The birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. After his mother, Mary, had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.

And while he was having this in mind, behold! an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying.

All this happened that the word of the Lord spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled.

When King Herod heard this he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

This John it was of whom it was said through Isaiah, the prophet, The voice of one who cries aloud in the desert, "Prepare a way for the Lord, Make the paths straight for him."

This John wore a garment of camel's hair, and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

while a voice from heaven said, "This is my son, the beloved, In whom I delight."

"But let your word be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the Evil One.

"So pray in this way. "Our Father who art in heaven, May thy name be hallowed,

"For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious about your life, inquiring what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor yet for your body, inquiring what you shall wear. Is not your life more than its food, and your body than its clothing?

"Therefore everything that you would have men do to you, do you also the same to them; for this is the Law and the Prophets.

"For I myself also am a man under authority, and I have soldiers under me. To one man I say 'Go,' and he goes; to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it."

As Jesus listened to this reply he was astonished, and said to those who followed him. "In solemn truth I tell you that I have found faith like this in any Israelite.

But the men were amazed, saying, "What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?"

And behold! certain scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming."

"It is not those who are well," said Jesus, when he heard this, "but the sick, who need a doctor.

"But go and learn what this means, "It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice; for I am come not to call just men, but sinners."

And the report of this spread throughout that whole region.

And when he had gone indoors, they came to him. "Do you believe that I can do this?" asked Jesus. "Yes, Lord," they answered.

"for this is he of whom it is written. "Behold, I send my messenger before my face, And he will prepare thy road for thee.

"To what shall I compare this generation? It is like little children sitting in the market-place, who call to the other children,

"And you too, Capernaum! Will you be exalted even to heaven? You shall go down to the Place of Death! For if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which have been done in you, it would have remained until this day.

"And if you knew what this means, "It is mercy I desire, not sacrifice,

And all the crowds were amazed, and he began to say, "Can this be the Son of David?"

When the Pharisees heard it they said, "It is only by the aid of Beelzebub, the Prince of the demons, that this fellow is driving out demons."

"And if any man say a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in that which is to come.

"The men of Nineveh will stand up in the Judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented under the preaching of Jonah, and lo! a greater than Jonah is here!

"The Queen of the South will rise in the judgment with this generation, and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon; and lo! a greater than Solomon is here!

"Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits worse than itself; and they enter in and dwell there. And the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it be with this wicked generation."

"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.

"This is the seed sown by the wayside. And the word, and at once receives it with joy.

"'It is an enemy who has done this,' he answered. "The slaves said to him, 'Do you want us to go and collect them?'

"This is indeed the smallest of seeds, but when it is grown it is greater than any herb, and becomes a tree, so that the winged things of the sky come and roost in its branches."

Jesus told all this to the crowd in parables; indeed he never spoke to them except in parables,

"Have you understood all this?" he asked. "We have," they answered him.

"Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?

This kept them from believing in him. Wherefore Jesus said, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and among his own family."

"This man is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead. That is why miraculous powers are working through him."

The king was displeased because of this, but because of his oaths and his guests he ordered it to be given her.

As twilight fell, his disciples came to him and said: "This is a lonely spot, and the day is far spent; send the crowds away, so that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food."

This is a people that honors me with their lips, But their heart is far from me.

"In a lonely place like this," asked the disciple. "where can we get bread enough to satisfy such a crowd?"

"Blessed are you, Simon, Son of Jonah," said Jesus; "for flesh and blood have not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven!

"Moreover I say to you that you are Petros (a rock), and on this petra (rock) I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against her.

After this Jesus the Christ began to show his disciples how he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things at the hands of the elders and chief priests and Scribes, and be put to death, and on the third day be raised again.

While he was yet speaking, behold! a luminous cloud overshadowed them; and a voice out of the cloud, saying. "This is my Son, my Beloved, in whom is my delight. Listen to him."

When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified.

"Because of your little faith," he answered. "In solemn truth I tell you that if you have faith the size of a mustard-seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from this place to that!' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.

"But this kind is driven out by prayer alone."

"Whoever therefore will humble himself like this little child, is greatest in the kingdom of heaven;

"For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall be one flesh?

He answered them. "Not all are accepting this teaching, but only those to whom it has been granted.

"For there are eunuchs who have been such from birth; others who have been made such by men; and others who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of God. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it."

But when the young man heard this teaching, he went away sorrowful, for he was one who had much property.

When they heard this the disciples were utterly astounded. "Who then can be saved?" they exclaimed. Jesus looked at them.

"With men this is impossible," he said, "but with God all things are possible."

"Take your wage and begone! I chose to give to this last man the same as to you.

When the ten heard of this, they were indignant at the two brothers;

This happened in fulfilment of the word spoken though the prophet.

And as he came into Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred. "Who is this?" they said.

And the crowds answered, "This is the Prophet Jesus, from Nazareth, in Galilee."

When his disciples saw this, they were astonished. "How instantaneously," they said, "the fig tree withered!"

In reply Jesus said to them, "In solemn truth I tell you that if you have faith and never doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Up, cast yourself into the sea!' it shall be done;

When he had entered the Temple courts, and was teaching, the high priests and elders of the people came to him and asked him, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?"

"For John came to you in the road of righteousness, and you did not give credence to him; but the tax-gatherers and the harlots gave credence to him. But you, although you saw this, did not even then change your minds and give credence to him.

But when the vine-dressers saw his son, they said to themselves: "'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and take his inheritance.'

"Have you never read in the Scriptures," Jesus answered, "how The stone that the builders rejected Has been made the corner-stone; This is the Lord's doing, It is wonderful in our eyes?

"I tell you that for this reason the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and will be given to a nation that does produce the fruit of it.

"He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but he upon whom it falls will be scattered as dust."

"Whose likeness and inscription is this?" he asked.

When they heard this they were astonished, and left him and went away.

"This is the great and first commandment.

"The second, which is like it, is this, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

Now while the Pharisees were together, Jesus put this question to them.

"For this cause, behold! I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify; some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and pursue from city to city;

"In solemn truth I tell you that all these things will come upon this generation.

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be proclaimed throughout the whole inhabited earth, for a testimony to the Gentiles, and then will come the end.

"So when you see the Abomination of Desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place let the reader take note of this,

But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have been on his guard, and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

"Why is this waste? This perfume could have been sold for a good sum, and the money given to the poor."

But when Jesus understood it he said to them. "Why are you annoying the woman? This is a beautiful deed she has done for me;

"In pouring this perfume on my body, she was preparing me for my burial.

"In solemn truth I tell you that wherever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, what she has done shall be told about, as her memorial."

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and, when he had blessed it, he broke it and gave to his disciples, saying, "Take, eat, this is my body."

"Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the Covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

"But I say to you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in the kingdom of my Father."

Then Jesus said to them. "This very night even you will all stumble and fall away from me; for it is written, 'I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'

Jesus said to him, "In solemn truth I tell you that on this very night, before cockcrow, you will deny me three times!"

Then he went forward a short distance, and fell on his face and prayed. "O, my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt."

Then he went away again a second time and prayed, saying, "O, my Father, if this cup cannot pass except I drink it, Thy will be done."

"Do you not suppose that I am able to appeal to my Father to furnish me at this very moment with twelve legions of angels?

"But all this has happened in order that the Scriptures might be fulfilled."

However, at last two came forward who said, "This fellow declared, 'I can destroy the Temple of God and build it in three days.'"

"I am He," Jesus answered; "yet I tell you that from this time on you will see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming upon the clouds of heaven."

Soon afterward he went out into the porch, and another maid saw him, and said to those who were there, "This fellow certainly was with Jesus, the Nazarene!"

That is the reason why, to this day, the field is called "The Field of Blood."

So when Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but that on the contrary a riot was threatening, he took water and washed his hands in the presence of the crowd, saying. "I am innocent of the blood of this man; you must answer for it."

They also placed above his head his accusation written, This is Jesus The King of the Jews

When they heard this, some of the bystanders said "He is calling for Elijah!"

When the Roman captain and the soldiers who were with him, guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and all that happened, they were greatly terrified and said, "Certainly this man must have been God's Son."