"The sower," He said, "goes out to sow his seed; and as he sows, some of the seed falls by the way-side, and is trodden upon, or the birds of the air come and peck it up.

"To you," He replied, "it is granted to know the secrets of the Kingdom of God; but all others are taught by parables, in order that they may see and yet not see, and may hear and yet not understand.

Those by the way-side are those who have heard, and then the Devil comes and carries away the Message from their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

That which fell among the thorns means those who have heard, but as they go on their way, the Message is stifled by the anxieties, wealth and gaieties of time, and they yield nothing in perfection.

There is nothing hidden, which shall not be openly seen; nor anything secret, which shall not be known and come into the light of day.

Be careful, therefore, how you hear; for whoever has anything, to him more shall be given, and whoever has nothing, even that which he thinks he has shall be taken away from him."

Here, on landing, He was met by one of the townsmen who was possessed by demons--for a long time he had not put on any garment, nor did he live in a house, but in the tombs.

For already He had been commanding the foul spirit to come out of the man. For many a time it had seized and held him, and they had repeatedly put him in chains and fetters and kept guard over him, but he used to break the chains to pieces, and, impelled by the demon, to escape into the Desert.

and they besought Him not to command them to be gone into the Bottomless Pit.

"Daughter," said He, "your faith has cured you; go, and be at peace."

Jesus heard the words and said to him, "Have no fear. Only believe, and she shall be restored to life."

He, however, took her by the hand and called aloud, "Child, awake!"

Now Herod the Tetrarch heard of all that was going on; and he was bewildered because of its being said by some that John had come back to life,

by others that Elijah had appeared, and by others that some one of the ancient Prophets had come back to life.

But the immense crowd, aware of this, followed Him; and receiving them kindly He proceeded to speak to them of the Kingdom of God, and those who needed to be restored to health, He cured.

"You yourselves," He said, "must give them food." "We have nothing," they replied, "but five loaves and a couple of fish, unless indeed we were to go and buy provisions for all this host of people."

One day when He was praying by Himself the disciples were present; and He asked them, "Who do the people say that I am?"

and He said, "The Son of Man must suffer much cruelty, be rejected by the Elders and High Priests and Scribes, and be put to death, and on the third day be raised to life again."

And He said to all, "If any one is desirous of following me, let him ignore self and take up his cross day by day, and so be my follower.

For whoever shall have been ashamed of me and my teachings, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own and the Father's glory and in that of the holy angels.

"O unbelieving and perverse generation!" replied Jesus; "how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here to me."

"As for you, store these my sayings in your memory; for, before long, the Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of men."

Now there arose a dispute among them, which of them was to be the greatest.

And Jesus, knowing the reasoning that was in their hearts, took a young child and made him stand by His side

Now when the time drew near for Him to be received up again into Heaven, He proceeded with fixed purpose towards Jerusalem, and sent messengers before Him.

"Master," said yet another, "I will follow you; but allow me first to go and say good-bye to my friends at home."

After this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them before Him, by twos, to go to every town or place which He Himself intended to visit.

"Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house!'

"'The very dust of your town that hangs about us we wipe off as a protest. Only be sure of this, that the Kingdom of God is close at hand.'

"I tell you that it will be more endurable for Sodom on the great day than for that town.

However, for Tyre and Sidon it will be more endurable at the Judgement than for you.

And thou, Capernaum, shalt thou be lifted high as Heaven? Thou shalt be driven down as low as Hades.

On that same occasion Jesus was filled by the Holy Spirit with rapturous joy. "I give Thee fervent thanks," He exclaimed, "O Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, that Thou hast hidden these things from sages and men of understanding, and hast revealed them to babes. Yes, Father, for such has been Thy gracious will.

All things are delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is but the Father, nor who the Father is but the Son, and he to whom the Son may choose to reveal Him."

But he, desiring to justify himself, said, "But what is meant by my 'fellow man'?"

Now a priest happened to be going down that way, and on seeing him passed by on the other side.

In like manner a Levite also came to the place, and seeing him passed by on the other side.

and yet only one thing is really necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion and she shall not be deprived of it."

So He said to them, "When you pray, say, 'Father may Thy name be kept holy; let Thy Kingdom come;

"So I say to you, 'Ask, and what you ask for shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and the door shall be opened to you.'

For every one who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, the door shall be opened.

But some among them said, "It is by the power of Baal-zebul, the Prince of the demons, that he expels the demons."

And if Satan really has engaged in fierce conflict with himself, how shall his kingdom stand?--because you say that I expel demons by the power of Baal-zebul.

And if it is by the power of Baal-zebul that I expel the demons, by whom do your disciples expel them? They therefore shall be your judges.

But if it is by the power of God that I drive out the demons, it is evident that the Kingdom of God has come upon you.

Now when the crowds came thronging upon Him, He proceeded to say, "The present generation is a wicked generation: it requires some sign, but no sign shall be given to it except that of Jonah.

For just as Jonah became a sign to the men of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be a token to the present generation.

If, however, your whole body is penetrated with light, and has no part dark, it will be so lighted, all of it, as when the lamp with its bright shining gives you light."

"But alas for you Pharisees! for you pay tithes on your mint and rue and every kind of garden vegetable, and are indifferent to justice and the love of God. These are the things you ought to have attended to, while not neglecting the others.

Alas for you Pharisees! for you love the best seats in the synagogues, and you like to be bowed to in places of public resort.

so that the blood of all the Prophets, that is being shed from the creation of the world onwards, may be required from the present generation.

Yes, I tell you that, from the blood of Abel down to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the House, it shall all be required from the present generation.

Meanwhile the people had come streaming towards Him by tens of thousands, so that they were trampling one another under foot. And now He proceeded to say to His disciples first, "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is to say, beware of hypocrisy.

There is nothing that is covered up which will not be uncovered, nor hidden which will not become known.

Whatever therefore you have said in the dark, will be heard in the light; and what you have whispered within closed doors will be proclaimed from the house-tops.

"But to you who are my friends I say, "'Be not afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do nothing further.

But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God.

And to the people He said, "Take care, be on your guard against all covetousness, for no one's life consists in the superabundance of his possessions."

"But God said to him, "'Foolish man, this night your life is demanded from you; and these preparations--for whom shall they be?'

And which of you is able by anxious thought to add a moment to his life?

If then you are unable to do even a very little thing, why be over-anxious about other matters?

But if God so clothes the vegetation in the fields, that blooms to-day and to-morrow will be thrown into the oven, how much more certainly will He clothe you, you men of feeble faith!

"Therefore, do not be asking what you are to eat nor what you are to drink; and do not waver between hope and fear.

But make His Kingdom the object of your pursuit, and these things shall be given you in addition.

For where your wealth is stored, there also will your heart be.

"Have your girdles on, and let your lamps be alight;

and be yourselves like men waiting for their master--on the look-out till he shall return from the wedding feast--that, when he comes and knocks, they may open the door instantly.

And whether it be in the second watch or in the third that He comes and finds them so, blessed are they.

Of this be sure, that if the master of the house had known what time the robber was coming, he would have kept awake and not have allowed his house to be broken into.

Be you also ready, for at an hour when you are not expecting Him the Son of Man will come."

But he who had not been told it and yet did what deserved the scourge, will receive but few lashes. To whomsoever much has been given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been entrusted, of him a larger amount will be demanded.

For from this time there will be in one house five persons split into parties. Three will form a party against two and two will form a party against three;

Then He said to the people also, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, 'There is to be a shower;' and it comes to pass.

And when you see a south wind blowing, you say, 'It will be burning hot;' and it comes to pass.

So he said to the gardener, "'See, this is the third year I have come to look for fruit on this fig-tree and cannot find any. Cut it down. Why should so much ground be actually wasted?'

And this woman, daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan had bound for no less than eighteen years, was she not to be loosed from this chain because it is the Sabbath day?"

When He had said this, all His opponents were ashamed, while the whole multitude was delighted at the many glorious things continually done by Him.

when some one asked Him, "Sir, are there but few who are to be saved?"

"There will be the weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets in the Kingdom of God, and yourselves being driven far away.

And I tell you that some now last will then be first, and some now first will then be last."

On the contrary, when you are invited go and take the lowest place, that when your host comes round he may say to you, 'My friend, come up higher.' This will be doing you honour in the presence of all the other guests.

For whoever uplifts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be uplifted.

Also to His host, who had invited Him, He said, "When you give a breakfast or a dinner, do not invite your friends or brothers or relatives or rich neighbours, lest perhaps they should invite you in return and a requital be made you.

and you will be blessed, because they have no means of requiting you, but there will be requital for you at the Resurrection of the righteous."

"'Go out,' replied the master, 'to the high roads and hedge-rows, and compel the people to come in, so that my house may be filled.

"If any one is coming to me who does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes and his own life also, he cannot be a disciple of mine.

No one who does not carry his own cross and come after me can be a disciple of mine.

Just as no one of you who does not detach himself from all that belongs to him can be a disciple of mine.

I tell you that in the same way there will be rejoicing in Heaven over one repentant sinner--more rejoicing than over ninety-nine blameless persons who have no need of repentance.

I no longer deserve to be called a son of yours: treat me as one of your hired men.'

"'Father,' cried the son, 'I have sinned against Heaven and before you: no longer do I deserve to be called a son of yours.'

for my son here was dead and has come to life again: he was lost and has been found.' "And they began to be merry.

"Then the steward said within himself, "'What am I to do? For my master is taking away the stewardship from me. I am not strong enough for field labour: to beg, I should be ashamed.

"So he called all his master's debtors, one by one, and asked the first, 'How much are you in debt to my master?'

"No servant can be in bondage to two masters. For either he will hate one and love the other, or else he will cling fast to one and scorn the other. You cannot be bondservants both of God and of gold."

while at his outer door there lay a beggar, Lazarus by name,

"But in course of time the beggar died; and he was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died, and had a funeral.

And, besides all this, a vast chasm is immovably fixed between us and you, put there in order that those who desire to cross from this side to you may not be able, nor any be able to cross over from your side to us.'

"'If they are deaf to Moses and the Prophets,' replied Abraham, 'they would not be led to believe even if some one should rise from the dead.'"

It would be well for him if, with a millstone round his neck, he were lying at the bottom of the sea, rather than that he should cause even one of these little ones to fall.