And the army captain and his men, who were keeping guard over Jesus, who felt the earthquake and saw all that was taking place, were terribly frightened, and said, "Surely this was God's Son."

and said, "Sir, we remember that that pretender said while He was living, 'After three days I will rise again.'

Issue an order then to have the tomb closely guarded, so that His disciples cannot come and steal Him and tell the people that He rose from the dead, and the last deception be worse than the first."

And the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified.

While they were on their way, some members of the guard went into the city and told the high priests everything that had taken place.

and said to them, "Tell the people that His disciples came by night, while we were sleeping, and stole Him away.

and teach them to practice all the commands that I have given you. And I myself will surely be with you all the days, down to the very close of an age."

Just at that moment there was a man in their synagogue who was under the spell of a foul spirit, and so he screamed,

They were all so dumbfounded that they kept discussing it among themselves, and asking, "What does this mean? It is a new teaching. He gives orders with authority even to foul spirits, and they obey Him."

And His fame at once spread in all directions all over that part of Galilee.

And He said to them, "Let us go somewhere else, to the neighboring towns, to preach in them, too, for that is why I came out here."

"See that you tell nobody a single word about it. Be gone, show yourself to the priest, and to prove it to the people, make the offering for your purification which Moses prescribed."

But he went out and began to publish it so much and to spread the story so far, that Jesus could not any more go into any town openly, but had to stay out in thinly settled places. But the people kept coming to Him from every quarter.

After some days He came back to Capernaum, and it was reported that He was at home,

and so many people gathered there that there was no longer any room even around the door. He was telling them His message.

And as they could not get him near to Jesus, on account of the crowd, they dug through the roof over the spot where He was standing and let the pallet down that the paralyzed man was lying on.

Now Jesus at once felt in His spirit that they were arguing about this, and said, "Why are you arguing to yourselves about this?

But to show you that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth," turning to the paralyzed man He said,

Then he got up and at once picked up his pallet, and went out before them all. The result was that they were all dumbfounded and began to praise God and say, "We have never seen anything like this before."

And when the scribes who belonged to the Pharisees' party saw that He was eating with notorious sinners and tax-collectors, they said to His disciples, "Why does He eat with tax-collectors and notorious sinners?"

Jesus heard it, and said to them, "Not well but sick people have to send for the doctor. It is not upright but sinful people that I have come to invite."

How is it that he went into the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the sacred loaves, which it is against the law for anyone except the priests to eat, and gave part of them to his soldiers, too?"

and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and from the other side of the Jordan, and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon -- yes, a vast throng of people, as they kept hearing of the great things that He was doing, came to Him.

For He cured so many people that all who had ailments kept crowding up against Him to touch Him.

And again the crowds gathered so that it was not possible for them even to take their meals.

If a kingdom is disunited, that kingdom cannot last.

And if a household is disunited, that household cannot last.

But no one can get into a giant's house and carry off his goods, unless he first binds the giant; after that he can make a clean sweep of his house.

But whoever speaks abusively against the Holy Spirit can never get forgiveness, but is guilty of a sin that has no end."

Then He began again to teach by the seashore. And a crowd gathered around Him so great that He got into a boat and was sitting in it, just off the shore, while all the people were on the land close to the sea.

Then He said to them, "To you the secret of the kingdom of God has been entrusted, but to those who are on the outside everything is presented in stories, so that

The ones along the path are those who have the message sown in their hearts, but as soon as it is sown there, Satan comes and carries off the message that has been sown in their hearts.

but when it is properly sown, it comes up and grows to be the largest of all the plants, and produces branches so large that the wild birds can roost under its shade."

That same day when it was evening, He said to them, "Let us go over to the other Side."

But a furious squall of wind came up, and the waves were dashing over into the boat, so that it was fast filling.

He was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. So they woke Him up and said to Him, "Teacher, is it no concern to you that we are going down?"

They were very much frightened, and said to one another, "Who can He be that even the wind and the sea obey Him?"

And they kept on earnestly begging Him not to send them out of that country.

And they begged Him, "Send us among the hogs, so that we can get into them."

and kept earnestly begging Him, saying, "My dear little daughter is at the point of death. Come, lay your hands on her, so that she may get well and live."

Her hemorrhage stopped at once, and she felt in her body that she was cured.

Jesus at once perceived that power had gone out of Him, and so He turned around in the crowd, and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"

When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue. And the people were dumbfounded when they heard Him, and said, "Where did He get all these things? What sort of wisdom is it that has been given Him? And such mighty deeds are done by Him!

He could not do any mighty deeds there, except that He put His hands on a few ailing people and cured them.

And He continued to say to them, "Whenever you put up at a house, stay there until you leave that place.

So they went out and preached that men should repent,

King Herod heard of Him, for His name was now on everybody's lips, and people were saying that John the Baptist had risen from the dead, and that this was why such mighty powers were working in Him.

But others were saying that He was Elijah, and still others that He was a prophet like the prophets of old.

for Herod stood in awe of John, because he knew that he was an upright and holy man, and so he protected him. When he heard him speak, he was very much disturbed, and yet he liked to hear him.

Then He insisted that the disciples at once get into their boat and cross ahead of Him toward Bethsaida, while He was sending the crowd away.

And because He saw that they were struggling at the oars, for the wind was against them, a while before daybreak He started toward them walking on the sea, and He meant to go right up beside them.

But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought that it was a ghost and screamed aloud,

And whatever villages or towns or country places He came to, they would lay the sick in the market-places and beg Him to let them touch just the tassel of His coat, and everybody that touched it was cured.

They had noticed that some of His disciples were in the habit of eating their meals without first giving their hands a ceremonial washing to make them clean.

And so the Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, "Why is it that your disciples do not practice the customs handed down from our forefathers, but eat their meals without purifying their hands?"

but you say if a man tells his father or mother, 'Everything I have that may be of use to you is Corban,' that is, consecrated to God,

Nothing that goes into a man from the outside can make him foul, but the things that come from the inside of a man are the things that make him foul."

And He answered them, "Are you too without understanding yet? Do you not know that nothing from the outside that goes into a man can make him foul,

He kept on saying, "The thing that comes from the inside of a man is the thing that makes him foul,

for from the inside, that is, from the hearts of men, designs for doing evil come, sexual immorality, stealing, murder,

Then He left there and went into the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon. He went into a house and wanted no one to know that He was there. But He could not escape public notice.

Now they had forgotten to bring any bread; that is, they had only one loaf with them in the boat.

So they were discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread.

And as He noticed it He said to them, "Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet know nor understand? Are your minds so dull?

He said to them, "How is it that you do not understand?"

Then Jesus and His disciples left Galilee and went to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way there He was asking His disciples, "Who do people say that I am?"

They answered Him, "John the Baptist; others say, Elijah, and others that you are one of the prophets."

Then He began to ask them, "Who do you yourselves say that I am?" Peter answered Him, "You are the Christ."

Then He instructed them for the first time that the Son of Man had to endure great suffering and be disowned by the elders and the high priests and the scribes, and be killed but rise again after three days.

And they held that caution fast in their minds, as they continued to discuss among themselves what rising from the dead meant.

Then they asked Him, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah has to come first?"

He answered them, "Elijah does come first and gets everything ready, but how is it that the Scripture says about the Son of Man that He will suffer much and be rejected?

Then Jesus, because He saw that a crowd was rushing up to Him, reproved the foul spirit and said to it, "You deaf and dumb spirit, get out of him, I charge you, and never get into him again."

Then it gave a shriek and violently convulsed the boy, and got out of him. And the boy looked like a corpse, so much so that the people said that he was dead.

for He was now teaching His disciples, and saying to them, "The Son of Man is to be turned over into men's hands, and they will kill Him, but three days after that He will rise again."

"For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink, on the ground that you belong to Christ, I solemnly say to you, he will not fail to get his reward.

If your hand makes you do wrong, cut it off. You might better go into life maimed than keep both your hands and go down to the pit, to the fire that is never put out.

where the worm that feeds upon them never dies and the fire is never put out.

But Jesus said to them, "It was due to your moral perversity that Moses wrote that command in your law.

But his countenance fell at that command, and he went away in deep distress, for he owned a great deal of property.

Jesus said to them, "You do not realize what you are asking for. Can you drink the cup that I am drinking, or endure the baptism of agony that I am to endure?"

They answered Him, "We can." Jesus said to them, "Yes, the cup that I am drinking you will have to drink, and the baptism of agony that I am enduring you will have to endure,

Then Jesus called them to Him, and said to them, "You know that those who are supposed to rule the heathen lord it over them, and their great men rule as despots over them;

When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, you son of David, do pity me!"

When they were getting near Jerusalem, that is, were at Bethphage and Bethany in front of the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples on ahead,

And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing that?' answer, 'The Lord needs it, and will soon send it back here.'"

In the morning as they were passing along, they noticed that the fig tree was withered, clear down to its roots.

I solemnly say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Get up and throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt at all in his heart, but has faith that what he says will take place, shall have it.

So then I tell you, whenever you pray and ask for anything, have faith that it has been granted you, and you will get it.

And whenever you stand and pray, if you have anything against anybody, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven too may forgive you your shortcomings."

On the other hand, can we say, 'It was from men'?" For they were afraid of the people, because everybody thought that John was really a prophet.

But those tenants said among themselves, 'This is his heir; come on, let us kill him, and all that is coming to him will be ours.'

Have you never read this passage of Scripture: "'That stone which the builders threw away has now become the cornerstone;

Then they were trying to have Him arrested, but they were afraid of the people, for they knew that He aimed this story at them. And so they left Him and went away.

And they came up and said to Him, "We know that you always tell the truth, and pay no personal consideration to anyone, but teach the way of God honestly. Is it right to pay poll-tax to Caesar, or not?

Then some Sadducees, who claim that there is no resurrection, came up to Him and asked Him this question,

"Teacher, Moses gave us a law that if a man's brother died leaving a wife but no child, the man must marry the widow and raise up a family for his brother.

Jesus said to them, "Does not this prove that you are wrong in your views, because you do not understand either the Scriptures or the power of God?

Then one of the scribes, on hearing them arguing, came up, and since he saw that Jesus had answered them properly, he asked Him, "What sort of command is the first of all commands?"

Then the scribe said to Him, "Indeed, Teacher, you have properly said that He is one by Himself, and there is no other but Him,