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John the Baptist Prepares the Way
The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God,
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Jesus Announces the Good News
After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.
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“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
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The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.”
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News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.
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Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.
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Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things?
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“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse.
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And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”
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He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.
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for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.
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He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
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For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)
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For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder,
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Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened?
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“It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied.
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“Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.
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Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
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To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
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“Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
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And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
