Because Joseph, her husband to be, was a righteous man, and because he did not want to disgrace her, he intended to divorce her privately.

When he had contemplated this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

She will give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

"A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud wailing, Rachel weeping for her children, and she did not want to be comforted, because they were gone."

Rejoice and be glad because your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.

But I say to you, do not take oaths at all -- not by heaven, because it is the throne of God,

not by earth, because it is his footstool, and not by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King.

Do not take an oath by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black.

"Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray while standing in synagogues and on street corners so that people can see them. Truly I say to you, they have their reward.

When you pray, do not babble repetitiously like the Gentiles, because they think that by their many words they will be heard.

"Enter through the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the way is spacious that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.

The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, but it did not collapse because it had been founded on rock.

because he taught them like one who had authority, not like their experts in the law.

No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, because the patch will pull away from the garment and the tear will be worse.

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were bewildered and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Beware of people, because they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues.

And you will be brought before governors and kings because of me, as a witness to them and the Gentiles.

And you will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life because of me will find it.

Then Jesus began to criticize openly the cities in which he had done many of his miracles, because they did not repent.

At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and revealed them to little children.

Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

The people of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented when Jonah preached to them -- and now, something greater than Jonah is here!

The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon -- and now, something greater than Solomon is here!

Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil. They sprang up quickly because the soil was not deep.

But when the sun came up, they were scorched, and because they did not have sufficient root, they withered.

"But your eyes are blessed because they see, and your ears because they hear.

But he has no root in himself and does not endure; when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away.

"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, hidden in a field, that a person found and hid. Then because of joy he went and sold all that he had and bought that field.

And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.

and he said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead! And because of this, miraculous powers are at work in him."

because John had repeatedly told him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."

Although Herod wanted to kill John, he feared the crowd because they accepted John as a prophet.

Although it grieved the king, because of his oath and the dinner guests he commanded it to be given.

Meanwhile the boat, already far from land, was taking a beating from the waves because the wind was against it.

He answered them, "And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition?

But he did not answer her a word. Then his disciples came and begged him, "Send her away, because she keeps on crying out after us."

Then Jesus called the disciples and said, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have already been here with me three days and they have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry since they may faint on the way."

He said, "When evening comes you say, 'It will be fair weather, because the sky is red,'

and in the morning, 'It will be stormy today, because the sky is red and darkening.' You know how to judge correctly the appearance of the sky, but you cannot evaluate the signs of the times.

So they began to discuss this among themselves, saying, "It is because we brought no bread."

And Jesus answered him, "You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven!

But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but on man's."

and said, "Lord, have mercy on my son, because he has seizures and suffers terribly, for he often falls into the fire and into the water.

He told them, "It was because of your little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; nothing will be impossible for you."

Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! It is necessary that stumbling blocks come, but woe to the person through whom they come.

Because he was not able to repay it, the lord ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, children, and whatever he possessed, and repayment to be made.

Then his lord called the first slave and said to him, 'Evil slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me!

Jesus said to them, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of your hard hearts, but from the beginning it was not this way.

They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.' He said to them, 'You go and work in the vineyard too.'

Am I not permitted to do what I want with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?'

They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, because the crowds regarded him as a prophet.

They sent to him their disciples along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are truthful, and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You do not court anyone's favor because you show no partiality.

Jesus answered them, "You are deceived, because you don't know the scriptures or the power of God.

"Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and will kill you. You will be hated by all the nations because of my name.

and because lawlessness will increase so much, the love of many will grow cold.

"Therefore stay alert, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.

Therefore you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.'

Therefore stay alert, because you do not know the day or the hour.

Then Jesus said to them, "This night you will all fall away because of me, for it is written: 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'

Peter said to him, "If they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away!"

(For he knew that they had handed him over because of envy.)

He trusts in God -- let God, if he wants to, deliver him now because he said, 'I am God's Son'!"

The guards were shaken and became like dead men because they were so afraid of him.

The people there were amazed by his teaching, because he taught them like one who had authority, not like the experts in the law.

So he healed many who were sick with various diseases and drove out many demons. But he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

When they were not able to bring him in because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Jesus. Then, after tearing it out, they lowered the stretcher the paralytic was lying on.

Because of the crowd, he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him so the crowd would not press toward him.

(because they said, "He has an unclean spirit").

Other seed fell on rocky ground where it did not have much soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep.

When the sun came up it was scorched, and because it did not have sufficient root, it withered.

But they have no root in themselves and do not endure. Then, when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately they fall away.

And when the grain is ripe, he sends in the sickle because the harvest has come."

And he was amazed because of their unbelief. Then he went around among the villages and taught.

Now King Herod heard this, for Jesus' name had become known. Some were saying, "John the baptizer has been raised from the dead, and because of this, miraculous powers are at work in him."

For Herod himself had sent men, arrested John, and bound him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because Herod had married her.

because Herod stood in awe of John and protected him, since he knew that John was a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard him, he was thoroughly baffled, and yet he liked to listen to John.

Although it grieved the king deeply, he did not want to reject her request because of his oath and his guests.

As Jesus came ashore he saw the large crowd and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he taught them many things.

He saw them straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. As the night was ending, he came to them walking on the sea, for he wanted to pass by them.

because they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

Then he said to her, "Because you said this, you may go. The demon has left your daughter."

"I have compassion on the crowd, because they have already been here with me three days, and they have nothing to eat.

John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he was not following us."

But Jesus said, "Do not stop him, because no one who does a miracle in my name will be able soon afterward to say anything bad about me.

For I tell you the truth, whoever gives you a cup of water because you bear Christ's name will never lose his reward.

But Jesus said to them, "He wrote this commandment for you because of your hard hearts.

The chief priests and the experts in the law heard it and they considered how they could assassinate him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed by his teaching.

Now they wanted to arrest him (but they feared the crowd), because they realized that he told this parable against them. So they left him and went away.

When they came they said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are truthful and do not court anyone's favor, because you show no partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn't we?"

Jesus said to them, "Aren't you deceived for this reason, because you don't know the scriptures or the power of God?

"You must watch out for yourselves. You will be handed over to councils and beaten in the synagogues. You will stand before governors and kings because of me, as a witness to them.

You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

And if the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would be saved. But because of the elect, whom he chose, he has cut them short.

Stay alert, then, because you do not know when the owner of the house will return -- whether during evening, at midnight, when the rooster crows, or at dawn --

But he denied it again. A short time later the bystanders again said to Peter, "You must be one of them, because you are also a Galilean."

(For he knew that the chief priests had handed him over because of envy.)

Because he wanted to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them. Then, after he had Jesus flogged, he handed him over to be crucified.

Then they went out and ran from the tomb, for terror and bewilderment had seized them. And they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.