They also offered a sacrifice according to what is specified in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."

Led by the Spirit, he went into the Temple. When the parents brought the child Jesus to do for him what was customary under the Law,

After doing everything required by the Law of the Lord, Joseph and Mary returned to their hometown of Nazareth in Galilee.

His winnowing fork is in his hand to clean up his threshing floor. He'll gather the grain into his barn, but he'll burn the chaff with inextinguishable fire."

Then Jesus got up to leave the synagogue and went into Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was sick with a high fever, so they asked Jesus about her.

Simon answered, "Master, we have worked hard all night and caught nothing. But if you say so, I'll lower the nets."

One day, as Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of the Law happened to be sitting nearby. The people had come from every village in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. The power of the Lord was present to heal them.

But so you'll know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"." he told the paralyzed man, "I say to you: Get up, pick up your stretcher, and go home!"

"Stop judging, and you'll never be judged. Stop condemning, and you'll never be condemned. Forgive, and you'll be forgiven.

Give, and it will be given to you. A large quantity, pressed together, shaken down, and running over will be put into your lap, because you'll be evaluated by the same standard with which you evaluate others."

How can you say to your brother, "Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you don't see the beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you'll see clearly enough to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

They are like a person building a house, who dug a deep hole to lay the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the floodwaters pushed against that house but couldn't shake it, because it had been founded on the rock.

But the Pharisees and the experts in the Law rejected God's plan for themselves by refusing to be baptized by John.

And you, Capernaum! You won't be lifted up to heaven, will you? You'll go down to Hell!

Just then an expert in the Law stood up to test Jesus. He asked, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

Jesus answered him, "What is written in the Law? What do you read there?"

The next day, he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, "Take good care of him. If you spend more than that, I'll repay you when I come back.'

Then one of the experts in the Law told him, "Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us, too."

Jesus said, "How terrible it will be for you experts in the Law, too! You load people with burdens that are hard to carry, yet you don't even lift a finger to ease those burdens.

How terrible it will be for you experts in the Law! You have taken away the key to knowledge. You didn't go in yourselves, and you kept out those who were trying to go in."

I'll show you the one you should be afraid of. Be afraid of the one who has the authority to throw you into hell after killing you. Yes, I tell you, be afraid of him!

Then he said, "This is what I'll do. I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and I'll store all my grain and goods in them.

Then I'll say to myself, "You've stored up plenty of good things for many years. Take it easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself."'

They will be divided father against son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

So Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the Law, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?"

I know what I'll do so that people will welcome me into their homes when I'm dismissed from my job.'

"The Law and the Prophets remained until John. Since then, the good news about the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone entering it is under attack.

However, it is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for one stroke of a letter in the Law to be dropped.

because he'll be handed over to the unbelievers, and will be mocked, insulted, and spit on.

After they have whipped him, they'll kill him, but on the third day he'll rise again."

"Then the owner of the vineyard said, "What should I do? I'll send my son whom I love. Maybe they'll respect him.'

While I was with you day after day in the Temple, you didn't lay a hand on me. But this is your hour, when darkness reigns!"

Then he told them, "These are the words that I spoke to you while I was still with you that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms had to be fulfilled."

because while the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus the Messiah.

Philip found Nathaniel and told him, "We have found the man about whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets wrote Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth."

Everything the Father gives me will come to me, and I'll never turn away the one who comes to me.

I'm the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he'll live forever. And the bread I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I'll raise him to life on the last day,

If anyone wants to do his will, he'll know whether this teaching is from God or whether I'm speaking on my own.

Moses gave you the Law, didn't he? Yet none of you is keeping the Law. Why are you trying to kill me?"

If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the Law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because I made a man perfectly well on the Sabbath?

Then Jesus said, "I'll be with you only a little while longer, and then I'm going back to the one who sent me.

You'll look for me but won't find me. And where I am, you cannot come."

What does this statement mean that he said, "You'll look for me but won't find me,' and, "Where I am, you cannot come'?"

But this mob that does not know the Law they're under a curse!"

"Surely our Law does not condemn a person without first hearing from him and finding out what he is doing, does it?"

Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women to death. What do you say?"

In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two people is valid.

Later on, he told them again, "I'm going away, and you'll look for me, but you will die in your sin. You cannot come where I'm going."

That is why I told you that you will die in your sins, for unless you believe that I AM, you'll die in your sins."

You belong to your father the Devil, and you want to carry out the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and has never stood for truth, since there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies.

They'll never follow a stranger, but will run away from him because they don't recognize the voice of strangers."

I'm the gate. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved. He'll come in and go out and find pasture.

just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.

I have other sheep that don't belong to this fold. I must lead these also, and they'll listen to my voice. So there will be one flock and one shepherd.

This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it back again.

No one is taking it from me; I lay it down of my own free will. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it back again. This is what my Father has commanded me."

I give them eternal life, they'll never be lost, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

Jesus replied to them, "Is it not written in your Law, "I said, "You are gods"'?

Then the crowd answered him, "We have learned from the Law that the Messiah remains forever. So how can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?"

Jesus answered him, "You don't realize now what I'm doing, but later on you'll understand."

"Lord, why can't I follow you now?" Peter asked him. "I would lay down my life for you!"

Jesus answered him, "Would you lay down your life for me? I tell you emphatically, a rooster will not crow until you have denied me three times."

And since I'm going away to prepare a place for you, I'll come back again and welcome you into my presence, so that you may be where I am.

I'll do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

At that time, you'll know that I am in my Father, that you are in me, and that I am in you.

"If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you can ask for anything you want, and you'll receive it.

If you keep my commandments, you'll abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.

But this happened so that what has been written in their Law might be fulfilled: "They hated me for no reason.'

You'll be thrown out of the synagogues. Yes, a time is coming when the one who kills you will think he's serving God.

They'll do this because they haven't known the Father or me.

But I've told you this, so that when the time comes you'll remember that I told you about them. I didn't tell you this in the beginning, because I was still with you."

Yet when the Spirit of Truth comes, he'll guide you into all truth. He won't speak on his own accord, but he'll speak whatever he hears and will declare to you the things that are to come.

Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, you'll cry and mourn, but the world will rejoice. You'll be deeply distressed, but your pain will turn into joy.

Now you are having pain. But I'll see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.

I have told you this so that through me you may have peace. In the world you'll have trouble, but be courageous I've overcome the world!"

First they brought him to Annas, because he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year.

Pilate told them, "You take him and try him according to your Law."

The Jewish leaders answered Pilate, "We have a law, and according to that Law he must die because he made himself out to be the Son of God."

So the other disciples kept telling him, "We've seen the Lord!" But he told them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, put my finger into them, and put my hand into his side, I'll never believe!"

Simon Peter told them, "I'm going fishing." They all told him, "We'll go with you, too." So they went out and got into the boat but didn't catch a thing that night.

He told them, "Throw the net on the right hand side of the boat, and you'll catch some." So they threw it out and were unable to haul it in because it was so full of fish.

But you'll receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you'll be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Now a man who had been crippled from birth was being carried in. Every day people would lay him at what was called the Beautiful Gate so that he could beg from those who were going into the Temple.

However, Peter said, "I don't have any silver or gold, but I'll give you what I do have. In the name of Jesus the Messiah from Nazareth, walk!"

and lay it at the apostles' feet. Then it was distributed to anyone who needed it.

Peter asked, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart so that you should lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back some of the money you got for the land?

As long as it remained unsold, wasn't it your own? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? So how could you have thought of doing what you did? You didn't lie only to men, but also to God!"

But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law who was respected by all the people, stood up in the Council and ordered the men to be taken outside for a little while.

Therefore, brothers, appoint seven men among you who have a good reputation, who are full of the Spirit and wisdom, and we'll put them in charge of this work.

Then we'll devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word."

They had false witnesses stand up and say, "This man never stops saying things against this Holy Place and against the Law.

"The glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham while he was in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran. God told him, "Leave your country and your relatives and go to the land I'll show you.'

I have surely seen the oppression of my people in Egypt, I've heard their groans, and I've come down to rescue them. Now come, I'll send you to Egypt.'

You received the Law as ordained by angels, and yet you haven't obeyed it!"

and said, "Give me this power too, so that when I lay my hands on someone, he will receive the Holy Spirit."

He has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so he would see again."

and said, "You're full of every form of deception and trickery, you son of the Devil, you enemy of all that is right! You'll never stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord, will you?

The Lord is against you now, and you'll be blind and unable to see the sun for a while!" At that moment a dark mist came over him, and he went around looking for someone to lead him by the hand.

After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue leaders asked them, "Brothers, if you have any message of encouragement for the people, you may speak."