[To his Excellency, Theophilus. Many attempts have been already made to draw up an account of those events which have reached their conclusion among us,

Already, indeed, the axe is lying at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that fails to bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."

Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, Terah, Nahor,

Then, as an illustration, Jesus said to them: "No man ever tears a piece from a new garment and puts it upon an old one; for, if he does, he will not only tear the new garment, but the piece from the new one will not match the old.

Afterwards Jesus came down the hill with them and took his stand on a level place. With him were a large crowd of his disciples, and great numbers of people from the whole of Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast district of Tyre and Sidon,

There is no such thing as a good tree bearing worthless fruit, or, on the other hand, a worthless tree bearing good fruit.

For every tree is known by its own fruit. People do not gather figs off thorn bushes, nor pick a bunch of grapes off a bramble.

By the seed which fell upon the rock are meant those who, as soon as they hear the Message, welcome it joyfully; but they have no root, and believe it only for a time, and, when the time of temptation comes, they draw back.

Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! For, if the Miracles which have been done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have sat in sackcloth and ashes and repented long ago.

Yet the doom of Tyre and Sidon will be more bearable at the Judgment than yours.

And suppose that the other should answer from inside 'Do not trouble me; the door is already fastened, and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything';

And so I say to you--Ask, and your prayer shall be granted: search, and you shall find; knock, and the door shall be opened to you.

For he that asks receives, he that searches finds, and to him that knocks the door shall be opened.

But the Master said to him: "You Pharisees do, it is true, clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside you yourselves are filled with greed and wickedness.

Alas for you Students of the Law! You have taken away the key of the door of Knowledge. You have not gone in yourselves and you have hindered those who try to go in."

And then he added: "Take care to keep yourselves free from every form of covetousness; for even in the height of his prosperity a man's true Life does not depend on what he has."

And be like men who are waiting for their Master's return from his wedding, so that, when he comes and knocks, they may open the door for him at once.

Or those eighteen men at Siloam on whom the tower fell, killing them all, do you suppose that they were worse offenders than any other inhabitants of Jerusalem?

And Jesus told them this parable-- "A man, who had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, came to look for fruit on it, but could not find any.

So he said to his gardener 'Three years now I have come to look for fruit on this fig tree, without finding any! Cut it down. Why should it rob the soil?'

It is like a mustard-seed which a man took and put in his garden. The seed grew and became a tree, and 'the wild birds roosted in its branches.'"

"Strive to go in by the small door. Many, I tell you, will seek to go in, but they will not be able,

When once the master of the house has got up and shut the door, while you begin to say, as you stand outside and knock, 'Sir, open the door for us.' His answer will be--'I do not know where you come from.'

Why, which of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and reckon the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it?--

So, if you have proved untrustworthy with the 'dishonest money,' who will trust you with the true?

But the Master said: "If your faith were only like a mustard- seed, you could say to this mulberry tree 'Be up-rooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.

So he ran on ahead and climbed into a mulberry tree, to see Jesus, for he knew that he must pass that way.

When he drew near, on seeing the city, he wept over it, and said:

'What shall I do?' said the owner of the vineyard. 'I will send my son, who is very dear to me. Perhaps they will respect him.'

Then he taught them a lesson thus-- "Look at the fig tree and all the other trees.

True, the Son of Man is passing, by the way ordained for him, yet alas for that man by whom he is being betrayed!"

"Are you, then, the Son of God?" they all asked. "It is true," answered Jesus, "I am."

"Are you the King of the Jews?" Pilate asked him. "It is true," replied Jesus.

If what you see is done while the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?"

While they were still unable to believe it all for very joy, and were wondering if it were true, Jesus said to them: "Have you anything here to eat?"