The First Disciples

5 Now it happened that while Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret (Sea of Galilee), with the people crowding all around Him and listening to the word of God; ² that He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake, but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. ³ He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little distance from the shore. And He sat down and began teaching the crowds from the boat. ⁴ When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon [Peter], “Put out into the deep water and lower your nets for a catch [of fish].” ⁵ Simon replied, “Master, we worked hard all night [to the point of exhaustion] and caught nothing [in our nets], but at Your word I will [do as you say and] lower the nets [again].” ⁶ When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their nets were [at the point of] breaking; ⁷ so they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats [with fish], so that they began to sink. ⁸ But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” ⁹ For he and all his companions were completely astounded at the catch of fish which they had taken; ¹⁰ and so were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon [Peter]. Jesus said to Simon, “Have no fear; from now on you will be catching men!” ¹¹ After they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and ^[a]followed Him [becoming His disciples, believing and trusting in Him and following His example].

The Leper and the Paralytic

¹² While Jesus was in one of the cities, there came a man covered with [an advanced case of] leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean and well.”^{(A) 13} And Jesus reached out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him. ¹⁴ Jesus ordered him to tell no one [that he might happen to meet], “But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your purification, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony (witness) to them [that this is a work of Messiah].”^{(B) 15} But the news about Him was spreading farther, and large crowds kept gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their illnesses. ¹⁶ But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray [in seclusion].

¹⁷ One day as He was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the Law sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present with Him to heal. ¹⁸ Some men came carrying on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed, and they tried to bring him in and lay him down in front of Jesus.^{(C) 19} But finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the ^[b]roof [and removed some tiles to make an opening] and lowered him through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus. ²⁰ When Jesus saw their [active] faith [springing from confidence in Him], He said, “Man, your sins are forgiven.” ²¹ The scribes and the Pharisees began to consider and question [the implications of what He had said], saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies [by claiming the rights and prerogatives of God]? Who can forgive sins [that is, remove guilt, nullify sin’s penalty, and assign righteousness] except God alone?” ²² But Jesus, knowing their [hostile] thoughts, answered them, “Why are you questioning [these things] in your hearts? ²³ Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ²⁴ But, in order that you may know that the Son of Man (the Messiah) has authority and power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralyzed man, “I say to you, get up, pick up your stretcher and go home.” ²⁵ He immediately stood up before them, picked up his stretcher, and went home glorifying and praising God. ²⁶ They were all astonished, and they began glorifying God; and they were filled with [reverential] fear and kept saying, “We have seen wonderful and incredible things today!”

Call of Levi (Matthew)

²⁷ After this Jesus went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi (Matthew) sitting at the tax booth; and He said to him, “Follow Me [as My disciple, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk].”^{(D) 28} And he left everything behind and got up and began to follow Jesus [as His disciple].

²⁹ Levi (Matthew) gave a great banquet for Him at his house; and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others who were reclining at the table with them. ³⁰ The Pharisees and their scribes [seeing those with whom He was associating] began murmuring in discontent to His disciples, asking, “Why are you eating and drinking with the tax collectors and sinners [including non-observant Jews]?” ³¹ And Jesus replied to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but [only] those who are sick. ³² I did not come to call the [self-proclaimed] righteous [who see no need to repent], but sinners to repentance [to change their old way of thinking, to turn from sin and to seek God and His righteousness].”

³³ Then they said to Him, “The disciples of John [the Baptist] often practice fasting and offer prayers [of special petition], and so do the disciples of the Pharisees; but Yours eat and drink.” ³⁴ Jesus said to them, “Can you make the wedding guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? ³⁵ But days [for mourning] will come when the bridegroom is [forcefully] taken away from them. They will fast in those days.” ³⁶ He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old one; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. ³⁷ And no one puts new wine into old ^[c]wineskins; otherwise the new [fermenting] wine will [expand and] burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. ³⁸ But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. ³⁹ And no one, after drinking old wine, wishes for new; for he says, ‘The old is fine.’”

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

6 One Sabbath while Jesus was passing through fields of standing grain, it happened that His disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them.^{(E) 2} But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what ^[d]is unlawful on the Sabbath?”^{(F) 3} Jesus replied to them, “Have you not even read [in the Scriptures] what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him—^{(G) 4} how he went into the house of God, and took and ate the ^[e]consecrated bread, which is not lawful [for anyone] to eat except the priests alone, and [how he also] gave it to the men who were with him?”^{(H) 5} Jesus was saying to them, “The Son of Man (the Messiah) is Lord [even] of the Sabbath.”

⁶ On another Sabbath He went into the synagogue and taught, and a man was present whose right hand was withered.^{(I) 7} The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely [with malicious intent], to see if He would [actually] heal [someone] on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse Him. ⁸ But He was aware of their thoughts, and He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward.” So he got up and stood there. ⁹ Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you directly: Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it?” ¹⁰ After looking around at them all, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” And he did, and his hand was [fully] restored. ¹¹ But the scribes and Pharisees were filled with senseless rage [and lacked spiritual insight], and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

Choosing the Twelve

¹² Now at this time Jesus went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. ¹³ When day came, He called His disciples and selected twelve of them, whom He also named ^[f]apostles (special messengers, personally chosen representatives):^{(J) 14} Simon, whom He also named Peter, and his brother Andrew; and [the brothers] ^[g]James and John; and Philip, and Bartholomew [also called Nathanael]; ¹⁵ and Matthew (Levi, the tax collector) and Thomas; and ^[h]James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot; ¹⁶ Judas [also called Thaddaeus] the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor [to the Lord].

¹⁷ Then Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a vast multitude of people from all over Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon, ¹⁸ who had come to listen to Him and to be healed of their diseases. Even those who were troubled by unclean spirits (demons) were being healed. ¹⁹ All the people were trying to touch Him, because [healing] power was coming from Him and healing them all.

The Beatitudes

²⁰ And looking toward His disciples, He began ^[i]speaking: “Blessed [spiritually prosperous, happy, to be admired] are you who are poor [in spirit, those devoid of spiritual arrogance, those who regard themselves as insignificant], for the kingdom of God is yours [both now and forever].^{(K) 21} Blessed [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] are you who hunger now [for righteousness, actively seeking right standing with God], for you will be [completely] satisfied. Blessed [forgiven, refreshed by God’s grace] are you who weep now [over your sins and repent], for you will laugh [when the burden of sin is lifted]. ²² Blessed [morally courageous and spiritually alive with life-joy in God’s goodness] are you when people hate you, and exclude you [from their fellowship], and insult you, and scorn your name as evil because of [your association with] the Son of Man. ²³ Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for your reward in heaven is great [absolutely inexhaustible]; for their fathers used to treat the prophets in the same way. ²⁴ But ^[j]woe (judgment is coming) to you who are rich [and place your faith in possessions while remaining spiritually impoverished], for you are [already] receiving your comfort in full [and there is nothing left to be awarded to you]. ²⁵ Woe to you who are well-fed (gorged, satiated) now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now [enjoying a life of self-indulgence], for you will mourn and weep [and deeply long for God]. ²⁶ Woe to you when all the people speak well of you and praise you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.

²⁷ “But I say to you who hear [Me and pay attention to My words]: ^[k]Love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies, [make it a practice to] do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless and show kindness to those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹ Whoever ^[l]strikes you on the cheek, offer him the other one also [simply ignore insignificant insults or losses and do not bother to retaliate—maintain your dignity]. Whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.^{(L) 30} Give to everyone who asks of you. ^[m]Whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. ³¹ Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. ³² If you [only] love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ³³ If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ³⁴ If you lend [money] to those from whom you expect to receive [it back], what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners expecting to receive back the same amount. ³⁵ But love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies, and do good, and lend, ^[n]expecting nothing in return; for your reward will be great (rich, abundant), and you will be sons of the Most High; because He Himself is kind and gracious and good to the ungrateful and the wicked. ³⁶ Be merciful (responsive, compassionate, tender) just as your [heavenly] Father is merciful.

³⁷ “^[o]Do not judge [others self-righteously], and you will not be judged; do not condemn [others when you are guilty and unrepentant], and you will not be condemned [for your hypocrisy]; pardon [others when they truly repent and change], and you will be pardoned [when you truly repent and change].^{(M) 38} Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over [with no space left for more]. For with the standard of measurement you use [when you do good to others], it will be measured to you in return.”

³⁹ He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man guide [another] blind man? Will they not both fall into a hole in the ground? ⁴⁰ A student is not superior to his teacher; but everyone, after he has been completely trained, will be like his teacher. ⁴¹ Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice or consider the log that is in your own eye? ⁴² How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, allow me to take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite (play actor, pretender), first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye. ⁴³ For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit.^{(N) 44} For each tree is known and identified by its own fruit. For figs are not picked from thorn bushes, nor is a cluster of grapes picked from a briar bush. ⁴⁵ The [intrinsically] good man produces what is good and honorable and moral out of the good treasure [stored] in his heart; and the [intrinsically] evil man produces what is wicked and depraved out of the evil [in his heart]; for his mouth speaks from the overflow of his heart.

A Secure Foundation

⁴⁶ “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not practice what I tell you? ⁴⁷ Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and obeys them, I will show you whom he is like:^{(O) 48} he is like a [far-sighted, practical, and sensible] man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and yet could not shake it, because it had been securely built and founded on the rock. ⁴⁹ But the one who has [merely] heard and has not practiced [what I say], is like a [foolish] man who built a house on the ground without any foundation, and the torrent burst against it; and it immediately collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”