Read the Gospels in 40 Days
The Things that Truly Please God(A)
7 When some Pharisees and some ·teachers of the law [scribes] came from Jerusalem, they gathered around Jesus. 2 They saw that some of Jesus’ ·followers [disciples] ate food with hands that were not clean, that is, they hadn’t [ceremonially] washed them. 3 ([For] The Pharisees and all the Jews never eat before washing their hands ·in the way required [L with a fist; C the meaning of the idiom is uncertain; it could mean “with a handful of water,” “with cupped hand,” “up to the wrist” or something else] by ·their unwritten laws [L the traditions of the elders]. 4 ·And when they buy something in the market, they never eat it [or, And when they come from the market (where they might have touched something “unclean”), they do not eat] until they wash themselves in a special way. They also ·follow [hold fast to; observe] many other ·unwritten laws [traditions], such as the washing of cups, pitchers, and pots.[a])
5 The Pharisees and the ·teachers of the law [scribes] asked Jesus, “Why don’t your ·followers [disciples] ·obey [walk according to] the ·unwritten laws which have been handed down to us [traditions of the elders]? Why do they eat their food with hands that are ·not clean [defiled]?”
6 Jesus answered, “Isaiah was right when he ·spoke [prophesied] about you hypocrites. ·He wrote [As it is written],
‘These people show honor to me with ·words [L their lips],
but their hearts are far from me.
7 Their worship of me is ·worthless [futile; in vain].
The things they teach are nothing but human ·rules [commandments; Is. 29:13].’
8 You ·have stopped following [neglected; abandoned] the commands of God, and you ·follow [hold on to] only human ·teachings[b] [traditions].”
9 Then Jesus said to them, “You ·cleverly ignore [are very good at ignoring/despising] the commands of God so you can follow your own ·teachings [tradition]. 10 [For] Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ [Ex. 20:12; Deut. 5:16], and ‘Anyone who ·says cruel things to [speaks evil of; curses] his father or mother must be put to death’ [Ex. 21:17; Lev. 20:9]. 11 But you say a person can tell his father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you, but it is Corban—a gift to God.’ [C Corban is a Hebrew term meaning dedicated or set aside to God.] 12 You no longer let that person ·use that money [do anything] for his father or his mother. 13 By your own ·rules [tradition], which you ·teach people [have handed down], you are ·rejecting [nullifying; canceling] what God said. And you do many things like that.”
14 After Jesus called the crowd to him again, he said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand what I am saying. 15 There is nothing people put into their bodies that ·makes them unclean [pollutes/defiles them]. [But rather] People are ·made unclean [polluted; defiled] by the things that come out of them. |16 ·Let those with ears use them and listen [see 4:23].|”[c]
17 When Jesus left the ·people [crowd] and went into the house, his ·followers [disciples] asked him about this ·story [parable; see 3:23]. 18 Jesus said, “·Do you still not understand [Are you so dull]? ·Surely you know [L Don’t you know…?] that nothing that enters someone from the outside can make that person ·unclean [polluted; defiled]. 19 [Because] It does not go into the ·mind [heart], but into the stomach. Then it goes ·out of the body [L into the sewer/latrine].” ·(When Jesus said this, he meant that no longer was any food unclean for people to eat.) [or, (In this way, Jesus cleansed all food.)]
20 And Jesus said, “The things that come out of people are the things that make them ·unclean [defiled]. 21 ·All these evil things begin inside people, in the mind [L For from within, out of human hearts, come]: evil ·thoughts [intentions; ideas], sexual sins, stealing, murder, adultery, 22 greed, ·evil actions [wickedness], ·lying [deceit], ·doing sinful things [indecency; lust; lewdness], ·jealousy [envy; L evil eye], ·speaking evil of others [slander; blasphemy], pride, and foolish living. 23 All these evil things come from inside and make people ·unclean [defiled].”
Jesus Helps a Gentile Woman(B)
24 Jesus left that place and went to the area around Tyre[d] [C a Gentile city on the coast north of Israel]. When he went into a house, he did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not stay hidden. 25 A woman whose daughter had an ·evil [defiling; L unclean] spirit in her heard that he was there. So she ·quickly [immediately] came to Jesus and ·fell [bowed] at his feet. 26 She was ·Greek [a Gentile; C “Greek” is sometimes used for any non-Jew; Rom. 1:16], born in Phoenicia, in Syria. She ·begged [kept asking] Jesus to ·force [drive; cast] the demon out of her daughter.
27 Jesus told the woman, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and ·give [throw] it to the dogs. First let the children eat all they want.” [C “Children” refers to Israel; “dogs” to the Gentiles.]
28 But she answered, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table can eat the children’s crumbs.”
29 Then Jesus said, “Because of your answer, you may go. The demon has left your daughter.”
30 The woman went home and found her daughter lying in bed; the demon was gone.
Jesus Heals a Deaf Man(C)
31 Then Jesus left the area around Tyre and went through Sidon to Lake Galilee [T the Sea of Galilee], to the area of ·the Ten Towns [or Decapolis; C an area east of Lake Galilee that once had ten main towns; 5:20]. 32 While he was there, some people brought a man to him who was deaf and ·could not talk plainly [had a speech impediment]. The people begged Jesus to put his hand on the man to heal him.
33 Jesus led the man away from the crowd, by himself. He put his fingers in the man’s ears and then spit and touched the man’s tongue. [C The use of saliva is mentioned in other ancient accounts of healing, and elsewhere in the Gospels; see 8:23; John 9:6.] 34 Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to the man, “Ephphatha!” (This means [C in Aramaic], “Be opened.”) 35 Instantly the man was able to hear and to use his tongue so that he spoke clearly.
36 Jesus ·commanded [ordered; instructed] the people not to tell anyone about what happened. But the more he ·commanded [ordered; instructed] them, the more they ·told about [proclaimed] it. 37 They were completely amazed and said, “Jesus does everything well. He makes the deaf hear! And ·those who can’t talk [the mute] he makes able to speak.”
More than Four Thousand People Fed(D)
8 ·Another time [About this time] there was ·a [another] great crowd with Jesus that had nothing to eat. So Jesus called his ·followers [disciples] and said, 2 “I ·feel sorry [have compassion] for these people, because they have already been with me for three days, and they have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry, they will ·faint [collapse] on the way. Some of them ·live a long way from here [have come from far away].”
4 Jesus’ ·followers [disciples] answered, “·How [L From where] can ·we [L anyone] get enough bread in this ·remote place [desolate place; desert] to feed them?”
5 Jesus asked, “How many loaves of bread do you have?”
They answered, “Seven.”
6 Jesus told the people to ·sit [recline] on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, gave thanks to God, and ·divided [broke] the bread. He gave the pieces to his ·followers [disciples] to give to the people, and they did so. 7 ·The followers [L They] also had a few small fish. After Jesus ·gave thanks for [blessed] the fish, he told his ·followers [disciples] to give them to the people also. 8 All the people ate and were satisfied. Then ·his followers [L they] filled seven ·baskets [large baskets; C a different word than in the feeding of the 5,000; 6:43] with the leftover pieces of food. 9 There were about four thousand people who ate. After they had eaten, Jesus ·sent them home [dismissed them]. 10 Then ·right away [immediately] he got into a boat with his ·followers [disciples] and went to the area of Dalmanutha. [C This place is unknown; it was probably on the western shore of Lake Galilee.]
The Leaders Ask for a Miracle(E)
11 The Pharisees came to Jesus and began to ·ask him questions [argue/dispute with him]. ·Hoping to trap [Trying to test] him, they asked Jesus for a ·miracle [sign] from ·God [L heaven; C possibly a sign in the sky, but more likely a Jewish way of saying “from God”]. 12 Jesus ·sighed [groaned] deeply and said, “Why ·do you people [L does this generation] ask for a miracle as a sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to ·you [this generation].” 13 Then Jesus left the Pharisees and went in the boat to the other side of the lake.
Guard Against Wrong Teachings(F)
14 His ·followers [disciples] had only one loaf of bread with them in the boat; they had forgotten to bring more. 15 Jesus warned them, “·Be careful [Watch out]! Beware of the ·yeast [leaven] of the Pharisees and the ·yeast [leaven] of Herod [C yeast or leaven refers here to the dangerous permeating power of their influence].”
16 They discussed the meaning of this, saying, “He said this because we have no bread.”
17 Knowing what they were talking about, Jesus asked them, “Why are you ·talking [discussing; arguing] about not having bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your ·minds closed [hearts hardened]? 18 ·You have eyes, but you don’t really see. You have ears, but you don’t really listen [Jer. 5:21; Ezek. 12:2]. ·Remember [L Don’t you remember] when 19 I ·divided [broke] five loaves of bread for the five thousand? How many baskets did you fill with leftover pieces of food?”
They answered, “Twelve.”
20 “And when I ·divided [broke] seven loaves of bread for the four thousand, how many [large] baskets did you fill with leftover pieces of food?”
They answered, “Seven.”
21 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand yet?”
Jesus Heals a Blind Man
22 Jesus and his followers came to Bethsaida [6:45]. There some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged him to touch the man. 23 So Jesus took the blind man’s hand and led him out of the village. Then he spit on the man’s eyes [see 7:33] and ·put [laid] his hands on the man and asked, “Can you see [anything] now?”
24 The man looked up and said, “Yes, I see people, but they look like trees walking around.”
25 Again Jesus ·put [laid] his hands on the man’s eyes. Then the man ·opened his eyes wide [stared intently] and ·they were healed [his sight was restored], and he was able to see everything clearly. 26 Jesus told him to go home, saying, “Don’t go into the town.”[e] [C Jesus wanted to avoid the publicity that the healing would produce.]
Peter Says Jesus Is the Christ(G)
27 Jesus and his ·followers [disciples] went to the towns around Caesarea Philippi [C a city about 25 miles north of Lake Galilee]. While they were traveling, Jesus asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
28 They answered, “Some say you are John the Baptist. Others say you are Elijah [a great prophet (1 Kin. 17), who was expected to return in the end times (Mal. 4:5); see 6:15], and others say you are one of the prophets.”
29 Then Jesus asked, “But who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “You are the ·Christ [Messiah].”
30 Jesus [strongly] warned them not to tell anyone who he was.
31 Then Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man [Dan. 7:13–14] must suffer many things and that he would be rejected by the Jewish elders, the ·leading [T chief] priests, and the ·teachers of the law [scribes]. He told them that the Son of Man must be killed and then rise from the dead after three days. 32 Jesus told them ·plainly [boldly; openly] what would happen. Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to ·reprimand [rebuke] him. 33 But Jesus turned and looked at his ·followers [disciples]. Then he ·reprimanded [rebuked] Peter. He said, “·Go away from me [L Get behind me], Satan [C Jesus accuses Peter of doing Satan’s work by obstructing God’s plan]! You ·don’t care about [are not setting your mind on/thinking about] the things of God, but only ·about things people think are important [on/about human concerns].”
34 Then Jesus called the crowd to him, along with his ·followers [disciples]. He said, “If ·people [L anyone wants] want to follow me, they must ·give up the things they want [deny themselves; set aside their own interests]. They must ·be willing even to give up their lives to [L take up their cross and] follow me. 35 Those who want to save their lives will ·give up true life [L lose their life/soul; C Greek psychē can mean “life” or “soul,” producing this play on words]. But those who ·give up [lose; sacrifice] their lives for ·me [my sake] and for the ·Good News [Gospel] will ·have true life [save their lives/souls]. 36 ·It is worthless [What good/profit/benefit is it…?] to ·have [gain] the whole world if they ·lose [forfeit] their souls. 37 ·They could never pay enough [L Or what could they give…?] ·to buy back [in exchange for] their souls. 38 If people of this ·sinful and evil time [adulterous and sinful generation] are ashamed of me and my ·teaching [words; message], the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he ·comes [returns] with his Father’s glory and with the holy angels [Dan. 7:13–14].”
9 Then Jesus said to the people, “I tell you the truth, some people standing here will not ·die [L taste death] before they see the kingdom of God ·come [arrive] with power.” [C “Seeing the kingdom of God” may refer to the Transfiguration that follows (9:1–8), Jesus’ resurrection, or the destruction of Jerusalem in ad 70.]
The Transfiguration on the Mountain(H)
2 Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John [L and led them] up on a high mountain by themselves. ·While they watched [In their presence; In front of them], Jesus’ appearance was ·changed [transformed; T transfigured]. 3 His clothes became shining white, whiter than any ·person [launderer on earth] could ·make them [bleach them]. 4 Then Elijah and Moses appeared to them, talking with Jesus. [C God had given the Law through Moses, and Elijah was an important prophet (see 6:1); together they signify that Jesus fulfills the OT.]
5 Peter said to Jesus, “·Teacher [L Rabbi], it is good that we are here. Let us make three ·tents [shelters; shrines; tabernacles; Lev. 23:42]—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” [C Perhaps Peter wanted to prolong their stay or to commemorate their visit.] 6 Peter did not know what to say, because he and the others were so frightened.
7 Then a cloud came and ·covered [overshadowed; Ex. 24:15] them, and a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my ·Son, whom I love [dearly loved Son; Ps. 2:7; Gen. 22:2; Mark 1:11]. Listen to him [Deut. 18:15; Acts 3:22]!”
8 Suddenly Peter, James, and John looked around, but they saw only Jesus there alone with them.
9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ·commanded [instructed] them not to tell anyone about what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
10 So they ·obeyed Jesus [kept this statement/matter to themselves], but they discussed what he meant about rising from the dead.
11 Then they asked Jesus, “Why do the ·teachers of the law [scribes] say that Elijah must come first [Mal. 3:1; 4:5]?”
12 Jesus answered, “·They are right to say that Elijah must come first and [L Elijah is indeed coming, and he will] ·make everything the way it should be [restore/prepare everything]. But why does the Scripture say that the Son of Man will suffer much and ·that people will treat him as if he were nothing [be despised; be treated with contempt; be rejected; Is. 52:13—53:12]? 13 [L But] I tell you that Elijah has already come. And ·people [L they] did to him whatever they wanted to do, just as ·the Scriptures said it would happen [it is written about him].”
Jesus Heals a Sick Boy(I)
14 When Jesus, Peter, James, and John came back to the other ·followers [disciples], they saw a great crowd around them and the ·teachers of the law [scribes] arguing with them. 15 But as soon as the crowd saw Jesus, the people were ·surprised [amazed] and ran to welcome him.
16 Jesus asked, “What are you arguing about?”
17 A man [in the crowd] answered, “Teacher, I brought my son to you. He has an evil spirit in him that ·stops him from talking [makes him mute]. 18 When the spirit attacks him, it throws him on the ground. Then my son foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes ·very stiff [rigid]. I asked your ·followers [disciples] to ·force [drive; cast] the evil spirit out, but they couldn’t.”
19 Jesus answered, “You ·people have no faith [unbelieving/faithless generation]. How long must I stay with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
20 So ·the followers [L they] brought him to Jesus. As soon as the evil spirit saw Jesus, it ·made the boy lose control of himself [threw the boy into convulsions], and he fell down and rolled on the ground, foaming at the mouth.
21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has this been happening?”
The father answered, “Since ·he was very young [childhood]. 22 The spirit often throws him into a fire or into water to ·kill [destroy] him. If you can do anything for him, please have ·pity [compassion] on us and help us.”
23 Jesus said to the father, “You said, ‘If you can!’ All things are possible for the one who believes.”
24 Immediately the father cried out, “I do believe! Help ·me to believe more [me not to doubt; me overcome my unbelief; L my unbelief]!”
25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was quickly gathering, he ·ordered [rebuked] the ·evil [defiling; L unclean] spirit, saying, “You deaf and mute spirit, I command you to come out of this boy and never enter him again!”
26 The evil spirit screamed and ·caused the boy to fall on the ground again [convulsed him violently]. Then the spirit came out. The boy looked as if he were dead, and many people said, “He is dead!” 27 But Jesus took hold of the boy’s hand and helped him to stand up.
28 When Jesus went into the house, his ·followers [disciples] began asking him privately, “Why couldn’t we ·force [drive; cast] that evil spirit out?”
29 Jesus answered, “That kind of spirit can only be forced out by prayer.”[f]
Jesus Again Talks About His Death(J)
30 Then Jesus and his ·followers [disciples] left that place and went through Galilee. He didn’t want anyone to know where he was, 31 because he was teaching his ·followers [disciples]. He said to them, “The Son of Man will be ·handed over [delivered over; betrayed] to ·people [L human hands], and they will kill him [C the “handing over” may be Judas’ betrayal or God’s actions in “giving up” his Son to accomplish salvation; Rom. 4:25]. After three days, he will rise from the dead.” 32 But they did not understand what Jesus meant, and they were afraid to ask him.
Who Is the Greatest?(K)
33 Jesus and his ·followers [disciples] went to Capernaum. When they went into a house there, he asked them, “What were you ·arguing about [discussing] on the road?” 34 But they did not answer, because their ·argument [discussion] on the road was about which one of them was the greatest.
35 Jesus sat down and called ·the twelve apostles [the Twelve] to him. He said, “Whoever wants to be ·the most important [first] must be last of all and servant of all.”
36 Then Jesus took a small child and had ·him [or her; C the Greek here does not specify gender] stand among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said, 37 “Whoever ·accepts [welcomes; receives] a child like this in my name [C as a representative or follower of Jesus] accepts me. And whoever ·accepts [welcomes; receives] me accepts [not only me, but] the One who sent me.” [C Children had low social status, so the saying indicates concern for the lowly.]
Anyone Not Against Us Is for Us(L)
38 Then John said, “Teacher, we saw someone using your name [C invoking your authority] to ·force [drive; cast] demons out of a person. We told him to stop, because he does not belong to our group.”
39 But Jesus said, “Don’t stop him, because anyone who uses my name to do powerful things will not ·easily [quickly] say evil things about me. 40 Whoever is not against us is ·with [for] us. 41 I tell you the truth, whoever gives you a drink of water because you belong to the ·Christ [Messiah] will ·truly get [L certainly not lose] his reward.
42 “If someone causes one of these little children who believes in me to ·sin [lose faith; stumble], it would be better for that person to have a ·large stone [large millstone; L millstone of a donkey] tied around his neck and be ·drowned [L thrown] in the sea. 43 If your hand causes you ·to sin [lose faith; stumble], cut it off. It is better for you ·to lose part of your body and live forever [L to enter life maimed] than to have two hands and go to ·hell [L Gehenna; C a valley outside of Jerusalem where in the OT period children were sacrificed to a pagan god; later used as a burning trash heap; a metaphor for hell], where the fire never goes out. |44 In hell the worm does not die; the fire is never put out.|[g] 45 If your foot causes you to ·sin [lose faith; stumble], cut it off. It is better for you ·to lose part of your body and to live forever [L to enter life crippled] than to have two feet and be thrown into ·hell [Gehenna; v. 43]. |46 In hell the worm does not die; the fire is never put out.|[h] 47 If your eye causes you to ·sin [lose faith; stumble], take it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into ·hell [Gehenna; v. 43]. 48 In hell the worm does not die; the fire is never put out. 49 Every person will be salted with fire. [C The meaning of this proverb is uncertain; it may mean that the testing of believers purifies (fire) and preserves (salt); or it may refer to believers as God’s covenant people, since salt and fire were part of the OT sacrificial system; see Lev. 2:3; Num. 18:9.]
50 “Salt is good, but if the salt loses its salty taste, you cannot make it salty again. So, ·be full of salt [L have salt in/among yourselves; C salt here may symbolize fellowship within the covenant], and have peace with each other.”
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