But while he was thinking about the matter, [suddenly] an angel from the Lord appeared to him in a dream [i.e., a supernatural revelation given during sleep], saying, "Joseph, you descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary to be your wife, for the baby she is carrying is by [the power of] the Holy Spirit.

He it is who was spoken of through the Prophet Isaiah when he said, "The voice of one crying aloud, 'In the desert prepare ye a road for the Lord: make His highway straight.'"

I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

[After] leaving Nazareth [i.e., a major town in Galilee], He came to live in Capernaum, [a city] beside Lake Galilee, near the districts of Zebulun and Naphtali.

Happy are you when men give you a bad name, and are cruel to you, and say all evil things against you falsely, because of me.

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

For I tell you, as long as heaven and earth endure, not one dotting of an i or crossing of a t will be dropped from the Law until it is all observed.

For I say to you people, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven unless what you do that is right excels what the experts in the law of Moses and the Pharisees [i.e., a strict sect of the Jewish religion] do that is right.

Come to an agreement quickly with him who has a cause against you at law, while you are with him on the way, for fear that he may give you up to the judge and the judge may give you to the police and you may be put into prison.

"Ye have heard how it is said, 'An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.'

But I say to you, Do not make use of force against an evil man; but to him who gives you a blow on the right side of your face let the left be turned.

And if any man will sue you at the law, and take away your coat, let him have your cloak also.

“So whenever you give to the poor and do acts of kindness, do not blow a trumpet before you [to advertise it], as the hypocrites do [like actors acting out a role] in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored and recognized and praised by men. I assure you and most solemnly say to you, they [already] have their reward in full.

But whenever you, a follower of mine, do a deed of charity, never let your own left hand know what your right hand is doing,

“For if you forgive people their wrongdoing, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well.

And, when ye may he fasting, become not ye, as the hypocrites, of sullen countenance, - for they darken their looks, that they may appear, unto men, to be fasting: Verily, I say unto you, they are getting back their reward.

that your fasting may not be observed by men, but by your father, who is with you in your retirement, and your father who observes what you do in private, shall give you a reward.

So, if God so [beautifully] dresses the grass in a field, which is [green] today, and [then] tomorrow [dries up and] is thrown in the oven [i.e., as fuel], will He not do even more in providing your clothing, you people with such little faith?

But seek first God's Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.

A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

And then I will declare to them, 'I never acknowledged you [as my people]; go away from me, you people who have done sinful things.'

Right away a man with a serious skin disease came up and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

Jesus reached out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.

For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.

And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; as thou hast believed,'so be it done unto thee. And the servant was healed in that hour.

Now there was, some distance away, a great herd of pigs taking their food.

But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.

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

But when he saw the crowds he was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed, and cast away as sheep not having a shepherd.

Behold, I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves; be therefore prudent as the serpents, and guileless as the doves.

Yes, you will [even] be brought in front of governors and kings for being loyal to me. [This will give you an opportunity] for witnessing to them [as well] as to the [unconverted] Gentiles.

But whenever they hand you over, do not be anxious how [to speak] or what you should say, for what you should say will be given to you at that hour.

What I am saying to you in the darkness, tell ye in the light, - and, what whispered into the ear ye are hearing, proclaim ye on the housetops.

“Therefore, the one who confesses and acknowledges Me before men [as Lord and Savior, affirming a state of oneness with Me], that one I will also confess and acknowledge before My Father who is in heaven.

But whoever disowns me in front of people [i.e., denies that I am the Christ, or that he is a disciple. See John 18:15-17, 25-27], I will disown him in front of my Father in heaven.

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

It is this man about whom it is written: 'Behold, I am sending my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.'

[He said] "It will be too bad for you, Chorazin! It will be too bad for you, Bethsaida! For if the powerful miracles had been performed in [the cities of] Tyre and Sidon which were performed in your presence, they would have repented long ago, [demonstrating it] by wearing sackcloth [i.e., a coarse cloth made of goat hair] and throwing ashes [into the air].

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

But I say to you, a greater than the temple is here.

"Here is my Servant whom I have chosen, whom I love, and with whom I am pleased! I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to unbelievers.

And if I am driving the demons out by Beelzebub's aid, by whose aid do your sons drive them out? Therefore let them be your judges.

But, if, in God's Spirit, I, am casting out the demons, then doubtless hath come upon you unawares, the kingdom of God!

And I say to you, a person will [have to] give an account [to God] on the day of judgment for every careless word he had spoken [while on earth].

Therefore, I am speaking to them with parables because [although] they can see, they [really] do not perceive, and [although] they can hear, they [really] do not comprehend, and so they [utterly] fail to understand [what I am trying to get across].

But, as he has no root, he stands for only a short time; and, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the Message, he falls away at once.

"'No,' he answered, 'for fear lest while you are collecting the tares, you at the same time pull up the wheat.

It will be this way at the end of the age. Angels will come and separate the evil from the righteous

Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.

and immediately Jesus spake to them, saying, 'Be of good courage, I am he, be not afraid.'

But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;

But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, your faith [your personal trust and confidence in My power] is great; it will be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that moment.

Then Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “I feel compassion for the crowd, because they have been with Me now three days and have nothing [left] to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, because they might faint [from exhaustion] on the way [home].”

As Jesus was going to the district of Cesarea-Philippi, he asked his disciples, what do people say of me? that I am a common man?

He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

And I also tell you, [although] you are Peter [i.e., a stone], it is on this rock [i.e., the truth you have just confessed] that I will build my church and [not even] the gates of the unseen place of departed spirits will win out over it [i.e., all efforts to stamp out the church by killing Christians will fail].

But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on things of God, but on things of man.”

And after six days [had passed], Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John aside and went up into a high mountain [i.e., an unidentified mountain nearby].

While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

Now in case such a brother do you an injury, go and expostulate with him in private: if he repents, thou hast saved thy brother.

If he pays no attention to them [refusing to listen and obey], tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile (unbeliever) and a tax collector.

I solemnly tell you that whatever you as a Church bind on earth will in Heaven be held as bound, and whatever you loose on earth will in Heaven be held to be loosed.

For where two or three are gathered in My name [meeting together as My followers], I am there among them.”

Jesus replied, "I tell you, not [just] up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven [i.e., a large indefinite number of times].

And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,

And Jesus said to his disciples, Verily I say unto you, A rich man shall with difficulty enter into the kingdom of the heavens;

And, Jesus, said unto them - Verily, I say unto you, As for you who followed me in the regeneration, When the Son of Man shall take his seat on his throne of glory, ye also, shall be seated upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.

But the owner of the estate replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no injustice. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?

Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?

Is thine eye evil because I am good? Thus the last shall be first, and the first last; for there are many called, but few chosen.

But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.

And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.

telling them, “Go into the village ahead of you. At once you will find a donkey tied there, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to Me.

The crowds that led the way, as well as those that followed behind, kept shouting: "God save the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! God save him from on high!"

Jesus replied to them, “I will also ask you a question, and if you tell Me the answer, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

And they answered [and] said to Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these [things].

But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.

And he responding said, I am not willing: but afterward, having regretted, he went.

And, coming to the second, he spake in like manner; and he, answering, said, 'I am not willing;' but later, repenting, he went.

For John came to you as a preacher of righteousness, and ye did not believe him; but the publicans and the harlots believed him; and ye, when ye had seen it, did not afterward repent, that ye might believe him.

Another parable, hear ye: - A man there was, a householder, who planted a vineyard, and, a wall around it, placed, and digged in it a wine-vat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, - and left home.

But touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken to you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac,

I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,

And, the greatest of you, shall be to you, a minister;

"It is too bad for you hypocritical experts in the law of Moses and [you] Pharisees! For you travel over land and sea [in hope of] making one person a proselyte [i.e., a convert to the Jewish religion]. And when you do convert one, you make him twice as deserving of hell as yourselves.

“Therefore, take notice, I am sending you prophets and wise men [interpreters, teachers] and scribes [men educated in the Mosaic Law and the writings of the prophets]; some of them you will kill and even crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues, and pursue and persecute from city to city,

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How many times I wanted to gather your children together {the way} a hen gathers her young together under [her] wings, and you were not willing!

For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

And alas for the women who at that time are with child or have infants!

If anyone tells you at that time, 'Here is the Christ!' or, 'there he is!' do not believe it;

(I am telling you this beforehand.)

And He will send out His angels [i.e., as messengers] with the sound of a great trumpet [See I Thess. 4:16] to gather His elect [i.e., God's people] from all directions, [even] from throughout the whole world. [Note: See Mark 13:27, which suggests this thought by its use of 'earth' and 'sky']

"Now learn this parable [i.e., a brief analogy to illustrate a lesson] from the fig tree: When its tender sprouts appear and its leaves begin to develop, you know that summer is near.