The Plot to Kill Jesus

26 ^(A)When Jesus had finished all these words, He said to His disciples, ² “^(B)You know that after two days ^(C)the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be ^(D)handed over for crucifixion.”

^3 (E)At that time the chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered together in ^(F)the courtyard of the high priest named ^(G)Caiaphas; ⁴ and they ^(H)plotted together to arrest Jesus covertly and kill Him. ⁵ But they were saying, “Not during the festival, ^(I)otherwise a riot might occur among the people.”

The Precious Ointment

^6 (J)Now when Jesus was in ^(K)Bethany, at the home of Simon ^[a]the Leper, ^7 (L)a woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very expensive perfume, and she poured it on His head as He was reclining at the table. ⁸ But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, “Why this waste? ⁹ For this perfume could have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.” ¹⁰ But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you bothering the woman? For she has done a good deed for Me. ¹¹ For you always have ^(M)the poor with you; but you do not always have Me. ¹² For when she poured this perfume on My body, she did it ^(N)to prepare Me for burial. ¹³ Truly I say to you, ^(O)wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.”

Judas’ Bargain

^14 (P)Then one of the twelve, named ^(Q)Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and said, “What are you willing to give me ^[b]to ^[c](R)betray Him to you?” And ^(S)they set out for him thirty ^[d]pieces of silver. ¹⁶ And from then on he looked for a good opportunity to ^[e]betray ^[f]Jesus.

^17 (T)Now on the first day of ^[g](U)Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and ^[h]asked, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?” ¹⁸ And He said, “Go into the city to ^(V)a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “^(W)My time is near; I am keeping the Passover at your house with My disciples.”’” ¹⁹ The disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.

The Last Passover

^20 (X)Now when evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the ^[i]twelve. ²¹ And as they were eating, He said, “^(Y)Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me.” ²² Being deeply grieved, they began saying to Him, each one: “Surely it is not I, Lord?” ²³ And He answered, “^(Z)He who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me. ²⁴ The Son of Man is going away ^(AA)just as it is written about Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! ^(AB)It would have been good ^[j]for that man if he had not been born.” ²⁵ And ^(AC)Judas, who was betraying Him, said, “Surely it is not I, ^(AD)Rabbi?” Jesus *said to him, “^(AE)You have said it yourself.”

The Lord’s Supper Instituted

^26 (AF)Now while they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and ^[k](AG)after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” ²⁷ And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; ²⁸ for ^(AH)this is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for ^(AI)many for forgiveness of sins. ²⁹ But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it with you, new, in My Father’s kingdom.”

^30 (AJ)And after singing a ^[l]hymn, they went out to ^(AK)the Mount of Olives.

³¹ Then Jesus *said to them, “You will all ^[m](AL)fall away because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘^(AM)I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be ^(AN)scattered.’ ³² But after I have been raised, ^(AO)I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” ³³ But Peter replied to Him, “Even if they all ^[n]fall away because of You, I will never fall away!” ³⁴ Jesus said to him, “^(AP)Truly I say to you that ^(AQ)this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” ³⁵ Peter *said to Him, “^(AR)Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” All the disciples said the same thing as well.

The Garden of Gethsemane

^36 (AS)Then Jesus *came with them to a place called ^[o](AT)Gethsemane, and *told His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷ And He took ^(AU)Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with Him, and began to be grieved and distressed. ³⁸ Then He *said to them, “^(AV)My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and ^(AW)keep watch with Me.”

³⁹ And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let ^(AX)this cup pass from Me; ^(AY)yet not as I will, but as You will.” ⁴⁰ And He *came to the disciples and *found them sleeping, and He *said to Peter, “So, you men could not ^(AZ)keep watch with Me for one hour? ^41 (BA)Keep watching and praying, so that you do not come into temptation; ^(BB)the spirit is ^[p]willing, but the flesh is weak.”

⁴² He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cup ^(BC)cannot pass away unless I drink from it, ^(BD)Your will be done.” ⁴³ Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. ⁴⁵ Then He *came to the disciples and *said to them, “^[q]Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, ^(BE)the hour ^[r]is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Get up, let’s go; behold, the one who is betraying Me is near!”

Jesus’ Betrayal and Arrest

^47 (BF)And while He was still speaking, behold, ^(BG)Judas, one of the twelve, came ^[s]accompanied by a large crowd with swords and clubs, who came from the chief priests and elders of the people. ⁴⁸ Now he who was betraying Him gave them a sign previously, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; arrest Him.” ⁴⁹ And immediately Judas went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, ^(BH)Rabbi!” and kissed Him. ⁵⁰ But Jesus said to him, “^(BI)Friend, do what you have come for.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested Him.

⁵¹ And behold, ^(BJ)one of those who were with Jesus ^[t]reached and drew his ^(BK)sword, and struck the ^(BL)slave of the high priest and ^[u]cut off his ear. ⁵² Then Jesus *said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for ^(BM)all those who take up the sword will perish by the sword. ⁵³ Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve ^[v](BN)legions of ^(BO)angels? ⁵⁴ How then would ^(BP)the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”

⁵⁵ At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would against a man inciting a revolt? ^(BQ)Every day I used to sit within the temple grounds teaching, and you did not arrest Me. ⁵⁶ But all this has taken place so that ^(BR)the Scriptures of the prophets will be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left Him and fled.

Jesus before Caiaphas

^57 (BS)Those who had arrested Jesus led Him away to ^(BT)Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together. ⁵⁸ But ^(BU)Peter was following Him at a distance, as far as the ^(BV)courtyard of the high priest, and he came inside and sat down with the ^[w](BW)officers to see the outcome.

⁵⁹ Now the chief priests and the entire ^[x](BX)Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death. ⁶⁰ They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on ^(BY)two came forward, ⁶¹ and said, “This man stated, ‘^(BZ)I am able to destroy the ^[y]temple of God and to rebuild it ^[z]in three days.’” ⁶² The high priest stood up and said to Him, “Do You offer no answer for what these men are testifying against You?” ⁶³ But ^(CA)Jesus kept silent. ^(CB)And the high priest said to Him, “I ^(CC)place You under oath by ^(CD)the living God, to tell us whether You are the ^[aa]Christ, ^(CE)the Son of God.” ⁶⁴ Jesus *said to him, “^(CF)You have said it yourself. But I tell you, from now on you will see ^(CG)the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and ^(CH)coming on the clouds of heaven.”

⁶⁵ Then the high priest ^(CI)tore his ^[ab]robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? See, you have now heard the blasphemy; ⁶⁶ what do you think?” They answered, “^(CJ)He deserves death!”

^67 (CK)Then they ^(CL)spit in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others ^[ac]slapped Him, ⁶⁸ and said, “^(CM)Prophesy to us, You ^[ad]Christ; who is the one who hit You?”

Peter’s Denials

^69 (CN)Now Peter was sitting outside in the ^(CO)courtyard, and a slave woman came to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.” ⁷⁰ But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.” ⁷¹ When he had gone out to the gateway, another slave woman saw him and *said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” ⁷² And again he denied it, with an oath: “I do not know the man.” ⁷³ A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “You really are one of them as well, ^(CP)since even the way you talk ^[ae]gives you away.” ⁷⁴ Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed. ⁷⁵ And Peter remembered the statement that Jesus had ^[af]made: “^(CQ)Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

Judas’ Remorse

27 ^(CR)Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus to put Him to death; ² and they bound Him and led Him away, and ^(CS)handed Him over to ^(CT)Pilate the governor.

³ Then when ^(CU)Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned ^(CV)the thirty ^[ag]pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, ⁴ saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? ^(CW)You shall see to it yourself!” ⁵ And he threw the pieces of silver into ^(CX)the temple sanctuary and left; and ^(CY)he went away and hanged himself. ⁶ The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put them in the temple treasury, since it is money paid for blood.” ⁷ And they conferred together and ^[ah]with the money bought the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers. ^8 (CZ)For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. ⁹ Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “^(DA)And ^[ai]they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the One whose price had been set by the sons of Israel; ^10 (DB)and ^[aj]they gave them for the Potter’s Field, just as the Lord directed me.”

Jesus before Pilate

^11 (DC)Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, “So You are the ^(DD)King of the Jews?” And Jesus said to him, “^(DE)It is as you say.” ¹² And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, ^(DF)He did not offer any answer. ¹³ Then Pilate *said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they are testifying against You?” ¹⁴ And still ^(DG)He did not answer him in regard to even a single ^[ak]charge, so the governor was greatly amazed.

^15 (DH)Now at the Passover Feast the governor was accustomed to release for the ^[al]people any one prisoner whom they wanted. ¹⁶ And at that time they were holding a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. ¹⁷ So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus ^(DI)who is called Christ?” ¹⁸ For he knew that it was because of envy that ^[am]they had handed Him over.

¹⁹ And ^(DJ)while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “See that you have nothing to do with that ^(DK)righteous Man; for ^[an]last night I suffered greatly ^(DL)in a dream because of Him.” ²⁰ But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ^(DM)ask for Barabbas, and to put Jesus to death. ²¹ And the governor ^[ao]said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” ²² Pilate *said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus ^(DN)who is called Christ?” They all *said, “^[ap]Crucify Him!” ²³ But he said, “Why, what evil has He done?” Yet they kept shouting all the more, saying, “^[aq]Crucify Him!”

²⁴ Now when Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that ^(DO)a riot was starting, he took water and ^(DP)washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of ^(DQ)this Man’s blood; ^(DR)you yourselves shall see.” ²⁵ And all the people replied, “^(DS)His blood shall be on us and on our children!” ²⁶ Then he released Barabbas ^[ar]for them; but after having Jesus ^(DT)flogged, he handed Him over to be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

^27 (DU)Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into ^(DV)the ^[as]Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman ^[at](DW)cohort to Him. ²⁸ And they stripped Him and ^(DX)put a red ^[au]cloak on Him. ^29 (DY)And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and put a ^[av]reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “^(DZ)Hail, King of the Jews!” ³⁰ And ^(EA)they spit on Him, and took the reed and beat Him on the head. ^31 (EB)And after they had mocked Him, they took the cloak off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.

^32 (EC)As they were coming out, they found a man of ^(ED)Cyrene named Simon, ^[aw]whom they compelled to carry His ^[ax]cross.

The Crucifixion

^33 (EE)And when they came to a place called ^(EF)Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, ^34 (EG)they gave Him ^(EH)wine mixed with ^[ay]bile to drink; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink it.

³⁵ And when they had crucified Him, ^(EI)they divided His garments among themselves by casting ^[az]lots. ³⁶ And sitting down, they began to ^(EJ)keep watch over Him there. ³⁷ And above His head they put up the charge against Him ^[ba]which read, “^(EK)THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

³⁸ At that time two ^[bb]rebels *were being crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left. ³⁹ And those passing by were ^[bc]speaking abusively to Him, ^(EL)shaking their heads, ⁴⁰ and saying, “^(EM)You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! ^(EN)If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” ⁴¹ In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, ⁴² “^(EO)He saved others; ^[bd]He cannot save Himself! ^(EP)He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. ^43 (EQ)He has trusted in God; let God rescue Him now, if He ^[be]takes pleasure in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ^44 (ER)And the ^[bf]rebels who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him in the same way.

^45 (ES)Now from the ^[bg]sixth hour darkness ^[bh]fell upon all the land until the ^[bi]ninth hour. ⁴⁶ And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “^(ET)Eli, Eli, lema sabaktanei?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” ⁴⁷ And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, said, “This man is calling for Elijah.” ⁴⁸ And ^(EU)immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. ⁴⁹ But the rest of them said, “^[bj]Let us see if Elijah comes to save Him^[bk].” ⁵⁰ And Jesus ^(EV)cried out again with a loud voice, and gave up His spirit. ^51 (EW)And behold, ^(EX)the ^[bl]veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and ^(EY)the earth shook and the rocks were split. ⁵² Also the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the ^[bm]saints who had ^(EZ)fallen asleep were raised; ⁵³ and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they entered ^(FA)the holy city and appeared to many. ^54 (FB)Now as for the centurion and those who were with him ^(FC)keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw ^(FD)the earthquake and the other things that were happening, they became extremely frightened and said, “Truly this was ^[bn](FE)the Son of God!”

^55 (FF)And many women were there watching from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee while ^(FG)caring for Him. ⁵⁶ Among them were ^(FH)Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and ^(FI)the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Jesus Is Buried

^57 (FJ)Now when it was evening, a rich man from Arimathea came, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. ⁵⁹ And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ⁶⁰ and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut out in the rock; and he rolled ^(FK)a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away. ⁶¹ And ^(FL)Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.

⁶² Now on the next day, that is, the day which is after ^(FM)the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, ⁶³ and they said, “Sir, we remember that when that deceiver was still alive, He said, ‘^(FN)After three days I am rising.’ ⁶⁴ Therefore, give orders for the tomb to be made secure until the third day; otherwise, His disciples may come and steal Him, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” ⁶⁵ Pilate said to them, “You have a ^(FO)guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.” ⁶⁶ And they went and made the tomb secure with ^(FP)the guard, ^(FQ)sealing ^(FR)the stone.

Jesus Is Risen!

28 ^(FS)Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, ^(FT)Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the tomb. ² And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for ^(FU)an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away ^(FV)the stone, and sat upon it. ³ And ^(FW)his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. ⁴ The guards shook from fear of him and became like dead men. ⁵ And the angel said to the women, “^[bo](FX)Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. ⁶ He is not here, for He has risen, ^(FY)just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. ⁷ And go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you ^(FZ)to Galilee. There you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”

⁸ And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to report to His disciples. ⁹ And behold, Jesus met them ^[bp]and said, “^[bq]Rejoice!” And they came up and took hold of His feet, and worshiped Him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus *said to them, “^[br](GA)Do not be afraid; go, bring word to ^(GB)My brothers to leave ^(GC)for Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

¹¹ Now while they were on their way, some of ^(GD)the men from the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. ¹² And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, ¹³ and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him while we were asleep.’ ¹⁴ And if this comes to ^(GE)the governor’s ears, we will appease him and ^[bs]keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵ And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely ^(GF)spread among the Jews and is ^(GG)to this day.

The Great Commission

¹⁶ But the eleven disciples proceeded ^(GH)to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated to them. ¹⁷ And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but ^(GI)some ^[bt]were doubtful. ¹⁸ And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “^(GJ)All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. ^19 [bu](GK)Go, therefore, and ^(GL)make disciples of ^(GM)all the nations, ^(GN)baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to ^[bv]follow all that I commanded you; and behold, ^(GO)I am with you ^[bw]always, to ^(GP)the end of the age.”

Preaching of John the Baptist

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, ^(A)the Son of God,

^2 (B)just as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

⁴ John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, ^[c](E)preaching a baptism of repentance for the ^(F)forgiveness of sins. ⁵ And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. ⁶ John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore ^(G)a leather belt around his waist, and ^[d]his diet was locusts and wild honey. ⁷ And he was ^[e]preaching, saying, “After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to bend down and untie the straps of His sandals. ⁸ I baptized you ^[f]with water; but He will baptize you ^[g]with the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism of Jesus

^9 (H)In those days Jesus ^(I)came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ And immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens ^[h]opening, and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon Him; ¹¹ and a voice came from the heavens: “^(J)You are My beloved Son; in You I ^[i]am well pleased.”

^12 (K)And immediately the Spirit *brought Him out into the wilderness. ¹³ And He was in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by ^(L)Satan; and He was with the wild animals, and the angels were serving Him.

Jesus Preaches in Galilee

^14 (M)Now after John was ^[j]taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, ^[k](N)preaching the gospel of God, ¹⁵ and saying, “^(O)The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God ^[l]is at hand; ^(P)repent and ^[m]believe in the gospel.”

^16 (Q)As He was going along the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will have you become fishers of people.” ¹⁸ Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. ¹⁹ And going on a little farther, He saw ^[n]James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, ^[o]who were also in the boat mending the nets. ²⁰ Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and went away ^[p]to follow Him.

^21 (R)They *went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath Jesus ^(S)entered the synagogue and began to teach. ²² And ^(T)they were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. ²³ Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, ²⁴ saying, “^(U)What ^[q]business do you have with us, Jesus ^[r]of ^(V)Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are: ^(W)the Holy One of God!” ²⁵ And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” ²⁶ After throwing him into convulsions and crying out with a loud voice, the unclean spirit came out of him. ²⁷ And they were all ^(X)amazed, so they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” ²⁸ Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding region of Galilee.

Crowds Healed

^29 (Y)And immediately after they left ^(Z)the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with ^[s]James and John. ³⁰ Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and they immediately *spoke to ^[t]Jesus about her. ³¹ And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she served them.

³² Now ^(AA)when evening came, ^(AB)after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were ^(AC)demon-possessed. ³³ And the whole ^(AD)city had gathered at the door. ³⁴ And He ^(AE)healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew ^[u]who He was.

^35 (AF)And in the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and ^(AG)prayed there for a time. ³⁶ Simon and his companions eagerly searched for Him; ³⁷ and they found Him and *said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” ³⁸ He *said to them, “Let’s go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may also ^[v]preach there; for this is why I came.” ^39 (AH)And He went into their synagogues ^[w]preaching throughout Galilee, and casting out the demons.

^40 (AI)And a man with ^[x]leprosy *came to ^[y]Jesus, imploring Him and ^(AJ)kneeling down, and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” ⁴¹ Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out with His hand and touched him, and *said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” ⁴² And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. ⁴³ And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, ⁴⁴ and He *said to him, “^(AK)See that you say nothing to anyone; but ^(AL)go, show yourself to the priest and ^(AM)offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” ⁴⁵ But he went out and began to ^(AN)proclaim it ^[z]freely and to ^(AO)spread the news around, to such an extent that ^[aa]Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but ^[ab]stayed out in unpopulated areas; and ^(AP)they were coming to Him from everywhere.

The Paralyzed Man Healed

2 When Jesus came back to Capernaum a few days later, it was heard that He was at home. ² And ^(AQ)many were gathered together, so that there was no longer space, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them. ^3 (AR)And some people *came, bringing to Him a man who was ^(AS)paralyzed, carried by four men. ⁴ And when they were unable to ^[ac]get to Him because of the crowd, they ^(AT)removed the roof ^[ad]above Him; and after digging an opening, they let down the pallet on which the ^(AU)paralyzed man was lying. ⁵ And Jesus, seeing their faith, *said to the paralyzed man, “Son, ^(AV)your sins are forgiven.” ⁶ But some of the scribes were sitting there and thinking it over in their hearts, ⁷ “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming! ^(AW)Who can forgive sins except God alone?” ⁸ Immediately Jesus, aware ^[ae]in His spirit that they were thinking that way within themselves, *said to them, “Why are you thinking about these things in your hearts? ⁹ Which is easier, to say to the ^(AX)paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven’; or to say, ‘Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk’? ¹⁰ But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He *said to the paralyzed man, ¹¹ “I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet, and go home.” ¹² And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and ^(AY)were glorifying God, saying, “^(AZ)We have never seen anything like this!”

¹³ And He went out again by the seashore; and ^(BA)all the ^[af]people were coming to Him, and He was teaching them.

Levi (Matthew) Called

^14 (BB)As He passed by, He saw ^[ag](BC)Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax office, and He *said to him, “^(BD)Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.

¹⁵ And it *happened that He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and ^[ah]sinners were ^[ai]dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him. ¹⁶ When ^(BE)the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the ^[aj]sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, “^(BF)Why is He eating with tax collectors and ^[ak]sinners?” ¹⁷ And hearing this, Jesus *said to them, “^(BG)It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

^18 (BH)John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and they *came and *said to Him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” ¹⁹ And Jesus said to them, “While the groom is with them, ^[al]the attendants of the groom cannot fast, can they? As long as they have the groom with them, they cannot fast. ²⁰ But the ^(BI)days will come when the groom is taken away from them, and then they will fast, on that day.

²¹ “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise, ^[am]the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results. ²² And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”

Question of the Sabbath

^23 (BJ)And it happened that He was passing through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way along while ^(BK)picking the heads of grain. ²⁴ The Pharisees were saying to Him, “Look, ^(BL)why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” ²⁵ And He *said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions became hungry; ²⁶ how he entered the house of God in the ^[an]time of ^(BM)Abiathar the high priest, and ate the ^[ao]consecrated bread, which ^(BN)is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?” ²⁷ Jesus said to them, “^(BO)The Sabbath ^[ap]was made ^[aq]for man, and ^(BP)not man ^[ar]for the Sabbath. ²⁸ So the Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath.”