[ speaking in Aramaic ]
Narrator:
Many have undertaken
to draw up an account
of the things that have been
fulfilled among us,
just as they were
handed down to us
by those who from the first
were eyewitnesses
and servants of the Word.
With this in mind,
since I myself
have carefully
investigated everything
from the beginning,
I, too, decided to write
an orderly account for you,
most excellent Theophilus,
so that you may know
the certainty of the things
you have been taught.
In the time of Herod,
King of Judea,
there was a priest
named Zechariah,
who belonged to the priestly
division of Abijah.
His wife, Elizabeth,
was also a descendent
of Aaron.
Both of them were righteous
in the sight of God,
observing all the Lord's
commands and decrees
blamelessly.
But they were childless
because Elizabeth
was not able to conceive,
and they were both very old.
Once when Zechariah's
division was on duty
and he was serving
as priest before God,
he was chosen by lot,
according to the custom
of the priesthood,
to go into
the temple of the Lord
and burn incense.
And when the time
for the burning of
incense came,
all the assembled worshippers
were praying outside.
[ speaking in Aramaic ]
Then an angel of the Lord
appeared to him,
standing at the right side
of the altar of incense.
When Zechariah saw him,
he was startled
and was gripped with fear.
But the angel said to him,
"Do not be afraid, Zechariah,
your prayer has been heard.
Your wife, Elizabeth,
will bear you a son,
and you are
to call him John.
He will be a joy
and delight to you,
and many will rejoice
because of his birth,
for he will be great
in the sight of the Lord.
He is never to take wine
or other fermented drink,
and he will be filled
with the Holy Spirit
even before he is born.
He will bring back many
of the people of Israel
to the Lord their God.
And he will go on
before the Lord,
in the spirit
and power of Elijah,
to turn the hearts of
the parents to their children
and the disobedient to
the wisdom of the righteous--
to make ready a people
prepared for the Lord."
Zechariah asked the angel,
"How can I be sure of this?
I am an old man, and my wife
is well along in years."
The angel said to him,
"I am Gabriel.
I stand in the presence
of God,
and I have been sent
to speak to you
and to tell you
this good news.
And now you will be silent
and not able to speak
until the day this happens,
because you did not
believe my words,
which will come true
at their appointed time."
Meanwhile, the people
were waiting for Zechariah
and wondering why he stayed
so long in the temple.
When he came out,
he could not speak to them.
They realized he had seen
a vision in the temple,
for he kept making
signs to them
but remained
unable to speak.
When his time of service
was completed,
he returned home.
After this, his wife,
Elizabeth, became pregnant
and for five months
remained in seclusion.
"The Lord has done
this for me," she said.
"In these days
he has shown his favor
and taken away my disgrace
among the people."
In the sixth month
of Elizabeth's pregnancy,
God sent the angel, Gabriel,
to Nazareth,
a town in Galilee...
to a virgin pledged
to be married
to a man named Joseph,
a descendant of David.
The virgin's name
was Mary.
The angel went to her
and said,
"Greetings,
you who are highly favored!
The Lord is with you."
Mary was greatly troubled
at his words,
and wondered what kind of
greeting this might be.
But the angel said to her,
"Do not be afraid, Mary,
you have found
favor with God.
You will conceive
and give birth to a son,
and you are
to call him Jesus.
He will be great
and will be called
the Son of the Most High.
The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
and he will reign over Jacob's
descendants forever.
His kingdom will never end."
"How will this be,"
Mary asked the angel,
"since I am a virgin?"
The angel answered,
"The Holy Spirit
will come on you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you,
so the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
Even Elizabeth,
your relative,
is going to have a child
in her old age,
and she who was said to be
unable to conceive
is in her sixth month,
for no word form God
will ever fail."
"I am the Lord's servant,"
Mary answered.
"May your word to me
be fulfilled."
Then the angel left her.
At that time Mary got ready
and hurried to a town
in the hill country of Judea,
where she entered
Zechariah's home
and greeted Elizabeth.
Elizabeth!
When Elizabeth
heard Mary's greeting,
the baby leapt in her womb,
and Elizabeth was filled
with the Holy Spirit.
In a loud voice she exclaimed, "Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the child
you will bear!
But why am I so favored,
that the mother of my Lord
should come to me?
As soon as the sound
of your greeting
reached my ears,
the baby in my womb
leapt for joy.
Blessed is she who has
believed that the Lord
would fulfill
his promises to her!"
And Mary said, "My soul glorifies the Lord...
and my spirit rejoices
in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful
of the humble state
of his servant.
From now on, all generations
will call me blessed...
for the Mighty One has done
great things for me,
holy is his name.
His mercy extends
to those who fear him,
from generation
to generation.
He has performed
mighty deeds with his arm...
he has scattered those
who are proud
in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers
from their thrones
but has lifted up
the humble.
He has filled the hungry
with good things
but has sent the rich
away empty.
He has helped
his servant Israel,
remembering
to be merciful to Abraham
and his descendants
forever,
just as he promised
our ancestors."
Mary stayed with Elizabeth
for about three months
and then returned home.
When it was time
for Elizabeth
to have her baby,
she gave birth
to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives
heard that the Lord
had shown her great mercy,
and they shared her joy.
On the eighth day they came
to circumcise the child,
and they were going
to name him
after his father
Zechariah,
but his mother spoke up
and said, "No!
He is to be called John."
They said to her,
"There is no one among
your relatives
who has that name."
Then they made signs
to his father,
to find out
what he would like
to name the child.
He asked
for a writing tablet,
and to everyone's
astonishment
he wrote,
"His name is John."
Immediately his mouth
was opened
and his tongue set free,
and he began to speak,
praising God.
All the neighbors
were filled with awe,
and throughout
the hill country of Judea
people were talking
about all these things.
Everyone who heard this
wondered about it, asking,
"What then is this child
going to be?",
for the Lord's hand
was with him.
His father Zechariah
was filled
with the Holy Spirit
and prophesied,
"Praise be to the Lord,
the God of Israel,
because he has come
to his people
and redeemed them.
He has raised up a horn
of salvation for us
in the house
of his servant David,
as he said through his holy
prophets of long ago.
Salvation
from our enemies
and from the hand
of all who hate us.
To show mercy
to our ancestors
and to remember
his holy covenant,
the oath he swore
to our father Abraham.
To rescue us from the hand
of our enemies,
and to enable us
to serve him without fear,
in holiness
and righteousness,
before him
all our days.
And you, my child,
will be called a prophet
of the Most High,
for you will go on
before the Lord
to prepare
the way for him,
to give his people
the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness
of their sins,
because of the tender mercy
of our God,
by which the rising sun
will come to us from heaven
to shine on those
living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet
into the path of peace."
And the child grew
and became strong in spirit,
and he lived
in the wilderness
until he appeared
publicly to Israel.
In those days
Caesar Augustus
issued a decree
that a census
should be taken
of the entire Roman world.
This was the first census
that took place
while Quirinius
was governor of Syria,
and everyone went to
their own town to register.
So Joseph also went up
from the town of Nazareth
in Galilee to Judea,
to Bethlehem,
the town of David,
because he belonged
to the house
and line of David.
He went there
to register with Mary,
who was pledged
to be married to him
and was expecting a child.
While they were there,
the time came
for the baby to be born...
and she gave birth
to her firstborn...
a son.
She wrapped him in cloths
and placed him in a manger,
because there was
no guest room
available for them.
And there were shepherds
living out in the fields
nearby,
keeping watch
over their flocks at night.
An angel of the Lord
appeared to them,
and the glory of the Lord
shone around them,
and they were terrified.
But the angel said to them,
"Do not be afraid.
I bring you good news
that will cause great joy
for all the people.
Today in the town of David,
a Savior
has been born to you.
He is the Messiah,
the Lord.
This will be
a sign to you.
You will find a baby
wrapped in cloths
and lying in a manger."
Suddenly a great company
of the heavenly host
appeared with the angel,
praising God and saying,
"Glory to God
in the highest heaven,
and on Earth,
peace to those on whom
his favor rests."
When the angels
had left them
and gone into heaven,
the shepherds
said to one another,
"Let's go to Bethlehem
and see this thing
that has happened
which the Lord
has told us about."
So they hurried off
and found Mary and Joseph
and the baby,
who was lying in the manger.
When they had seen him,
they spread the word
concerning what had
been told them
about this child,
and all who heard it
were amazed
at what the shepherds
said to them.
But Mary treasured up
all these things
and pondered them
in her heart.
The shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all the things
they had heard and seen,
which were just
as they had been told.
On the eighth day,
when it was time
to circumcise the child,
he was named Jesus,
the name the angel
had given him
before he was conceived.
When the time came
for the purification rites
required
by the Law of Moses,
Joseph and Mary
took him to Jerusalem
to present him
to the Lord,
as it is written
in the Law of the Lord,
"Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord",
and to offer a sacrifice
in keeping with what is said
in the Law of the Lord,
"a pair of doves
or two young pigeons."
Now there was a man
in Jerusalem called Simeon,
who was righteous
and devout.
He was waiting
for the consolation
of Israel,
and the Holy Spirit
was on him.
It had been revealed to him
by the Holy Spirit
that he would not
die before he had seen
the Lord's Messiah.
Moved by the Spirit,
he went into
the temple courts.
When the parents
brought in the child Jesus
to do for him
what the custom
of the Law required,
Simeon took him in his arms
and praised God,
saying,
"Sovereign Lord,
as you have promised,
you may now dismiss
your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen
your salvation,
which you have prepared
in the sight of all nations,
a light for revelation
to the Gentiles,
and the glory
of your people Israel."
The child's
father and mother
marveled at what
was said about him.
Then Simeon blessed them
and said to Mary,
his mother,
"This child is destined
to cause the falling
and rising
of many in Israel,
and to be a sign
that will be spoken against,
so that the thoughts
of many hearts
will be revealed.
And a sword will pierce
your own soul, too."
There was also
a prophet, Anna,
the daughter of Penuel,
of the tribe of Asher.
She was very old.
She had lived
with her husband
seven years
after her marriage,
and then was a widow
until she was eighty-four.
She never left the temple,
but worshiped night and day,
fasting and praying.
Coming up to them
at that very moment,
she gave thanks to God
and spoke about the child
to all who were
looking forward
to the redemption
of Jerusalem.
When Joseph and Mary
had done everything
required by
the Law of the Lord,
they returned to Galilee
to their own town
of Nazareth.
And the child grew
and became strong,
he was filled with wisdom,
and the grace of God
was on him.
Every year Jesus' parents
went to Jerusalem
for the Festival
of the Passover.
When he was
they went up
to the festival,
according to the custom.
After the festival was over,
while his parents
were returning home,
the boy Jesus
stayed behind in Jerusalem,
but they were
unaware of it.
Thinking he was
in their company,
they traveled on
for a day.
Then they began
looking for him
among their relatives
and friends.
When they did not find him,
they went back to Jerusalem
to look for him.
After three days
they found him
in the temple courts,
sitting among
the teachers,
listening to them
and asking them questions.
Everyone who heard him
was amazed
at his understanding
and his answers.
When his parents saw him,
they were astonished.
His mother said to him,
"Son, why have you
treated us like this?
Your father and I
have been anxiously
searching for you."
"Why were you searching
for me?", he asked.
"Didn't you know I had to be
in my Father's house?"
But they did not understand
what he was saying to them.
Then he went down
to Nazareth with them
and was obedient to them,
but his mother treasured
all these things
in her heart,
and Jesus grew in wisdom
and stature,
and in favor
with God and man.
In the fifteenth year
of the reign
of Tiberius Caesar,
when Pontius Pilate
was governor of Judea,
Herod tetrarch of Galilee,
his brother Philip tetrarch
of Iturea and Traconitis,
and Lysanias tetrarch
of Abilene,
during the high-priesthood
of Annas and Caiaphas,
the word of God
came to John,
son of Zechariah,
in the wilderness.
He went into all the country
around the Jordan,
preaching a baptism
of repentance
for the forgiveness
of sins.
As it is written
in the book of the words
of Isaiah the prophet,
"A voice of one calling
in the wilderness,
'Prepare the way
for the Lord,
make straight paths
for him.
Every valley
shall be filled in,
every mountain
and hill made low.
The crooked roads
shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth.
And all people
will see God's salvation.'"
John said to the crowds
coming out
to be baptized by him,
"You brood of vipers!
Who warned you to flee
from the coming wrath?
Produce fruit in keeping
with repentance.
And do not begin
to say to yourselves,
'We have Abraham
as our father.'
For I tell you
that out of these stones,
God can raise up children
for Abraham.
The a* is already
at the root of the trees,
and every tree that does not
produce good fruit
will be cut down
and thrown into the fire."
"What should we do then?",
the crowd asked.
John answered,
"Anyone who has two shirts
should share with
the one who has none,
and anyone who has food
should do the same."
Even tax collectors
came to be baptized.
"Teacher," they asked,
"What should we do?"
"Don't collect any more
than you are required to,"
he told them.
Then some soldiers asked him,
"And what should we do?"
He replied,
"Don't extort money
and don't accuse people
falsely.
Be content
with your pay."
The people were waiting
expectantly
and were all wondering
in their hearts
if John might possibly
be the Messiah.
John answered them all,
"I baptize you with water.
But one who is more powerful
than I will come,
the straps of whose sandals
I am not worthy to untie.
He will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit
and fire.
His winnowing fork
is in his hand
to clear
his threshing floor
and to gather the wheat
into his barn,
but he will burn up
the chaff
with unquenchable fire."
And with many other words,
John exhorted the people
and proclaimed
the good news to them.
But when John rebuked
Herod the tetrarch
because of his marriage
to Herodias,
his brother's wife,
and all the other
evil things he had done,
Herod added this
to them all.
He locked John
up in prison.
When all the people
were being baptized,
Jesus was baptized, too.
And as he was praying,
heaven was opened
and the Holy Spirit
descended on him
in bodily form
like a dove.
And a voice
came from heaven,
"You are my Son,
whom I love,
with you
I am well pleased."
Now Jesus himself
was about 30 years old
when he began his ministry.
He was the son,
so it was thought,
of Joseph,
the son of Heli,
the son of Matthat,
the son of Levi,
the son of Melki,
the son of Jannai,
the son of Joseph,
the son of Mattathias,
the son of Amos,
the son of Nahum,
the son of Esli,
the son of Naggai,
the son of Maath,
the son of Mattathias,
the son of Semein,
the son of Josek,
the son of Joda,
the son of Joanan,
the son of Rhesa,
the son of Zerubbabel,
the son of Shealtiel,
the son of Neri,
the son of Melki,
the son of Addi,
the son of Cosam,
the son of Elmadam,
the son of Er,
the son of Joshua,
the son of Eliezer,
the son of Jorim,
the son of Matthat,
the son of Levi,
the son of Simeon,
the son of Judah,
the son of Joseph,
the son of Jonam,
the son of Eliakim,
the son of Melea,
the son of Menna,
the son of Mattatha,
the son of Nathan,
the son of David,
the son of Jesse,
the son of Obed,
the son of Boaz,
the son of Salmon,
the son of Nahshon,
the son of Amminadab,
the son of Ram,
the son of Hezron,
the son of Perez,
the son of Judah,
the son of Jacob,
the son of Isaac,
the son of Abraham,
the son of Terah,
the son of Nahor,
the son of Serug,
the son of Reu,
the son of Peleg,
the son of Eber,
the son of Shelah,
the son of Cainan,
the son of Arphaxad,
the son of Shem,
the son of Noah,
the son of Lamech,
the son of Methuselah,
the son of Enoch,
the son of Jared,
the son of Mahalalel,
the son of Kenan,
the son of Enosh,
the son of Seth,
the son of Adam,
the son of God.
Jesus,
full of the Holy Spirit,
left the Jordan
and was led by the Spirit
into the wilderness,
where for forty days
he was tempted by the devil.
He ate nothing
during those days,
and at the end of them
he was hungry.
The devil said to him,
"If you are the Son of God,
tell this stone
to become bread."
Jesus answered,
"It is written,
'Man shall not live
on bread alone.'"
The devil led him up
to a high place
and showed him
in an instant
all the kingdoms
of the world.
And he said to him,
"I will give you
all their authority
and splendor.
It has been given to me,
and I can give it
to anyone I want to.
If you worship me,
it will all be yours."
Jesus answered,
"It is written,
'Worship the Lord your God
and serve him only.'"
The devil led him
to Jerusalem
and had him stand
on the highest point
of the temple.
"If you are
the Son of God,"
he said,
"throw yourself down
from here.
For it is written,
'He will command his angels,
concerning you,
to guard you carefully.
They will lift you up
in their hands,
so that you will not strike
your foot against a stone.'"
Jesus answered,
"It is said,
'Do not put the Lord your God
to the test.'"
When the devil had finished
all this tempting,
he left him
until an opportune time.
Jesus returned to Galilee
in the power of the Spirit,
and news about him spread through the whole countryside.
He was teaching
in their synagogues,
and everyone praised him.
He went to Nazareth,
where he had been brought up,
and on the Sabbath day
he went into the synagogue,
as was his custom.
He stood up to read,
and the scroll
of the prophet Isaiah
was handed to him.
Unrolling it,
he found the place
where it is written,
"The Spirit
of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news
to the poor.
He has sent me
to proclaim freedom
for the prisoners
and recovery of sight
for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year
of the Lord's favor."
Then he rolled up
the scroll,
gave it back
to the attendant
and sat down.
The eyes of everyone
in the synagogue
were fastened on him.
He began by saying
to them,
"Today this scripture
is fulfilled
in your hearing."
All spoke well of him
and were amazed
at the gracious words
that came from his lips.
"Isn't this Joseph's son?",
they asked.
Jesus said to them,
"Surely you will quote
this proverb to me,
'Physician, heal yourself!'
And you will tell me,
'Do here in your hometown
what we have heard
that you did in Capernaum.'
Truly I tell you,"
he continued,
"no prophet is accepted
in his hometown.
I assure you that there
were many widows in Israel
in Elijah's time,
when the sky was shut
for three and a half years
and there was a severe famine
throughout the land.
Yet Elijah was not sent
to any of them,
but to a widow in Zarephath
in the region of Sidon.
And there were many
in Israel with leprosy
in the time of Elisha
the prophet,
yet not one of them
was cleansed--
only Naaman the Syrian."
All the people
in the synagogue
were furious
when they heard this.
They got up,
drove him out of the town,
and took him to the brow
of the hill
on which the town
was built
in order to throw him
off the cliff.
But he walked
right through the crowd
and went on his way.
Then he went down
to Capernaum,
a town in Galilee,
and on the Sabbath
he taught the people.
They were amazed
at his teaching,
because his words
had authority.
In the synagogue
there was a man
possessed by a demon,
an impure spirit.
He cried out
at the top of his voice,
"Go away!
What do you want with us,
Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come
to destroy us?
I know who you are--
the Holy One of God!"
"Be quiet!"
Jesus said sternly.
"Come out of him!"
[ man squealing ]
Then the demon threw
the man down before them all
and came out
without injuring him.
All the people were amazed
and said to each other,
"What words these are!
With authority and power
he gives orders
to impure spirits
and they come out!"
And the news about him
spread throughout
the surrounding area.
Jesus left the synagogue
and went to the home
of Simon.
Now Simon's mother-in-law
was suffering
from a high fever,
and they asked Jesus
to help her.
So he bent over her
and rebuked the fever...
and it left her.
She got up at once
and began to wait on them.
At sunset, the people
brought to Jesus
all who had various
kinds of sickness,
and laying his hands
on each one, he healed them.
Moreover, demons came out
of many people, shouting,
"You are the Son of God!"
But he rebuked them
and would not allow them
to speak,
because they knew
he was the Messiah.
At daybreak, Jesus went out
to a solitary place.
The people
were looking for him
and when they came
to where he was,
they tried to keep him
from leaving them.
[ speaking in Aramaic ]
But he said, "I must
proclaim the good news
of the kingdom of God
to the other towns also,
because that is why
I was sent."
And he kept on preaching
in the synagogues of Judea.
One day as Jesus was standing
by the Lake of Gennesaret,
the people
were crowding around him
and listening
to the word of God.
He saw
at the water's edge
two boats, left there
by the fishermen
who were washing
their nets.
He got into
one of the boats,
the one belonging to Simon,
and asked him to put
out a little from shore.
Then he sat down and taught
the people from the boat.
When he had
finished speaking,
he said to Simon,
"Put out into deep water,
and let down the nets
for a catch."
Simon answered, "Master,
we've worked hard all night
and haven't caught anything.
But because you say so,
I will let down the nets."
When they had done so,
they caught such
a large number of fish
that their nets
began to break.
So they signaled
their partners
in the other boat
to come and help them,
and they came and filled
both boats so full
that they began to sink.
When Simon Peter saw this,
he fell at Jesus' knees
and said,
"Go away from me, Lord,
I am a sinful man!"
For he and all his companions
were astonished
at the catch of fish
they had taken,
and so were James and John,
the sons of Zebedee,
Simon's partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon,
"Don't be afraid.
From now on you will
fish for people."
So they pulled
their boats up on shore,
left everything,
and followed him.
While Jesus was in
one of the towns,
a man came along who was
covered with leprosy.
When he saw Jesus, he fell
with his face to the ground
and begged him,
"Lord, if you are willing,
you can make me clean."
Jesus reached out his hand
and touched the man.
"I am willing," he said.
"Be clean!"
And immediately
the leprosy left him.
Then Jesus ordered him,
"Don't tell anyone, but go,
show yourself to the priest
and offer the sacrifices
that Moses commanded
for your cleansing
as a testimony to them."
Yet the news about him
spread all the more,
so that crowds of people
came to hear him
and to be healed
of their sicknesses.
But Jesus often withdrew
to lonely places and prayed.
One day Jesus was teaching
and Pharisees
and teachers of the law
were sitting there.
They had come
from every village
of Galilee and from Judea
and Jerusalem.
And the power of the Lord
was with Jesus
to heal the sick.
Some men came carrying
a paralyzed man on a mat
and tried to take him
into the house
to lay him before Jesus.
When they could not find
a way to do this
because of the crowd...
they went up on the roof...
and lowered him on his mat...
through the tiles...
into the middle
of the crowd...
right in front of Jesus.
When Jesus saw
their faith, he said,
"Friend, your sins
are forgiven."
The Pharisees
and the teachers of the law
began thinking
to themselves,
"Who is this fellow
who speaks blasphemy?
Who can forgive sins
but God alone?"
Jesus knew what they
were thinking and asked,
"Why are you thinking
these things in your hearts?
Which is easier-- to say,
'Your sins are forgiven,'
or to say,
'Get up and walk'?
But I want you to know
that the Son of Man
has authority on Earth
to forgive sins."
So he said
to the paralyzed man,
"I tell you, get up,
take your mat and go home."
Immediately he stood up
in front of them,
took what he had
been lying on,
and went home
praising God.
Everyone was amazed
and gave praise to God.
They were filled with awe
and said,
"We have seen
remarkable things today."
[ chattering ]
After this, Jesus went out
and saw a tax collector
by the name of Levi
sitting at his tax booth.
"Follow me,"
Jesus said to him,
and Levi got up,
left everything,
and followed him.
Then Levi held
a great banquet for Jesus
at his house,
and a large crowd
of tax collectors and others
were eating with them.
But the Pharisees
and the teachers of the law
who belonged
to their sect
complained
to his disciples,
"Why do you eat and drink
with tax collectors
and sinners?"
Jesus answered them,
"It is not the healthy
who need a doctor,
but the sick.
I have not come
to call the righteous,
but sinners
to repentance."
They said to him,
"John's disciples
often fast and pray,
and so do the disciples
of the Pharisees,
but yours go on eating
and drinking."
Jesus answered,
"Can you make the friends
of the bridegroom fast
while he is with them?
But the time will come
when the bridegroom
will be taken from them, in those days they will fast."
He told them this parable,
"No one tears a piece
out of a new garment
to patch an old one.
Otherwise, they will have
torn the new garment,
and the patch from the new
will not match the old.
And no one pours new wine
into old wineskins.
Otherwise, the new wine
will burst the skins,
the wine will run out,
and the wineskins
will be ruined.
No, new wine must be poured
into new wineskins.
And no one after drinking
old wine wants the new,
for they say,
'The old is better.'"
One Sabbath Jesus was going
through the grain fields,
and his disciples began
to pick some heads of grain,
rub them in their hands
and eat the kernels.
Some of the Pharisees asked,
"Why are you doing
what is unlawful
on the Sabbath?"
Jesus answered them,
"Have you never read
what David did when he
and his companions
were hungry?
He entered
the house of God,
and taking
the consecrated bread,
he ate what is lawful
only for priests to eat.
And he also gave some
to his companions."
Then Jesus said to them,
"The Son of Man is Lord
of the Sabbath."
On another Sabbath
he went into the synagogue
and was teaching,
and a man was there
whose right hand
was shriveled.
The Pharisees
and the teachers of the law
were looking for a reason
to accuse Jesus,
so they watched him closely
to see if he would heal
on the Sabbath.
But Jesus knew
what they were thinking
and said to the man
with the shriveled hand,
"Get up and stand
in front of everyone."
So he got up
and stood there.
Then Jesus said to them,
"I ask you, which is lawful
on the Sabbath--
to do good
or to do evil,
to save life
or to destroy it?"
He looked around
at them all,
and then said to the man,
"Stretch out your hand."
He did so, and his hand
was completely restored.
But the Pharisees
and the teachers of the law
were furious and began
to discuss with one another
what they might do
to Jesus.
One of those days
Jesus went out
to a mountainside to pray,
and spent the night
praying to God.
When morning came, he called
his disciples to him
and chose twelve of them,
whom he also designated
apostles.
Simon, whom he named Peter,
his brother Andrew,
James,
John,
Philip,
Bartholomew,
Matthew,
Thomas,
James son of Alphaeus,
Simon who was called
the Zealot,
Judas son of James,
and Judas Iscariot,
who became a traitor.
[ speaking in Aramaic ]
He went down with them
and stood on a level place.
A large crowd
of his disciples was there
and a great number of people
from all over Judea,
from Jerusalem,
and from the coastal region
around Tyre and Sidon,
who had come to hear him
and to be healed
of their diseases.
Those troubled by impure
spirits were cured,
and the people all tried
to touch him,
because power
was coming from him
and healing them all.
Looking at his disciples,
he said, "Blessed are you
who are poor,
for yours
is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you
who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you
who weep now,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you
when people hate you,
when they exclude you
and insult you
and reject your name
as evil,
because of the Son of Man.
Rejoice in that day
and leap for joy,
because great
is your reward in heaven.
For that is how
their ancestors
treated the prophets.
But woe to you
who are rich,
for you have already
received your comfort.
Woe to you
who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you
will mourn and weep.
Woe to you when everyone
speaks well of you,
for that is how
their ancestors
treated the false prophets.
But to you who
are listening I say,
love your enemies,
do good to those
who hate you,
bless those who curse you,
pray for those
who mistreat you.
If someone slaps you
on one cheek,
turn to them
the other also.
If someone takes your coat,
do not withhold
your shirt from them.
Give to everyone
who asks you,
and if anyone takes
what belongs to you,
do not demand it back.
Do to others as you
would have them do to you.
If you love those
who love you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners love those
who love them.
And if you do good
to those who are good to you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners do that.
And if you lend to those
from whom
you expect repayment,
what credit
is that to you?
Even sinners
lend to sinners,
expecting
to be repaid in full.
But love your enemies,
do good to them,
and lend to them
without expecting
to get anything back.
Then your reward
will be great,
and you will be children
of the Most High,
because he is kind
to the ungrateful and wicked.
Be merciful,
just as your Father
is merciful.
Do not judge,
and you will
not be judged.
Do not condemn,
and you will
not be condemned.
Forgive,
and you will be
forgiven.
Give,
and it will be
given to you.
A good measure,
pressed down,
shaken together
and running over,
will be poured
into your lap.
For with the measure
you use,
it will be measured to you."
He also told them
this parable,
"Can the blind
lead the blind?
Will they not both fall
into a pit?
The student is not
above the teacher,
but everyone
who is fully trained
will be like
their teacher.
Why do you look
at the speck of sawdust
in your brother's eye
and pay no attention
to the plank in your own eye?
How can you say
to your brother,
'Brother, let me take
the speck out of your eye,'
when you yourself
fail to see the plank
in your own eye?
You hypocrite, first take
the plank out of your eye,
and then you will see clearly
to remove the speck
from your brother's eye.
No good tree
bears bad fruit,
nor does a bad tree
bear good fruit.
Each tree is recognized
by its own fruit.
People do not pick figs
from thorn bushes,
or grapes from briers.
A good man brings
good things
out of the good
stored up in his heart,
and an evil man
brings evil things
out of the evil
stored up in his heart.
For the mouth speaks
what the heart is full of.
Why do you call me,
'Lord, Lord,'
and do not do
what I say?
As for everyone
who comes to me
and hears my words
and puts them into practice,
I will show you
what they are like.
They are like a man
building a house,
who dug down deep and laid
the foundation on rock.
When a flood came,
the torrent struck that house
but could not shake it,
because it was well built.
But the one
who hears my words
and does not
put them into practice
is like a man who built
a house on the ground
without a foundation.
The moment the torrent
struck that house,
it collapsed...
and its destruction
was complete."
When Jesus had finished
saying all this
to the people
who were listening,
he entered Capernaum.
There a centurion's servant,
whom his master
valued highly,
was sick
and about to die.
The centurion
heard of Jesus
and sent some elders
of the Jews to him,
asking him to come
and heal his servant.
When they came to Jesus,
they pleaded
earnestly with him,
"This man deserves
to have you do this,
because he loves our nation
and has built our synagogue."
So Jesus went with them.
He was not far
from the house
when the centurion
sent friends to say to him,
"Lord,
don't trouble yourself,
for I do not deserve
to have you
come under my roof.
That is why I did not
even consider myself worthy
to come to you.
But say the word,
and my servant
will be healed.
For I myself
am a man under authority,
with soldiers under me.
I tell this one,
'Go,' and he goes,
and that one,
'Come,' and he comes.
I say to my servant,
'Do this,' and he does it."
When Jesus heard this,
he was amazed at him,
and turning to the crowd
following him,
he said, "I tell you,
I have not found
such great faith
even in Israel."
Then the men who
had been sent
returned to the house
and found the servant well.
Soon afterward, Jesus went
to a town called Nain,
and his disciples
and a large crowd
went along with him.
As he approached
the town gate,
a dead person
was being carried out--
the only son of his mother,
and she was a widow.
And a large crowd
from the town was with her.
When the Lord saw her,
his heart went out to her
and he said,
"Don't cry."
Then he went up
and touched the bier
they were carrying him on,
and the bearers stood still.
He said, "Young man,
I say to you, get up!"
The dead man sat up
and began to talk,
and Jesus gave him back
to his mother.
They were all
filled with awe
and praised God.
"A great prophet
has appeared among us,"
they said.
"God has come
to help his people."
This news about Jesus
spread throughout Judea
and the surrounding country.
John's disciples told him
about all these things.
Calling two of them,
he sent them to the Lord
to ask, "Are you the one
who is to come,
or should we expect
someone else?"
When the men came
to Jesus, they said,
"John the Baptist
sent us to you to ask,
'Are you the one
who is to come,
or should we expect
someone else?'"
At that very time Jesus
cured many who had diseases,
sicknesses
and evil spirits,
and gave sight to many
who were blind.
So he replied
to the messengers,
"Go back
and report to John
what you have
seen and heard,
the blind receive sight,
the lame walk,
those who have leprosy
are cleansed,
the deaf hear,
the dead are raised,
and the good news
is proclaimed to the poor.
Blessed is anyone
who does not stumble
on account of me."
After John's
messengers left,
Jesus began to speak
to the crowd about John,
"What did you go out
into the wilderness to see?
A reed swayed by the wind?
If not, what did you
go out to see?
A man dressed
in fine clothes?
No, those who wear
expensive clothes
and indulge in luxury
are in palaces.
But what did you go
out to see?
A prophet?
Yes,
I tell you,
and more than a prophet.
This is the one
about whom it is written,
'I will send
my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare
your way before you.'
I tell you,
among those born of women
there is no one
greater than John,
yet the one who is least
in the kingdom of God
is greater than he."
All the people,
even the tax collectors,
when they heard
Jesus' words,
acknowledged that God's
way was right,
because they had been
baptized by John.
But the Pharisees
and the experts in the law
rejected God's purpose
for themselves,
because they had not been
baptized by John.
Jesus went on to say,
"To what, then,
can I compare
the people
of this generation?
What are they like?
They are like children
sitting in the marketplace
and calling out
to each other,
'We played
the pipe for you,
and you did not dance,
we sang a dirge,
and you did not cry.'
For John the Baptist
came neither eating bread
nor drinking wine,
and you say,
'He has a demon.'
The Son of Man
came eating and drinking,
and you say,
'Here is a glutton
and a drunkard,
a friend of tax collectors
and sinners.'
But wisdom is proved right
by all her children."
When one of the Pharisees
invited Jesus
to have dinner with him,
he went
to the Pharisee's house
and reclined at the table.
A woman in that town
who lived a sinful life
learned that Jesus was eating
at the Pharisee's house...
[ speaking in Aramaic ]
so she came there
with an alabaster jar
of perfume.
As she stood behind him
at his feet weeping,
she began to wet his feet
with her tears.
Then she wiped them
with her hair,
kissed them and poured
perfume on them.
When the Pharisee
who had invited him saw this,
he said to himself,
"If this man were a prophet,
he would know
who is touching him
and what kind
of woman she is--
that she is a sinner."
Jesus answered him,
"Simon, I have something
to tell you."
"Tell me, teacher," he said.
"Two people owed money
to a certain moneylender.
One owed him 500 denarii,
and the other 50.
Neither of them
had the money
to pay him back,
so he forgave
the debts of both.
Now which of them
will love him more?"
Simon replied,
"I suppose the one
who had the bigger
debt forgiven."
"You have judged correctly,"
Jesus said.
Then he turned
toward the woman
and said to Simon,
"Do you see this woman?
I came into your house.
You did not give me
any water for my feet,
but she wet my feet
with her tears
and wiped them
with her hair.
You did not
give me a kiss,
but this woman,
from the time I entered,
has not stopped
kissing my feet.
You did not
put oil on my head,
but she has poured
perfume on my feet.
Therefore, I tell you,
her many sins
have been forgiven--
as her great love
has shown.
But whoever has been
forgiven little
loves little."
Then Jesus said to her,
"Your sins are forgiven."
The other guests began
to say among themselves,
"Who is this
who even forgives sins?"
Jesus said to the woman,
"Your faith has saved you.
Go in peace."
After this,
Jesus traveled about
from one town and village
to another,
proclaiming the good news
of the kingdom of God.
The Twelve were with him,
and also some women
who had been cured
of evil spirits
and diseases,
Mary, called Magdalene,
from whom seven demons
had come out,
Joanna the wife of Chuza,
the manager of Herod's
household,
Susanna,
and many others.
These women were helping
to support them
out of their own means.
While a large crowd
was gathering
and people were coming
to Jesus
from town after town,
he told this parable,
"A farmer went out
to sow his seed.
As he was scattering
the seed,
some fell along the path,
it was trampled on,
and the birds ate it up.
Some fell on rocky ground,
and when it came up,
the plants withered
because they had
no moisture.
Other seed fell
among thorns,
which grew up with it
and choked the plants.
Still other seed
fell on good soil.
It came up
and yielded a crop,
a hundred times more
than was sown."
When he said this,
he called out,
"Whoever has ears to hear,
let them hear."
His disciples asked him
what this parable meant.
He said, "The knowledge
of the secrets
of the kingdom of God
has been given to you,
but to others I speak
in parables,
so that, though seeing,
they may not see,
though hearing,
they may not understand.
This is the meaning
of the parable,
the seed
is the word of God.
Those along the path
are the ones who hear,
and then the devil comes
and takes away the word
from their hearts,
so that they may not believe
and be saved.
Those on the rocky ground
are the ones
who receive the word with joy
when they hear it,
but they have no root.
They believe for a while,
but in the time of testing
they fall away.
The seed that fell
among thorns
stands for those who hear,
but as they go on their way
they are choked
by life's worries, riches
and pleasures,
and they do not mature.
But the seed on good soil
stands for those
with a noble and good heart,
who hear the word,
retain it,
and by persevering
produce a crop.
No one lights a lamp
and hides it in a clay jar
or puts it under a bed.
Instead, they put it
on a stand,
so that those who come in
can see the light.
For there is nothing hidden
that will not be disclosed,
and nothing concealed
that will not be known
or brought out
into the open.
Therefore consider carefully
how you listen.
Whoever has
will be given more,
whoever does not have,
even what they think
they have
will be taken from them."
Now Jesus'
mother and brothers
came to see him,
but they were not able
to get near him
because of the crowd.
Someone told him,
"Your mother and brothers
are standing outside,
waiting to see you."
He replied,
"My mothers and brothers
are those who hear
God's word
and put it
into practice."
One day Jesus said
to his disciples,
"Let us go over
to the other side
of the lake."
So they got into a boat
and set out.
As they sailed,
he fell asleep.
[ thunder crashing ]
A squall came down
on the lake,
so that the boat
was being swamped,
and they were
in great danger.
The disciples went
and woke him, saying,
"Master, Master,
we're going to drown!"
He got up
and rebuked the wind
and the raging waters.
The storm subsided,
and all was calm.
"Where is your faith?",
he asked his disciples.
In fear and amazement
they asked one another,
"Who is this?
He commands even the winds
and the water,
and they obey him."
They sailed to the region
of the Gerasenes,
which is across the lake
from Galilee.
When Jesus
stepped ashore,
he was met by
a demon-possessed man
from the town.
For a long time this man
had not worn clothes
or lived in a house,
but had lived in the tombs.
When he saw Jesus,
he cried out
and fell at his feet,
shouting at the top
of his voice,
"What do you
want with me, Jesus,
Son of the Most High God?
I beg you,
don't t*rture me!",
for Jesus had commanded
the impure spirit
to come out of the man.
Many times
it had seized him,
and though he was chained
hand and foot
and kept under guard,
he had broken his chains
and had been driven
by the demon
into solitary places.
[ growling, hissing ]
Jesus asked him,
"What is your name?"
"Legion," he replied,
because many demons
had gone into him,
and they begged Jesus
repeatedly
not to order them
to go into the Abyss.
A large herd of pigs
was feeding there
on the hillside.
The demons begged Jesus
to let them go
into the pigs...
and he gave them
permission.
When the demons
came out of the man,
they went into the pigs,
and the herd rushed
down the steep bank
into the lake
and was drowned.
When those tending the pigs
saw what had happened,
they ran off
and reported this
in the town
and countryside,
and the people went out
to see what had happened.
When they came to Jesus,
they found the man
from whom the demons
had gone out
sitting at Jesus' feet,
dressed and in
his right mind,
and they were afraid.
Those who had seen it
told the people
how the demon-possessed man
had been cured.
Then all the people
of the region
of the Gerasenes
asked Jesus to leave them,
because they were
overcome with fear.
So he got
into the boat and left.
The man from whom
the demons had gone out
begged to go with him,
but Jesus sent him away,
saying, "Return home
and tell how much God
has done for you."
So the man went away
and told all over town
how much Jesus
had done for him.
Now when Jesus returned,
a crowd welcomed him,
for they were all
expecting him.
Then a man named Jairus,
a synagogue leader,
came and fell
at Jesus' feet,
pleading with him
to come to his house
because his only daughter,
a girl of about 12,
was dying.
As Jesus was on his way,
the crowds
almost crushed him.
And a woman was there
who had been subject
to bleeding
for twelve years,
but no one
could heal her.
She came up behind him
and touched the edge
of his cloak,
and immediately
her bleeding stopped.
"Who touched me?",
Jesus asked.
When they all denied it,
Peter said, "Master,
the people are crowding
and pressing against you."
But Jesus said,
"Someone touched me.
I know that power
has gone out from me."
Then the woman, seeing
that she could not
go unnoticed,
came trembling
and fell at his feet.
In the presence
of all the people,
she told why
she had touched him
and how she had been
instantly healed.
Then he said to her,
"Daughter, your faith
has healed you.
Go in peace."
While Jesus
was still speaking,
someone came
from the house of Jairus,
the synagogue leader.
"Your daughter is dead,"
he said.
"Don't bother
the teacher anymore."
Hearing this,
Jesus said to Jairus,
"Don't be afraid,
just believe,
and she will be healed."
When he arrived
at the house of Jairus,
he did not let anyone
go in with him
except Peter,
John and James,
and the child's
father and mother.
Meanwhile, all the people
were wailing
and mourning for her.
"Stop wailing,"
Jesus said.
"She is not dead,
but asleep."
They laughed at him,
knowing that she was dead.
But he took her
by the hand and said,
"My child, get up!"
Her spirit returned,
and at once she stood up.
Then Jesus told them
to give her something to eat.
Her parents
were astonished,
but he ordered them
not to tell anyone
what had happened.
When Jesus had called
the Twelve together,
he gave them power
and authority
to drive out all demons
and to cure diseases,
and he sent them out
to proclaim
the kingdom of God
and to heal the sick.
He told them, "Take nothing
for the journey--
no staff, no bag, no bread,
no money, no extra shirt.
Whatever house you enter,
stay there
until you leave that town.
If people
do not welcome you,
leave their town
and shake the dust
off your feet
as a testimony
against them."
So they set out and went
from village to village,
proclaiming
the good news
and healing people
everywhere.
Now Herod the tetrarch heard
about all that was going on.
And he was perplexed
because some were saying
that John had been raised
from the dead,
others that Elijah
had appeared,
and still others that one
of the prophets of long ago
had come back to life.
But Herod said,
"I beheaded John.
Who, then, is this
I hear such things about?"
And he tried to see him.
When the apostles
returned,
they reported to Jesus
what they had done.
Then he took them with him
and they withdrew
by themselves
to a town called
Bethsaida...
but the crowds
learned about it
and followed him.
He welcomed them
and spoke to them
about the kingdom of God,
and healed those
who needed healing.
Late in the afternoon
the Twelve came to him
and said,
"Send the crowd away
so they can go
to the surrounding
villages and countryside
and find food and lodging,
because we are in
a remote place here."
He replied, "You give them
something to eat."
They answered, "We have only
five loaves of bread
and two fish--
unless we go and buy food
for all this crowd."
About five thousand
men were there.
But he said
to his disciples,
"Have them sit down
in groups
of about 50 each."
The disciples did so,
and everyone sat down.
Taking the five loaves
and the two fish
and looking up
to heaven,
he gave thanks
and broke them.
Then he gave them
to the disciples
to distribute
to the people.
They all ate
and were satisfied...
and the disciples picked up
of broken pieces
that were left over.
Once when Jesus
was praying in private
and his disciples
were with him,
he asked them...
"Who do the crowds
say I am?"
They replied,
"Some say John the Baptist,
others say Elijah,
and still others,
that one of the prophets
of long ago
has come back to life."
"But what about you?",
he asked.
"Who do you say I am?"
Peter answered,
"God's Messiah."
Jesus strictly warned them
not to tell this to anyone.
And he said,
"The Son of Man
must suffer many things
and be rejected
by the elders,
the chief priests,
and the teachers of the law,
and he must be k*lled
and on the third day
be raised to life."
Then he said to them all,
"Whoever wants
to be my disciple
must deny themselves
and take up their cross daily
and follow me.
For whoever wants
to save their life
will lose it,
but whoever loses
their life for me
will save it.
What good is it for someone
to gain the whole world,
and yet lose or forfeit
their very self?
Whoever is ashamed of me
and my words,
the Son of Man
will be ashamed of them
when he comes in his glory
and in the glory
of the Father
and of the holy angels.
Truly I tell you,
some who are standing here
will not taste death
before they see
the kingdom of God."
About eight days
after Jesus said this,
he took Peter, John
and James with him
and went up
onto a mountain to pray.
As he was praying,
the appearance
of his face changed,
and his clothes became
as bright as a flash
of lightning.
Two men,
Moses and Elijah,
appeared in glorious
splendor,
talking with Jesus.
They spoke about
his departure,
which he was about to bring
to fulfillment at Jerusalem.
Peter and his companions
were very sleepy,
but when they became
fully awake,
they saw his glory
and the two men
standing with him.
As the men
were leaving Jesus,
Peter said to him,
"Master, it is good
for us to be here.
Let us put up
three shelters,
one for you, one for Moses
and one for Elijah."
He did not know
what he was saying.
While he was speaking,
a cloud appeared
and covered them,
and they were afraid
as they entered the cloud.
A voice came
from the cloud, saying,
"This is my Son,
whom I have chosen.
Listen to him."
When the voice
had spoken,
they found that Jesus
was alone.
The disciples kept this
to themselves
and did not tell
anyone at that time
what they had seen.
The next day,
when they came down
from the mountain,
a large crowd met him.
A man in the crowd
called out,
"Teacher, I beg you
to look at my son,
for he is my only child.
A spirit seizes him
and he suddenly screams.
It throws him
into convulsions
so that he foams
at the mouth.
It scarcely ever leaves him
and is destroying him.
I begged your disciples
to drive it out,
but they could not."
"You unbelieving
and perverse generation,"
Jesus replied, "how long
shall I stay with you
and put up with you?
Bring your son here."
Even while the boy
was coming,
the demon threw him
to the ground
in a convulsion.
But Jesus rebuked
the impure spirit...
healed the boy...
and gave him back
to his father.
And they were all amazed
at the greatness of God.
While everyone was marveling
at all that Jesus did,
he said to his disciples,
"Listen carefully to what
I am about to tell you.
The Son of Man
is going to be delivered
into the hands of men."
But they did not understand
what this meant.
It was hidden from them,
so that they did not
grasp it,
and they were afraid
to ask him about it.
An argument started
among the disciples
as to which of them
would be the greatest.
Jesus,
knowing their thoughts,
took a little child
and had him stand beside him.
Then he said to them,
"Whoever welcomes
this little child
in my name welcomes me,
and whoever welcomes me
welcomes the one
who sent me.
For it is the one
who is least among you all
who is the greatest."
"Master," said John,
"we saw someone driving out
demons in your name
and we tried to stop him,
because he is
not one of us."
"Do not stop him,"
Jesus said,
"for whoever is not
against you is for you."
As the time
approached for him
to be taken up to heaven,
Jesus resolutely set out
for Jerusalem.
And he sent
messengers on ahead,
who went into
a Samaritan village
to get things
ready for him,
but the people there
did not welcome him,
because he was heading
for Jerusalem.
When the disciples
James and John saw this,
they asked,
"Lord, do you want us
to call fire
down from heaven
to destroy them?"
But Jesus turned
and rebuked them.
Then he and his disciples
went to another village.
As they were walking
along the road,
a man said to him,
"I will follow you
wherever you go."
Jesus replied,
"Foxes have dens
and birds have nests,
but the Son of Man
has no place
to lay his head."
He said to another man,
"Follow me."
But he replied,
"Lord, first let me go
and bury my father."
Jesus said to him,
"Let the dead bury
their own dead,
but you go and proclaim
the kingdom of God."
Still another said,
"I will follow you, Lord,
but first let me go back
and say good-bye
to my family."
Jesus replied,
"No one who puts a hand
to the plow
and looks back
is fit for service
in the kingdom of God."
After this, the Lord
appointed 72 others
and sent them
two by two ahead of him
to every town and place
where he was about to go.
He told them,
"The harvest is plentiful,
but the workers are few.
Ask the Lord of the harvest,
therefore, to send out
workers into
his harvest field.
Go!
I am sending you out
like lambs among wolves.
Do not take a purse
or bag or sandals,
and do not greet
anyone on the road.
When you enter a house,
first say,
'Peace to this house.'
If someone who promotes
peace is there,
your peace
will rest on them,
if not,
it will return to you.
Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you,
for the worker
deserves his wages.
Do not move around
from house to house.
When you enter a town
and are welcomed,
eat what is offered to you.
Heal the sick
who are there
and tell them,
'The kingdom of God
has come near to you.'
But when you enter a town
and are not welcomed,
go into its streets
and say,
'Even the dust of your town
we wipe from our feet
as a warning to you.
Yet be sure of this,
the kingdom of God
has come near.
I tell you, it will be
more bearable on that day
for Sodom
than for that town.
Woe to you, Chorazin!
Woe to you, Bethsaida!
For if the miracles
that were performed in you
had been performed
in Tyre and Sidon,
they would have
repented long ago,
sitting in sackcloth
and ashes.
But it will be more bearable
for Tyre and Sidon
at the judgment
than for you.
And you, Capernaum,
will you be lifted
to the heavens?
No, you will
go down to Hades.
Whoever listens to you
listens to me.
Whoever rejects you
rejects me.
But whoever rejects me
rejects him who sent me.'"
The 72 returned
with joy and said,
"Lord, even the demons
submit to us in your name."
He replied,
"I saw Satan fall
like lightning
from heaven.
I have given you
authority
to trample on snakes
and scorpions
and to overcome
all the power of the enemy,
nothing will harm you.
However,
do not rejoice
that the spirits
submit to you,
but rejoice
that your names
are written in heaven."
At that time Jesus,
full of joy
through the Holy Spirit,
said, "I praise you, Father,
Lord of heaven and Earth,
because you have
hidden these things
from the wise and learned,
and revealed them
to little children.
Yes, Father,
for this is what
you were pleased to do.
All things have been
committed to me
by my Father.
No one knows
who the Son is
except the Father,
and no one knows
who the Father is
except the Son,
and those to whom the Son
chooses to reveal him."
Then he turned
to his disciples
and said privately,
"Blessed are the eyes
that see what you see.
For I tell you that many
prophets and kings
wanted to see what you see
but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear
but did not hear it."
On one occasion
an expert in the law
stood up to test Jesus.
"Teacher," he asked,
"what must I do
to inherit eternal life?"
"What is written
in the Law?", he replied.
"How do you read it?"
He answered,
"'Love the Lord your God
with all your heart
and with all your soul
and with all your strength
and with all your mind.'
And 'Love your neighbor
as yourself.'"
"You have answered
correctly," Jesus replied.
"Do this
and you will live."
But he wanted
to justify himself,
so he asked Jesus,
"And who is my neighbor?"
In reply Jesus said,
"A man was going down
from Jerusalem to Jericho,
when he was att*cked
by robbers.
[ speaking in Aramaic ]
They stripped him
of his clothes,
b*at him and went away,
leaving him half dead.
A priest happened to be
going down the same road,
and when he saw the man,
he passed by
on the other side.
So, too, a Levite,
when he came to the place
and saw him,
passed by
on the other side.
But a Samaritan,
as he traveled,
came where the man was,
and when he saw him,
he took pity on him.
He went to him
and bandaged his wounds,
pouring on oil and wine.
Then he put the man
on his own donkey,
brought him to an inn
and took care of him.
The next day
he took out two denarii
and gave them
to the innkeeper.
'Look after him,' he said,
'and when I return,
I will reimburse you
for any extra expense
you may have.'
Which of these three
do you think was a neighbor
to the man who fell
into the hands of robbers?"
The expert
in the law replied,
"The one who
had mercy on him."
Jesus told him,
"Go and do likewise."
As Jesus and his disciples
were on their way,
he came to a village
where a woman named Martha
opened her home to him.
She had a sister
called Mary,
who sat at the Lord's feet
listening to what he said.
But Martha was distracted
by all the preparations
that had to be made.
She came to him and asked,
"Lord, don't you care
that my sister has left me
to do the work by myself?
Tell her to help me!"
"Martha, Martha,"
the Lord answered,
"you are worried and upset
about many things,
but few things are needed--
or indeed only one.
Mary has chosen
what is better...
and it will not
be taken away from her."
One day Jesus was praying
in a certain place.
When he finished,
one of his disciples
said to him,
"Lord, teach us to pray,
just as John
taught his disciples."
He said to them,
"When you pray, say,
'Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
Give us each day
our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone
who sins against us.
And lead us not
into temptation.'"
Then Jesus said to them,
"Suppose you have a friend,
and you go to him
at midnight and say,
'Friend, lend me
three loaves of bread.
A friend of mine on
a journey has come to me,
and I have no food
to offer him.'
And suppose the one inside
answers, 'Don't bother me.
The door
is already locked,
and my children and I
are in bed.
I can't get up
and give you anything.'
I tell you, even though
he will not get up
and give you the bread
because of friendship,
yet because of
your shameless audacity
he will surely get up
and give you
as much as you need.
So I say to you,
ask and it will be
given to you,
seek and you will find,
knock and the door
will be opened to you.
For everyone
who asks receives,
the one who seeks finds,
and to the one who knocks,
the door will be opened.
Which of you fathers,
if your son asks for a fish,
will give him
a snake instead?
Or if he asks for an egg,
will give him a scorpion?
If you then,
though you are evil,
know how to give good gifts
to your children,
how much more will your
Father in heaven
give the Holy Spirit
to those who ask him!"
Jesus was driving out
a demon that was mute.
When the demon left,
the man who had
been mute spoke...
and the crowd was amazed.
But some of them said,
"By Beelzebul,
the prince of demons,
he is driving out demons."
Others tested him
by asking for a sign
from heaven.
Jesus knew their thoughts
and said to them,
"Any kingdom divided
against itself
will be ruined,
and a house divided
against itself will fall.
If Satan is divided
against himself,
how can his kingdom stand?
I say this because you claim
that I drive out demons
by Beelzebul.
Now if I drive out demons
by Beelzebul,
by whom do your followers
drive them out?
So then, they will be
your judges.
But if I drive out demons
by the finger of God,
then the kingdom of God
has come upon you.
When a strong man,
fully armed,
guards his own house,
his possessions are safe.
But when someone stronger
att*cks and overpowers him,
he takes away the armor
in which the man trusted
and divides up his plunder.
Whoever is not with me
is against me,
and whoever does not gather
with me scatters.
When an impure spirit
comes out of a person,
it goes through
arid places
seeking rest
and does not find it.
Then it says,
'I will return
to the house I left.'
When it arrives,
it finds the house
swept clean
and put in order.
Then it goes and takes
seven other spirits
more wicked than itself,
and they go in
and live there.
And the final condition
of that person
is worse than the first."
As Jesus was saying
these things,
a woman in the crowd
called out,
"Blessed is the mother
who gave you birth
and nursed you."
He replied,
"Blessed rather are those
who hear the word of God
and obey it."
As the crowds increased,
Jesus said, "This is
a wicked generation.
It asks for a sign,
but none will be given it
except the sign of Jonah.
For as Jonah was a sign
to the Ninevites,
so also will the Son of Man
be to this generation.
The Queen of the South
will rise at the judgment
with the people
of this generation
and condemn them,
for she came from the ends
of the earth
to listen
to Solomon's wisdom,
and now something greater
than Solomon is here.
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 something
greater than Jonah is here.
No one lights a lamp
and puts it in a place
where it will be hidden,
or under a bowl.
Instead they put it
on its stand,
so that those who come in
may see the light.
Your eye is the lamp
of your body.
When your eyes
are healthy,
your whole body
also is full of light.
But when they are
unhealthy,
your body also
is full of darkness.
See to it, then,
that the light within you
is not darkness.
Therefore,
if your whole body
is full of light,
and no part of it dark,
it will be just
as full of light
as when a lamp
shines its light on you."
When Jesus
had finished speaking,
a Pharisee invited him
to eat with him,
so he went in
and reclined at the table.
But the Pharisee
was surprised
when he noticed that Jesus
did not first wash
before the meal.
Then the Lord
said to him,
"Now then,
you Pharisees
clean the outside
of the cup and dish,
but inside you are full
of greed and wickedness.
You foolish people!
Did not the one
who made the outside
make the inside also?
But now as for what
is inside you--
be generous to the poor,
and everything
will be clean for you.
Woe to you Pharisees,
because you give God
a tenth of your mint,
rue and all other kinds
of garden herbs,
but you neglect justice
and the love of God.
You should have
practiced the latter
without leaving
the former undone.
Woe to you Pharisees,
because you love
the most important seats
in the synagogues
and respectful greetings
in the marketplaces.
Woe to you, because
you are like unmarked graves,
which people walk over
without knowing it."
One of the experts
in the law answered him,
"Teacher, when you say
these things,
you insult us also."
Jesus replied,
"And you experts
in the law,
woe to you, because
you load people down
with burdens
they can hardly carry,
and you yourselves will not
lift one finger to help them.
Woe to you,
because you build tombs
for the prophets,
and it was your ancestors
who k*lled them.
So you testify
that you approve
of what your ancestors did,
they k*lled the prophets,
and you build their tombs.
Because of this,
God in his wisdom said,
'I will send them
prophets and apostles,
some of whom
they will k*ll
and others
they will persecute.'
Therefore this generation
will be held responsible
for the blood
of all the prophets
that has been shed since
the beginning of the world,
from the blood of Abel
to the blood of Zechariah,
who was k*lled between
the altar and the sanctuary.
Yes, I tell you,
this generation
will be held responsible
for it all.
Woe to you experts
in the law,
because you have taken away
the key to knowledge.
You yourselves
have not entered,
and you have hindered
those who were entering."
When Jesus went outside,
the Pharisees
and the teachers of the law
began to oppose him fiercely
and to besiege him
with questions,
waiting to catch him
in something he might say.
Meanwhile, when a crowd
of many thousands
had gathered,
so that they were
trampling on one another,
Jesus began to speak first
to his disciples, saying,
"Be on your guard against
the yeast of the Pharisees,
which is hypocrisy.
There is nothing concealed
that will not be disclosed,
or hidden that will not
be made known.
What you have said
in the dark
will be heard
in the daylight,
and what you have
whispered in the ear
in the inner rooms
will be proclaimed
from the roofs.
I tell you, my friends,
do not be afraid of those
who k*ll the body
and after that
can do no more.
I will show you who
you should fear.
Fear him who,
after your body
has been k*lled,
has authority
to throw you into hell.
Yes, I tell you,
fear him.
Are not five sparrows
sold for two pennies?
Yet not one of them
is forgotten by God.
Indeed, the very hairs
of your head
are all numbered.
Don't be afraid,
you are worth more
than many sparrows.
I tell you, whoever
publicly acknowledges me
before others,
the Son of Man
will also acknowledge
before the angels of God.
But whoever disowns me
before others
will be disowned
before the angels of God.
And everyone
who speaks a word
against the Son of Man
will be forgiven,
but anyone who blasphemes
against the Holy Spirit
will not be forgiven.
When you are brought
before synagogues,
rulers and authorities,
do not worry about how
you will defend yourselves
or what you will say,
for the Holy Spirit
will teach you at that time
what you should say."
Someone in the crowd
said to him,
"Teacher, tell my brother
to divide
the inheritance with me."
Jesus replied,
"Man, who appointed me
a judge or an arbiter
between you?"
Then he said to them,
"Watch out!
Be on your guard
against all kinds of greed,
life does not consist
in an abundance
of possessions."
And he told them
this parable,
"The ground
of a certain rich man
yielded
an abundant harvest.
He thought to himself,
'What shall I do?
I have no place
to store my crops.'
Then he said,
'This is what I'll do.
I will tear down my barns
and build bigger ones,
and there I will store
my surplus grain.
And I'll say to myself,
"You have plenty of grain
laid up for many years.
Take life easy, eat,
drink and be merry."'
But God said to him,
'You fool!
This very night your life
will be demanded from you.
Then who will get
what you have prepared
for yourself?'
This is how it will be
with whoever stores up
things for themselves
but is not rich toward God."
Then Jesus said
to his disciples,
"Therefore I tell you,
do not worry about your life,
what you will eat,
or about your body,
what you will wear.
For life is more than food,
and the body
more than clothes.
Consider the ravens.
They do not sow or reap,
they have no
storeroom or barn,
yet God feeds them.
And how much more valuable
you are than birds!
Who of you by worrying
can add a single hour
to your life?
Since you cannot do
this very little thing,
why do you worry
about the rest?
Consider how
the wild flowers grow.
They do not labor or spin.
Yet I tell you, not even
Solomon in all his splendor
was dressed
like one of these.
If that is how God clothes
the grass of the field,
which is here today,
and tomorrow is thrown
into the fire,
how much more
will he clothe you--
you of little faith!
And do not
set your heart
on what you will
eat or drink,
do not worry about it.
For the pagan world runs
after all such things,
and your Father knows
that you need them.
But seek his kingdom,
and these things
will be given
to you as well.
Do not be afraid,
little flock,
for your Father
has been pleased
to give you the kingdom.
Sell your possessions
and give to the poor.
Provide purses
for yourselves
that will not wear out,
a treasure in heaven
that will never fail,
where no thief comes near
and no moth destroys.
For where
your treasure is,
there your heart
will be also.
Be dressed
ready for service
and keep your lamps
burning,
like servants waiting
for their master to return
from a wedding banquet,
so that when he comes
and knocks
they can immediately
open the door for him.
It will be good
for those servants
whose master finds them
watching when he comes.
Truly I tell you,
he will dress himself
to serve,
will have them recline
at the table
and will come
and wait on them.
It will be good
for those servants
whose master
finds them ready,
even if he comes
in the middle of the night
or toward daybreak.
But understand this,
if the owner of the house
had known at what hour
the thief was coming,
he would not have let
his house be broken into.
You also must be ready,
because the Son of Man
will come at an hour
when you do not expect him."
Peter asked,
"Lord, are you telling
this parable to us,
or to everyone?"
The Lord answered,
"Who then is the faithful
and wise manager,
whom the master puts
in charge of his servants
to give them
their food allowance
at the proper time?
It will be good
for that servant
whom the master finds
doing so when he returns.
Truly I tell you,
he will put him in charge
of all his possessions.
But suppose the servant
says to himself,
'My master is taking
a long time in coming,'
and he then begins to b*at
the other servants,
both men and women,
and to eat and drink
and get drunk.
The master of that servant
will come on a day
when he does
not expect him...
and at an hour
he is not aware of.
He will cut him
to pieces
and assign him a place
with the unbelievers.
The servant who knows
the master's will
and does not get ready
or does not do
what the master wants
will be beaten
with many blows.
But the one who
does not know
and does things
deserving punishment
will be beaten
with few blows.
From everyone
who has been given much,
much will be demanded,
and from the one who has been
entrusted with much,
much more will be asked.
I have come to bring
fire on the earth,
and how I wish
it were already kindled!
But I have a baptism
to undergo,
and what constraint
I am under
until it is completed!
Do you think I came
to bring peace on earth?
No, I tell you,
but division.
From now on there will be
five in one family
divided against each other,
three against two
and two against three.
They will be divided,
father against son
and son against father,
mother against daughter
and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law
against daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law
against mother-in-law."
He said to the crowd,
"When you see a cloud
rising in the west,
immediately you say,
'It's going to rain,'
and it does.
And when the south wind
blows, you say,
'It's going to be hot,'
and it is.
Hypocrites!
You know how to interpret
the appearance
of the earth and the sky.
How is it that you don't know
how to interpret
this present time?
Why don't you judge
for yourselves
what is right?
As you are going
with your adversary
to the magistrate,
try hard to be
reconciled on the way,
or your adversary may
drag you off to the judge,
and the judge turn you over
to the officer,
and the officer throw you
into prison.
I tell you,
you will not get out
until you have paid
the last penny."
Now there were some
present at that time
who told Jesus
about the Galileans
whose blood Pilate had mixed
with their sacrifices.
Jesus answered, "Do you
think that these Galileans
were worse sinners
than all the other Galileans
because they suffered
this way?
I tell you, no!
But unless you repent,
you too will all perish.
Or those eighteen
who d*ed
when the tower
in Siloam fell on them--
do you think they were more
guilty than all the others
living in Jerusalem?
I tell you, no!
But unless you repent,
you too will all perish."
Then he told this parable,
"A man had a fig tree
growing in his vineyard,
and he went to look
for fruit on it
but did not find any.
So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard,
'For three years now
I've been coming to look
for fruit on this fig tree
and haven't found any.
Cut it down!
Why should it
use up the soil?'
'Sir,' the man replied,
'leave it alone
for one more year,
and I'll dig around it
and fertilize it.
If it bears fruit
next year, fine!
If not,
then cut it down.'"
[ speaking in Aramaic ]
On a Sabbath,
Jesus was teaching
in one of the synagogues,
and a woman was there
who had been crippled
by a spirit
for eighteen years.
She was bent over
and could not
straighten up at all.
When Jesus saw her,
he called her forward
and said to her,
"Woman, you are set free
from your infirmity."
Then he put
his hands on her,
and immediately
she straightened up...
and praised God.
Indignant because Jesus
had healed on the Sabbath,
the synagogue leader
said to the people,
"There are six days
for work.
So come and be healed
on those days,
not on the Sabbath."
The Lord answered him,
"You hypocrites!
Doesn't each of you
on the Sabbath
untie your ox or donkey
from the stall
and lead it out
to give it water?
Then should not this woman,
a daughter of Abraham,
whom Satan has kept bound
for 18 long years,
be set free
on the Sabbath day
from what bound her?"
When he said this,
all his opponents
were humiliated,
but the people
were delighted
with all the wonderful
things he was doing.
Then Jesus asked,
"What is the kingdom
of God like?
What shall I compare it to?
It is like a mustard seed,
which a man took
and planted in his garden.
It grew and became a tree,
and the birds perched
in its branches."
Again he asked,
"What shall I compare
the kingdom of God to?
It is like yeast
that a woman took
and mixed into about
sixty pounds of flour
until it worked
all through the dough."
Then Jesus went through
the towns and villages,
teaching
as he made his way
to Jerusalem.
Someone asked him,
"Lord, are only a few people
going to be saved?"
He said to them,
"Make every effort
to enter through
the narrow door,
because many, I tell you,
will try to enter
and will not be able to.
Once the owner of the house
gets up and closes the door,
you will stand outside
knocking and pleading,
'Sir, open
the door for us.'
But he will answer,
'I don't know you
or where you come from.'
Then you will say,
'We ate and drank with you,
and you taught
in our streets.'
But he will reply,
'I don't know you
or where you come from.
Away from me,
all you evildoers!'
There will be weeping there,
and gnashing of teeth,
when you see Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob
and all the prophets
in the kingdom of God,
but you yourselves
thrown out.
People will come
from east and west
and north and south,
and will take their places
at the feast
in the kingdom of God.
Indeed there are those
who are last
who will be first,
and first
who will be last."
At that time,
some Pharisees
came to Jesus
and said to him,
"Leave this place
and go somewhere else.
Herod wants to k*ll you."
He replied,
"Go tell that fox
I will keep on
driving out demons
and healing people
today and tomorrow,
and on the third day,
I will reach my goal.
In any case,
I must press on
today and tomorrow
and the next day,
for surely no prophet
can die outside Jerusalem.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
you who k*ll the prophets
and stone
those sent to you,
how often I have longed
to gather your
children together,
as a hen gathers her chicks
under her wings,
and you are not willing.
Look, your house
is left to you desolate.
I tell you, you will not
see me again until you say,
'Blessed is he
who comes in the name
of the Lord.'"
One Sabbath, when Jesus
went to eat in the house
of a prominent Pharisee,
he was being
carefully watched.
There in front of him
was a man suffering
from abnormal swelling
of his body.
Jesus asked the Pharisees
and experts in the law,
"Is it lawful to heal
on the Sabbath or not?"
But they remained silent.
So taking hold
of the man,
he healed him
and sent him on his way.
Then he asked them,
"If one of you has
a child or an ox
that falls into a well
on the Sabbath day,
will you not immediately
pull it out?"
And they had
nothing to say.
When he noticed
how the guests
picked the places of honor
at the table,
he told them this parable,
"When someone invites you
to a wedding feast,
do not take
the place of honor,
for a person
more distinguished than you
may have been invited.
If so, the host
who invited both of you
will come and say to you,
'Give this person your seat.'
Then, humiliated,
you will have to take
the least important place.
But when you are invited,
take the lowest place,
so that when
your host comes,
he will say to you, 'Friend,
move up to a better place.'
Then you will be honored
in the presence of all
the other guests.
For all those
who exalt themselves
will be humbled,
and those who humble
themselves will be exalted."
Then Jesus
said to his host,
"When you give
a luncheon or dinner,
do not invite your friends,
your brothers or sisters,
your relatives,
or your rich neighbors,
if you do,
they may invite you back
and so you will be repaid.
But when you give
a banquet,
invite the poor,
the crippled,
the lame,
the blind,
and you will be blessed.
Although they cannot
repay you,
you will be repaid
at the resurrection
of the righteous."
When one of those
at the table with him
heard this,
he said to Jesus,
"Blessed is the one
who will eat at the feast
in the kingdom of God."
Jesus replied,
"A certain man
was preparing
a great banquet
and invited many guests.
At the time of the banquet
he sent his servant
to tell those
who had been invited,
'Come, for everything
is now ready.'
But they all alike
began to make excuses.
The first said,
'I have just bought a field,
and I must go and see it.
Please excuse me.'
"Another said,
'I have just bought
five yoke of oxen,
and I'm on my way
to try them out.
Please excuse me.'
Still another said,
'I just got married,
so I can't come.'
The servant came back
and reported this
to his master.
Then the owner
of the house became angry
and ordered his servant,
'Go out quickly
into the streets
and alleys of the town
and bring in the poor,
the crippled,
the blind and the lame.'
'Sir,' the servant said,
'what you ordered
has been done,
but there is still room.'
Then the master
told his servant,
'Go out to the roads
and country lanes
and compel them
to come in,
so that my house
will be full.
I tell you, not one
of those who were invited
will get a taste
of my banquet.'"
[ chattering ]
Large crowds
were traveling with Jesus,
and turning
to them he said,
"If anyone comes to me
and does not hate
father and mother,
wife and children,
brothers and sisters--
yes, even their own life--
such a person cannot
be my disciple.
And whoever does not
carry their cross
and follow me
cannot be my disciple.
Suppose one of you
wants to build a tower.
Won't you first sit down
and estimate the cost
to see if you have enough
money to complete it?
For if you lay
the foundation
and are not able
to finish it,
everyone who sees it
will ridicule you,
saying, 'This person
began to build
and wasn't able
to finish.'
Or suppose a king
is about to go to w*r
against another king.
Won't he first sit down
and consider
whether he is able
with ten thousand men
to oppose the one
coming against him
with twenty thousand?
If he is not able,
he will send a delegation
while the other
is still a long way off
and will ask
for terms of peace.
In the same way,
those of you who do not
give up everything you have
cannot be my disciples.
Salt is good,
but if it loses
its saltiness,
how can it be made
salty again?
It is neither fit
for the soil
nor for the manure pile,
it is thrown out.
Whoever has ears to hear,
let them hear."
Now the tax collectors
and sinners
were all gathering around
to hear Jesus.
But the Pharisees
and the teachers of the law
muttered, "This man welcomes
sinners and eats with them."
Then Jesus told them
this parable,
"Suppose one of you
has 100 sheep
and loses one of them.
Doesn't he leave
the 99 in the open country
and go after the lost sheep
until he finds it?
And when he finds it,
he joyfully puts it
on his shoulders
and goes home.
Then he calls his friends
and neighbors together
and says, 'Rejoice with me,
I have found my lost sheep.'
I tell you
that in the same way
there will be more rejoicing
in heaven over one sinner
who repents than over 99
righteous persons
who do not need
to repent.
Or suppose a woman has 10
silver coins and loses one.
Doesn't she light a lamp,
sweep the house
and search carefully
until she finds it?
And when she finds it,
she calls her friends
and neighbors together
and says, 'Rejoice with me,
I have found my lost coin.'
In the same way, I tell you,
there is rejoicing
in the presence
of the angels of God
over one sinner
who repents."
Jesus continued,
"There was a man
who had two sons.
The younger one
said to his father,
'Father, give me my share
of the estate.'
So he divided
his property between them.
Not long after that,
the younger son
got together all he had,
set off
for a distant country
and there squandered
his wealth in wild living.
After he had spent
everything,
there was a severe famine
in that whole country,
and he began
to be in need.
So he went
and hired himself
out to a citizen
of that country,
who sent him to his fields
to feed pigs.
He longed to fill
his stomach
with the pods
that the pigs were eating,
but no one
gave him anything.
When he came
to his senses, he said,
'How many of my father's
hired servants
have food to spare,
and here I am
starving to death!
I will set out
and go back to my father
and say to him,
"Father, I have sinned
against heaven
and against you.
I am no longer worthy
to be called your son.
Make me like one
of your hired servants."'
So he got up
and went to his father.
But while he was still
a long way off,
his father saw him
and was filled
with compassion for him,
he ran to his son,
threw his arms around him
and kissed him.
The son said to him,
'Father, I have sinned
against heaven
and against you.
I am no longer worthy
to be called your son.'
But the father
said to his servants,
'Quick! Bring the best robe
and put it on him.
Put a ring on his finger
and sandals on his feet.
Bring the fattened calf
and k*ll it.
Let's have a feast
and celebrate.
For this son of mine
was dead and is alive again,
he was lost and is found.'
So they began to celebrate.
Meanwhile, the older son
was in the field.
When he came near the house,
he heard music and dancing.
So he called
one of the servants
and asked him
what was going on.
'Your brother has come,'
he replied,
'and your father
has k*lled the fattened calf
because he has him back
safe and sound.'
The older brother
became angry
and refused to go in.
So his father went out
and pleaded with him.
But he answered
his father, 'Look!
All these years
I've been slaving for you
and never disobeyed
your orders.
Yet you never gave me
even a young goat
so I could celebrate
with my friends.
But when this son of yours
who has squandered
your property
with prostitutes
comes home,
you k*ll the fattened calf
for him!'
'My son,' the father said,
'you are always with me,
and everything
I have is yours.
But we had to celebrate
and be glad,
because this brother
of yours was dead
and is alive again.
He was lost and is found.'"
Jesus told his disciples,
"There was a rich man
whose manager was accused
of wasting his possessions.
So he called him in
and asked him,
'What is this
I hear about you?
Give an account
of your management,
because you cannot
be manager any longer.'
The manager said to himself,
'What shall I do now?
My master
is taking away my job.
I'm not strong
enough to dig,
and I'm ashamed to beg.
I know what I'll do so that
when I lose my job here
people will welcome me
into their houses.'
So he called in each one
of his master's debtors.
He asked the first,
'How much do you owe
my master?'
'900 gallons
of olive oil,' he replied.
The manager told him,
'Take your bill,
sit down quickly,
and make it 450.'
Then he asked the second,
'And how much do you owe?'
'1000 bushels of wheat,'
he replied.
He told him,
'Take your bill
and make it 800.'
The master commended
the dishonest manager
because he had acted
shrewdly.
For the people
of this world
are more shrewd in dealing
with their own kind
than are the people
of the light.
I tell you,
use worldly wealth
to gain
friends for yourselves,
so that when it is gone,
you will be welcomed
into eternal dwellings.
Whoever can be trusted
with very little
can also be
trusted with much,
and whoever is dishonest
with very little
will also be dishonest
with much.
So if you have not
been trustworthy
in handling worldly wealth,
who will trust you
with true riches?
And if you have not
been trustworthy
with someone else's
property,
who will give you
property of your own?
No one can serve
two masters.
Either you will hate the one
and love the other...
or you will be devoted
to the one
and despise the other.
You cannot serve
both God and money."
The Pharisees,
who loved money,
heard all this
and were sneering at Jesus.
He said to them,
"You are the ones
who justify yourselves
in the eyes of others,
but God knows your hearts.
What people value highly
is detestable in God's sight.
"The Law and the Prophets
were proclaimed until John.
Since that time,
the good news
of the kingdom of God
is being preached,
and everyone is forcing
their way into it.
It is easier for heaven
and Earth to disappear
than for the least stroke
of a pen
to drop out of the Law.
Anyone who divorces his wife
and marries another woman
commits adultery,
and the man who marries
a divorced woman
commits adultery.
There was a rich man
who was dressed in purple
and fine linen
and lived in luxury
every day.
At his gate was laid
a beggar named Lazarus,
covered with sores
and longing to eat
what fell from
the rich man's table.
Even the dogs came
and licked his sores.
The time came
when the beggar d*ed
and the angels carried him
to Abraham's side.
The rich man also d*ed
and was buried.
In Hades, where he was
in torment,
he looked up
and saw Abraham far away
with Lazarus by his side.
So he called to him,
'Father Abraham,
have pity on me
and send Lazarus
to dip the tip of his finger
in water and cool my tongue,
because I am in agony
in this fire.'
But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime
you received
your good things,
while Lazarus
received bad things,
but now he is comforted here
and you are in agony.
And besides all this,
between us and you,
a great chasm has
been set in place,
so that those who want to go
from here to you cannot,
nor can anyone cross over
from there to us.'
He answered,
'Then I beg you, Father,
send Lazarus to my family,
for I have five brothers.
Let him warn them,
so that they will not also
come to this place
of torment.'
Abraham replied,
'They have Moses
and the Prophets.
Let them listen to them.'
'No, Father Abraham,'
he said,
'but if someone
from the dead goes to them,
they will repent.'
He said to him,
'If they do not listen
to Moses and the Prophets,
they will not be convinced
even if someone rises
from the dead.'"
Jesus said to his disciples,
"Things that cause people
to stumble
are bound to come,
but woe to anyone
through whom they come.
It would be better for them
to be thrown into the sea
with a millstone
tied around their neck
than to cause one of these
little ones to stumble.
So watch yourselves.
If your brother or sister
sins against you,
rebuke them,
and if they repent,
forgive them.
Even if they sin against you
seven times in a day
and seven times
come back to you saying
'I repent,'
you must forgive them."
The apostles
said to the Lord,
"Increase our faith!"
He replied,
"If you have faith
as small as a mustard seed,
you can say
to this mulberry tree,
'Be uprooted and planted
in the sea,'
and it will obey you.
Suppose one of you
has a servant plowing
or looking
after the sheep.
Will he say
to the servant
when he comes in
from the field,
'Come along now
and sit down to eat'?
Won't he rather say,
'Prepare my supper,
get yourself ready
and wait on me
while I eat and drink,
after that you may
eat and drink'?
Will he thank the servant
because he did
what he was told to do?
So you also,
when you have done
everything
you were told to do,
should say,
'We are unworthy servants,
we have only
done our duty.'"
Now on his way
to Jerusalem,
Jesus traveled
along the border
between Samaria
and Galilee.
As he was going
into a village,
met him.
They stood at a distance
and called out
in a loud voice,
"Jesus, Master,
have pity on us!"
When he saw them,
he said,
"Go, show yourselves
to the priests."
And as they went,
they were cleansed.
One of them,
when he saw he was healed,
came back, praising God
in a loud voice.
He threw himself
at Jesus' feet
and thanked him--
and he was a Samaritan.
Jesus asked,
"Were not all ten cleansed?
Where are the other nine?
Has no one returned
to give praise to God
except this foreigner?"
Then he said to him,
"Rise and go,
your faith
has made you well."
Once, on being asked
by the Pharisees
when the kingdom of God
would come,
Jesus replied, "The coming
of the kingdom of God
is not something
that can be observed,
nor will people say,
'Here it is,'
or 'There it is,'
because the kingdom of God
is in your midst."
Then he said
to his disciples,
"The time is coming
when you will long to see
one of the days
of the Son of Man,
but you will not see it.
People will tell you,
'There he is!'
or 'Here he is!'
Do not go running off
after them.
For the Son of Man
in his day
will be like the lightning,
which flashes
and lights up the sky
from one end to the other.
But first he must suffer
many things...
and be rejected
by this generation.
Just as it was
in the days of Noah,
so also will it be
in the days
of the Son of Man.
People were eating,
drinking, marrying
and being given
in marriage
up to the day
Noah entered the ark.
Then the flood came
and destroyed them all.
It was the same
in the days of Lot.
People were eating
and drinking,
buying and selling,
planting and building.
But the day Lot
left Sodom,
fire and sulfur
rained down from heaven
and destroyed them all.
It will be
just like this on the day
the Son of Man
is revealed.
On that day no one
who is on the housetop,
with possessions inside,
should go down to get them.
Likewise, no one in the field
should go back for anything.
Remember Lot's wife!
Whoever tries
to keep their life
will lose it,
and whoever loses
their life
will preserve it.
I tell you,
on that night
two people
will be in one bed,
one will be taken
and the other left.
Two women will be
grinding grain together,
one will be taken
and the other left."
"Where, Lord?"
they asked.
He replied,
"Where there is a dead body,
there the vultures
will gather."
Then Jesus told
his disciples a parable
to show them that
they should always pray
and not give up.
He said, "In a certain town
there was a judge
who neither feared God
nor cared
what people thought.
And there was a widow
in that town
who kept coming to him
with the plea,
'Grant me justice
against my adversary.'
For some time he refused.
But finally
he said to himself,
'Even though I don't fear God
or care what people think,
yet because this widow
keeps bothering me,
I will see
that she gets justice,
so that she won't eventually
come and att*ck me!'"
And the Lord said,
"Listen to what
the unjust judge says.
And will not God
bring about justice
for his chosen ones,
who cry out to him
day and night?
Will he keep
putting them off?
I tell you, he will see
that they get justice,
and quickly.
However, when
the Son of Man comes,
will he find
faith on the Earth?"
To some who were confident
of their own righteousness
and looked down
on everyone else,
Jesus told this parable...
"Two men went up
to the temple to pray...
one a Pharisee
and the other
a tax collector.
The Pharisee stood
by himself and prayed,
'God, I thank you that I am
not like other people--
robbers, evildoers,
adulterers--
or even like
this tax collector.
I fast twice a week
and give a tenth
of all I get.'
But the tax collector
stood at a distance.
He would not even
look up to heaven,
but b*at his breast
and said,
'God, have mercy on me,
a sinner.'
I tell you that this man,
rather than the other,
went home justified
before God.
For all those
who exalt themselves
will be humbled,
and those who
humble themselves
will be exalted."
[ chattering ]
People were also bringing
babies to Jesus
for him to place
his hands on them.
When the disciples saw this,
they rebuked them.
But Jesus
called the children
to him and said,
"Let the little children
come to me,
and do not hinder them,
for the kingdom of God
belongs to such as these.
Truly I tell you,
anyone who will not receive
the kingdom of God
like a little child
will never enter it."
A certain ruler asked him,
"Good teacher,
what must I do to inherit
eternal life?"
"Why do you call me good?",
Jesus answered.
"No one is good
except God alone.
You know the commandments.
You shall not commit adultery,
you shall not m*rder,
you shall not steal,
you shall not give
false testimony,
honor your father
and mother."
"All these I have kept
since I was a boy," he said.
When Jesus heard this,
he said to him,
"You still lack one thing.
Sell everything you have
and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure
in heaven.
Then come, follow me."
When he heard this,
he became very sad,
because he was
very wealthy.
Jesus looked at him
and said,
"How hard it is
for the rich
to enter
the kingdom of God!
Indeed, it is easier
for a camel
to go through
the eye of a needle
than for someone
who is rich
to enter
the kingdom of God."
Those who heard this asked,
"Who then can be saved?"
Jesus replied,
"What is impossible with man
is possible with God."
Peter said to him,
"We have left all we had
to follow you!"
"Truly I tell you,"
Jesus said to them,
"no one who has left home
or wife or brothers
or sisters or parents
or children
for the sake
of the kingdom of God
will fail to receive
many times
as much in this age,
and in the age to come,
eternal life."
Jesus took the Twelve aside
and told them,
"We are going up
to Jerusalem,
and everything
that is written
by the prophets
about the Son of Man
will be fulfilled.
He will be delivered
over to the Gentiles.
They will mock him,
insult him and spit on him,
they will flog him
and k*ll him.
On the third day
he will rise again."
The disciples did not
understand any of this.
Its meaning
was hidden from them,
and they did not know
what he was talking about.
As Jesus
approached Jericho,
a blind man was sitting
by the roadside begging.
When he heard
the crowd going by,
he asked what was happening.
They told him,
"Jesus of Nazareth
is passing by."
He called out,
"Jesus, Son of David,
have mercy on me!"
Those who led the way
rebuked him and told him
to be quiet,
but he shouted
all the more,
"Son of David,
have mercy on me!"
Jesus stopped
and ordered the man
to be brought to him.
When he came near,
Jesus asked him,
"What do you want me
to do for you?"
"Lord, I want to see,"
he replied.
Jesus said to him,
"Receive your sight,
your faith has healed you."
Immediately he received
his sight and followed Jesus,
praising God.
When all the people saw it,
they also praised God.
Jesus entered Jericho
and was passing through.
A man was there
by the name of Zacchaeus,
he was a chief tax collector
and was wealthy.
He wanted to see
who Jesus was,
but because he was short
he could not see
over the crowd.
So he ran ahead and climbed
a sycamore-fig tree
to see him, since Jesus
was coming that way.
When Jesus reached the spot,
he looked up and said to him,
"Zacchaeus, come down
immediately.
I must stay
at your house today."
So he came down at once
and welcomed him gladly.
All the people saw this
and began to mutter,
"He has gone to be
the guest of a sinner."
But Zacchaeus stood up
and said to the Lord,
"Look, Lord!
Here and now I give half
of my possessions
to the poor,
and if I have cheated
anybody out of anything,
I will pay back
four times the amount."
Jesus said to him,
"Today salvation has come
to this house,
because this man, too,
is a son of Abraham.
For the Son of Man
came to seek and to save
the lost."
While they were
listening to this,
he went on to tell them
a parable,
because he was near Jerusalem
and the people thought
that the kingdom of God
was going to appear at once.
He said,
"A man of noble birth
went to a distant country
to have himself
appointed king
and then to return.
So he called
and gave them 10 minas.
'Put this money to work,'
he said, 'until I come back.'
But his subjects hated him
and sent a delegation
after him to say,
'We don't want this man
to be our king.'
He was made king, however,
and returned home.
Then he sent
for the servants
to whom he had given
the money,
in order to find out
what they had gained with it.
The first one came
and said,
'Sir, your mina
has earned 10 more.'
'Well done, my good servant!'
his master replied.
'Because you have been
trustworthy
in a very small matter,
take charge of 10 cities.'
The second came and said,
'Sir, your mina has earned
five more.'
"His master answered,
'You take charge
of five cities.'
Then another servant
came and said,
'Sir, here is your mina,
I have kept it laid away
in a piece of cloth.
I was afraid of you,
because you are a hard man.
You take out
what you did not put in
and reap
what you did not sow.'
His master replied,
'I will judge you by
your own words,
you wicked servant!
You knew, did you,
that I am a hard man,
taking out
what I did not put in,
and reaping
what I did not sow?
Why then didn't you
put my money on deposit,
so that when I came back,
I could have collected it
with interest?'
Then he said to those
standing by,
'Take his mina
away from him
and give it to the one
who has 10 minas.'
'Sir,' they said,
'he already has 10!'
He replied, 'I tell you
that to everyone who has,
more will be given,
but as for the one
who has nothing,
even what they have
will be taken away.
But those enemies of mine
who did not want me
to be king over them,
bring them here and k*ll them
in front of me.'"
After Jesus had said this,
he went on ahead,
going up to Jerusalem.
As he approached
Bethphage and Bethany
at the hill called
the Mount of Olives,
he sent two of his disciples,
saying to them,
"Go to the village
ahead of you,
and as you enter it, you will
find a colt tied there,
which no one has ever ridden.
Untie it and bring it here.
If anyone asks you,
'Why are you untying it?'
say, 'The Lord needs it.'"
Those who were sent ahead
went and found it
just as he had told them.
As they were untying
the colt,
its owners asked them,
"Why are you untying
the colt?"
They replied,
"The Lord needs it."
They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt
and put Jesus on it.
As he went along,
people spread their cloaks
on the road.
When he came near the place
where the road goes down
the Mount of Olives,
the whole crowd of disciples
began joyfully to praise God
in loud voices for all
the miracles they had seen,
"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven
and glory in the highest!"
Some of the Pharisees
in the crowd said to Jesus,
"Teacher, rebuke
your disciples!"
"I tell you," he replied,
"if they keep quiet,
the stones will cry out."
As he approached Jerusalem
and saw the city,
he wept over it and said,
"If you, even you,
had only known on this day
what would bring you peace--
but now it is hidden
from your eyes.
The days will come upon you
when your enemies
will build an embankment
against you and encircle you
and hem you in
on every side.
They will dash you
to the ground,
you and the children
within your walls.
They will not leave
one stone on another,
because you did not
recognize the time
of God's coming to you."
When Jesus entered
the temple courts,
he began to drive out
those who were selling.
[ shouting in Aramaic ]
"It is written,"
he said to them,
"'My house will be
a house of prayer,'
but you have made it
a den of robbers."
Every day he was teaching
at the temple.
But the chief priests,
the teachers of the law
and the leaders
among the people
were trying to k*ll him.
Yet they could not find
any way to do it,
because all the people
hung on his words.
One day as Jesus
was teaching the people
in the temple courts
and proclaiming the good news,
the chief priests
and the teachers of the law,
together with the elders,
came up to him.
"Tell us
by what authority
you are doing these things,"
they said.
"Who gave you
this authority?"
He replied, "I will also
ask you a question.
Tell me,
John's baptism,
was it from heaven,
or of human origin?"
They discussed it
among themselves and said,
"If we say, 'From heaven,'
he will ask,
'Why didn't you
believe him?'
But if we say,
'Of human origin,'
all the people
will stone us,
because they are persuaded
that John was a prophet."
So they answered,
"We don't know where
it was from."
Jesus said, "Neither will I
tell you by what authority
I am doing these things."
He went on to tell
the people this parable,
"A man planted a vineyard,
rented it to some farmers
and went away
for a long time.
At harvest time he sent
a servant to the tenants
so they would give him
some of the fruit
of the vineyard.
But the tenants b*at him
and sent him away
empty-handed.
He sent another servant,
but that one also they b*at
and treated shamefully
and sent away empty-handed.
He sent still a third,
and they wounded him
and threw him out.
Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do?
I will send my son,
whom I love,
perhaps they will
respect him.'
But when the tenants
saw him,
they talked
the matter over.
'This is the heir,'
they said.
'Let's k*ll him,
and the inheritance
will be ours.'
So they threw him
out of the vineyard
and k*lled him.
What then will the owner
of the vineyard do to them?
He will come and k*ll
those tenants
and give the vineyard
to others."
When the people heard this,
they said, "God forbid!"
Jesus looked directly
at them and asked,
"Then what is the meaning
of that which is written,
'The stone
the builders rejected
has become
the cornerstone'?
Everyone who falls
on that stone
will be broken to pieces,
anyone on whom it falls
will be crushed."
The teachers of the law
and the chief priests
looked for a way
to arrest him immediately,
because they knew
he had spoken
this parable against them.
But they were afraid
of the people.
Keeping a close
watch on him,
they sent spies,
who pretended to be sincere.
They hoped to catch Jesus
in something he said,
so that they might
hand him over
to the power and authority
of the governor.
So the spies
questioned him,
"Teacher,
we know that you speak
and teach what is right,
and that you do not
show partiality
but teach the way of God
in accordance with the truth.
Is it right for us to pay
taxes to Caesar or not?"
He saw through
their duplicity
and said to them,
"Show me a denarius.
Whose image and inscription
are on it?"
"Caesar's," they replied.
He said to them,
"Then give back to Caesar
what is Caesar's,
and to God what is God's."
They were unable
to trap him
in what he had said
there in public.
And astonished by his answer,
they became silent.
Some of the Sadducees,
who say there is
no resurrection,
came to Jesus
with a question.
"Teacher," they said,
"Moses wrote for us
that if a man's
brother dies
and leaves a wife
but no children,
the man
must marry the widow
and raise up offspring
for his brother.
Now there
were seven brothers.
The first one married a woman
and d*ed childless.
The second and then
the third married her,
and in the same way
the seven d*ed,
leaving no children.
Finally, the woman d*ed, too.
Now then, at the resurrection
whose wife will she be,
since the seven
were married to her?"
Jesus replied,
"The people of this age marry
and are given in marriage.
But those who
are considered worthy
of taking part
in the age to come
and in the resurrection
from the dead
will neither marry
nor be given in marriage,
and they can no longer die,
for they are like the angels.
They are God's children,
since they are children
of the resurrection.
But in the account
of the burning bush,
even Moses showed
that the dead rise,
for he calls the Lord
'the God of Abraham,
and the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob.'
He is not the God
of the dead,
but of the living,
for to him all are alive."
Some of the teachers
of the law responded,
"Well said, teacher!"
And no one dared to ask him
any more questions.
Then Jesus said to them,
"Why is it said
that the Messiah
is the son of David?
David himself declares
in the Book of Psalms,
'The Lord said to my Lord,
"Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet."'
David calls him Lord.
How then can he be his son?"
While all the people
were listening,
Jesus said to his disciples,
"Beware of the teachers
of the law.
They like to walk around
in flowing robes
and love to be greeted
with respect
in the marketplaces
and have the most important
seats in the synagogues
and the places of honor
at banquets.
They devour widows' houses
and for a show
make lengthy prayers.
These men will be punished
most severely."
As Jesus looked up,
he saw the rich
putting their gifts
into the temple treasury.
He also saw a poor widow
put in two very small
copper coins.
"Truly I tell you,"
he said,
"this poor widow
has put in more
than all the others.
All these people
gave their gifts
out of their wealth,
but she out of her poverty
put in all she had
to live on."
Some of his disciples
were remarking
about how the temple
was adorned
with beautiful stones
and with gifts
dedicated to God.
But Jesus said,
"As for what you see here,
the time will come
when not one stone
will be left on another,
every one of them
will be thrown down."
"Teacher," they asked,
"when will these things
happen?
And what will be
the sign
that they are about
to take place?"
He replied,
"Watch out that you
are not deceived.
For many will come
in my name, claiming,
'I am he,'
and, 'The time is near.'
Do not follow them.
When you hear of wars
and uprisings,
do not be frightened.
These things
must happen first,
but the end will not come
right away."
Then he said to them,
"Nation will rise
against nation,
and kingdom
against kingdom.
There will be
great earthquakes,
famines and pestilences
in various places,
and fearful events
and great signs from heaven.
"But before all this,
they will seize you
and persecute you.
They will hand you
over to synagogues
and put you in prison,
and you will be brought
before kings and governors,
and all on account
of my name.
And so you will bear
testimony to me.
But make up your mind
not to worry beforehand
how you will defend
yourselves.
For I will give you
words and wisdom
that none
of your adversaries
will be able to resist
or contradict.
You will be betrayed
even by parents,
brothers and sisters,
relatives and friends,
and they will put
some of you to death.
Everyone will hate you
because of me.
But not a hair
of your head will perish.
Stand firm,
and you will win life.
"When you see Jerusalem
being surrounded by armies,
you will know that
its desolation is near.
Then let those
who are in Judea
flee to the mountains,
let those in the city
get out,
and let those in the country
not enter the city.
For this is the time
of punishment
in fulfillment of all
that has been written.
How dreadful it will be
in those days
for pregnant women
and nursing mothers!
There will be great
distress in the land
and wrath
against this people.
They will fall by the sword
and will be taken
as prisoners to all
the nations.
Jerusalem
will be trampled on
by the Gentiles
until the times
of the Gentiles
are fulfilled.
There will be signs
in the sun, moon and stars.
On the earth,
nations will be in anguish
and perplexity
at the roaring
and tossing of the sea.
People will faint
from terror,
apprehensive of what
is coming on the world,
for the heavenly bodies
will be shaken.
At that time they will see
the Son of Man
coming in a cloud with power
and great glory.
When these things
begin to take place,
stand up and lift up
your heads,
because your redemption
is drawing near."
He told them this parable,
"Look at the fig tree
and all the trees.
When they sprout leaves,
you can see for yourselves
and know that summer
is near.
Even so, when you see
these things happening,
you know that the kingdom
of God is near.
Truly I tell you,
this generation
will certainly
not pass away
until all these things
have happened.
Heaven and earth
will pass away,
but my words
will never pass away.
Be careful, or your hearts
will be weighed down
with carousing, drunkenness
and the anxieties of life,
and that day will close
on you suddenly
like a trap.
For it will come
on all those
who live on the face
of the whole earth.
Be always on the watch,
and pray that you
may be able to escape
all that is
about to happen,
and that you may
be able to stand
before the Son of Man."
Each day Jesus was teaching
at the temple,
and each evening he went out
to spend the night
on the hill called
the Mount of Olives,
and all the people
came early in the morning
to hear him
at the temple.
Now the Festival
of Unleavened Bread,
called the Passover,
was approaching,
and the chief priests
and the teachers of the law
were looking for some way
to get rid of Jesus,
for they were afraid
of the people.
Then Satan entered Judas,
called Iscariot,
one of the Twelve.
And Judas
went to the chief priests
and the officers
of the temple guard
and discussed with them
how he might betray Jesus.
They were delighted
and agreed to give him money.
He consented, and watched
for an opportunity
to hand Jesus over to them
when no crowd was present.
Then came the day
of Unleavened Bread
on which the Passover lamb
had to be sacrificed.
Jesus sent
Peter and John, saying,
"Go and make preparations
for us to eat the Passover."
"Where do you want us
to prepare for it?",
they asked.
He replied,
"As you enter the city,
a man carrying a jar
of water will meet you.
Follow him to the house
that he enters,
and say to the owner
of the house,
'The Teacher asks,
"Where is the guest room,
where I may eat the Passover
with my disciples?"'
He will show you a large room
upstairs, all furnished.
Make preparations there."
They left and found things
just as Jesus had told them.
So they prepared
the Passover.
When the hour came,
Jesus and his apostles
reclined at the table.
And he said to them,
"I have eagerly desired
to eat this Passover
with you before I suffer.
For I tell you,
I will not eat it again
until it finds fulfillment
in the kingdom of God."
After taking the cup,
he gave thanks and said,
"Take this
and divide it among you.
For I tell you
I will not drink again
from the fruit of the vine
until the kingdom
of God comes."
And he took bread,
gave thanks and broke it,
and gave it to them,
saying,
"This is my body
given for you,
do this
in remembrance of me."
In the same way,
after the supper
he took the cup,
saying,
"This cup is the new
covenant in my blood,
which is poured out for you.
But the hand of him
who is going to betray me
is with mine on the table.
The Son of Man will go
as it has been decreed.
But woe to that man
who betrays him!"
They began to question
among themselves
which of them it might be
who would do this.
A dispute also arose
among them
as to which of them was considered to be greatest.
Jesus said to them,
"The kings of the Gentiles
lord it over them,
and those who exercise
authority over them
call themselves
Benefactors.
But you are not
to be like that.
Instead, the greatest
among you
should be like
the youngest,
and the one who rules
like the one who serves.
For who is greater,
the one who is at the table
or the one who serves?
Is it not the one
who is at the table?
But I am among you
as one who serves.
You are those who have
stood by me in my trials.
And I confer
on you a kingdom,
just as my Father
conferred one on me,
so that you may eat
and drink at my table
in my kingdom
and sit on thrones,
judging the twelve
tribes of Israel.
Simon, Simon,
Satan has asked to sift
all of you as wheat.
But I have prayed for you,
Simon, that your faith
may not fail.
And when you
have turned back,
strengthen your brothers."
But he replied,
"Lord, I am ready to go
with you to prison
and to death."
Jesus answered,
"I tell you, Peter,
before the rooster
crows today,
you will deny three times
that you know me."
Then Jesus asked them,
"When I sent you
without purse,
bag or sandals,
did you lack anything?"
"Nothing," they answered.
He said to them,
"But now if you have
a purse,
take it, and also a bag,
and if you don't
have a sword,
sell your cloak
and buy one.
It is written,
'And he was numbered
with the transgressors,'
and I tell you that this
must be fulfilled in me.
Yes, what is written
about me
is reaching
its fulfillment."
The disciples said,
"See, Lord,
here are two swords."
"That's enough!",
he replied.
Jesus went out as usual
to the Mount of Olives,
and his disciples
followed him.
On reaching the place,
he said to them,
"Pray that you will
not fall into temptation."
He withdrew
about a stone's throw
beyond them,
knelt down and prayed,
"Father,
if you are willing,
take this cup from me,
yet not my will,
but yours be done."
An angel from heaven
appeared to him
and strengthened him.
And being in anguish,
he prayed more earnestly,
and his sweat
was like drops of blood
falling to the ground.
And when he rose
from prayer
and went back
to the disciples,
he found them asleep,
exhausted from sorrow.
"Why are you sleeping?",
he asked them.
"Get up and pray
so that you will not
fall into temptation."
While he was still speaking
a crowd came up,
and the man
who was called Judas,
one of the Twelve,
was leading them.
He approached Jesus
to kiss him,
but Jesus asked him,
"Judas, are you betraying
the Son of Man
with a kiss?"
When Jesus' followers
saw what was going to happen,
they said, "Lord, should we
strike with our swords?"
And one of them struck the servant of the high priest,
cutting off his right ear.
But Jesus answered,
"No more of this!"
And he touched the man's ear
and healed him.
Then Jesus said
to the chief priests,
the officers
of the temple guard,
and the elders,
who had come for him,
"Am I leading a rebellion,
that you have come
with swords and clubs?
Every day I was with you
in the temple courts,
and you did not lay
a hand on me.
But this is your hour--
when darkness reigns."
Then seizing him,
they led him away
and took him into the house
of the high priest.
Peter followed
at a distance.
And when some there
had kindled a fire
in the middle
of the courtyard
and had sat down together,
Peter sat down with them.
A servant girl
saw him seated there
in the firelight.
She looked closely
at him and said,
"This man was with him."
But he denied it.
"Woman, I don't know him,"
he said.
A little later someone else
saw him and said,
"You also are one of them."
"Man, I am not!",
Peter replied.
About an hour later
another asserted,
"Certainly this fellow
was with him,
for he is a Galilean."
Peter replied,
"Man, I don't know
what you're talking about!"
Just as he was speaking,
the rooster crowed.
The Lord turned and looked
straight at Peter.
Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him,
"Before the rooster
crows today,
you will disown me
three times."
And he went outside
and wept bitterly.
The men
who were guarding Jesus
began mocking
and b*ating him.
They blindfolded him
and demanded,
"Prophesy! Who hit you?"
And they said many other
insulting things to him.
At daybreak the council
of the elders of the people,
both the chief priests
and the teachers of the law,
met together, and Jesus
was led before them.
"If you are the Messiah,"
they said, "tell us."
Jesus answered,
"If I tell you,
you will not believe me,
and if I asked you,
you would not answer.
But from now on,
the Son of Man
will be seated
at the right hand
of the mighty God."
They all asked,
"Are you then
the Son of God?"
He replied,
"You say that I am."
Then they said,
"Why do we need
any more testimony?
We have heard it
from his own lips."
Then the whole assembly rose
and led him off to Pilate.
And they began
to accuse him, saying,
"We have found this man
subverting our nation.
He opposes payment
of taxes to Caesar
and claims to be Messiah,
a king."
So Pilate asked Jesus,
"Are you the king
of the Jews?"
"You have said so,"
Jesus replied.
Then Pilate announced
to the chief priests
and the crowd,
"I find no basis for
a charge against this man."
But they insisted,
"He stirs up the people
all over Judea
by his teaching.
He started in Galilee
and has come
all the way here."
On hearing this,
Pilate asked if the man
was a Galilean.
When he learned that Jesus
was under Herod's
jurisdiction,
he sent him to Herod,
who was also in Jerusalem
at that time.
When Herod saw Jesus,
he was greatly pleased,
because for a long time
he had been wanting
to see him.
From what he had
heard about him,
he hoped to see him perform
a sign of some sort.
He plied him
with many questions,
but Jesus gave him
no answer.
The chief priests
and the teachers of the law
were standing there,
vehemently accusing him.
Then Herod and his soldiers
ridiculed and mocked him.
Dressing him
in an elegant robe,
they sent him back
to Pilate.
That day Herod and Pilate
became friends--
before this
they had been enemies.
Pilate called together
the chief priests,
the rulers and the people,
and said to them,
"You brought me this man
as one who was inciting
the people to rebellion.
I have examined him
in your presence
and have found no basis
for your charges against him.
Neither has Herod,
for he sent him back to us,
as you can see, he has done
nothing to deserve death.
Therefore, I will punish him
and then release him."
But the whole crowd shouted,
"Away with this man!
Release Barabbas to us!"
Barabbas had been thrown
into prison
for an insurrection
in the city
and for m*rder.
Wanting to release Jesus,
Pilate appealed
to them again.
But they kept shouting,
"Crucify him!
Crucify him!"
For the third time
he spoke to them, "Why?
What crime has this man
committed?
I have found in him
no grounds
for the death penalty.
Therefore I will
have him punished
and then release him."
But with loud shouts
they insistently demanded
that he be crucified,
and their shouts prevailed.
So Pilate decided
to grant their demand.
He released the man who had
been thrown into prison
for insurrection and m*rder,
the one they asked for,
and surrendered Jesus
to their will.
[ whip cracks ]
As the soldiers
led him away,
they seized Simon
from Cyrene,
who was on his way in
from the country,
and put the cross on him
and made him carry it
behind Jesus.
A large number of people
followed him,
including women who mourned
and wailed for him.
Jesus turned
and said to them,
"Daughters of Jerusalem,
do not weep for me,
weep for yourselves
and for your children.
For the time will come
when you will say,
'Blessed
are the childless women,
the wombs that never bore
and the breasts
that never nursed!'
Then they will say
to the mountains,
'Fall on us!'
And to the hills,
'Cover us!'
For if people
do these things
when the tree is green,
what will happen
when it is dry?"
Two other men,
both criminals,
were also led out with him
to be ex*cuted.
[ whip cracks ]
[ muted jeering ]
When they came to the place
called the Skull,
they crucified him there,
along with the criminals--
one on his right,
the other on his left.
Jesus said,
"Father, forgive them,
for they do not know
what they are doing."
And they divided up
his clothes by casting lots.
The people stood watching,
and the rulers
even sneered at him.
They said,
"He saved others,
let him save himself
if he is God's Messiah,
the Chosen One."
The soldiers also came up
and mocked him.
They offered him
wine vinegar and said,
"If you are
the king of the Jews,
save yourself."
There was a written notice
above him, which read,
"This is the king
of the Jews."
One of the criminals
who hung there
hurled insults at him,
"Aren't you the Messiah?
Save yourself and us!"
But the other criminal
rebuked him.
"Don't you fear God,"
he said,
"since you are under
the same sentence?
We are punished justly,
for we are getting
what our deeds deserve.
But this man has done
nothing wrong."
Then he said,
"Jesus, remember me
when you come
into your kingdom."
Jesus answered him,
"Truly I tell you,
today you will be with me
in paradise."
It was now about noon,
and darkness
came over the whole land
until three
in the afternoon,
for the sun
stopped shining.
And the curtain
of the temple
was torn in two.
Jesus called out
with a loud voice,
"Father, into your hands
I commit my spirit."
When he had said this,
he breathed his last.
The centurion,
seeing what had happened,
praised God and said,
"Surely this
was a righteous man."
When all the people
who had gathered
to witness this sight
saw what took place,
they b*at their breasts
and went away.
But all those
who knew him,
including the women
who had followed him
from Galilee,
stood at a distance
watching these things.
Now there was a man
named Joseph,
a member of the Council,
a good and upright man,
who had not consented
to their decision and action.
He came from the Judean town
of Arimathea,
and he himself was waiting
for the kingdom of God.
Going to Pilate,
he asked for Jesus' body.
Then he took it down,
wrapped it in linen cloth
and placed it in a tomb
cut in the rock,
one in which no one
had yet been laid.
It was Preparation Day,
and the Sabbath
was about to begin.
The women who had come
with Jesus from Galilee
followed Joseph
and saw the tomb
and how his body
was laid in it.
Then they went home
and prepared spices
and perfumes.
But they rested
on the Sabbath
in obedience
to the commandment.
On the first day
of the week,
very early in the morning,
the women took the spices
they had prepared
and went to the tomb.
They found the stone
rolled away from the tomb,
but when they entered,
they did not find the body
of the Lord Jesus.
While they were
wondering about this,
suddenly two men in clothes
that gleamed like lightning
stood beside them.
In their fright
the women bowed down
with their faces
to the ground,
but the men said to them,
"Why do you look
for the living
among the dead?
He is not here,
he has risen!
Remember how he told you,
while he was still
with you in Galilee,
'The Son of Man
must be delivered
over to the hands
of sinners, be crucified,
and on the third day
be raised again.'"
Then they remembered
his words.
When they came back
from the tomb,
they told all these things
to the Eleven
and to all the others.
It was Mary Magdalene,
Joanna, Mary the mother
of James,
and the others with them
who told this
to the apostles.
But they did not
believe the women,
because their words
seemed to them like nonsense.
Peter, however, got up
and ran to the tomb.
Bending over,
he saw the strips of linen
lying by themselves,
and he went away,
wondering to himself
what had happened.
Now that same day
two of them were going
to a village called Emmaus,
about seven miles
from Jerusalem.
They were talking
with each other
about everything
that had happened.
As they talked and discussed
these things with each other,
Jesus himself came up
and walked along with them,
but they were kept
from recognizing him.
He asked them, "What are you
discussing together
as you walk along?"
They stood still,
their faces downcast.
One of them, named Cleopas,
asked him,
"Are you the only one
visiting Jerusalem
who does not know the things
that have happened there
in these days?"
"What things?" he asked.
"About Jesus of Nazareth,"
they replied.
"He was a prophet,
powerful in word and deed
before God
and all the people.
The chief priests
and our rulers
handed him over
to be sentenced to death
and they crucified him,
but we had hoped
that he was the one
who was going
to redeem Israel.
And what is more,
it is the third day
since all this took place.
In addition,
some of our women amazed us.
They went to the tomb
early this morning
but didn't find his body.
They came and told us
that they had seen
a vision of angels,
who said he was alive.
Then some of our companions
went to the tomb
and found it
just as the women had said,
but they did not
see Jesus."
He said to them,
"How foolish you are...
and how slow to believe
all that the prophets
have spoken!
Did not the Messiah
have to suffer these things
and then enter his glory?"
And beginning with Moses
and all the Prophets,
he explained to them
what was said
in all the Scriptures
concerning himself.
As they approached
the village
to which they were going,
Jesus continued on
as if he were going farther.
But they urged him strongly,
"Stay with us,
for it is nearly evening,
the day is almost over."
So he went in
to stay with them.
When he was at the table
with them,
he took bread,
gave thanks,
broke it,
and began
to give it to them.
Then their eyes
were opened
and they recognized him,
and he disappeared
from their sight.
They asked each other,
"Were not our hearts
burning within us
while he talked with us
on the road
and opened
the Scriptures to us?"
They got up and returned
at once to Jerusalem.
There they found the Eleven
and those with them,
assembled together
and saying, "It is true!
The Lord has risen
and has appeared to Simon."
Then the two told
what had happened on the way,
and how Jesus
was recognized by them
when he broke the bread.
While they were still
talking about this,
Jesus himself
stood among them
and said to them,
"Peace be with you."
They were startled
and frightened,
thinking they saw a ghost.
He said to them,
"Why are you troubled,
and why do doubts rise
in your minds?
Look at my hands
and my feet.
It is I myself!
Touch me and see,
a ghost does not have
flesh and bones,
as you see I have."
When he had said this,
he showed them
his hands and feet.
And while they still
did not believe it
because of joy
and amazement,
he asked them, "Do you have
anything here to eat?"
They gave him a piece
of broiled fish,
and he took it and ate it
in their presence.
He said to them,
"This is what I told you
while I was still with you,
everything must be fulfilled
that is written about me
in the Law of Moses,
the Prophets and the Psalms."
Then he opened their minds
so they could understand
the Scriptures.
He told them,
"This is what is written,
the Messiah will suffer
and rise from the dead
on the third day,
and repentance
for the forgiveness of sins
will be preached in his name
to all nations,
beginning at Jerusalem.
You are witnesses
of these things.
I am going to send you
what my Father has promised,
but stay in the city
until you have been clothed
with power from on high."
When he had led them out
to the vicinity of Bethany,
he lifted up his hands
and blessed them.
While he was blessing them,
he left them
and was taken up into heaven.
Then they worshiped him
and returned to Jerusalem
with great joy.
And they stayed continually
at the temple,
praising God.
Gospel of Luke, The (2014)
Moderator: Maskath3
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