Jesus Sends His Apostles on a Mission^(A)

10 Jesus called his twelve followers together. He gave them power over evil spirits and power to heal every kind of disease and sickness. ² These are the names of the twelve apostles:

⁵ Jesus sent the twelve men out with these instructions: “Don’t go to the non-Jewish people. And don’t go into any town where the Samaritans live. ⁶ But go to the people of Israel. They are like sheep that are lost. ⁷ When you go, tell them this: ‘God’s kingdom is now very near.^[a]’ ⁸ Heal the sick. Bring the dead back to life. Heal the people who have leprosy. And force demons out of people. I give you these powers freely, so help others freely. ⁹ Don’t carry any money with you—gold or silver or copper. ¹⁰ Don’t carry a bag. Take only the clothes and sandals you are wearing. And don’t take a walking stick. A worker should be given what he needs.

¹¹ “When you enter a city or town, find some worthy person there and stay in his home until you leave. ¹² When you enter that home, say, ‘Peace be with you.’ ¹³ If the people in that home welcome you, they are worthy of your peace. May they have the peace you wished for them. But if they don’t welcome you, they are not worthy of your peace. Take back the peace you wished for them. ¹⁴ And if the people in a home or a town refuse to welcome you or listen to you, then leave that place and shake the dust off your feet.^{[b] 15} I can assure you that on the judgment day it will be worse for that town than for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Jesus Warns About Troubles^(B)

¹⁶ “Listen! I am sending you, and you will be like sheep among wolves. So be smart like snakes. But also be like doves and don’t hurt anyone. ¹⁷ Be careful! There are people who will arrest you and take you to be judged. They will whip you in their synagogues. ¹⁸ You will be taken to stand before governors and kings. People will do this to you because you follow me. You will tell about me to those kings and governors and to the non-Jewish people. ¹⁹ When you are arrested, don’t worry about what to say or how you should say it. At that time you will be given the words to say. ²⁰ It will not really be you speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking through you.

²¹ “Brothers will turn against their own brothers and hand them over to be killed. Fathers will hand over their own children to be killed. Children will fight against their own parents and will have them killed. ²² Everyone will hate you because you follow me. But the one who remains faithful to the end will be saved. ²³ When you are treated badly in one city, go to another city. I promise you that you will not finish going to all the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes again.

²⁴ “Students are not better than their teacher. Servants are not better than their master. ²⁵ Students should be happy to be treated the same as their teacher. And servants should be happy to be treated the same as their master. If those people call me ‘the ruler of demons,’ and I am the head of the family,^[c] then it is even more certain that they will insult you, the members of the family!

Fear God, Not People^(C)

²⁶ “So don’t be afraid of those people. Everything that is hidden will be shown. Everything that is secret will be made known. ²⁷ I tell you all this secretly,^[d] but I want you to tell it publicly.^[e] Whatever I tell you privately,^[f] you should shout for everyone to hear.^[g]

²⁸ “Don’t be afraid of people. They can kill the body, but they cannot kill the soul. The only one you should fear is God, the one who can send the body and the soul to be destroyed in hell. ²⁹ When birds are sold, two small birds cost only a penny. But not even one of those little birds can die without your Father knowing it. ³⁰ God even knows how many hairs are on your head. ³¹ So don’t be afraid. You are worth more than a whole flock of birds.

Don’t Be Ashamed of Your Faith^(D)

³² “If you stand before others and are willing to say you believe in me, then I will tell my Father in heaven that you belong to me. ³³ But if you stand before others and say you do not believe in me, then I will tell my Father in heaven that you do not belong to me.

Following Jesus May Bring You Trouble^(E)

³⁴ “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace. I came to bring trouble.^{[h] 35} I have come to make this happen:

³⁷ “Those who love their father or mother more than they love me are not worthy of me. And those who love their son or daughter more than they love me are not worthy of me. ³⁸ Those who will not accept the cross that is given to them when they follow me are not worthy of me. ³⁹ Those who try to keep the life they have will lose it. But those who give up their life for me will find true life.

God Will Bless Those Who Welcome You^(G)

⁴⁰ “Whoever accepts you also accepts me. And whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me. ⁴¹ Whoever accepts a prophet because he is a prophet will get the same reward a prophet gets. And whoever accepts a godly person just because that person is godly will get the same reward a godly person gets. ⁴² Whoever helps any of these little ones because they are my followers will definitely get a reward, even if they only give them a cup of cold water.”

John Sends Men to Ask Jesus a Question^(H)

11 When Jesus finished these instructions for his twelve followers, he left there. He went to the towns in Galilee to teach the people and tell them God’s message.

² When John was in prison, he heard about the things that were happening—things the Messiah would do. So he sent some of his followers to Jesus. ³ They asked him, “Are you the one we have been expecting, or should we wait for someone else?”

⁴ Jesus answered, “Go tell John what you have heard and seen: ⁵ The blind can see. The crippled can walk. People with leprosy are healed. The deaf can hear. The dead are brought back to life. And the Good News is being told to the poor. ⁶ Great blessings belong to those who don’t have a problem accepting me.”

⁷ When John’s followers left, Jesus began talking to the people about John. He said, “What did you people go out to the desert to see? Someone who is weak, like a stem of grass^[i] blowing in the wind? ⁸ Really, what did you expect to see? Someone dressed in fine clothes? Of course not. People who wear fine clothes are all in kings’ palaces. ⁹ So what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, John is a prophet. But I tell you, he is more than that. ¹⁰ This Scripture was written about him:

¹¹ “The truth is that John the Baptizer is greater than anyone who has ever come into this world. But even the least important person in God’s kingdom is greater than John. ¹² Since the time John the Baptizer came until now, God’s kingdom has been going forward strongly.^[j] And people have been trying to take control of it by force. ¹³ Before John came, the Law of Moses and all the prophets told about the things that would happen. ¹⁴ And if you believe what they said, then John is Elijah.^[k] He is the one they said would come. ¹⁵ You people who hear me, listen!

¹⁶ “What can I say about the people who live today? What are they like? The people today are like children sitting in the marketplace. One group of children calls to the other group,

¹⁸ Why do I say people are like that? Because John came, not eating like other people or drinking wine, and people say, ‘He has a demon inside him.’ ¹⁹ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and people say, ‘Look at him! He eats too much and drinks too much wine. He’s a friend of tax collectors and other sinners.’ But wisdom is shown to be right by what it does.”

Jesus Warns People Who Refuse to Believe^(J)

²⁰ Then Jesus criticized the cities where he did most of his miracles. He criticized these cities because the people there did not change their lives and stop sinning. ²¹ Jesus said, “It will be bad for you Chorazin! It will be bad for you Bethsaida! I did many miracles in you. If these same miracles had happened in Tyre and Sidon, the people there would have changed their lives a long time ago. They would have worn sackcloth and put ashes on themselves to show that they were sorry for their sins. ²² But I tell you, on the day of judgment it will be worse for you than for Tyre and Sidon.

²³ “And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? No! You will be thrown down to the place of death. I did many miracles in you. If these same miracles had happened in Sodom, the people there would have stopped sinning, and it would still be a city today. ²⁴ But I tell you, it will be worse for you in the day of judgment than for Sodom.”

Jesus Offers Rest to His People^(K)

²⁵ Then Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. I am thankful that you have hidden these things from those who are so wise and so smart. But you have shown them to people who are like little children. ²⁶ Yes, Father, you did this because it’s what you really wanted to do.

²⁷ “My Father has given me everything. No one knows the Son—only the Father knows the Son. And no one knows the Father—only the Son knows the Father. And the only people who will know about the Father are those the Son chooses to tell.

²⁸ “Come to me all of you who are tired from the heavy burden you have been forced to carry. I will give you rest. ²⁹ Accept my teaching.^[l] Learn from me. I am gentle and humble in spirit. And you will be able to get some rest. ³⁰ Yes, the teaching that I ask you to accept is easy. The load I give you to carry is light.”

Jesus Is Lord Over the Sabbath Day^(L)

12 About that same time, Jesus was walking through the fields of grain on a Sabbath day. His followers were with him, and they were hungry. So they began to pick the grain and eat it. ² The Pharisees saw this. They said to Jesus, “Look! Your followers are doing something that is against the law to do on the Sabbath day.”

³ Jesus said to them, “You have read what David did when he and those with him were hungry. ⁴ David went into God’s house. He and those with him ate the bread that was offered to God. It was against the law for David or those with him to eat that bread. Only the priests were allowed to eat it. ⁵ And you have read in the Law of Moses that on every Sabbath day the priests at the Temple break the law about the Sabbath day. But they are not wrong for doing that. ⁶ I tell you that there is something here that is greater than the Temple. ⁷ The Scriptures say, ‘I don’t want animal sacrifices; I want you to show kindness to people.’^[m] You don’t really know what that means. If you understood it, you would not judge those who have done nothing wrong.

⁸ “The Son of Man is Lord over the Sabbath day.”

Jesus Heals a Man on the Sabbath Day^(M)

⁹ Jesus went from there to their synagogue. ¹⁰ In the synagogue there was a man with a crippled hand. Some Jews there were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus of doing wrong. So they asked him, “Is it right to heal on the Sabbath day?”^[n]

¹¹ Jesus answered, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a ditch on the Sabbath day, you will take the sheep and help it out of the ditch. ¹² Surely a man is more important than a sheep. So it is right to do good on the Sabbath day.”

¹³ Then Jesus said to the man with the crippled hand, “Hold out your hand.” The man held out his hand, and it became well again, the same as the other hand. ¹⁴ But the Pharisees left and made plans to kill Jesus.

Jesus Is God’s Chosen Servant

¹⁵ Jesus knew what the Pharisees were planning. So he left that place, and many people followed him. He healed all who were sick, ¹⁶ but he warned them not to tell others who he was. ¹⁷ This was to give full meaning to what Isaiah the prophet said when he spoke for God:

Jesus’ Power Is From God^(O)

²² Then some people brought a man to Jesus. This man was blind and could not talk, because he had a demon inside him. Jesus healed the man, and he could talk and see. ²³ All the people were amazed at what Jesus did. They said, “Maybe he is the promised Son of David!”

²⁴ When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man uses the power of Satan^[p] to force demons out of people. Satan is the ruler of demons.”

²⁵ Jesus knew what the Pharisees were thinking. So he said to them, “Every kingdom that fights against itself will be destroyed. And every city or family that is divided against itself will not survive. ²⁶ So if Satan forces out his own demons,^[q] then he is fighting against himself, and his kingdom will not survive. ²⁷ You say that I use the power of Satan to force out demons. If that is true, then what power do your people use when they force out demons? So your own people will prove that you are wrong. ²⁸ But I use the power of God’s Spirit to force out demons, and this shows that God’s kingdom has come to you. ²⁹ Whoever wants to enter a strong man’s house and steal his things must first tie him up. Then they can steal the things from his house. ³⁰ Whoever is not with me is against me. And anyone who does not work with me is working against me.

³¹ “So I tell you, people can be forgiven for every sinful thing they do and for every bad thing they say against God. But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. ³² You can even speak against the Son of Man and be forgiven. But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven—not now or in the future.

What You Do Shows What You Are^(P)

³³ “If you want good fruit, you must make the tree good. If your tree is not good, it will have bad fruit. A tree is known by the kind of fruit it produces. ³⁴ You snakes! You are so evil. How can you say anything good? What people say with their mouths comes from what fills their hearts. ³⁵ Those who are good have good things saved in their hearts. That’s why they say good things. But those who are evil have hearts full of evil, and that’s why they say things that are evil. ³⁶ I tell you that everyone will have to answer for all the careless things they have said. This will happen on the day of judgment. ³⁷ Your words will be used to judge you. What you have said will show whether you are right or whether you are guilty.”

Some People Doubt Jesus’ Authority^(Q)

³⁸ Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law answered Jesus. They said, “Teacher, we want to see you do a miracle as a sign from God.”

³⁹ Jesus answered, “Evil and sinful people are the ones who want to see a miracle as a sign. But no miracle will be done to prove anything to them. The only sign will be the miracle that happened to the prophet Jonah.^{[r] 40} Jonah was in the stomach of the big fish for three days and three nights. In the same way, the Son of Man will be in the grave three days and three nights. ⁴¹ On the judgment day, you people who live now will be compared with the people from Nineveh,^[s] and they will be witnesses who show how guilty you are. Why do I say this? Because when Jonah preached to those people, they changed their lives. And you are listening to someone greater than Jonah, but you refuse to change!

⁴² “On the judgment day, you people who live now will also be compared with the queen of the South,^[t] and she will be a witness who shows how guilty you are. I say this because she traveled from far, far away to listen to Solomon’s wise teaching. And I tell you that someone greater than Solomon is right here, but you won’t listen!

The Danger of Emptiness^(R)

⁴³ “When an evil spirit comes out of a person, it travels through dry places looking for a place to rest, but it finds none. ⁴⁴ So it says, ‘I will go back to the home I left.’ When it comes back, it finds that home still empty. It is all neat and clean. ⁴⁵ Then the evil spirit goes out and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself. They all go and live there, and that person has even more trouble than before. It is the same way with the evil people who live today.”

Jesus’ Followers Are His True Family^(S)

⁴⁶ While Jesus was talking to the people, his mother and brothers stood outside. They wanted to talk to him. ⁴⁷ Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are waiting for you outside. They want to talk to you.”

⁴⁸ Jesus answered, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹ Then he pointed to his followers and said, “See! These people are my mother and my brothers. ⁵⁰ Yes, anyone who does what my Father in heaven wants is my true brother and sister and mother.”

A Story About a Farmer Sowing Seed^(T)

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. ² A large crowd gathered around him. So he got into a boat and sat down. All the people stayed on the shore. ³ Then Jesus used stories to teach them many things. He told them this story:

“A farmer went out to sow seed. ⁴ While he was scattering the seed, some of it fell by the road. The birds came and ate all that seed. ⁵ Other seed fell on rocky ground, where there was not enough dirt. It grew very fast there, because the soil was not deep. ⁶ But when the sun rose, it burned the plants. The plants died because they did not have deep roots. ⁷ Some other seed fell among thorny weeds. The weeds grew and stopped the good plants from growing. ⁸ But some of the seed fell on good ground. There it grew and made grain. Some plants made 100 times more grain, some 60 times more, and some 30 times more. ⁹ You people who hear me, listen!”

Why Jesus Used Stories to Teach^(U)

¹⁰ The followers came to Jesus and asked, “Why do you use these stories to teach the people?”

¹¹ Jesus answered, “Only you can know the secret truths about God’s kingdom. Those other people cannot know these secret truths. ¹² The people who have some understanding will be given more. And they will have even more than they need. But those who do not have much understanding will lose even the little understanding that they have. ¹³ This is why I use these stories to teach the people: They see, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really hear or understand. ¹⁴ So they show that what Isaiah said about them is true:

¹⁶ But God has blessed you. You understand what you see with your eyes. And you understand what you hear with your ears. ¹⁷ I can assure you, many prophets and godly people wanted to see what you now see. But they did not see it. And many prophets and godly people wanted to hear what you now hear. But they did not hear it.

Jesus Explains the Story About Seed^(W)

¹⁸ “So listen to the meaning of that story about the farmer:

¹⁹ “What about the seed that fell by the path? That is like the people who hear the teaching about God’s kingdom but do not understand it. The Evil One comes and takes away what was planted in their hearts.

²⁰ “And what about the seed that fell on rocky ground? That is like the people who hear the teaching and quickly and gladly accept it. ²¹ But they do not let the teaching go deep into their lives. They keep it only a short time. As soon as trouble or persecution comes because of the teaching they accepted, they give up.

²² “And what about the seed that fell among the thorny weeds? That is like the people who hear the teaching but let worries about this life and love for money stop it from growing. So it does not produce a crop in their lives.

²³ “But what about the seed that fell on the good ground? That is like the people who hear the teaching and understand it. They grow and produce a good crop, sometimes 100 times more, sometimes 60 times more, and sometimes 30 times more.”

A Story About Wheat and Weeds

²⁴ Then Jesus used another story to teach them. Jesus said, “God’s kingdom is like a man who planted good seed in his field. ²⁵ That night, while everyone was asleep, the man’s enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat and then left. ²⁶ Later, the wheat grew, and heads of grain grew on the plants. But at the same time the weeds also grew. ²⁷ Then the man’s servants came to him and said, ‘You planted good seed in your field. Where did the weeds come from?’

²⁸ “The man answered, ‘An enemy planted weeds.’

“The servants asked, ‘Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?’

²⁹ “He answered, ‘No, because when you pull up the weeds, you might also pull up the wheat. ³⁰ Let the weeds and the wheat grow together until the harvest time. At the harvest time I will tell the workers this: First, gather the weeds and tie them together to be burned. Then gather the wheat and bring it to my barn.’”

What Is God’s Kingdom Like?^(X)

³¹ Then Jesus told the people another story: “God’s kingdom is like a mustard seed that a man plants in his field. ³² It is the smallest of all seeds. But when it grows, it is the largest of all garden plants. It becomes a tree big enough for the birds to come and make nests in its branches.”

³³ Then Jesus told them another story: “God’s kingdom is like yeast that a woman mixes into a big bowl of flour to make bread. The yeast makes all the dough rise.”

³⁴ Jesus used stories to tell all these things to the people. He always used stories to teach them. ³⁵ This was to make clear the full meaning of what the prophet said:

Jesus Explains a Hard Story

³⁶ Then Jesus left the people and went into the house. His followers came to him and said, “Explain to us the meaning of the story about the weeds in the field.”

³⁷ He answered, “The man who planted the good seed in the field is the Son of Man. ³⁸ The field is the world. The good seed are the people in God’s kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the Evil One. ³⁹ And the enemy who planted the bad seed is the devil. The harvest is the end of time. And the workers who gather are God’s angels.

⁴⁰ “The weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire. It will be the same at the end of time. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will find the people who cause sin and all those who do evil. The angels will take those people out of his kingdom. ⁴² They will throw them into the place of fire. There the people will be crying and grinding their teeth with pain. ⁴³ Then the godly people will shine like the sun. They will be in the kingdom of their Father. You people who hear me, listen!

Stories About a Treasure and a Pearl

⁴⁴ “God’s kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field. One day a man found the treasure. He hid it again and was so happy that he went and sold everything he owned and bought the field.

⁴⁵ “Also, God’s kingdom is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. ⁴⁶ One day he found a very fine pearl. He went and sold everything he had to buy it.

A Story About a Fishing Net

⁴⁷ “Also, God’s kingdom is like a net that was put into the lake. The net caught many different kinds of fish. ⁴⁸ It was full, so the fishermen pulled it to the shore. They sat down and put all the good fish in baskets. Then they threw away the bad fish. ⁴⁹ It will be the same at the end of time. The angels will come and separate the evil people from the godly people. ⁵⁰ They will throw the evil people into the place of fire. There the people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.”

⁵¹ Then Jesus asked his followers, “Do you understand all these things?”

They said, “Yes, we understand.”

⁵² Then Jesus said to the followers, “So every teacher of the law who has learned about God’s kingdom has some new things to teach. He is like the owner of a house. He has new things and old things saved in that house. And he brings out the new with the old.”

Jesus Goes to His Hometown^(Z)

⁵³ When Jesus finished teaching with these stories, he left there. ⁵⁴ He went to the town where he grew up. He taught the people in the synagogue, and they were amazed. They said, “Where did this man get such wisdom and this power to do miracles? ⁵⁵ Isn’t he just the son of the carpenter we know? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? ⁵⁶ And don’t all his sisters still live here in town? How is he able to do these things?” ⁵⁷ So they had a problem accepting him.

But Jesus said to them, “People everywhere give honor to a prophet, but in his own town or in his own home a prophet does not get any honor.” ⁵⁸ Jesus did not do many miracles there, because the people did not believe in him.

Herod Thinks Jesus Is John the Baptizer^(AA)

14 About that time, Herod, the ruler of Galilee, heard what the people were saying about Jesus. ² So he said to his servants, “This man is really John the Baptizer. He must have risen from death, and that is why he can do these miracles.”

How John the Baptizer Was Killed

³ Before this time, Herod had arrested John. He had him chained and put in prison. He arrested John because of Herodias, the wife of Philip, Herod’s brother. ⁴ John had told him, “It is not right for you to be married to Herodias.” ⁵ Herod wanted to kill him, but he was afraid of the people. They believed that John was a prophet.

⁶ On Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced for him and his group. Herod was very pleased with her. ⁷ So he promised that he would give her anything she wanted. ⁸ Herodias told her daughter what to ask for. So she said to Herod, “Give me the head of John the Baptizer here on this plate.”

⁹ King Herod was very sad. But he had promised to give the daughter anything she wanted. And the people eating with Herod had heard his promise. So he ordered what she asked to be done. ¹⁰ He sent men to the prison, where they cut off John’s head. ¹¹ And the men brought John’s head on a plate and gave it to the girl. Then she took the head to her mother, Herodias. ¹² John’s followers came and got his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus what happened.

Jesus Feeds More Than 5000^(AB)

¹³ When Jesus heard what happened to John, he left in a boat. He went alone to a place where no one lived. But the people heard that Jesus had left. So they left their towns and followed him. They went by land to the same place he went. ¹⁴ When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw a large crowd of people. He felt sorry for them, and he healed the ones who were sick.

¹⁵ Late that afternoon, the followers came to Jesus and said, “No one lives in this place. And it is already late. Send the people away so they can go to the towns and buy food for themselves.”

¹⁶ Jesus said, “The people don’t need to go away. You give them some food to eat.”

¹⁷ The followers answered, “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish.”

¹⁸ Jesus said, “Bring the bread and the fish to me.” ¹⁹ Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves of bread and the two fish. He looked into the sky and thanked God for the food. Then he broke the bread into pieces, which he gave to the followers, and they gave the food to the people. ²⁰ Everyone ate until they were full. When they finished eating, the followers filled twelve baskets with the pieces of food that were not eaten. ²¹ There were about 5000 men there who ate. There were also women and children who ate.

Jesus Walks on Water^(AC)

²² Then Jesus made the followers get into the boat. He told them to go to the other side of the lake. He said he would come later. He stayed there to tell everyone they could go home. ²³ After Jesus said goodbye to the people, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. It was late, and he was there alone. ²⁴ By this time the boat was already a long way from shore. Since the wind was blowing against it, the boat was having trouble because of the waves.

²⁵ Between three and six o’clock in the morning, Jesus’ followers were still in the boat. Jesus came to them. He was walking on the water. ²⁶ When they saw him walking on the water, it scared them. “It’s a ghost!” they said, screaming in fear.

²⁷ But Jesus quickly spoke to them. He said, “Don’t worry! It’s me! Don’t be afraid.”

²⁸ Peter said, “Lord, if that is really you, tell me to come to you on the water.”

²⁹ Jesus said, “Come, Peter.”

Then Peter left the boat and walked on the water to Jesus. ³⁰ But while Peter was walking on the water, he saw the wind and the waves. He was afraid and began sinking into the water. He shouted, “Lord, save me!”

³¹ Then Jesus caught Peter with his hand. He said, “Your faith is small. Why did you doubt?”

³² After Peter and Jesus were in the boat, the wind stopped. ³³ Then the followers in the boat worshiped Jesus and said, “You really are the Son of God.”

Jesus Heals Many Sick People^(AD)

³⁴ After they crossed the lake, they came to the shore at Gennesaret. ³⁵ Some men there saw Jesus and knew who he was. So they sent word to the other people throughout that area that Jesus had come. The people brought all their sick people to him. ³⁶ They begged Jesus to let them only touch the edge of his coat to be healed. And all the sick people who touched his coat were healed.

God’s Law and Human Traditions^(AE)

15 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus. They came from Jerusalem and asked him, ² “Why do your followers not obey the traditions we have from our great leaders who lived long ago? Your followers don’t wash their hands before they eat!”

³ Jesus answered, “And why do you refuse to obey God’s command so that you can follow those traditions you have? ⁴ God said, ‘You must respect your father and mother.’^[u] And God also said, ‘Whoever says anything bad to their father or mother must be killed.’^{[v] 5} But you teach that a person can say to their father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you. But I will not use it for you. I will give it to God.’ ⁶ You are teaching them not to respect their father. So you are teaching that it is not important to do what God said. You think it is more important to follow those traditions you have. ⁷ You are hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he spoke for God about you:

¹⁰ Jesus called the people to him. He said, “Listen and understand what I am saying. ¹¹ It is not what people put in their mouth that makes them wrong.^[w] It is what comes out of their mouth that makes them wrong.”

¹² Then the followers came to Jesus and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees are upset about what you said?”

¹³ Jesus answered, “Every plant that my Father in heaven has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. ¹⁴ Stay away from the Pharisees. They lead the people, but they are like blind men leading other blind men. And if a blind man leads another blind man, both of them will fall into a ditch.”

¹⁵ Peter said, “Explain to us what you said earlier to the people.”

¹⁶ Jesus said, “Do you still have trouble understanding? ¹⁷ Surely you know that all the food that enters the mouth goes into the stomach. Then it goes out of the body. ¹⁸ But the bad things people say with their mouth come from the way they think. And that’s what can make people wrong. ¹⁹ All these bad things begin in the mind: evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual sins, stealing, lying, and insulting people. ²⁰ These are the things that make people wrong. Eating without washing their hands will never make people unacceptable to God.”

Jesus Helps a Non-Jewish Woman^(AG)

²¹ Jesus went from there to the area of Tyre and Sidon. ²² A Canaanite woman from that area came out and began shouting, “Lord, Son of David, please help me! My daughter has a demon inside her, and she is suffering very much.”

²³ But Jesus did not answer her. So the followers came to him and said, “Tell her to go away. She keeps crying out and will not leave us alone.”

²⁴ Jesus answered, “God sent me only to the lost people^[x] of Israel.”

²⁵ Then the woman came over to Jesus and bowed before him. She said, “Lord, help me!”

²⁶ He answered her with this saying: “It is not right to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs.”

²⁷ The woman said, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the pieces of food that fall from their master’s table.”

²⁸ Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! You will get what you asked for.” And right then the woman’s daughter was healed.

Jesus Heals Many People

²⁹ Then Jesus went from there to the shore of Lake Galilee. He went up on a hill and sat down.

³⁰ A large crowd of people came to him. They brought many other sick people and put them before him. There were people who could not walk, people who were blind, crippled, or deaf, and many others. Jesus healed them all. ³¹ People were amazed when they saw that those who could not speak were now able to speak. Crippled people were made strong. Those who could not walk were now able to walk. The blind were able to see. Everyone thanked the God of Israel for this.

Jesus Feeds More Than 4000^(AH)

³² Jesus called his followers to him and said, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been with me three days, and now they have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry. They might faint while going home.”

³³ The followers asked Jesus, “Where can we get enough bread to feed all these people? We are a long way from any town.”

³⁴ Jesus asked, “How many loaves of bread do you have?”

They answered, “We have seven loaves of bread and a few small fish.”

³⁵ Jesus told the people to sit on the ground. ³⁶ He took the seven loaves of bread and the fish. Then he gave thanks to God for the food. He broke the bread into pieces, which he gave to the followers, and they gave the food to the people. ³⁷ All the people ate until they were full. After this, the followers filled seven baskets with the pieces of food that were not eaten. ³⁸ There were about 4000 men there who ate. There were also some women and children. ³⁹ After they all ate, Jesus told the people they could go home. He got into the boat and went to the area of Magadan.

Some People Doubt Jesus’ Authority^(AI)

16 The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus. They wanted to test him. So they asked him to show them a miracle as a sign from God.

² Jesus answered, “When you people see the sunset, you know what the weather will be. If the sky is red, you say we will have good weather. ³ And in the morning, if the sky is dark and red, you say that it will be a rainy day. These are signs of the weather. You see these signs in the sky and know what they mean. In the same way, you see the things that are happening now. These are also signs, but you don’t know their meaning. ⁴ It is the evil and sinful people who want to see a miracle as a sign from God. But no miracle will be done to prove anything to them. The only sign will be the miracle that happened to Jonah.^[y]” Then Jesus went away from there.

Jesus’ Followers Misunderstand Him^(AJ)

⁵ Jesus and his followers went across the lake. But the followers forgot to bring bread. ⁶ Jesus said to the followers, “Be careful! Guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”

⁷ The followers discussed the meaning of this. They said, “Did Jesus say this because we forgot to bring bread?”

⁸ Jesus knew that they were talking about this. So he asked them, “Why are you talking about not having bread? Your faith is small. ⁹ Do you still not understand? Remember the five loaves of bread that fed the 5000 people and the many baskets you filled with the bread that was left? ¹⁰ And remember the seven loaves of bread that fed the 4000 people and the many baskets you filled that time? ¹¹ So how could you think that I am concerned about bread? I am telling you to be careful and guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”

¹² Then the followers understood what Jesus meant. He was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread. He was telling them to guard against the teaching of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

Peter Says Jesus Is the Messiah^(AK)

¹³ Jesus went to the area of Caesarea Philippi. He said to his followers, “Who do people say I am^[z]?”

¹⁴ They answered, “Some people say you are John the Baptizer. Others say you are Elijah. And some say you are Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵ Then Jesus said to his followers, “And who do you say I am?”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷ Jesus answered, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah. No one taught you that. My Father in heaven showed you who I am. ¹⁸ So I tell you, you are Peter.^[aa] And I will build my church on this rock. The power of death^[ab] will not be able to defeat my church. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys to God’s kingdom. When you speak judgment here on earth, that judgment will be God’s judgment. When you promise forgiveness here on earth, that forgiveness will be God’s forgiveness.”^[ac]

²⁰ Then Jesus warned his followers not to tell anyone he was the Messiah.

Jesus Says He Must Die^(AL)

²¹ From that time Jesus began telling his followers that he must go to Jerusalem. He explained that the older Jewish leaders, the leading priests, and the teachers of the law would make him suffer many things. And he told his followers that he must be killed. Then, on the third day, he would be raised from death.

²² Peter took Jesus away from the other followers to talk to him alone. He began to criticize him. He said, “God save you from those sufferings, Lord! That will never happen to you!”

²³ Then Jesus said to Peter, “Get away from me, Satan^[ad]! You are not helping me! You don’t care about the same things God does. You care only about things that people think are important.”

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his followers, “If any of you want to be my follower, you must stop thinking about yourself and what you want. You must be willing to carry the cross that is given to you for following me. ²⁵ Any of you who try to save the life you have will lose it. But you who give up your life for me will find true life. ²⁶ It is worth nothing for you to have the whole world if you yourself are lost. You could never pay enough to buy back your life. ²⁷ The Son of Man will come again with his Father’s glory and with his angels. And he will reward everyone for what they have done. ²⁸ Believe me when I say that there are some people standing here who will see the Son of Man coming with his kingdom before they die.”

Jesus Is Seen With Moses and Elijah^(AM)

17 Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John the brother of James and went up on a high mountain. They were all alone there. ² While these followers watched him, Jesus was changed. His face became bright like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. ³ Then two men were there, talking with him. They were Moses and Elijah.

⁴ Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you want, I will put three tents here—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

⁵ While Peter was talking, a bright cloud came over them. A voice came from the cloud and said, “This is my Son, the one I love. I am very pleased with him. Obey him!”

⁶ The followers with Jesus heard this voice. They were very afraid, so they fell to the ground. ⁷ But Jesus came to them and touched them. He said, “Stand up. Don’t be afraid.” ⁸ The followers looked up, and they saw that Jesus was now alone.

⁹ As Jesus and the followers were coming down the mountain, he gave them this command: “Don’t tell anyone about what you saw on the mountain. Wait until the Son of Man has been raised from death. Then you can tell people about what you saw.”

¹⁰ The followers asked Jesus, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come^[ae] before the Messiah comes?”

¹¹ Jesus answered, “They are right to say Elijah is coming. And it is true that Elijah will make all things the way they should be. ¹² But I tell you, Elijah has already come. People did not know who he was, and they treated him badly, doing whatever they wanted to do. It is the same with the Son of Man. Those same people will make the Son of Man suffer.” ¹³ Then the followers understood that when Jesus said Elijah, he was really talking about John the Baptizer.

Jesus Frees a Boy From an Evil Spirit^(AN)

¹⁴ Jesus and the followers went back to the people. A man came to Jesus and bowed before him. ¹⁵ The man said, “Lord, be kind to my son. He suffers so much from the seizures he has. He often falls into the fire or into the water. ¹⁶ I brought him to your followers, but they could not heal him.”

¹⁷ Jesus answered, “You people today have no faith. Your lives are so wrong! How long must I stay with you? How long must I continue to be patient with you? Bring the boy here.” ¹⁸ Jesus gave a strong command to the demon inside the boy. The demon came out of the boy, and the boy was healed.

¹⁹ Then the followers came to Jesus alone. They said, “We tried to force the demon out of the boy, but we could not. Why were we not able to make the demon go out?”

²⁰ Jesus answered, “You were not able to make the demon go out, because your faith is too small. Believe me when I tell you, if your faith is only as big as a mustard seed you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. You will be able to do anything.” ^21 [af]

Jesus Talks About His Death^(AO)

²² Later, the followers met together in Galilee. Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man will be handed over to the control of other men, ²³ who will kill him. But on the third day he will be raised from death.” The followers were very sad to hear that Jesus would be killed.

Jesus Teaches About Paying Taxes

²⁴ Jesus and his followers went to Capernaum. There the men who collect the two-drachma Temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Does your teacher pay the Temple tax?”

²⁵ Peter answered, “Yes, he does.”

Peter went into the house where Jesus was. Before Peter could speak, Jesus said to him, “The kings on the earth get different kinds of taxes from people. But who are those who pay the taxes? Are they the king’s children? Or do other people pay the taxes? What do you think?”

²⁶ Peter answered, “The other people pay the taxes.”

Jesus said, “Then the children of the king don’t have to pay taxes. ²⁷ But we don’t want to upset these tax collectors. So do this: Go to the lake and fish. After you catch the first fish, open its mouth. Inside its mouth you will find a four-drachma coin. Take that coin and give it to the tax collectors. That will pay the tax for you and me.”

Who Is the Greatest?^(AP)

18 About that time the followers came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in God’s kingdom?”

² Jesus called a little child to come to him. He stood the child in front of the followers. ³ Then he said, “The truth is, you must change your thinking and become like little children. If you don’t do this, you will never enter God’s kingdom. ⁴ The greatest person in God’s kingdom is the one who makes himself humble like this child.

⁵ “Whoever accepts a little child like this in my name is accepting me.

Jesus Warns About Causes of Sin^(AQ)

⁶ “If one of these little children believes in me, and someone causes that child to sin, it will be very bad for that person. It would be better for them to have a millstone tied around their neck and be drowned in the deep sea. ⁷ I feel sorry for the people in the world because of the things that make people sin. These things must happen, but it will be very bad for anyone who causes them to happen.

⁸ “If your hand or your foot makes you sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose part of your body and have eternal life than to have two hands and two feet and be thrown into the fire that burns forever. ⁹ If your eye makes you sin, take it out and throw it away. It is better for you to have only one eye and have eternal life than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

Jesus Uses a Story About a Lost Sheep^(AR)

¹⁰ “Be careful. Don’t think these little children are not important. I tell you that these children have angels in heaven. And those angels are always with my Father in heaven. ^11 [ag]

¹² “If a man has 100 sheep, but one of the sheep is lost, what will he do? He will leave the other 99 sheep on the hill and go look for the lost sheep. Right? ¹³ And if he finds the lost sheep, he is happier about that one sheep than about the 99 sheep that were never lost. I can assure you, ¹⁴ in the same way your Father in heaven does not want any of these little children to be lost.

When Someone Hurts You^(AS)

¹⁵ “If your brother or sister in God’s family does something wrong, go and tell them what they did wrong. Do this when you are alone with them. If they listen to you, then you have helped them to be your brother or sister again. ¹⁶ But if they refuse to listen, go to them again and take one or two people with you. Then there will be two or three people who will be able to tell all that happened.^{[ah] 17} If they refuse to listen to them, tell the church. And if they refuse to listen to the church, treat them as you would treat someone who does not know God or who is a tax collector.

¹⁸ “I can assure you that when you speak judgment here on earth, it will be God’s judgment. And when you promise forgiveness here on earth, it will be God’s forgiveness.^{[ai] 19} To say it another way, if two of you on earth agree on anything you pray for, my Father in heaven will do what you ask. ²⁰ Yes, if two or three people are together believing in me, I am there with them.”

A Story About Forgiveness

²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, when someone^[aj] won’t stop doing wrong to me, how many times must I forgive them? Seven times?”

²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, you must forgive them more than seven times. You must continue to forgive them even if they do wrong to you seventy-seven times.^[ak]

²³ “So God’s kingdom is like a king who decided to collect the money his servants owed him. ²⁴ The king began to collect his money. One servant owed him several thousand pounds^[al] of silver. ²⁵ He was not able to pay the money to his master, the king. So the master ordered that he and everything he owned be sold, even his wife and children. The money would be used to pay the king what the servant owed.

²⁶ “But the servant fell on his knees and begged, ‘Be patient with me. I will pay you everything I owe.’ ²⁷ The master felt sorry for him. So he told the servant he did not have to pay. He let him go free.

²⁸ “Later, that same servant found another servant who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him around the neck and said, ‘Pay me the money you owe me!’

²⁹ “The other servant fell on his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me. I will pay you everything I owe.’

³⁰ “But the first servant refused to be patient. He told the judge that the other servant owed him money, and that servant was put in jail until he could pay everything he owed. ³¹ All the other servants saw what happened. They felt very sorry for the man. So they went and told their master everything that happened.

³² “Then the master called his servant in and said, ‘You evil servant. You begged me to forgive your debt, and I said you did not have to pay anything! ³³ So you should have given that other man who serves with you the same mercy I gave you.’ ³⁴ The master was very angry, so he put the servant in jail to be punished. And he had to stay in jail until he could pay everything he owed.

³⁵ “This king did the same as my heavenly Father will do to you. You must forgive your brother or sister with all your heart, or my heavenly Father will not forgive you.”