7:24 "Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house on a rock. 7:25 The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it didn"t fall, for it was founded on the rock. 7:26 Everyone who hears these words of mine, and doesn"t do them will be like a foolish man, who built his house on the sand. 7:27 The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it fell--and great was its fall."
7:28 It happened, when Jesus had finished saying these things, that the mult.i.tudes were astonished at his teaching, 7:29 for he taught them with authority, and not like the scribes.
8:1 When he came down from the mountain, great mult.i.tudes followed him.
8:2 Behold, a leper came to him and worshiped him, saying, "Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean."
8:3 Jesus stretched out his hand, and touched him, saying, "I want to.
Be made clean." Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 8:4 Jesus said to him, "See that you tell n.o.body, but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."
8:5 When he came into Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking him, 8:6 and saying, "Lord, my servant lies in the house paralyzed, grievously tormented."
8:7 Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."
8:8 The centurion answered, "Lord, I"m not worthy for you to come under my roof. Just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8:9 For I am also a man under authority, having under myself soldiers. I tell this one, "Go," and he goes; and tell another, "Come," and he comes; and tell my servant, "Do this," and he does it."
8:10 When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to those who followed, "Most certainly I tell you, I haven"t found so great a faith, not even in Israel. 8:11 I tell you that many will come from the east and the west, and will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven, 8:12 but the children of the Kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 8:13 Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way. Let it be done for you as you have believed." His servant was healed in that hour.
8:14 When Jesus came into Peter"s house, he saw his wife"s mother lying sick with a fever. 8:15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her. She got up and served him. 8:16 When evening came, they brought to him many possessed with demons. He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick; 8:17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He took our infirmities, and bore our diseases."* 8:18 Now when Jesus saw great mult.i.tudes around him, he gave the order to depart to the other side.
8:19 A scribe came, and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."
8:20 Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."
8:21 Another of his disciples said to him, "Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father."
8:22 But Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead."
8:23 When he got into a boat, his disciples followed him. 8:24 Behold, a violent storm came up on the sea, so much that the boat was covered with the waves, but he was asleep. 8:25 They came to him, and woke him up, saying, "Save us, Lord! We are dying!"
8:26 He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Then he got up, rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was a great calm.
8:27 The men marveled, saying, "What kind of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"
8:28 When he came to the other side, into the country of the Gergesenes, two people possessed by demons met him there, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that n.o.body could pa.s.s that way. 8:29 Behold, they cried out, saying, "What do we have to do with you, Jesus, Son of G.o.d? Have you come here to torment us before the time?" 8:30 Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding far away from them. 8:31 The demons begged him, saying, "If you cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of pigs."
8:32 He said to them, "Go!"
They came out, and went into the herd of pigs: and behold, the whole herd of pigs rushed down the cliff into the sea, and died in the water.
8:33 Those who fed them fled, and went away into the city, and told everything, including what happened to those who were possessed with demons. 8:34 Behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged that he would depart from their borders.
9:1 He entered into a boat, and crossed over, and came into his own city. 9:2 Behold, they brought to him a man who was paralyzed, lying on a bed. Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, "Son, cheer up!
Your sins are forgiven you."
9:3 Behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man blasphemes."
9:4 Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? 9:5 For which is easier, to say, "Your sins are forgiven;" or to say, "Get up, and walk?" 9:6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins..." (then he said to the paralytic), "Get up, and take up your mat, and go up to your house."
9:7 He arose and departed to his house. 9:8 But when the mult.i.tudes saw it, they marveled and glorified G.o.d, who had given such authority to men.
9:9 As Jesus pa.s.sed by from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax collection office. He said to him, "Follow me." He got up and followed him. 9:10 It happened as he sat in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples.
9:11 When the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
9:12 When Jesus heard it, he said to them, "Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick do. 9:13 But you go and learn what this means: "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,"* for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
9:14 Then John"s disciples came to him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don"t fast?"
9:15 Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. 9:16 No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch would tear away from the garment, and a worse hole is made. 9:17 Neither do people put new wine into old wineskins, or else the skins would burst, and the wine be spilled, and the skins ruined. No, they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved."
9:18 While he told these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live."
9:19 Jesus got up and followed him, as did his disciples. 9:20 Behold, a woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years came behind him, and touched the fringe of his garment; 9:21 for she said within herself, "If I just touch his garment, I will be made well."
9:22 But Jesus, turning around and seeing her, said, "Daughter, cheer up! Your faith has made you well." And the woman was made well from that hour.
9:23 When Jesus came into the ruler"s house, and saw the flute players, and the crowd in noisy disorder, 9:24 he said to them, "Make room, because the girl isn"t dead, but sleeping."
They were ridiculing him. 9:25 But when the crowd was put out, he entered in, took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 9:26 The report of this went out into all that land. 9:27 As Jesus pa.s.sed by from there, two blind men followed him, calling out and saying, "Have mercy on us, son of David!"
9:28 When he had come into the house, the blind men came to him. Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"
They told him, "Yes, Lord."
9:29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith be it done to you." 9:30 Their eyes were opened. Jesus strictly commanded them, saying, "See that no one knows about this." 9:31 But they went out and spread abroad his fame in all that land.
9:32 As they went out, behold, a mute man who was demon possessed was brought to him. 9:33 When the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke.
The mult.i.tudes marveled, saying, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!"
9:34 But the Pharisees said, "By the prince of the demons, he casts out demons."
9:35 Jesus went about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people. 9:36 But when he saw the mult.i.tudes, he was moved with compa.s.sion for them, because they were hara.s.sed and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd. 9:37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest indeed is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 9:38 Pray therefore that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into his harvest."
10:1 He called to himself his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness. 10:2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these. The first, Simon, who is called Peter; Andrew, his brother; James the son of Zebedee; John, his brother; 10:3 Philip; Bartholomew; Thomas; Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus; Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 10:4 Simon the Canaanite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
10:5 Jesus sent these twelve out, and commanded them, saying, "Don"t go among the Gentiles, and don"t enter into any city of the Samaritans.
10:6 Rather, go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 10:7 As you go, preach, saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!" 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers*, and cast out demons. Freely you received, so freely give. 10:9 Don"t take any gold, nor silver, nor bra.s.s in your money belts. 10:10 Take no bag for your journey, neither two coats, nor shoes, nor staff: for the laborer is worthy of his food. 10:11 Into whatever city or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy; and stay there until you go on. 10:12 As you enter into the household, greet it. 10:13 If the household is worthy, let your peace come on it, but if it isn"t worthy, let your peace return to you. 10:14 Whoever doesn"t receive you, nor hear your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake off the dust from your feet. 10:15 Most certainly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.
10:16 "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 10:17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to councils, and in their synagogues they will scourge you. 10:18 Yes, and you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony to them and to the nations. 10:19 But when they deliver you up, don"t be anxious how or what you will say, for it will be given you in that hour what you will say. 10:20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
10:21 "Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child. Children will rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death. 10:22 You will be hated by all men for my name"s sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved. 10:23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee into the next, for most certainly I tell you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel, until the Son of Man has come.
10:24 "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his lord. 10:25 It is enough for the disciple that he be like his teacher, and the servant like his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household! 10:26 Therefore don"t be afraid of them, for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed; and hidden that will not be known. 10:27 What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in the ear, proclaim on the housetops. 10:28 Don"t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.
10:29 "Aren"t two sparrows sold for an a.s.sarion coin? Not one of them falls on the ground apart from your Father"s will, 10:30 but the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 10:31 Therefore don"t be afraid.
You are of more value than many sparrows. 10:32 Everyone therefore who confesses me before men, him I will also confess before my Father who is in heaven. 10:33 But whoever denies me before men, him I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven.
10:34 "Don"t think that I came to send peace on the earth. I didn"t come to send peace, but a sword. 10:35 For I came to set a man at odds against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter- in-law against her mother-in-law. 10:36 A man"s foes will be those of his own household.* 10:37 He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me isn"t worthy of me. 10:38 He who doesn"t take his cross and follow after me, isn"t worthy of me. 10:39 He who seeks his life will lose it; and he who loses his life for my sake will find it. 10:40 He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me. 10:41 He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet"s reward: and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man will receive a righteous man"s reward. 10:42 Whoever gives one of these little ones just a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple, most certainly I tell you he will in no way lose his reward."
11:1 It happened that when Jesus had finished directing his twelve disciples, he departed from there to teach and preach in their cities.
11:2 Now when John heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples 11:3 and said to him, "Are you he who comes, or should we look for another?"