For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

From the time of John the Baptist to this very hour, the Kingdom of Heaven has been taken by force, and men using force have been seizing it.

For all of the prophets and the law of Moses prophesied [of this kingdom] up until the time of John.

And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.

The person who has ears to hear with ought to listen [to this] carefully.

But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they exclaim, 'See this man! --given to gluttony and tippling, and a friend of tax-gatherers and notorious sinners!' And yet Wisdom is vindicated by her actions."

I tell you this, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.

And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

At that time Jesus spoke and said, "I praise thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding all this from the wise and learned and revealing it to the simpleminded;

Yes, Father, because this was Your good pleasure.

About that time Jesus was walking through a grainfield on the Sabbath day. His disciples were hungry so began picking off some heads of grain to eat [the kernels]. [Note: It was an accepted practice for people in that day to be permitted to do this as they walked along paths bordering a grainfield].

When the Pharisees saw this, they told him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"

But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.

But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.

And behold, a man having a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbaths? This so that they might accuse Him.

And he said unto them, What man shall there be of you, that shall have one sheep, and if this fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?

Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! For this reason it is right to do good on the Sabbath day.

Upon this the Pharisees went out of the synagogue, and form'd a conspiracy against his life.

But being aware of this, Jesus went away from there. And many people joined and accompanied Him, and He cured all of them,

This was in fulfillment of what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah,

"This is My servant whom I have chosen, My dearly loved One in whom My soul takes pleasure. I will put My spirit upon Him, and He will announce justice to the nations.

And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?

But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

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

For this reason I say unto you, Every sin and injurious speaking shall be forgiven to men, but speaking injuriously of the Spirit shall not be forgiven to men.

And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees, hearing this, said to him, Master, we are looking for a sign from you.

but he answered them, this wicked degenerate race demand a miracle; but no other miracle shall they have, except that of the prophet Jonas.

The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

Someone told him this, and Jesus replied:

To the one who had said this, Jesus replied, "Who is my mother and who are my brothers?"

But other [seed] fell on the good soil and produced grain, this one a hundred [times as much] and this one sixty and this one thirty.

The person who has ears to hear with ought to listen [to this] carefully."

For this cause I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear nor understand;

And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, Ye shall hear by the hearing of the ear, and not understand; and in seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: for the heart of this people is grown stupid,

For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

"Listen then to this parable of the farmer [who sowed seed].

When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

And he that was sown upon the rocky places, this is he that heareth the word, and straightway with joy receiveth it;

He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

And he that was sown upon the good ground, this is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; who verily beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Another parable which Jesus told them was this-- "The Kingdom of Heaven is compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.

The servants of the householder came and said to him, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where did this darnel come from?'

He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

Another parable which he told them was this-- "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard-seed, which a man took and sowed in his field.

and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR come and NEST IN ITS BRANCHES."

This was another parable which Jesus related-- "The Kingdom of Heaven is like some yeast which a woman took and covered up in three pecks of flour, until the whole had risen."

All this Jesus spoke to the people in figurative language, and except in figurative language He spoke nothing to them,

This was in fulfillment of what was spoken by the prophet: I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things that have been hidden since the foundation of the world.

As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.

Then the people who did what was right will shine out like the sun in their Father's kingdom. The person who has ears [to hear with] ought to listen [to this] carefully.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hid in a field: a man finds this treasure and buries it again, then goes in great joy, sells all that he hath, and purchases that field.

It will be this way at the end of the age. Angels will come and separate the evil from the righteous

"Have you understood all this?" He asked. "Yes," they said.

And he said to them, For this reason every scribe discipled to the kingdom of the heavens is like a man that is a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.

Jesus concluded this series of parables and then departed.

And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?

Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?

And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?

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."

About that time Herod the tetrarch [Note: This man was the son of Herod the Great (See 2:

And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.

Her mother persuaded her to say, "Give me the head of John, the Immerser, here on this [large] platter."

The king was distressed at this; yet, on account of his oath and of the guests at his table, he ordered it to be given her.

When Jesus heard about it, He withdrew from there by boat to a remote place to be alone. When the crowds heard this, they followed Him on foot from the towns.

And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.

When He had done this, He climbed the hill to pray in solitude. Night came on, and he was there alone.

But the boat was by this time out on the sea, many furlongs [a furlong is one-eighth of a mile] distant from the land, beaten and tossed by the waves, for the wind was against them.

for this is a commandment of God, "honour thy father and mother; and, he that curses father or mother, let him be punish'd with death."

but you--this is what you say: 'If a man says to his father or mother, That is consecrated, whatever it is, which otherwise you should have received from me--

he does not have to honor his father.’ In this way, you have revoked God’s word because of your tradition.

This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

And Jesus called the people to Him and said to them, Listen and grasp and comprehend this:

Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?

Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.

And, he, said, To this moment, are, ye also, without discernment?

But whatever comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this is what makes a man unclean and defiles [him].

On leaving that place, Jesus went to the shore of the Sea of Galilee; and then went up the hill, and sat down., you will do what not only what has been done to the fig tree, but, even if you should say to this hill 'Be lifted up and hurled into the sea!' it would be done.

And there came unto him great multitudes, having with them the lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and they cast them down at this feet; and he healed them:

This made the crowd wonder, to see dumb people speaking, the lame walking, and the blind seeing.

But Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, "My heart yearns over this mass of people, for it is now the third day that they have been with me and they have nothing to eat. I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they should faint on the road."

And the disciples said to Him, Where are we to get bread sufficient to feed so great a crowd in this isolated and desert place?

This wicked and degenerate race demand a sign; but no sign shall be given them, except that of the prophet Jonah. And so He left them and went away.

So they were discussing [this] among themselves, saying, "[It is] because we did not take bread."

But Jesus, aware of this, asked, Why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? O you [men, how little trust you have in Me, how] little faith!

On coming into the neighborhood of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked his disciples this question-- "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"

And to this Simon Peter answered: "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God."

Then Jesus answered him, Blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are you, Simon Bar-Jonah. For flesh and blood [men] have not revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in heaven.

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

From this time Jesus began to explain to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer much cruelty from the Elders and the High Priests and the Scribes, and be put to death, and on the third day be raised to life again.

Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

But He turned and said to Peter, "Get out of my way, you Satan! You are a hindrance to me, for this view of yours is not from God but from men."

And six days after this, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves.

While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

And [when] the disciples heard [this], they fell down on their faces and were extremely frightened.

On their way down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, "Don't tell anyone about this vision until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."