Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it will be for those who have money to get into the kingdom of God!"

His disciples were startled at this statement. But Jesus again said to them as He continued the topic, "My children, how hard it is to get into the kingdom of God!

They were perfectly dumbfounded, and said to Him, "Then who can be saved?"

But Jesus looked at them and said, "This is impossible for men, but everything is possible for God."

Jesus said, "I solemnly say to you, there is no one who has given up home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farm for me and for the good news,

And Zebedee's two sons, James and John, came up to Him and said, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask."

They answered Him, "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your splendor."

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;

For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life a ransom price to set many free."

So Jesus stopped and said, "Tell him to come here." Then they told the blind man, saying, "Cheer up! Get up! He is calling for you."

Then Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has cured you." And all at once he could see again, and began to follow Jesus along the road.

and said to them, "Go into the village in front of you, and as soon as you get into it, you will find a colt tied which has never been ridden by a man. Untie it and bring it here.

but some bystanders said to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?"

So He spoke to it and said, "Never again may anyone eat a fig from you!" And His disciples were listening to it.

Then the high priests and the scribes heard of this, and they kept looking for some way to destroy Him, for they were afraid of Him, for everybody was swept off his feet at what He said.

And Peter remembered about it, and said to Him, "Look, Teacher! The fig tree which you cursed has withered!"

and said to Him, "What sort of authority have you for doing as you do? Or, who gave you the authority to do as you do?"

Jesus said to them, "Let me ask you just one question, and if you answer me, I will tell you what sort of authority I have for doing as I do.

So they said to Jesus, "We do not know." Jesus also said to them, "Nor am I going to tell you what sort of authority I have for doing as I do."

He had one more to send, his dearly loved son; at last he sent him to them, for he said to himself, 'They will surely respect my son.'

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.'

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?

Should we pay it, or should we not?" Now because He saw their pretense, He said to them, "Why are you testing me so? Bring me a twenty-cent coin to look at."

So He said, "Pay Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and pay God what belongs to God." And they were utterly dumbfounded at Him.

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?

But as to the rising of the dead, did you never read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God said to him, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?

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,

So Jesus said to him, as He saw that he had answered thoughtfully, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And no one ventured to ask Him any more questions.

While He was teaching in the temple, He answered them and said, "How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?

David himself, Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, said: 'The Lord has said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand Until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet."'

Then He sat down in front of the collection-box and was watching the people as they dropped their money into it. And many rich people were dropping in large sums.

And He called His disciples to Him and said, "I solemnly say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all these others who have been putting money into the collection-box.

As He was leaving the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, "Look, Teacher! What stupendous stones, what beautiful buildings!"

Jesus said to him, "Are you looking in wonder at these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another that will not be torn down."

But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why do you embarrass her? She has done a good deed to me.

So He sent off two of His disciples, and said to them, "Go into the city and you will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him,

And while they were sitting at table and eating, Jesus said, "I solemnly say to you, one of you, one who is now eating with me, is going to betray me."

Then He said to them, "This is my blood which ratifies the covenant, the blood which is to be poured out for many.

Then Jesus said to them, "You will all stumble over me, for the Scripture says, 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.'

Then Peter said to Him, "Although all the rest of them stumble over you, yet I will never do so myself."

Then Jesus said to him, "I solemnly say to you, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you, yes, you, will disown me three times."

Then they came to the place called Gethsemane, and He said to His disciples, "Sit down here while I pray."

and so He said to them, "My heart is breaking, it almost kills me! You must stay here and keep watching."

And He went back and found them asleep, and He said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch a single hour?

He came back the third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? No more of that! The hour has come. See! The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinful men.

So when he came he went straight up to Jesus, and said, "Rabbi," and with much affection kissed Him.

And Jesus spoke and said to them, "Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me, as though I were a robber?

Jesus said, "Yes, I am, and you will all see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Almighty and coming in the clouds of the sky!"

Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "What more evidence do we need now?

and when she saw that Peter was warming himself, she looked at him and said, "You were with Jesus of Nazareth too!"

At that moment for the second time a Cock crowed. Then Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, "Before the cock crows twice, you will disown me three times!" And when he remembered that, he burst into tears.

Now at the time of the feast Pilate usually set a prisoner free whom the people requested.

Then Pilate answered them by asking, "Do you want me to set the king of the Jews free for you?"

But the high priests stirred up the crowd to get him to set Barabbas free for them instead.

Then Pilate again said to them, "What then do you want me to do to the man whom you call king of the Jews?"

So, as Pilate wanted to satisfy the crowd, he set Barabbas free for them, but after having Jesus flogged, he turned Him over to be crucified.

Some of the bystanders when they heard it said, "Listen! He is calling for Elijah!"

And when the captain who stood facing him saw that He expired in this way, he said, "This man was surely God's Son!"

Then they looked up and saw that the boulder had already been rolled to one side, for it was a very large one.

But he said to them, "You must not be so astounded; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He has risen; He is not here. See! Here is the spot where they laid Him.

Then He said to them, "You must go all over the world and preach the good news to all the creation.

So the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was caught up into heaven and took His seat at God's right hand.

Now they were both upright in the sight of God, walking without reproach in all the Lord's commands and requirements.

But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you must name him John.

For he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must drink no wine nor strong drink, and so he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his birth.

Then Zechariah said to the angel, "How shall I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is far advanced in years."

So the angel came to her home and said, "Congratulations, you highly favored woman! The Lord be with you!"

But she was agitated at what he said, and began to ponder what this greeting meant.

Then the angel said, "Stop being afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no husband?"

Then Mary said, "I am the Lord's slave. May what you say take place with me." Then the angel left her.

and with a loud shout she said: "Blessed are you among women, And blessed is your child!

Then Mary said: "My soul extols the Lord;

But his mother said, "Never! But he must be named John."

Then they said to her, "There is no one among your relatives that bears that name."

and all who heard them kept them in their hearts, and said, "What then is this child to be?" for the hand of the Lord was with him.

to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."

But the angel said to them: "Stop being afraid, for now I bring you good tidings of great joy which is to be for all the people;

Then when the angel left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us now go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has told us."

Symeon also took Him in his arms and blessed God, and said:

Then Symeon gave them his blessing, and said to Mary, the child's mother, "This child is destined to bring the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign continuously disputed --

When His parents saw Him, they were utterly amazed, and yet His mother said to Him, "My child, why did you treat us so? Just see how your father and I, in agony of mind, have been searching for you!"

Then He said to them, "Why is it that you were searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"

But they did not understand what He said to them.

Then even the tax-collectors came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what ought we to do?"

So he said to them, "Stop collecting any more than is prescribed for you."

Then some soldiers too were asking him, "What ought we too to do?" So he said to them, "Never extort money from anyone, never make a false accusation, and always be satisfied with your wages."

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

And the devil said to Him, "I will give you all this power and all their splendor, for it has been turned over to me, and I give it to anyone I please.

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

Then He rolled up the roll and gave it back to the attendant and took His seat. Now the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were gazing at Him.

He said to them, "Doubtless you will quote this proverb to me, 'Doctor, cure yourself! Do the things here in your hometown that we hear you did in Capernaum.'"

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."

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.

When He stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Push out into deep water, and set your nets for a haul."

Simon answered, "We have toiled all night and caught nothing, but since you tell me to do so, I will set the nets again."