This is a record of the life of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Jacob fathered Joseph, the husband of Mary, who was the mother of Jesus, who is called the Messiah.

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah happened in this way. When his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, before they lived together she was discovered to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he is the one who will save his people from their sins."

He did not have marital relations with her until she had given birth to a son; and he named him Jesus.

After Jesus had been born in Bethlehem of Judea during the reign of King Herod, wise men arrived in Jerusalem from the east

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.

But Jesus answered him, "Let it be this way for now, because this is the proper way for us to fulfill all righteousness."

At this, he permitted him to be baptized. When Jesus had been baptized, he immediately came up out of the water. Suddenly, the heavens opened up for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him.

After this, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil.

He told Jesus, "Since you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, because it is written, "God will put his angels in charge of you,' and, "With their hands they will hold you up, so that you will never hit your foot against a rock.'"

Jesus responded to him, "It is also written, "You must not tempt the Lord your God.'"

He told Jesus, "I will give you all these things if you will bow down and worship me!"

Then Jesus told him, "Go away, Satan! Because it is written, "You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.'"

Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he went back to Galilee.

From then on, Jesus began to announce, "Repent, because the kingdom from heaven is near!"

While Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers Simon (also called Peter) and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, because they were fishermen.

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on the hill. After taking his seat, his disciples came to him,

When Jesus had finished saying all these things, the crowds were utterly amazed at his teaching,

When Jesus came down from the hillside, large crowds followed him.

So Jesus reached out his hand, touched him, and said, "I do want to. Be clean!" And instantly his leprosy was made clean.

Then Jesus told him, "See to it that you don't speak to anyone. Instead, go and show yourself to the priest, and then offer the sacrifice that Moses commanded as proof to the authorities."

When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a centurion came up to him and begged him repeatedly,

Jesus told him, "I will come and heal him."

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and told those who were following him, "I tell all of you with certainty, not even in Israel have I found this kind of faith!

"Go," Jesus told the centurion, "and it will be done for you, just as you have believed." And his servant was healed that very hour.

When Jesus went into Peter's house, he saw Peter's mother-in-law lying in bed, sick with a fever.

When Jesus saw the large crowds around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.

Jesus told him, "Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to rest."

But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

When Jesus got into the boat, his disciples went with him.

Suddenly, a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat began to be swamped by the waves. Yet Jesus kept sleeping.

When Jesus arrived on the other side in the region of the Gerasenes, two demon-possessed men met him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so violent that no one could travel on that road.

So the demons began to plead with Jesus, saying, "If you drive us out, send us into that herd of pigs."

Then the whole city went out to meet Jesus, and as soon as they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

After getting into a boat, Jesus crossed to the other side and came to his own city.

All at once some people brought him a paralyzed man lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he told the paralyzed man, "Be courageous, son! Your sins are forgiven."

But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking, replied, "Why do you have such evil thoughts in your hearts?

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's desk and told him, "Follow me." So he got up and followed him.

While he was having dinner at Matthew's home, many tax collectors and sinners arrived and began eating with Jesus and his disciples.

When Jesus heard that, he said, "Healthy people don't need a physician, but sick people do.

Then John's disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don't fast?"

Jesus asked them, "The wedding guests can't mourn as long as the groom is with them, can they? But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast."

While Jesus was telling them these things, an official came up and fell down before him. "My daughter has just died," he said. "But come and lay your hand on her, and she will live."

So Jesus got up and followed him, along with his disciples.

When Jesus turned and saw her, he said, "Be courageous, daughter! Your faith has made you well." And from that very hour the woman was well.

When Jesus came to the official's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion,

As Jesus was traveling on from there, two blind men followed him, shouting, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"

When he had gone into the house, the blind men came to him. Jesus asked them, "Do you believe I can do this?" They told him, "Yes, Lord!"

And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly told them, "See to it that nobody knows about this."

Then Jesus began traveling throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every illness.

Then Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority over unclean spirits, so that they could drive them out and heal every disease and every illness.

Simon the Cananaean and Judas Iscariot, who later betrayed Jesus.

These were the Twelve whom Jesus sent out after he had given them these instructions: "Don't turn on to the road that leads to the unbelievers, and don't enter Samaritan towns.

When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he left there to teach and preach in their home towns.

Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and observe:

As they were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John. "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had taken place, because they didn't repent.

At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from wise and intelligent people and have revealed them to infants.

At that time, Jesus walked through the grain fields on a Sabbath. His disciples became hungry and began picking heads of grain to eat.

Moving on from there, Jesus went into their synagogue.

Suddenly, a man with a paralyzed hand appeared. The people asked Jesus if it was lawful to heal on Sabbath days, intending to accuse him of doing something wrong.

The Pharisees, however, went out and plotted against Jesus to kill him.

When Jesus became aware of this, he left that place. Many crowds followed him, and he healed all of them,

Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and unable to talk was brought to him. Jesus healed him so that the man could speak and see.

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees told Jesus, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from you."

While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him.

That day Jesus left the house and sat down beside the sea.

Then the disciples came and asked Jesus, "Why do you speak to people in parables?"

Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables. He did not tell them anything without using a parable.

Then Jesus left the crowds and went into the house. His disciples came to him and asked, "Explain to us the parable about the weeds in the field."

When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place.

But Jesus told them, "A prophet is without honor only in his hometown and in his own home." He did not perform many miracles there because of their unbelief.

At that time Herod the tetrarch, hearing about the fame of Jesus,

When John's disciples came, they carried off the body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.

When Jesus heard this, he left that place and went by boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of it and followed him on foot from the neighboring towns.

But Jesus told them, "They don't need to go away. You give them something to eat."

Jesus immediately had the disciples get into a boat and cross to the other side ahead of him, while he sent the crowds away.

Shortly before dawn, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea.

"Have courage!" Jesus immediately told them. "It's me. Stop being afraid!"

Jesus said, "Come on!" So Peter got down out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came to Jesus.

At once Jesus reached out his hand, caught him, and asked him, "You who have so little faith, why did you doubt?"

Then the men in the boat began to worship Jesus, saying, "You certainly are the Son of God!"

When the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word throughout that region and brought him everyone who was sick.

Then some Pharisees and scribes came from Jerusalem to Jesus and asked,

Jesus said, "Are you still so ignorant?

Then Jesus left that place and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon.

Then Jesus answered her, "Lady, your faith is great! What you want is granted." That very hour her daughter was healed.

Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a hillside and sat down.

Then Jesus called his disciples and said, "I have compassion for the crowd because they have already been with me for three days and have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away without food, or they may faint on the road."

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

When the Pharisees and Sadducees arrived, in order to test Jesus they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.

Jesus told them, "Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!"

Knowing this, Jesus asked them, "You who have little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you don't have any bread?

When Jesus had come to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

Then Jesus told him, "How blessed you are, Simon son of Jonah, since flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, though my Father in heaven has.

From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he would have to go to Jerusalem and suffer a great deal because of the elders, the high priests, and the scribes. Then he would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised.

But Jesus turned and told Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an offense to me, because you are not thinking God's thoughts but human thoughts!"

Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone wants to follow me, he must deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow me continuously.

Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John and led them up a high mountain by themselves.