And he said to his disciples: "The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few.

Calling his twelve Disciples to him, Jesus gave them authority over foul spirits, so that they could drive them out, as well as the power of curing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

The names of the twelve Apostles are these: First Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James the son of Zebediah, and his brother John;

These twelve Jesus sent out as his Messengers, after giving them these instructions-- "Do not go to the Gentiles, nor enter any Samaritan town,

And on your way proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

Not even with a bag for the journey, or a change of clothes, or sandals, or even a staff; for the worker is worth his food.

Whatever town or village you visit, find out who is worthy in that place, and remain there till you leave.

As you enter the house, greet it.

Then, if the house is worthy, let your blessing rest upon it, but, if it is unworthy, let your blessing return upon yourselves.

If no one welcomes you, or listens to what you say, as you leave that house or that town, shake off its dust from your feet.

Remember, I am sending you out as my Messengers like sheep among wolves. So be as wise as serpents, and as blameless as doves.

Whenever they betray you, do not be anxious as to how you shall speak or what you shall say, for what you shall say will be given you at the moment;

A scholar is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.

It is enough for a scholar to be treated like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Baal-zebub, how much more the members of his household!

Do not, therefore, be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed which will not be revealed, nor anything hidden which will not become known.

What I tell you in the dark, say again in the light; and what is whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.

And do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; rather be afraid of him who is able to destroy both soul and body in the Pit.

While as for you, the very hairs of your head are numbered.

Every one, therefore, who shall acknowledge me before his fellow men, I, too, will acknowledge before my Father who is in Heaven;

But, if any one disowns me before his fellow men, I, too, will disown him before my Father who is in Heaven.

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 the man who does not take his cross and follow in my steps is not worthy of me.

He who welcomes you is welcoming me; and he who welcomes me is welcoming him who sent me as his Messenger.

He who welcomes a Prophet, because he is a Prophet, shall receive a Prophet's reward; and he who welcomes a good man, because he is a good man, shall receive a good man's reward.

And, if any one gives but a cup of cold water to one of these lowly ones because he is a disciple, I tell you that he shall assuredly not lose his reward."

The blind recover their sight and the lame walk, the lepers are made clean and the deaf hear, the dead, too, are raised to life, and the good news is told to the poor.

And blessed is the man who finds no hindrance in me."

This is the man of whom Scripture says--'Behold, I am myself sending my Messenger before thy face, And he shall prepare thy way before thee.'

I tell you, no one born of a woman has yet appeared who is greater than John the Baptist; and yet the lowliest in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.

And--if you are ready to accept it--John is himself the Elijah who was destined to come.

But to what shall I compare the present generation? It is like little children sitting in the market-places and calling out to their playmates--

And now that the Son of Man has come, eating and drinking, they are saying 'Here is a glutton and a wine-drinker, a friend of tax-gatherers and outcasts!' And yet Wisdom is vindicated by her actions."

At that same time Jesus uttered the words: "I thank thee, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, that, though thou has hidden these things from the wise and learned, thou hast revealed them to the child-like!

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

But, when the Pharisees saw this, they said: "Look! your disciples are doing what it is not allowable to do on a Sabbath!"

Here, however, I tell you, there is something greater than the Temple!

For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath."

And how much more precious a man is than a sheep! Therefore it is allowable to do good on the Sabbath."

Then he said to the man. "Stretch out your hand." The man stretched it out; and it had become as sound as the other.

in fulfillment of these words in the Prophet Isaiah--

At this all the people were astounded. "Is it possible that this is the son of David?" they exclaimed.

And, if it is by Baal-zebub's help that I drive out demons, by whose help is it that your own sons drive them out? Therefore they shall themselves be your judges.

But, if it is by the help of the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God must already be upon you.

He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not help me to gather is scattering.

You must assume either that both tree and fruit are good, or that both tree and fruit are worthless; since it is by it's fruits that a tree is known.

You brood of vipers! how can you, evil as you are, say anything good? For what fills the heart will rise to the lips.

For it is by your words that you will be acquitted, and by your words that you will be condemned."

"It is a wicked and unfaithful generation," answered Jesus, "that is asking for a sign, and no sign shall be given it except the sign of the Prophet Jonah.

For, just as 'Jonah was inside the sea-monster three days and three nights,' so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

At the Judgment, the men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation, and will condemn it, because they repented at Jonah's proclamation; and here is more than a Jonah!

At the Judgment the Queen of the South will rise up with the present generation, and will condemn it, because she came from the very ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon; and here is more than a Solomon!

No sooner does a foul spirit leave a man, than it passes through places where there is no water, in search of rest, and does not find it.

"Who is my mother? and who are my brothers?"

For any one who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

As he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.

As soon as the sun had risen, it was scorched, and, having no root, withered away.

That is why I speak to them in parables, because, though they have eyes, they do not see, and though they have ears, they do not hear or understand.

And in them is being fulfilled that prophecy of Isaiah which says--'You will hear with your ears without ever understanding, And, though you have eyes, you will see without ever perceiving,

When any one hears the Message of the Kingdom without understanding it, the Evil One comes and snatches away what has been sown in his mind. This is the man meant by the seed which was sown along the path.

By the seed which was sown on rocky places is meant the man who hears the Message, and at once accepts it joyfully;

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.

By the seed which was sown among the brambles is meant the man who hears the Message, but the cares of life and the glamour of wealth completely choke the Message, so that it gives no return.

But by the seed which was sown on the good ground is meant the man who hears the Message and understands it, and really yields a return, sometimes one hundred, sometimes sixty, sometimes thirty fold."

Another parable which Jesus told them was this-- "The Kingdom of Heaven is compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.

'An enemy has done this,' was his answer. 'Do you wish us, then,' they asked,' to go and gather them together?'

'No,' said he, 'for fear that, while you are gathering the tares, you should root up the wheat as well.

Another parable which he told them was this-- "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard-seed, which a man took and sowed in his field.

This seed is smaller than all other seeds, but, when it has grown up, it is larger than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that 'the wild birds come and roost in its branches.'"

This was another parable which Jesus related-- "The Kingdom of Heaven is like some yeast which a woman took and covered up in three pecks of flour, until the whole had risen."

Then Jesus left the crowd, and went into the house. Presently his disciples came to him, and said: "Explain to us the parable of the tares in the field."

And he answered: "The sower of the good seed is the Son of Man.

The field is the world. By the good seed is meant the People of the Kingdom. The tares are the wicked,

And the enemy who sowed them is the Devil. The harvest-time is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels.

And, just as the tares are gathered and burnt, so it will be at the close of the age.

The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid again, and then, in his delight, went and sold everything that he had, and bought that field.

Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant in search of choice pearls.

Or again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net which was cast into the sea, and caught fish of all kinds.

Then he added: "So every Teacher of the Law, who has received instruction about the Kingdom of Heaven, is like a householder who produces from his stores things both new and old."

Is not he the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary, and his brothers James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Judas?

And his sisters, too--are not they all living among us? Where, then did he get all this?"

These things proved a hindrance to their believing in him; whereupon Jesus said: "A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country and in his own house."

And said to his attendants: " This must be John the Baptist; he must be risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are active in him."

Yet, though Herod wanted to put him to death, he was afraid of the people, because they looked on John as a Prophet.

In the evening the disciples came up to him, and said: " This is a lonely spot, and the day is now far advanced; send the crowds away, that they may go to the villages, and buy themselves food."

But Jesus said: "They need not go away, it is for you to give them something to eat."

But, when they saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. "It is a ghost," they exclaimed, and cried out for fear.

But Jesus at once spoke to them. "Courage!" he said, "It is I; do not be afraid!"

"Master," Peter exclaimed, "if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water."

"How is it that your disciples break the traditions of our ancestors? For they do not wash their hands when they eat food."

His reply was: "How is it that you on your side break God's commandments out of respect for your own traditions?

But you say 'Whenever any one says to his father or mother "Whatever of mine might have been of service to you is 'Given to God,'"

He is in no way bound to honor his father.' In this way you have nullified the words of God on account of your traditions.

Hypocrites! It was well said by Isaiah when he prophesied about you--

'This is a people that honor me with their lips, While their hearts are far removed from me;

It is not what enters a man's mouth that 'defiles' him, but what comes out from his mouth--that does defile him!"

Upon this, Peter said to Jesus: "Explain this saying to us."

"Do not you see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is afterwards expelled?

But the things that come out from the mouth proceed from the heart, and it is these that defile a man;

There, a Canaanite woman of that district came out and began calling to Jesus: "Take pity on me, Master, Son of David; my daughter is grievously possessed by a demon."

But Jesus did not answer her a word; and his disciples came up and begged him to send her away. "She keeps calling out after us," they said.