Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way: when his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit.

"Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel," which means, "God with us."

So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

When they had heard the king they went their way; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, until it came to rest over the place where the child was.

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

On coming into the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they fell down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, and of frankincense, and of myrrh.

And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Josnt in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him."

"A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."

and confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, 'He will give his angels charge of you,' and 'In their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'"

As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.

Immediately they left their nets and followed him.

and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

Then his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake.

Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

"Thus, when you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.

"And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.

And when you pray, do not use empty repetitions as the Gentiles do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

"And when you fast, do not look gloomy, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that they may be seen by men to be fasting. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin,

Do not give what is holy to the dogs; do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

When evening had come, they brought to him many who were demon-possessed. And he cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick.

And behold, they cried out, "What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?"

And he said to them, "Go." So they came out and went into the swine; and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and perished in the water.

Then those who kept them fled, and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.

And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

And behold, they brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven."

When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

And Jesus said to them, "Can the guests of the bridegroom mourn as long as he is with them? The days will come, when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

Neither do they put new wine into old wineskins; if they do, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and so both are preserved."

he said, "Depart; for the girl is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him.

When he had entered the house, the blind men came to him; and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to him, "Yes, Lord."

But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.

As they were going out, behold, a mute and demon-possessed man was brought to him.

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and flog you in their synagogues.

But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour;

When they persecute you in one city, flee to another. For truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!

As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.'

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by her deeds."

Then he began to rebuke the cities in which most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent.

"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, "Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath."

And behold, there was a man with a withered hand. And they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" so that they might accuse him.

But the Pharisees went out and plotted against him, how they might destroy him.

Then they brought to him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and he healed him, so that the mute man both spoke and saw.

But when the Pharisees heard this they said, "It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons."

And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.

But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.

The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here.

Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation."

Some fell on rocky places, where they did not have much soil, and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of soil.

But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.

This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

For this people's heart has grown dull. And their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and they understand with their hearts, and turn so that I should heal them.'

But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear.

The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil,

which, when it was full, they drew it up on the shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.

Jesus asked, "Have you understood all these things?" "Yes," they said to him.

And coming to his own country he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, "Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?

And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house."

And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet.

Then his disciples came and took the body and buried it; and they went and told Jesus.

Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a lonely place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.

When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food."

Jesus said, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat."

They said to him, "We have only five loaves here and two fish."

And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces that were left over.

But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear.

And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret.

And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent to all that surrounding region and brought to him all who were sick,

and begged him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched it were made well.

"Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat."

In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.'"

Then the disciples came and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?"

Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."

But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.

Then great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others; and they laid them down at his feet, and he healed them.

So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

Now Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have been with me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way."

And Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven, and a few small fish."

And they all ate and were satisfied; and they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces that were left over.

Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.

When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.