the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’”

And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.

“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”

No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made.

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain.

But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.

And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.

And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy.

And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word,

But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain,

for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him.

And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.

Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet

And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James.

And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

But others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”

And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.

And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?”

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Herod

Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.

And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread.

And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.”