Just at that time she came up and began to give thanks to God and to speak about the child to all who were expecting the deliverance of Jerusalem.

And the child continued to grow and gain in strength; He continued to increase in wisdom, and the spiritual blessing of God was on Him.

Meanwhile Jesus grew constantly in wisdom and in body, and in favor with God and man.

in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the message of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the desert.

as it is written in the sermon-book of the prophet Isaiah: "Here is a voice of one shouting in the desert, 'Get the road ready for the Lord, make the paths straight for Him.

And all mankind must see the salvation of God.'"

Produce, then, fruit that is consistent with the repentance that you profess, and do not even begin to say within yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our forefather,' for I tell you, God can raise up descendants for Abraham even out of these stones.

Now the axe is already lying at the roots of the trees. Every tree, then, that fails to bear good fruit is to be cut down and thrown into the fire."

So with many and varied exhortations John continued to proclaim the good news to the people.

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

Then the devil said to Him, "If you are God's Son, order this stone to turn to a loaf of bread."

But Jesus answered him, "The Scripture says, 'You must worship the Lord your God, and serve Him alone.'"

Then he took Him to Jerusalem, and had Him stand on the tip-top turret of the temple, and said to Him, "If you are God's Son, throw yourself down from here,

And Jesus answered him, "It has been said, 'You must not try the Lord your God.'"

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for He has consecrated me to preach the good news to the poor; He has sent me to announce release to captives and recovery of sight to the blind; to send the downtrodden away in liberty and

"Ha! What do you want of us, Jesus, you Nazarene? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are. You are God's Holy One."

But Jesus reproved him, saying "Be quiet! Get out of him at once!" So the demon threw the man down in the midst of them and came out of him without doing him any harm.

Then He took His stand by her and reproved the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.

Even demons came out of many people, shrieking and saying, "You are the Son of God!" But He reproved them and would not let them speak, because they knew that He was the Christ.

But He said to them, "To other towns also I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God, for that is what I was sent to do."

Once as the crowd was pressing against Him to hear the message of God, He found Himself standing on the shore of Lake Gennesaret.

So He got into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, and asked him to push out a little from the shore. Then He sat down and continued to teach the crowds from the boat.

Now some men were carrying on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were trying to get him in and lay him before Jesus.

But the scribes and the Pharisees began to argue, saying, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

Which is easier, to say 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say 'Get up and start walking'?

But to show you that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth" -- turning to the man who was paralyzed, He said to him, "Get up, pick up your pallet, and go home."

Then at once he got up before them all, picked up the pallet on which he had been lying, and went off home, giving praise to God.

Then an overwhelming wonder seized them all and they began to give praise to God. They were filled with awe and continued to say, "We have seen unthinkable wonders today!"

So he left everything behind, got up and followed Him.

Then He told them a short story: "No one tears a piece from a new coat and puts it on an old one; or if he does, he will tear the new one too, and the patch from the new coat will not match the old one.

No one after drinking old wine wants new, for he says, 'The old is good enough.'"

How he went into the house of God and took and ate the sacred loaves, which it was against the law for anyone to eat except the priests, and gave some to his soldiers?"

And the scribes and the Pharisees were closely watching Him to see whether He would cure him on the Sabbath, in order to get a charge against Him.

But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, "Get up and stand at the front." So he got up and stood there.

Then Jesus said to them, "Is it right on the Sabbath to do people good, or to do them evil, to save life or to take it?"

Now it was in those days that He went up on the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.

Then He fixed His eyes upon His disciples, and began to speak. "Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours!

But I say to you who listen now to me, practice loving your enemies, practice doing good to those who hate you,

To the man who strikes you on one cheek, offer him the other too; and from the man who takes away your coat, do not keep back your shirt either,

Now if you practice loving only those who love you, what credit do you get for that? Why, even notorious sinners practice loving those who love them.

And if you practice doing good only to those who do good to you, what credit do you get for that? Even notorious sinners practice the same.

And if you ever lend to people expecting to get it back, what credit do you get for that? Even notorious sinners practice lending to one another, expecting to get it back in full.

But you must practice loving your enemies, doing good to them, and lending to them, despairing of nothing; so that your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

Practice forgiving others, and you will be forgiven. Practice giving to others, and they will give to you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, people will pour into your lap. For the measure you use with others they in turn will use with you."

How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me get that tiny speck out of your eye,' when you cannot see the girder in your own eye? You hypocrite! First get the girder out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly how to get out the tiny speck in your brother's eye.

"For there never is a healthy tree that bears poor fruit, nor a sickly tree that bears good fruit.

The good man, out of his good inner storehouse, brings forth what is good, the bad man, out of his bad one, what is bad. For a man's mouth usually speaks the things that fill his heart.

As He approached the gate of the town, look, there was being carried out a dead man, his mother's only son, and she was a widow! A considerable crowd of townspeople were with her.

So awe seized them all, and they began to praise God, saying, "A great prophet has appeared among us!" and, "God has visited His people!"

And so He answered them, "Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind are seeing and the crippled are walking, the lepers are being healed and the deaf are hearing, the dead are being raised and the poor are having the good news preached to them.

"I tell you, of all men born of women there is not one greater than John; and yet the one who is of least importance in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

And all the people, even the tax-collectors, when they heard him, vindicated the righteous requirements of God by submitting to John's baptism,

but the Pharisees and experts in the law thwarted God's purpose for themselves by refusing to be baptized by him.

Soon afterwards He chanced to be making a tour of Galilee from town to town and from village to village preaching and telling the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve went with Him,

So He said, "You are granted the privilege of knowing the secrets of the kingdom of God, but to others they are told in stories, so that they may look and not see, may hear and not understand.

This is what the story means: The seed is God's message.

But the portion in rich soil illustrates those who listen to the message, keep it in good and honest hearts, and in patience yield fruit.

So take care how you listen, for whoever gets more will have more given to him, and whoever does not get more will have even what he thinks he has taken away from him."

His mother and His brothers came to see Him, but they could not get in touch with Him, on account of the crowd.

Then He answered them, "My mother and my brothers are those who listen to God's message and practice it."

One day He got into a boat with His disciples, and He said to them, "Let us cross to the other side of the lake." So they set sail.

When he saw Jesus, he screamed and flung himself down before Him, and said in a loud voice, "What do you want of me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you not to torture me!"

For He was commanding the foul spirit to get out of the man. For on many occasions it had seized him, and repeatedly he had been fastened with chains and fetters under constant guard, and yet he would snap his bonds, and the demon would drive him into desert places.

Then all the inhabitants of the country around Gerasa asked Him to go away from them, because they were terribly frightened. So He got into a boat and went back.

"Go back to your home, and continue to tell what great things God has done for you." But he went off and told all over the town what great things Jesus had done for him.

came up behind Him and touched the tassel on His coat, and the hemorrhage stopped at once.

But Jesus heard it and said to him, "Do not be afraid; just have faith, and she will get well."

But He grasped her hand and called out, "My child, get up!"

So her spirit returned and she got up at once, and He directed that something be given her to eat.

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

And so they set out and went from village to village, telling the good news and curing people everywhere.

But the crowds learned of it, and followed Him; and He welcomed them and began to speak to them about the kingdom of God and to cure the people who needed to be cured.

As the day began to decline, the Twelve came up and said to Him, "Send the crowd off to the villages and farms around, to get lodging and to find food there, for we are in a destitute place here."

So He said to them, "But who do you, yourselves, say that I am?" Peter answered, "The Christ of God!"

I solemnly say to you, some of you who stand here will certainly live to see the kingdom of God."

And just as they were starting to leave Him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- although he did not know what he was saying.

So they all continued to be utterly astounded at the greatness of God. Now while everybody was wondering at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples,

Then He answered him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but you go on and continue to spread the good news of the kingdom of God."

Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow, and then continues to look back, is fitted for service in the kingdom of God."

Do not carry a purse, a bag, or shoes, and do not stop to say 'Good morning' to anybody on the road.

to cure the sick there, and to say, 'The kingdom of God is close upon you.'

'We are wiping off against you the very dust from your town that has stuck to our feet. But understand this, the kingdom of God is close by.'

At that very moment, by the power of the Holy Spirit, He exulted and said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for concealing these matters from wise and learned men, and for revealing them to little children. Yes, Father, I thank you that your good pleasure made it so.

Just then an expert in the law got up to test Him by asking, "Teacher, what shall I do to get possession of eternal life?"

Then he answered, "You must love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole strength, and your whole mind, and your neighbor as you do yourself."

But there is actual need of few things, really of only one thing. For Mary has chosen the good portion which must not be taken away from her."

And suppose he answers from inside, 'Stop bothering me; the door is now locked, and my children are packed about me in bed; I cannot get up and give you any.'

I tell you, although he will not get up and give you any because he is your friend, yet because of your persistence he will get up and give you all your needs.

So if you, in spite of your being bad, know how to give your children what is good, how much more surely will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who continue to ask Him?"

But if I by the finger of God am driving the demons out, then the kingdom of God has come to you.

But He said, "Yes, but better still, blessed are those who listen to God's message and practice it!"

But a curse on you Pharisees, because you pay tithes on mint, rue, and every tiny garden herb, but neglect justice and the love of God! These latter especially you ought to have done, but ought not to have neglected the former.

This is why the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill, and some they will persecute';

A curse on you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to the door of knowledge! You did not go in yourselves, and you kept out those who tried to get in."

Are not sparrows sold five for two cents? And yet not one of them is forgotten by God!

Yes, the very hairs on your heads have all been counted by God! Stop being afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

I tell you, everyone who owns me before men the Son of Man will own before the angels of God;

but anyone who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God.

Then I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Go on taking your ease; continue to eat, drink, and enjoy yourself."'

But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is to be demanded of you. Then who will have all that you have prepared?'