Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven’; or to say, ‘Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk’?

As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax booth, and He *said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.

When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, “Why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?”

And hearing this, Jesus *said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

And Jesus said to them, “While the bridegroom is with them, the attendants of the bridegroom cannot fast, can they? So long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.

But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.

No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”

The Pharisees were saying to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”

how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?”

So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

He entered again into a synagogue; and a man was there whose hand was withered.

And He *said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent.

The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”

If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

If Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished!

but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”—

For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up.

Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”

As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables.

These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.

And He was saying to them, “A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand?

For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light.

And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil;

It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil,

yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that the birds of the air can nest under its shade.”

With many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to hear it;

On that day, when evening came, He *said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.”

Leaving the crowd, they *took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him.

They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he *said to Him, “My name is Legion; for we are many.”

The demons implored Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.”

As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was imploring Him that he might accompany Him.

and *implored Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will get well and live.”

And entering in, He *said to them, “Why make a commotion and weep? The child has not died, but is asleep.”

When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands?

Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him.

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.”

Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.”

And King Herod heard of it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, “John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.”

But others were saying, “He is Elijah.” And others were saying, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”

For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”

When it was already quite late, His disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and it is already quite late;

for they all saw Him and were terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and *said to them, “Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.”

Wherever He entered villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places, and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were being cured.

and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed.

and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.)

And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me.

‘But in vain do they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’

For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, is to be put to death’;

but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God),’

thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”

there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man.

because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thus He declared all foods clean.)

And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man.

deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.

But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet.

And He was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He *said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!”

They also had a few small fish; and after He had blessed them, He ordered these to be served as well.

For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them.

Peter *said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!”

As they were coming down from the mountain, He gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man rose from the dead.

They asked Him, saying, “Why is it that the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

And He said to them, “Elijah does first come and restore all things. And yet how is it written of the Son of Man that He will suffer many things and be treated with contempt?

But I say to you that Elijah has indeed come, and they did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written of him.”

It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!”

After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, “He is dead!”

For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.”

John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.”

But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me.

For he who is not against us is for us.

For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.

If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire,

[where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.]

If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell,

[where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.]

If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell,

where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.

Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

and if she herself divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.”

But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.

The disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus *answered again and *said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

Looking at them, Jesus *said, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”

Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake,

but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.

James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, *came up to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.”

But to sit on My right or on My left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

Calling them to Himself, Jesus *said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them.

But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant;

Then they *came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road.

And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him here.” So they *called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.”

As they *approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He *sent two of His disciples,