Matthew

¹ Here’s a record of the origin of Jesus, the Messiah, son of David, son of Abraham:

² Abraham fathered Isaac, and Isaac fathered Jacob. Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers. ³ Judah fathered Perez and Zerah (his mother was Tamar). Perez fathered Hezron, Hezron fathered Ram, ⁴ Ram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, ⁵ and Salmon fathered Boaz (his mother was Rahab). Boaz fathered Obed (his mother was Ruth), Obed fathered Jesse, ⁶ and Jesse was the father of King David.

David fathered Solomon from the woman who was married to Uriah, ⁷ Solomon fathered Rehoboam, Rehoboam fathered Abijah, Abijah fathered Asa, ⁸ Asa fathered Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat fathered Joram, Joram fathered Uzziah, ⁹ Uzziah fathered Jotham, Jotham fathered Ahaz, Ahaz fathered Hezekiah, ¹⁰ Hezekiah fathered Manasseh, Manasseh fathered Amon, Amon fathered Josiah, ¹¹ and Josiah fathered Jeconiah and his brothers at the forced relocation to Babylon.

¹² After they were captured and stolen away to Babylon, Jeconiah fathered Shealtiel, Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel, ¹³ Zerubbabel fathered Abiud, Abiud fathered Eliakim, Eliakim fathered Azor, ¹⁴ Azor fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Achim, Achim fathered Eliud, ¹⁵ Eliud fathered Eleazar, Eleazar fathered Matthan, Matthan fathered Jacob, ¹⁶ and Jacob fathered Joseph. Joseph was Miriam’s husband, the Miriam who birthed Jesus who is called Messiah.

¹⁷ Therefore, there are fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the forced relocation to Babylon, and fourteen from the forced relocation to Babylon to the Messiah.

¹⁸ And this is how the birth of Jesus, called Messiah, happened. While his mother Miriam was engaged to Joseph, but before they came together, it was discovered she was pregnant from the Sacred Life-Breath. ¹⁹ Joseph, who was going to be her husband, was just, and he did not want to publicly humiliate her, so he intended to sever the marriage agreement with her privately.

²⁰ After he had considered these things, surprisingly, the Lord’s messenger was shown to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to marry Miriam. You see, what is within her was brought into being by the Sacred Life-Breath. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus, because he’ll restore his people from their deviations.” ²² That whole thing happened to give fuller meaning to what the Lord communicated through the prophet Isaiah: ²³ “Look, the unmarried girl will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” ²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did as the Lord’s messenger told him to do. He married her ²⁵ but was not intimate with her until after she gave birth to a son, whom he named Jesus.

¹ After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea in the days when Herod was king, unexpectedly, Zoroastrian priestly scholars from the east arrived in Jerusalem.

² “Where is the newly born King of the Judeans?” they were asking. “We saw his star in the east and have come to bow down before him.”

³ King Herod heard about it, and he was agitated, making all Jerusalem on edge with him. ⁴ He gathered all the lead priests and the Bible scholars from among the people and asked them where the Messiah was supposed to be born.

⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they told him, “Since this is how it’s written by the prophet Micah:

⁶⁠And you, Bethlehem (in the land of Judah),

are not at all least among the leaders of Judah

because a leader will come from you

who will care for my people, Israel.”

⁷ Then Herod called the Zoroastrian scholars to him privately to learn from them exactly when the star began to shine. ⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem and told them noting them, “Go on and search carefully for the child. But when you find him, bring me the news, so that I can go there to bow down to him too.”

⁹ Then, having heard the king, they went on and, remarkably, the star they saw in the east led them until it arrived and stood above where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they celebrated with ecstatic joy.

¹¹ When they came to the house, they saw the child with his mother Miriam, and they fell to the ground and bowed down to him. Then they unpacked where they stored their valuables and gave him gifts: objects made of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ¹² Then after having received direction during a dream not to return to Herod, they returned by another way to their own region.

¹³ After the Zoroastrian scholars had left, surprisingly again, the Lord’s messenger was shown to Joseph during a dream, saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt and stay there until I tell you. Herod is about to search for the child, intending to destroy him.” ¹⁴ Joseph got up, fled with the child and his mother in the night, and left for Egypt. ¹⁵ He stayed there with them for the rest of Herod’s life. Therefore, the message from the Lord spoken through the prophet Hosea was acted out: “I called my son to come out from Egypt.”

¹⁶ When Herod realized he had been played by the Zoroastrian scholars, he was extremely enraged. He ordered the murder of all the children in Bethlehem and anywhere nearby aged two years and under, based on the timing he had learned from the Zoroastrian scholars. ¹⁷ That event acted out what Jeremiah the prophet said:

¹⁸⁠A voice was heard in Ramah

Weeping and endless wailing

Rachel wept in grief for her children

Having no desire to be comforted

Because they were gone.

¹⁹ After Herod came to his end, another surprise, the Lord’s messenger appeared during a dream to Joseph in Egypt, ²⁰ saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go on to the land of Israel because everyone who was trying to take the child’s life has died.” ²¹ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and reentered the land of Israel. ²² But when he heard that Archileus was ruling Judea in his father Herod’s place, he was frightened away from there. So, after being directed during a dream, he went away to the province of Galilee. ²³ He went to a town called Nazareth and settled down there. That is how what was said in the Prophets was lived out, that the child would be called a Nazarene.

¹ In those days, John the Immerser presented himself in the Wilderness of Judea publicly announcing this message: ² “Transform your minds because the Heavenly Reign is almost here!” ³ He was the one spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “A voice is calling in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight paths for God!’” ⁴ John was known for wearing camel hair clothing cinched with a leather belt. His food consisted of locusts and wild honey.

⁵ People poured out to him from Jerusalem and Judea and the whole region of the Jordan River. ⁶ They were being immersed by him in the Jordan River, and they were openly acknowledging their deviations.

⁷ However, when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees showing up at his immersion ceremonies, he said to them, “You children of vipers! Who warned you to try to escape the impending anger! ⁸ Really, produce fruit in line with the transformation of your minds. ⁹ And don’t think you can reassure yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I’m telling you God can raise children of Abraham from these stones. ¹⁰ At this very moment, an axe is lying at the root of the trees, and every tree that doesn’t produce excellent fruit will be cut out of the orchard and tossed into the fire! ¹¹ The truth is, I immerse you in water for the transformation of your minds, but the one coming after me is stronger than me. I’m not even strong enough to carry his sandals. He will immerse you either in the Sacred Life-Breath or in the fire. ¹² The winnowing fork is already in his hand; he will clear the sorting ground and gather his grain into the storehouse, but the husks will burn up in a fire that won’t burn out until the clearing is complete.”

¹³ Then Jesus presented himself away from Galilee at the Jordan River to be immersed by John, ¹⁴ but John refused. “I need you to immerse me,” he said, “How can you ask me to immerse you!”

¹⁵ “Allow it right away,” Jesus responded. “You see, this is the appropriate way for us to live out complete justness.” So, John allowed it. ¹⁶ Right away, when Jesus came up from the water, incredibly, the heavens parted open, and he saw God’s Life-Breath descending like a dove and settling upon him, ¹⁷ and, remarkably, there was a voice out of the heavens that said, “This is my beloved son; I delight in him.”

¹ Then Jesus was led into the Wilderness by the Life-Breath to be tested by the False Accuser. ² At the end of fasting for 40 days and nights, he was starving.

³ “If you are the Son of God,” the Tester said after coming to Jesus, “Say the words that would make these stones become loaves of bread.”

⁴ But Jesus responded, “It is written, ‘To live, a person won’t live because of bread only, but rather because of every statement that comes out of the mouth of God.’”

⁵ Then the False Accuser took Jesus to the sacred city and had him stand on the corner of the temple. ⁶ “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “Throw yourself down since it’s written that ‘God will give divine messengers a directive about you,’ and ‘They will support you with their hands so that your foot won’t hit a stone.’”

⁷ “Again,” Jesus asserted, “It is written, ‘Don’t test the Lord your God,’”

⁸ Yet again, the False Accuser took Jesus to the top of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world system and their prestige. ⁹ He told him, “I will give you all these things if you fall to the ground and bow down to me!”

¹⁰ Then Jesus told him, “Get away, Adversary! It is written, ‘You will bow down to the Lord, your God, and serve as the Lord's representative only’!”

¹¹ The False Accuser left him then, and, notably, messengers came and began to take care of him.

¹² When Jesus heard that John had been handed over, he went back to Galilee. ¹³ He left Nazareth behind and went to live in Capernaum by the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, ¹⁴ resulting in acting out what was spoken by Isaiah the prophet:

¹⁵⁠Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,

the road by the sea,

across the Jordan, Galilee of foreign peoples,

¹⁶⁠The people living in darkness have seen a bright light,

and on those who live in the shadow of death, a light has risen for them.

¹⁷ That was when Jesus began publicly announcing this message: “Transform your minds because the Heavenly Reign is almost here!”

¹⁸ While walking near the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers: Simeon (known as Peter) and Andrew his brother. They were casting a net into the sea (since they were fishers). ¹⁹ “Come, follow me,” he called to them, “And I will make you fishers of people!” ²⁰ Straightaway, they abandoned their nets and followed him.

²¹ When they moved on from there, Jesus saw two more brothers, Jacob and John, in a boat with their father, Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. ²² Straightaway, they left their father and their boat and followed him.

²³ Jesus began going all around Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and announcing the triumphant message about the Reign and healing all kinds of diseases and physical weaknesses for the people. ²⁴ News of him was spread throughout all of Syria, and people brought him everyone who had hardships with various diseases and chronic pain, including people who were haunted by demons, or were ‘moonstruck’ or were paralyzed, and Jesus healed them. ²⁵ Large crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from across the Jordan River.

¹ Having seen the crowds, Jesus went up the hill, and after he had sat down, his students came to him, ² and he opened his mouth and began to teach. He said to them:

³⁠The poor who are with the Life-breath have reason for gratitude

because the Heavenly Reign is for them.

⁴⁠Those who are grieving have reason for gratitude

because they will be consoled.

⁵⁠Those who are gentle have reason for gratitude

because they will inherit the earth.

⁶⁠Those who hunger and thirst for justice have reason for gratitude

because their craving will be satisfied.

⁷⁠Those who are committed to compassion have reason for gratitude

because they will be shown committed compassion.

⁸⁠Those whose hearts are clean have reason for gratitude

because they will see God.

⁹⁠Those who make peace have reason for gratitude

because they will be named children of God.

¹⁰⁠Those who are harassed because of their justness have reason for gratitude

because the Heavenly Reign is for them.

¹¹ “When people verbally abuse you and harass you and falsely claim every harmful thing about you because of me, you have reason for gratitude. ¹² Rejoice and celebrate it because your payment in the Heavenly Reign will be large; before you, they harassed the prophets in the same way.”

¹³ “You are the salt in the land. What if salt is ruined because of thoughtless handling? How can it be re-salted? It no longer has any purpose other than to throw it outside to be trampled on by people.”

¹⁴ “You are the light in the world. A city standing on a hill can’t be hidden. ¹⁵ People don’t light a lamp and put it under a container; instead, they put it on a stand for it to shine for everyone in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light shine that same way, where people can see it, so they can see your honorable actions and praise your Father who is in the heavens.”

¹⁷ “Don’t assume I came to put an end to the Hebrew scriptures. I didn’t come to subvert them but to carry them out. ¹⁸ Honestly, I’m telling you, until the heavens and the land pass away, neither the smallest letter nor even a single distinguishing part of a letter can be left out of the scriptures until it all happens. ¹⁹ Therefore, whoever dismisses a single one of the smallest directives and teaches other people to do the same will be named ‘smallest’ in the Heavenly Reign. ²⁰ I’m telling you, unless your justness goes far beyond that of the Bible scholars and Pharisees, you won’t join in the Heavenly Reign.”

²¹ “You’ve heard it was said to those who came before us, ‘Do not murder,’ and whoever murders will be prosecuted. ²² But I’m telling you that whoever harbors bitterness toward a fellow child of God will be prosecuted, and whoever calls a fellow child of God a contemptuous name will be brought before the Sanhedrin, and whoever calls someone an idiot will be sent to the fiery Hinnom Valley. ²³ Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and while you’re there, you remember your fellow child of God has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there in front of the altar. First, go and reconcile with your fellow child of God, and then go back to present your gift. ²⁵ Establish goodwill with your opponent quickly while you’re on the road, or else the opponent will hand you over to the judge, who will turn you over to an officer, and you’ll be thrown in prison. ²⁶ Honestly, I’m telling you, you won’t get out of there until you’ve repaid the last quadrans.”

²⁷ “You’ve heard it was said, ‘Don’t engage in marital infidelity.’ ²⁸ Now, I’m telling you, everyone who looks at a woman desiring to possess her has already been faithless in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye makes you trip, pull it out and throw it away from you. It’s better for you if you destroy one part of you than to have your whole body thrown into the Hinnom Valley. ³⁰ If your right hand makes you trip, cut it off and throw it away from you. It’s better for you to destroy one part of you than to have your whole body go into the Hinnom Valley.”

³¹ “It was said, ‘Whoever sends his wife away must divorce her legally,’ ³² but I’m telling you, anyone who sends away his wife, unless sexual infidelity is already involved, forces her into marital infidelity, and whoever remarries a woman whom he has sent away is maritally unfaithful.”

³³ “Again, you’ve heard it said to those who came before us, ‘Don’t swear false oaths, but follow through on your vows to the Lord.’ ³⁴ But I’m telling you, don’t swear oaths at all. Don’t invoke the heavens in your oath, it’s the throne of God. ³⁵ Don’t invoke the earth, it’s God’s footstool. Don’t invoke Jerusalem, it’s the city of the great King. ³⁶ Don’t even swear by your own head because you’re not able to make even a single hair white or black. ³⁷ Let ‘yes’ mean ‘yes’ and ‘no’ mean ‘no.’ Anything beyond that comes from oppression.”

³⁸ “You’ve heard it said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹ But I’m telling you, don’t retaliate against the oppressor. If someone smacks you on the right cheek, offer your left cheek. ⁴⁰ If someone wants to bring you to court and take your shirt, send them with your coat too. ⁴¹ And if someone forces you to carry their load one mile, go a second mile with them. ⁴² Give to whomever demands something of you; don’t turn away someone who wants to take something from you.”

⁴³ “You’ve heard it said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate those who are hateful toward you.’ ⁴⁴ But I’m telling you: love a person who is hateful toward you, and offer prayers for the sake of those who harass you. ⁴⁵ That’s how you become children of your Father who’s in the heavens, because that’s who makes the same sun rise for both those who cause suffering and those who cause well-being and sends rain both for those who are just and those who are unjust. ⁴⁶ You see, if you love the people who love you, what compensation do you have coming? Don’t tax collectors do that same thing? ⁴⁷ And if you only acknowledge people of your same group, how does that go beyond what anyone else does? Don’t even the foreigners do that? ⁴⁸ So be complete like your heavenly Father is complete.”

¹ “Examine yourselves so that you do not enact justice in front of people for the purpose of being seen by them. If so, you won’t receive repayment from your Father who is in the heavens. ² So then, when you do your compassion work, don’t blow a trumpet ahead of you like the fakers do in synagogues and in the streets so that they’ll be thought of highly by people. Honestly, I’m telling you, they have their full payment already. ³ Instead, when you’re doing your compassion work, don’t have your left hand learn what your right hand does. ⁴ That way your compassion work is private, and your Father, who sees you in that private place, will repay you.

⁵ “And when you pray, don’t be like the fakers because they love being in synagogues and at the corners of busy streets to pray, so that they’ll be clearly visible to the people. Truly, I’m telling you, they have their full payment already. ⁶ But when you pray, go into a secluded room and close the door, and pray privately to your Father who is in that private place. Your Father, who sees you in that private place, will repay you. ⁷ When you are praying, don’t ramble on like other people groups do because they think they will be heard by their many words. ⁸ So then, don’t be like them; you see, your Father has seen what you need before you ask. ⁹ Therefore, pray like this:

⁹⁠Our Father who is in the heavens,

May representing you be honored as sacred.

¹⁰⁠May your reign come,

May what you desire come to be,

In the land, just like in the heavens.

¹¹⁠Give us the food we rely on today,

¹²⁠And release what we owe

Just as we release what others owe us.

¹³⁠And don’t lead us into a time of testing,

Instead, protect us from hardship.

¹⁴ “You see, if you let go of their shortfalls for people, your Father who is in the heavens will also let go of yours. ¹⁵ But if you don’t let go of them for people, then your Father won’t let go your shortfalls.

¹⁶ “When you fast, don’t be like the gloomy fakers. They grimace to highlight their fasting for people. Honestly, I’m telling you, they have their full payment already. ¹⁷ Instead, when you fast, fix your hair and wash your face. ¹⁸ That way, you won’t highlight for people that you’re fasting, but your Father who sees in private will repay you.

¹⁹ “Don’t stockpile assets for yourselves in the land where moths consume and other bugs consume them, and thieves ravage and steal them. ²⁰ Instead, stockpile assets for yourselves in the heavens, where neither moths nor other bugs consume them, and thieves don’t ravage and steal them. ²¹ You see, whatever is valuable to you will be what you set your heart on. ²² The eye is the body’s light source. If, therefore, your eye is focused, your whole body will be filled with light. ²³ But if your eye is corrupted, your whole body will be dark. If even the light in you is dark, that’s intense darkness! ²⁴ No one can dedicate themselves to serving two lords. You see, they will either hate one and love the other or they will be diligent for one and disregard the other. You can’t be dedicated in serving both God and Wealth.

²⁵ “Because of that, I’m telling you this: Don’t be worried about staying alive—about what you’ll eat or drink or about how you’ll clothe your body. Isn’t there more to being alive than food and more to your bodies than wearing clothes? ²⁶ Take a look at the birds in the heavens and notice how they don’t plant seeds or harvest crops or gather anything into storage, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you more precious than them? ²⁷ And which one of you by being stressed is able to add a single hour to your lifetime? ²⁸ What about clothing distresses you? Meditate on how wildflowers grow. They don’t work to exhaustion, and they don’t even make fabrics. ²⁹ I’m telling you, Solomon himself in all his grandeur wasn’t adorned like one of them. ³⁰ So if that’s the care God gives to dressing the wild grass—despite it being here today and tossed in a fire tomorrow—aren’t you much more precious, you who barely trust? ³¹ So don’t be distressed, asking, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ ³² You see, all people groups pursue those things, and your heavenly Father knows you need them all. ³³ Prioritize pursuing the Father’s Reign and justness, and all these things will be secured for you. ³⁴ Therefore, don’t be stressed about tomorrow; tomorrow will stress about itself. There’s plenty of trouble for today.”

¹ “Don’t judge, so you won’t be judged. ² Whatever decision you pronounce, you set the standard for how you will be judged, and whatever measurement you use for assessment will measure you. ³ Why is it that you see the bit of straw in the eye of a fellow child of God, yet you don’t even notice the plank in your own eye? ⁴ Or how is it you say to your fellow child of God, “Let me get rid of that bit of straw in your eye,” when—look—there’s a plank in your eye! ⁵ Faker! First, get the plank out of your eye, and then, you’ll see clearly to get the bit of straw out of the eye of your fellow child of God. ⁶ Don’t give the feral dogs what’s sacred, and don’t toss your pearls to the pigs. Otherwise, the pigs will just trample them like pebbles, and the dogs will turn around and tear you apart.

⁷ “Make a request, and it will be granted. Search, and you will find. Knock on a door, and it will be opened for you. ⁸ Every requester receives and seeker finds and knocker is welcomed inside. ⁹ Or would any person here, if your child requests food from you, give them a stone instead? ¹⁰ Or if your child asks for a fish to eat, you wouldn’t hand them a snake, would you? ¹¹ If you, while being burdened, understand to give beneficial things to your children, then how much more will your Father who is in the heavens give beneficial things to whomever requests it. ¹² So, always, whatever you would want other people to do for you, you do that for them. Because that sums up the teaching of the Hebrew Scriptures.

¹³ “Go in through the narrow gate because the wide and roomy gate leads to destruction, and many people go in through it. ¹⁴ The path that leads to life is through the narrow gate, and few people find it.

¹⁵ “Stay away from fake prophets, who come to you disguised as sheep, but underneath, they’re hungry wolves. ¹⁶ You’ll recognize them by their fruit. You can’t pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistle, can you? ¹⁷ Similarly, all healthy trees grow appealing fruit while diseased trees grow rotten fruit. ¹⁸ A healthy tree can’t grow rotten fruit, and a diseased tree can’t grow appealing fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that doesn’t produce appealing fruit will be cut out of the orchard and tossed into the fire! ²⁰ Truly then, you’ll recognize them by their fruit.

²¹ “Not everyone who calls pleadingly to me, ‘Lord!’ will join in the Heavenly Reign, but only whoever does what my Father, who is in the heavens, intends. ²² On that day, many people will plead with me, ‘Lord, didn’t we prophesy as your representatives and banish demons as your representatives and do many powerful things as your representatives?’ ²³ Then, I’ll openly acknowledge to them, ‘I’ve never met you. Get away from me, you who act against the Torah.’

²⁴ Everyone, then, who hears these things I’m saying and acts on them will be like a conscientious individual who built their house on rock. ²⁵ The rain fell and there was a flood, and a high wind blew and beat against that house, and it didn’t collapse because its foundation had been laid on rock. ²⁶ Also, everyone who hears these things I’m saying and does not act on them will be like a thoughtless individual who built their house on sand. ²⁷ The rain fell and there was a flood, and a high wind blew and beat against their house, and it collapsed—it was totally demolished.”

²⁸ When Jesus finished saying these things, the crowds were floored by his teaching ²⁹ because he had been teaching like someone with authority and not like their Bible scholars.

¹ After Jesus came down from the hill, large crowds followed him. ² Notably, someone with leprosy went up to him and bowed down to him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can cleanse me.” ³ Jesus reached out, gently clasped him with his hand, and replied, “I am willing. Be cleansed!” Immediately, his leprosy was cleansed. ⁴ Then Jesus said to him, “Be sure not to tell anyone. Just go and show yourself to the priest and bring the offering Moses instructed as evidence for them.”

⁵ When Jesus arrived back in Capernaum, a Centurion took him aside, pleading with him. ⁶ “Lord, my attendant is laid up at home paralyzed with torturous pain.”

⁷ Jesus replied, “I will come and heal him.”

⁸ But the centurion responded, “Lord, I am not worthy of having you come under my roof. Just say the word, and my attendant will be healed. ⁹ I am also a person under authority, and having soldiers under me, I say to this one, ‘Go’ and he goes and to another ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my attendant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

¹⁰ When Jesus heard that, he was impressed. He told his followers, “I’m telling you, honestly, I haven’t found anyone in Israel with as much trust as this. ¹¹ Hear when I say, many will come from east and west to share a table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Heavenly Reign. ¹² But the natural heirs of that Reign will be thrown out into the outer darkness. There’ll be weeping and gnashing of teeth in anguish there.”

¹³ Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go, exactly what you trusted to happen will happen for you.” And the attendant was healed right then.

¹⁴ Jesus arrived at Peter’s house and saw his wife’s mother languid and feverish, ¹⁵ and he held her hand. The fever went away, and she got up and began to care for them.

¹⁶ When evening came, many people haunted by demons were brought to him. He got rid of the spirit-breaths with a word, and everyone who was sick was healed. ¹⁷ In that way, he lived out what the prophet Isaiah said: “He took up our injuries, and he carried our illnesses.”

¹⁸ After Jesus had seen the large crowd around him, he gave directions to go to the other side of the sea. ¹⁹ A Bible scholar went up to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

²⁰ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens, and birds of the heavens have nests, but the Son of Humanity has nowhere to lay his head.”

²¹ Another of his students told him, “Lord, first allow me to go and bury my father.”

²² Jesus responded, “Follow me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.”

²³ Then he got in the boat, and his students followed him. ²⁴ Then—unexpectedly— there was a huge storm over the sea, and the boat was about to be swallowed by the waves. Yet Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵ They came and woke him up and stammered, “Lord… save… we’re dying!”

²⁶ Jesus challenged them, “Why are you full of fear, you who barely trust?” Then he scolded the stormy winds and sea, and it calmed completely.

²⁷ Everyone was amazed and wondered, “What type of person is this? Even the storm and the sea listen to him!”

²⁸ When Jesus arrived at the shore in the area around The Gadarenes, two people who were haunted by demons were coming from the graves, and they confronted him. They were extremely aggressive, which made it so that no one had been able to travel by that road.

²⁹ Shockingly, they wailed and said, “What business do you have with us, Son of God!” Have you come here to harass us before it’s time?” ³⁰ A large herd of pigs was feeding in the distance, ³¹ and the demons begged him, “If you banish us, send us to the herd of pigs.”

³² “Go away!” Jesus told them. They left and went to the pigs, and—astoundingly—the whole herd stampeded down the hill into the sea and drowned in the water.

³³ The people feeding the pigs ran away, went into the city, and spread the news of everything that happened with the two who had been haunted by demons. ³⁴ And—notably— the whole city came out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged him to move on from their territory.

¹ After getting into a boat, Jesus crossed the lake and went back to his own city.

² Notably, people led him to someone who was paralyzed and laid out on a cot. After seeing their commitment, Jesus said to the one who was paralyzed, “Take heart, child, your deviations are released.”

³ Revealingly, some of the Bible scholars said to each other, “What he’s saying is disrespectful!”

⁴ When Jesus understood what they were thinking, he said, “Why do you hold onto such oppressive ideas in your hearts? ⁵ Which is easier: to say, ‘Your deviations are released’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk’? ⁶ So, to show you that the Son of Humanity has the authority to release deviations”—then he told the one who was paralyzed—“Get up, carry your stretcher, and go home.” ⁷ And he got up and went home.

⁸ When they saw that, the people were shaken, and they praised God for giving that kind of authority to people.

⁹ Leaving that place, Jesus saw a person named Matthew sitting in a tax booth. He said to him, “Follow me,” and Matthew got up and followed him. ¹⁰ It came to be that they were sharing a meal at Matthew’s home, and—unexpectedly—many tax collectors and people who deviate came to eat with Jesus and his students.

¹¹ When the Pharisees noticed, they asked his students, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and people who deviate?”

¹² Jesus heard them, and he spoke up, “It’s not people who are healthy who need a doctor but those who are sick who do. ¹³ Go and study this: ‘I am pleased by committed compassion, not a sacrifice.’ You see, I didn’t come to call those who are in alignment but those who deviate.”

¹⁴ Then students of John approached Jesus and asked, “Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast regularly, but your students don’t fast?”

¹⁵ “Would the wedding party mourn while the groom is with them?” Jesus responded. “The time is coming when the groom will be taken from them, and then they’ll fast. ¹⁶ No one attaches a patch of unwashed cloth on a worn garment; if they do, the patch pulls apart from the garment and makes the tear worse. ¹⁷ Similarly, no one fills old wineskins with new wine; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. Instead, they put the new wine in new wineskins and both are preserved.”

¹⁸ While Jesus was speaking about these things—suddenly—a leader came and bowed down to him. He told Jesus, “My daughter just died, but come and place your hand on her, and she’ll live.” ¹⁹ Jesus and his students got up and followed him.

²⁰ Unexpectedly, a woman—who had been suffering for twelve years due to a continual uterine hemorrhage—came up behind him and held onto the tassel of his cloak. ²¹ She had been repeating to herself, “If only I can get a hold on his cloak, I’ll be restored.” ²² But Jesus turned and saw her, and he said, “Don’t worry, daughter, your trust has restored you.” And the woman was restored from that time forward.

²³ After Jesus arrived at the leader’s house and saw the flute players and people wailing, ²⁴ he said, “Leave, because the girl isn’t dead, just sleeping.” They started mocking him. ²⁵ After everyone had been sent outside, he went in and held her hand, and the girl got up. ²⁶ The news of it was spread throughout that whole land.

²⁷ Later, when Jesus passed by where they were, two people who were blind followed him, shouting, “Heir of David, have compassion for us!” ²⁸ After he went into the house, the blind people went up to him, and Jesus asked them, “Do you trust that I can do this?” They answered, “Yes, Lord.” ²⁹ Then he touched their eyes and said, “Let it happen for you based on your trust.” ³⁰ Then their eyes were opened. Jesus directed them firmly, “See! Let no one know.” ³¹ So they left and shared about him throughout that whole land.

³² As they were leaving—unexpectedly—people brought to Jesus someone with mutism who was haunted by demons. ³³ After the demon was banished, the mute person began to speak. The people gathered there were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!” ³⁴ But the Pharisees asserted, “He sends away demons by the power of the leader of demons!”

³⁵ After that, Jesus traveled to all the cities and villages and taught in their synagogues, sharing publicly the Reign’s triumphant message and healing all kinds of illnesses and infirmities. ³⁶ When he saw all the people, he was deeply moved with compassion for them because they had been wounded and discarded like sheep with no shepherd. ³⁷ Then he said to his students, “The truth is, there’s a large harvest, but there are few workers; ³⁸ therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest sends workers out into the fields that are waiting to be harvested.”

¹ After calling his twelve students together, Jesus gave them power over unclean spirit-breaths, to banish them and to heal all kinds of illnesses and infirmities. ² These are the names of the Twelve Commissioned Ones: first, Simeon (who was called Peter) and Andrew his brother; Jacob son of Zebedee and John his brother; ³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; Jacob son of Alphaeus and Thaddeus; ⁴ Simeon the Zealous and Judah, “Man of Kerioth,” who handed Jesus over.

⁵ Jesus commissioned these twelve, and he gave them these instructions: “Don’t leave on a road to the lands of other peoples, and don’t enter a Samaritan town. ⁶ Instead, go to the lost sheep of the family of Israel. ⁷ As you’re traveling, announce that the Heavenly Reign is coming. ⁸ Heal the sick, wake up the dead, cleanse people with leprosy, and banish demons. You received freely; give freely. ⁹ Don’t take money with you, not gold or silver or copper coin in your belts; ¹⁰ don’t take a bag on the road or an extra shirt or sandals or a walking stick. The worker is worth their food. ¹¹ In whichever town or village where you arrive, ask about who would be appropriate, and stay with them until you leave. ¹² When you arrive at a house, greet those in it joyfully. ¹³ If that house is appropriate, extend your peace over it, but if it’s not appropriate, may your peace be returned to you. ¹⁴ If no one welcomes you in or listens to what you have to say, shake the dust off your feet as you’re leaving that house or town. ¹⁵ Truly, I’m telling you, it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of justice than for that town.

¹⁶ “Look, I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore, become as conscientious as snakes and undivided as doves. ¹⁷ Be wary of people because they will hand you over to the authorities who will whip you in their meeting halls, ¹⁸ and you’ll be taken in front of leaders and kings to testify for my cause to them and to other peoples. ¹⁹ When they hand you over, don’t worry about what you’ll say or how to say it; ²⁰ you won’t be the ones speaking, but rather, your Father’s Life-breath speaking within you. ²¹ Siblings will hand over siblings to death, parents the same for their children, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. ²² You will be hated by all kinds of people because you represent me. But whoever perseveres to the end will be restored. ²³ Whenever people drive you away from one town, flee to another. Honestly, you won’t get to all the towns in Israel before the Son of Humanity comes.

²⁴ “A student is not above their teacher, and a servant is not above their lord. ²⁵ It’s enough for the student to become like their teacher and the servant to become like their lord. If they called the lord of the house ‘Beelzebul,’ they’ll call the members of the household worse things. ²⁶ Therefore, don’t be afraid of them because nothing is hidden that won’t be revealed or a secret that won’t become known. ²⁷ What I say to you in the dark, tell it in the light and shout it from the rooftops. ²⁸ Don’t be afraid of people who destroy the body but can’t destroy the self. Instead, fear what has the power to destroy the body and the self in the Hinnom Valley. ²⁹ Aren’t two sparrows sold for an assarion? And not one of them falls to the ground separated from your Father. ³⁰ All the hairs on your heads are also numbered. ³¹ So, don’t be afraid, you are more precious than many sparrows! ³² Therefore, for everyone who affirms connection with me in front of people, I will affirm connection with them in front of my Father who is in the heavens. ³³ But, for whomever denies connection with me in front of people, I will deny connection with them in front of my Father who is in the heavens.

³⁴ “Don’t assume I came to extend peace in the land. I didn’t come to extend peace but rather a sword ³⁵ because I came to sever a man from his father and a daughter from her mother and a daughter-in-law from her mother-in-law, ³⁶ and a person’s opponents will be members of their own household. ³⁷ Whoever is attached to their father or mother above me is not appropriate for me. Whoever is attached to a son or daughter above me is not appropriate for me. ³⁸ Whoever does not pick up their cross and follow me is not appropriate for me. ³⁹ Whoever secures their life will surrender it, and whoever surrenders their life for my cause will secure it.

⁴⁰ “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the One who sent me. ⁴¹ Whoever welcomes a prophet who has the name of ‘prophet’ will secure a prophet’s payment. Whoever welcomes a just person who has the name of ‘just person’ will receive a just person’s payment. ⁴² I’m telling you truly, whoever even offers a drink of cold water to one of these little ones with the name of ‘student’ will never surrender their payment.”

¹ When Jesus was finished giving directions to his Twelve students, he moved on from there to teach and speak publicly in the same towns.

² When John, who was in prison, heard of the Messiah’s actions, he sent a message with his students ³ and asked Jesus, “Are you the one who is coming, or are we waiting for someone else?” ⁴ Jesus answered them, “Go and give John the message of what you see and hear: ⁵ Blind people see again, people who were unable to walk are walking around, people with leprosy are cleansed, deaf people hear, dead people are woken up, and people in poverty are given a message of triumph. ⁶ Anyone who isn’t tripped up by me has reason for gratitude!”

⁷ As they began on their way, Jesus spoke to the crowd about John. “What did you go out into the Wilderness to see? A reed blown over by a heavy wind? No. ⁸ So what did you go out to see? Someone finely dressed? No, people who wear fine things live in royal palaces. ⁹ So, what did you go out to see? A prophet? I say, ‘Yes,’ and not just any prophet! ¹⁰ This was written about him: ‘You see, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your path ahead of you.' ¹¹ “Honestly, I’m telling you, no one who was born from a woman has ever been seen who was more significant than John the Immerser, yet in the Heavenly Reign, anyone considered least significant by society is more significant than he is. ¹² From the days of John the Immerser until now, the Heavenly Reign has been forcibly subverted and the forceful oppressors have claimed it for themselves. ¹³ All the prophets of the Hebrew scriptures prophesied leading up to John, ¹⁴ and—if you can take it in—he is the arrival of Elijah. ¹⁵ Whoever has ears: hear it!

¹⁶ “To what should I compare this group? They are like children debating in public and accusing each other, ¹⁷ ‘We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance; We wailed a lament song, yet you did not mourn,’ because ¹⁸ John neither ate nor drank when he came, and they malign him: ‘He has a demon!’ ¹⁹ The Son of Humanity ate and drank when he came, and they disparage him: ‘See! He’s a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and people who deviate.’ Wisdom is proven by her actions.”

²⁰ Then Jesus began to speak out against the cities where he had accomplished many of his powerful acts because they did not transform their mind. ²¹ “Watch out, Chorazin! Watch out, Bethsaida! Because if the powerful acts done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have transformed their minds and donned sackcloth and ashes long ago. ²² Moreover, I’m telling you, the day of justice will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. ²³ And you, Capernaum, won’t you be elevated to the heavens? No, you’ll be relegated down to the place of the dead. Because if the powerful acts done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have endured to this day. ²⁴ Moreover, I’m telling you, the day of justice will be more bearable for the land of Sodom than for you.”

²⁵ Then Jesus followed it by saying, “I gratefully acknowledge you, Father, Lord of the heavens and the land, because you hid these things from the wise and knowledgeable and revealed them to children. ²⁶ Yes, Father, this is what delights you. ²⁷ Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son fully except the Father, and no one knows the Father fully except the Son and anyone to whom the Son determines to reveal him. ²⁸ Come to me, everyone who’s exhausted and overburdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Carry my yoke with me and learn from me because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest in your very being. ³⁰ My yoke is pleasant, and my load is light.”

¹ Around that time, Jesus traveled through fields on Shabbat. His students were hungry, and they started to pick grains of wheat and eat them. ² When the Pharisees saw, they said to him, “Look! Your students are doing what isn’t allowed to be done on Shabbat!”

³ Jesus responded, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry, ⁴ how he went into the house of God and ate the Bread of the Presence—which he and his companions were not allowed to eat since it was only for the priests?⁵ Or haven’t you read in the Torah that every week the priests in the temple treat Shabbat as an ordinary day but are guiltless?⁶ I’m telling you that something more significant than the temple is here. ⁷ If you knew what this means—'I am pleased by committed compassion, not a sacrifice’—you would not have made a judgment against the guiltless. ⁸ You see, the Son of Humanity is Lord of Shabbat.”

⁹ Jesus moved on from that spot and went into their synagogue, ¹⁰ and—notably— someone was there who had an atrophied hand. The Pharisees asked Jesus, “Is it allowable to heal on Shabbat?” so that they could have an excuse to accuse him of something.

¹¹ However, he answered them, “Wouldn’t any one of you—if even a single sheep fell into a pit on Shabbat—wouldn’t you grab onto it and lift it out? ¹² A person is so much more valuable than a sheep! Therefore, it’s allowable to make things well on Shabbat.” ¹³ Then he said to the person, “Stretch out your hand.” The man stretched it out, and it was restored and was as healthy as the other. ¹⁴ So the Pharisees left, and they conspired against him how they could destroy him.

¹⁵ When Jesus learned about it, he withdrew from there. Large crowds followed him, and he healed them all, ¹⁶ but he warned them seriously not to expose him. ¹⁷ In this, the words of Isaiah the prophet were lived out, where he said,

¹⁸⁠See my servant, whom I have chosen,

My loved one, with whom I am deeply pleased.

I will breathe my Life-Breath over him,

And he will announce a message of justice to the peoples.

¹⁹⁠He will not shout or call out,

Nor will anyone hear his voice in the street.

²⁰⁠He will not damage a crushed reed,

And he won’t extinguish a smoldering wick,

Until he has pushed justice to victory.

²¹⁠The peoples will place their hope in being identified with him.

²² Then people brought to Jesus someone who was haunted by demons and was blind, deaf, and unable to speak. Jesus healed him so that he could speak, hear, and see. ²³ All the people in the crowd were amazed and began to ask, “Could this be the Heir of David?”

²⁴ When the Pharisees heard about it, they said, “He couldn’t banish demons except by the power of Beelzebul, leader of demons!”

²⁵ When Jesus understood what they were thinking, he challenged them, “Every regime divided against itself is wiped out, and no community or household divided against itself will endure. ²⁶ And if the Adversary banishes the Adversary, it was divided against itself. Then how will its regime endure? ²⁷ And if I banish demons by the power of Beelzebul, by whose power do your followers banish them? By that logic, they will be your judges. ²⁸ But if I banish demons by the power of God’s Life-Breath, then God’s Reign has arrived before your eyes. ²⁹ How can someone go into a strong person’s house and steal their property if they don’t tie up the strong person first? Only then do they rob the house. ³⁰ Whoever is not working with me is working against me, and whoever doesn’t join me in bringing people together drives people away. ³¹ Because of that, I’m telling you, every deviation and contemptuous speech will be let go for people, but speaking with contempt against the Life-Breath will not be let go. ³² It’ll be let go for anyone who says a word against the Son of Humanity, but it won’t be let go for anyone who says something against the Sacred Life-breath, either in this age or in the age to come.”

³³ “Or look at it this way: Show me healthy fruit, and the tree is healthy, or show me rotten fruit, and the tree is rotten. A tree is discerned by its fruit. ³⁴ You children of vipers! How can you who are corrupted say anything wholesome? The mouth speaks what overflows from the heart. ³⁵ The wholesome person spreads wholesome things from their wholesome inner storeroom, and the rotten person spreads rotten things from their rotten inner storeroom. ³⁶ I’m telling you, on the day of justice, people will make amends for every careless word they’ve spoken. ³⁷ You will be shown to be just based on your words, or you will be determined to be unjust.”

³⁸ Then some of the Bible scholars and Pharisees replied to Jesus, “Teacher, we want to see your proof.”

³⁹ Jesus answered them, “An oppressive and unfaithful group demands proof, but no proof will be given to it except Jonah the Prophet’s proof. ⁴⁰ You see, just as Jonah was in the belly of the sea monster for three days and three nights, in the same way, the Son of Humanity will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. ⁴¹ The people of Nineveh will stand and testify against this group since they transformed their minds because of Jonah’s pronouncement, and—open your eyes!—something more significant than Jonah is here. ⁴² The Queen of the South will stand up alongside this group and testify against it since she came from the ends of the earth to hear Solomon’s wisdom, and—open your eyes!—something more significant than Solomon is here.

⁴³ “But when the unclean spirit-breath comes out from someone, it goes through dry places looking for rest but doesn’t find it. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I’ll go back home where I came from,’ and when it arrives, it finds it empty, swept clean, and ready to inhabit. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and brings back with it seven other spirit-breaths more rotten than itself, and they go in and live there, and the person ends up worse than they started. That’s how it will be for this oppressive group.”

⁴⁶ While Jesus was still speaking to the crowd—notably—his mother and siblings came and stood outside and asked to speak with him. ⁴⁷ Someone told him, “Look, your mother and siblings are standing outside wanting to speak with you.”

⁴⁸ Jesus answered the person, “Who is my mother, and who are my siblings?” ⁴⁹ Then he gestured with his hand toward his students and said, “Look: my mother and my siblings. ⁵⁰ Whoever does as my Father intends is my brother and sister and mother.”

¹ That same day, after Jesus went out from the house, he sat by the lake, ² and a crowd gathered around him so large that he got into a boat and sat down, with the whole crowd on the shore. ³ He said many things to them in parables:

“Listen carefully! Once, someone went out to plant seed. ⁴ As the person scattered the seed, some of it landed along the path, and birds came and devoured it. ⁵ Other seeds landed on rock where they had only a thin layer of soil. The seedlings grew up right away because they were not deep in the soil. ⁶ When the sun rose, they were scorched, and they wilted because they had no roots. ⁷ Other seeds landed among the thorn bushes, and the thorn bushes grew and choked the seedlings. ⁸ Finally, other seeds landed in fertile soil and produced crops, some multiplying by a hundred, some by sixty, and some by thirty. ⁹ Whoever has ears, listen!”

¹⁰ His students approached him and asked, “Why are you speaking to them with parables?”

¹¹ He answered, “Because you’ve been given understanding of the mysteries of the Heavenly Reign, but it hasn’t been given to them. ¹² You see, whoever has some understanding, more will be given and it will be filled to overflowing, but whoever doesn’t have any understanding will have even what they do have taken from them. ¹³ Here’s why I speak to them with parables: They see but don’t see. They hear but don’t hear or put things together, ¹⁴ and what Isaiah the prophet said is truly being brought about where he said,

With hearing, you will hear but you will not put things together,

And with seeing, you will see but you will not recognize.

¹⁵⁠Because the heart of this people has grown numb,

And they have shut their ears,

And they have shut their eyes;

Otherwise, they would recognize with their eyes

And listen with their ears

And put things together with their hearts

And they would turn back, and I would restore them.

¹⁶ But your eyes have reason for gratitude because they see, and your ears because they hear. ¹⁷ I’m telling you, honestly, many prophets and teachers longed to see what you see but didn’t recognize it, and to hear what you hear but didn’t listen.”

¹⁸ “Therefore, listen to the parable of planting seeds. ¹⁹ This is the seed planted along the path: Every time someone hears the message of the Reign and doesn’t put things together, hardship comes and snatches away what had been planted in their heart. ²⁰ The seeds planted on the rock with shallow soil—this is those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy, ²¹ but since it hasn’t taken root within them, it’s only momentary; when oppression or persecution happen because of the message, they falter immediately. ²² Now, the seeds in the thorn bushes—this is whoever hears the message but the concerns of this Age and love for wealth choke out the message, and it doesn’t produce any crop. ²³ Finally, the seeds planted in the fertile soil—this is whoever hears the message and puts things together; they will produce crops, some multiplying by a hundred, some by sixty, and some by thirty.”

²⁴ He presented another parable to them: “The Heavenly Reign is like a person who planted the proper seeds in their field, ²⁵ but while everyone was asleep, a malicious person came and planted darnel among the wheat and went away. ²⁶ When the plants sprouted and produced grain, the darnel also appeared. ²⁷ Then the enslaved laborers came to the landowner and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you plant the proper seed in your field? So where did the darnel come from?’ ²⁸ ‘A malicious person has done this!’ he declared. Then the enslaved laborers asked him, ‘So, do you want us to go pull it out?’ ²⁹ But he told them, ‘No, pulling out the darnel might also uproot the wheat with it. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time, tell the harvesters, “First pull out the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burned, and then gather the wheat in my barn.”’”

³¹ He presented another parable to them: “The Heavenly Reign is like a mustard seed, which someone planted in their field. ³² It’s the tiniest of seeds, but when it’s grown, it is a huge garden plant and becomes a large shrub, so that birds come from the heavens and live in its branches.”

³³ He told them another parable: “The Heavenly Reign is like yeast, which a woman mixed into three sata of flour until all of it had been leavened.”

³⁴ Jesus said all these things to the crowd in parables, and he did not speak to them without a parable. ³⁵ In that way, what the prophet said was lived out where he said, "I will open my mouth with parables; I will announce publicly what has been hidden, since the founding of the world."

³⁶ Then Jesus dismissed the crowds and went back into the house. His students approached him and said, “Explain the parable of darnel in the field to us.” ³⁷ So he answered, “The one who planted the proper seed is the Son of Humanity, ³⁸ the field is the whole world, and this proper seed is the children of the Reign. The darnel is the children of harm, ³⁹ the malicious person who plants them is the False Accuser, the harvest is the completion of the age, and the harvesters are messengers. ⁴⁰ Therefore, just as the darnel is collected and burned up in a fire, that’s how it will be at the completion of the age. ⁴¹ The Son of Humanity will commission his messengers, and they will collect out from his Reign everything that trips people up and those who do what is against the Torah. ⁴² They will throw them into the fiery furnace; There will be weeping and teeth gnashing there. ⁴³ Then those who live justly will shine like the sun in their Father’s Reign. Whoever has ears, listen!

⁴⁴ “The Heavenly Reign is like valuables hidden in a field, which a person found and hid them again and, in their excitement, went and sold everything they owned and bought that field.

⁴⁵ “Again, the Heavenly Reign is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. ⁴⁶ When they found a highly valuable one, they went out and sold everything they had and bought it.

⁴⁷ “Again, the Heavenly Reign is like a fishing net thrown into the sea, catching all kinds of fish. ⁴⁸ When it was full, the fishing crew pulled it up on the shore, and after they sat down, they sorted the suitable ones into containers, and they threw the worthless ones away. ⁴⁹ This is how it will be when the age is complete. The messengers will go out and identify those who cause hardship from among those who live justly ⁵⁰ and throw them into the fiery furnace; there will be weeping and teeth gnashing there.

⁵¹ “Are you putting things together?”

“Yes,” they replied.

⁵² So he told them, “That’s why every Bible scholar who becomes a student in the Heavenly Reign is like someone who owns a house and pours out old and new things from the storeroom.”

⁵³ When Jesus had come to the end of these parables, he moved on from there. ⁵⁴ He came to his hometown and began to teach them in their synagogue, and it shocked them. They asked, “Where are this wisdom and these powerful acts from? ⁵⁵ Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother named Miriam and his brothers Jacob, Joseph, Simeon, and Judah? ⁵⁶ And aren’t all his sisters with us? Then where are these things coming from?” ⁵⁷ And they were tripped up by him.

So Jesus said to them, “Only in their hometown and in their own house is a prophet disregarded.” ⁵⁸ He did not do many powerful acts there because of their lack of trust.

¹ At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard reports about Jesus, ² and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Immerser! He was woken from among the dead, and that’s why powers are at work in him!” ³ You see, Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him away in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Phillip’s wife. ⁴ John had told him continually, “For you to have her is not right.” ⁵ Herod had wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people because they considered him to be a prophet. ⁶ At Herod’s birthday feast, Herodias’ daughter danced among them and pleased Herod, ⁷ which prompted him to agree by oath to give her whatever she requested. ⁸ Having been urged by her mother to do so, she said, “Give me—here on this platter—the head of John the Immerser!” ⁹ Although the king was distressed, he ordered it to be given because of his oath and the guests. ¹⁰ By sending the order, he beheaded John in the prison. ¹¹ John’s head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. ¹² John’s students came and carried his body away, buried him, and went to bring the news to Jesus.

¹³ When Jesus heard, he withdrew from there in a boat to somewhere private. After the people heard about it, they left their towns and followed him on foot. ¹⁴ As he disembarked, he saw the large crowd, and he was deeply moved with compassion for them and healed those of them who were sick. ¹⁵ When evening arrived, his students came to him and said, “This place is remote, and the time is already late. Send the people away, so they can get to the villages to buy food for themselves.”

¹⁶ But he replied, “They don’t need to leave. You give them something to eat.”

¹⁷ His students responded, “We don’t have anything here except five loaves of bread and two fish.”

¹⁸ So he said, “Bring them here to me,” ¹⁹ and he directed the crowds to recline on the grass. He took the five loaves of bread and the two fish, and looking up to the heavens, he spoke praise, and after breaking them, he gave the loaves of bread to his students, and the students gave them to the crowds. ²⁰ Everyone ate and was satisfied, and they picked up twelve full baskets of leftover pieces. ²¹ 5000 men had eaten, plus women and children.

²² Immediately afterward, Jesus had his students get in the boat and go ahead of him to the opposite shore while he dismissed the crowds. ²³ After he dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. He was there alone until late. ²⁴ The boat was a long distance from the shore by then, being pummeled by waves because the wind was against it.

²⁵ In the final hours of the night, Jesus caught up with them walking on the sea. ²⁶ When the students saw him walking on the sea, they were horrified, saying it was an apparition, and shrieked in fear. ²⁷ Jesus spoke to them right away. He said, “Take courage! It’s me! Don’t be afraid.”

²⁸ Peter answered him, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.”

²⁹ So Jesus said, “Come.” Then Peter got out of the boat, walked on the water, and went toward Jesus. ³⁰ But seeing the strong wind scared him, and when he started to sink, he shrieked, “Lord, save me!”

³¹ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, and he said to him, “You hardly trusted. Why did you hesitate?”

³² They got into the boat, and the wind went calm. ³³ Then everyone in the boat bowed down to him, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God.”

³⁴ Crossing the rest of the way, they landed at Gennesaret. ³⁵ When the people there learned who he was, they sent people to notify the whole area and brought everyone to him who was unwell. ³⁶ They pleaded with him just to hold the tassel on his clothing, and whoever did so was restored.

¹ Then Pharisees and Bible Scholars from Jerusalem came to Jesus and said, ² “Why do your students sidestep the traditions of the elders? They’re not washing their hands whenever they eat.”

³ So he responded, “And why do you sidestep God’s direction with your traditions? ⁴ You see, God said, ‘Value your father and your mother’ and ‘Whoever speaks harmfully against their father or mother, they should certainly die.’ ⁵ Instead, you put forward that whoever tells their father or mother, ‘Whatever support you might have received from me, I gave away as an offering,’ ⁶ won’t need to value their parent. You negated God’s message with your tradition. ⁷ Fakers! Isaiah prophesied rightly about you:

⁸⁠This people value me with their lips,

But their heart stays distant from me.

⁹⁠They fruitlessly claim reverence for me,

While teaching human instruction as God’s direction.”

¹⁰ Then Jesus called the crowd’s attention and said, “Listen and make sense of this: ¹¹ What goes in someone’s mouth doesn’t make them ordinary; rather, what comes out of their mouth is what makes a person ordinary.”

¹² Then his students went up to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were provoked by your message?”

¹³ “Every plant that wasn’t planted by my divine Father will be pulled out,” he answered. ¹⁴ “Ignore them. The guides are blind! If a blind person guides a blind person, both will fall in a ditch.”

¹⁵ Peter responded, “Explain this parable to us.”

¹⁶ “You still don’t understand?” Jesus responded. ¹⁷ “Have you considered how everything that goes into the mouth, proceeds to the belly, and is expelled into a toilet? ¹⁸ But what emerges from the mouth comes from the heart—and these make the person unclean— ¹⁹ since harmful ruminations, murder, marital infidelity, sexual exploitation, theft, making false reports about someone, and contemptuous speech all come from the heart. ²⁰ These are what make someone unclean. Eating without washing their hands doesn’t make someone unclean.”

²¹ After leaving that place, Jesus went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. ²² Surprisingly, a Canaanite woman from that land came outside and cried out, pleading, “Lord! Son of David, have compassion for me. My daughter is tormented by demons!”

²³ However, Jesus didn’t respond a word to her. His students went up to him and asked him, “Tell her to go away because she’s following and calling to us.”

²⁴ In response, Jesus said, “I was only sent to the house of Israel’s forsaken sheep.”

²⁵ Then she approached and bowed down to him. She pleaded, “Lord, help me!”

²⁶ Jesus responded, “It’s not appropriate to take the children’s food and toss it to the family pets.”

²⁷ “Yes, sir,” she replied, “In fact, that’s because the pets eat the scraps that fall from their master’s table.”

²⁸ Then Jesus answered her, “Madam, your trust is impressive! May what you hope for happen,” and her daughter was restored from that moment on.

²⁹ When Jesus left that area, he traveled along the Sea of Galilee, and after climbing up the hill, he sat down. ³⁰ Around him, a large crowd grew of people who brought with them others who were unable to walk, who were blind, who had disabling limb conditions, who were deaf and unable to speak, and many others. They presented them to him, and he healed them. ³¹ The crowd was astounded when they saw people who had been deaf and unable to speak start speaking, people who had disabling conditions restored, people who had been unable to walk walking around, and people who had been blind made able to see, and they praised the God of Israel.

³² Then Jesus called his students to him and said, “I’m feeling deeply moved for the crowd because they’ve already stayed here with me for three days and don’t have anything to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry; otherwise, they might collapse on the way.”

³³ The students said to him, “Where are we going to get as much food as it would take to satisfy a crowd this big in the middle of nowhere?”

³⁴ Jesus asked them, “How much bread do you have?”

They told him, “Seven loaves—and a few small fish.”

³⁵ He instructed the crowd to recline on the ground, ³⁶ and taking the seven loaves of bread and the small fish, he gave thanks, and he broke them up and gave it to his students. Then the students passed it out to the crowd. ³⁷ Everyone ate until they were satisfied, and the scraps of leftovers they picked up filled seven baskets. ³⁸ In addition to women and children, 4,000 men had eaten. ³⁹ Then Jesus sent the crowd away, and he boarded a boat and went to the region of Magadan.

¹ Then the Pharisees and Sadducees went to Jesus, and as they were testing him, they asked him to show them proof from the heavens. ² So he responded, “At sunset, you say, ‘Good weather is coming since the heavens are red,’ ³ and at sunrise you say, ‘Today is going to be stormy since the heavens are red and gloomy.’ You know how to discern the weather by how the heavens look, so can’t you discern the signs of the times? ⁴ An oppressive and unfaithful group demands proof, but no proof will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.” Then he left them and went away.

⁵ When the students crossed to the other shore, they forgot to bring bread. ⁶ Then Jesus told them, “Watch out and be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ⁷ So they began to deliberate with each other, wondering if it was because they had brought no bread. ⁸ When Jesus heard, he said, “You hardly trust at all! Why are you talking about having no bread? ⁹ You’re still not thinking. Don’t you remember the five loaves of bread with the 5,000 men and how many baskets of leftovers you took away? ¹⁰ Or the seven loaves of bread with the 4,000 men and how many baskets of leftovers you took away? ¹¹ How did you not understand that I wasn’t talking about bread? Be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!” ¹² Then they put it together that he did not tell them to be on guard against the yeast in the bread but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

¹³ Jesus was arriving in the region of Caesarea Philippi when he asked his students, “Who do people say the Son of Humanity is?”

¹⁴ “Some say John the Immerser,” they said, “Others say Elijah and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵ “But who do you say I am?” he asked.

¹⁶ Then Simeon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the God who is alive.”

¹⁷ Jesus responded to him, “You have reason for gratitude, Simeon Son of Jonah, because flesh and blood didn’t reveal this to you but, rather, my Father who is in the heavens. ¹⁸ And I’m naming you Peter, and on this rock I will construct my assembly, and the entrance to the place of the dead will not overwhelm it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the Heavenly Reign, and whatever boundaries you set in the land will be set in the heavens, and whatever barriers you remove in the land will be removed in the heavens.” ²⁰ Then he made it clear to the students that they were not to tell anyone he was the Messiah.

²¹ From then on, Jesus began to help his students see that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem to endure many things from the elders, lead priests, and Bible scholars and to be killed and then woken up on the third day. ²² Peter took him aside and began to scold him fiercely, “God have mercy on you, Lord! That must not happen to you!”

²³ So he turned and told Peter, “Get out of my sight, Adversary! You’re an obstacle for me because you’re not focusing on God’s intentions but rather on human ones.” ²⁴ Then Jesus told his students, “If any of you is determined to follow me, renounce your insistence on security, pick up your cross, and join me. ²⁵ You see, whoever secures their life will surrender it, and whoever surrenders their life for my cause will secure it. ²⁶ You see, how does it benefit someone to gain the whole world only to be stripped of their very being? Or what could someone offer to be able to keep their very being? ²⁷ The Son of Humanity is about to make his appearance with his messengers with the praise of his Father, and then he will repay each person appropriately for what he has done. ²⁸ Honestly, some of the people standing right here are ones who will not experience death before they see the Son of Humanity being established in his Reign.”

¹ Six days later, Jesus brought Jacob, his brother John, and Peter up a high mountain with him to a secluded place. ² There, he transformed before their eyes. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes glowed bright like the light. ³ Then, incredibly, they saw Moses and Elijah talking with him.

⁴ Peter responded by saying to Jesus, “Lord, it’s wonderful for us to be here. If you want, I’ll set up three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

⁵ While he was still speaking, amazingly, a bright cloud enveloped them and, remarkably, a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved son, I delight in him. Listen to him.” ⁶ When they heard the voice, the students were terrified and dropped with their faces to the ground.

⁷ Jesus went to them and touched them. “Get up,” he reassured them, “Don’t be afraid.” ⁸ So they looked up and saw no one else was there except Jesus.

⁹ As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus directed them, “Don’t tell anyone about the vision until the Son of Humanity is woken up from among the dead.”

¹⁰ The students asked him, “So why do the Bible scholars say that Elijah has to come first?”

¹¹ He answered, “Elijah does come and will restore everything. ¹² I’m telling you, Elijah already came, and they didn’t recognize him. Instead, they did whatever they wanted to him. In the same way, the Son of Humanity is about to endure what they have in store for him.” ¹³ Then the students put together that he was talking about John the Immerser.

¹⁴ When they reached the crowd, someone went up to him, fell to his knees, ¹⁵ and pleaded, “Lord, have compassion for my son because he is ‘moonstruck’ and suffers miserably. He’s constantly falling into the fire or the water. ¹⁶ I brought him to your students, but they weren’t able to heal him.”

¹⁷ In response, Jesus lamented, “What a faithless and misguided group! How much longer will I be with you? How long will I be here to carry you through things like this? Bring him to me.” ¹⁸ Then Jesus denounced the demon, and it left the boy, who was healed from that moment on.

¹⁹ Then the students came to Jesus privately and asked, “Why weren’t we able to banish it?”

²⁰ “Because of your lack of trust,” he told them. “Honestly, I’m telling you, if you have trust, even as small as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it’ll move. There won’t be anything you’re incapable of.”

²²  When Jesus and his students joined up with each other in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Humanity is about to be given up into human hands, ²³ and they will kill him, and he will be woken up on the third day,” and they were deeply saddened.

²⁴ After they arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the half-shekel tax?”

²⁵ “Yes,” he told them.

After he went into the house, Jesus spoke first and said, “What do you think, Simeon? From whom do the kings in the land collect fees and tributes, from their own family or from foreigners?”

²⁶ So Peter answered, “From foreigners.”

Then Jesus stated, “Then their children are exempt. ²⁷ However, so that we don’t provoke them, go over to the lake and cast a hook. Take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth, you’ll find a one-shekel coin. Take that to give them for me and you.”

¹ At that moment, the students came up to Jesus asking, “So, in the Heavenly Reign, who is the most impressive?”

² He called a child over to stand between them, ³ and he told them, “Honestly, I’m telling you, unless you turn around and become like children, you will absolutely not join the Heavenly Reign. ⁴ Therefore, whoever lowers their own status to be like this child, is the most impressive in the Heavenly Reign. ⁵ And whoever includes one of these children as my representative includes me.

⁶ But if anyone creates obstacles for one of these little ones who trust me, it would be preferable for that person to have a huge millstone hung around their neck and dropped in the middle of the sea. ⁷ The world system that produces such obstacles had better watch out. It’s inevitable that obstacles arise, but the person through whom those obstacles arise had better watch out anyway.

⁸ So if your hand or your foot is an obstacle to you, cut it off and throw it away. It’s more beneficial for you to go through life missing a hand or foot than to have two hands and two feet and be tossed into fire that burns indefinitely. ⁹ And if your eye is an obstacle to you, pull it out and throw it away. It’s more beneficial for you to go through life with one eye than to have two eyes and be tossed into the fiery Hinnom Valley.

¹⁰ Be vigilant not even to think less of one of these little ones. I’m telling you, their messengers in the heavens always have the attention of my Father who is in the heavens. ¹²  What do you think? If someone comes to own 100 sheep and one of them wanders off, won’t they leave the 99 on the mountain and go looking for the one that wandered off?

¹³ And if they find it, I’m telling you honestly that they’ll celebrate over finding it more than over 99 not wandering off. ¹⁴ In the same way, your Father who is in the heavens is not willing for even one of these little ones be forsaken.

¹⁵ “So if a fellow child of God deviates, go make it clear to them when the two of you are alone. If they listen to you, you’ve regained your fellow child of God. ¹⁶ If they don’t listen, try again, and bring one or two others with you so that “every matter may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.”

¹⁷ If they refuse to listen, tell the assembly. If they also refuse to listen to the assembly, as far as you’re concerned, let them be just like a foreigner or a tax collector.

¹⁸ “Honestly, I’m telling you, whatever boundaries you set in the land will be set in the heavens, and whatever barriers you remove on earth will be removed in the heavens. ¹⁹ Again, I’m telling you honestly that if two of you in the land agree together which to ask, my Father who is in the heavens will make it happen for you. ²⁰ You see, where two or three are gathered to represent me, I’m there among them.”

²¹ Then Peter approached him and asked, “Lord, if a fellow child of God deviates repeatedly, how many times should I release it? As many as seven times?”

²² “Not as many as seven times,” Jesus told him, “I would say, instead, seventy-seven times!” ²³ With that in mind, the Heavenly Reign is like a human ruler who wanted to meet with his enslaved workers about reconciling.

²⁴ To begin his reconciliation, he had someone brought to him who owed 10,000 talents. ²⁵ However, the worker didn’t have enough to pay it back, and the lord ordered that he be sold, along with his wife, children, and everything he owned, to get his payment.

²⁶ Then the person who was enslaved to him dropped down and bowed to him, pleading, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you back everything.’ ²⁷ The lord was deeply moved for that enslaved worker; he freed him and released his debt.

²⁸ Then that enslaved worker went out and found one of his fellow enslaved workers who owed him 100 denarii. He grabbed him and began choking him. He demanded, ‘Pay back what you owe me!’

²⁹ Then his fellow enslaved worker dropped down and begged him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you back.’ ³⁰ But he didn’t want to, and instead, he went out and threw him in prison until he repaid the debt.

³¹ When his fellow enslaved workers saw what happened, they were deeply grieved, so they went and explained everything that had happened to their lord. ³² Then the lord called him to come to him and said, ‘You oppressive slave! I released your whole debt when you begged me.

³³ Wouldn’t it have been right for you to show compassion for your fellow slave, just like I showed you compassion?’ ³⁴ And in his fury, the lord handed him over to the torturer until he could repay the whole debt.

³⁵ My heavenly Father will also do the same for you if you each don’t release it wholeheartedly for your fellow child of God.”

¹ When Jesus finished these sayings, he left Galilee and went to the region of Judea east of the Jordan River. ² Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

³ Pharisees came to test him and asked, “Is it acceptable for a man to send his wife away for just any reason?”

⁴ So he answered, “Haven’t you read that the Creator made them male and female from the beginning? ⁵ and said, ‘That is why a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and the two will be one family,’ ⁶ so they are no longer two but rather one family. Therefore, may no one divide what God has joined together.”

⁷ “Why then,” they challenged, “did Moses command to give a document of separation and send her away?”

⁸ He told them, “Moses allowed for you sending your wives away as a counter to your unfeeling hearts, but it wasn’t that way in the beginning. ⁹ So, I’m telling you, whoever sends his wife away except on the basis of engaging in sexual infidelity and marries another woman is maritally unfaithful.”

¹⁰ The students told him, “If a man has such a reason with his wife, it would have been better not to marry her!”

¹¹ He responded, “Not everyone can accept this idea, other than those for whom it has been presented. ¹² There are some eunuchs who were that way from their mother’s belly and others who were made eunuchs by people, and some made themselves eunuchs for the Heavenly Reign. Whoever can accept this, accept it!”

¹³ Then young children were brought for him to place his hands on them and pray, but the students scolded them. ¹⁴ So Jesus told them, “Release the children, and don’t stop them from coming to me. The Heavenly Reign is for people like them,” ¹⁵ and he placed his hands on them and then continued on from there.

¹⁶ Notably, someone came up to him and asked, “Teacher, what good should I do to hold onto agelong life?”

¹⁷ “Why are you asking me about ‘good’?” Jesus responded. “Only one is good. But if you want to participate in life, observe the commandments.”

¹⁸ “Which ones?” he asked.

Jesus told him, “Do not murder, do not have an affair, do not steal, do not falsely accuse people, ¹⁹ value your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.”

²⁰ The young man said to him, “I have strictly observed all of these. Where do I still fall behind?”

²¹ “If you want to be complete,” Jesus declared, “Go sell your property and give to people in poverty, and then you’ll have what’s valuable in the heavens. Then, come back and follow me. ²² But when he heard that idea, the young man went away sadly because he had a lot of property.

²³ Then Jesus said to his students, “Honestly, I’m telling you, participating in the Heavenly Reign will be difficult for someone who is rich. ²⁴ Again, I’m telling you, it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to participate in God’s Reign.”

²⁵ The students were shocked when they heard that and asked, “Then who can be restored?”

²⁶ Jesus peered at them, then said, “For humans, this is impossible, but everything is possible for God.”

²⁷ Then, in response, Peter said, “Look, we let go of everything and followed you, so what’s it going to be like for us?”

²⁸ Then Jesus told them, “Honestly, I’m telling you, when the Son of Humanity sits on his praiseworthy throne, you who have followed me into the restoration will also sit on twelve thrones governing the twelve tribes of Israel.

²⁹ Anyone who has let go of houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farmlands in representing me will receive a hundred times more than they gave up and will inherit agelong life. ³⁰ So, many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

¹ “You see, the Heavenly Reign is like someone who was a landowner and went out right at dawn to hire workers for his vineyard. ² After he made an agreement with the workers of a denarius for a day’s work, he sent them to his vineyard. ³ He also went out mid-morning and saw others standing in the town square without work. ⁴ To them, he said, ‘You go to the vineyard too, and I will give you whatever is just,’ ⁵ so they went. Then he went out again around noon and again mid-afternoon and did the same thing.

⁶ “Then in the late afternoon, he went out and found others standing there, and he asked them, ‘Why are you standing here all day without work?’

⁷ ‘Because no one hired us,’ they answered.

“‘You go to the vineyard too,’ he told them.

⁸ “At the end of the day, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting from the last hired and going until the first.’ ⁹ When they came, each of the workers who started late in the afternoon received a denarius. ¹⁰ So when the workers who were hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but they also each received a denarius.

¹¹ “When they received it, they started complaining against the landowner. ¹² ‘These last workers worked one hour,’ they said, ‘and you made them equal to us, who endured the burden of the whole day and the burning heat!’

¹³ ‘Friend,’ he answered one of them, ‘I’m not mistreating you. Didn’t you make an agreement with me for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take yours and go, but I want to give this person who was hired last the same as you. ¹⁵ Am I not allowed to do what I want with what’s mine? Or is your eye corrupted because I’m generous?’ ¹⁶ In the same way, the first will be last, and the last will be first.”

¹⁷ While going up to Jerusalem, Jesus took the Twelve aside, gathering them close on the road. He said to them, ¹⁸ “Look, we’re going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Humanity is going to be handed over to the lead priests and Bible scholars, and they will sentence him to death. ¹⁹ Then they will hand him over to the foreign authorities to be mocked, severely whipped, and crucified. And on the third day, he will be raised up.”

²⁰ Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, bowed down to him, and made a request of him.

²¹ “What is it you want?” he asked her.

“Say that these two sons of mine may sit with one on your right and one on your left as you reign,” she said.

²² “You don’t understand what you’re asking,” Jesus responded. “Can you drink the cup I’m about to drink?”

“We can,” they answered.

²³ “You certainly will drink of my cup,” he told them, “but sitting on my right or my left is not mine to give. Rather, it’s for those for whom it’s been prepared by my Father.”

²⁴ When the other ten heard all this, they were angry with the two brothers, ²⁵ so Jesus called them over and said, “You see how the leaders of other peoples lord over them, and the powerful people impose control over them. ²⁶ It will not be that way with you. Instead, whichever of you wants to become important among you will be a servant among you, ²⁷ and whichever of you wants to be first will take on the role of a worker enslaved to the rest of you— ²⁸ just as the Son of Humanity did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as the price of freeing many enslaved people.”

²⁹ As they were setting out from Jericho, a large crowd followed him. ³⁰ Notably, two people who were blind were sitting by the road, hearing Jesus pass by. “Lord! Son of David, give us your compassion!” they shouted.

³¹ The crowd scolded them, trying to silence them, so they shouted louder.

“Lord!” they called out, “Son of David, give us your compassion!”

³² Jesus stopped. “What do you want me to do for you?” he called to them.

³³ “Lord,” they answered, “for our eyes to be opened!”

³⁴ Jesus was deeply moved, so he touched his hand to their eyes. They could see again immediately, and they followed him.

¹ Then when they were nearing Jerusalem, and they arrived at Bethphage, heading toward the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent out two students.

² “Go on to the village up ahead,” he told them. “Right away, you’ll find a donkey tied there with her colt. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, say that the lord needs them, and they’ll immediately allow them to go.” ⁴ This happened with the result that what was said by the prophet was lived out:

⁵⁠Tell the daughter of Zion,

“Look, your king is coming to you,

Gentle and riding on a donkey,

In fact, on the foal of a beast of burden.”

⁶ So the students went on and, doing just as Jesus arranged with them, ⁷ they led away the donkey and colt. They placed their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. ⁸ A huge crowd of people spread out their own cloaks on the road while others cut branches from the trees and spread them out on the road. ⁹ The crowd was proceeding ahead of him and following behind and shouting,

Hoshea na through David’s heir!

Praised be the one who comes representing the Lord!

Hoshea na, you who are in the highest places!

¹⁰ So upon his entrance into Jerusalem the whole city was stirred up, with people asking, “Who is this?” ¹¹ and the crowds started saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee!”

¹² Then Jesus entered the sacred grounds, cast out all the vendors and buyers who were in the sacred area, and flipped over the tables of the currency exchangers and the chairs of the dove sellers.

¹³ “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ‘stronghold for robbers!’” ¹⁴ Then people who were blind and people who were unable to walk went to him in the sacred grounds, and he healed them.

¹⁵ But when the lead priests and Bible scholars saw the wonderful things he did and the young children shouting, “Hoshea na through David’s heir!” they were furious.

¹⁶ “Do you hear what they are saying!” they demanded of him.

“Yes,” Jesus told them, “Have you never read ‘Out of the mouths of children and nursing babies, you have set forth praise?” ¹⁷ Then leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and spent the night there.

¹⁸ Then, before dawn, as he was returning to the city, he was hungry, ¹⁹ and noticing a lone fig tree by the road, he went up to it but did not find anything on it except leaves.

“You will never produce fruit again!” he said to it, and the fig tree withered instantly. ²⁰ When the students saw it, they were amazed.

“How did the fig tree wither in an instant?” they wondered.

²¹ “Honestly,” Jesus answered them, “I’m telling you, if you hold onto faithfulness and do not distance yourself from it, not only will you do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea!’ it will happen. ²² You will receive anything you request with prayer while maintaining faithfulness.”

²³ After he arrived at the sacred grounds, the lead priests and elders of the people confronted him while he was teaching and said, “With what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?”

²⁴ “I will also ask you something. If you tell me, I’ll also tell you with what authority I’m doing these things,” Jesus responded. ²⁵ “Where did John’s immersion come from? Of the heavens or of human origin?”

They began to deliberate among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘from the heavens,’ he’ll say, ‘Then why didn’t you trust him?’ ²⁶ but if we say, ‘of human origin’…we’re afraid of the crowd because they all regard John as a prophet,” ²⁷ so they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

“Then I won’t tell you with what authority I’m doing these things either,” he told them. ²⁸ “But what do you think? There was someone who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go work in the vineyard today.’ ²⁹ The son answered, ‘I don’t want to,’ but later he had a change of heart and went. ³⁰ The father went to the other one and said the same thing. This one answered, ‘Yes, sir,’ and then didn’t go. ³¹ Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

“The first,” they said.

“Honestly,” Jesus said to them, “I’m telling you, tax collectors and sex workers go ahead of you in God’s Reign. ³² You see, John came to you focused on the path of justness, and you didn’t trust him, but the tax collectors and sex workers trusted him. Even after seeing, you still didn’t have a change of heart to trust him.

³³ “Listen to another parable: There was someone who was a landowner and planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, installed a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and traveled out of the country. ³⁴ Then when it was almost harvest time, he sent his enslaved workers to the tenants to collect his crops. ³⁵ But the tenants seized the enslaved workers. They stoned one to death, executed another, and flogged another to death. ³⁶ Again, he sent enslaved workers, a greater number than the first time, and the tenants did the same things to them. ³⁷ Finally, he sent his son to them, saying to himself, ‘They will show consideration for my son.’ ³⁸ But, when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir! Come on, we should kill him and keep his inheritance.’ ³⁹ They seized him and threw him outside of the vineyard and killed him. ⁴⁰ So, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

⁴¹ “He will brutally destroy those brutal people!” they said to him. “Then he will lease the vineyard to other tenants who will pay him his crops when they harvest.”

⁴² Jesus challenged them: “Haven’t you ever read in the scriptures,

The stone which the builders rejected,

That’s the one that became the foundation stone.

It’s from the Lord that this happened,

And it is wonderful in our eyes.

⁴³ I’m telling you, God’s Reign will be taken away from you because of this, and it will be given to a people who produce its fruit. ⁴⁴ Whoever falls against this stone will be broken apart, and whomever it falls on will be crushed.”

⁴⁵ When the lead priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew he was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ Though they were looking for an opportunity to seize him, they were afraid of the crowds because the people regarded him as a prophet.

¹ In further response to them, Jesus told parables.

² “The Heavenly Reign,” he said, “is like a human ruler who throws a wedding banquet for his son. ³ He sent his enslaved workers to call the invited guests to the banquet, but they wouldn’t come. ⁴ Then he sent more enslaved workers and told them, ‘Tell the invited guests, “Look! My feast is ready! My oxen and fattened cattle have been prepared, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet!”’ ⁵ But they didn’t care and some left, one to their own farm and another to their business. ⁶ The rest who stayed seized the enslaved workers, mocked them, and killed them. ⁷ So the ruler was enraged and ordered his soldiers to destroy those murderers and burn down their city. ⁸ Then he told his enslaved workers, ‘The wedding banquet is still ready, but the invited guests weren’t appropriate for it. ⁹ So, go out to the city gates and invite everyone you find in the streets to the wedding banquet.’ ¹⁰ So those enslaved workers went out to the streets and gathered everyone they found, both the corrupt and the good-hearted, and the wedding banquet was filled with guests. ¹¹ When the ruler entered, he examined the guests and saw someone was there not wearing wedding clothes, ¹² and he told him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ but the person was silenced. ¹³ Then the ruler told the servers, ‘Tie his hands and feet and throw him out into the outer darkness! There’ll be weeping and gnashing of teeth in anguish there.’ ¹⁴ You see, many are invited, but few are selected.”

¹⁵ Then the Pharisees went on and held a meeting about how to entrap him with his own words. ¹⁶ They sent their students along with the Herodians to him to say, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful and you truly teach the path of God, not caring what anyone thinks of you because you don’t defer to those with high status. ¹⁷ So tell us, what do you think? Is it right to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?”

¹⁸ “Fakers!” Jesus said to them, knowing their corruption, “Why are you posing tests for me? ¹⁹ Show me the coin used for the census tax.” So, they brought him a denarius. ²⁰ “Whose image and inscription are these?”

²¹ “Caesar,” they told him.

“Then repay the things of Caesar to Caesar and the things of God to God,” he responded. ²² At hearing him, they were confounded, so they left him and went away.

²³ That same day, Sadducees—who say there is no Reawakening—went up and challenged him, ²⁴ “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies without having children, his brother must take on the marriage with his wife and raise children for his brother.’ ²⁵ Once, there were seven brothers among us. The first was married, and since he died without having children, he released his wife to his brother. ²⁶ The same thing happened with the second and third, and all the way to the seventh, ²⁷ and last of all, the woman died. ²⁸ So, since they all married her, out of the seven, whose wife will she be at the Reawakening?”

²⁹ “You’re wrong,” Jesus answered and told them, “because you don’t know either the scriptures or the power of God. ³⁰ You see, at the Reawakening, they neither marry nor are given in marriage; instead, they are like messengers. ³¹ But as for the Reawakening of the dead, haven’t you read God’s statement that says, ³² ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not for the dead but rather for those who live.” ³³ When the crowds heard this, they were stunned by his teaching.

³⁴ Then when the Pharisees heard that the Sadducees had been silenced by him, they gathered themselves, ³⁵ and one of them, a Torah expert, confronted him with a test, ³⁶ “Teacher, which directive in the Torah is most important?”

³⁷ “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your way of thinking,’” he stated. ³⁸ “This is the first and most important directive, ³⁹ and the second is equivalent to it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ All the Hebrew Scriptures hang on these two directives.”

⁴¹ Then, while the Pharisees were still gathered, Jesus challenged them, ⁴² “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose heir is he?”

“David’s,” they said.

⁴³ “Then how,” he said to them, “did David call him ‘lord’ when he said, ⁴⁴ ‘The Lord said to my lord, “Sit at my right hand until those who are hostile toward you are under your feet”’? ⁴⁵ If David calls him ‘lord,’ how is he his heir?” ⁴⁶ No one was able to say a word in answer to him, and from that day on, no one dared to question him anymore.

¹ Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and his students:

² “The Bible Scholars and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, ³ so pay attention to whatever they tell you and do it. You see, they say things but don’t do them. ⁴ They secure heavy loads, hard to carry, and put them on people’s shoulders, but they aren’t willing to lift a finger to move them. ⁵ They do their actions so that people will notice them; they display their phylacteries and tassels prominently. ⁶ They care about the spot for the highest status guest at dinners, the seat of honor in the synagogues, ⁷ elaborate greetings of respect in public, and having people call them ‘My great one.’ ⁸ But you shouldn’t be called ‘My great one’; there’s one teacher for all of you, and you are all fellow students. ⁹ And you shouldn’t call an earthly authority your ‘father’ because there’s one divine Father for all of you. ¹⁰ Nor should you be called ‘leader’ because the Messiah is your one leader. ¹¹ Your servants will be the most impressive among you. ¹² So whoever elevates themselves will be brought low, and whoever accepts a lower position will be elevated.

¹³ “You’d better watch out, fakers, Bible Scholars and Pharisees, because you shut the entrance to the Heavenly Reign in people’s faces. In fact, you neither enter nor release others to enter.

¹⁵  “You’d better watch out, fakers, Bible Scholars and Pharisees, because you wander dry places and sea to recruit one new follower, and when someone joins, you make them twice the child of the Hinnom Valley as you!

¹⁶ “You’d better watch out, blind guides who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that’s nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, they owe what they swear.’ ¹⁷ You’re shortsighted, unable to see what’s right in front of you. Which is more important, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred? ¹⁸ And you say, ‘Whoever swears on the altar, that’s nothing, but whoever swears on the offering on top of it, they owe what they swear.’ ¹⁹ You don’t see the truth! What’s more important, the offering or the altar that makes the offering sacred? ²⁰ Therefore, a person who swears by the altar swears on it and everything placed on it; ²¹ whoever swears on the temple swears on it and on the One who dwells within it; ²² a person who swears on the heavens swears on God’s throne and on the one who sits on it.

²³ “You’d better watch out, fakers, Bible scholars and Pharisees, because you give an offering of a tenth of your mint, dill, and cumin while dismissing the weighty things of Torah: justice, compassion, and faithfulness! It’s essential to do these things, without neglecting the others. ²⁴ Blind guides, you strain out gnats but drink down a camel!

²⁵ “You’d better watch out, fakers, Bible Scholars and Pharisees, because you clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are robbery and devoid of self-restraint. ²⁶ Blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup so that the outside can also get clean.

²⁷ “You’d better watch out, fakers, Bible Scholars and Pharisees, because you’re like tombs with plaster exteriors which look beautiful on the outside, but inside they’re full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. ²⁸ Just like them, you appear to people like you’re committed to doing everything right, yet inside you’re full of play-acting and lack Torah.

²⁹ “You’d better watch out, fakers, Bible Scholars and Pharisees, because you build tombs for prophets and decorate the tombstones of those who live justly, ³⁰ and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have participated in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ Therefore, you testify against yourselves that you are heirs of those who murdered the prophets. ³² You might as well complete the legacy of your ancestors! ³³ Snakes! Children of vipers! How could you escape from the justice enacted in the Hinnom Valley? ³⁴ Pay attention! This is why I’m sending you prophets, teachers of wisdom, and Bible Scholars. You will crucify and kill some of them, and some of them you’ll whip in your synagogues and hunt them from town to town, ³⁵ which would bring on you all the blood of those who lived justly that was shed in the land from the blood of Abel, who lived justly, until the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ Honestly, I’m telling you, all these things will come to bear on this group.

³⁷ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! I’ve wanted for so long to gather your children together like a hen gathers her chicks together under her wings, but you didn’t want it. ³⁸ Look around! Your household is abandoned to be desolate. ³⁹ You see, I’m telling you, you won’t see me at all from now until you say, ‘Praised be the one who comes representing the Lord!’”

¹ Then when Jesus was exiting the sacred grounds, starting to go on his way, his students came up to him to point out the buildings of the sacred grounds, ² but he responded, “Do you see all of these? Honestly, I’m telling you, There is not a single stone here that will be left upon another, that will not be torn apart.”

³ While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the students went to him privately and asked him, “When will these things happen? And what will be the sign of your arrival and the completion of the Age?”

⁴ “Watch out,” Jesus answered, “that no one misleads you. ⁵ Many will come claiming to represent me, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they’ll mislead many people. ⁶ You’re going to hear about battles and rumors of battles; try not to be alarmed because it’s inevitable for it happen, but it’s not the end yet. ⁷ You see, one people will rise up against another, and one kingdom against another, and there will be famines and earthquakes in some places. ⁸ All these things are the pain of early labor. ⁹ Then they’ll hand you over to suffer, and they’ll kill you, and you’ll be hated by all other people groups because you represent me. ¹⁰ Then many will trip over these obstacles, and hand each other over and hate each other, ¹¹ and many fake prophets will show up and mislead many people, ¹² and because of increasing lack of Torah, many people’s love will grow cold. ¹³ But whoever endures to the end will be restored! ¹⁴ And this triumphant message about the Reign will be announced throughout the whole empire to let all the peoples know of it, and then the end will come.

¹⁵ “So when you see the devastating atrocity that was spoken about by the prophet Daniel established in the sacred place,” (reader, think carefully), ¹⁶ “then, anyone in Judea should escape to the mountains! ¹⁷ Anyone on a rooftop patio shouldn’t come down to pack things from the house, ¹⁸ and anyone in the field shouldn’t turn back to pick up their cloak. ¹⁹ Anyone who is pregnant or has nursing babies at that time, watch out! ²⁰ Pray that the time for your escape doesn’t come in winter or on Shabbat ²¹ because then there will be widespread suffering the likes of which hasn’t happened since the beginning of the world until now and will certainly never happen again. ²² If those days weren’t cut short, no one alive would be safe, but those days will be cut short for the sake of the selected. ²³ Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here’s the Messiah!’ or ‘Here!’ don’t trust them. ²⁴ Fake messiahs and fake prophets will show up and offer impressive demonstrations and extraordinary feats to mislead, if possible, even the selected. ²⁵ Be on the lookout since I’ve warned you. ²⁶ So, if anyone says to you, ‘Look—in the wilderness!’ don’t go out there, or ‘Look—in the inner rooms!’ don’t trust it. ²⁷ The Son of Humanity’s arrival will be just the way lightning comes out of the east and flashes all the way to the west. ²⁸ Wherever the body is, there the eagles will gather.

²⁹ “Then immediately after the suffering of that time, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give her light, and the stars will fall from the heavens, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken, ³⁰ and then, the Son of Humanity will be seen in the heavens as a signal. Then all the nations of the land will wail and beat their chests in dread, and they will see the Son of Humanity approaching in the clouds of the heavens with power and praise. ³¹ He will send his messengers with a loud trumpet, and they will gather together those selected for him from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

³² “So, study this parable from the fig tree: When her branch becomes tender and is beginning to grow new leaves, you know that summer is close. ³³ Similarly, when you see all these things, you also know the Son of Humanity is close, at the door! ³⁴ Honestly, I’m telling you that this group absolutely will not pass away before all these things happen. ³⁵ The heavens and the land will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

³⁶ “But no one knows about that day and time, not even the messengers. The only exception is the Father. ³⁷ You see, the arrival of the Son of Humanity will be just like the days of Noah ³⁸ since in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah went inside the ark, ³⁹ and they didn’t know about it until the flood came and carried them all away. The Son of Humanity’s arrival will also be like that. ⁴⁰ When it happens, two men will be in the field; one will be carried off and one let go. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding with a millstone; one will be carried off and one let go. ⁴² So be on the watch because you don’t know which day your Lord is coming. ⁴³ Think about it this way: if the owner of the house had known which time in the night the thief was coming, they would have kept watch and not allowed their house to be ransacked. ⁴⁴ Get yourselves ready for that same reason because the Son of Humanity is coming at a time you don’t expect.

⁴⁵ “So then, who is the faithful and conscientious enslaved worker whose lord has put them in charge of providing food for his household servants at the proper time? ⁴⁶ When their lord arrives and finds them working on these things, that enslaved worker will have reason for gratitude. ⁴⁷ Honestly, I’m telling you, he’ll put them in charge of his entire estate. ⁴⁸ But if the enslaved worker is malicious and says in their heart, ‘My lord is taking a long time,’ ⁴⁹ and they begin to assault their fellow enslaved workers and, then, eat and drink with drunks, ⁵⁰ then the lord of that enslaved worker will come on a day when they don’t expect and at a time they don’t know it’s happening, ⁵¹ and he will cut them in two and assign his share as being with the fakers; there’ll be weeping and gnashing of teeth in anguish there.

¹ “At that time, the Heavenly Reign will be like ten unmarried girls who brought their lamps and went out to meet the groom. ² Five of them were shortsighted, and five of them were conscientious. ³ The five shortsighted ones brought their lamps but did not bring extra fuel with them. ⁴ The ones who were conscientious brought flasks of olive oil with their lamps. ⁵ When the groom took a long time, they all started to nod off and fall asleep. ⁶ In the middle of the night, a shout rang out, ‘Look, the groom is here! Come out to meet him!’ ⁷ Then all the unmarried girls woke up and prepared their lamps. ⁸ The shortsighted ones said to the conscientious ones, ‘Give us some of your olive oil because our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ ‘No,’ the conscientious ones answered, ‘There’s not enough for you and for us. Instead, go over to the sellers in the marketplace and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ Then the groom arrived while they were gone to the marketplace, and the ones who were ready went with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut. ¹¹ Later, the rest of the unmarried girls arrived and said, ‘Lord, lord! Open the door for us!’ ¹² But he answered, ‘To tell the truth, I don’t know you!’ ¹³ Therefore, keep watch because you don’t know the day or the time.

¹⁴ “You see, it’s like someone traveling far away, who assembled the workers who were enslaved to him, and he handed over management of his assets to them. ¹⁵ He gave one of them five talents, one of them two talents, and one of them one talent, based on each one’s ability. Then he traveled far away. ¹⁶ The one who received five talents went off right away and invested them and gained five more. ¹⁷ Similarly, the one with two gained two more. ¹⁸ But the one who received one went out, dug a hole, and hid his lord’s money. ¹⁹ Then, after a lot of time passed, the lord to whom those workers were enslaved came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ The one who received five talents approached and presented five more and said, ‘Lord, you assigned me to manage five talents, and look, I have gained five more.’ ²¹ His lord declared to him, ‘Well done, faithful and productive slave! You were faithful in a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share in your lord’s joy!’ ²² Then the one with two talents also approached and said, ‘Lord, you assigned me to manage two talents, and see, I gained two more talents.’ ²³ His lord declared to him, ‘Well done, faithful and productive slave! You were faithful in a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share in your lord’s joy!’ ²⁴ Then the one who had received one talent also approached and said, ‘Lord, I knew that you’re a merciless person, harvesting where you didn’t plant and gathering where you didn’t scatter seed, ²⁵ and I was scared, and went and hid your talent in the dirt. See, you have what’s yours.’ ²⁶ But his lord responded, ‘You corrupt and lazy slave! You knew that I harvest where I didn’t plant, and I gather where I didn’t scatter seeds? ²⁷ Then the right thing to do would have been to deposit my money with the bankers, and when I arrived, I would have received back what was mine with interest. ²⁸ Therefore, take the talent away from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. ²⁹ You see, everything will be given to the one who has, and they will have a surplus, but the one who doesn’t have, even what they have will be taken away from them. ³⁰ Also, throw that useless slave into the outer darkness; there’ll be weeping and gnashing teeth in anguish there.

³¹ “So, when the Son of Humanity arrives in his renown and all the messengers with him, then he will sit on his throne of renown. ³² All the people groups will be gathered in his presence, and he will sort them from each other like a shepherd sorts out the sheep from the goats, ³³ and he will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. ³⁴ Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are praised by my Father, inherit the Reign that has been prepared for you from the founding of the world. ³⁵ You see, I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was an immigrant and you welcomed me in, ³⁶ I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you cared for me, and I was in prison and you visited me.’ ³⁷ Then those who live justly will respond to him and ask, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ And when did we see you as an immigrant and welcome you in or naked and give you clothing? ³⁹ And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ ⁴⁰ And the king will answer them, ‘Honestly, I’m telling you, whatever you did for one of these who are least respected of my family, you did for me.’ ⁴¹ “Then he will say to the ones on his left, ‘Get away from me, you who have been denounced, and into the agelong fire prepared for the False Accuser and his messengers. ⁴² You see, I was hungry and you didn’t give me anything to eat, I was thirsty and you didn’t give me anything to drink, ⁴³ I was an immigrant and you didn’t welcome me in, I was naked and you didn’t give me clothing, and I was sick and in prison and you didn’t care for me.’ ⁴⁴ Then they also will respond to him and ask, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or an immigrant or naked or sick or in prison and not serve you?’ ⁴⁵ Then he will answer them, ‘Honestly, I’m telling you, as much as you did not do for one of these who are least respected, you did not do for me.’ ⁴⁶ Then they will depart for agelong consequences, but those who live justly for agelong life.”

¹ When Jesus had finished with all these sayings, he told his students, ² “You know that in two days, Passover is happening, but the Son of Humanity is also being handed over to be crucified.”

³ Then the lead priests and the elders of the people met together in the courtyard of the high priest named Caiaphas, ⁴ and they conspired to arrest Jesus by deception and kill him. ⁵ However, “Not during the festival,” they said, “so there won’t be outrage among the people.”

⁶ When Jesus was in Bethany at Simeon’s house (the one who had leprosy), ⁷ a woman went up to him holding an alabaster jar of very expensive, perfumed oil, and she poured it over his head while he was reclining at the table. ⁸ When the students saw it, they were indignant and spoke out, “Why this waste? ⁹ This could have been sold for a high price to be given to people in poverty!”

¹⁰ Aware of this, Jesus challenged them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She did something beautiful for me. ¹¹ You see, you will always have people in poverty with you, but you won’t always have me. ¹² When she poured this oil on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. ¹³ Honestly, I’m telling you, wherever the triumphant message is announced throughout the whole world, what she did will also be told in memory of her.”

¹⁴ Then one of the Twelve, the one called Judah, “Man of Kerioth,” went over to the lead priests ¹⁵ and said, “What will you give me to hand him over to you?” So they set out thirty silver coins for him. ¹⁶ From then on, he began looking for an opportunity to hand him over.

¹⁷ On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the students came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?”

¹⁸ “Go into the city,” he answered, “to such-and-such a person, and tell him, ‘The teacher says, “My time is almost here. My students and I are observing the Passover with you.”’” ¹⁹ So the students did as Jesus arranged for them, and they prepared the Passover.

²⁰ In the evening, he reclined at the table with the Twelve. ²¹ While they were eating, he said, “Honestly, I’m telling you, one of you will hand me over,” ²² and they were extremely upset.

They each began to say, “Certainly not I, Lord?”

²³ So he answered, “The one who has dipped his hand in the bowl with me is the one who will hand me over. ²⁴ Honestly, the Son of Humanity will go just as it has been written about him, but that person who because of them the Son of Humanity is handed over had better watch out! It would been better for that person if they had not been born.”

²⁵ Then Judah, who was turning him in, said, “Certainly not I, Rabbi?”

“If you say so,” Jesus answered.

²⁶ While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after he spoke praise, he broke it. After giving it to the students, he said, “Here, eat this. This is my body.” ²⁷ Then after he took the cup and gave thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Everyone drink from it, ²⁸ because this is my covenant blood, which is poured out for many for liberation from deviations. ²⁹ But I’m telling you, I won’t drink of the fruit of the vine at all from now until that day when I can drink it new with you in my Father’s Reign.” ³⁰ Then after they sang praise, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

³¹ Then Jesus told them, “You will all trip over an obstacle regarding me tonight since it’s been written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of his flock will be scattered.’ ³² But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.

³³ “Even if everyone else trips over an obstacle regarding you,” Peter answered, “I will never be trip over that obstacle!”

³⁴ “Honestly,” Jesus told him, “I’m telling you, tonight before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.

³⁵ “Even if it means I have to die with you,” Peter said to him, “I absolutely will not disown you!” And all the students said the same thing.

³⁶ Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he told the students, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” ³⁷ He had Peter and the two sons of Zebedee come with him, and he began to heartbroken and anguished.

³⁸ Then he said to them, “My whole being is overwhelmed with grief as intense as death. Stay awake and be here with me.”

³⁹ After he went off a little way, he collapsed with his face to the ground, and he prayed, “My Father, if it’s possible, let this cup pass over from me! Except not as I want but as you want.”

⁴⁰ He went to the students and found them asleep, and he said to Peter, “Couldn’t you stay awake with me like this for one hour? ⁴¹ Stay awake and pray so that you won’t be tested. Truly, the life-breath is willing, but the body is fatigued.”

⁴² He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it’s not possible for this to pass over unless I drink it, may your intention come to pass.”

⁴³ He went and, again, he found them asleep since their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ So leaving them again, he went away and prayed a third time, saying the same idea again.

⁴⁵ Then he went to the students and said to them, “You’ve slept and rested all the time that was left. Look! The time is almost here, and the Son of Humanity is being handed over into the hands of those who deviate. ⁴⁶ Wake up! Let’s go! Look! The one who’s handing me over is almost here.”

⁴⁷ While he was still speaking, significantly, Judah, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large group with short swords and clubs who were from the lead priests and the elders of the people.

⁴⁸ The one handing him over had prepared a signal with them, saying, “He is the one I kiss.” ⁴⁹ He immediately went up to Jesus and said, “Hello, Rabbi,” and he kissed him repeatedly.

⁵⁰ “My friend,” Jesus said to him, “do what you’re here to do.” Then they went up and grabbed Jesus and arrested him. ⁵¹ Suddenly, one of the people with Jesus reached out, drawing his short sword and striking a man enslaved to the high priest, severing his ear.

⁵² “Put your sword away where it goes!” Jesus told him. “Everyone who picks up the sword will be destroyed by the sword. ⁵³ Or don’t you think I can call on my Father and that he would send me more than twelve legions of messengers right now? ⁵⁴ But then how would the scriptures showing it’s necessary for it to happen this way be carried out?”

⁵⁵ Right then, Jesus said to the squad, “Why did you come out with swords and clubs to capture me as if I were an insurrectionist? For days, I’ve been sitting in the sacred grounds teaching, and you didn’t arrest me. ⁵⁶ But this whole thing happened so that the writings of the Prophets would be lived out.” Then all the students abandoned him and ran away.

⁵⁷ The ones who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas, the high priest, and the Bible scholars and the elders of the people had gathered there. ⁵⁸ Meanwhile, Peter was following him from a distance all the way to the high priest’s courtyard. He went inside and sat with the officers to see how it would end.

⁵⁹ The lead priests and the whole Sanhedrin were searching for deceptive testimony against Jesus, so they could have him executed, ⁶⁰ but despite many people coming forward and testifying falsely, they did not find anything. Finally, two people came forward ⁶¹ and stated, “This man has been claiming, “I’m able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.”

⁶² The high priest stood up and said to him, “Don’t you have a response? What are these people testifying against you?”

⁶³ But Jesus was silent.

So, the high priest told him, “I order you to tell us, under oath by the God who is alive, that you are the Messiah, the Son of God.

⁶⁴ “If you say so,” Jesus told him. “However, I do say this to you: From now on, you will see the Son of Humanity sitting at the right hand of Power and approaching in the clouds of the heavens.”

⁶⁵ Then the high priest tore apart his clothes and declared, “He spoke disrespectfully about God! Do we still need witnesses? See, you’ve heard the disrespect. ⁶⁶ What do you think?”

“He deserves death,” they answered. ⁶⁷ Then they spat in his face, punched him, and slapped him, ⁶⁸ saying, “Prophesy for us, Messiah! Who hit you?”

⁶⁹ Meanwhile, Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a girl who was enslaved there went up to him and said, “You were also with Jesus of Galilee.”

⁷⁰ But he denied it in front of everyone, saying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

⁷¹ So he went out to the gateway, but someone saw him and said to the people there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

⁷² Again, he denied it, swearing on oath, “I haven’t met that person!”

⁷³ After a little while, the people standing nearby went up to Peter and said, “Clearly, you’re one of them too. Your accent makes it obvious.”

⁷⁴ Then he began to curse at them, and he swore on oath, “I have not met that person!” Immediately, a rooster crowed, ⁷⁵ and Peter remembered what Jesus had said: “You will disown me three times before the rooster crows.” So, he went outside and sobbed with grief.

¹ When dawn arrived, all the lead priests and elders of the people consulted with each other about Jesus, so they could have him killed. ² They tied him up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate, the Roman governor.

³ Then when Judah, the one who handed him over, learned that the judgment had gone against him, he regretted it and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the lead priests and elders, ⁴ saying, “I deviated when I handed over innocent blood!”

“What does that have to do with us? You’ll have to deal with it yourself,” they said.

⁵ So Judah threw the silver coins into the temple and left. Then he went out and hanged himself.

⁶ The lead priests picked up the silver coins and said, “It’s not allowed to deposit these into the offering to God since they’re a blood price.” ⁷ They consulted with each other and used them to buy the potter’s field to be a burial place for foreigners. ⁸ That’s why that field has been called the “Field of Blood” to this day. ⁹ Therefore, what the prophet Jeremiah had said was carried out: “They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one whose value was set by the descendants of Israel, ¹⁰ and paid them toward the potter’s field as the Lord arranged for me.”

¹¹ Then Jesus was made to stand before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Judeans?”

“If you say so,” Jesus stated, ¹² but while he was being accused by the lead priests and elders, he did not respond at all.

¹³ Then Pilate said to him, “Don’t you hear how much they’re testifying against you?” ¹⁴ But he did not respond to a single word, which impressed the governor very much.

¹⁵ The governor had a custom to release one prisoner to the crowd during the feast, whomever they wanted. ¹⁶ At that time, they were holding a notorious prisoner called Jesus Barabbas, ¹⁷ so after they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Jesus, the one called Barabbas, or Jesus, the one being called Messiah?” ¹⁸ (since he knew they had handed him over out of spite). ¹⁹ While he was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him a message: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man because I’ve been deeply affected by a nightmare about him today.”

²⁰ But the lead priests and elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus put to death, ²¹ so when the governor asked them, “Which of the two do you want released for you?” they said, “Barabbas!”

²² “Then what should I do with the Jesus who is being called Messiah?” Pilate said to them.

Everyone answered, “Crucify him!”

²³ “Why?” he asked. “What has he done wrong?”

But they shouted overwhelmingly, “Crucify him!”

²⁴ When Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but instead it was turning into a riot, he got water and washed his hands for the crowd to see and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. You can deal with it!”

²⁵ All the people responded, “His blood is on us and on our children!” ²⁶ Then he released Barabbas for them, but he had Jesus whipped and handed him over to be crucified.

²⁷ After that, the governor’s soldiers took Jesus to their headquarters and gathered the whole cohort around him. ²⁸ They stripped him and put a scarlet cloak on him, ²⁹ and they braided a crown from thorn bushes and put it on his head. They put a reed staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him, saying, “Greetings, King of the Judeans!” ³⁰ Then they spat on him and took the reed staff and repeatedly beat him over the head with it. ³¹ After they had mocked him, they stripped the cloak off him, put his clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him.

³² As they were coming out, they encountered a person from Cyrene named Simeon, and they forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. ³³ When they arrived at a place called Golgotha (which means Place of the Skull), ³⁴ they gave him wine mixed with something bitter to drink, and after he tasted it, he refused to drink it. ³⁵ When they had crucified him, they divided his clothes by throwing lots ³⁶ and sat there to guard him. ³⁷ They put the charge against him above his head, which had been written: “This is Jesus, the king of the Judeans.” ³⁸ Then two rebels were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. ³⁹ People who passed by heckled him, shaking their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, “Since you’re going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, restore yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!” ⁴¹ Similarly, the lead priests, along with the Bible scholars and elders, mocked him: ⁴² “He restored others, but he isn’t able to restore himself! He is the king of Israel! Let him come down from the cross now, and we will commit to him! ⁴³ He’s been confident in God, now let God rescue him since he said, ‘I am the Son of God’!” ⁴⁴ Then even the rebels who were crucified with him ridiculed him.

⁴⁵ Darkness fell over all the land from noon until midafternoon. ⁴⁶ Then at around midafternoon, Jesus shouted out with a loud voice, “Eli Eli lemá sabachthani!” which means “My God, My God, why have you deserted me!” ⁴⁷ When some of the people standing there heard it, they said, “This man is calling for Elijah.” ⁴⁸ Immediately, one of them ran and got a sponge filled with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink, ⁴⁹ but the rest said, “Leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah will come restore him!” ⁵⁰ Then yelling with a loud voice, Jesus released the life-breath.

⁵¹ Significantly, the temple curtain split in two pieces from top to bottom, and the land shook, and rocks split apart, ⁵² and the tombs were opened and the bodies of many who had been dedicated to sacred purposes and fell asleep were woken up. ⁵³ (After they came out of the graves, and after Jesus was woken up, they went into the sacred city and were shown to many people.) ⁵⁴ When the Roman officer and the soldiers with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and everything that was happening, they were terrified and said, “This truly was the Son of God!”

⁵⁵ Many women who had followed Jesus from Galilee, helping him, were there watching from a distance. ⁵⁶ Miriam the Tower, Miriam the mother of Jacob and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

⁵⁷ As evening began, a wealthy person from Arimathea named Joseph arrived, and he also had been made a student of Jesus. ⁵⁸ He went to Pilate and requested Jesus’ body, so Pilate ordered it to be discharged to him. ⁵⁹ Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean, linen cloth, ⁶⁰ and placed it in his own new tomb he had carved from the rock. Then after rolling a large stone across the entrance of the tomb, he went away. ⁶¹ (Miriam the Tower and the other Miriam were sitting there within sight of the grave.)

⁶² The next day (which is after the day of preparation), the lead priests and Pharisees gathered and approached Pilate ⁶³ and said, “Lord, we remembered that while he was still alive, that deceiver said, ‘I will be woken up after three days,’ ⁶⁴ so give orders to secure the tomb until the third day, otherwise his students may come and steal his body and tell the people, ‘He was woken up from among the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.”

⁶⁵ “You may have a guard of soldiers,” Pilate said to them, “Go secure it how you envision it.” ⁶⁶ So they went over and secured the tomb, sealing the stone with the guard.

¹ After Shabbat, at sunrise on the first day of the week, Miriam the Tower and the other Miriam went to see the tomb. ² Suddenly, there was an intense earthquake because the Lord’s messenger descended from the heavens and, after going to the stone and rolling it away, sat down on it. ³ Their appearance was like lightning, and their clothing was white as snow. ⁴ The people keeping watch were shaken by terror of them and went as rigid as corpses.

⁵ However, the messenger responded to the women, “Don’t be scared. I know you’re looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶ He’s not here because he’s been raised up, just as he said. Come and see the place where he was lying. ⁷ So go quickly and tell his students that he was raised up from among the dead. Note this: he’s going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Pay attention to what I’ve told you.”

⁸ They left the tomb quickly, scared and overjoyed, and ran to bring the message to his students, ⁹ and—incredibly—Jesus met up with them, and said, “Hello!” Going up to him, they grabbed his feet and bowed down to him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be scared. Go and bring the message to my family so they’ll go to Galilee and see me there.”

¹¹ While they were on their way—notably—some of the soldiers of the guard went to the city bringing a message to the lead priests about everything that had happened. ¹² After the lead priests met with the elders to make a plan, both groups gave a lot of money to the soldiers, ¹³ telling them, “Say that his students came in the night and stole him while you were asleep. ¹⁴ If there is a hearing about this in front of the governor, we will persuade him and make it so you don’t have to worry.” ¹⁵ So they took the money and did as they were instructed, and this is the explanation spread among the Judeans to this day.

¹⁶ Meanwhile, the Eleven students traveled to Galilee, to the hill where Jesus had arranged for them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they bowed down, but some hesitated. ¹⁸ Jesus went up to them and spoke with them. He said, “All authority throughout the heavens and the earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ So go and train all people groups, immersing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Sacred Life-Breath, ²⁰ teaching them to observe everything that I have directed you. Look, I am with you every day until the completion of the Age.”