44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
And it happened that when Jesus had finished these statements, he went away from Galilee and came into the region of Judea on the other side of the Jordan. 2 And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. 3 And Pharisees came up to him in order to test him, and asked if it was permitted for a man to divorce his wife for any cause. 4 And he answered and said, “Have you not read that the one who created them from the beginning made them male and female 5 and said, ‘On account of this a man will leave his father and his mother and will be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, man must not separate.” 7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command us to give a document—a certificate of divorce—and to divorce her?” 8 He said to them, “Moses, with reference to your hardness of heart, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not like this. 9 Now I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except on the basis of sexual immorality, and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”
10 The disciples said to him, “If this is the case of a man with his wife, it would be better not to marry!” 11 But he said to them, “Not everyone can accept this saying but those to whom it has been given. 12 For there are eunuchs who were born as such from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by people, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept this, let him accept it.”
13 Then children were brought to him so that he could lay his hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, “Allow the children, and do not forbid them to come to me, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And he laid his hands on them and traveled on from there.
Then the Pharisees went and consulted so that they could entrap him with a statement. 16 And they sent their disciples to him with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and you do not care what anyone thinks, because you do not regard the opinion of people. 17 Therefore tell us what you think. Is it permitted to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 18 But because he knew their maliciousness, Jesus said, “Hypocrites! Why are you testing me? 19 Show me the coin for the tax!” So they brought him a denarius. 20 And he said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” 21 They said to him, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore give to Caesar the things of Caesar, and to God the things of God!” 22 And when they heard this, they were astonished, and they left him and went away.
23 On that day Sadducees—who say there is no resurrection—came up to him and asked him, 24 saying, “Teacher, Moses said if someone dies without having children, his brother is to marry his wife and father descendants for his brother. 25 Now there were seven brothers with us. And the first died after getting married, and because he did not have descendants, he left his wife to his brother. 26 So also the second and the third, up to the seventh. 27 And last of all the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her as wife.” 29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God! 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven. 31 Now concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, who said, 32 “I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob”? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living!” 33 And when the crowds heard this, they were amazed at his teaching.
34 Now when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they assembled at the same place. 35 And one of them, a legal expert, put a question to him to test him: 36 “Teacher, which commandment is greatest in the law?” 37 And he said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.”
41 Now while the Pharisees were assembled, Jesus asked them, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “David’s.” 43 He said to them, “How then does David, by the Spirit, call him ‘Lord,’ saying,
44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your feet” ’?
45 If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how is he his son?” 46 And no one was able to answer him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask him any more questions.
And as Jesus went out of the temple courts he was going along, and his disciples came up to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered and said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone will be left here on another stone that will not be thrown down!”
3 And as he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came up to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Watch out that no one deceives you! 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will deceive many. 6 And you are going to hear about wars and rumors of wars. See to it that you are not alarmed, for this must happen, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise up against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.
9 “Then they will hand you over to persecution and will kill you, and you will be hated by all the nations because of my name. 10 And then many will be led into sin and will betray one another and will hate one another, 11 and many false prophets will appear and will deceive many, 12 and because lawlessness will increase, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end—this person will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed in the whole inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken about by the prophet Daniel standing in the holy place” (let the one who reads understand), 16 “then those in Judea must flee to the mountains! 17 The one who is on his housetop must not come down to take things out of his house, 18 and the one who is in the field must not turn back to pick up his cloak. 19 And woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing their babies in those days! 20 But pray that your flight may not happen in winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For at that time there will be great tribulation, such as has not happened from the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will happen. 22 And unless those days had been shortened, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened.
23 “At that time if anyone should say to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘Here he is,’ do not believe him! 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear, and will produce great signs and wonders in order to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 Behold, I have told you ahead of time! 26 Therefore if they say to you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it! 27 For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
29 “And immediately after the tribulation of those days,
‘the sun will be darkened
and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will fall from heaven,
and the powers of heaven will be shaken.’
30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect together from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other end of it.
32 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So also you, when you see all these things, know that he is near, at the door. 34 Truly I say to you that this generation will never pass away until all these things take place! 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows—not even the angels of heaven nor the Son—except the Father alone. 37 For just as the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. 38 For as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered into the ark. 39 And they did not know anything until the deluge came and swept them all away. So also the coming of the Son of Man will be. 40 Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore be on the alert, because you do not know what day your Lord is coming! 43 But understand this: that if the master of the house had known what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 For this reason you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not think he will come.
And it happened that when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, 2 “You know that after two days the Passover takes place, and the Son of Man will be handed over in order to be crucified.”
3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas, 4 and plotted in order that they could arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. 5 But they were saying, “Not during the feast, so that there will not be an uproar among the people.”
6 Now while Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came up to him holding an alabaster flask of very expensive perfumed oil, and poured it out on his head while he was reclining at table. 8 And when the disciples saw it they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? 9 For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor!” 10 But Jesus, knowing this, said to them, “Why do you cause trouble for the woman? For she has done a good deed for me. 11 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me. 12 For when this woman poured this ointment on my body, she did it in order to prepare me for burial. 13 Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.”
14 Then one of the twelve, the one named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What are you willing to give me if I in turn deliver him to you?” So they set out for him thirty silver coins. 16 And from that time on, he began seeking a favorable opportunity in order that he could betray him.
17 Now on the first day of the feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples came up to Jesus, saying, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?” 18 And he said, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is near. I am celebrating the Passover with you with my disciples.” ’ 19 And the disciples did as Jesus directed them, and they prepared the Passover. 20 And when it was evening, he was reclining at table with the twelve disciples. 21 And while they were eating he said, “Truly I say to you, that one of you will betray me.” 22 And greatly distressed, each one began to say to him, “Surely I am not he, am I, Lord?” 23 And he answered and said, “The one who dips his hand in the bowl with me—this one will betray me. 24 The Son of Man is going just as it is written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would be better for him if that man had not been born.” 25 And Judas, the one who was betraying him, answered and said, “Surely I am not he, am I, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You have said it.”
26 Now while they were eating Jesus took bread and, after giving thanks, he broke it, and giving it to the disciples, he said, “Take, eat, this is my body.” 27 And after taking the cup and giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 But I tell you, from now on I will never drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in the kingdom of my Father.” 30 And after they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
31 Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me during this night, for it is written,
‘I will strike the shepherd
and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’
32 But after I am raised, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” 33 But Peter answered and said to him, “If they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away!” 34 Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you that during this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times!” 35 Peter said to him, “Even if it is necessary for me to die with you, I will never deny you!” And all the disciples said the same thing.
36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 And taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be distressed and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me.” 39 And going forward a little he fell down on his face, praying and saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” 40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “So, were you not able to stay awake with me one hour? 41 Stay awake and pray that you will not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak!” 42 Again for the second time he went away and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will must be done.” 43 And he came again and found them sleeping, for they could not keep their eyes open. 44 And leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same thing again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Get up, let us go! Behold, the one who is betraying me is approaching!”
47 And while he was still speaking, behold, Judas—one of the twelve—arrived, and with him a large crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and elders of the people. 48 Now the one who was betraying him had given them a sign, saying, “The one whom I kiss—he is the one. Arrest him!” 49 And he came up to Jesus immediately and said, “Greetings, Rabbi,” and kissed him. 50 And Jesus said to him, “Friend, do that for which you have come.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him.
51 And behold, one of those with Jesus extended his hand and drew his sword, and striking the slave of the high priest, cut off his ear. 52 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place! For all who take up the sword will die by the sword. 53 Or do you think that I cannot call upon my Father, and he would put at my disposal at once more than twelve legions of angels? 54 How then would the scriptures be fulfilled that it must happen in this way?”
55 At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs, as against a robber, to arrest me? Every day in the temple courts I sat teaching, and you did not arrest me! 56 But all this has happened in order that the scriptures of the prophets would be fulfilled.” Then the disciples all abandoned him and fled.
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s residence and gathered the whole cohort to him. 28 And they stripped him and put a scarlet military cloak around him, 29 and weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on his head, and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling down before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” 30 And they spat on him and took the reed and repeatedly struck him on his head. 31 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the military cloak and put his own clothes on him, and led him away in order to crucify him.
32 And as they were going out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon. They forced this man to carry his cross. 33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), 34 they gave him wine mixed with gall to drink, and when he tasted it he did not want to drink it. 35 And when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots. 36 And they sat down and were watching over him there. 37 And they put above his head the charge against him in writing: “This is Jesus, the king of the Jews.” 38 Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39 And those who passed by reviled him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “The one who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!” 41 In the same way also the chief priests, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, saying, 42 “He saved others; he is not able to save himself! He is the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him! 43 He trusts in God; let him deliver him now if he wants to, because he said, ‘I am the Son of God’!” 44 And in the same way even the robbers who were crucified with him were reviling him.
45 Now from the sixth hour, darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”) 47 And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, said, “This man is summoning Elijah!” 48 And immediately one of them ran and took a sponge and filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. 49 But the others said, “Leave him alone! Let us see if Elijah is coming to save him.” 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up his spirit. 51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook and the rocks were split. 52 And the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
54 Now the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that took place, were extremely frightened, saying, “Truly this man was God’s Son!” 55 And there were many women there, observing from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, serving him, 56 among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
57 Now when it was evening, a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph came, who also was a disciple of Jesus himself. 58 This man approached Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a large stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61 Now Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.
62 Now on the next day, which is after the day of preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees assembled before Pilate, 63 saying, “Sir, we remember that while that deceiver was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore give orders that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples come and steal him and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went with the guard of soldiers and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
This is the record of the generations of Adam. When God created Adam, he made him in the likeness of God.
And when Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he fathered a child in his likeness, according to his image. And he called his name Seth.
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Thus also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
For the compensation due sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
For the compensation due sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And I will put hostility
between you and between the woman,
and between your offspring and between her offspring;
he will strike you on the head,
and you will strike him on the heel.”
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look! the virgin is with child and she is about to give birth to a son, and she shall call his name ‘God with us.’
Now all this happened in order that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying,
23 “Behold, the virgin will become pregnant and will give birth to a son,
and they will call his name Emmanuel,”
which is translated, “God with us.”
When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
So he got up and took the child and his mother during the night and went away to Egypt. 15 And he was there until the death of Herod, in order that what was said by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying,
“Out of Egypt I called my son.”
But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream, he took refuge in the regions of Galilee. 23 And he came and lived in a town called Nazareth, in order that what was said by the prophets would be fulfilled: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
Now there are also many other things that Jesus did, which—if they were written down one after the other—I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books that would be written.
And it happened when Jesus finished these words the crowds were amazed at his teaching,
And it happened that when Jesus had finished giving orders to his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and to preach in their towns.
On that day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea. 2 And large crowds gathered close around him, so that he got into a boat to sit down, and all the crowd was standing on the shore. 3 And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow, 4 and while he was sowing, some seed fell on the side of the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 And other seed fell on the rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up at once because it did not have any depth of soil. 6 But when the sun rose it was scorched, and because it did not have enough root, it withered. 7 And other seed fell among the thorn plants, and the thorn plants came up and choked it. 8 But other seed fell on the good soil and produced grain, this one a hundred times as much and this one sixty and this one thirty. 9 The one who has ears, let him hear!”
10 And the disciples came up and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered and said to them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to those people it has not been granted. 12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 For this reason I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand, 14 and with reference to them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says,
“You will listen carefully and will never understand,
and you will look closely and will never perceive.
15 For the heart of this people has become dull,
and with their ears they hear with difficulty,
and they have shut their eyes,
so that they would not see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
and turn, and I would heal them.”
16 But your eyes are blessed because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it!
18 “You, therefore, listen to the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is what was sown on the side of the path. 20 And what was sown on the rocky ground—this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. 21 But he does not have a root in himself, but lasts only a little while, and when affliction or persecution happens because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 And what was sown into the thorn plants—this is the one who hears the word, and the anxiety of this world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word and it becomes unproductive. 23 But what was sown on the good soil—this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, this one a hundred times as much, and this one sixty, and this one thirty.”
24 He put before them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while his people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed darnel in the midst of the wheat and went away. 26 So when the wheat sprouted and yielded grain, then the darnel appeared also. 27 So the slaves of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have darnel?’ 28 And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ So the slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, “No, lest when you gather the darnel you uproot the wheat together with it. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the season of the harvest I will tell the reapers, “First gather the darnel and tie it into bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my storehouse.” ’ ”
31 He put before them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it is grown it is larger than the garden herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”
33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and put into three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.”
34 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables, and he was saying nothing to them without a parable, 35 in order that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled, who said,
“I will open my mouth in parables;
I will proclaim what has been hidden since the creation.”
36 Then he left the crowds and came into the house, and his disciples came to him saying, “Explain the parable of the darnel in the field to us.” 37 So he answered and said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38 and the field is the world. And the good seed—these are the sons of the kingdom, but the darnel are the sons of the evil one. 39 And the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Thus just as the darnel is gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all the causes of sin and those who do lawless deeds, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth! 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The one who has ears, let him hear!
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, that a man found and concealed, and in his joy he goes and sells everything that he has and buys that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. 46 And when he found one very valuable pearl, he went and sold everything that he possessed and purchased it.
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind, 48 which when it was filled they pulled to shore and sat down and collected the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw out. 49 Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the evil from among the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!
51 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “For this reason every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of the house who brings out of his storeroom new things and old things.”
And it happened that when Jesus had finished these parables he went away from there.
At that time the disciples came up to Jesus, saying, “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling a child to himself, he had him stand in their midst 3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you turn around and become like young children, you will never enter into the kingdom of heaven! 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself like this child, this person is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, 5 and whoever welcomes one child such as this in my name welcomes me. 6 But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him that a large millstone be hung on his neck and he be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of causes for stumbling, for it is a necessity that causes for stumbling come; nevertheless, woe to the person through whom the cause for stumbling comes. 8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it from you! It is better for you to enter into life crippled or lame than, having two hands or two feet, to be thrown into the eternal fire! 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it from you! It is better for you to enter into life one-eyed than, having two eyes, to be thrown into fiery hell!
10 “See to it that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven constantly see the face of my Father who is in heaven. 12 What do you think? If a certain man has a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go and look for the one that wandered away? 13 And if he happens to find it, truly I say to you that he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that did not wander away. 14 In the same way it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.
15 “Now if your brother sins against you, go correct him between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take with you in addition one or two others, so that by the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established. 17 And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses to listen to the church also, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
18 “Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will be released in heaven. 19 Again, truly I say to you that if two of you agree on earth about any matter that they ask, it will be done for them from my Father who is in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in the midst of them.”
21 Then Peter came up to him and said, “Lord, how many times will my brother sin against me and I will forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven!
23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man—a king—who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 And when he began to settle them, someone was brought to him who owed ten thousand talents. 25 And because he did not have enough to repay it, the master ordered him to be sold, and his wife and his children and everything that he had, and to be repaid. 26 Then the slave threw himself to the ground and began to do obeisance to him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay back everything to you!’ 27 So the master of that slave, because he had compassion, released him and forgave him the loan. 28 But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii, and taking hold of him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back everything that you owe!’ 29 Then his fellow slave threw himself to the ground and began to implore him, saying, ‘Be patient with me and I will repay you!’ 30 But he did not want to, but rather he went and threw him into prison until he would repay what was owed. 31 So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were extremely distressed, and went and reported to their master everything that had happened. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘Wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you implored me! 33 Should you not also have shown mercy to your fellow slave as I also showed mercy to you?’ 34 And because he was angry, his master handed him over to the merciless jailers until he would repay everything that was owed. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from your hearts!”
And it happened that when Jesus had finished these statements, he went away from Galilee and came into the region of Judea on the other side of the Jordan.
And it happened that when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples,
but you, you will belong to me as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you will speak to the Israelites.”
Now in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the Judean wilderness 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!”
And he went around through all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.
And summoning his twelve disciples, he gave them authority over unclean spirits, so that they could expel them and could heal every disease and every sickness. 2 Now these are the names of the twelve apostles: first Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, 3 Philip, and Bartholomew, Thomas, and Matthew the tax collector, James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot—the one who also betrayed him.
5 Jesus sent out these twelve, instructing them saying, “Do not go on the road to the Gentiles, and do not enter into a city of the Samaritans, 6 but go instead to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you are going, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near!’