The ancestry of Jesus Christ, who was descended from David, who was descended from Abraham.

Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac of Jacob, and Jacob of Judah and his brothers,

and Judah of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. And Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron of Aram,

and Salmon of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. And Boaz was the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. And Obed was the father of Jesse,

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

And Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam of Abijah, and Abijah of Asa,

After the Babylonian Exile, Jeconiah had a son named Shealtiel, and Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel,

and Jacob of Joseph, the husband of Mary, who was the mother of Jesus called Christ.

Now these were the circumstances of the birth of Jesus Christ. Mary, his mother, was engaged to Joseph, but before they were married it was found that she was about to become a mother through the influence of the holy Spirit.

But her husband, Joseph, was an upright man and did not wish to disgrace her, and he decided to break off the engagement privately.

But while he was thinking of doing this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, and said, "Joseph, descendant of David, do not fear to take Mary, your wife, to your home, for it is through the influence of the holy Spirit that she is to become a mother.

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

So he called together all the high priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Christ was to be born.

So they obeyed the king and went, and the star which they had seen rise led them on until it reached the place where the child was, and stopped above it.

Then Herod saw that he had been tricked by the astrologers, and he was very angry, and he sent and made away with all the boys in Bethlehem and in all that neighborhood who were two years old or under, for that was the tune he had learned from the astrologers by his inquiries.

Then the saying was fulfilled which was uttered by the prophet Jeremiah,

"A cry was heard in Ramah! Weeping and great lamenting! Rachel weeping for her children, And inconsolable because they were gone."

But hearing that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in the place of his father, Herod, he was afraid to return there; and being warned in a dream, he took refuge in the region of Galilee,

It was he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, when he said, "Hark! Someone is shouting in the desert, 'Get the Lord's way ready! Make his paths straight!' "

And when Jesus was baptized, he went right up out of the water, and the heavens opened, and he saw the Spirit of God come down like a dove and light upon him,

Then Jesus was guided by the Spirit into the desert, to be tempted by the devil.

And he fasted forty days and nights, and after it he was famished.

in fulfilment of what was said by the prophet Isaiah,

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

But when you fast, perfume your hair and wash your face,

and yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his splendor was never dressed like one of them.

Many will say to me on that Day, 'Lord! Lord! Was it not in your name that we prophesied, and by your name that we drove out demons, and by your name that we did many mighty acts?'

And the rain fell, and the rivers rose, and the winds blew and beat about that house, and it went down, and its downfall was complete."

So he stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I do choose! Be cured!" And his leprosy was immediately cured.

When Jesus heard this he was astonished, and said to his followers, "I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such faith as this.

Then Jesus said to the captain, "Go! You shall find it just as you believe!" And the servant was immediately cured.

And he said to them, "Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!" Then he got up and reproved the wind and the sea, and there was a great calm.

Now at some distance from them there was a great drove of pigs feeding.

Some people came bringing to him on a bed a man who was paralyzed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, "Courage, my son! Your sins are forgiven."

Afterward, as Jesus was passing along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tollhouse, and he said to him, "Follow me!" And he got up and followed him.

While Jesus was at home at table, a number of tax-collectors and irreligious people came in and joined Jesus and his disciples at table.

And Jesus turned and saw her, and he said, "Courage, my daughter! Your faith has cured you!" And from that time the woman was well.

When Jesus reached the official's house, and saw the flute-players and the disturbance the crowd was making,

As Jesus was passing along from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, "Take pity on us, you Son of David!"

And their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly not to let anyone hear of it.

But just as they were going out, some people brought to him a dumb man who was possessed by a demon,

and as soon as the demon was driven out, the dumb man was able to speak. And the crowds were amazed, and said, "Nothing like this was ever seen in Israel!"

These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James the son of Zebedee and his brother John,

Now when John heard in prison of what the Christ was doing, he sent by his disciples

and said to him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we look for someone else?"

But as they were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John. "What was it that you went out into the desert to look at? A reed swaying in the wind?

Then why did you go out there? Was it to see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and far more than a prophet!

and, if you are ready to accept the idea, he is himself Elijah who was to come.

How is it that he went into the House of God and that they ate the Presentation Loaves which it was against the Law for him and his companions to eat, or for anyone except the priests?

There was a man there with one hand withered. And in order to get a charge to bring against him, they asked him, "Is it right to cure people on the Sabbath?"

Then he said to the man, "Hold out your hand!" And he held it out, and it was restored and became as well as the other.

??n fulfilment of what was said by the prophet Isaiah,

At that time some people brought to him a man blind and dumb, who was possessed by a demon, and he cured him, so that the dumb man could speak and see.

For just as Jonah was in the maw of the whale for three days and nights, the Son of Man will be three days and nights in the heart of the earth.

Then it goes and gets seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there, and in the end the man is worse off than he was before. That is the way it will be with this present wicked age."

While he was still speaking, his mother and his brothers came up and stood outside the crowd, wanting to speak to him.

That same day Jesus went out of his house and was sitting on the seashore.

and as he was sowing, some of the seed fell by the path and the birds came and ate it up,

and some fell on rocky ground where there was not much soil and it sprang up at once, because the soil was not deep,

but when the sun came up it was scorched and withered up, because it had no root.

When anyone hears the teaching of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and robs him of the seed that has been sown in his mind. That is what was sown along the path.

And what was sown upon the rocky soil means the man who hears the message and at once accepts it joyfully,

And what was sown among the thorns means the man who listens to the message, and then the worries of the time and the pleasure of being rich choke the message out, and it yields nothing.

And what was sown in good ground means the man who listens to the message and understands it, and yields one a hundred, and another sixty, and another thirty-fold."

Another figure which he used in speaking to them was this: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field,

And the owner's slaves came to him and said, 'Was not the seed good that you sowed in your field, sir? So where did these weeds come from?'

Another figure which he used in speaking to them was this: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field.

Another figure which he used with them was this: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast, which a woman took and buried in a bushel of flour until it had all risen."

to fulfil what was said by the prophet, "I will open my mouth in figures, I will utter things that have been hidden since the creation."

"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a hoard of money, buried in a field, which a man found, and buried again. And he was overjoyed, and went and sold everything he had and bought the field.

"Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net that was let down into the sea, and inclosed fish of all kinds.

When it was full, they dragged it up on the beach, and sat down and sorted the good fish into baskets and threw the bad away.

And while he wanted him killed, he was afraid of the people; for they considered him a prophet.

But when Herod's birthday came, Herodias' daughter danced before the company. And Herod was delighted with her,

And the king was sorry, but because he had sworn to do it, and because of the guests who were present, he ordered it to be given to her.

And his head was brought back on a platter and given to the girl, and she took it to her mother.

So when he got out of the boat he found a great crowd gathered, and his heart was touched at the sight of them, and he cured those of them that were sick.

And when it was evening, the disciples came up to him and said, "This is a lonely place and the day is over. Send the crowds off to the villages to buy themselves food."

After he had dismissed them he went up the hill by himself to pray. And when evening came on he was there alone,

but the boat was by this time a long way from shore, struggling with the waves, for the wind was against them.

But when he felt the wind he was frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Master, save me!"

Then Jesus answered, "You have great faith! You shall have what you want." And her daughter was cured from that time.

Why do you not see that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!"

Then they understood that he was warning them not against yeast but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Then he warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

It was then that Jesus Christ for the first time explained to his disciples that he had to go to Jerusalem and endure great suffering there at the hands of the elders, high priests, and scribes, and be killed, and be raised to life on the third day.

Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

And Jesus reproved the demon and it came out of him, and from that moment the boy was cured.

Afterward, when he was alone, the disciples went to Jesus and said to him, "Why could we not drive it out?"

And when he set about doing so, a man was brought in who owed him ten million dollars.

And his master's heart was touched, and he let the slave go and canceled the debt.

He said to them, "It was on account of your perversity that Moses permitted you to divorce your wives, but it was not so at the beginning.

When Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, he took the Twelve off by themselves, and said to them as they were on the way,

And two blind men sitting by the roadside, hearing that it was Jesus who was passing, called out, "You Son of David! Take pity on us, sir!"

Now this happened in fulfilment of what was said by the prophet,

When he came into Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred, and everyone asked, "Who is he?"

When he had entered the Temple, and was teaching, the high priests and the elders of the people came up to him, and said, "What authority have you for doing as you do, and who gave you this authority?"

Where did John's baptism come from? Was it from heaven, or from men?" And they argued with one another, "If we say, 'It was from heaven,' he will say to us, 'Then why did you not believe him?'

But what do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'My son, go and work in the vineyard today.'

"Listen to another figure. There was a land owner who planted a vineyard and fenced it in, and hewed out a wine-vat in it, and built a watch-tower, and leased it to tenants, and left the neighborhood.