He called together all the Chief Priests and Teachers of the Law in the nation, and questioned them as to where the Christ was to be born.

Do not think that I have come to do away with the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to do away with them, but to complete them.

For I tell you, until the heavens and the earth disappear, not even the smallest letter, nor one stroke of a letter, shall disappear from the Law until all is done.

Indeed I tell you that, unless your religion is above that of the Teachers of the Law, and Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

And, when any one wants to go to law with you, to take your coat, let him have your cloak as well;

Do to others whatever you would wish them to do to you; for that is the teaching of both the Law and the Prophets.

For he taught them like one who had authority, and not like their Teachers of the Law.

When Jesus went into Peter's house, he saw Peter's mother-in- law prostrated with fever.

And a Teacher of the Law came up to him, and said: "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."

"Foxes have holes," answered Jesus, "and wild birds their roosting-places, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."

Then some of the teachers of the Law said to themselves: "This man is blaspheming!"

Be on your guard against your fellow men, for they will betray you to courts of law, and scourge you in their Synagogues;

For I have come to set--'a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

For the teaching of all the Prophets and of the Law continued till the time of John;

And have not you read in the law that, on the Sabbath, the priest in the Temple break the Sabbath and yet are not guilty?

But Jesus said to them: "Which of you, if he had only one sheep, and that sheep fell into a pit on the Sabbath, would not lay hold of it and pull it out?

At this point, some Teachers of the Law and Pharisees interposed. "Teacher," they said, " we want to see some sign from you."

Then he added: "So every Teacher of the Law, who has received instruction about the Kingdom of Heaven, is like a householder who produces from his stores things both new and old."

Then some Pharisees and Teachers of the Law came to Jesus, and said:

At that time Jesus Christ began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, and undergo much suffering at the hands of the Councillors, and Chief Priests, and Teachers of the Law, and be put to death, and rise on the third day.

"How is it," his disciples asked, "that our Teachers of the Law say that Elijah has to come first?"

"Listen! We are going up to Jerusalem; and there the Son of Man will be betrayed to the Chief Priests and Teachers of the Law, and they will condemn him to death,

But, when the Chief Priests and the Teachers of the Law saw the wonderful things that Jesus did, and the boys who were calling out in the Temple Courts "God save the Son of David!", they were indignant,

Then the Pharisees went away and conferred together as to how they might lay a snare for Jesus in the course of conversation.

Then one of them, a Student of the Law, to test him, asked this question--

"Teacher, what is the great commandment in the Law?"

On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

"The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees now occupy the chair of Moses.

Therefore practice and lay to heart everything that they tell preach but do not practice.

But alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You turn the key of the Kingdom of Heaven in men's faces. For you do not go in yourselves, nor yet allow those who try to go in to do so.

Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You destroy widow's houses, even while pretending to make long prayers; therefore you shall receive greater condemnation.

Alas for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You scour land and sea to make a single convert, and, when he is gained, you make him twice as deserving of the Pit as you are yourselves.

Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You pay tithes on mint, fennel, and caraway seed, and have neglected the weightier matters of the Law--justice, mercy, and good faith. These last you ought to have put into practice, without neglecting the first.

Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are filled with the results of greed and self-indulgence.

Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You are like whitewashed tombs, which indeed look fair outside, while inside they are filled with dead men's bones and all kinds of filth.

Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You build the tombs of the Prophets, and decorate the monuments of religious men,

That is why I send you Prophets, wise men, and Teachers of the Law, some of whom you will crucify and kill, and some of whom you will scourge in your Synagogues, and persecute from town to town;

Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas, the High Priest, where the Teachers of the Law and the Councillors had assembled.

In the same way the Chief Priests, with the Teaches of the Law and Councillors, said in mockery:

And teaching them to lay to heart all the commands that I have given you; and, remember, I myself am with you every day until the close of the age."

The people were amazed at his teaching, for he taught them like one who had authority, and not like the Teachers of the Law.

Now Simon's mother-in-law was lying ill with fever, and they at once told Jesus about her.

But some of the Teachers of the Law who were sitting there were debating in their minds:

When the Teachers of the Law belonging to the party of the Pharisees saw that he was eating in the company of such people, they said to his disciples: "He is eating in the company of tax- gatherers and outcasts!"

And the Teachers of the Law, who had come down from Jerusalem, said: "He has Baal-zebub in him, and he drives the demons out by the help of Baal-zebub, their chief."

So wherever he went--to villages, or towns, or farms--they would lay their sick in the market-places, begging him to let them touch only the tassel of his cloak; and all who touched were made well.

One day the Pharisees and some of the Teachers of the Law who had come from Jerusalem gathered round Jesus.

So the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law asked Jesus this question--"How is it that your disciples do not follow the traditions of our ancestors, but eat their food with defiled hands?"

Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo much suffering, and that he must be rejected by the Councillors, and the Chief Priests, and the Teachers of the Law, and be put to death, and rise again after three days.

"How is it," they asked Jesus, "that our Teachers of the Law say that Elijah has to come first?"

When they came to the other disciples, they saw a great crowd round them, and some Teachers of the Law arguing with them.

"Listen!" he said. "We are going up to Jerusalem; and there the Son of Man will be betrayed to the Chief Priests and the Teachers of the Law, and they will condemn him to death, and they will give him up to the Gentiles,

Now the Chief Priests and the Teachers of the Law heard this and began to look for some way of putting Jesus to death; for they were afraid of him, since all the people were greatly impressed by his teaching.

They came to Jerusalem again. While Jesus was walking about in the Temple Courts, the Chief Priests, the Teachers of the Law, and the Councillors came up to him.

Then came up one of the Teachers of the Law who had heard their discussions. Knowing that Jesus had answered them wisely, he asked him this question: "What is the first of all the commandments?"

"Wisely answered, Teacher!" exclaimed the Teacher of the Law. "It is true, as you say, that 'there is one God,' and that 'there is no other besides him';

While Jesus was teaching in the Temple Courts, he asked: "How is it that the Teachers of the Law say that the Christ is to be David's son?

In the course of his teaching, Jesus said: "See that you are on your guard against the Teachers of the Law, who delight to walk about in long robes, and to be greeted in the streets with respect,

See to yourselves! They will betray you to courts of law; and you will be taken to Synagogues and beaten; and you will be brought up before governors and kings for my sake, that you may bear witness before them.

It was now two days before the Festival of the Passover and the Unleavened bread. The Chief Priests and the Teachers of the Law were looking for an opportunity to arrest Jesus by stealth, and to put him to death;

And just then, while he was still speaking, Judas, who was one of the Twelve, came up; and with him a crowd of people, with swords and clubs, sent by the Chief Priests, the Teachers of the Law, and the Councillors.

Then they took Jesus to the High Priest; and all the Chief Priests, the Councillors, and the Teachers of the Law assembled.

As soon as it was daylight, the Chief Priests, after holding a consultation with the Councillors and Teachers of the Law--that is to say, the whole High Council--put Jesus in chains, and took him away, and gave him up to Pilate.

In the same way the Chief Priests, with the Teachers of the Law, said to one another in mockery:

When the period of purification of mother and child, enjoined by the Law of Moses, came to an end, his parents took the child up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord,

In compliance with the Law of the Lord that 'every first-born male shall be dedicated to the Lord,'

And also to offer the sacrifice enjoined in the Law of the Lord--'a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons.'

Moved by the Spirit, Simeon came into the Temple Courts, and, when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the Law,

When the child's parents had done everything enjoined by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth.

On leaving the Synagogue, Jesus went into Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a severe attack of fever, and they asked Jesus to cure her.

On one of those days, when Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and Doctors of the Law were sitting near by. (They had come from all the villages in Galilee and Judea, and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was upon Jesus, so that he could work cures.)

And there some men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed. They tried to get him in and lay him before Jesus;

The Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees began debating about this. "Who is this man who speaks so blasphemously?" they asked. "Who can forgive sins except God?"

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law belonging to their party complained of this to the disciples of Jesus."

The Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely, to see if he would work cures on the Sabbath, so that they might find a charge to bring against him.

But the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees were goaded to madness, and consulted together what they could do to Jesus.

But the Pharisees and the Students of the Law, having rejected John's baptism, frustrated God's purpose in regard to them.)

He told them that the Son of Man must undergo much suffering, and be rejected by the Councillors, and Chief Priests, and Teachers of the Law, and be put to death, and rise on the third day.

"Foxes have holes," he replied, "and wild birds their roosting-places, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."

Just then a Student of the Law came forward to test Jesus further. "Teacher," he said, "what must I do if I am to 'gain Immortal Life'?"

"What is said in the Law?" answered Jesus. "What do you read there?"

Here one of the Students of the Law interrupted him by saying: "Teacher, when you say this, you are insulting us also."

But Jesus went on: "Alas for you, too, you Students of the Law! You load men with loads that are too heavy to carry, but do not, yourselves, touch them with one of your fingers.

Alas for you Students of the Law! You have taken away the key of the door of Knowledge. You have not gone in yourselves and you have hindered those who try to go in."

When Jesus left the house, the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees began to press him hard and question him closely upon many subjects,

So it is with those who lay by wealth for themselves and are not rich to the glory of God."

'Father will be opposed to son and son to father, mother to daughter and daughter to mother, mother-in-law to her daughter-in- law and daughter-in-law to her mother-in-law.'"

"Is it allowable," said Jesus, addressing the Students of the Law and the Pharisees, "to work a cure on the Sabbath, or is it not?"

But the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law found fault. "This man always welcomes outcasts, and takes meals with them!" they complained.

The Law and the Prophets sufficed until the time of John. Since then the Good News of the Kingdom of God has been told, and everybody has been forcing his way into it.

It would be easier for the heavens and the earth to disappear than for one stroke of a letter in the Law to be lost.

Jesus continued to teach each day in the Temple Courts; but the Chief Priests and Teachers of the Law were eager to take his life, and so also were the leading men.

On one of these days, when Jesus was teaching the people in the Temple Courts and telling the Good News, the Chief Priests and the Teachers of the Law, joined by the Councillors, confronted him,

After this the Teachers of the Law and the Chief Priest were eager to lay hands on Jesus then and there, but they were afraid of the people; for they saw that it was at them that he had aimed this parable.

They could not lay hold of this answer before the people; and, in their wonder at his reply, they held their tongues.

"Well said, Teacher!" exclaimed some of the Teachers of the Law,

"Be on your guard against the Teachers of the Law, who delight to walk about in long robes, and like to be greeted in the streets with respect, and to have the best seats in the Synagogues, and places of honor at dinner.

Before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you, and they will betray you to Synagogues and put you in prison, when you will be brought before kings and governors for the sake of my Name.

The Chief Priest and the Teachers of the Law were looking for an opportunity of destroying Jesus, for they were afraid of the people.

When I was with you day after day in the Temple Courts, you did not lay hands on me; but now your time has come, and the power of Darkness."