You disregard and neglect the commandment of God, and cling [faithfully] to the tradition of men.”

but you [Pharisees and scribes] say, ‘If a man tells his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you is Corban, (that is to say, already a gift to God),”’

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

And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he began speaking plainly.

Jesus called the crowd together with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me].

For what will a man give in exchange for his soul and eternal life [in God’s kingdom]?

and His clothes became radiant and dazzling, intensely white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them.

As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus expressly ordered them not to tell anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

But I say to you that Elijah has in fact come [already], and they did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written [in Scripture] of him.”

and whenever it seizes him [intending to do harm], it throws him down, and he foams [at the mouth], and grinds his teeth and becomes stiff. I told Your disciples to drive it out, and they could not do it.”

But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him [what He meant].

But they kept quiet, because on the road they had discussed and debated with one another which one [of them] was the greatest.

Getting up, He left there (Capernaum) and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan; and crowds gathered around Him again and accompanied Him, and as was His custom, He once more began to teach them.

As He was leaving on His journey, a man ran up and knelt before Him and asked Him, “Good Teacher [You who are essentially good and morally perfect], what shall I do to inherit eternal life [that is, eternal salvation in the Messiah’s kingdom]?”

Peter started saying to Him, “Look, we have given up everything and followed You [becoming Your disciples and accepting You as Teacher and Lord].”

who will not receive a hundred times as much now in the present age—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms—along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.

James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.”

Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their powerful men exercise authority over them [tyrannizing them].

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting beside the road [as was his custom].

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.

They replied to them just as Jesus had directed, and they allowed them to go.

Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple [enclosure]; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve [disciples], because it was already late [in the day].

Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if He would find anything on it. But He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.

When evening came, Jesus and His disciples would leave the city.

For this reason I am telling you, whatever things you ask for in prayer [in accordance with God’s will], believe [with confident trust] that you have received them, and they will be given to you.

Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

This is the second: ‘You shall [unselfishly] love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

and to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to [unselfishly] love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

When Jesus saw that he answered thoughtfully and intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one would dare to ask Him any more questions.

Jesus began to say, as He taught in [a portico or court of] the temple, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?

As He was coming out of the temple [grounds], one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, look what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”

As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked Him privately,

“But be on your guard; they will turn you over to courts, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand [as accused] before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them.

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].

“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: as soon as its branch becomes tender and it puts out its leaves, you recognize that summer is near.

While He was in Bethany [as a guest] at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, a woman came with an alabaster vial of very costly and precious perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured the perfume over His head.

On the first day [of the festival] of Unleavened Bread, when [as was customary] they sacrificed the Passover lamb, His disciples asked Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?”

The disciples left and went to the city and found everything just as He had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

For the Son of Man goes [to the cross] just as it is written [in Scripture] of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”

Now the betrayer had given them a signal, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him and lead Him away safely [under guard].”

Jesus said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me, as you would against a robber?

You have heard the blasphemy [that is, His claim to be the Son of God]. What is your decision?” And they all condemned Him to be [guilty and] deserving of death.

Pilate questioned Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He replied to him, “It is as you say.”

The crowd came up and began asking Pilate to do as he usually did for them.

When evening had already come, because it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,

But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see Him there, just as He told you.’”

She went and reported it to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping.

After that, He appeared in a different form to two of them as they were walking along the way to the country.

Later, Jesus appeared to the eleven [disciples] themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He called them to account for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen [from death].

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

exactly as they were handed down to us by those [with personal experience] who from the beginning [of Christ’s ministry] were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word [that is, of the teaching concerning salvation through faith in Christ],

Now it happened while Zacharias was serving as priest before God in the appointed order of his priestly division,

as was the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter [the sanctuary of] the temple of the Lord and burn incense [on the altar of incense].

Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin and have no intimacy with any man?”

Just as He promised to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

Then they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called.

Just as He promised by the mouth of His holy prophets from the most ancient times—

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.

(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy [set apart and dedicated] to the Lord)”

and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She did not leave the [area of the] temple, but was serving and worshiping night and day with fastings and prayers.

And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem, according to the custom of the Feast;

and as they were returning [to Nazareth], after spending the required number of days [at the Feast], the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem. Now His parents did not know this,

And He answered, “Why did you have to look for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”

as it is written and forever remains written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

“The voice of one shouting in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight.

Therefore produce fruit that is worthy of [and consistent with your] repentance [that is, live changed lives, turn from sin and seek God and His righteousness]. And do not even begin to say to yourselves [as a defense], ‘We have Abraham for our father [and so our heritage assures us of salvation]’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children (descendants) for Abraham [for God can replace the unrepentant, regardless of their heritage, with those who are obedient].

Some soldiers asked him, “And what about us, what are we to do?” And he replied to them, “Do not extort money from anyone or harass or blackmail anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.”

Now the people were in a state of expectation, and all were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he was the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed).

When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son [by marriage] of Eli,

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me (the Messiah),
Because He has anointed Me to preach the good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to announce release (pardon, forgiveness) to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed (downtrodden, bruised, crushed by tragedy),

When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their nets were [at the point of] breaking;

After they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him [becoming His disciples, believing and trusting in Him and following His example].

Jesus ordered him to tell no one [that he might happen to meet], “But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your purification, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony (witness) to them [that this is a work of Messiah].”

One day as He was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the Law sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present with Him to heal.

After this Jesus went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi (Matthew) sitting at the tax booth; and He said to him, “Follow Me [as My disciple, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk].”

Jesus said to them, “Can you make the wedding guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them?

Jesus replied to them, “Have you not even read [in the Scriptures] what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him—

Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you directly: Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it?”

Blessed [morally courageous and spiritually alive with life-joy in God’s goodness] are you when people hate you, and exclude you [from their fellowship], and insult you, and scorn your name as evil because of [your association with] the Son of Man.

Whoever strikes you on the cheek, offer him the other one also [simply ignore insignificant insults or losses and do not bother to retaliate—maintain your dignity]. Whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.

Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.

If you lend [money] to those from whom you expect to receive [it back], what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners expecting to receive back the same amount.

But love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; for your reward will be great (rich, abundant), and you will be sons of the Most High; because He Himself is kind and gracious and good to the ungrateful and the wicked.

Be merciful (responsive, compassionate, tender) just as your [heavenly] Father is merciful.

Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over [with no space left for more]. For with the standard of measurement you use [when you do good to others], it will be measured to you in return.”

Now when Jesus heard this, He was amazed at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith [as this man’s].”

Now as He approached the city gate, a dead man was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her [in the funeral procession].

So the men came to Jesus and said, “John the Baptist sent us to You to ask, ‘Are You the Expected One (the Messiah), or should we look for someone else?’”

Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith [in Me] has saved you; go in peace [free from the distress experienced because of sin].”

“The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road and it was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the sky ate it up.

And some seed fell on [shallow soil covering] the rocks, and as soon as it sprouted, it withered away, because it had no moisture.

And some fell into good soil, and grew up and produced a crop a hundred times as great.” As He said these things, He called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear and heed My words.”

Those beside the road are the people who have heard; then the devil comes and takes the message [of God] away from their hearts, so that they will not believe [in Me as the Messiah] and be saved.

The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, but as they go on their way they are suffocated with the anxieties and riches and pleasures of this life, and they bring no fruit to maturity.

But as for that seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word with a good and noble heart, and hold on to it tightly, and bear fruit with patience.

But as they were sailing, He fell asleep. And a fierce gale of wind swept down [as if through a wind tunnel] on the lake, and they began to be swamped, and were in great danger.

for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as Jesus went, the people were crowding against Him [almost crushing Him].

But Jesus, hearing this, answered him, “Do not be afraid any longer; only believe and trust [in Me and have faith in My ability to do this], and she will be made well.”