The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After His mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.

“In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet:

Jesus answered him, “Allow it for now, because this is the way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him to be baptized.

And there came a voice from heaven:

This is My beloved Son.
I take delight in Him!

This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

But let your word ‘yes’ be ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ be ‘no.’ Anything more than this is from the evil one.

“Therefore, you should pray like this:

Our Father in heaven,
Your name be honored as holy.

“This is why I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?

Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them—this is the Law and the Prophets.

When Jesus had finished this sermon, the crowds were astonished at His teaching,

For I too am a man under authority, having soldiers under my command. 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.”

Hearing this, Jesus was amazed and said to those following Him, “I assure you: I have not found anyone in Israel with so great a faith!

The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this?—even the winds and the sea obey Him!”

At this, some of the scribes said among themselves, “He’s blaspheming!”

When the crowds saw this, they were awestruck and gave glory to God who had given such authority to men.

When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

But when He heard this, He said, “Those who are well don’t need a doctor, but the sick do.

Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

And this news spread throughout that whole area.

When He entered the house, the blind men approached Him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this?”

“Yes, Lord,” they answered Him.

When the demon had been driven out, the man spoke. And the crowds were amazed, saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”

As you go, announce this: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’

This is the one it is written about:

Look, I am sending My messenger ahead of You;
he will prepare Your way before You.

“To what should I compare this generation? It’s like children sitting in the marketplaces who call out to each other:

Yes, Father, because this was Your good pleasure.

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

When Jesus became aware of this, He withdrew from there. Huge crowds followed Him, and He healed them all.

And all the crowds were astounded and said, “Perhaps this is the Son of David!”

When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “The man drives out demons only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”

And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, who is it your sons drive them out by? For this reason they will be your judges.

Because of this, I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.

Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come.

The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah’s proclamation; and look—something greater than Jonah is here!

The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and look—something greater than Solomon is here!

Then off it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and settle down there. As a result, that man’s last condition is worse than the first. That’s how it will also be with this evil generation.”

For this reason I speak to them in parables, because looking they do not see, and hearing they do not listen or understand.

For this people’s heart has grown callous;
their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes;
otherwise they might see with their eyes
and hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn back—
and I would cure them.

When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one sown along the path.

And the one sown on rocky ground—this is one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy.

Now the one sown among the thorns—this is one who hears the word, but the worries of this age and the seduction of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

But the one sown on the good ground—this is one who hears and understands the word, who does bear fruit and yields: some 100, some 60, some 30 times what was sown.”

“‘An enemy did this!’ he told them.

“‘So, do you want us to go and gather them up?’ the slaves asked him.

He went to His hometown and began to teach them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “How did this wisdom and these miracles come to Him?

Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother called Mary, and His brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?

“This is John the Baptist!” he told his servants. “He has been raised from the dead, and that’s why supernatural powers are at work in him.”

When Jesus heard about it, He withdrew from there by boat to a remote place to be alone. When the crowds heard this, they followed Him on foot from the towns.

When evening came, the disciples approached Him and said, “This place is a wilderness, and it is already late. Send the crowds away so they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”

he does not have to honor his father.’ In this way, you have revoked God’s word because of your tradition.

It’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”

Then the disciples came up and told Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard this statement?”

Then Peter replied to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”

But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a man.

The disciples said to Him, “Where could we get enough bread in this desolate place to fill such a crowd?”

Aware of this, Jesus said, “You of little faith! Why are you discussing among yourselves that you do not have bread?

And Jesus responded, “Simon son of Jonah, you are blessed because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father in heaven.

And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the forces of Hades will not overpower it.

Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, “Oh no, Lord! This will never happen to You!”

While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said:

This is My beloved Son.
I take delight in Him.
Listen to Him!

“Because of your little faith,” He told them. “For I assure you: If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.

[However, this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting.]”

Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child—this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

And whoever welcomes one child like this in My name welcomes Me.

For this reason, the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves.

“At this, the slave fell facedown before him and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything!’

“At this, his fellow slave fell down and began begging him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’

When Jesus had finished this instruction, He departed from Galilee and went to the region of Judea across the Jordan.

and He also said:

“For this reason a man will leave
his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two will become one flesh?

His disciples said to Him, “If the relationship of a man with his wife is like this, it’s better not to marry!”

But He told them, “Not everyone can accept this saying, but only those it has been given to.

For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb, there are eunuchs who were made by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves that way because of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.”

Then Jesus said, “Leave the children alone, and don’t try to keep them from coming to Me, because the kingdom of heaven is made up of people like this.”

When the disciples heard this, they were utterly astonished and asked, “Then who can be saved?”

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Take what’s yours and go. I want to give this last man the same as I gave you.

When the 10 disciples heard this, they became indignant with the two brothers.

This took place so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled:

When He entered Jerusalem, the whole city was shaken, saying, “Who is this?”

And the crowds kept saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee!”

Jesus answered them, “I assure you: If you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you tell this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done.

When He entered the temple complex, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to Him as He was teaching and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? Who gave You this authority?”

“But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance!’

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

The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
This came from the Lord
and is wonderful in our eyes?

[Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whoever it falls, it will grind him to powder!]”

“Whose image and inscription is this?” He asked them.

When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left Him and went away.

And when the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

This is the greatest and most important command.

[“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You devour widows’ houses and make long prayers just for show. This is why you will receive a harsher punishment.]

This is why I am sending you prophets, sages, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and hound from town to town.

I assure you: All these things will come on this generation!

This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations. And then the end will come.

“Now learn this parable from the fig tree: As soon as its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near.

I assure you: This generation will certainly not pass away until all these things take place.

They didn’t know until the flood came and swept them all away. So this is the way the coming of the Son of Man will be:

But know this: If the homeowner had known what time the thief was coming, he would have stayed alert and not let his house be broken into.

This is why you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

And throw this good-for-nothing slave into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

When Jesus had finished saying all this, He told His disciples,