But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, descendant 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 give birth to a Son, and you shall name Him Jesus (The Lord is salvation), for He will save His people from their sins.”

All this happened in order to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophet [Isaiah]:

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child and give birth to a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel”—which, when translated, means, “God with us.”

After hearing the king, they went their way; and behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them [continually leading the way] until it came and stood over the place where the young Child was.

Then Herod, when he realized that he had been tricked by the magi, was extremely angry, and he sent [soldiers] and put to death all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that area who were two years old and under, according to the date which he had learned from the magi.

“Blessed [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness [those who actively seek right standing with God], for they will be [completely] satisfied.

“Blessed [comforted by inner peace and God’s love] are those who are persecuted for doing that which is morally right, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven [both now and forever].

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

“Do not give that which is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, for they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven and the penalty paid,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? [Both are possible for God; both are impossible for man.]

Then He began to denounce [the people in] the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent [and change their hearts and lives].

how he went into 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 only?

Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it arrives, it finds the place unoccupied, swept, and put in order.

In them the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

‘You will hear and keep on hearing, but never understand;
And you will look and keep on looking, but never comprehend;

He gave them another parable [to consider], saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field;

He told them another parable, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and worked into three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

“The kingdom of heaven is like a [very precious] treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid again; then in his joy he goes and sells all he has and buys that field [securing the treasure for himself].

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet which was lowered into the sea, and gathered fish of every kind,

He answered, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant will be torn up by the roots.

[For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]

He said to Jesus, “Which commandments?” And Jesus answered, “You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not give false testimony;

Jesus answered him, “If you wish to be perfect [that is, have the spiritual maturity that accompanies godly character with no moral or ethical deficiencies], go and sell what you have and give [the money] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me [becoming My disciple, believing and trusting in Me and walking the same path of life that I walk].”

But Jesus replied, “You do not realize what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup [of suffering] that I am about to drink?” They answered, “We are able.”

Which of the two did the will of the father?” The chief priests and elders replied, “The first one.” Jesus said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.

Jesus asked them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

‘The [very] Stone which the builders rejected and threw away,
Has become the chief Cornerstone;
This is the Lord’s doing,
And it is marvelous and wonderful in our eyes’?

Those servants went out into the streets and gathered together all the people they could find, both bad and good; so the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests [sitting at the banquet table].

So in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.”

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the sanctuary of the temple that sanctified the gold?

You [spiritually] blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering?

“Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which look beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.

For many will come in My name [misusing it, and appropriating the strength of the name which belongs to Me], saying, ‘I am the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed),’ and they will mislead many.

the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour of which he is not aware,

His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little, I will put you in charge of many things; share in the joy of your master.’

His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little, I will put you in charge of many things; share in the joy of your master.’

for this is My blood of the [new and better] covenant, which [ratifies the agreement and] is being poured out for many [as a substitutionary atonement] for the forgiveness of sins.

So after consultation they used the money to buy the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers.

The governor said to them, “Which of the two do you wish me to set free for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.”

And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull,

And above His head they put the accusation against Him which read, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock; and he rolled a large stone over the entrance of the tomb and went away.

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated.

and saying, “The [appointed period of] time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins, live your life in a way that proves repentance; seek God’s purpose for your life] and believe [with a deep, abiding trust] in the good news [regarding salvation].”

When they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Jesus; and when they had dug out an opening, they let down the mat on which the paralyzed man was lying.

Which is easier, to say to the paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven’; or to say, ‘Get up, and pick up your mat and walk’?

how he went into the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the sacred bread, which is not lawful for anyone but the priests to eat, and how he also gave it to the men who were with him?”

He said to them, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you [who have teachable hearts], but those who are outside [the unbelievers, the spiritually blind] get everything in parables,

These [in the first group] are the ones along the road where the word is sown; but when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.

It is like a mustard seed, which, when it is sown on the ground, even though it is smaller than all the [other] seeds that are [sown] on the soil,

So leaving the crowd, they took Him with them, just as He was, in the boat. And other boats were with Him.

Taking the child’s hand, He said [tenderly] to her, “Talitha kum!”—which translated [from Aramaic] means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”

When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and many who listened to Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things [this knowledge and spiritual insight]? What is this wisdom [this confident understanding of the Scripture] that has been given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands?

and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves [completely according to ritual]; and there are many other things [oral, man-made laws and traditions handed down to them] which they follow diligently, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper utensils.)

so you nullify the [authority of the] word of God [acting as if it did not apply] because of your tradition which you have handed down [through the elders]. And you do many things such as that.”

there is nothing outside a man [such as food] which by going into him can defile him [morally or spiritually]; but the things which come out of [the heart of] a man are what defile and dishonor him.

and looking up to heaven, He sighed deeply and said to the man, “Ephphatha,” which [in Aramaic] means, “Be opened and released!”

For whoever wishes to save his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], but whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake and the gospel’s will save it [from the consequences of sin and separation from God].

[where their worm does not die, and the fire is not put out.]

But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism [of suffering and death] with which I am baptized?”

And they replied to Him, “We are able.” Jesus told them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized.

saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a [donkey’s] colt tied, which has never been ridden by anyone; untie it and bring it here.

And many [of the people] spread their coats on the road [as an act of tribute and homage before a new king], and others [scattered a layer of] leafy branches which they had cut from the fields [honoring Him as Messiah].

And remembering, Peter said to Him, “Rabbi (Master), look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered!”

Have you not even read this Scripture:

‘The stone which the builders regarded as unworthy and rejected,
This [very stone] has become the chief Cornerstone

Then one of the scribes [an expert in Mosaic Law] came up and listened to them arguing [with one another], and noticing that Jesus answered them well, asked Him, “Which commandment is first and most important of all?”

A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a mite.

For they all contributed from their surplus, but she, from her poverty, put in all she had, all she had to live on.”

Many will come in My name [misusing My name or claiming to be the Messiah], saying, ‘I am He!’ and will deceive and mislead many.

for at that time there will be such tribulation as has not occurred, from the beginning of the creation which God made, until now—and never will [be again].

And He said to them, “This is My blood of the [new] covenant, [My blood] which is being poured out for many [for the forgiveness of sins].

He was saying, “Abba, Father! All things are possible for You; take this cup [of judgment] away from Me; but not what I will, but what You will.”

“We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple (sanctuary) that was made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.’”

The high priest stood up and came forward and asked Jesus, “Have You no answer to give [in response] to what these men are testifying against You?”

[And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “He was counted with the transgressors.”]

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

So Joseph purchased a [fine] linen cloth [for wrapping the body], and after taking Jesus down [from the cross], he wrapped Him in the linen cloth and placed Him in a tomb which had been cut out of rock. Then he rolled a [large, wheel-shaped] stone against the entrance of the tomb.

Since [as is well known] many have undertaken to compile an orderly account of the things which have been fulfilled among us [by God],

so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught [that is, the history and doctrine of the faith].

It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous [which is to seek and submit to the will of God]—in order to make ready a people [perfectly] prepared [spiritually and morally] for the Lord.”

Listen carefully, you will be continually silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe what I told you; but my words will be fulfilled at their proper time.”

Then the angel replied to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you [like a cloud]; for that reason the holy (pure, sinless) Child shall be called the Son of God.

To show mercy [as He promised] to our fathers,
And to remember His holy covenant [the promised blessing],

So Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people.

And this will be a sign for you [by which you will recognize Him]: you will find a Baby wrapped in [swaddling] cloths and lying in a manger.”

When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying one to another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem, and see this [wonderful] thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”

Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the crest of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to hurl Him down the cliff.

For he and all his companions were completely astounded at the catch of fish which they had taken;

Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?

how he went into the house of God, and took and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful [for anyone] to eat except the priests alone, and [how he also] gave it to the men who were with him?”

The [intrinsically] good man produces what is good and honorable and moral out of the good treasure [stored] in his heart; and the [intrinsically] evil man produces what is wicked and depraved out of the evil [in his heart]; for his mouth speaks from the overflow of his heart.

But the one who has [merely] heard and has not practiced [what I say], is like a [foolish] man who built a house on the ground without any foundation, and the torrent burst against it; and it immediately collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”

When they had no means of repaying [the debts], he freely forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?”

Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is east of Galilee.

who appeared in glory, and were speaking of His departure [from earthly life], which He was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.

An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest [surpassing the others in esteem and authority].

Which of these three do you think proved himself a neighbor to the man who encountered the robbers?”

but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part [that which is to her advantage], which will not be taken away from her.”