his goods as spoils.

Whoever is not in partnership with me is against me, and whoever does not gather in partnership with me, scatters.

And it goes and finds it unoccupied, swept, and ready for use.

Then it goes and gets seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and make their home there, and so the end of that man is worse than the beginning."

Just as He was saying this, a woman in the crowd lifted her voice and said, "Blessed is the mother who bore you and nursed you!"

Now as the crowds continued to throng upon Him, He began to say: "This is a wicked age. It is looking for a spectacular sign, but none will be given it but the sign of Jonah.

For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be a sign to this age.

The queen of the south will rise at the judgment with the men of this age and will condemn them, for she came from the very ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom; and yet, One who is more than Solomon is here.

The men of Nineveh will rise at the judgment with the men of this age and will condemn them, for they turned to the message preached by Jonah, and yet One who is more than Jonah is here.

Your eye is the very lamp of your body. When your eye is sound, your whole body is full of light. But if your eye is unsound, your body is full of darkness.

So be on your guard that the very source of light in you is not darkness.

If then your whole body is full of light with no part of it in darkness, it will all be as light for you as it is when a lamp makes it light for you by its shining."

Then an expert in the law interrupted Him and said, "Teacher, in saying this you are insulting us, too."

This is why the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill, and some they will persecute';

plotting, as if in ambush, to entrap Him in something that might fall from His lips.

Meanwhile as the people had gathered in tens of thousands, so that they were trampling upon one another, He began to say, first of all, to His disciples: "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, hypocrisy.

There is nothing covered up that will not be uncovered, nor secret that will not be made known;

Are not sparrows sold five for two cents? And yet not one of them is forgotten by God!

Then He told them a story, as follows: "A certain rich man's lands yielded bountifully.

Then he said, 'This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and in them I will store all my grains and my goods.

But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is to be demanded of you. Then who will have all that you have prepared?'

So it is with the man who continues to pile up possessions for himself, and is not rich in God."

Then He said to His disciples: "Stop worrying, then, about life, as to what you will have to eat, or about your body, as to what you will have to wear.

Your life is worth more than food, and your body more than clothes.

Now if God so gorgeously dresses the wild grass which today is green but tomorrow is tossed into the furnace, how much more surely will He clothe you, O you with little faith?

For wherever your treasure is, there too your heart will be.

Peter said to Him, "Lord, do you mean this story for us, or is it for everybody?"

And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful, thoughtful manager whom his master will put in charge of his household, to give out the supplies at the proper time?

Happy is that slave whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.

But if that slave says to himself, my Master is not coming back for a long time, and begins to beat the men and women slaves, and to eat and drink and get drunk,

his master will come back some day when he is not expecting him, and at an hour of which he is not aware, and will cut him in two, and give him his share with the unfaithful.

"It is fire that I have come to bring upon the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!

I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how I am pressed with anguish till it is accomplished!

And He said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, at once you say, 'It is going to rain,' and it does.

And when you see a south wind blowing, you say, 'It is going to be very hot,' and so it is.

You hypocrites! You know how to interpret day by day the look of earth and sky. Then how is it that you do not know how to interpret the present crisis?

Why do you not of yourselves decide what is right?