When the period of purification of mother and child, enjoined by the Law of Moses, came to an end, his parents took the child up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord,

In compliance with the Law of the Lord that 'every first-born male shall be dedicated to the Lord,'

And also to offer the sacrifice enjoined in the Law of the Lord--'a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons.'

Moved by the Spirit, Simeon came into the Temple Courts, and, when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the Law,

When the child's parents had done everything enjoined by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth.

On leaving the Synagogue, Jesus went into Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a severe attack of fever, and they asked Jesus to cure her.

On one of those days, when Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and Doctors of the Law were sitting near by. (They had come from all the villages in Galilee and Judea, and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was upon Jesus, so that he could work cures.)

And there some men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed. They tried to get him in and lay him before Jesus;

The Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees began debating about this. "Who is this man who speaks so blasphemously?" they asked. "Who can forgive sins except God?"

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law belonging to their party complained of this to the disciples of Jesus."

The Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely, to see if he would work cures on the Sabbath, so that they might find a charge to bring against him.

But the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees were goaded to madness, and consulted together what they could do to Jesus.

But the Pharisees and the Students of the Law, having rejected John's baptism, frustrated God's purpose in regard to them.)

He told them that the Son of Man must undergo much suffering, and be rejected by the Councillors, and Chief Priests, and Teachers of the Law, and be put to death, and rise on the third day.

"Foxes have holes," he replied, "and wild birds their roosting-places, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."

Just then a Student of the Law came forward to test Jesus further. "Teacher," he said, "what must I do if I am to 'gain Immortal Life'?"

"What is said in the Law?" answered Jesus. "What do you read there?"

Here one of the Students of the Law interrupted him by saying: "Teacher, when you say this, you are insulting us also."

But Jesus went on: "Alas for you, too, you Students of the Law! You load men with loads that are too heavy to carry, but do not, yourselves, touch them with one of your fingers.

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."

When Jesus left the house, the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees began to press him hard and question him closely upon many subjects,

So it is with those who lay by wealth for themselves and are not rich to the glory of God."

'Father will be opposed to son and son to father, mother to daughter and daughter to mother, mother-in-law to her daughter-in- law and daughter-in-law to her mother-in-law.'"

"Is it allowable," said Jesus, addressing the Students of the Law and the Pharisees, "to work a cure on the Sabbath, or is it not?"

But the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law found fault. "This man always welcomes outcasts, and takes meals with them!" they complained.

The Law and the Prophets sufficed until the time of John. Since then the Good News of the Kingdom of God has been told, and everybody has been forcing his way into it.

It would be easier for the heavens and the earth to disappear than for one stroke of a letter in the Law to be lost.

Jesus continued to teach each day in the Temple Courts; but the Chief Priests and Teachers of the Law were eager to take his life, and so also were the leading men.

On one of these days, when Jesus was teaching the people in the Temple Courts and telling the Good News, the Chief Priests and the Teachers of the Law, joined by the Councillors, confronted him,

After this the Teachers of the Law and the Chief Priest were eager to lay hands on Jesus then and there, but they were afraid of the people; for they saw that it was at them that he had aimed this parable.

They could not lay hold of this answer before the people; and, in their wonder at his reply, they held their tongues.

"Well said, Teacher!" exclaimed some of the Teachers of the Law,

"Be on your guard against the Teachers of the Law, who delight to walk about in long robes, and like to be greeted in the streets with respect, and to have the best seats in the Synagogues, and places of honor at dinner.

Before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you, and they will betray you to Synagogues and put you in prison, when you will be brought before kings and governors for the sake of my Name.

The Chief Priest and the Teachers of the Law were looking for an opportunity of destroying Jesus, for they were afraid of the people.

When I was with you day after day in the Temple Courts, you did not lay hands on me; but now your time has come, and the power of Darkness."

At daybreak the National Council met--both the Chief Priests and the Teachers of the Law--and took Jesus before their High Council.

Meanwhile the Chief Priests and the Teachers of the Law stood by and vehemently accused him.

But they pressed him not to do so. "Stay with us," they said, "for it is getting towards evening, and the sun in already low." So Jesus went in to stay with them.

"This is what I told you," he said, "when I was still with you--that everything that had been written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms, must be fulfilled."