Read the Gospels in 40 Days
Judging Others(A)
7 “Stop judging, so that you won’t be judged, 2 because the way that you judge[a] others will be the way that you will be judged, and you will be evaluated by the standard with which you evaluate others.
3 “Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye but fail to notice the beam in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when the beam is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Despising the Holy
6 “Never give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before pigs. Otherwise, they will trample them with their feet and then turn around and attack you.”
Ask, Search, Knock(B)
7 “Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door[b] will be opened for you. 8 Because everyone who keeps asking will receive, and the person who keeps searching will find, and the person who keeps knocking will have the door[c] opened.
9 “There isn’t a person among you who would give his son a stone if he asked for bread, is there? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, he wouldn’t give him a snake, would he? 11 So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who keep on asking him! 12 Therefore, whatever you want people to do for you, do the same for them, because this summarizes the Law and the Prophets.”
The Narrow Gate(C)
13 “Go in through the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the road is spacious that leads to destruction, and many people are entering by it. 14 How narrow is the gate and how constricted is the road that leads to life, and there aren’t many people who find it!”
A Tree is Known by Its Fruit(D)
15 “Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are savage wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruit. Grapes aren’t gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles, are they? 17 In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a rotten tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a rotten tree cannot produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire. 20 So by their fruit you will know them.”
I Never Knew You(E)
21 “Not everyone who keeps saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will get into the kingdom from[d] heaven, but only the person who keeps doing the will of my Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, we prophesied in your name, drove out demons in your name, and performed many miracles in your name, didn’t we?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who practice evil!’”[e]
The Two Foundations(F)
24 “Therefore, everyone who listens to these messages[f] of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on a rock. 25 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, but it did not collapse because its foundation was on the rock.
26 “Everyone who keeps on hearing these messages[g] of mine and never puts them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain fell, the floods came, the winds blew and battered that house, and it collapsed—and its collapse was total.”
28 When Jesus had finished saying all these things,[h] the crowds were utterly amazed at his teaching, 29 because he was teaching them like a person who had authority, and not like their scribes.
Jesus Cleanses a Leper(G)
8 When Jesus[i] came down from the hillside, large crowds followed him. 2 Suddenly, a leper[j] came up to him, fell down before him, and said, “Sir,[k] if you want to, you can make me clean.”[l]
3 So Jesus[m] reached out his hand, touched him, and said, “I do want to. Be clean!” And instantly his leprosy was made clean. 4 Then Jesus told him, “See to it that you don’t speak to anyone. Instead, go and show yourself to the priest, and then offer the sacrifice that Moses commanded[n] as proof to the authorities.”[o]
Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant(H)
5 When Jesus[p] returned to Capernaum, a centurion[q] came up to him and begged him repeatedly, 6 “Sir,[r] my servant is lying at home paralyzed and in terrible pain.”
7 Jesus[s] told him, “I will come and heal him.”
8 The centurion replied, “Sir,[t] I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed, 9 because I, too, am a man under authority and I have soldiers under me. I say to one of them[u] ‘Go’ and he goes, to another ‘Come’ and he comes, and to my servant ‘Do this’ and he does it.”
10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and told those who were following him, “I tell all of you[v] with certainty, not even[w] in Israel have I found this kind of faith! 11 I tell all of you,[x] many will come from east and west and will feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom from[y] heaven. 12 But the unfaithful heirs[z] of that kingdom will be thrown into the darkness outside. In that place there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”[aa]
13 “Go,” Jesus told the centurion, “and it will be done for you, just as you have believed.” And his servant was healed that very hour.
Jesus Heals Many People(I)
14 When Jesus went into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s[ab] mother-in-law lying in bed, sick with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her. Then she got up and began serving him.
16 When evening came, people[ac] brought to him many who were possessed by demons. He drove out the spirits by speaking a command[ad] and healed everyone who was sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was declared by the prophet Isaiah when he said,
“It was he who took our illnesses away
and removed our diseases.”[ae]
The Would-be Followers of Jesus(J)
18 When Jesus saw the large crowds around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.[af] 19 Just then, a scribe came up and told him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
20 Jesus told him,
21 Then another of his disciples told him, “Lord,[ai] first let me go and bury my father.”
22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
Jesus Calms the Sea(K)
23 When Jesus[aj] got into the boat, his disciples went with him. 24 Suddenly, a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat began to be swamped by the waves. Yet Jesus[ak] kept sleeping. 25 They[al] went to him and woke him up. “Lord!” they cried, “Save us! We’re going to die!”
26 He asked them, “Why are you afraid, you who have little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
27 The men were amazed. “What kind of man is this?” they asked. “Even the winds and the sea obey him!”
Jesus Heals Two Demon-Possessed Men(L)
28 When Jesus[am] arrived on the other side in the region of the Gerasenes,[an] two demon-possessed men met him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so violent that no one could travel on that road. 29 Suddenly, they screamed, “What do you want with us, Son of God? Did you come here to torture us before the proper time?”
30 Now a large herd of pigs was grazing some distance away from them. 31 So the demons began to plead with Jesus,[ao] saying, “If you drive us out, send us into that herd of pigs.”
32 He told them, “Go,” and they came out and went into the pigs. Suddenly, the whole herd rushed down a steep slope into the sea and drowned in the water.
33 Now when those who had been taking care of the pigs ran away, they came into the city and reported everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 Then the whole city went out to meet Jesus, and as soon as they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.
Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man(M)
9 After getting into a boat, Jesus[ap] crossed to the other side and came to his own city. 2 All at once some people[aq] brought him a paralyzed man lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he told the paralyzed man, “Be courageous, son! Your sins are forgiven.”
3 Then some of the scribes told themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”
4 But Jesus, knowing[ar] what they were thinking, replied, “Why do you have such evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 But so you will know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” he told the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your stretcher, and go home!”
7 So the man[as] got up and went home. 8 When the crowds saw this, they became frightened[at] and glorified God for giving such authority to humans.
Jesus Calls Matthew(N)
9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s desk and told him, “Follow me.” So he got up and followed him.
10 While he was having dinner at Matthew’s[au] home, many tax collectors and sinners arrived and began eating with Jesus and his disciples. 11 The Pharisees saw this and asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
12 When Jesus[av] heard that, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a physician, but sick people do. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice,’[aw] because I did not come to call righteous people, but sinners.”
A Question about Fasting(O)
14 Then John’s disciples came to Jesus[ax] and asked, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often,[ay] but your disciples don’t fast?”
15 Jesus asked them, “The wedding guests[az] can’t mourn as long as the groom is with them, can they? But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”
The Unshrunk Cloth(P)
16 “No one patches an old garment with a piece of unshrunk cloth, because the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results. 17 Nor do people[ba] pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill out, and the skins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”
Jesus Heals a Woman and Resurrects a Girl(Q)
18 While Jesus[bb] was telling them these things, an official came up and fell down before him. “My daughter has just died,” he said. “But come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 So Jesus got up and followed him, along with his disciples.
20 Just then a woman who had been suffering from chronic bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel of his garment, 21 because she had been saying to herself, “If I just touch his robe, I will get well.”
22 When Jesus turned and saw her, he said, “Be courageous, daughter! Your faith has made you well.” And from that very hour the woman was well.
23 When Jesus came to the official’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, 24 he said, “Go away! The young lady hasn’t died, but is sleeping.” But they ridiculed him with laughter. 25 When the crowd had been driven outside, he went in, took her by the hand, and the young lady got up. 26 The news of this spread throughout that land.
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men
27 As Jesus was traveling on from there, two blind men followed him, shouting, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” 28 When he had gone into the house, the blind men came to him.
Jesus asked them, “Do you believe I can do this?”
They told him, “Yes, Lord!”[bc]
29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith, let it be done for you!” 30 And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly told them, “See to it that nobody knows about this.” 31 But they went out and spread the news about him throughout that region.
Jesus Heals a Man who Couldn’t Talk
32 As the men[bd] were going out, a man who couldn’t talk because he was demon-possessed was brought to him. 33 As soon as the demon had been driven out, the man[be] began to speak. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”
34 But the Pharisees kept saying, “He drives out demons by the ruler of demons.”[bf]
The Compassion of Jesus
35 Then Jesus began traveling throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every illness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he was deeply moved with compassion for them, because they were troubled and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
37 Then he told his disciples, “The harvest is vast, but the workers are few. 38 So ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.”
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