Bible in 90 Days

Jesus teaches his disciples

5 Jesus saw that crowds of people were following him. So he went up a hill and he sat down there to teach them. His disciples came near to listen to him. ² He began to teach them. This is what he said:

¹¹ Yes, happy are you when people say bad things against you because you believe in me. Or they may hurt you. Or they may say things about you that are not true. ¹² God is preparing many good things for you in heaven. So you should be very happy when people do these bad things to any of you. People did these same things to God's prophets who lived long ago.’

Jesus' disciples are like salt and light

¹³ Jesus said, ‘You are like salt for all people to taste and use. Salt is good. But if it is not salty any more, you cannot make it salty again. People can no longer use it for anything. They just throw it away and they walk on it.

¹⁴ You are like a light for everybody in this world. If people build a city on a hill, then other people can see it easily. ¹⁵ Nobody lights a lamp and then puts it under a pot. He will put the lamp in a high place.^[c] Everybody who is in the house can then see the light from the lamp. ¹⁶ You must be sure that your light shines well. Then you will give light to other people. They will see all the good things that you do.^[d] Then they will praise God, who is your Father in heaven.’

Jesus talks about the Laws that Moses gave to the Jews

¹⁷ Jesus said, ‘You should not think that I have come to destroy God's Law. Also, I have not come to destroy the messages that God's prophets wrote down. No, I have not come to destroy their words. I have come to make what they taught become true. ¹⁸ I tell you this: One day, even the earth and the sky will finish. But while they remain, God's Law will also remain. Nobody can remove even the smallest thing from it. The Law will remain until everything in it has happened.

¹⁹ A person may choose not to obey a rule in God's Law. He may think it is the least important rule. He may also teach other people to think like that. Then God will call him the least important person in the kingdom of heaven. But a person may choose to obey all the rules in God's Law. And he may teach other people to obey them too. Then God will call that person great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ I tell you this: You must always do what is right. You must live in a way that is better than the teachers of God's Law and the Pharisees.^[e] You will never come into the kingdom of heaven if you do not do better than them.’

Jesus teaches about angry people

²¹ Jesus then said, ‘You know the rule that God gave to your ancestors: “You must not kill anyone. Any person who does kill someone will stand in front of a judge.^[f] The judge will punish him because he has done a wrong thing.” ²² But what I now say to you is this: Anybody who is angry with his brother will have to stand in front of a judge. Or someone might call his brother by a bad name. Then he will have to stand in front of the Jewish leaders. They will judge him. But someone may say to his brother, “You are a fool.”^[g] God will judge that person. God may punish him in the fires of hell.

²³ Maybe you go to the temple to give your gift to God. You take it to the altar. But then you remember that your brother is angry with you. ²⁴ You must leave your gift there in front of God's altar. First you must go and find your brother. Tell him that you are sorry. Then you can both become friends with each other again. After that, you can return to the altar and give your gift to God.

²⁵ Also, somebody may say that you have done something wrong against him. He may take you to stand in front of the judge.^[h] You should quickly try to agree with this person. Decide with him how to make things right again. Do this even while you are going with him to the judge. If you do not do that, the judge may agree that you have done a wrong thing. Then he will give you to his officer. His officer will put you in prison. ²⁶ I tell you this: You will remain in prison until you have paid all the money, even the last small coin.’

Jesus teaches people about bad thoughts

²⁷ Jesus then said, ‘You know what God's rule says: “You must not have sex with anyone who is not your husband or your wife.” ²⁸ But what I tell you is this: A man may look at a woman who is not his wife. And he may want to have sex with her. In his thoughts, he has had sex with her, so he has done a wrong thing. ²⁹ If your right eye leads you to do wrong things, then you should take it out. You should throw it away. Yes, you will lose one eye. But it will be much worse if you keep your whole body and God throws you into hell. ³⁰ Also, if your right hand leads you to do wrong things, then you should cut it off. You should throw it away. You will lose one hand. But it will be much worse if you keep your body in one piece and go to hell.’^[i]

Jesus talks about when a man sends his wife away

³¹ ‘God's Law also says: “Any man who wants to send his wife away must give her a letter. This letter must say that they are no longer married.” ³² But what I tell you is this: A man must not send his wife away except for one reason. He may only send her away if she has had sex with another man. If he sends her away for any other reason, he has done a wrong thing. It is like he has caused her to have sex with another man. Also, if a woman has left her husband, another man must not marry her. That is the same as if he had sex with another man's wife.’

Jesus teaches people about promises to God

³³ ‘You also know the rule that God gave to your ancestors: “If you make a promise to God, you must do what you have said.” ³⁴ But what I tell you is this. Do not use any name to make a promise stronger. Do not use the words “by heaven” to make a promise stronger. Heaven is the place where God rules. Do not use the words “by the earth” to make a promise stronger. The earth is the place where God rests his feet. ³⁵ Do not use the words “by Jerusalem” to make a promise stronger. Jerusalem is God's city. He is the great King who rules from there. ³⁶ Do not use the words “by my head” to make a promise. You cannot make the colour of even one of your hairs black or white. ³⁷ Instead, when you make a promise, you should say only “Yes, I will do it.” Or you should say only “No, I will not do it.” If you say anything more than this, what you say is bad.^[j] It comes from Satan.’

Jesus teaches how to love people

³⁸ Jesus then said, ‘You also know that God's Law says: “If somebody destroys your eye, then you should destroy that person's eye. If somebody destroys your tooth, then you should destroy that person's tooth.” ³⁹ But what I tell you is this. If somebody does something bad to you, do not do anything against him.^[k] Somebody may slap you on one side of your face. Then you should also let him slap the other side of your face.

⁴⁰ Maybe somebody wants to take you to the judge. He says that you should give him your shirt. Give the man your shirt, and give him your coat too. ⁴¹ Or a soldier may tell you, “Carry my luggage for one kilometre.” You should do that. Even agree to carry it for two kilometres. ⁴² When people ask you for something, you should give it to them. If they ask you to lend them something, then you should not refuse.

⁴³ You have heard people say, “Love the people who are your friends. But hate those who want to hurt you.” ⁴⁴ What I tell you is this: You should love the people who want to hurt you. If people want to give you pain, pray for them. Pray that God would help them. ⁴⁵ If you live like this, you will show that you really are children of your Father above. God is kind to everyone. He causes the sun to shine on everyone, both good people and bad people. He also causes the rain to fall on everyone, people who obey him and people who do not obey him. ⁴⁶ Do you only love people who love you? God will not give you good things just for doing that. Even the men who take taxes love their friends!^[l]

⁴⁷ If you are only kind to your friends, then you are not doing anything special. Even people who do not believe in God do that. ⁴⁸ So you must be good in every way, as your Father above is good in every way.’

Jesus teaches people how to help poor people

6 Jesus then said to them, ‘You should do good things to help people. But be careful! Do not do this so that other people see you. If you want other people to praise you, your Father in heaven will not praise you.

² When you give something to a poor person, do not tell anyone about it. The hypocrites do this in their meeting places. They also do it in the busy streets of the town. They do this so that other people will praise them. I tell you this. They have already received their gift. God will not give them anything more.^[m]

³ So when you give something to a poor person, keep it a secret from other people. Do not tell anyone. Your left hand will not even know what your right hand does! ⁴ Nobody else will know about the good thing that you have done. But God sees the things that you do secretly. In return, he will give you good things.’

Jesus teaches people how to pray

⁵ ‘Also, you must not pray in the way that the hypocrites pray. They like to stand and pray in their meeting places. They like to do it on the corners of the busy streets.^[n] Then many people will see them and they will praise them. I tell you this. They have already received their gift from people. God will not give them anything more.

⁶ But this is how you should pray. Go to a place in your house where you can be alone. You can shut the door and you can pray to God your Father. He is in that secret place. He sees what you do there. He will give you good things in return. ⁷ When you pray, do not say the same words many times. People who do not believe in God do that. They use many words that mean nothing. They think that when they pray like that, their gods will hear them. ⁸ Do not pray like they do. God your Father already knows what you need. He knows this even before you ask him.

⁹ So this is how you should pray:

¹⁴ Then Jesus said, ‘When other people do wrong things against you, you must forgive them. Then God, your Father in heaven, will also forgive you for the wrong things that you have done. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive other people, then your Father will not forgive you.’

Jesus teaches people about different things

¹⁶ Jesus then said, ‘You may decide to fast for some time.^[o] But do not look sad so that people know you are doing a special thing. Hypocrites want people to see how good they are. They make their faces dirty. Then other people can see that they are fasting. I tell you this: people have praised them and that is the only gift that they will get. ¹⁷ But when you fast for some time, you should wash your face. Make your hair look nice. ¹⁸ Then other people will not know that you are doing a special thing. But God, your Father, will know. You do not see him but he sees what you do secretly. He will give you good things in return.

¹⁹ Do not want to have many valuable things here in the world. Insects or water can destroy those kinds of things. Or people may come into your house and they can rob you of those things. ²⁰ Instead, you should want to have valuable things in heaven. Insects and water cannot destroy anything there. Men cannot rob you of your things there. ²¹ Then you will be thinking a lot about heaven, because that is where you keep your valuable things.^[p]

²² Your eyes are like lamps and your body is like a room. Make sure that your eyes are like a clean lamp, then your whole body will have light. ²³ If your eyes are not good, then your whole body will be in the dark. If the light in you has become dark, you will be living in a very dark place.’^[q]

²⁴ Jesus said, ‘Nobody can work as a slave for two masters at the same time. Maybe he will hate one of the masters, but he will love the other one. Or he will work well for one master, but he will think bad things about the other master. God and money are like different masters. You cannot work for both of them.

²⁵ So I tell you this. You should not worry about how to stay alive. Do not worry about the food and drink that you need. Do not worry about the clothes that you need to wear. Your life is more important than the food that you eat. Your body is more important than your clothes. ²⁶ Think about the wild birds. They do not plant seeds in the ground. They do not cut down plants to eat. They have no buildings to store food. But God, your Father in heaven, gives them food to eat. You are much more valuable than the birds. ²⁷ Even if you always worry about your life, you cannot make it as much as one hour longer!

²⁸ You should not worry about your clothes. Think about how the wild flowers grow. They do not work or make clothes for themselves. ²⁹ But I tell you this. Even one wild flower is more beautiful than King Solomon was. And King Solomon wore the most beautiful clothes. ³⁰ It is God that gives beautiful clothes even to the grass. One day the grass is growing in the field, but the next day people will cut it and burn it.^[r] God will certainly take care of you, much more than he takes care of the grass. You should trust him more than you do!

³¹ So do not worry about these things. Do not always say, “What will we eat?”, or “What will we drink?”, or “What will we wear?” ³² People who do not know God are always trying to get these things. But as for you, your Father in heaven knows that you need them. ³³ Instead, always think about the things that are important in the kingdom of heaven. Always do what God shows you is right. Then he will also give you the things that you need each day. ³⁴ So do not have trouble in your mind about what might happen tomorrow. Tomorrow will have its own problems. It is enough for you to be thinking each day about the problems of that day.’

We should not speak against other people

7 Jesus then said, ‘Do not say to anyone, “You are a bad person.” If you do that, God will say to you, “You are a bad person.” ² God will think about you in the same way that you think about other people. He will use the same rules for you as you use for other people.

³ Perhaps you want to tell your friend about his little mistake. If you want to do that, first remember your own bigger mistakes. ⁴ You are like a person who has a big piece of wood in his eye. But then he says to his friend, “Let me take that little piece of dirt out of your eye for you.” ⁵ Do not be like that person. You think that you are better than your friend. But you are not. First, you must take the big piece of wood out of your own eye. After that, your eyes will see clearly. Then you can take the small piece of dirt out of your friend's eye.^[s]

⁶ Do not give special things that are for God to dogs. The dogs will turn round and attack you. Do not throw valuable things to pigs. The pigs will only stand on them and bury them in the dirt.’^[t]

Jesus teaches his disciples more about God

⁷ Jesus said, ‘Go on asking God for what you need. Then God will give it to you. Go on looking for what you need. Then you will find it. Go on knocking at the door, and God will open it for you. ⁸ Everyone who asks for something will receive it. Everyone who looks for something will find it. God will open the door for everyone who knocks on it.

⁹ Some of you are fathers. If your son asks you for some bread, you would not give him a stone. ¹⁰ If he asks you for a fish, you would not give him a snake. ¹¹ You may be bad, but even you know how to give good things to your children. Your Father in heaven knows much better than you do how to give good things to his children. He will give good things to everyone who asks him.^{[u] 12} So do the good things for other people that you would want them to do for you. That is true in everything you do. That is what God's Law and the messages of God's prophets teach us.’

Jesus teaches people how to get true life

¹³ ‘Go in through the narrow gate to get true life with God. There is a wide gate that is easy to go through. The wide path is easy to travel on. Many people find that wide gate, but it is the way to hell. ¹⁴ It is difficult to go through the small gate. And it is difficult to walk on the narrow road. But when you do go that way, you will get true life. Not many people find that narrow gate.’^[v]

Jesus tells a story about a tree and its fruit

¹⁵ ‘Some people say that they are prophets from God. But their words are false. They seem to be like sheep that are not dangerous. But they are really like hungry wild dogs. What they teach will hurt you.

¹⁶ You will know these people by the way that they live. The things that they do are like their fruit. Grapes do not grow on thorn bushes. Figs do not grow on weeds.^{[w] 17} Good fruit grows on a tree that is good. Bad fruit grows on a tree that is not good. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot make bad fruit. A bad tree cannot make good fruit. ¹⁹ A farmer will cut down any tree that does not make good fruit. He will burn it on a fire. ²⁰ In the same way, look at the way people live. Then you will know what they are really like.

²¹ Some people say to me, “Master, Master!” But not all of them will come into the kingdom of heaven. Only the people who obey God, my Father in heaven, will come in. They do what he wants them to do. ²² On the day when God judges people, many of them will say, “Master, Master! We used your authority and we spoke a message from you. We used your authority and we sent bad spirits out of people. We used your authority to do many powerful things.” ²³ But I will say to these people, “I never knew you. You do not obey God. You are bad. So go away from me.” ’

Jesus tells a story about two men who each built a house

²⁴ Jesus then said, ‘Some people listen to my message and they obey it. Those people are like a wise man who built his house on rock. ²⁵ Then a storm came with a lot of rain and wind. The rivers rose up high. Strong winds blew hard against that house. But the house did not fall down because the man had built it on rock. ²⁶ Other people listen to my message but they do not obey it. Those people are like a fool who built his house on sand. ²⁷ Then a storm came with a lot of rain and wind. The rivers rose up high. Strong winds blew hard against the house. That house fell down. The storm destroyed it completely.’^[x]

²⁸ Jesus finished speaking. The crowds of people were very surprised at the things that he taught them. ²⁹ When Jesus taught them, he showed that he had authority. That was not like the way that the teachers of God's Law taught people.

A man who had a disease of the skin comes to meet Jesus

8 Jesus came down from the hill and a large crowd followed him. ² A man with a bad disease of the skin came to meet him. He went down on his knees in front of Jesus and he said, ‘Sir, if you want, you can make me well again. Please do it.’

³ Jesus put out his hand towards him and he touched him. ‘I do want to help you. Be clean again,’ Jesus said. Immediately, the man's skin was clean again. ⁴ Jesus said to the man, ‘Listen. You must not tell anyone about this. Instead, go and show yourself to the priest. Take a gift to him for God. Moses taught the people what gift to take to God after this kind of disease. This will show everyone that you are now well again.’

An officer in the army believes that Jesus can help him

⁵ Jesus went into Capernaum. An officer in the Roman army came to meet him. He asked Jesus to help him.^{[y] 6} ‘Sir,’ he said, ‘My servant is lying in bed at home. He cannot move his legs and he has a lot of pain.’

⁷ Jesus said to the officer, ‘I will go with you to your house and I will make your servant well again.’

⁸ But the officer answered, ‘Sir, I am not good enough for you to come into my house. Instead, just say that my servant will get better. I know that he will then be well again. ⁹ In my work, someone has authority over me. I also have authority over other soldiers. I say to one soldier, “Go!” and he goes. I say to another one, “Come!” and he comes. I say to my servant, “Do this!” and he does it.’

¹⁰ Jesus heard what the officer said. He was very surprised. He spoke to the crowd that was following him. ‘I tell you this: I have never found anyone like this man in all of Israel. Nobody else believes in me as well as he does. ¹¹ I tell you, many people will come from all over the world to take their place in the kingdom of heaven. There they will sit down to eat with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. ¹² But other people who think that God's kingdom belongs to them will not be there. God's angels will throw them into the dark places that are far away from God. There those people will weep very much. They will bite their teeth together.’^[z]

¹³ Then Jesus said to the officer, ‘Go home. You believed that I would make your servant well again. So I will do it for you.’ At that moment, the servant did become well again.

Jesus makes many people well

¹⁴ Jesus went into Peter's house. There, he saw the mother of Peter's wife. She was lying in bed. She was ill and her body was very hot. ¹⁵ Jesus touched her hand and immediately she was well again. So she got up and she prepared food for Jesus.

¹⁶ That evening, people brought to Jesus many people who were ill. Many of them had bad spirits in them. Jesus spoke a word so that the bad spirits left them. He made everybody who was ill well again. ¹⁷ Jesus did this so that the words of the prophet Isaiah would become true:

¹⁸ One day, Jesus saw a large crowd of people around him. So he told his disciples, ‘We should go across the lake to the other side.’ ¹⁹ A teacher of God's Law came to Jesus and said to him, ‘Teacher, I will go with you everywhere that you go.’ ²⁰ Jesus replied, ‘Wild animals and birds have their own places to live. But I, the Son of Man, have no place of my own to lie down and rest.’

²¹ Another man who was one of Jesus' disciples said to him, ‘Sir, I want to come with you. But first, let me go home and bury my father. Then I will come with you.’ ²² Jesus said to him, ‘No! You must come with me now. Let those people who are dead themselves bury their own dead people.’^[aa]

Jesus stops a storm

²³ Then Jesus got into a boat. His disciples also went with him. ²⁴ Immediately a great storm began to blow across the lake. Water began to go into the boat and fill it. Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵ The disciples went to him and they woke him. ‘Master, save us!’ they said. ‘We will die here in the water!’ ²⁶ Jesus said to them, ‘You should not be so afraid. You should trust me more than you do!’ Then he stood up and he spoke strongly to the wind and the water. ‘Stop!’ he said. Then the wind and the water became quiet again.

²⁷ The disciples were very surprised. They asked each other, ‘What kind of man is this? Even the wind and the water obey him!’

Jesus makes two men well again

²⁸ Jesus arrived at the other side of Lake Galilee. He came to a place where the Gadarene people lived.^[ab] Two men who had bad spirits in them came to meet him. These men lived outside, among some graves. They were very strong and dangerous. People were too afraid to walk that way because of them. ²⁹ When the two men saw Jesus, they immediately shouted at him, ‘You are the Son of God! What are you doing here? Have you come to punish us before the right time comes?’^[ac]

³⁰ A large group of pigs was eating there, not very far away. ³¹ The bad spirits said to Jesus, ‘If you make us leave these men, please send us to those pigs. Let us go into them.’ ³² Jesus said to the bad spirits, ‘Go!’ So the bad spirits came out of the men and they went into the pigs. All the pigs rushed together down the hill into the lake. They all died there in the water. ³³ When this happened, the men who took care of the pigs ran away. They went into the town. They told people there everything that had happened to the men with the bad spirits in them. ³⁴ So everybody came out of the town to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they said, ‘Please go away. Leave our part of the country.’

Jesus helps a man who cannot walk

9 Then Jesus got back into the boat. He sailed across to the other side of the lake again. He went to Capernaum, the town where he was living.

² Some men came to see Jesus there. They carried with them a man who could not walk or move his legs. He was lying on a mat. Jesus knew that they believed in him. He said to the man who could not walk, ‘Do not be afraid, my friend. I forgive you for the wrong things that you have done.’

³ Then some teachers of God's Law said to themselves: ‘This man is speaking as if he is God. That is not right.’

⁴ Jesus knew what the teachers were thinking. So he said to them, ‘You should not think these bad things in your minds. ⁵ I said to this man, “I forgive you for the wrong things that you have done.” Instead, I could have said to him, “Stand up and walk.” Which one is easier for me to say? ⁶ But I want you to know this. I, the Son of Man, have authority on earth.^[ad] I can forgive people for the wrong things that they have done.’ Then he said to the man who could not walk, ‘Stand up. Pick up your mat and go home.’ ⁷ So then the man stood up and he went home. ⁸ The crowds of people saw what had happened. They were very surprised and afraid. They saw that God had given so much authority to men. So they praised God and they said, ‘God is great!’

Jesus asks Matthew to come with him

⁹ Jesus went away from that place. While he walked, he saw a man called Matthew. Matthew's job was to take taxes from people. He was sitting in his office. Jesus said to him, ‘Come with me and be my disciple.’ So Matthew stood up and he went with Jesus.

¹⁰ Later, Jesus went to eat a meal in Matthew's house. Many bad people and men who took taxes also came to the house.^[ae] They came to eat there with Jesus and his disciples.

¹¹ Some Pharisees saw what was happening. They said to Jesus' disciples, ‘Your teacher is eating a meal with these bad people. That is not right. They are people who do not obey God, and some of them take taxes from people.’

¹² Jesus heard what the Pharisees were saying. He said to them, ‘People who are well do not need a doctor. It is people who are ill that need a doctor. ¹³ Go and study what it says in the Bible. God says there, “I want people to be kind to each other. I do not want them only to offer sacrifices to me.” Some people think that they always obey God. I did not come to help people like that. Some people know that they have done wrong things. I am asking those people to come to me for help.’

¹⁴ Then the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus. They said to him, ‘We often decide to fast for a time. The disciples of the Pharisees also do that. Why do your disciples never do that?’^[af]

¹⁵ Jesus answered them: ‘When a man marries, his friends cannot be sad. They cannot refuse to eat food while he is with them. But there will be a time when people will take the man away from his friends. At that time his friends will choose to fast.’^[ag]

¹⁶ Then Jesus said, ‘Nobody uses a piece of new cloth to mend an old coat. If he does, the new cloth will cause the old cloth to tear again. It will make a bigger hole than before.

¹⁷ Nobody pours new wine into old wineskins.^[ah] If he does that, the new wine will tear the old wineskins. He will lose the wine and the wineskins will spoil. Instead, you must put new wine into new wineskins. Then there will be nothing to spoil the wine or the wineskins.’^[ai]

Jesus causes a dead girl to become alive again

¹⁸ While Jesus was saying these things to the people, a leader at the Jewish meeting place came to him. The man went down on his knees in front of Jesus and said to him, ‘My daughter has just died. Come to my house. Put your hand on her and then she will live again.’ ¹⁹ So Jesus went with the man. His disciples also went with them.

²⁰ There was a sick woman in the crowd. She had been losing blood for 12 years. She came near to Jesus, behind him. She touched the edge of his coat. ²¹ The woman thought, ‘Even if I only touch his coat, I will become well again.’

²² Jesus turned round and he saw the woman. He said to her, ‘Young woman, do not be afraid. You are now well again because you believed in me.’ And immediately the woman became well again.

²³ Then Jesus arrived at the Jewish leader's house. Some people there were making sad music and the crowd was making a loud noise.^[aj]

²⁴ When Jesus saw this, he said to everybody in the house, ‘Go outside. This girl is not dead. She is only sleeping.’ The people laughed at Jesus when he said that. ²⁵ The family sent all the people out of the house. Jesus went inside and he held the girl's hand. Immediately she stood up. ²⁶ People in all that part of the country heard about what had happened.

Jesus causes two blind men to see again

²⁷ Jesus left the house. While he walked along, two blind men began to follow him. They were shouting out to him, ‘Son of David! Please be kind to us and help us!’^[ak]

²⁸ Jesus went into a house and the blind men came to him there. Jesus asked them, ‘Do you believe that I can make your eyes become well?’ The men replied, ‘Yes, Master, we believe that you can do this.’

²⁹ So Jesus touched the men's eyes. He said to them, ‘Because you believed in me, you will now see again.’ ³⁰ Then immediately the men could see again. Jesus said strongly to them, ‘You must not tell anyone about this.’ ³¹ So the men went away. But they told everybody in that part of the country all about what Jesus had done for them.

Jesus causes a man to speak again

³² While those two men were leaving, some people brought another man to Jesus. This man could not speak because of a bad spirit in him. ³³ Jesus made the bad spirit go out of the man and leave him. Then the man began to speak again. Everybody there was very surprised. They said, ‘Nobody has seen anything like this happen in Israel before.’

³⁴ But the Pharisees said, ‘This man can send bad spirits out of people because Satan gives him authority. Satan is the one who rules the bad spirits.’

Jesus wants God to send out more disciples

³⁵ Jesus went to visit all the towns and villages near there. He taught the people in the Jewish meeting places. He told them the good news about God's kingdom. He also caused sick people to become well again from all their different pains and illnesses.

³⁶ When Jesus saw the crowds of people, he felt sorry for them. They had trouble in their minds. They had nobody to help them. Jesus thought, ‘These people are like sheep that have nobody to take care of them.’ ³⁷ Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Many people are ready to believe God's message. They are like crops in the fields at harvest time. But there are very few workers to bring in the crops. ³⁸ So pray to God to send out workers. The field and the crops belong to him.’^[al]

Jesus chooses 12 men to be his apostles^[am]

10 One day, Jesus asked his 12 disciples to come to him. He gave them authority over bad spirits so that they could send the spirits out of people. They could also make sick people well again from every kind of illness.

² These are the names of the 12 apostles:

⁴ There was also Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who later gave Jesus to his enemies.^[aq]

Jesus sends out his 12 apostles

⁵ Jesus sent out these 12 disciples. Before they left, he said to them, ‘Do not go to any place where the people are Gentiles. And do not go to towns where only Samaritans live.^{[ar] 6} Instead, you must go to the people of Israel. They are like lost sheep with nobody to take care of them. ⁷ While you travel, you must tell people about the kingdom of heaven. You must tell them that it has now become near. ⁸ Make sick people well again. Cause dead people to become alive again. If people have a bad disease of the skin, make them well again. Send bad spirits out of people to leave them. God has been very kind to you, so you should be kind to other people. When you help people, do not ask them for money. ⁹ Do not take any money in your purses. ¹⁰ Do not take a bag with you, or extra clothes. Do not take extra shoes or a stick. You are working to help people. So people should give you what you need to live.

¹¹ When you arrive in a town or a village, look for a good person there. Continue to stay in that person's house until you leave there. ¹² When you go into the house, say to the people there, “We pray that you will be well.” ¹³ If the people of that house accept you, then everyone in the house will be well. But if they do not accept you, then take back your kind words. ¹⁴ Sometimes you will go to some house or town and the people will not accept you there. They will not listen to your message. Then you should leave. Clean the dirt of that place off your feet. ¹⁵ I tell you this: One day God will punish people like that. God will punish them even more than the people who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah long ago.’^[as]

¹⁶ Jesus then said to his disciples, ‘Listen well. I am sending you to people who will want to kill you. You will be like sheep among wild animals. You must watch carefully, like snakes do. But you must also be good and kind like doves.

¹⁷ Be careful! People will be against you. They will take you to stand in front of their leaders. They will punish you with whips in their meeting places. ¹⁸ They will take you to stand in front of kings and rulers. All this will happen because you are my disciples. You will tell all these important people and also the Gentiles the good news about me. ¹⁹ When they take you to stand in front of their leaders, do not be afraid. Do not worry about what you should say or how you should say it. At that time, God will give you the right words to speak. ²⁰ You will not be speaking your own words. The Holy Spirit of your Father God will give you his own words to say.

²¹ At that time, a man will let people kill his own brother. A father will let people kill his own child. Children will be against their parents. They will even ask people to kill their parents. ²² All people will hate you because you are my disciples. But God will save the person who remains strong until the end. ²³ If people in any town hurt you because of me, you should leave that town immediately. Go to another town. I tell you this: You will not have enough time to speak your message in all the towns of Israel. I, the Son of Man, will return before that can happen.

²⁴ A student is not more important than his teacher is. A servant is not more important than his master is. ²⁵ A student should be happy if he becomes like his teacher. A servant should be happy if he becomes like his master. People have called me, the master of the house, Beelzebul. You are like those people who live in my house. So do not be surprised when people call you even worse names than they call me.

²⁶ So do not be afraid of these people. They hide the things that they do. But there will be a time when other people will see those things. Everyone will know all their secrets. ²⁷ I tell you things secretly, like people do in the dark. But you must tell people these things clearly in the light of day. I have said things very quietly into your ears. But now you must shout those things loudly from the tops of the houses.^[at]

²⁸ Do not be afraid of those people who can kill only your body. These people cannot kill your soul. No, it is God that you should be afraid of. He can kill your body, and then he can also destroy your soul in hell. ²⁹ Think about this. People sell two birds for just one small coin. But God takes care of these little birds. Not one of them can fall to the ground unless God lets it happen. ³⁰ God even knows how many hairs there are on your head. ³¹ So do not be afraid of those people who are against you. You are more valuable to God than many little birds.

³² You should say clearly to other people, “I believe in Jesus.” If you do that, I will say to my Father in heaven, “This is someone who is my disciple.” ³³ But if you say to other people, “I do not believe in Jesus,” I will then say to my Father in heaven, “I do not know that person. He is not one of my disciples.”

³⁴ I will tell you why I have come into the world. I did not come so that everyone would agree with each other. No, I came to put people against one another, to fight against each other.^[au]

³⁷ Nobody should love his own father and mother more than he loves me. If he does, he cannot be my disciple. Nobody should love his own son or daughter more than he loves me. If he does, then he cannot be my disciple. ³⁸ If you really want to be one of my disciples, you must be ready to die for me. Live like a person who carries his own cross to go and die. ³⁹ Whoever wants to keep his life safe will lose it. But whoever gives his life to serve me will have true life.’

Jesus teaches about God's gifts

⁴⁰ Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone accepts you in his home, then he is also accepting me. And anyone who accepts me, also accepts my Father God, who sent me. ⁴¹ Somebody may accept a prophet into his home because the visitor is a prophet of God. God will bless that person like he blesses a prophet. Or he may accept a good man who obeys God, because the man is good. God will bless that person like he blesses the good man. ⁴² People may think that my disciples are unimportant. But God will bless anyone who gives even a drink of cold water to one of them. I tell you, that person will never lose God's help.’

Jesus talks about John the Baptist

11 Jesus taught all these things to his 12 disciples. After he had finished, he went away from that place. He went to the towns near there to teach his message to people.

² At that time, John the Baptist was in prison. But people told him about all the things that Jesus the Messiah was doing. So John sent some of his own disciples to ask Jesus some questions.^{[aw] 3} They said to him, ‘John the Baptist wants to know this: Are you the special person that God has promised to send to us? If not, should we still look for someone else?’

⁴ Jesus replied, ‘Go back to John. Tell him what you have been hearing. Also, tell him what you have been seeing. ⁵ Blind people can now see again. People who could not walk can now walk again. People who had a bad disease of the skin are now well again. Deaf people can now hear again. People who had died now live again. Poor people are hearing God's good news. ⁶ If anyone believes in me and does not turn away, he will be really happy.’

⁷ John's disciples went away again. Jesus spoke to the crowd about John. He said to them, ‘You went out to the wilderness. What did you go there to see? Was it a tall piece of grass which the wind was blowing this way and that? No, you did not go to see that. ⁸ Did you go to see a man who was wearing expensive clothes? No! People like that do not live in the wilderness. They live in kings' great houses. ⁹ So what did you go to see? Did you go to see a prophet sent by God? Yes! But I tell you, John was even more important than a prophet. ¹⁰ This is what someone wrote about him a long time ago in the Bible. God said:

¹¹ Jesus then said, ‘I tell you this: John the Baptist is greater than any person who has ever lived until now. But now, anyone who belongs in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John. Even the least important of them is greater than he is.^{[ay] 12} From the time that John the Baptist began to teach until now, the kingdom of heaven is becoming very strong. Strong people are trying very much to attack it. ¹³ All the prophets and the books of the Law spoke God's message until the time that John the Baptist came. ¹⁴ The prophets wrote about Elijah. They said he would come again, to prepare for the Messiah. They were writing about John, and you should believe their message. ¹⁵ You have ears, so listen well to what I say!’

¹⁶ Jesus said, ‘I will talk to you about the people who are alive today. They are like children who are sitting in the market place. They are playing games and they shout to other children,

¹⁸ People today are like those children. John the Baptist did not eat ordinary food. He never drank wine. So people say that he has a bad spirit in him. ¹⁹ Then I, the Son of Man, came. I eat meals with other people and I drink wine. So people say about me, “Look at him! He eats too much and he drinks too much. He is a friend of bad people and men who take taxes from people.” God is wise. The good things that he does show that he is right.’^[az]

²⁰ In some of the cities Jesus had done many powerful things. But some people in those cities did not want to stop doing wrong things. They did not want to change how they lived. So Jesus spoke against those people. ²¹ He said to them, ‘You people in Chorazin, it will be very bad for you! And it will be very bad for you, people in Bethsaida. I have done great and powerful things in your cities. If I had done such great things in Tyre and in Sidon, the people there would have changed how they lived. They would have shown they were sorry for their sins. They would have put on clothes made from goat's hair. They would also have put ashes on their heads. ²² Yes, when God judges everyone, he will punish the people from Tyre and Sidon. But he will punish much more you people from Chorazin and Bethsaida. ²³ And what will happen to you people in Capernaum? You think that God will lift you up to heaven, do you? No! He will throw you down to Hades, the place for dead people. I did powerful things in your town. If I had done these powerful things in Sodom, it would still be there today. ²⁴ I tell you this. When God judges everyone, he will punish the people from Sodom. But he will punish you people much more!’^[ba]

²⁵ At this moment, Jesus said, ‘Father, you rule over everything in heaven and on the earth! People who do not know many things can now understand your message. And so I thank you. But you have hidden these things from some other people. Those people think that they understand everything. They think that they are wise. ²⁶ Yes, Father, this is how you wanted it to happen.

²⁷ My Father has given me authority over all things. Only the Father really knows me, his Son. Only I really know my Father, because I am his Son. I also choose to tell some people about him. Then they also know him.

²⁸ Come to me all of you who are tired. You are like people who have worked for a long time. You are like people who have carried heavy things. Come to me. If you do that, you will find a place to rest. ²⁹ Do what I teach you to do. Listen to my message and learn from me what is true. I am very kind and I do not make myself important. I will help you. Then you will have peace in your mind. ³⁰ I will not tell you to do things that are too difficult. I will not tell you to carry anything that is too heavy for you.’

The Pharisees watch what Jesus does on the day of rest

12 On a Jewish day of rest, Jesus was walking through some fields where wheat was growing. His disciples were hungry. So they began to pick some of the grains of wheat. They began to eat them. ² While the disciples were picking the grains, some Pharisees saw them. They said to Jesus, ‘Look at what your disciples are doing! It is against God's Law to do that on our day of rest.’

³ Jesus replied, ‘You have certainly read about what David did one day. He and the men who were with him were hungry. ⁴ David went into the temple. He ate the special bread that was there. He also gave some of it to his men to eat as well. But it is against God's Law for anyone except the priests to eat that special bread.^[bb]

⁵ Also, you certainly know what God's Law says about the priests. They work in the temple, even on the day of rest. They have not obeyed the Law about the day of rest. But God's Law tells us that they have not done anything that is wrong. ⁶ But I tell you this. There is someone here now who has greater authority even than the temple. ⁷ You should understand what the Bible teaches. God says there, “I want people to be kind to each other. I do not just want them to offer sacrifices to me.” If you had understood this, then you would not have said to me, “Your disciples are doing something wrong.” ⁸ The Son of Man has authority over the Law about the day of rest.’

⁹ Then Jesus left that place. He went into the Jewish meeting place. ¹⁰ A man was there. His hand was very small and weak, so he could not use it. Some Pharisees asked Jesus, ‘Is it right to make someone well again on our day of rest?’ They wanted to find a reason to say that Jesus was doing wrong things.

¹¹ Jesus said to them, ‘Maybe one of you has a sheep that falls into a deep hole on our day of rest. What will you do? You will take hold of it and you will lift it out of the hole. ¹² You know that a man is much more valuable than a sheep. So it is right for us to do good things on our day of rest.’

¹³ Then Jesus said to the man with the weak hand, ‘Lift up your hand.’ So the man lifted up his hand and it became well again. It was now as strong as his other hand. ¹⁴ Then the Pharisees went out from the meeting place. They began to talk to each other about how they could kill Jesus.

God chose Jesus to do an important job

¹⁵ Jesus knew that the Pharisees wanted to kill him. So he went away from that place. A large crowd of people followed him. He made all the sick people become well again. ¹⁶ He said to these people, ‘You must not tell anyone about me.’ ¹⁷ This happened so that what the prophet Isaiah had spoken long ago became true. Isaiah wrote what God said:

Jesus talks about Satan

²² After that, some people brought a man to Jesus. The man had a bad spirit in him. Because of this, he was blind and he could not speak. Jesus caused the man to become well again. The man could speak again and he could see. ²³ When Jesus did this, all the people were very surprised. They asked each other, ‘Maybe this man is the Son of David that God will send to us. Could that be true?’

²⁴ The Pharisees also heard about what had happened. They said, ‘This man can send bad spirits out of people only because Beelzebul gives him authority.^[bc] That is Satan, the one who rules all the bad spirits.’

²⁵ Jesus knew what the Pharisees were thinking. So he said to them, ‘If armies in a country fight each other, then they will destroy their own country. If people in one city or in one family fight each other, then they will destroy their own city or family. ²⁶ So Satan would not try to destroy himself. If Satan fights against himself, that would be the end of his own kingdom. ²⁷ Some of your disciples can also send bad spirits out of people. You would not say that it is Satan's power that helps them. So your own disciples show that you are wrong about this. ²⁸ I do send bad spirits out of people. I use the authority of God's Holy Spirit to do this. This shows that God has come to rule among you.

²⁹ Nobody can go easily into the house of a strong man to rob him. To do that, he must first tie up the strong man. Then he can take away all that man's valuable things.^[bd]

³⁰ If someone does not agree to help me, he is working against me. You should work with me to bring people to me for help. If you do not do that, you are really making people run away from me. ³¹ God is able to forgive all the wrong things that people do, and the bad things that they say against other people. But God will never forgive people who say bad things against the Holy Spirit. ³² God will forgive people who say bad things against me, the Son of Man. But God will never forgive people who say bad things against the Holy Spirit.’ He will not forgive them now or ever.^[be]

Jesus talks about a tree and its fruit

³³ Then Jesus said, ‘To have good fruit you must have a good tree. If you have a bad tree, then you will get bad fruit from it. You can know all about a tree by the kind of fruit that it makes. ³⁴ You are like the children of dangerous snakes. You cannot say good things when your thoughts are bad. When you speak, your words show what is in your mind. ³⁵ It is like things that you bring out of a room where you keep them. The good man says good things because he keeps good thoughts in his mind. The bad man says bad things because he keeps bad thoughts in his mind. ³⁶ I tell you this: One day, God will judge everybody. On that day, he will ask you about every useless word that you have spoken. ³⁷ God will think about the words that you have spoken. Then he will decide whether to let you go free or to punish you.’

The Pharisees want to see Jesus do something powerful

³⁸ Then some teachers of God's Law and some Pharisees said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, we want to see you do something powerful. This will show us that God has really sent you.’

³⁹ Jesus replied, ‘The people who are alive today are very bad. They do not obey God, but they want God to show them something powerful. But God will not do this for them. They will only see the same powerful thing that God did for his prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰ Jonah stayed inside a big fish for three days and three nights.^[bf] In the same way, the Son of Man will remain in the ground for three days and three nights. ⁴¹ When God judges everyone, the people who lived in Nineveh will be there. They will stand up and they will speak against you. They will show that the people who are alive today are bad. When Jonah spoke to the people in Nineveh long ago, they stopped doing bad things. But look! There is someone here now who is greater than Jonah was.

⁴² Also, the Queen of Sheba travelled a long way to meet King Solomon. She wanted to hear his wise words. When God judges everyone, she will stand up. She will speak against you who are alive today. She will show that you are bad people. She listened to King Solomon. But look! There is someone here now who is greater than Solomon was. But you are not listening to me.’^[bg]

⁴³ Jesus then said, ‘When a bad spirit leaves a person, it travels through dry places. It looks for a new place to live. But maybe it does not find anywhere. ⁴⁴ So it says to itself, “I will return to the place where I lived before.” Then it goes back to that person. It finds that the place is empty. Everything there is now good and clean. ⁴⁵ So the bad spirit goes out and it brings back seven other spirits. They are even worse than itself. They all go into the person and they live there. Now the person's life is even worse than it was before. The same thing will happen to you bad people who are alive today.’^[bh]

Jesus speaks about his family

⁴⁶ While Jesus was still speaking to the crowd of people, his mother and his brothers arrived. They stood outside the house. They wanted to speak to Jesus. ⁴⁷ Someone told him, ‘Look! Your mother and brothers are standing outside. They want to speak to you.’

⁴⁸ Jesus replied, ‘I will tell you who my mother and my brothers really are.’ ⁴⁹ Then he pointed to his disciples. He said, ‘Look! Here are my mother and my brothers. ⁵⁰ My brothers and sisters and my mother are those people who do what my Father in heaven wants.’^[bi]

Jesus tells a story about a farmer who planted seeds

13 On that same day, Jesus left the house and he went to Lake Galilee. He sat down near the edge of the lake to teach people. ² The crowd that came to listen to him was very large. So he went and sat in a boat that was on the water. The big crowd of people stood on the shore. ³ Jesus used stories to teach them many things. He said to them: ‘Listen to me! A farmer went out to plant seeds in his field. ⁴ While he was throwing the seeds, some of them fell on the path. The birds came and they ate those seeds. ⁵ Other seeds fell on ground which had rocks. There was not much soil in that place. The seeds quickly began to grow, because the soil was not deep. ⁶ But when the sun rose, it burned the young plants. They soon died because they had not grown down well into the soil. ⁷ Some other seeds fell among thorn bushes. Those bushes grew up with the young plants. They stopped the seeds from growing into strong plants. ⁸ But some seeds fell on good soil and strong plants grew from those seeds. Some plants made 100 new seeds. Some plants made 60 new seeds and some plants made 30 new seeds.’ ⁹ Then Jesus said to the crowd, ‘You have ears, so listen well to what I say!’

Jesus explains to his disciples why he teaches with stories

¹⁰ Then Jesus' disciples came to him. They asked him, ‘Why do you use stories to speak to the crowd?’

¹¹ Jesus replied, ‘God has let you know what these stories mean. You understand how God rules in the lives of his people. But these other people do not understand what the stories mean. ¹² A person who has received some things will receive even more. He will have lots of good things. Some other people have nothing. Those people will lose even the little bit that they do have. ¹³ The reason I use stories to talk to other people is this:

¹⁴ Long ago, the prophet Isaiah spoke a message from God about those people.^[bk] Now it has become true. God said:

¹⁵ These people do not really want to understand.

¹⁶ Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘But as for you, be happy because God has helped you to see. He has helped you to hear and understand his message. ¹⁷ I tell you this: Many prophets and good people from a long time ago wanted to see these things. But they did not see the things that you are seeing. They wanted to hear the message that you are hearing. But they did not hear it.’

Jesus explains the story about the farmer who planted his seeds

¹⁸ Jesus then said, ‘Listen to me now. I will tell you what this story about the farmer means. ¹⁹ Some people hear the message about God's kingdom but they do not understand it. Satan comes and he quickly takes the message away from their minds. The seeds that fell on the path show what those people are like. ²⁰ Other seeds fell on soil with rocks in it. This is like some people who hear God's message. These people are happy to believe it for a time. ²¹ But they are like plants that have not grown down well into the soil. So they only believe for a short time. They may have problems. Or other people may do bad things to them, because they obey God's message. When that happens, these people soon stop believing. ²² Some seeds fell among thorn bushes. This is like people who hear the message from God. But they have many troubles in their minds. They want to get more money and more things. They think that this will make them happy. So they do not let God's message change them. They are like plants that do not grow well and make new seeds. ²³ But some seeds fell on good soil. This is like other people who hear the message from God and they understand it. These people are like good plants that grow well. From one seed, some good plants make 100 new seeds. Other good plants make 60 new seeds, and some good plants make 30 new seeds.’^[bl]

Jesus tells a story about some weeds

²⁴ Then Jesus told the people another story. He said, ‘This is what the kingdom of heaven is like: A farmer planted some good wheat seeds into his field. ²⁵ But one night, when everyone was sleeping, a bad person came to the farmer's field. He did not like the farmer. This bad person planted seeds from weeds among the good wheat seeds. Then the bad person went away again. ²⁶ The good seeds grew and the plants began to make new seeds. But when this happened, the weeds also grew.

²⁷ So the farmer's servants came to speak to him. “Master, you planted only good seeds in your field but now many weeds are also growing there. How did this happen?” they asked him.

²⁸ The farmer said to his servants, “A bad person who does not like me has done this.”

So the servants then asked the farmer, “Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?”

²⁹ The farmer replied, “No, I do not want you to do that. If you pull up the weeds, you may also pull up some of the good wheat plants. ³⁰ Let the good plants and the weeds grow up together. At harvest time, I will tell the workers to cut down the weeds first. Then they will tie them together and burn them. Then they will cut the wheat and bring it into my building. I will store it there.” ’

Jesus tells a story about a small seed

³¹ Jesus told the people another story. He said, ‘I will tell you again what the kingdom of heaven is like. It is like a very small seed of the plant called mustard. A man took this seed and he planted it in his field. ³² It is the smallest seed that there is. But when it starts to grow, it will become bigger than the largest bush. It will become a tree. The wild birds will come and they will build their nests among the branches of that tree.’

Jesus tells a story about yeast

³³ Jesus told the people another story. He said, ‘The kingdom of heaven is also like this. It is like how yeast works. A woman took the yeast and she mixed it into three large bowls of flour. Then the yeast went through all the flour so that it grew big.’^[bm]

³⁴ Jesus told the crowds of people all these things. But he only used stories to teach them. ³⁵ So what God's prophet had said long ago now became true:

Jesus explains the story about the weeds

³⁶ Then Jesus told the crowds of people to go away. He went into the house where he was staying. His disciples also went into the house with him. They said to him, ‘Explain to us the story about the weeds that were growing in the field.’

³⁷ Jesus replied, ‘The Son of Man is like the farmer who planted the good seed in the field. ³⁸ The field is like the world. The good seeds are like the people who belong to God's kingdom. The weeds are like the people who belong to the Devil. ³⁹ The Devil is the bad person who planted the weed seeds in the field. The time for harvest is like the end of time. God's angels are the workers who cut the plants down.

⁴⁰ In the story, the workers cut down the weeds and they burned them in the fire. When this world comes to an end, it will happen like that. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send his workers, who are his angels. They will remove from his kingdom everything that causes sin. They will take away everyone who does evil things. ⁴² The angels will throw those bad people into the great fire. There the people will cry and they will bite their teeth together.^{[bo] 43} The people who obeyed God will shine like the sun. They will be in the kingdom of their Father. You have ears, so listen well to what I say!’

Jesus tells a story about a man who found valuable things in the ground

⁴⁴ ‘I can tell you again what the kingdom of heaven is like,’ Jesus said. ‘The kingdom of heaven is like some valuable things that a man buried in a field. Another man found it, but then he covered it over again with dirt. The second man was very happy and he went away. He sold everything that he had. Then he went and bought the field with the valuable things in it.’^[bp]

Jesus tells a story about some valuable stones

⁴⁵ ‘I will tell you again what the kingdom of heaven is like,’ Jesus said. ‘A trader looks for beautiful stones that he can buy. ⁴⁶ One day he found a very valuable stone that someone wanted to sell. So he went away and he sold everything that he had. Then he went and he bought that very valuable stone.’

⁴⁷ Jesus also said, ‘I can tell you again what the kingdom of heaven is like. Some men had nets to catch fish in. They threw their nets into the lake and they caught many different kinds of fish. ⁴⁸ When the net was full of fish, the men pulled it up onto the shore. Then they sat down. Some of the fish were good to eat, and they put these fish into baskets. Some of the fish were not good to eat, and they threw these fish away. ⁴⁹ This is what will happen when the world's time comes to an end. God will send his angels. They will put wicked people in one place. And they will put God's righteous people in a separate place. ⁵⁰ The angels will throw the wicked people into the great fire. There those people will weep and they will bite their teeth together.’^[bq]

⁵¹ Then Jesus asked his disciples, ‘Have you understood all these things?’ They replied, ‘Yes, we have.’

⁵² Jesus said to them, ‘Some teachers of God's Law have now learned about the kingdom of heaven. These men are like the master of a house who takes things out of the room where he keeps them. Some of the valuable things he brings out are new and some of them are old.’

⁵³ When Jesus had finished telling these stories, he went away from that place.

Jesus goes to Nazareth

⁵⁴ Jesus returned to his own town. He taught the Jewish people in their meeting room there. The people were very surprised about the things that he taught them. They said to each other, ‘We do not know how this man learned all these things. And we do not know how he does all these powerful things. ⁵⁵ We know who he is. He is the son of the carpenter here.^[br] Mary is his mother. We also know his brothers, James, Joseph, Simon and Judas. ⁵⁶ All his sisters also live here in the town among us. So then, where did he learn all these things?’ ⁵⁷ So the people there did not accept Jesus.

Jesus said to them, ‘If a man is a prophet from God, people everywhere will say good things about him. But the people in his own town will not accept him. Even the people of his own house will not say good things about him.’

⁵⁸ Jesus did not do many powerful things in that town because the people would not believe in him.

Herod's soldiers kill John the Baptist

14 At that time, people told Herod about the things that Jesus was doing.^{[bs] 2} Herod said to his servants, ‘That man Jesus is really John the Baptist. John died but he has become alive again. That is the reason why this man can do these very powerful things.’

³ Before that, Herod had commanded his soldiers, ‘Take hold of John. Tie his hands and feet and put him in prison.’ Herod had done this because of his wife Herodias. Before Herod married her, she was the wife of Herod's brother Philip. ⁴ John had said to Herod, ‘Herodias was your brother's wife. So it is not right for you to have her as your wife.’^[bt]

⁵ Herod wanted to tell his soldiers that they must kill John. But the people thought that John was a prophet from God. So Herod was afraid to kill him.

⁶ One day, when it was Herod's birthday, he asked people to come to a special meal. The daughter of Herodias danced in front of him and his visitors. Her dance caused Herod to become very happy. ⁷ He said to the girl, ‘Ask me for anything that you want. I make a strong promise that I will give it to you.’ ⁸ Herodias suggested to her daughter, ‘Ask Herod to give you John's head.’ So the girl said to Herod, ‘Give me the head of John the Baptist on a plate.’ ⁹ Then Herod felt sad. But he had made a special promise to the girl, and his visitors had heard him. So he sent his men to do what she had asked for. ¹⁰ He said to a soldier, ‘Go to the prison and cut off John's head.’ ¹¹ The soldier did this. Then he brought the head on a plate and he gave it to the girl. The girl took it and gave it to her mother.

¹² After this, John's disciples went to the prison. They took away John's body and they buried it. Then they went and they told Jesus what had happened.

Jesus gives food to 5,000 men and their families

¹³ Jesus heard about what had happened to John. After that, he went away from that place. He sailed in a boat to a quiet place where he could be alone. But the crowd heard where Jesus had gone. So they left their towns and they went on land to the place where he was going. ¹⁴ Jesus got out of the boat. He saw a large crowd there on the shore. He felt sorry for them. There were sick people among them and he made them well again.

¹⁵ When it was almost evening, Jesus' disciples came to speak to him. They said to him, ‘We are in a place where there are no houses. It will soon be dark. Send the crowd away now, so that they can go to the villages near here. Then they can buy some food for themselves to eat.’

¹⁶ Jesus said to them, ‘The people do not need to go away. You should give them some food to eat.’

¹⁷ But the disciples said, ‘We only have five loaves of bread and two fish.’

¹⁸ ‘Bring the bread and fish here to me,’ Jesus said. ¹⁹ Then he said to the large crowd, ‘Sit down on the grass.’ He took the five loaves of bread and the two fish. He looked up to heaven and he thanked God for the bread and the fish. Then he broke the bread into pieces. He gave the pieces of bread to his disciples, and they gave them to the crowd. ²⁰ Then everybody ate. They all had enough food and they were not hungry any more. Then the disciples picked up all the bits of food that people had not eaten. They filled 12 baskets with little bits of bread and fish. ²¹ About 5,000 men ate the bread and fish. Women and children also ate it with them.^[bu]

Jesus walks on the water

²² Immediately after this, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Get in the boat and sail across to the other side of the lake.’ Jesus said that he would first send the crowd away. Then he would also leave. ²³ So Jesus sent the crowd away. After they had gone, he went up on a mountain alone to pray. When it became dark, he was still there alone. ²⁴ At this time the boat with the disciples in it was in the middle of the lake. It was a long way from the land. The wind was blowing against the boat and the water was hitting it.

²⁵ Then, when it was nearly dawn, Jesus walked on the water towards his disciples. ²⁶ The disciples saw him walking on the water. They were very frightened. ‘It is a spirit,’ they said. They screamed loudly because they were afraid.

²⁷ But immediately Jesus said to them. ‘Be brave! It is I. Do not be afraid.’

²⁸ Peter replied, ‘Lord, is it really you? If it is you, say to me, “Come here! Walk to me on the water.” ’

²⁹ Jesus said to him, ‘Come to me.’

So Peter got down out of the boat. He walked on the water and he came towards Jesus. ³⁰ But then Peter saw that the wind was still blowing strongly. He became afraid and he began to go down into the water. He shouted to Jesus, ‘Lord, save me!’

³¹ Immediately, Jesus put out his hand and he took hold of Peter. He said to Peter, ‘You should trust me more than you do. Why did you not believe that I could help you?’

³² Jesus and Peter climbed up into the boat. Then the strong wind stopped. ³³ The disciples who were in the boat went down on their knees. They praised Jesus and they said to him, ‘It is true. You are really the Son of God.’

³⁴ They sailed across the lake and reached the shore at a place called Gennesaret.^[bv]

³⁵ The people who lived in that place recognized Jesus. So they went to tell everyone who lived in places near there. People brought all their sick friends to him. ³⁶ The sick people asked Jesus for help. They wanted to touch only the edge of his coat. Every sick person who touched him became well again.

Jesus tells the Pharisees and teachers of God's Law to obey God

15 After that, a group of Pharisees and teachers of God's Law came from Jerusalem to talk to Jesus. ² They said, ‘Our leaders in past times taught us the right way to do everything. But your disciples do not obey the things that our leaders taught us. They do not wash their hands in the right way before they eat a meal. Why is that?’

³ Jesus replied, ‘God tells us the right way to obey him. But you refuse. Instead, you like to keep your own ideas. ⁴ God's Law says: “You must love your father and mother and obey them.” God also said, “A person should die if he says bad things against his father or against his mother.” ⁵ But you teach that a person may say to his father or to his mother, “I would have given gifts to help you. But I cannot do that because I have given them to God instead.” ⁶ Then, you let that person give nothing to his parents. He does not have to help them. This shows that you have not obeyed what God says is right. Instead, you have obeyed your own ideas. ⁷ You are hypocrites! What God's prophet Isaiah wrote about you long ago is true:

Jesus talks about the wrong things that people do

¹⁰ Jesus asked the crowd of people to come to him. He said to them, ‘Listen to me, so that you can understand my message. ¹¹ It is not food that goes into people's mouths that makes them unclean. Instead, what comes out of people's mouths is important. It may show that what is inside them is unclean.’

¹² Then Jesus' disciples went to him, and they said, ‘The Pharisees heard what you said. They did not agree with what you said. Do you know that?’

¹³ Jesus replied, ‘Those Pharisees are like plants that my Father God did not put in the ground. Like a farmer, he will completely pull all those plants out of the ground. ¹⁴ Do not listen to what the Pharisees say. They are blind, but they try to show people which way to go. A blind person cannot lead another blind person. If he does, then both of them will fall into a deep hole.’

¹⁵ Peter said to Jesus, ‘Explain to us what you mean.’

¹⁶ Jesus replied, ‘I am surprised that you still do not understand what I am saying. ¹⁷ You should understand that food first goes into people's mouths. Then it goes into their stomach, and then it passes out of their body. ¹⁸ The words that people speak come from their thoughts. It is what comes out of their mouths that makes them unclean. ¹⁹ Evil thoughts come out from people's minds. As a result, they do wrong things. They murder people. They have sex with another man's wife. They have sex in other wrong ways. They rob people. They tell lies about other people. They insult people.

²⁰ It is these bad things that make people unclean. But if people eat food when they have not washed their hands in the right way, that will not make them unclean.’

Jesus makes a girl well again

²¹ Then, Jesus left that place. He went away to some places near to the cities called Tyre and Sidon.

²² A woman was living in this part of the country. She was one of the Canaanite people. She came to see Jesus. She was shouting with a loud voice, ‘Son of David, help me, sir! A bad spirit is living inside my daughter. It is giving her much pain.’

²³ Jesus did not say anything to the woman. So his disciples came to him. They said, ‘Please, send this woman away. She is following us and she is making a lot of noise.’

²⁴ Jesus replied to his disciples, ‘God has sent me to help only the people of Israel. They are like sheep that have lost their way.’

²⁵ Then the woman came to Jesus and she went down on her knees in front of him. ‘Sir, please help me,’ she said.

²⁶ Jesus did answer the woman this time. He said, ‘It is not right to take food from the children and then throw it to the dogs.’

²⁷ The woman replied to Jesus. ‘Yes sir, that is true. But even the dogs eat the small pieces of food that fall from their master's table.’

²⁸ Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, you show clearly that you believe in God. God will do what you have asked.’

At that moment the woman's daughter became well again.

²⁹ Jesus travelled on from that place and he walked along the shore of Lake Galilee. He climbed up a hill and he sat down there. ³⁰ Large crowds of people came to him and they brought sick people with them. Some of these sick people could not walk very well, and some of them were blind. Some of them could not use their arms or their legs. Some of them could not speak. There were many other sick people who had different illnesses. Their friends put the sick people in front of Jesus. And Jesus caused them all to become well again. ³¹ When the large crowd saw all this, they were very surprised. People who could not speak could now speak again. People who could not use their arms or their legs were now well again. Those people who could not walk very well could now walk again. Blind people could now see again. All the people praised God, and they said, ‘God of Israel, you are great.’

Jesus feeds 4,000 men and their families

³² Then Jesus told his disciples to come to him. ‘I feel sorry for this crowd,’ he said to them. ‘They have been here with me now for three days. They do not have any food. I do not want to send them away while they are hungry. They might fall down during their journey because they are weak.’

³³ The disciples said to Jesus, ‘This place is a long way from any houses. We cannot get enough bread here to feed so many people.’

³⁴ Jesus asked them, ‘How many loaves of bread do you have?’

They replied, ‘We have seven loaves and a few small fish.’

³⁵ Jesus told the crowd that they should sit down on the ground. ³⁶ Then he took the seven loaves and the fish in his hands and he thanked God for them. Then he broke the bread and the fish into pieces and he gave the food to his disciples. The disciples gave the food to the people. ³⁷ All the people ate and they all had enough food. After the people had eaten, there were still lots of small pieces of food. Jesus' disciples filled seven baskets with these pieces. ³⁸ There were 4,000 men who ate the bread and fish. There were also women and children who ate. ³⁹ Then Jesus sent the crowd of people away. After that, he got into the boat and sailed to the part of the country near Magadan.^[bw]