Now the child continued to grow and to gain strength in the Spirit, and he lived in the desert until the day when he announced himself to Israel.

Now while the people were on tiptoe in their expectations, and they were all arguing in their hearts about John whether he was himself the Christ,

Now Jesus Himself was about thirty years old when He began His work; He was the son, as was supposed, of Joseph, the son of Eli,

But He Himself passed through the midst of them and went on His way.

Once as the crowd was pressing against Him to hear the message of God, He found Himself standing on the shore of Lake Gennesaret.

But Jesus Himself continued His habit of retiring to lonely spots and praying.

On another Sabbath He found Himself in the synagogue teaching; and there was there a man whose right hand was withered.

So when the Pharisee who invited Him saw it, he said to himself, "If He were really a prophet, He would know who and of what character the woman is who is clinging to Him -- that she is a social outcast."

So they came to Him and woke Him up, and said, "Master, Master, we are perishing? Then He aroused Himself and reproved the wind and the surge of the water, and they stopped at once and instantly there came a calm.

When he saw Jesus, he screamed and flung himself down before Him, and said in a loud voice, "What do you want of me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you not to torture me!"

For what benefit will it be to a man to gain the whole world and lose or forfeit himself?

Which one of these three do you think proved himself a real neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?"

So he began to argue with himself, 'What am I to do, because I have nowhere to store my crops?'

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

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,

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, and he sent him to his fields to feed hogs.

And often he craved to fill himself with the carob-pods which the hogs were eating, and nobody gave him a bite.

Then he came to himself and said, 'How many of my father's hired men have more to eat than they need, and here I am dying of hunger!

Then the manager said to himself, What shall I do, because my master is going to take my position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg.

And he would not for a time, but afterward he said to himself, Though I have no reverence for God nor respect for men,

I tell you, this man, and not the other, went back home forgiven and accepted by God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me perfectly good? No one is perfectly good but God Himself.

So He said: "Once upon a time a man of noble birth went off to a distant country to get for himself a kingdom and then return.

For David himself in the Book of Psalms says: 'The Lord has said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand,

And He Himself withdrew about a stone's throw from them, and after kneeling down He continued to pray,

Here they began to make the following charges against Him: "We have found this fellow corrupting our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar and claiming to be a king himself."

Meanwhile, the people stood looking on. Even the members of the council were scoffing at Him and saying, "He saved others, let Him now save Himself, if He really is the Christ of God, His Chosen One!"

And as they were talking, and discussing these things, Jesus Himself came up near to them and continued to walk with them,

Then He began with Moses and went through all the prophets and explained to them all the passages in the Scriptures about Himself.

Even while they were talking about these things, He took His stand among them Himself, [and said to them, "Peace to you!"]