The Gospel of Thaddaeus

Kata Thaddaion
According to Thaddaeus

A number of years back, I got interested in trying to put myself "inside" the heads of the gospel writers. I also wanted to brush the "sawdust of the classroom" off of what I'd learned in the field of biblical studies.

What follows is the result of my little exercise: an entire "early second-century apocryphal gospel," complete with scholarly essays. I omit the detailed tables of texual parallels, as well as the approximately one-third of the Gospel of Thaddaeus which I also wrote up in the "original" Greek...

The Gospel of Thaddaeus

An English Translation
Of the Critical Greek Text
Based on the Edessene Codex θ
And Compared with the Fragments
θ¹ θ² θ³ θ⁴ Fa¹⁹⁷

By Academician Yu. Grigoriev
University of St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg, Russian Federation

University of Chicago Press © 2004

The Gospel of Thaddaeus. Copyright ©2004 by Yu. Grigoriev. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America by special arrangement with the University of St. Petersburg. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address the University of St. Petersburg Press, 1423 Ul. Yeltsin, St. Petersburg AK5230, Russian Federation. Published simultaneously in the United Kingdom by the University of London, and in Russia by the University of St. Petersburg.

Grigoriev, Yurii Stepanovich (1971--). The Gospel of Thaddaeus: An English Translation of the Critical Greek Text, Based on the Edessene Codex θ, and Compared with the Fragments θ¹ θ² θ³ θ⁴ Fa¹⁹⁷. 1. New Testament studies-- Greek texts, translations, commentaries. 2. Apocryphal gospels. 3. Gospel of Thaddaeus. I. Ivanovna, Anastasia Fyodorovicha (1982--), joint translator. II. Title. 04-29849

Table of Contents

Foreword

According to Thaddaeus
   I. Introduction
   II. Jesus' Ministry in Galilee
   III. The Sermon on the Lake
   IV. Jesus' Ministry in Galilee Continued
   V. The Way to the Cross
   VI. The Journey to Jerusalem
   VII. The Ministry in Jerusalem
   VIII. The Passion Narrative
   IX. The Resurrection

Thaddaeus and the Gospels
Old Testament Citations and Allusions
Luke and Thaddaeus
Mark and Thaddaeus
Other Writings and Thaddaeus

The Discovery of the Gospel of Thaddaeus
Some Brief Remarks Concerning the Gospel of Thaddaeus

Foreword <top>

While field work is still in progress, we are pleased to make available this English translation of the critical Greek text of the Gospel of Thaddaeus.

I provide in the postscript some brief remarks on the provenance and import of this writing.

A project such as this one does not approach completion without help from divers sources, to whom sincere thanks are due.

My thanks go first and foremost to Max Turner of the University of Chicago, and Vanessa James of the University of London, for their most gracious invitation to join in the work on site at Edessa, and for their unflagging support. I owe thanks also to my colleagues at the University of St. Petersburg, especially I.N. Nekrich, Aleksandr Plekhanov, and Sergei Shelepin, for extending to me on very short notice this year of sabbatical leave. Special thanks go to my graduate assistant, Natasha Ivanovna: she has rendered on-site help on a multitude of points, only the most obvious of which is her revision of my translation into English which is at once colloquial and in conformity with the RSV of the synoptic parallels.

Finally, my deepest thanks go out to my friend and colleague, Pyotr Afanasiev of SS. Cyril and Methodius Theological Seminary in Moscow. He deserves, on several counts, the appellation of renaissance man. His always insightful criticism and dialogue have set the standard for the rest of us who have studied the Thaddaean text.

--Yu. Grigoriev

According to Thaddaeus

I. Introduction <top>

Preface
1 ¹The book of Jesus the Nazarene, the Christ of God. ²As it is written in the scriptures, "Who has gone up to heaven, and come down? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has dominion of all the ends of the earth? ³What is his name? Or what is his son's name? For God delivers the one who reverences him."

The Birth of Jesus
⁴Now in Nazareth of Galilee a woman, Mary by name, was betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, a carpenter. ⁵But before they had come together, an angel appeared to her and said, "Fear not; for you are favored before God. ⁶And the Holy Spirit will overshadow you, and you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will call his name Jesus. ⁷And he will save his people Israel, all whom God calls; and he will be called the Son of God, and he will reign for ever." ⁸And it came to pass as the angel from God had said; and she bore her son, and his name was called Jesus, but Joseph did not know her until he was born. ⁹And his enemies said, "He is the son of a soldier." ¹⁰But all these things took place to fulfill what is written: ¹¹"Behold, the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel." ¹²And he sprang up in his own place, as it is written, "Behold the man whose name is the Branch."

John the Baptist
¹³Now John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the prophet: ¹⁴"Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way." ¹⁵And Judea and Jerusalem came out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. ¹⁶Now John was clothed with camel's hair, and had a leather girdle around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey.

John's Preaching of Repentance
¹⁷Now he said to those that came out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ¹⁸Bear fruits that befit repentance, and do not say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. ¹⁹Even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." ²⁰And he preached to them, saying, "I have baptized you with water; but he who is mightier than I is coming, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie; and he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

The Baptism of Jesus
²¹And in the appointed season, Jesus came and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ²²And when he came up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descended like a dove and rested upon him; ²³and a voice came from the heavens, "Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased; and thou shalt reign for ever."

The Temptation
²⁴Then the Spirit took him out, as if by the hairs of his head, and brought him out onto the great Mount Tabor. ²⁵And he was there forty days and forty nights, being tempted by Satan; and the angels ministered to him.

II. Jesus' Ministry in Galilee <top>

Jesus Begins to Preach
2 ¹And Jesus heard in Bethany about the arrest of John. And so he went into Galilee. ²And there he preached the Good News of the kingdom of God, saying, "Repent; for the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand."

The Call of the First Four Disciples
³And going by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two fishermen, Simon son of Jonah and Andrew the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea. ⁴And they had toiled all night and took nothing. ⁵And Jesus called to them, "Let down your nets on the other side for a catch." ⁶And when they had done this, they took a great shoal of fish; and their nets were breaking. ⁷And when Simon saw it, he said, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." ⁸And Jesus spoke and answered them, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men." ⁹And immediately they left everything and were following him. ¹⁰And after he had gone on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending their nets. ¹¹And immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and followed him.

The Calls of Levi and Thaddaeus
¹²And he went out into the way; and as he went along, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, "Follow me." ¹³And he rose and left everything and followed him. ¹⁴And two days later, as he was passing along, Jesus looked in the door of a workshop and saw Thaddaeus, that is, Lebbaeus, mending a wheel. ¹⁵And he said to him, "Come away, follow me." And it fell silent in the shop, and Thaddaeus put down his hammer and immediately followed him.

Teaching in the Synagogue at Capernaum
¹⁶And they went down to Capernaum of Galilee. And on the sabbath he was teaching them in the synagogue. ¹⁷And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.

The Healing of the Demoniac in the Synagogue
¹⁸And immediately in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon; and he cried out, ¹⁹saying, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? We know who you are, the Holy One of God." ²⁰But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of the man!" ²¹And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and throwing him down, cried out and came out of him. ²²And they were all amazed and said to one another, "What is this? What is this new teaching of his? For with authority he command even the unclean spirits, and they obey him." ²³And reports of him went out at once throughout all the surrounding region.

The Healing of Peter's Mother-in-Law
²⁴And Jesus arose and left the synagogue, and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. ²⁵Now Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever, and they besought him for her. ²⁶And he came and reached out his hand and took hold and lifted her up, and the fever left her; and she served them.

The Sick Healed at Evening
²⁷That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases, or possessed with demons. ²⁸And the whole city was gathered together about the door. ²⁹And he healed many who were sick, and cast out many demons; and he rebuked the demons and would not permit them to speak, because they knew him to be the Christ of God.

Jesus Departs from Capernaum
³⁰And in the morning, a great while before day, he rose and went out into a lonely place. ³¹And Simon and those who were with him pursued him, and they found him and said to him, "Every one is searching for you." ³²And he said to them, "Let us go on to the nearby towns and cities, that I may preach there also; for that is why I have come out."

First Preaching Tour in Galilee
³³And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Jesus Casts Seven Demons out of Mary
3 ¹Now when Jesus came to the city of Magdala, he went in and was teaching there. And there came before him a prostitute whose name was Mary, who had seven unclean spirits. ²And crying out with a loud voice, she said to him, "O Son of man, what have you to do with us?" ³And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirits, saying, "Pukou minnah," that is, "Come out of her!" And the unclean spirits were cast out of her and left her. ⁴Now, this Mary of Magdala became one of the women who followed after Jesus.

The Cleansing of the Leper
⁵Now while he was in one of the cities, a leper came to him beseeching him, and kneeling said to him, "If you will, you can make me clean." ⁶And Jesus got angry and stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I will; be clean." ⁷And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. ⁸And he sternly charged him, and threw him out at once, and said to him, "Say nothing to any one; ⁹but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift for your cleansing as Moses commanded, for a proof to the people." ¹⁰But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in the country; ¹¹and they came together to him, and he returned to Capernaum.

The Healing of the Paralytic
¹²And it was reported after some days that he was at home. And Jesus was preaching the word to them. ¹³And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, not even about the door. And behold, four men were coming to him carrying a paralytic on a pallet. ¹⁴And finding no way to get near him because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and removed the tiles above him; and when they had made an opening, they let down the paralytic with his pallet in front of Jesus. ¹⁵And when he saw their faith, he said, "My son, your sins are forgiven you." ¹⁶Now some of the Pharisees and scribes there began to question in their hearts, "Who is this that speaks thus? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" ¹⁷Now when Jesus perceived in his spirit their questionings, he said to them, "Why do you question in your hearts? ¹⁸Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'? ¹⁹But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins"-- he said to the man who was paralyzed-- "Rise, take up your pallet, go home." ²⁰And he rose, and immediately took up that on which he lay and went out before them, and went home. ²¹And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

The Question about Fasting
²²Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people said to him, "Why do these fast, but your disciples eat and drink?" ²³And Jesus said to them, "The wedding guests cannot fast while they have the bridegroom with them. ²⁴The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days. ²⁵No one sews a piece from a new garment on an old garment; if he does, the new tears away from the old, and a worse tear is made. ²⁶And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the skins will burst through, and the wine will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. ²⁷But new wine must be kept in new skins and jars."

Plucking Grain on the Sabbath
²⁸On the second sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples began to pluck and eat some heads of grain. ²⁹And the Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are you doing what it is not lawful to do on the sabbath?" ³⁰And Jesus answered them and said, "Have you never read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him; ³¹how when he entered the house of God, when Abimelech was high priest, he took the bread of the presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave it to those with him, and they ate it? ³²But I say to you that the sabbath was created for man, not man for the sabbath."

A Man Gathering Sticks on the Sabbath
³³And on the same day, as he was going along, he saw a man picking up sticks on the sabbath. ³⁴And Jesus said to him, "Man, if you know what you are doing, you are blessed; but if you do not know what you are doing, you are accursed and a transgressor of the law."

The Man with the Withered Hand
³⁵And on another sabbath he entered the synagogue, and a man came to him who had a withered hand. ³⁶And they watched him, to see whether he would heal him on the sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against him. ³⁷So Jesus said to them, "I will ask you, is it lawful on the sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?" But they were silent. ³⁸And he looked around at them in anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he did so, and his hand was restored, as sound as the other. ³⁹And Jesus said to them, "The Son of man is lord of the sabbath." ⁴⁰But they were filled with fury and considered with one another how to destroy him.

The Choosing of the Twelve
⁴¹Now in those days he went up on the mountain, and called to him his disciples. ⁴²And he appointed twelve of them, to be with him, and to be sent out to preach ⁴³and to have power to heal the sick and authority to cast out demons: ⁴⁴Simon the son of Jonah, whom he surnamed Peter, and Andrew his brother; ⁴⁵and James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, whom together he called the Baneregez; ⁴⁶and Matthew, and Thaddaeus, and Philip, and Nathanael the son of Talmai, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. ⁴⁷And he gathered them at the house of Simon Peter, and said to them, "I desire you to be my apostles, a witness to Israel."

III. The Sermon on the Lake <top>

The Sermon on the Lake
4 ¹And Jesus went with his disciples and withdrew to the lake of Gennesaret, and there gathered about him many people from Galilee, and from Judea and Jerusalem and from about Tyre and Sidon, ²for they came to him to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. ³And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, for they pressed upon him that they might hear the word of God and that power might come forth from him upon them. ⁴And getting into the boat, he asked the disciples to put out a little from the land. ⁵And he sat down, and from the boat he taught the crowd which was beside the lake upon the land, and in his teaching he said to them:

The Beatitudes
⁶"Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. ⁷But woe to you that are rich, for you have received your consolation. ⁸Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. ⁹But woe to you that are full now, for you shall hunger. ¹⁰Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh. ¹¹But woe to you that laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. ¹²Blessed are you who serve as slaves now, for you shall rule in righteousness. ¹³But woe to you who hold dominion now, for you shall be brought down. ¹⁴Blessed shall you be when men hate you, and when they revile you and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man! ¹⁵Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. ¹⁶But woe to you, when all men speak well of you! Cry out, and call to the mountains to fall and cover you; for so their fathers did to the false prophets.

On Love of One's Enemies
¹⁷"But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ¹⁸bless those who curse you, pray on behalf of those who abuse you. ¹⁹Reprove one another not in wrath but in peace, for you will never be glad until you look upon your brother with love. ²⁰Do not resist one who is evil, but to him who strikes you on the right cheek, offer the left also; and from him who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt; ²¹and with him who forces you to carry a burden one mile, carry it two miles. ²²And as you wish that men would do to you, do so yourself to them. ²³If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ²⁴And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive twice as much again. ²⁵But love your enemies, and give to every one who begs from you, expecting nothing in return. ²⁶Sell your possessions, and give alms; provide yourselves with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches, and neither moth nor mildew destroys. ²⁷For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also; ²⁸and you will be sons of my Father who is in the heavens. For he makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

On Judging
²⁹"Show mercy that you may receive mercy; forgive that it may be forgiven unto you. ³⁰As you judge so shall you be judged; and as you are kind so shall kindness be done to you. ³¹For the measure you give will be the same measure you get back, and still more will be given you." ³²And he told them parables. "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? ³³A disciple is not above his teacher, but let him when he is fully taught be like his teacher. ³⁴How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when behold, there is a log in your own eye? ³⁵You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.

On Profaning the Holy
³⁶"So give away all that you possess; but let your alms sweat into your palms until you know to whom you give. ³⁷Do not give dogs what is holy, lest they cast it down upon a dungheap; and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot and turn again and rend you with their tusks."

"By their Fruits..."
³⁸And he said: "Grapes are not gathered from thorns, nor are figs plucked from camel's thorn. They give no fruit. ³⁹But a good man brings forth good from his treasure. ⁴⁰A wicked man brings forth evil from his evil treasure which is in his heart, and says evil things; for from the abundance of the heart he brings forth evil things.

The Tower Built Upon the Rock
⁴¹"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and say that you are united with me in my bosom, and yet you do not do what I tell you? ⁴²Every one who hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: ⁴³he is like a man building a tower, who dug deep, and laid the foundations upon rock; and the rain fell, and a flood arose, and the sea broke against that tower, and could not shake it, because it had been founded upon the rock. ⁴⁴But he who hears my words and does not do them is like a man who built a tower on the ground without a foundation, and the sea broke, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that tower was great."

The Parable of the Sower
⁴⁵And he told them more parables. "A sower went out to sow. ⁴⁶And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds of the heavens devoured it. ⁴⁷And other seed fell on rocky ground, and immediately it sprang up; ⁴⁸and when the sun rose it was scorched, and since it had no root it withered away. ⁴⁹Other seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it. ⁵⁰And other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, and yielded thirtyfold and sixtyfold and one hundred twenty fold.

The Parable of the Lamp
⁵¹"Now, is a lamp lit to be put under a bushel, or in a cellar, and not on a stand? ⁵²Your eye is the lamp of your body; so when your eye is sound, your whole body is full of light; but when it is not sound, your body is full of darkness. ⁵³There is light within the sons of light, and it illuminates the whole world; if it does not illuminate it, it is darkness. ⁵⁴For nothing is hid, except to be made manifest; nor anything secret, except to come to light.

"Let Him Who Has Ears to Hear..."
⁵⁵"Let him who has ears, hear! Take heed then what you hear; ⁵⁶for to him who has will more be given; and from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away."

The Kingdom Is in Your Midst
⁵⁷And he said to them: "If they who lead you say to you, 'Behold, the kingdom of God is in the heavens,' then the birds of the heavens will precede you. ⁵⁸If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. And if they say, 'It is upon the earth,' then the cattle upon the hills will precede you. ⁵⁹But the kingdom is in your midst, and it is drawing nigh upon you. ⁶⁰Now you do not know my Father, but in that day which is to come you shall be known, and you shall know that you are children of my Father who is in heaven. ⁶¹But you are in poverty, and indeed you are poverty, unless all men know you as children of my Father on account of your love."

IV. Jesus' Ministry in Galilee Continued <top>

Healings at Gennesaret
5 ¹And after he had said all these things, the people were amazed. And he got out of the boat. ²And they brought sick people on their pallets to him, and besought him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched it were made well. ³And the unclean spirits fell down before him and cried out; and he strictly ordered them not to make him known, for they knew him to be the Son of God.

Stilling the Storm
⁴Seeing that evening had come, he said to his disciples, "Let us go across to the other side of the lake." ⁵And leaving the crowd, they set out in the boat, and as they sailed he fell asleep. ⁶And a great storm of wind came down on the lake, and the waves beat into the boat, and they were filling with water. ⁷But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and James the son of Zebedee awoke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care if we perish?" ⁸And he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. ⁹He said to them, "Why are you so afraid? Where is your faith?" ¹⁰And they were filled with awe, and said to one another, "Who then is this, that he commands, and even sea and wind obey him?"

The Centurion of Capernaum
¹¹And so they came again to Capernaum. Now a centurion had a slave who was dear to him, who was sick and at the point of death. ¹²When he heard of Jesus, he sent word to him, asking him to come and heal his slave. ¹³And he asked Jesus earnestly, and Jesus went with them. ¹⁴When he was not far from the house, the centurion himself came out to him, saying, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. But only say the word, and let my servant be healed. ¹⁵For I am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, 'Come,' and he comes; and to another, 'Go,' and he goes; and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." ¹⁶When Jesus heard this he marveled at him, and turned and said to the multitude that followed him, "I tell you, never in Israel have I found such faith." ¹⁷And when the centurion returned to his house, he found the slave well.

The Widow's Son at Nain
¹⁸Soon afterward Jesus went to a city called Nain, and his disciples went with him. ¹⁹As he drew near to the gate of the city, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a large crowd from the city came along with her. ²⁰And when Jesus saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep." ²¹And he came and touched the bier, and asked the bearers to stand still. And he said, "Young man, I say to you, arise." ²²And the dead man sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother. ²³Fear seized them all; and this report concerning him spread throughout all the surrounding country.

The Woman with the Ointment
²⁴And two days later as he sat at table in the house of Matthew, many tax collectors and sinners were sitting with Jesus and his disciples. ²⁵And a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment, and weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed his feet. ²⁶Now when the Pharisees saw it, they said to themselves, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner." ²⁷And then she broke the flask, and anointed his feet with ointment. And again they said to themselves indignantly, "Why was this ointment thus wasted? ²⁸For this ointment might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and given to the poor." ²⁹And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; for I came to call to repentance not the righteous, but sinners." ³⁰And then Jesus said to them, "A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ³¹And when they could not pay he forgave them both. Now which of them will love him more?" ³²One of the Pharisees answered him, "The one to whom he forgave more." And he said to him, "You have judged rightly. ³³And therefore I tell you, much is forgiven her, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little." ³⁴Then turning toward the woman he said, "Your sins are forgiven." ³⁵Then the Pharisees began to murmur among themselves, saying, "Who is this, who even forgives sins?" ³⁶And he said to her, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

Jesus' True Kindred
³⁷Then he went home; and the next day a crowd came together again, so that he and his disciples could not eat. ³⁸And when his mother and his brothers heard it, they went out to seize him, for they said, "He is beside himself." ³⁹And they came to him, but not being able to reach him for the crowd, they called him. ⁴⁰And he was told, "Your mother and your brothers and your sisters are standing outside, asking for you." ⁴¹And he answered and said to them, "Who are my mother or brothers?" ⁴²And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "These who do the will of my Father are my brothers and mother and sisters."

The Walking on the Water
⁴³At evening, his disciples went down to the sea, where he made them get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida. ⁴⁴And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. ⁴⁵And when evening came, it was dark, and the boat was already out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. ⁴⁶And he saw that they were distressed in rowing, for the wind was greatly against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. ⁴⁷He meant to pass by them, but when they saw him walking upon the sea they thought it was a ghost, and they all cried out; ⁴⁸for they saw him, and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart, have no fear; it is I." ⁴⁹And he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly amazed.

The Gergesene Demoniac
6 ¹They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gergesenes. ²And when he had come out of the boat, there met him out of the tombs a man from the city with an unclean spirit, ³who lived among the tombs; and no one could bind him any more, even with a chain; ⁴for he had often been bound with fetters and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the fetters he broke in pieces, and he was driven by the unclean spirit into the desert. ⁵And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down and worshiped him; ⁶and said with a loud voice, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me." ⁷For he had said to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!" ⁸And Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" And he replied, "My name is Legion; for we are many." ⁹And they begged him not to send them out of the country. ¹⁰Now a great herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside; and they begged him, "Send us to the swine, let us enter them." ¹¹So he gave them leave. And the unclean spirits came out of the man and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the lake, and were drowned. ¹²When the herdsmen saw it, they fled, and told it in the city and in the country. And people went out to see what had happened. ¹³And they came to Jesus, and saw the man who had had the legion, sitting there clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. ¹⁴And those who had seen it told what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine. ¹⁵And they urged Jesus to depart from their neighborhood, for they were seized with great fear. ¹⁶And as he was getting into the boat, the man from whom the unclean spirits had gone begged that he might be with him. ¹⁷But he refused, and said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you." ¹⁸And he went away, proclaiming throughout the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him.

Jairus' Daughter and the Woman with a Hemorrhage
¹⁹Now Jesus and his disciples crossed again in the boat to the side; and a great crowd gathered about him beside the sea. ²⁰Then came a man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue; and he fell at his feet, ²¹and besought him, saying, "My little daughter is dying. Come and touch her with your hands, so that she may be made well, and live." ²²As he went, a great crowd pressed round him. ²³And a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had spent all that she had on many physicians and could not be healed, said to herself, "If I touch even the garments of this Jesus, I shall be made well." ²⁴So she came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment; and immediately her flow of blood ceased, and she was healed. ²⁵And Jesus, also perceiving in himself that power had gone forth from him, immediately said, "Who touched the blue of the fringe of my garment?" ²⁶And Peter said to him, "Teacher, you see the crowd pressing round you." ²⁷But Jesus said, "Some one touched the blue of the fringe," and he looked around to see who had done it. ²⁸But the woman, seeing and hearing this, came in fear and fell down before him trembling, and declared to him the whole truth. ²⁹And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace." ³⁰While he was still speaking, a man came from the ruler's house and said, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?" ³¹But overhearing this, Jesus answered the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe." ³²And he permitted no one to enter with him, except Peter and James and John, and the father and mother of the girl. ³³And when they came to the house, they saw people weeping and wailing. ³⁴And he said to them, "Do not make a tumult and weep; for the child is not dead but sleeping." ³⁵And they laughed at him. But he threw them all out, and taking those whom he had called to be with him, he went in where the child was. ³⁶And taking her by the hand he called to her, saying, "Talitha cumi"; which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise." ³⁷And immediately the girl got up and walked (she was twelve years of age), and they were amazed. ³⁸And he directed them to give her something to eat, and strictly charged them that no one should know this.

Jesus Is Rejected at Nazareth
³⁹And Jesus went away from there with his disciples, and came to Nazareth, to his own country. ⁴⁰And on the sabbath day he taught in the synagogue, and he stood up to read. ⁴¹And many who heard him were astonished at his teaching, and they said, "Whence is the wisdom that is given to this man? What mighty works are wrought by his hands! ⁴²Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James and Jude and Joseph and Simon, and are not his sisters Deborah and Ruth and Rachel here with us?" ⁴³And they stumbled at him; and he said to them, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own kin. Will you quote to me this proverb, 'No physician is able to heal himself'? ⁴⁴Truly, I say to you, if the peace of God is rejected by those who are near, it shall be proclaimed and heard and accepted among those who stand far off. This is the word of the Lord." ⁴⁵And they were furious. And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands upon a few sick people and healed them. ⁴⁶And marveling because of their unbelief, he went his way among the villages teaching.

Commissioning the Twelve
7 ¹And he called the twelve together and gave them authority over the unclean spirits, and power to cure diseases, ²and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal. ³And he charged them saying, "Take nothing for your journey except a staff; no bread, nor bag, nor money; but wear sandals and do not put on two tunics. ⁴And wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave a place. ⁵And wherever they refuse to hear you, when you leave, shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them; ⁶and it will be better for Sodom and Gomorrah at the last day than for that town." ⁷So they went out two by two through the villages and preached repentance. ⁸And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them.

The Return of the Apostles
⁹And on their return, the apostles told Jesus all that they had done and taught. ¹⁰And he said to them, "Come away by yourselves for a while, and rest in a lonely place." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.

Five Thousand are Fed
¹¹And they went up into the boat to a lonely place by themselves. ¹²Now many saw them going, and they ran there on foot, and got there ahead of them. ¹³And as Jesus went ashore he saw a great throng, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them about the kingdom of God. ¹⁴And when it grew late, the twelve came to him and said, "The hour is now late, and this is a lonely place; ¹⁵send them away, to go into the country and villages round about and get themselves lodging and provisions." ¹⁶But he answered them, "You give them something to eat." The other Simon, not Peter, said, "Shall we go and buy food for all these people? For we have no more than seven loaves and two fish." ¹⁷Then Jesus commanded the crowd to sit down upon the green grass, by companies of fifty and companies of a hundred. ¹⁸And taking the seven loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. ¹⁹And they all ate and were satisfied. ²⁰And they took up what was left over, twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. ²¹And those who ate were five thousand men.

Defilement-- Traditional and Real
²²Now some of the Pharisees and scribes came up from Jerusalem, and asked him to sit at table and dine with them. ²³And they were astonished to see that Jesus and his disciples ate with hands defiled, that is, unwashed. ²⁴For the Jews do not eat unless first they wash their hands, observing the traditions of the elders; and there are many other traditions which they observe. ²⁵And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do you and your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with hands defiled?" ²⁶And he said to them, "You leave the commandments of God, and hold fast the traditions of men. ²⁷For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die'; ²⁸but you say, 'If a man tells his father or his mother, The Corban is what you will gain from me'-- ²⁹then you do not permit him to do anything for his father or mother. ³⁰And you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of extortion and wickedness. ³¹You fools! Did not he who made the inside make the outside also? ³²How will you find the kingdom, unless you fast to this evil age? ³³And how will you see my Father, unless you sabbatize the sabbath? ³⁴But give for alms those things which are within; and behold, everything will be clean for you." ³⁵And he called the people to him again, and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand: ³⁶there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him, for it enters not his heart but his stomach, and so is evacuated into the sewer; ³⁷but what comes out of a man is what defiles him, for it comes out of his heart. ³⁸If any man has ears to hear, let him hear!"

The Canaanite Woman
8 ¹And from there he arose and went away to the region around Tyre. And a woman, whose daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell down at his feet. ²Now the woman was a Gentile. And she begged him to cast the unclean spirit out of her daughter. ³And he refused, saying to her, "It is not right to take the children's bread and meat and throw it to the dogs." ⁴But she answered him, "Lord, even the dogs under the table are fed with the children's scraps." ⁵And he said to her, "For this saying you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter." ⁶And when she went home, she found her daughter well, and the unclean spirit gone.

Jesus Heals a Deaf Mute
⁷Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went to the Sea of Galilee, through the region of the Decapolis. ⁸And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech; and they besought him to lay his hands upon him. ⁹And taking him aside from the multitude privately, he put his fingers into the ears of the deaf man, and he spat and touched his tongue; ¹⁰and looking up to the heavens, he sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." ¹¹And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. ¹²And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well; he even makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak."

A Blind Man is Healed at Bethsaida
¹³And he came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man, and begged him to touch him. ¹⁴And he took the blind man by the hand, and brought him out of the village; and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands upon him, he asked him, "Do you see anything?" ¹⁵And he looked up and said, "I see men; but they look like trees, walking." ¹⁶Then again he placed his hands upon his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and saw everything clearly. ¹⁷And he sent him away saying, "Go your way, enter your home, and say nothing about it to any one in the town."

V. The Way to the Cross <top>

Peter's Confession
¹⁸And Jesus went on with his disciples to Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked them, "Who do men say that I am?" ¹⁹And they answered him, "John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, like one of the prophets." ²⁰And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" And Peter answered him, "You are the Christ of God." ²¹And he charged them to tell this to no one.

Jesus Foretells His Passion
²²And from then on he began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. ²³And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him angrily. ²⁴But he turned and rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not on the side of God, but of men."

"If Any Man would Come after Me..."
²⁵And he said to them, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ²⁶For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. ²⁷For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his own life? ²⁸For what can a man give in return for his life? ²⁹For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this evil age, of him will the Son of man be ashamed when he comes with the angelic host in the glory of the Father. ³⁰But truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power."

The Transfiguration
³¹And six days after this, Jesus took with him Cephas and the sons of Zebedee, and led them up onto a great mountain in Galilee. ³²And when they had come to the top, he was transfigured brightly before them, and his garments became blinding, shining white, so that they were stricken with terror. ³³And behold, two men stood in glory on the mountain, talking with Jesus. ³⁴And Cephas, turning about in fear, said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is well that we are here; let three booths be set up, one for you and one for each of these men." ³⁵And then a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice spoke from the cloud, "This is my beloved Son, who shall reign on earth as in heaven; listen to him!" ³⁶And then they saw Jesus only standing with them; and they asked him, "Were these angels with whom you were talking?" ³⁷And he said to them, "No, but Moses and Elijah were manifest here to bear witness to the Son of man for your sake; for I am come to fulfill in my witness all the law and the prophets." ³⁸And in those days they feared greatly, and told no one what they had seen; for Jesus said to them, "Do not speak about this until the Son of man rises from the dead."

The Coming of Elijah
9 ¹And they asked him, "Why do the Pharisees and the scribes say that first Elijah must come?" ²And he answered and said to them, "If Elijah comes first to restore all things, of the Son of man it is written that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt. ³But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him."

Jesus Heals a Boy Possessed by a Spirit
⁴And a great crowd met him, and a man from the crowd cried, "Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a dumb spirit; ⁵and it seizes him and he cries out and it dashed him down and it convulses him. ⁶And I begged your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able." ⁷And Jesus answered, "O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you?" ⁸And the father of the child cried out with tears and said, "I believe; help my unbelief! If you can do anything, have pity on us and help us!" ⁹And Jesus said, "Bring your son to me." And they brought the boy to him; and when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy. ¹⁰But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and commanded it to come out of him and never to enter him again. ¹¹And Jesus lifted up the boy who had been healed by the hand, and gave him back to his father. ¹²And his disciples asked him, "Why could we not cast it out?" ¹³And he said to them, "All things are possible to him who believes. But this kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer."

Jesus Foretells His Passion Again
¹⁴As they went on from there they were passing secretly through Galilee, and Jesus said to his disciples, ¹⁵"The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men who will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised up." ¹⁶But they did not understand this saying, and they were afraid to ask him.

The Strange Exorcist
¹⁷John said to him, "Master, we saw a man casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he was not following us." ¹⁸But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him: for he who does a mighty work in my name will not be able soon after to speak evil of me; ¹⁹and he who today is far away will tomorrow be near me."

John the Baptist's Question and Jesus' Answer
²⁰Now John the Baptist sent two of his disciples to Jesus, saying, "Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?" ²¹And when they came and asked Jesus, he was curing many of diseases and plagues and unclean spirits, and on many that were blind he was bestowing sight. ²²And he answered them, "Go and tell John what your eyes have seen and what your ears have heard: ²³the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. ²⁴And blessed is he who takes no offense at me."

Jesus' Witness Concerning John
²⁵When the messengers of John had gone, he began to speak to the crowds concerning John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to behold? A reed shaken by the wind? ²⁶What then did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings' courts. ²⁷What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ²⁸I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. ²⁹To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like? ³⁰They are like children sitting in the market place and calling to one another, 'We piped to you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not weep.' ³¹For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine; and you say, 'He has a demon.' ³²The Son of man has come eating and drinking; and you say, 'Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' ³³Yet wisdom is justified by all her children."

Opinions Regarding Jesus
³⁴Now King Herod heard of it; for Jesus' name had become known. And he said, "John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; that is why these powers are at work in him." ³⁵But some said, "Elijah has appeared," and others said, "One of the prophets of old has risen." ³⁶And Herod said, "John I beheaded; but who is this about whom I hear such things?"

The Death of John the Baptist
³⁷For Herod had been reproved by John for Herodias, his brother's wife, and so he shut John up in prison. ³⁸And Herod feared John, but Herodias sought his death. ³⁹So at a festival she had her daughter beguile Herod and extract from him an oath, that he should give her the gift she requested. ⁴⁰And the girl requested of Herod the head of John upon a bronze platter; and Herod lamented, but he was bound by his oath. ⁴¹So when John had been beheaded, his disciples came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.

The Kingdom Plundered
⁴²And when Jesus heard of it, he said, "The law and the prophets were until John; but now the kingdom of God is plundered, and every one enters it by force."

VI. The Journey to Jerusalem <top>

Decision to Go to Jerusalem
10 ¹And knowing that the season had drawn near for him to be handed over, Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem.

Jesus Is Rejected by Samaritans
²And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him; ³but the people would not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. ⁴And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to bid fire come down from heaven and consume them, as Elijah did?" ⁵But he turned and rebuked them, saying, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of; for the Son of man came not to destroy men's lives but to save them." ⁶And they went on to another village.

On Following Jesus
⁷As they were going along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." ⁸And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head." ⁹To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." ¹⁰But he said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, follow me." ¹¹Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." ¹²Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." ¹³And after this, Jesus said to his disciples, "Do you not see? Many are near the well, but few are in the well. ¹⁴For he who is near me is near the fire, and he who is far from me is far from the kingdom of God."

Commissioning the Seventy-Two
¹⁵Then Jesus appointed seventy-two, and sent them out two by two, man and sister wife, into the towns of Galilee; ¹⁶and he breathed a share of his Spirit upon them. ¹⁷And he spoke and said to them, "The plain is white; the harvest is come. ¹⁸Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers while it is the month of harvest. ¹⁹Go your way; carry no purse, no bag, no staff; ²⁰but when you come to a village, enter saying, 'Peace be to this house of peace!' ²¹And if a son of peace truly is there, your peace shall rest upon his head; but if not, it shall return to you. ²²And remain in the same house while you remain in the village, eating the bread they provide and drinking the wine they provide; for the laborer deserves his wages. ²³And heal the sick and cast out demons in the town, saying to the people, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' ²⁴But if they do not receive you, say in the streets, 'Even the dust that clings to our feet, we wipe it off; nevertheless, hear this, that the kingdom of God has come near.'

Woes Pronounced on Galilean Cities
²⁵"Woe to you, Chorazin and Bethsaida! for if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. ²⁶But it shall be more tolerable in that day for Tyre and Sidon than for you. ²⁷And you, Capernaum, who have been exalted to the heavens, you shall be brought down to Hades!

"He Who Hears You, Hears Me"
²⁸"He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who hears me hears him who sent me."

The Return of the Seventy-Two
²⁹The seventy-two returned in awe, saying, "Lord, we laid our hands on the sick, and they have recovered; ³⁰and neither serpent nor any deadly thing can hurt us; ³¹and even the demons we cast out in your name!" ³²And Jesus said to them, "I saw Satan fall like a shooting star from the heavens into the darkness of the sea. ³³Behold, I have given you great authority; ³⁴nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the unclean spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that your names are written in the book which stands before the throne."

Jesus' Thanksgiving to the Father, and the Blessedness of the Disciples
³⁵In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for so it was well-pleasing before thee." ³⁶And turning to the disciples he said, "All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. ³⁷Blessed are the ears which hear what you hear! ³⁸For I tell you that many prophets and angels desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."

The Lawyer's Question
³⁹And a certain lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, which commandment is the first of all?" ⁴⁰And Jesus answered and said to him, "You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself. ⁴¹And all the other commandments are commentary on these." ⁴²And the lawyer said to him, "You are right, Teacher; for to love God and to love your neighbor, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." ⁴³But after that no one dared to ask him any question.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan
⁴⁴And then Jesus, to show them who is their neighbor in the kingdom of God, told them a parable. ⁴⁵"A man was journeying in the countryside, but he did not keep to the way, and he fell into a great ditch, so that he lay there half-dead. ⁴⁶Now a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. ⁴⁷So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ⁴⁸But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, ⁴⁹and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ⁵⁰And the next day he took out seven denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' ⁵¹Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell into the ditch?" ⁵²He said, "The one who showed mercy on him." And Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

Mary and Martha
⁵³Now it happened that as they went on their way, he entered a village; and a woman named Martha received him into her house. ⁵⁴And Mary sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. ⁵⁵But Martha was distracted with much serving; and she went to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that Mary has left me to serve alone, and that she sits at your feet and asks you when the kingdom will come, while I toil?" ⁵⁶And the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; ⁵⁷but when the kingdom of God comes, two shall be as one, and the heights shall fathom the depths, and the woman shall be with the man, the man and the woman together in the Spirit. ⁵⁸But in this age there shall be factions and divisions."

The Lord's Prayer
11 ¹And Jesus was praying, and when he ceased for a little while, Andrew said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples." ²And he said to them, "Whenever you pray, say, 'Our Father, our King, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. ³Thy kingdom come, thy Holy Spirit descend upon us and cleanse us. ⁴Give us today thy continual bread. ⁵And forgive us our trespasses, for we ourselves forgive every one against whom we hold anything. And lead us not into tribulation.'

Encouragement to Pray
⁶"And I tell you, Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. ⁷For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks the door will be opened. ⁸For what father among you, if his son asks for a bread, will give him a stone; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion; ⁹or if he asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent? ¹⁰If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give a good gift to those who ask him!"

The Beelzebul Controversy
¹¹Now scribes came down from Jerusalem and found him casting out demons. ¹²And they said, "He is possessed by Beelzebul, and he casts out demons by the prince of demons." ¹³But he called them to him, and said to them, "How can Satan cast out Satan? ¹⁴Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no house divided against itself will be able to stand. ¹⁵And if Satan also is divided against himself, then he cannot stand, but his kingdom is coming to an end. ¹⁶And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? ¹⁷But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. ¹⁸But no one can enter a strong man's palace and plunder his goods, unless he first overcomes and binds the strong man; then indeed he may plunder his house. ¹⁹He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.

The Return of the Evil Spirit
²⁰"When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes into waterless places, through hill and dale, seeking rest. ²¹But finding none he says, I will return to my house from which I came. ²²And when he comes he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. ²³Then he goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. ²⁴So when you are cleansed, be filled with the Holy Spirit, and give thanks to my Father who is in heaven."

The Sign of Jonah
²⁵Then the scribes and Pharisees, to test him, sought from him a sign from heaven. ²⁶They said to him, "Show us a sign of this kingdom, so that we may see, and believe you." ²⁷He said to them, "You test the face of the heavens and the earth, and you do not know what is before you, and you cannot test this time. ²⁸When you see a red sky in the evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather'; and when you see a yellow sky in the evening, you say, 'It will be stormy.' ²⁹And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat'; but you do not know how to interpret the present time. ³⁰You hypocrites! No sign shall be given to this evil generation except the sign of Jonah. ³¹And I say to you, the queen of the South will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. ³²The men of Nineveh will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here."

The Leaven of the Pharisees
³³And turning to his disciples, he said, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy."

Exhortation to Fearless Confession
³⁴And Jesus said to them, "Everything that is not before you will be revealed to you, for there is nothing hid which will not be revealed; nor buried, which will not be raised. ³⁵Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in your inner room shall be proclaimed from the rooftops. ³⁶I tell you, you shall be as lambs in the midst of wolves; But fear not, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." ³⁷And Peter answered and said to him, "But Lord, what if the wolves tear the lambs?" ³⁸And Jesus said to him, "Let not the lambs after they are dead fear the wolves. ³⁹For I tell you, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing to you. ⁴⁰But fear him who, after you are dead, has authority over soul and body to cast into the Gehenna of fire; yes, I tell you, fear him! ⁴¹Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yes, and not one of them is forgotten before God. ⁴²Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. So fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows. ⁴³And I tell you, every one who acknowledges me before men, the Son of man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; ⁴⁴but he who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

The Sin Against the Holy Spirit
⁴⁵"And I say to you, every sin will be forgiven, and every one who speaks a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven."

Warning Against Avarice
12 ¹And one of the multitude came and said to him, "Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me." ²But he said to him, "Man, who made me a judge over you?" ³And turning to his disciples, Jesus asked them, "Am I a divider?" ⁴And he said to the crowd, "Take heed, and beware of all covetousness; for a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

The Parable of the Rich Fool
⁵And he told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully; ⁶and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' ⁷And he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and build larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ⁸And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; so take your ease."' ⁹But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' ¹⁰So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. Let him who has ears to hear, hear!"

Anxieties About Earthly Things
¹¹And Jesus said to his disciples, "Do not take care from morning to evening or from evening to morning, for your clothes, what you shall put on, nor for your food, what you shall eat. ¹²For you are far better than the lilies, which neither spin nor weave; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ¹³But if God so clothes the grass which is alive in the field today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, he himself will give you your garment, O men of little faith! ¹⁴And having one garment, what do you lack? ¹⁵Or consider the birds of the heavens; they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! ¹⁶Who can add to his span of life, or to his stature? ¹⁷If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? ¹⁸For all the nations of the earth seek these things; and your Father knows that you need them. ¹⁹Instead, seek the kingdom of God, and these things shall be yours as well."

Division in Households
²⁰And Jesus said to the multitudes, "I came to cast fire upon the earth; and how I am constrained until it is kindled! ²¹Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; ²²for henceforth in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three; ²³they will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against her mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

Agreement with One's Accuser
²⁴"So judge for yourselves what is right. ²⁵As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. ²⁶I tell you, you will never get out till you have paid the very last copper."

Repentance or Destruction
²⁷There were some present at that very time who told him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. ²⁸And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered thus? ²⁹I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. ³⁰Or those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who dwelt in Jerusalem? ³¹I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."

The Parable of the Vintner
³²And he said to them, "There was a vintner who advanced ten thousand denarii to the owner of a vineyard. ³³And the vintner said to him, 'Pay me in new wine at the appointed season.' ³⁴But when that day came, the owner of the vineyard could not pay his debt; for although some of the vines in his vineyard had borne grapes abundantly, others had borne no fruit at all. ³⁵So he went in fear and shame to the vintner, and pleaded with him for clemency. ³⁶He said to him, 'I can pay you only three thousand denarii, for some of my vines bore no fruit.' ³⁷And the vintner answered the owner and said, 'So be it. Turn over to me every cluster and every grape which you have, that they may be trodden out in the winepress, and I will forgive your debt. ³⁸But I am sending my servants through the vineyard, and they shall uproot every vine which bore no fruit, and cast it into the fire.'"

Saulasau, Caulacau, Zeersam
13 ¹And as they were walking along the banks of the River Jordan, Thomas asked him, "Teacher, how shall we recognize the coming of the kingdom of God?" ²And Jesus answered him and said, "Thomas, Thomas, is it not written, 'Saulasau, Caulacau, Zeersam'?-- ³That is, order upon order, canon upon canon, a little here, a little there? ⁴So measure straight, and cut once, and let not your eye watch where your hand cuts; ⁵for the coming of the kingdom of God is tribulation upon tribulation, and hope upon hope, yet a little, yet a little. ⁶But these things I tell you, that you may read the signs, and reading you may hope, and hoping you may keep watch."

The Parable of the Seed Growing by Itself
⁷And Jesus spoke to the disciples in parables, saying, "To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is as if a man should scatter seed upon the ground, ⁸and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how. ⁹The earth produces of itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. ¹⁰But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come. ¹¹And he has grain enough to eat plentifully, and grain enough left over to scatter seeds again."

The Parable of the Mustard Seed
¹²And he said, "What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? ¹³It is like a grain of mustard seed, which is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; ¹⁴yet when a man took and sowed it in his garden, it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches. ¹⁵For if you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could say to the sycamine tree, 'Be rooted up, and be planted in the sea'; and it would obey you."

The Parable of the Leaven
¹⁶And again he said, "To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? ¹⁷It is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened."

The Parable of the Mill
¹⁸And he said to them, "The kingdom of God is like a mill to which men brought their grain to have it threshed and ground. ¹⁹And they asked the miller for their flour; and he answered and said to them, 'The chaff is still being flailed from the wheat upon the threshing floor.' ²⁰And they asked the miller again; and again he answered and said, 'The oxen are still treading it out.' ²¹And a third time they asked, and the miller said, 'The millstone is grinding it exceedingly fine.' ²²And at last he delivered the flour to them, and when it was baked the bread was raised up twentyfold and fortyfold and eightyfold."

The Parable of the Small Seed in a Hidden Place
²³And Jesus asked and said to them, "When a husbandman has enclosed a small seed in a hidden place, so that it is invisibly buried, how does its abundance become immeasurable?" ²⁴And when they were perplexed at this, then Jesus, as he walked, stood still upon the verge of the River Jordan. ²⁵And stretching forth his right hand, he filled it with water and sprinkled it upon the shore; and thereupon the sprinkled water made the ground moist, and it was watered before them, and brought forth fruit.

The Olive Tree and the Tribulation
14 ¹Now when Jesus and the disciples came to Pella, they went into the city, and he sat and taught the people alongside the spring. ²And a young man from the crowd asked him and said, "Rabbi, what if the tribulation should break out tomorrow? ³Why should I arise early and work until the sun sets, if tomorrow the work of my hands will be consumed in fire?" ⁴And Jesus answered and said to him, "Even if it were revealed to you that tomorrow the wrath should come, still you should plant an olive tree today in your field. ⁵For in that day, a man will be found who had just planted ten olive shoots, and he will be praised. ⁶But a man will be found also who had contented himself to recline and eat from the olive tree which his fathers had planted, and he will be cast out."

Exclusion from the Kingdom
⁷And some one else in the crowd asked him, "Lord, will those who are saved be few?" And he said to them, ⁸"Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. ⁹And men will come from east and west, and from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God. ¹⁰Then you will weep and gnash your teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out. ¹¹So repent, turn back to God, lest it be one in a thousand and two in ten thousand: for God made man upright, but the heart of man has sought out endless subtleties."

The Parable of the Wall and the Gate
¹²And Jesus also told them a parable. "A city has around it a strong wall, and upon that wall are set watchmen, that no enemies may fall upon the city. ¹³And all who come to the city to do trade, or to pay honor to the king, must enter into the city through the gate which is set in the wall. ¹⁴So enter in through the gate of the city. ¹⁵For any one who seeks to enter the kingdom of God except through the strait gate is like a thief who tried to enter over the wall, and the watchmen caught him, and he was cast into the pit."

A Warning Against Herod
¹⁶After that, Jesus and his disciples went back across the Jordan, and he came to a village and was teaching. ¹⁷And some Pharisees came, and said to him, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you." ¹⁸And he said to them, "Go and tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course.' ¹⁹Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.

The Lament over Jerusalem
²⁰"O daughter of Zion, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! ²¹Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!'"

Teaching on Humility
²²Now he went to dine at the house of a ruler who belonged to the Pharisees. ²³And he told a parable to those who were invited, when he marked how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, ²⁴"When you are invited by any one to a marriage feast, do not choose and sit down in a place of honor, lest a more eminent man than you be invited by him; ²⁵and he who invited you both will come and say to you, 'Give place to this man'; and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. ²⁶But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher'; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. ²⁷So seek from the small to increase and from the great to be less; and this will be more to your advantage." ²⁸He said also to the man who had invited him, "When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your kinsmen or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and you be repaid. ²⁹But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, ³⁰and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just."

The Parable of the Great Supper
³¹When one of those who sat at table with him heard this, he said to him, "Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!" ³²But he said to him, "A man once gave a great banquet, and invited many; ³³and at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited to come, for all was now ready. ³⁴But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it; I pray you, have me excused.' ³⁵And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them; accordingly I cannot come.' ³⁶And another said, 'I have taken a wife, and accordingly I cannot come.' ³⁷So the servant came and reported this to his master. Then the householder in anger said to his servant, 'Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and carry in the poor and maimed and blind and lame.' ³⁸And the servant said, 'Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.' ³⁹And the master said to the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedges, and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. ⁴⁰For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.'"

The Conditions of Discipleship
15 ¹Now great multitudes accompanied him; and he turned and said to them, ²"If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. ³Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple. ⁴For which of you, desiring to build a house, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? ⁵Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, ⁶saying, 'This man began to build, and was not able to finish.' ⁷Or what king, going to encounter another king in war, will not sit down immediately and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? ⁸And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an embassy and asks terms of peace. ⁹So therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

The Parable of Salt
¹⁰"For every sacrifice will be salted with salt. ¹¹Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltness, how shall its saltness be restored? ¹²It is fit neither for the land nor for the dunghill; men throw it away. ¹³Or if any one has been washed with water but not rubbed with salt, how will he pass through the fire? ¹⁴So have you salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another."

The Parable of the Least Sheep
¹⁵Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. ¹⁶And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them." ¹⁷So he told them this parable: ¹⁸"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost even the least one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after that least sheep which is lost, until he finds it? ¹⁹And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ²⁰And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.' ²¹Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy among the angels in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

The Parable of the Lost Coin
²²"Or what woman, having ten silver coins and losing one of them, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? ²³And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost.' ²⁴Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the throne of God over one sinner who repents."

The Parable of the Prodigal Son
²⁵And he said, "There was a man who had a son; ²⁶and the son said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of property that falls to me.' And he gave him his share. ²⁷Not many days later, the son gathered all he had and took his journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in loose living. ²⁸And when he had spent everything, a great famine arose in that country, and he began to be in want. ²⁹So he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed swine. ³⁰And he would gladly have filled his belly with the pods that the swine ate; and no one gave him anything. ³¹But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, but I perish here with hunger! ³²I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; ³³I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants."' ³⁴And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. ³⁵And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants.' ³⁶But the father said to his servants, 'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; ³⁷and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry; ³⁸for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' ³⁹And they began to make merry; and great was the rejoicing in that house over the son who was lost, but had turned back."

The Parable of the Unjust Steward
16 ¹He also said to the disciples, "There was a rich man who had a steward, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. ²And he called him and said to him, 'What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be my steward.' ³And the steward said to himself, 'What shall I do, since my master is taking my stewardship away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. ⁴I have decided what to do, so that people may receive me into their houses when I am put out of the stewardship.' ⁵So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' ⁶He said to him, 'A hundred measures of oil.' And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.' ⁷Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?' He said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' He said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.' ⁸The master commended the dishonest steward for his shrewdness; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light." ⁹And James the son of Alphaeus asked him, "Teacher, how then shall those who are chosen and called stand and not stumble in these days which yet remain?" ¹⁰And Jesus answered and said to him, "Make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal habitations.

On Serving Two Masters
¹¹"For it is impossible for a man to mount two horses and stretch two bows, and it is impossible for a slave to serve two masters. ¹²Either he will honor the one and despise the other, or he will hate the one and love the other. ¹³You cannot serve God and mammon."

The Pharisees Reproved
¹⁴The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they scoffed at him. ¹⁵But he said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts; for what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God."

The Parable of the Two Plowmen
¹⁶And he also told them a parable. "A good plowman lengthens the yoke of the weaker ox, so that the stronger ox bears the greater burden, and so the oxen in yoke together plow a straight furrow. ¹⁷But a bad plowman burdens the weaker ox with a heavy yoke, so that the ox stumbles beneath the load. ¹⁸What then will happen? His oxen shall be taken away from him, and given over to the care of the good plowman, whose yoke is light."

Concerning the Law
¹⁹And the Pharisees when they had heard this were furious, and they said to one another, "This man wants to make the law void." ²⁰But he answered them and said, "It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one dot of my law to become void. ²¹So hear my words! For the kingdom is drawing near."

The Parable of the Assassin
²²And Jesus said to them, "The kingdom of God is like a man who wanted to kill a great man. ²³He drew the sword in his house and ran it through the wall, in order to know whether his arm was strong enough. ²⁴Then he went forth and killed the great man."

The Parable of the Woman and the Jar of Meal
²⁵And Jesus again said to them, "The kingdom of God is like a woman who carried a vessel full of meal and went a long way. ²⁶The handle of the vessel broke, and the meal flowed out behind her on the way. She did not notice it, for she was not watching. ²⁷When she reached her house, she set the vessel down and found it empty. ²⁸So keep watch, for you have been entrusted with the treasure of the kingdom in clay vessels."

The Parable of the Anvil
²⁹And he said, "To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? ³⁰To an anvil, on which a smith shapes much gold, and much silver, and much bronze, and much iron. ³¹And on one anvil he hammers out both gold and silver and bronze and iron, two talents of one and three talents of another and six talents of yet another; ³²and one anvil wears out many hammers, but the anvil stands firm."

The Parable of the Crowns
³³And again he said to them, "A man who owned a great field sent his son to hire workers. ³⁴And the son said to those whom he had hired, 'I am going away into a far country. But while I am gone, set up a fence around this field, and when I return you will be well paid for your labor.' ³⁵And he went away with his father's men into a far country. ³⁶And the workers labored and set up a fence around the field, as they had been commanded. ³⁷And then they watched and waited, through heat and storm and south wind; and whenever the birds came, they drove them away. ³⁸Now, the son tarried long in a far country, and the season of the harvest came. ³⁹And the workers said to one another, 'What shall we do? For it is the season of the harvest, and our master has not yet returned. Let us harvest the grain in the field, that his storehouses may be filled.' ⁴⁰And they began to harvest the grain. And while they were still laboring, the son returned from the far country with his father's men, who bore scythes to finish the harvest. ⁴¹And the workers said to him, 'We set up a fence around the field, as you commanded us. And we oversaw it through many tribulations. ⁴²Then when the season of the harvest came, we began to harvest the grain. But before that season, we did not uproot a single weed in your field.' ⁴³And he said to them, 'You have done all that was commanded, and more than was commanded. And I shall pay you all that I promised, and more than I promised. ⁴⁴Behold, to each of you I grant a crown. ⁴⁵For I have asked my father, and it is his good pleasure that you become joint heirs with me.'"

On Forgiveness
17 ¹And the next day as Jesus was walking along the road with his disciples, he said to them, ²"Take heed to yourselves; if your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him seven times a day." ³And Simon Peter said to him, "Seven times a day?" ⁴And Jesus answered and said to him, "Yes, Simon, I tell you, as many as seventy times seven times! ⁵For also in the prophets, after they were anointed by the Holy Spirit, there was found a word of sin."

We Are Unprofitable Servants
⁶And he said to them, "Will any one of you, who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep, say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down at table?' ⁷Will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, and gird yourself and serve me, till I eat and drink; and afterward you shall eat and drink'? ⁸Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? ⁹So you also, when you have done all that is commanded to you, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'"

The Cleansing of the Ten Lepers
¹⁰On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. ¹¹And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance ¹²and lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." ¹³When he saw them he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went they were cleansed. ¹⁴Then one of them, when he saw that he was cleansed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; ¹⁵and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. ¹⁶Then said Jesus, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? ¹⁷Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" ¹⁸And he said to him, "Rise and go on your way; your faith has made you well."

On the Coming of the Kingdom of God
¹⁹Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, he answered them, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; ²⁰nor will they say, 'Lo, here it is!' or 'Lo, there!' for behold, wherever two are in my name, there am I in their midst; and where only one is in my name, I am with him. ²¹Split wood: the kingdom of God is there. Lift up the stone, and there you will find it. ²²For the Spirit of God is moving in the midst of you, and whoever is known and called by my Father will find the kingdom."

The Parable of the Field
²³And Jesus told them a parable. "The kingdom of God is like a man who had in his field a treasure which was hidden. ²⁴And he knew nothing of it; and he did not find it before he died. ²⁵He left that field to his son, and his son knew nothing. And he handed it over and sold it. ²⁶And the buyer came, and plowed, and found the treasure. ²⁷And he built a great estate; and the seller came back and saw it, and he was greatly vexed."

The Parable of the Unjust Judge
²⁸And he told his disciples a parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. ²⁹He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor regarded man; ³⁰and there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, 'Vindicate me against my adversary.' ³¹For a while he refused; but afterward he said to himself, 'Though I neither fear God nor regard man, ³²yet because this widow bothers me, I will vindicate her, or she will wear me out by her continual coming.'" ³³And Jesus said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge says. ³⁴Will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? ³⁵I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?"

The Pharisee and the Publican
³⁶He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others: ³⁷"Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ³⁸The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God I thank thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ³⁹I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.' ⁴⁰But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' ⁴¹I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted."

True Greatness
18 ¹And they came to a village; and when he was in the house where they were staying he asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?" ²But they were silent; for on the way they had argued among themselves as to which of them was the greatest. ³And he sat down at the table and called the twelve; and he said to them, "If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." ⁴And he took a child and put him in the midst of them; and taking him in his arms, he said to them, ⁵"Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me."

Warning against Offenses
⁶And he said also to his disciples, "Stumbling blocks are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come! ⁷Whoever causes one of these little ones who believes in me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around him and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble."

Jesus Blesses the Children
⁸Now they were bringing children to him, that he might touch them; and when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. ⁹But Jesus was indignant, and said to them, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. ¹⁰Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." ¹¹And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands upon them.

True Blessedness
¹²And as he was saying these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked!" ¹³But he said, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"

The Children Receiving Milk
¹⁴And Jesus saw little ones receiving milk. ¹⁵And he said to his disciples, "These little ones receiving milk are like those who enter into the kingdom. ¹⁶And I tell you, greatly do their angels rejoice before the face of my Father in the heavens."

The Rich Young Men
¹⁷And as he was setting out again on his journey, two men ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what shall we do to inherit eternal life?" ¹⁸And Jesus said to them, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. ¹⁹You know the commandments: Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother." ²⁰And they said, "Teacher, all these we have observed from our youth." ²¹And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, "You lack one thing: go, sell what you have, give to the poor, and become passers-by; and you will have treasure in heaven." ²²And the first man hastened to do as Jesus had told him. ²³But when the second man heard this he scratched his head, and he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions, and this word did not please him.

On Riches and the Rewards of Discipleship
²⁴And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it will be for those who are not passers-by to enter the kingdom of God!" ²⁵And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁶It is easier for a hawser to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

The Samaritan and the Lamb
19 ¹As they were entering into Judea, Jesus said to his disciples, "Look upon the Son of man while you yet live, so that you will not die and seek to see him without being able to see him." ²Then as they were walking along, they saw a Samaritan leading a lamb. ³Jesus spoke to them and asked, "Why is he bringing the lamb?" ⁴They said to him, "In order to kill it and eat it." ⁵He said to them, "As long as it lives, he will not eat it, but only if he kills it." ⁶And Philip said, "In no way will it be able to grow old, unless it lives." ⁷He turned and said to Philip, "Philip son of Jonathan, you speak rightly." And turning to all of them, he said, "So seek continually the kingdom of God, that you may not be killed and eaten. ⁸Do not cease from seeking until you find, and having found you will be amazed, and having been amazed you will reign, and having reigned you will rest."

On Seeking and Finding
⁹And Peter asked him and said, "Teacher, how shall we find, if we do not even know how to seek?" ¹⁰And Jesus said to them, "You can do nothing of your own accord; but as you hear me doing, so do you likewise. ¹¹For I seek not my own will but the will of my Father who is in heaven."

On Being Amazed
¹²Then Matthew asked him and said, "But show us what it is to be amazed." For they did not yet understand his words. ¹³And Jesus said, "Have I not already shown you great works? ¹⁴Yet do not be amazed, for my Father will show you greater works than these, for he will raise the dead, and will give all authority to the Son of man. ¹⁵And it will be shown to you, and you will fear, and you will be amazed at this."

On Reigning
¹⁶And James and John asked him, "Teacher, when you come to sit in judgment, will you give it to us to sit with you, one at your right hand and one at your left hand?" ¹⁷And he turned and said to them, "Can you drink the cup which I drink, running over with gall and vinegar? ¹⁸I say to you that the Son of man will indeed be seated in judgment; and they will smite him and mock him. ¹⁹So, if you can, pluck the scarlet wool from among the thorns!" ²⁰And they drew back from him in terror. ²¹But he said to them, "When you have seen the Son of man driven out and lifted up, then you will know that he reigns as the Father has given him authority to reign. ²²And if you continue in this word as my disciples, you will marvel at what is unveiled; and in the unveiling you will reign. ²³For if the Son of man reigns in you, you will reign indeed."

On Resting
²⁴And Mary Magdalene asked him, "But how shall they rest who reign, if they do not know the day of the coming of the Son of man, or if he should tarry?" ²⁵And Jesus answered her and said, "Mary, Mary, you have shared table and couch with me, and do you not know this? ²⁶I say to you that I shall go away, and you will seek me and die; for where I am going, you cannot come. ²⁷But if you continue in this word, the Son of man will reign in you, and the Holy Spirit will give you rest, and you will never see death. ²⁸So look upon the lamb who is driven out for the sins of many, to give his life as a ransom; ²⁹eat him who is able to die and not be eaten, that you may be neither killed nor eaten; ³⁰and you will have rest, and be raised up at the day of the coming of the Son of man."

The Third Prediction of the Passion
20 ¹And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; and those who followed him were afraid. ²And taking the twelve again, he said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; ³and the Son of man will be delivered to the Gentiles, and they will condemn him to death; ⁴and they will mock him, and spit upon him, and scourge him, and drive him out, and kill him; and on the third day he will rise." ⁵And Natha