Now those who had eaten were four thousand men, besides women and children.

Don't you understand yet? Don't you remember the five loaves for the 5,000 and how many baskets you collected,

or the seven loaves for the 4,000 and how many baskets you collected?

Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it,

because what profit will a person have if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life?

Then Peter told Jesus, "Lord, it's good that we're here! If you want, I'll set up three shelters one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

and said, "Sir, have mercy on my son, because he is an epileptic and suffers terribly. Often he falls into fire and often into water.

He told them, "Because of your lack of faith. I tell all of you with certainty, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, "Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.

So Jesus told him, "In that case, the subjects are exempt. However, so that we don't offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook. Take the first fish that comes up, open its mouth, and you will find a coin. Take it and give it to them for me and you."

"If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a large millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned at the bottom of the sea.

How terrible it will be for the world due to its temptations to sin! Temptations to sin are bound to happen, but how terrible it will be for that person who causes someone to sin!

"So if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life injured or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire.

And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell fire.

For the Son of Man came to save the lost."

"What do you think? If a man has 100 sheep and one of them strays, he leaves the 99 in the hills and goes to look for the one that has strayed, doesn't he?

Furthermore, I tell all of you with certainty that if two of you agree on earth about anything you request, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven,

Then his master sent for him and told him, "You evil servant! I canceled that entire debt for you because you begged me.

Some Pharisees came to him in order to test him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?"

I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery."

because some men are celibate from birth, while some are celibate because they have been made that way by others. Still others are celibate because they have made themselves that way for the sake of the kingdom from heaven. Let anyone accept this who can."

Then Jesus told his disciples, "I tell all of you with certainty, it will be hard for a rich person to get into the kingdom from heaven.

Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into the kingdom of God."

Jesus looked at them intently and said, "For humans this is impossible, but for God all things are possible."

"The kingdom from heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.

"But he told one of them, "Friend, I'm not treating you unfairly. You did agree with me for a denarius, didn't you?

Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons. She bowed down in front of him to ask him for a favor.

He told them, "You will indeed drink from my cup. But it's not up to me to grant you a seat at my right hand or at my left. These positions have already been prepared for others by my Father."

That's the way it is with the Son of Man. He did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many people."

Jesus stopped and called them, saying, "What do you want me to do for you?"

He told them, "It is written, "My house is to be called a house of prayer,' but you are turning it into a hideout for bandits!"

You will receive whatever you ask for in prayer, if you believe."

Jesus answered them, "I, too, will ask you one question. If you answer it for me, I will also tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

That is why I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce fruit for it.

"The kingdom from heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.

Show me the coin used for the tax."

"Teacher, Moses said, "If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for his brother.'

As for the resurrection from the dead, haven't you read what was spoken to you by God when he said,

"How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door to the kingdom from heaven in people's faces. You don't go in yourselves, and you don't allow those who are trying to enter to go in.

"How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You devour widows' houses and say long prayers to cover it up. Therefore, you will receive greater condemnation!

"How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make a single convert, and when this happens you make him twice as fit for hell as you are.

"How terrible it will be for you, blind guides! You say, "Whoever swears an oath by the sanctuary is excused, but whoever swears an oath by the gold of the sanctuary must keep his oath.'

"How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your mint, dill, and cummin, but have neglected the more important matters of the Law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These are the things you should have practiced, without neglecting the others.

"How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but on the inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

"How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead people's bones and every kind of impurity.

"How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous.

As a result, you will be held accountable for all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of the righteous Abel to the blood of Berechiah's son Zechariah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.

"How terrible it will be for women who are pregnant or who are nursing babies in those days!

If those days hadn't been limited, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be limited.

So if they say to you, "Look! He's in the wilderness,' don't go out looking for him. And if they say, "Look! He's in the storeroom,' don't believe it,

because just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

He'll send out his angels with a loud trumpet blast, and they'll gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to another."

"But the wise ones replied, "No! There will never be enough for us and for you. You'd better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.'

Later, the other bridesmaids arrived and said, "Lord, lord, open up for us!'

"Then the king will say to those on his right, "Come, you who have been blessed by my Father! Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,

The king will answer them, "I tell all of you with certainty, since you did it for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.'

"Then he will say to those on his left, "Get away from me, you who are accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the Devil and his angels!

Then he will say to them, "I tell all of you with certainty, since you didn't do it for one of the least important of these, you didn't do it for me.'

Surely this perfume could've been sold for a high price and the money given to the destitute."

But knowing this, Jesus asked them, "Why are you bothering the woman? She has done a beautiful thing for me.

When she poured this perfume on my body, she was preparing me for burial.

and from then on he began to look for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples approached Jesus and asked, "Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover meal?"

The Son of Man is going away, just as it has been written about him. How terrible it will be for that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him if he had never been born."

because this is my blood of the new covenant that is being poured out for many people for the forgiveness of sins.

When he went back to the disciples, he found them asleep. He told Peter, "So, you men couldn't stay awake with me for one hour, could you?

After leaving them again, he went away and prayed again for the third time, saying the same thing.

Then he came back to the disciples and told them, "You might as well keep on sleeping and resting. Look! The time is near for the Son of Man to be betrayed into the hands of sinners.

Peter, however, followed him at a distance as far as the high priest's courtyard. He went inside and sat down with the servants to see how this would end.

Meanwhile, the high priests and the whole Council were looking for false testimony against Jesus in order to have him put to death.

So they decided to use the money to buy the Potter's Field as a burial ground for foreigners.

and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me."

So when the people had gathered, Pilate asked them, "Which man do you want me to release for you Barabbas, or Jesus who is called "the Messiah'?"

But the high priests and elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to demand that Jesus be put to death.

So the governor asked them, "Which of the two men do you want me to release for you?" "Barabbas!" they replied.

Then he released Barabbas for them, but he had Jesus whipped and handed over to be crucified.

After they had crucified him, they determined who would get his clothes by throwing dice for them.

When some of the people standing there heard this, they said, "He's calling for Elijah."

He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus, and Pilate ordered it to be done.

Trembling from fear, even the guards themselves became catatonic.

Responding to the women, the angel said, "Stop being frightened! I know you're looking for Jesus, who was crucified.

Then Jesus told them, "Stop being frightened! Go and tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there."

He is a voice calling out in the wilderness: "Prepare the way for the Lord! Make his paths straight!'"

John was baptizing in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism about repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

He was in the wilderness for 40 days being tempted by Satan. He was among wild animals, and angels were ministering to him.

Simon and his companions searched frantically for him.

When they found him, they told him, "Everyone's looking for you."

He told the man, "Be sure that you don't tell anyone. Instead, go and show yourself to the priest, and then offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded as proof to the authorities."

Such a large crowd gathered that there wasn't room for them, even in front of the door. Jesus was speaking his message to them

when some people came and brought him a paralyzed man being carried by four men.

How was it that he went into the House of God during the lifetime of Abiathar the high priest and ate the Bread of the Presence, which was not lawful for anyone but the priests to eat, and gave some of it to his companions?"

Then he told them, "The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath.

Jesus told his disciples to have a boat ready for him so that the crowd wouldn't crush him,

Then his mother and his brothers arrived. Milling around outside, they sent for him, continuously summoning him.

A crowd was sitting around him. They told him, "Look! Your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you."

but since they don't have any roots, they last for only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes along because of the word, they immediately fall away.

but the worries of life, the deceitful pleasures of wealth, and the desires for other things come in and choke the word so that it can't produce a crop.

Nothing is hidden except for the purpose of having it revealed, and nothing is secret except for the purpose of having it come to light.

Overcome with fear, they kept saying to one another, "Who is this man? Even the wind and the sea obey him!"

But Jesus wouldn't let him. Instead, he told him, "Go home to your family, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been to you."

So the man left and began proclaiming in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And everyone was utterly amazed.