Beginning

Jesus Teaches on the Mountain about Saying What Is Wrong in Others

7 “Do not say what is wrong in other people’s lives. Then other people will not say what is wrong in your life. ² You will be guilty of the same things you find in others. When you say what is wrong in others, your words will be used to say what is wrong in you. ³ Why do you look at the small piece of wood in your brother’s eye, and do not see the big piece of wood in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take that small piece of wood out of your eye,’ when there is a big piece of wood in your own eye? ⁵ You who pretend to be someone you are not, first take the big piece of wood out of your own eye. Then you can see better to take the small piece of wood out of your brother’s eye.

⁶ “Do not give that which belongs to God to dogs. Do not throw your pearls in front of pigs. They will break them under their feet. Then they will turn and tear you to pieces.

Jesus Teaches about Prayer

⁷ “Ask, and what you are asking for will be given to you. Look, and what you are looking for you will find. Knock, and the door you are knocking on will be opened to you. ⁸ Everyone who asks receives what he asks for. Everyone who looks finds what he is looking for. Everyone who knocks has the door opened to him. ⁹ What man among you would give his son a stone if he should ask for bread? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, would he give him a snake? ¹¹ You are bad and you know how to give good things to your children. How much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him?

Jesus Teaches about Others

¹² “Do for other people whatever you would like to have them do for you. This is what the Jewish Law and the early preachers said.

Jesus Teaches about Two Roads

¹³ “Go in through the narrow door. The door is wide and the road is easy that leads to hell. Many people are going through that door. ¹⁴ But the door is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life that lasts forever. Few people are finding it.

Jesus Teaches about False Teachers

¹⁵ “Watch out for false teachers. They come to you dressed as if they were sheep. On the inside they are hungry wolves. ¹⁶ You will know them by their fruit. Do men pick grapes from thorns? Do men pick figs from thistles? ¹⁷ It is true, every good tree has good fruit. Every bad tree has bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot have bad fruit. A bad tree cannot have good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not have good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ So you will know them by their fruit. ²¹ Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will go into the holy nation of heaven. The one who does the things My Father in heaven wants him to do will go into the holy nation of heaven. ²² Many people will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not preach in Your Name? Did we not put out demons in Your Name? Did we not do many powerful works in Your Name?’ ²³ Then I will say to them in plain words, ‘I never knew you. Go away from Me, you who do wrong!’

Jesus Teaches about Houses Built on Rock or Sand

²⁴ “Whoever hears these words of Mine and does them, will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. ²⁵ The rain came down. The water came up. The wind blew and hit the house. The house did not fall because it was built on rock. ²⁶ Whoever hears these words of Mine and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down. The water came up. The wind blew and hit the house. The house fell and broke apart.” ²⁸ Then Jesus finished talking. The people were surprised and wondered about His teaching. ²⁹ He was teaching them as One Who has the right and the power to teach. He did not teach as the teachers of the Law.

The Healing of a Man with a Bad Skin Disease ^(A)

8 Jesus came down from the mountain. Many people followed Him. ² A man with a bad skin disease came and got down before Him and worshiped Him. He said, “Lord, if You will, You can heal me!” ³ Then Jesus put His hand on him and said, “I will. You are healed!” At once the man was healed. ⁴ Jesus said to him, “Go now, but tell no one. Let the religious leader see you. Give the gift in worship that Moses told you to give. This will show them you have been healed.” ^(B)

Healing of the Captain’s Servant ^(C)

⁵ Jesus came to the city of Capernaum. A captain of the army came to Him. He asked for help, ⁶ saying, “Lord, my servant is sick in bed. He is not able to move his body. He is in much pain.” ⁷ Jesus said to the captain, “I will come and heal him.” ⁸ The captain said, “Lord, I am not good enough for You to come to my house. Only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ I am a man who works for someone else and I have men working under me. I say to this man, ‘Go!’ and he goes. I say to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

¹⁰ When Jesus heard this, He was surprised and wondered about it. He said to those who followed Him, “For sure, I tell you, I have not found so much faith in the Jewish nation. ¹¹ I say to you, many people will come from the east and from the west. They will sit down with Abraham and with Isaac and with Jacob in the holy nation of heaven. ¹² But those who should have belonged to the holy nation of heaven will be thrown out into outer darkness, where there will be crying and grinding of teeth.” ¹³ Jesus said to the captain, “Go your way. It is done for you even as you had faith to believe.” The servant was healed at that time.

Peter’s Mother-In-Law Healed ^(D)

¹⁴ Jesus came to Peter’s house. He saw Peter’s wife’s mother in bed. She was very sick. ¹⁵ He touched her hand and the sickness left her. She got up and cared for Jesus.

Many People Are Healed ^(E)

¹⁶ That evening they brought to Jesus many people who had demons in them. The demons were put out when Jesus spoke to them. All the sick people were healed. ¹⁷ It happened as the early preacher Isaiah said it would happen. He said, “He took on Himself our sickness and carried away our diseases.” ^(F)

Testing Some Followers ^(G)

¹⁸ Jesus saw many people and told them to go to the other side of the lake. ¹⁹ A teacher of the Law came to Jesus. He said, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” ²⁰ Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes. Birds have nests. But the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”

²¹ Another of His followers said to Him, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” ²² Jesus said to him, “Follow Me. Let the people who are dead bury their own dead.”

The Wind and Waves Obey Jesus ^(H)

²³ Jesus got into a boat. His followers followed Him. ²⁴ At once a bad storm came over the lake. The waves were covering the boat. Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵ His followers went to Him and called, “Help us, Lord, or we will die!” ²⁶ He said to them, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then He stood up. He spoke sharp words to the wind and the waves. Then the wind stopped blowing. ²⁷ Then men were surprised and wondered about it. They said, “What kind of a man is He? Even the winds and the waves obey Him.”

Demons Ask Jesus to Let Them Live in Pigs ^(I)

²⁸ Jesus came to the other side of the lake into the country of the Gadarenes. Two men came to Him from among the graves. They had demons in them and were very wild men. They were so bad that no one would go near them. ²⁹ They called out, saying, “What do You want of us, You Son of God? Have You come here to make us suffer before it is our time to suffer?”

³⁰ A long way from there many pigs were eating. ³¹ The demons begged Jesus, saying, “If You put us out, send us into the pigs.” ³² Jesus said to the demons, “Go!” They came out of the men and went into the pigs. At once the pigs ran down the mountain side. They fell into the water and died.

³³ The men who cared for the pigs ran fast into the city and told everything. They told what happened to the men who had the demons. ³⁴ Every person in the city came to meet Jesus. When they saw Jesus, they asked Him to leave their country.