They came up and said to him, "Teacher, we know you are sincere and fearless; you do not court human favour, you teach the Way of God honestly. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?

Jesus said to them, "Give Caesar what belongs to Caesar, give God what belongs to God." He astonished them.

Jesus said to them, "Is this not where you go wrong? ??you understand neither the scriptures nor the power of God.

As for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, at the passage on the Bush, how God said to him, I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob?

He is not the God of dead people but of living. You are far wrong."

Jesus replied, "The chief one is: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord,

and you must love the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole soul, with your whole mind, and with your whole strength.

Jesus noted his intelligent answer and said to him, "You are not far off the Realm of God." After that no one ventured to put any more questions to him.

And in the course of his teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes! They like to walk about in long robes, to get saluted in the marketplaces,

and a man in the field must not turn back to get his coat.

for those days will be days of misery, the like of which has never been from the beginning of God's creation until now ??no and never shall be.

Had not the Lord cut short those days, not a soul would be saved alive; but he has cut them short for the sake of the elect whom he has chosen.

The passover and the festival of unleavened bread fell two days later; so the high priests and scribes were trying how to get hold of him by craft and have him put to death.

This perfume might have been sold for over three hundred shillings, and the poor might have got that." So they upbraided her.

They were delighted to hear it, and promised to pay him for it. Meantime he sought a good opportunity for betraying him.

They got distressed at this, and said to him one after another, "Surely it is not me?" "Surely it is not me?"

He also took a cup and after thanking God he gave it to them, and they all drank of it;

truly I tell you, I will never drink the produce of the vine again till the day I drink it new within the Realm of God."

Come, get up, here is my betrayer close at hand."

Now his betrayer had given them a signal; he said, "Whoever I kiss, that is the man. Seize him and get him safely away."

Peter followed him at a distance till he got inside the courtyard of the high priest, where he sat down with the attendants to warm himself at the fire.

Some got up and bore false witness against him, saying,

But the high priests stirred up the crowd to get him to release Bar-Abbas for them instead.

The soldiers took him inside the courtyard (that is, the praetorium) and got all the regiment together;

and at three o'clock Jesus gave a loud cry, "El?i, El?i, lema sabachthanei" (which means, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?)

Now when the army-captain who stood facing him saw that he expired in this way, he said, "This man was certainly a son of God."

Joseph of Arimathaea, a councillor of good position who himself was on the outlook for the Reign of God, ventured to go to Pilate and ask for the body of Jesus.

He, after buying a linen sheet, took him down and swathed him in the linen, laying him in a tomb which had been cut out of the rock and rolling a boulder up against the opening of the tomb.

Afterwards he appeared at table to the eleven themselves and reproached them for their unbelief and dulness of mind, because they had not believed those who saw him risen from the dead. [But they excused themselves, saying, "This age of lawlessness and unbelief lies under the sway of Satan, who will not allow what lies under the unclean spirits to understand the truth and power of God; therefore," they said to Christ, "reveal your righteousness now." Christ answered them, "The term of years for Satan's power has now expired, but other terrors are at hand. I was delivered to death on behalf of sinners, that they might return to the truth and sin no more, that they might inherit that glory of righteousness which is spiritual and imperishable in heaven."]

Then after speaking to them the Lord Jesus was taken up to heaven and sat down at the right hand of God,

They were both just in the sight of God, blameless in their obedience to all the commands and regulations of God;

Now while he was officiating before God in the due course of his division,

he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God,

The angel replied, "I am Gabriel, I stand before God; I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazaret,

But the angel said to her, "Fear not, Mary, you have found favour with God.

He will be great, he will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father;

The angel answered her, "The holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Most High will overshadow you; hence what is born will be called holy, Son of God.

for with God nothing is ever impossible."

My spirit has joy in God my Saviour:

he has satisfied the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.

Instantly his mouth was opened, his tongue loosed, and he spoke out blessing God.

"Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, for he has cared for his people and wrought them redemption;

by the tender mercy of our God, who will make the Dawn visit us from on high,

but the angel said to them, "Have no fear. This is good news I am bringing you, news of a great joy that is meant for all the People.

Then a host of heaven's army suddenly appeared beside the angel extolling God and saying,

"Glory to God in high heaven, and peace on earth for men whom he favours!"

Then the shepherds went away back, glorifying and extolling God for all they had heard and seen as they had been told they would.

then Symeon took him in his arms, blessed God, and said,

Now at that very hour she came up, and she offered praise to God and spoke of him to all who were on the outlook for the redemption of Jerusalem.

And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the favour of God was on him.

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favour with God and man.

during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert;

so shall all flesh see the saving power of God.'

To the crowds who came out to get baptized by him John said, "You brood of vipers, who told you to flee from the coming Wrath?

Now, produce fruits that answer to your repentance, instead of beginning to say to yourselves, 'We have a father in Abraham.' I tell you, God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones!

The axe is lying all ready at the root of the trees; any tree that is not producing good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."

Taxgatherers also came to get baptized, and they said to him, "Teacher, what are we to do?"

the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

The devil said to him, "If you are God's son, tell this stone to become a loaf."

Jesus answered him, "It is written, You must worship the Lord your God, and serve him alone."

Then he brought him to Jerusalem and placing him on the pinnacle of the temple said to him, "If you are God's son, throw yourself down from this;

Jesus answered him, "It has been said, You shall not tempt the Lord your God."

"Ha! Jesus of Nazaret, what business have you with us? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, you are God's holy One!"

But Jesus checked it, saying, "Be quiet, come out of him." And after throwing him down before them the daemon did come out of him without doing him any harm.

When he got up to leave the synagogue he went to the house of Simon. Simon's mother-in-law was laid up with a severe attack of fever, so they asked him about her;

he stood over her and checked the fever, and it left her. Then she instantly got up and ministered to them.

From many people daemons were also driven out, clamouring aloud, "You are God's son!" But he checked them and refused to let them say anything, as they knew he was the Christ.

He answered them, "I must preach the glad news of the Reign of God to the other towns as well, for that is what I was sent to do."

Now as the crowd were pressing on him to listen to the word of God, he saw, as he stood beside the lake of Gennesaret,

Simon replied, "Master, we worked all night and got nothing! However, I will lower the nets at your command."

Then the scribes and Pharisees began to argue, "Who is this blasphemer? Who can forgive sins, who but God alone?"

Instantly he got up before them, lifted what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God.

And all were seized with astonishment; they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, "We have seen incredible things to-day."

He went into the house of God, took the loaves of the Presence and ate them, giving them to his men as well ??bread that no one is allowed to eat except the priests."

It was in these days that he went off to the hillside to pray. He spent the whole night in prayer to God,

With them he came down the hill and stood on a level spot. There was a great company of his disciples with him, and a large multitude of people from all Judaea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him and to get cured of their diseases.

Then, raising his eyes he looked at his disciples and said: "Blessed are you poor! the Realm of God is yours.

But woe to you rich folk! you get all the comforts you will ever get.

I tell you, my hearers, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you:

If a man strikes you on the one cheek, offer him the other as well: if anyone takes your coat, do not deny him your shirt as well;

If you only lend to those from whom you hope to get something, what credit is that to you? Even sinful men lend to one another, so as to get a fair return.

The good man produces good from the good stored in his heart, and the evil man evil from his evil: for a man's mouth utters what his heart is full of.

Just as he was near the gate of the town, there was a dead man being carried out; he was the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the town were with her.

All were seized with awe and glorified God. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said, "God has visited his people."

I tell you, among the sons of women there is none greater than John, and yet the least in the Realm of God is greater than he is."

(On hearing this all the people and the taxgatherers acknowledged the justice of God, as they had been baptized with the baptism of John;

but the Pharisees and jurists, who had refused his baptism, frustrated God's purpose for themselves.)

Shortly afterwards he went travelling from one town and village to another preaching and telling the good news of the Reign of God; he was accompanied by the twelve

so he said, "It is granted you to understand the open secrets of the Reign of God, but the others get it in parables, so that for all their seeing they may not see, and for all their hearing they may not understand.

This is what the parable means. The seed is the word of God.

As for the seed that fell among thorns, that means people who hear but who go and get choked with worries and money and the pleasures of life, so that they never ripen.

As for the seed in the good soil, that means those who hear and hold fast the word in a good and sound heart and so bear fruit stedfastly.

But he answered, "My mother and brothers are those who listen to the word of God and obey it."

On catching sight of Jesus he shrieked aloud and prayed him with a loud cry, "Jesus, son of God most High, what business have you with me? Do not torture me, I beg of you."

They got a report from those who had seen how the lunatic was cured,

"Go home and describe all that God has done for you." So he went off to proclaim through the whole town all that Jesus had done for him.

But when Jesus heard it he said to him, "Have no fear, only believe and she shall get well."

And her spirit returned, she got up instantly, and he ordered them to give her something to eat.

He sent them out to preach the Reign of God and to cure the sick.