This is a record of the life of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah happened in this way. When his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, before they lived together she was discovered to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

Now all this happened to fulfill what was declared by the Lord through the prophet when he said,

When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, as was all of Jerusalem.

About this time, John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the Judean wilderness,

But Jesus answered him, "Let it be this way for now, because this is the proper way for us to fulfill all righteousness."

At this, he permitted him to be baptized. When Jesus had been baptized, he immediately came up out of the water. Suddenly, the heavens opened up for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him.

Then a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with him!"

After this, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil.

Therefore, this is how you should pray: "Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.

Therefore, whatever you want people to do for you, do the same for them, because this summarizes the Law and the Prophets."

because I, too, am a man under authority and I have soldiers under me. I say to one of them "Go' and he goes, to another "Come' and he comes, and to my servant "Do this' and he does it."

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and told those who were following him, "I tell all of you with certainty, not even in Israel have I found this kind of faith!

This was to fulfill what was declared by the prophet Isaiah when he said, "It was he who took our illnesses away and removed our diseases."

The men were amazed. "What kind of man is this?" they asked. "Even the winds and the sea obey him!"

Then some of the scribes told themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!"

When the crowds saw this, they became frightened and glorified God for giving such authority to humans.

The Pharisees saw this and asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

Go and learn what this means: "I want mercy and not sacrifice,' because I did not come to call righteous people, but sinners."

The news of this spread throughout that land.

When he had gone into the house, the blind men came to him. Jesus asked them, "Do you believe I can do this?" They told him, "Yes, Lord!"

And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly told them, "See to it that nobody knows about this."

As soon as the demon had been driven out, the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed and said, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!"

As you go, make this announcement: "The kingdom from heaven is near!'

This is the man about whom it is written, "See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.'

"And you, Capernaum! You won't be lifted up to heaven, will you? You'll go down to Hell! Because if the miracles that happened in you had taken place in Sodom, it would have remained to this day.

Yes, Father, because this is what was pleasing to you.

When the Pharisees saw this, they told him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"

When Jesus became aware of this, he left that place. Many crowds followed him, and he healed all of them,

This was to fulfill what was declared by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

All the crowds were amazed and kept saying, "This man isn't the Son of David, is he?"

But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "This man drives out demons only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons."

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

Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and settle there. And so the final condition of that person becomes worse than the first. That's just what will happen to this evil generation!"

for this people's heart has become dull, and their ears are hard of hearing. They have shut their eyes so that they might not see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.'

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

As for what was sown on the stony ground, this is the person who hears the word and accepts it joyfully at once,

As for what was sown among the thorn bushes, this is the person who hears the word, but the worries of life and the deceitful pleasures of wealth choke the word so that it can't produce a crop.

But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word, understands it, and produces a crop that yields 100, 60, or 30 times what was sown."

"He told them, "An enemy did this!' "The servants asked him, "Do you want us to go and pull them out?'

This was to fulfill what was declared by the prophet when he said, "I will open my mouth to speak in parables. I will declare what has been hidden since the creation of the world."

He went to his hometown and began teaching the people in their synagogue in such a way that they were amazed and asked, "Where did this man get this wisdom and these miracles?

This is the builder's son, isn't it? His mother is named Mary, isn't she? His brothers are James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas, aren't they?

And his sisters are all with us, aren't they? So where did this man get all these things?"

told his servants, "This is John the Baptist! He has been raised from the dead, and that's why these miracles are being done by him."

When Jesus heard this, he left that place and went by boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of it and followed him on foot from the neighboring towns.

When evening had come, the disciples went to him and said, "This is a deserted place, and it's already late. Send the crowds away so that they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves."

By this time the boat was in the middle of the sea and was being battered by the waves, because the wind was against them.

Then the disciples came and asked him, "Do you realize that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?"

Then Peter told him, "Explain to us this parable."

As they began to discuss this among themselves, they kept saying, "We didn't bring along any bread."

Knowing this, Jesus asked them, "You who have little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you don't have any bread?

Then Jesus told him, "How blessed you are, Simon son of Jonah, since flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, though my Father in heaven has.

I tell you that you are Peter, and it is on this rock that I will build my congregation, and the powers of hell will not conquer it.

Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "God be merciful to you, Lord! This must never happen to you!"

He was still speaking when a bright cloud suddenly overshadowed them. A voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with him. Keep on listening to him!"

When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified.

On their way down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, "Don't tell anyone about this vision until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."

He told them, "Because of your lack of faith. I tell all of you with certainty, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, "Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.

But this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting."

Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom from heaven,

and whoever receives a little child like this in my name receives me."

This is how my heavenly Father will treat each one of you unless you forgive your brother from your hearts."

He told them, "It was because of your hardness of heart that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives. But from the beginning it was not this way.

"Not everyone can accept this saying," he replied, "except those to whom celibacy has been granted,

because some men are celibate from birth, while some are celibate because they have been made that way by others. Still others are celibate because they have made themselves that way for the sake of the kingdom from heaven. Let anyone accept this who can."

But when the young man heard this statement he went away sad, because he had many possessions.

When the disciples heard this, they were completely astonished. "Who, then, can be saved?" they asked.

Jesus looked at them intently and said, "For humans this is impossible, but for God all things are possible."

Take what is yours and go. I want to give this last man as much as I gave you.

When the ten heard this, they became furious with the two brothers.

Now this happened to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet when he said,

When he came into Jerusalem, the whole city was trembling with excitement. The people were asking, "Who is this?"

The crowds kept saying, "This is the prophet Jesus, the man from Nazareth in Galilee."

When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. "How did the fig tree dry up so quickly?" they asked.

Jesus answered them, "I tell all of you with certainty, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you be able to do what has been done to the fig tree, but you will also say to this mountain, "Be removed and thrown into the sea,' and it will happen.

Then Jesus went into the Temple. While he was teaching, the high priests and the elders of the people came to him and asked, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?"

They began discussing this among themselves: "If we say, "From heaven,' he will ask us, "Then why didn't you believe him?' But if we say, "From humans,' we are afraid of the crowd, because everyone regards John as a prophet."

But when the tenant farmers saw his son, they told one another, "This is the heir. Come on, let's kill him and get his inheritance!'

Jesus asked them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing, and it is amazing in our eyes.'?

The person who falls over this stone will be broken to pieces, but it will crush anyone on whom it falls."

But they paid no attention to this and went away, one to his farm, another to his business.

They brought him a denarius. Then he asked them, "Whose face and name is this?"

When they heard this, they were amazed. Then they left him and went away.

When the crowds heard this, they were amazed at his teaching.

This is the greatest and most important commandment.

"How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make a single convert, and when this happens you make him twice as fit for hell as you are.

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."

Remember, I've told you this beforehand.

I tell all of you with certainty, this generation won't disappear until these things happen.

But be sure of this: if the owner of the house had known when during the night the thief would be coming, he would have stayed awake and not allowed his house to be broken into.

How blessed is that servant whom his master finds doing this when he comes!

Throw this useless servant into the darkness outside! In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"

But they kept saying, "This must not happen during the festival. Otherwise, there'll be a riot among the people."

But when the disciples saw this, they became irritated and said, "Why this waste?

Surely this perfume could've been sold for a high price and the money given to the destitute."

But knowing this, Jesus asked them, "Why are you bothering the woman? She has done a beautiful thing for me.

When she poured this perfume on my body, she was preparing me for burial.

I tell all of you with certainty, wherever this gospel is proclaimed throughout the whole world, what she has done will also be told as a memorial to her."

While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and handed it to the disciples, saying, "Take this and eat it. This is my body."