just as they were passed down to us by those who had been eyewitnesses and servants of the word from the beginning,

because the Almighty has done great things for me. His name is holy.

Produce fruit that is consistent with repentance! Don't begin to say to yourselves, "We have father Abraham!' because I tell you that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones!

The ax already lies against the roots of the trees. So every tree not producing good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire."

Now Herod the tetrarch had been rebuked by John because he had married his brother's wife Herodias and because of all of the other evil things Herod had done.

The Devil also took him into Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the Temple. He told Jesus, "Since you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. While the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him,

Then Jesus went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and began teaching the people on Sabbath days.

But Jesus rebuked him. "Be quiet," he said, "and come out of him!" At this, the demon threw the man down in the middle of the synagogue and came out of him without hurting him.

So Jesus got into one of the boats (the one that belonged to Simon) and asked him to push out a little from the shore. Then he sat down and began to teach the crowds from the boat.

After the men had done this, they caught so many fish that the nets began to tear.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus' knees and said, "Leave me, Lord! I am a sinful man!" -

Then Jesus ordered him, "Don't tell anyone. Instead, go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as proof to the authorities."

When they couldn't find a way to get him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down on his stretcher through the tiles into the middle of the room, right in front of Jesus.

But Jesus answered them, "Healthy people don't need a physician, but sick people do.

Then Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place, along with many of his disciples and a large gathering of people from all over Judea, Jerusalem, and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon.

If someone strikes you on the cheek, offer him the other one as well, and if someone takes your coat, don't keep back your shirt, either.

Give, and it will be given to you. A large quantity, pressed together, shaken down, and running over will be put into your lap, because you'll be evaluated by the same standard with which you evaluate others."

How can you say to your brother, "Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you don't see the beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you'll see clearly enough to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

because every tree is known by its own fruit. People don't gather figs from thorny plants or pick grapes from a thorn bush.

"Why do you keep calling me "Lord, Lord,' but don't do what I tell you?

So they went to Jesus and begged him repeatedly, "He deserves to have this done for him,

The ones on the stony ground are the people who joyfully welcome the word when they hear it. But since they don't have any roots, they believe for a while, but in a time of testing they fall away.

When he saw Jesus, he screamed, fell down in front of him, and cried out in a loud voice, "What do you want from me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you not to torture me!"

Then the demons came out of the man and went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down a steep slope into the lake and drowned.

"Go home and tell what God has done for you." So the man left and kept proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

When the woman saw that she couldn't hide, she came forward trembling. Bowing down in front of him, she explained in the presence of all the people why she had touched Jesus and how she had been instantly healed.

He told them, "Don't take anything along on your trip no walking stick, traveling bag, bread, money, or even an extra shirt.

if people don't welcome you, when you leave that city, shake its dust off your feet as a testimony against them."

The apostles came back and told Jesus everything they had done. Then he took them away with him privately to a city called Bethsaida.

Now there were about 5,000 men. So he told his disciples, "Have them sit down in groups of about 50."

The next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a large crowd met Jesus.

Jesus told him, "Don't stop him! Because whoever is not against you is for you."

When his disciples James and John observed this rejection, they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?"

After this, the Lord appointed 70 other disciples and was about to send them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place that he intended to go.

Don't carry a wallet, a traveling bag, or sandals, and don't greet anyone on the way.

Stay with the same family, eating and drinking whatever they provide, because the worker deserves his pay. Don't move from house to house.

"Whenever you go into a town and the people welcome you, eat whatever they serve you,

But whenever you go into a town and people don't welcome you, go out into its streets and say,

"We're wiping off your town's dust that clings to our feet in protest against you! But realize this: the kingdom of God is near!'

I tell you, on the last day it will be easier for Sodom than for that town!"

And you, Capernaum! You won't be lifted up to heaven, will you? You'll go down to Hell!

After careful consideration, Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he fell into the hands of bandits. They stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.

She had a sister named Mary, who sat down at the Lord's feet and kept listening to what he was saying.

But Martha was worrying about all the things she had to do, so she came to him and asked, "Lord, you do care that my sister has left me to do the work all by myself, don't you? Then tell her to help me."

A friend of mine on a trip has dropped in on me, and I don't have anything to serve him.'

Jesus said, "How terrible it will be for you experts in the Law, too! You load people with burdens that are hard to carry, yet you don't even lift a finger to ease those burdens.

When people bring you before synagogue leaders, rulers, or authorities, don't worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say,

Then he said, "This is what I'll do. I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and I'll store all my grain and goods in them.

Consider the crows. They don't plant or harvest, they don't even have a storeroom or barn, yet God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than birds!

Consider how the lilies grow. They don't work or spin yarn, but I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them.

"Sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor. Make yourselves wallets that don't wear out a dependable treasure in heaven, where no thief can get close and no moth can destroy anything.

How blessed are those servants whom the master finds watching for him when he comes! I tell all of you with certainty, he himself will put on an apron, make them sit down at the table, and go around and serve them.

How blessed they will be if their master comes in the middle of the night or near dawn and finds them awake!

So be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at a time when you don't expect him."

You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, yet you don't know how to interpret the present time?"

"Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right?

Absolutely not, I tell you! But if you don't repent, then you, too, will all die.

Absolutely not, I tell you! But if you don't repent, then you, too, will all die."

So he told the gardener, "Look here! For three years I've been coming to look for fruit on this tree but I haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it waste the soil?'

Maybe next year it will bear fruit. If not, then cut it down.'"

But the synagogue leader, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, told the crowd, "There are six days when work is to be done. So come on those days to be healed, and not on the Sabbath day."

Then Jesus taught in one town and village after another as he made his way to Jerusalem.

After the homeowner gets up and closes the door, you can stand outside, knock on the door, and say again and again, "Lord, open the door for us!' But he will answer you, "I don't know where you come from.'

But he will tell you, "I don't know where you come from. Get away from me, all you who practice evil!'

"When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, don't sit down at the place of honor in case someone more important than you was invited by the host.

But when you are invited, go and sit down at the place of least honor. Then, when your host comes, he will tell you, "Friend, move up higher,' and you will be honored in the presence of everyone who eats with you.

"So the servant went back and reported all this to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and told his servant, "Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring back the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.'

The servant said, "Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.'

"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. He will first sit down and estimate the cost to see whether he has enough money to finish it, won't he?

"Or suppose a king is going to war against another king. He will first sit down and consider whether with 10,000 men he can fight the one coming against him with 20,000 men, won't he?

In the same way, I tell you that there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who don't need to repent."

"Or suppose a woman has ten coins and loses one of them. She lights a lamp, sweeps the house, and searches carefully until she finds it, doesn't she?

I don't deserve to be called your son anymore. Treat me like one of your hired men."'

Then his son told him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and you. I don't deserve to be called your son anymore.'

The man replied, "A hundred jars of olive oil.' The manager told him, "Get your bill. Sit down quickly and write "50."'

That's the way it is with you. When you have done everything you were ordered to do, say, "We are worthless servants. We have done only what we ought to have done.'"

As he was going into a village, ten lepers met him. They stood at a distance

Jesus asked, "Ten men were made clean, weren't they? Where are the other nine?

People will say to you, "Look! There he is!' or "Look! Here he is!' But don't go and chase after him.

But on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed all of them.

"The person who is on the housetop that day must not come down to get his belongings out of his house. The person in the field, too, must not turn back to what's left behind.

For a while the judge refused. But later, he told himself, "I don't fear God or respect people,

Jesus also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves, thinking they were righteous, but who looked down on everyone else:

I tell you, this man, rather than the other one, went down to his home justified, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the person who humbles himself will be exalted."

When Jesus came to the tree, he looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down! I must stay at your house today."

Zacchaeus came down quickly and was glad to welcome him into his home.

He called ten of his servants and gave them ten coins. He told them, "Invest this money until I come back.'

But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation to follow him and to announce, "We don't want this man to rule over us!'

The first servant came and said, "Sir, your coin has earned ten more coins.'

The king told him, "Well done, good servant! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.'

"So the king told those standing nearby, "Take the coin away from him and give it to the man who has the ten coins.'

They answered him, "Sir, he already has ten coins!'

so they asked him, "Teacher, we know that you're right in what you say and teach, and that you don't favor any individual, but teach the way of God truthfully.

"As for these things that you see, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another that won't be knocked down."

He said, "Be careful that you are not deceived, because many will come in my name and say, "I AM' and, "The time has come.' Don't follow them.

"Constantly be on your guard so that your hearts will not be loaded down with self-indulgence, drunkenness, and the worries of this life, or that day will take you by surprise

so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit down on thrones to govern the twelve tribes of Israel."

Then he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, knelt down, and began to pray,

"Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me. Yet not my will but yours be done."