Jesse of David the King. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother was Uriah's widow,

Josiah of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the Exile to Babylon.

She shall give birth to a son; and you shall give him the name Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins."

After the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem in Judea, in the reign of King Herod, some Astrologers from the East arrived in Jerusalem, asking:

"At Bethlehem in Judea," was their answer; "for it is said in the Prophet--

'And thou, Bethlehem in Judah's land, Art in no way least among the chief cities of Judah; For out of thee will come a Chieftain- - One who will shepherd my people Israel.'"

The Astrologers heard what the King had to say, and then continued their journey. And the star which they had seen in the east led them on, until it reached, and stood over, the place where the child was.

At the sight of the star they were filled with joy.

Entering the house, they saw the child with his mother, Mary, and fell at his feet and did homage to him. Then they unpacked their treasures, and offered to the child presents of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

And there he stayed until Herod's death; in fulfillment of these words of the Lord in the Prophet, where he says--'Out of Egypt I called my Son.'

"Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand."

At that time Jerusalem, and all Judea, as well as the whole district of the Jordan, went out to him

And do not think that you can say among yourselves 'Abraham is our ancestor,' for I tell you that out of these very stones God is able to raise descendants for Abraham!

Already the axe is lying at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that fails to bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

But John tried to prevent him. "It is I," he said, "who need to be baptized by you; why then do you come to me?"

"Let it be so for the present," Jesus answered, "since it is fitting for us thus to satisfy every claim of religion." Upon this, John consented.

But Jesus answered: "Scripture says--'It is not on bread alone that man is to live, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

"All these I will give you, if you will fall at my feet and do homage to me."

Afterwards, leaving Nazareth, he went and settled at Capernaum, which is by the side of the Sea, within the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali;

At that time Jesus began to proclaim-- "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand."

The two men left their nets at once and followed him.

And they at once left their boat and their father, and followed him.

It is you who are the Salt of the earth; but, if the salt should lose its strength, what will you use to restore its saltiness? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown away, and trampled underfoot.

It is you who are the Light of the world. A town that stands on a hill cannot be hidden.

Men do not light a lamp and put it under the corn-measure, but on the lamp-stand, where it gives light to every one in the house.

You have heard that to our ancestors it was said--'Thou shalt not commit murder,' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to answer for it to the Court.'

I, however, say to you that any one who cherishes anger against his brother shall be liable to answer for it to the Court; and whoever pours contempt upon his brother shall be liable to answer for it to the High Council, while whoever calls down curses upon him shall be liable to answer for it in the fiery Pit.

Therefore, when presenting your gift at the altar, if even there you remember that your brother has some grievance against you,

I tell you, you will not come out until you have paid the last penny.

You have heard that it was said--'Thou shalt not commit adultery.'

I, however, say to you that any one who looks at a woman with an impure intention has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

If your right eye is a snare to you, take it out and throw it away. It would be best for you to lose one part of your body, and not to have the whole of it thrown into the Pit.

And, if your right hand is a snare to you, cut it off and throw it away. It would be best for you to lose one part of your body, and not to have the whole of it go down to the Pit.

It was also said--'Let any one who divorces his wife serve her with a notice of separation.'

Again, you have heard that to our ancestors it was said--'Thou shalt not break an oath, but thou shall keep thine oaths as a debt due to the Lord.'

I, however, say to you that you must not swear at all, either by Heaven, since that is God's throne,

Nor should you swear by your head, since you cannot make a single hair either white or black.

Let your words be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything beyond this comes from what is wrong.

You have heard that it was said--'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'

You have heard that it was said--'Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thy enemy.'

For, if you love only those who love you, what reward will you have? Even the tax-gatherers do this!

And, if you show courtesy to your brothers only, what are you doing more than others? Even the Gentiles do this!

But, when you do acts of charity, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

So that your charity may be secret; and your Father, who sees what is in secret, will recompense you.

And, when you pray, you are not to behave as hypocrites do. They like to pray standing in the Synagogues and at the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. There, I tell you, is their reward!

But, when one of you prays, let him go into his own room, shut the door, and pray to his Father who dwells in secret; and his Father, who sees what is secret, will recompense him.

Do not imitate them; for God, your Father, knows what you need before you ask him.

That he may not be seen by men to be fasting, but by his Father who dwells in secret; and his Father, who sees what is secret, will recompense him.

That is why I say to you, Do not be anxious about your life here--what you can get to eat or drink; nor yet about your body-- what you can get to wear. Is not life more than food, and the body than its clothing?

Look at the wild birds--they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns; and yet your heavenly Father feeds them! And are not you more precious than they?

Yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his splendor was not robed like one of these.

Do not then ask anxiously 'What can we get to eat?' or 'What can we get to drink?' or 'What can we get to wear?'

For, just as you judge others, you will yourselves be judged, and the measure that you mete will be meted out to you.

And why do you look at the straw in your brother's eye, while you pay no attention at all to the beam in yours?

How will you say to your brother 'Let me take out the straw from your eye,' when all the time there is a beam in your own?

Hypocrite! Take out the beam from your own eye first, and then you will see clearly how to take out the straw from your brother's.

Do not give what is sacred to dogs; nor yet throw your pearls before pigs, lest they should trample them under their feet, and then turn and attack you.

If you, then, wicked though you are, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in Heaven give what is good to those that ask him!

Go in by the small gate. Broad and spacious is the road that leads to destruction, and those that go in by it are many;

For small is the gate, and narrow the road, that leads to Life, and those that find it are few.

Beware of false Teachers--men who come to you in the guise of sheep, but at heart they are ravenous wolves.

Hence it is by the fruit of their lives that you will know such men.

On 'That Day' many will say to me 'Master, Master, was not it in your name that we taught, and in your name that we drove out demons, and in your name that we did many miracles?'

Everyone, therefore, that listens to this teaching of mine and acts upon it may be compared to a prudent man, who built his house upon the rock.

The rain poured down, the rivers rose, the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, for its foundations were upon the rock.

And every one that listens to this teaching of mine and does not act upon it may be compared to a foolish man, who built his house on the sand.

The rain poured down, the rivers rose, the winds blew and struck against that house, and it fell; and great was its downfall."

By the time that Jesus had finished speaking, the crowd was filled with amazement at his teaching.

Stretching out his hand, Jesus touched him, saying as he did so: "I am willing; become clean." Instantly he was made clean from his leprosy;

"Sir," he said, "my manservant is lying ill at my house with a stroke of paralysis, and is suffering terribly."

For I myself am a man under the orders of others, with soldiers under me; and, if I say to one of them 'Go,' he goes, and to another 'Come,' he comes, and to my slave 'Do this,' he does it."

Then Jesus said to the Captain: "Go now, and it shall be according to your faith." And the man was cured that very hour.

On his taking her hand, the fever left her, and she rose and began to wait upon him.

In the evening the people brought to Jesus many who were possessed by demons; and he drove out the spirits with a word, And cured all who were ill,

The men were amazed, and exclaimed: "What kind of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!"

And on getting to the other side--the country of the Gadarenes--Jesus met two men who were possessed by demons, coming out of the tombs. They were so violent that no one was able to pass that way.

Suddenly they shrieked out: "What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before our time?"

And the foul spirits began begging Jesus: "If you drive us out, send us into the drove of pigs."

"Go," he said. The spirits came out, and entered the pigs; and the whole drove rushed down the steep slope into the Sea, and died in the water.

At this the men who tended them ran away and went to the town, carrying the news of all that had occurred, and of what had happened to the possessed men.

At the news the whole town went out to meet Jesus, and, when they saw him, they entreated him to go away from their neighborhood.

And, later on, when he was at table in the house, a number of tax-gatherers and outcasts came in and took their places at table with Jesus and his disciples.

When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples: "Why does your Teacher eat in the company of tax-gatherers and outcasts?"

On hearing this, Jesus said: "It is not those who are in health that need a doctor, but those who are ill.

Go and learn what this means--'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice'; for I did not come to call the religious, but the outcast."

Nor do people put new wine into old wine-skins; for, if they do, the skins burst, and the wine runs out, and the skins are lost; but they put new wine into fresh skins, and so both are preserved."

He said: "Go away, the little girl is not dead; she is asleep." They began to laugh at him;

But, when the people had been sent out, Jesus went in, and took the little girl's hand, and she rose.

As Jesus was passing on from there, he was followed by two blind men, who kept calling out: "Take pity on us, Son of David!"

Upon that he touched their eyes, and said: "It shall be according to your faith."

Then their eyes were opened. Jesus sternly cautioned them. "See that no one knows of it," he said.

But the men went out, and spread the news about him through all that part of the country.

Just as they were going out, some people brought up to Jesus a dumb man who was possessed by a demon;

And, as soon as the demon had been driven out, the dumb man spoke. The people were astonished at this, and exclaimed: "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!"

But the Pharisees said: "He drives out the demons by the help of the chief of the demons."

Calling his twelve Disciples to him, Jesus gave them authority over foul spirits, so that they could drive them out, as well as the power of curing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

These twelve Jesus sent out as his Messengers, after giving them these instructions-- "Do not go to the Gentiles, nor enter any Samaritan town,

And on your way proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

Cure the sick, raise the dead, make the lepers clean, drive out demons. You have received free of cost, give free of cost.

Whatever town or village you visit, find out who is worthy in that place, and remain there till you leave.