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.

Then Herod privately summoned the wise men and determined from them when the star had appeared.

After they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to look for the child to kill him."

When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he became enraged. He sent men to kill all the children in Bethlehem and throughout the surrounding region from the age of two and under, according to the time he had learned from the wise men.

After Herod had died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt

He came to a town called Nazareth and lived there. Then what had been spoken by the prophets was fulfilled, that Jesus would be called a Nazarene.

For he is the one about whom Isaiah the prophet had spoken: "The voice of one shouting in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make his paths straight.'"

Then the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the highest point of the temple,

Now when Jesus heard that John had been imprisoned, he went into Galilee.

So a report about him spread throughout Syria. People brought to him all who suffered with various illnesses and afflictions, those who had seizures, paralytics, and those possessed by demons, and he healed them.

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.

The herdsmen ran off, went into the town, and told everything that had happened to the demon-possessed men.

When the crowd saw this, they were afraid and honored God who had given such authority to men.

But a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak.

But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and gently took her by the hand, and the girl got up.

After the demon was cast out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, "Never has anything like this been seen in Israel!"

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

When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their towns.

Now when John heard in prison about the deeds Christ had done, he sent his disciples to ask a question:

The one who has ears had better listen!

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

"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be thrown down to Hades! For if the miracles done among you had been done in Sodom, it would have continued to this day.

If you had known what this means: 'I want mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent.

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.

He said to them, "Would not any one of you, if he had one sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath, take hold of it and lift it out?

To the one who had said this, Jesus replied, "Who is my mother and who are my brothers?"

The one who has ears had better listen!"

He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all the dough had risen."

Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The one who has ears had better listen!

"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.

When he found a pearl of great value, he went out and sold everything he had and bought it.

For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife,

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

So he sent and had John beheaded in the prison.

As he got out he saw the large crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

After they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret.

Then they understood that he had not told them to be on guard against the yeast in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

He called a child, had him stand among them,

The lord had compassion on that slave and released him, and forgave him the debt.

When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were very upset and went and told their lord everything that had taken place.

So the disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them.

"What do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.'

The boy answered, 'I will not.' But later he had a change of heart and went.

He sent his slaves to summon those who had been invited to the banquet, but they would not come.

Then he said to his slaves, 'The wedding is ready, but the ones who had been invited were not worthy.

And he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' But he had nothing to say.

Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children he left his wife to his brother.

In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her."

Now when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they assembled together.

And you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have participated with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'

And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.

But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have been alert and would not have let his house be broken into.

But while they had gone to buy it, the bridegroom arrived, and those who were ready went inside with him to the wedding banquet. Then the door was shut.

The one who had received five talents went off right away and put his money to work and gained five more.

In the same way, the one who had two gained two more.

But the one who had received one talent went out and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money in it.

The one who had received the five talents came and brought five more, saying, 'Sir, you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'

Then the one who had received the one talent came and said, 'Sir, I knew that you were a hard man, harvesting where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed,

When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he told his disciples,

So the disciples did as Jesus had instructed them, and they prepared the Passover.

The Son of Man will go as it is written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would be better for him if he had never been born."

(Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I kiss is the man. Arrest him!")

Now the ones who had arrested Jesus led him to Caiaphas, the high priest, in whose house the experts in the law and the elders had gathered.

Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Now when Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus had been condemned, he regretted what he had done and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders,

Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "They took the thirty silver coins, the price of the one whose price had been set by the people of Israel,

At that time they had in custody a notorious prisoner named Jesus Barabbas.

So after they had assembled, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Christ?"

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

Then he released Barabbas for them. But after he had Jesus flogged, he handed him over to be crucified.

When they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

When they had crucified him, they divided his clothes by throwing dice.

And tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had died were raised.

Many women who had followed Jesus from Galilee and given him support were also there, watching from a distance.

and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut in the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance of the tomb and went away.

While they were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened.

After they had assembled with the elders and formed a plan, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,

So the eleven disciples went to Galilee to the mountain Jesus had designated.

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

Then Jesus entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand.

So he said to the man who had the withered hand, "Stand up among all these people."

Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan River, and around Tyre and Sidon a great multitude came to him when they heard about the things he had done.

For he had healed many, so that all who were afflicted with diseases pressed toward him in order to touch him.

And he said, "Whoever has ears to hear had better listen!"

If anyone has ears to hear, he had better listen!"

For his hands and feet had often been bound with chains and shackles, but he had torn the chains apart and broken the shackles in pieces. No one was strong enough to subdue him.

(For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of that man, you unclean spirit!")

Now the herdsmen ran off and spread the news in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened.

They came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man sitting there, clothed and in his right mind -- the one who had the "Legion" -- and they were afraid.

Those who had seen what had happened to the demon-possessed man reported it, and they also told about the pigs.

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

But Jesus did not permit him to do so. Instead, he said to him, "Go to your home and to your people and tell them what the Lord has done for you, that he had mercy on you."

So he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him, and all were amazed.

When Jesus had crossed again in a boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he was by the sea.

Now a woman was there who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years.

She had endured a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet instead of getting better, she grew worse.

Jesus knew at once that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?"

But he looked around to see who had done it.