But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.

“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.

And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.”

He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi.

But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee,

and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘Make ready the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight!’”

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he *permitted Him.

After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him,

And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”

and *said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written,
‘He will command His angels concerning You’;and‘On their hands they will bear You up,
So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’”

Again, the devil *took Him to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory;

and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.”

Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee;

and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.

Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.

And He *said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them.

The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them.

When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.

He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!

Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye?

For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.

for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.

When Jesus came into Peter’s home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever.

He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she got up and waited on Him.

When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill.

This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases.”

Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea.

When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him.

He *said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.

When He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way.

And He said to them, “Go!” And they came out and went into the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the waters.

But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He *said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.”

And he got up and went home.

As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector’s booth; and He *said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.

But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.

While He was saying these things to them, a synagogue official came and bowed down before Him, and said, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live.”

He said, “Leave; for the girl has not died, but is asleep.” And they began laughing at Him.

But when the crowd had been sent out, He entered and took her by the hand, and the girl got up.

When He entered the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus *said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They *said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”

Then He touched their eyes, saying, “It shall be done to you according to your faith.”

But the Pharisees were saying, “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”

Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.

Then He *said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say.

It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!

“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.

He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.

“He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.

He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.

And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”

When Jesus had finished giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there to teach and preach in their cities.

Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples

And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”

Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’

Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent.

But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions,

how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone?

Departing from there, He went into their synagogue.

And He said to them, “What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out?

How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

Then He *said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” He stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other.

But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all,

and warned them not to tell who He was.

“Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen;
My Beloved in whom My soul is well-pleased;
I will put My Spirit upon Him,
And He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

“He will not quarrel, nor cry out;
Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.

“A battered reed He will not break off,
And a smoldering wick He will not put out,
Until He leads justice to victory.

Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw.

All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?”

If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?

Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.

But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet;