Read the Gospels in 40 Days

7 When Yeshua had finished speaking to the people, he went back to K’far-Nachum. ² A Roman army officer there had a servant he regarded highly, who was sick to the point of death. ³ Hearing about Yeshua, the officer sent some Jewish elders to him with the request that he come and heal his servant. ⁴ They came to Yeshua and pleaded earnestly with him, “He really deserves to have you do this, ⁵ for he loves our people — in fact, he built the synagogue for us!” ⁶ So Yeshua went with them. He had not gone far from the house, when the officer sent friends who said to him, “Sir, don’t trouble yourself. I’m not worthy to have you come under my roof — ⁷ this is why I didn’t presume to approach you myself. Instead, just give a command and let my servant recover. ⁸ For I too am a man set under authority. I have soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” ⁹ Yeshua was astonished at him when he heard this; and he turned and said to the crowd following him, “I tell you, not even in Isra’el have I found such trust!” ¹⁰ When the messengers got back to the officer’s house, they found the servant in good health.

¹¹ The next day Yeshua, accompanied by his talmidim and a large crowd, went to a town called Na‘im. ¹² As he approached the town gate, a dead man was being carried out for burial. His mother was a widow, this had been her only son, and a sizeable crowd from the town was with her. ¹³ When the Lord saw her, he felt compassion for her and said to her, “Don’t cry.” ¹⁴ Then he came close and touched the coffin, and the pallbearers halted. He said, “Young man, I say to you: get up!” ¹⁵ The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Yeshua gave him to his mother.^{[a] 16} They were all filled with awe and gave glory to God, saying, “A great prophet has appeared among us,” and, “God has come to help his people.” ¹⁷ This report about him spread throughout all Y’hudah and the surrounding countryside.

¹⁸ Yochanan’s talmidim informed him of all these things. Then Yochanan called two of his talmidim ¹⁹ and sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come? Or should we look for someone else?” ²⁰ When the men came to him, they said, “Yochanan the Immerser has sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come? Or should we keep looking — for someone else?’” ²¹ Right then he was healing many people of diseases, pains and evil spirits, and giving sight to many who were blind. ²² So he answered them by saying, “Go, tell Yochanan what you have been seeing and hearing: the blind are seeing again, the lame are walking, people with tzara‘at are being cleansed, the deaf are hearing, the dead are being raised, the Good News is being told to the poor^[b] — ²³ and how blessed is anyone not offended by me!”

²⁴ When the messengers from Yochanan had gone, Yeshua began speaking to the crowds about Yochanan: “What did you go out into the desert to see? Reeds swaying in the breeze? ²⁵ No? then what did you go out to see? Someone who was well dressed? But people who dress beautifully and live in luxury are found in kings’ palaces. ²⁶ Nu, so what did you go out to see? A prophet! Yes, and I tell you he’s much more than a prophet. ²⁷ This is the one about whom the Tanakh says,

²⁸ I tell you that among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than Yochanan the Immerser! Yet the one who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he!”

²⁹ All the people who heard him, even the tax-collectors, by undergoing Yochanan’s immersion acknowledged that God was right; ³⁰ but the P’rushim and the Torah-teachers, by not letting themselves be immersed by him, nullified for themselves God’s plan.

³¹ “Therefore,” said the Lord, “how can I describe the people of this generation? What are they like? ³² They are like children sitting in the marketplaces, calling to one another,

³³ For Yochanan has come not eating bread and not drinking wine; and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ ³⁴ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking; and you say, ‘Aha! A glutton and a drunkard! A friend of tax-collectors and sinners!’ ³⁵ Well, the proof of wisdom is in all the kinds of people it produces.”

³⁶ One of the P’rushim invited Yeshua to eat with him, and he went into the home of the Parush and took his place at the table. ³⁷ A woman who lived in that town, a sinner, who was aware that he was eating in the home of the Parush, brought an alabaster box of very expensive perfume, ³⁸ stood behind Yeshua at his feet and wept until her tears began to wet his feet. Then she wiped his feet with her own hair, kissed his feet and poured the perfume on them.

³⁹ When the Parush who had invited him saw what was going on, he said to himself, “If this man were really a prophet, he would have known who is touching him and what sort of woman she is, that she is a sinner.” ⁴⁰ Yeshua answered, “Shim‘on, I have something to say to you.” “Say it, Rabbi,” he replied. ⁴¹ “A certain creditor had two debtors; the one owed ten times as much as the other. ⁴² When they were unable to pay him back, he canceled both their debts. Now which of them will love him more?” ⁴³ Shim‘on answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.” “Your judgment is right,” Yeshua said to him.

⁴⁴ Then, turning to the woman, he said to Shim‘on, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house — you didn’t give me water for my feet, but this woman has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair! ⁴⁵ You didn’t give me a kiss; but from the time I arrived, this woman has not stopped kissing my feet! ⁴⁶ You didn’t put oil on my head, but this woman poured perfume on my feet! ⁴⁷ Because of this, I tell you that her sins — which are many! — have been forgiven, because she loved much. But someone who has been forgiven only a little loves only a little.” ⁴⁸ Then he said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” ⁴⁹ At this, those eating with him began saying among themselves, “Who is this fellow that presumes to forgive sins?” ⁵⁰ But he said to the woman, “Your trust has saved you; go in peace.”

8 After this, Yeshua traveled about from town to town and village to village, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of God. With him were the Twelve, ² and a number of women who had been healed from evil spirits and illnesses — Miryam (called Magdalit), from whom seven demons had gone out; ³ Yochanah the wife of Herod’s finance minister Kuza; Shoshanah; and many other women who drew on their own wealth to help him.

⁴ After a large crowd had gathered from the people who kept coming to him from town after town, Yeshua told this parable: ⁵ “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell along the path and was stepped on, and the birds flying around ate it up. ⁶ Some fell on rock; and after it sprouted, it dried up from lack of moisture. ⁷ Some fell in the midst of thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. ⁸ But some fell into rich soil, and grew, and produced a hundred times as much as had been sown.” After saying this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear with, let him hear!”

⁹ His talmidim asked him what this parable might mean, ¹⁰ and he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the Kingdom of God; but the rest are taught in parables, so that they may look but not see, and listen but not understand.^[d]

¹¹ “The parable is this: the seed is God’s message. ¹² The ones along the path are those who hear, but then the Adversary comes and takes the message out of their hearts, in order to keep them from being saved by trusting it. ¹³ The ones on rock are those who, when they hear the word, accept it with joy; but these have no root — they go on trusting for awhile; but when a time of testing comes, they apostatize. ¹⁴ As for what fell in the midst of thorns these are the ones who hear; but as they go along, worries and wealth and life’s gratifications crowd in and choke them, so that their fruit never matures. ¹⁵ But what fell in rich soil — these are the ones who, when they hear the message, hold onto it with a good, receptive heart; and by persevering, they bring forth a harvest.

¹⁶ “No one who has lit a lamp covers it with a bowl or puts it under a bed; no, he puts it on a stand; so that those coming in may see the light. ¹⁷ For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nothing is covered up that will not be known and come out into the open. ¹⁸ Pay attention, then, to how you hear! For anyone who has something will be given more; but from anyone who has nothing, even what he seems to have will be taken away.”

¹⁹ Then Yeshua’s mother and brothers came to see him, but they couldn’t get near him because of the crowd. ²⁰ It was reported to him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and want to see you.” ²¹ But he gave them this answer: “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s message and act on it!”

²² One day Yeshua got into a boat with his talmidim and said to them, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” ²³ So they set out; and as they were sailing, he fell asleep. A windstorm came down on the lake, so that the boat began to fill up with water, putting them in great danger. ²⁴ They went and woke him, saying, “Rabbi! Rabbi! We’re about to die!” He woke up, rebuked the wind and the rough water; and they calmed down, so that it was still. ²⁵ Then he said to the talmidim, “Where is your trust?” Awestruck, they marveled, asking one another, “Who can this be, that he commands even the wind and the water, and they obey him?”

²⁶ They sailed on and landed in the region of the Gerasenes, which is opposite the Galil. ²⁷ As Yeshua stepped ashore, a man from the town who had demons came to meet him. For a long time he had not worn clothes; and he lived, not in a house, but in the burial caves. ²⁸ Catching sight of Yeshua, he screamed, fell down in front of him and yelled, “Yeshua! Son of God Ha‘Elyon! What do you want with me? I beg you, don’t torture me!” ²⁹ For Yeshua had ordered the unclean spirit to come out of the man. It had often taken hold of him — he had been kept under guard, chained hand and foot, but had broken the bonds and been driven by the demon into the desert. ³⁰ Yeshua asked him, “What is your name?” “Legion,” he said, because many demons had entered him. ³¹ They begged Yeshua not to order them to go off into the Bottomless Pit.

³² Now there was a herd of many pigs, feeding on the hill; and the demons begged him to let them go into these. So he gave them permission. ³³ The demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, whereupon the herd rushed down the hillside into the lake and were drowned.

³⁴ When the swineherds saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the town and in the country; ³⁵ and the people came out to see for themselves. They came to Yeshua and found the man out of whom the demons had gone, sitting — dressed and in his right mind — at the feet of Yeshua; and they were frightened. ³⁶ Those who had seen it told how the formerly demonized man had been delivered.

³⁷ Then all the people of the Gerasene district asked him to leave them, for they had been seized with great fear. So he boarded the boat and returned. ³⁸ The man from whom the demons had gone out begged that he might go with him; but Yeshua sent him away, saying, ³⁹ “Go back to your home and tell how much God has done for you.” He went away proclaiming throughout the whole town how much Yeshua had done for him.

⁴⁰ When Yeshua got back, the crowd welcomed him; for they were all expecting him. ⁴¹ Then there came a man named Ya’ir who was president of the synagogue. Falling at Yeshua’s feet, he pleaded with him to come to his house; ⁴² for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old; and she was dying.

As he went, with the crowds on every side virtually choking him, ⁴³ a woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, ⁴⁴ came up behind him and touched the tzitzit on his robe; instantly her hemorrhaging stopped. ⁴⁵ Yeshua asked, “Who touched me?” When they all denied doing it, Kefa said, “Rabbi! The crowds are hemming you in and jostling you!” ⁴⁶ But Yeshua said, “Someone did touch me, because I felt power go out of me.” ⁴⁷ Seeing she could not escape notice, the woman, quaking with fear, threw herself down before him and confessed in front of everyone why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. ⁴⁸ He said to her, “My daughter, your trust has saved you; go in peace.”

⁴⁹ While Yeshua was still speaking, a man came from the synagogue president’s house. “Your daughter has died,” he said. “Don’t bother the rabbi any more.” ⁵⁰ But on hearing this, Yeshua answered him, “Don’t be afraid! Just go on trusting, and she will be made well.” ⁵¹ When he arrived at the house, he didn’t allow anyone to go in with him except Kefa, Yochanan, Ya‘akov and the child’s father and mother ⁵² All the people were wailing and mourning for her; but he said, “Don’t weep; she hasn’t died, she’s sleeping.” ⁵³ They jeered at him, since they knew she had died. ⁵⁴ But he took her by the hand, called out, “Little girl, get up!” ⁵⁵ and her spirit returned. She stood up at once, and he directed that something be given her to eat. ⁵⁶ Her parents were astounded, but he instructed them to tell no one what had happened.

9 Calling together the Twelve, Yeshua gave them power and authority to expel all the demons and to cure diseases; ² and he sent them out to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal. ³ He said to them, “Take nothing for your trip — neither a walking stick nor a pack, neither bread nor money; and don’t have two shirts. ⁴ Whatever house you enter, stay there and go out from there. ⁵ Wherever they don’t welcome you, shake the dust from your feet when you leave that town as a warning to them.” ⁶ They set out and went through village after village, healing and announcing the Good News everywhere.

⁷ Herod the governor heard about all that was going on and was perplexed, because it was said by some that Yochanan had been raised from the dead, ⁸ by others that Eliyahu had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. ⁹ Herod said, “I had Yochanan beheaded, so who is this about whom I keep hearing such things?” And he began trying to see him.

¹⁰ On their return, the emissaries detailed to Yeshua what they had done. Then, taking them with him, he withdrew by himself to a town called Beit-Tzaidah. ¹¹ But the crowds found out and followed him. Welcoming them, he went on to speak to them about the Kingdom of God and to heal those who needed to be healed.

¹² The day began to draw to a close. The Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away, so that they can go and get lodging and food in the towns and farms around here, because where we are is a remote place.” ¹³ But he said to them, “Give them something to eat, yourselves!” They said, “We have no more than five loaves of bread and two fish — unless we ourselves are supposed to go and buy food for all these people!” ¹⁴ (For there were about five thousand men.) He said to his talmidim, “Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” ¹⁵ They did what he told them and had them all sit down. ¹⁶ Then he took the five loaves and the two fish and, looking up toward heaven, made a b’rakhah, broke the loaves and began giving them to the talmidim to distribute to the crowd. ¹⁷ Everyone ate as much as he wanted; and they took up what was left over, twelve baskets full of broken pieces.

¹⁸ Once when Yeshua was praying in private, his talmidim were with him; and he asked them, “Who are the crowds saying I am?” ¹⁹ They answered, “Yochanan the Immerser; but others say Eliyahu, and others that some prophet of long ago has risen.” ²⁰ “But you,” he said to them, “who do you say I am?” Kefa answered, “The Mashiach of God!” ²¹ However, he, warning them, ordered them to tell this to no one, ²² adding, “The Son of Man has to endure much suffering and be rejected by the elders, the head cohanim and the Torah-teachers; and he has to be put to death; but on the third day, he has to be raised to life.”

²³ Then to everyone he said, “If anyone wants to come after me, let him say ‘No’ to himself, take up his execution-stake daily and keep following me. ²⁴ For whoever tries to save his own life will destroy it, but whoever destroys his life on my account will save it. ²⁵ What will it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but destroys or forfeits his own life? ²⁶ For if someone is ashamed of me and of what I say, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and that of the Father and of the holy angels. ²⁷ I tell you the truth, there are some people standing here who will not experience death until they see the Kingdom of God.”

²⁸ About a week after Yeshua said these things, he took Kefa, Yochanan and Ya‘akov with him and went up to the hill country to pray. ²⁹ As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed; and his clothing became gleaming white. ³⁰ Suddenly there were two men talking with him — Moshe and Eliyahu! ³¹ They appeared in glorious splendor and spoke of his exodus, which he was soon to accomplish in Yerushalayim. ³² Kefa and those with him had been sound asleep; but on becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. ³³ As the men were leaving Yeshua, Kefa said to him, not knowing what he was saying, “It’s good that we’re here, Rabbi! Let’s put up three shelters — one for you, one for Moshe and one for Eliyahu.” ³⁴ As he spoke, a cloud came and enveloped them. They were frightened as they entered the cloud; ³⁵ and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen. Listen to him!” ³⁶ When the voice spoke, Yeshua was alone once more. They kept quiet — at that time they told no one anything of what they had seen.

³⁷ The next day, as they were coming down out of the hill country, a large crowd met him. ³⁸ Suddenly a man in the crowd shouted, “Rabbi! Look at my son, I beg you, because he’s my only child! ³⁹ What happens is this: a spirit seizes him, and suddenly it lets out a shriek and throws him into convulsions with foaming at the mouth; and only with difficulty will it leave him. It’s destroying him! ⁴⁰ I asked your talmidim to drive the spirit out, but they couldn’t.” ⁴¹ “Perverted people, without any trust!” Yeshua answered, “How long do I have to be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” ⁴² Even as the boy was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground and threw him into a fit. But Yeshua rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. ⁴³ All were struck with amazement at the greatness of God. While they were all marvelling at everything Yeshua was doing, he said to his talmidim, ⁴⁴ “Listen very carefully to what I’m going to say. The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.” ⁴⁵ But they didn’t understand what he meant by this. It had been concealed from them so that they would not grasp its meaning, and they were afraid to ask him about it.

⁴⁶ An argument arose among the talmidim as to which of them might be the greatest. ⁴⁷ But Yeshua, knowing the thoughts of their hearts, took a child, stood him beside himself, ⁴⁸ and said to them, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the One who sent me. In other words, the one who is least among you all — this is the one who is great.” ⁴⁹ Yochanan responded, “Rabbi, we saw someone expelling demons in your name; and we stopped him because he doesn’t follow you along with us.” ⁵⁰ Yeshua said to him, “Don’t stop such people, because whoever isn’t against you is for you.”

⁵¹ As the time approached for him to be taken up into heaven, he made his decision to set out for Yerushalayim. ⁵² He sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village in Shomron to make preparations for him. ⁵³ However, the people there would not let him stay, because his destination was Yerushalayim. ⁵⁴ When the talmidim Ya‘akov and Yochanan saw this, they said, “Sir, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to destroy them?”^{[e] 55} But he turned and rebuked them.^{[f] 56} And they went on to another village.

⁵⁷ As they were traveling on the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ⁵⁸ Yeshua answered him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds flying about have nests, but the Son of Man has no home of his own.” ⁵⁹ To another he said, “Follow me!” but the man replied, “Sir, first let me go away and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ Yeshua said, “Let the dead bury their own dead; you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God!” ⁶¹ Yet another said, “I will follow you, sir, but first let me say good-by to the people at home.” ⁶² To him Yeshua said, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and keeps looking back is fit to serve in the Kingdom of God.”