As they were going away, a man who could not talk and was demon-possessed was brought to him.

Jesus called his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits so they could cast them out and heal every kind of disease and sickness.

A man was there who had a withered hand. And they asked Jesus, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" so that they could accuse him.

But the Pharisees went out and plotted against him, as to how they could assassinate him.

Then they brought to him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute. Jesus healed him so that he could speak and see.

All the crowds were amazed and said, "Could this one be the Son of David?"

They begged him if they could only touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

How could you not understand that I was not speaking to you about bread? But beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!"

Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why couldn't we cast it out?"

It could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor!"

Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. He said to Peter, "So, couldn't you stay awake with me for one hour?

He came again and found them sleeping; they could not keep their eyes open.

The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were trying to find false testimony against Jesus so that they could put him to death.

When Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but that instead a riot was starting, he took some water, washed his hands before the crowd and said, "I am innocent of this man's blood. You take care of it yourselves!"

They watched Jesus closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they could accuse him.

So the Pharisees went out immediately and began plotting with the Herodians, as to how they could assassinate him.

He appointed twelve (whom he named apostles), so that they would be with him and he could send them to preach

He lived among the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain.

As he was getting into the boat the man who had been demon-possessed asked if he could go with him.

So Herodias nursed a grudge against him and wanted to kill him. But she could not

And wherever he would go -- into villages, towns, or countryside -- they would place the sick in the marketplaces, and would ask him if they could just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

and his clothes became radiantly white, more so than any launderer in the world could bleach them.

Then, after he went into the house, his disciples asked him privately, "Why couldn't we cast it out?"

After noticing in the distance a fig tree with leaves, he went to see if he could find any fruit on it. When he came to it he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.

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.

It could have been sold for more than three hundred silver coins and the money given to the poor!" So they spoke angrily to her.

She did what she could. She anointed my body beforehand for burial.

Then he came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "Simon, are you sleeping? Couldn't you stay awake for one hour?

When he came again he found them sleeping; they could not keep their eyes open. And they did not know what to tell him.

The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find anything.

While the people were filled with anticipation and they all wondered whether perhaps John could be the Christ,

They got up, forced him out of the town, and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.

The experts in the law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they could find a reason to accuse him.

He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep, and laid the foundation on bedrock. When a flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built.

When they could not pay, he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"

Now Jesus' mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not get near him because of the crowd.

Now a woman was there who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years but could not be healed by anyone.

When the woman saw that she could not escape notice, she came trembling and fell down before him. In the presence of all the people, she explained why she had touched him and how she had been immediately healed.

I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not do so."

But they did not understand this statement; its meaning had been concealed from them, so that they could not grasp it. Yet they were afraid to ask him about this statement.

and a woman was there who had been disabled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten herself up completely.

But they could not reply to this.

but he answered his father, 'Look! These many years I have worked like a slave for you, and I never disobeyed your commands. Yet you never gave me even a goat so that I could celebrate with my friends!

So the Lord replied, "If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this black mulberry tree, 'Be pulled out by the roots and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.

He was trying to get a look at Jesus, but being a short man he could not see over the crowd.

Why then didn't you put my money in the bank, so that when I returned I could have collected it with interest?'

but they could not find a way to do it, for all the people hung on his words.

Then they watched him carefully and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They wanted to take advantage of what he might say so that they could deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor.

So they began to question one another as to which of them it could possibly be who would do this.

And while they still could not believe it (because of their joy) and were amazed, he said to them, "Do you have anything here to eat?"

Then he opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures,

I did not recognize him, but I came baptizing with water so that he could be revealed to Israel."

came to Jesus at night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs that you do unless God is with him."

(Now they were asking this in an attempt to trap him, so that they could bring charges against him.) Jesus bent down and wrote on the ground with his finger.

If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."

But some of them said, "This is the man who caused the blind man to see! Couldn't he have done something to keep Lazarus from dying?"

(Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where Jesus was should report it, so that they could arrest him.)

For this reason they could not believe, because again Isaiah said,

Jesus could see that they wanted to ask him about these things, so he said to them, "Are you asking each other about this -- that I said, 'In a little while you will not see me; again after a little while, you will see me'?

When I was with them I kept them safe and watched over them in your name that you have given me. Not one of them was lost except the one destined for destruction, so that the scripture could be fulfilled.

Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the Roman governor's residence. (Now it was very early morning.) They did not go into the governor's residence so they would not be ceremonially defiled, but could eat the Passover meal.

After this, Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus (but secretly, because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission, so he went and took the body away.

And a man lame from birth was being carried up, who was placed at the temple gate called "the Beautiful Gate" every day so he could beg for money from those going into the temple courts.

After threatening them further, they released them, for they could not find how to punish them on account of the people, because they were all praising God for what had happened.

Now when the commander of the temple guard and the chief priests heard this report, they were greatly puzzled concerning it, wondering what this could be.

Then a famine occurred throughout Egypt and Canaan, causing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food.

He found favor with God and asked that he could find a dwelling place for the house of Jacob.

But Peter said to him, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could acquire God's gift with money!

and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

So Saul got up from the ground, but although his eyes were open, he could see nothing. Leading him by the hand, his companions brought him into Damascus.

For three days he could not see, and he neither ate nor drank anything.

Immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized,

but Saul learned of their plot against him. They were also watching the city gates day and night so that they could kill him.

Now while Peter was puzzling over what the vision he had seen could signify, the men sent by Cornelius had learned where Simon's house was and approached the gate.

and by this one everyone who believes is justified from everything from which the law of Moses could not justify you.

In Lystra sat a man who could not use his feet, lame from birth, who had never walked.

Because he could not be persuaded, we said no more except, "The Lord's will be done."

Since I could not see because of the brilliance of that light, I came to Damascus led by the hand of those who were with me.

the commanding officer ordered Paul to be brought back into the barracks. He told them to interrogate Paul by beating him with a lash so that he could find out the reason the crowd was shouting at Paul in this way.

Because I was at a loss how I could investigate these matters, I asked if he were willing to go to Jerusalem and be tried there on these charges.

But when Paul appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of His Majesty the Emperor, I ordered him to be kept under guard until I could send him to Caesar."

Paul replied, "I pray to God that whether in a short or a long time not only you but also all those who are listening to me today could become such as I am, except for these chains."

Agrippa said to Festus, "This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar."

The next day we put in at Sidon, and Julius, treating Paul kindly, allowed him to go to his friends so they could provide him with what he needed.

Because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there. They hoped that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.

When a gentle south wind sprang up, they thought they could carry out their purpose, so they weighed anchor and sailed close along the coast of Crete.

When the ship was caught in it and could not head into the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along.

When day came, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could.

But they encountered a patch of crosscurrents and ran the ship aground; the bow stuck fast and could not be moved, but the stern was being broken up by the force of the waves.

But the centurion, wanting to save Paul's life, prevented them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land,

Absolutely not! For otherwise how could God judge the world?

And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised, so that he would become the father of all those who believe but have never been circumcised, that they too could have righteousness credited to them.

So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you could be joined to another, to the one who was raised from the dead, to bear fruit to God.

For God achieved what the law could not do because it was weakened through the flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,

For I could wish that I myself were accursed -- cut off from Christ -- for the sake of my people, my fellow countrymen,

if somehow I could provoke my people to jealousy and save some of them.

Then you will say, "The branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in."

So, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but instead as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.

Already you are satisfied! Already you are rich! You have become kings without us! I wish you had become kings so that we could reign with you!

But if the ministry that produced death -- carved in letters on stone tablets -- came with glory, so that the Israelites could not keep their eyes fixed on the face of Moses because of the glory of his face (a glory which was made ineffective),