Read the Gospels in 40 Days
Traditions and Commandments
7 (A)Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes (B)who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were (C)defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly,[a] holding to (D)the tradition of (E)the elders, 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.[b] And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as (F)the washing of (G)cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.[c]) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to (H)the tradition of (I)the elders, (J)but eat with (K)defiled hands?” 6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you (L)hypocrites, as it is written,
(M)“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
7 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as (N)doctrines the commandments of men.’
8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”
9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of (O)rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, (P)‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, (Q)‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)[d]— 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus (R)making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
What Defiles a Person
14 And he called the people to him again and said to them, (S)“Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 (T)There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”[e] 17 And when he had entered (U)the house and left the people, (V)his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then (W)are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart (X)but his stomach, and is expelled?”[f] ((Y)Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, (Z)“What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, (AA)murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, (AB)sensuality, (AC)envy, (AD)slander, (AE)pride, (AF)foolishness. 23 (AG)All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
The Syrophoenician Woman's Faith
24 And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon.[g] And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. 25 But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. 26 (AH)Now the woman was a (AI)Gentile, (AJ)a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And he said to her, “Let the children be (AK)fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and (AL)throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's (AM)crumbs.” 29 And he said to her, “For this statement you may (AN)go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.
Jesus Heals a Deaf Man
31 (AO)Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to (AP)the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the (AQ)Decapolis. 32 And they brought to him (AR)a man who was deaf and (AS)had a speech impediment, and they begged him to (AT)lay his hand on him. 33 And (AU)taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and (AV)after spitting touched his tongue. 34 And (AW)looking up to heaven, (AX)he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 (AY)And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 And (AZ)Jesus[h] charged them to tell no one. But (BA)the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were (BB)astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand
8 (BC)In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, 2 (BD)“I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” 4 And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” 5 And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, (BE)“Seven.” 6 And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and (BF)having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. 7 And they had a few small fish. And (BG)having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. 8 And (BH)they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, (BI)seven baskets full. 9 And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. 10 And immediately he got into (BJ)the boat with his disciples and went to the district of (BK)Dalmanutha.[i]
The Pharisees Demand a Sign
11 (BL)The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, (BM)seeking from him (BN)a sign from heaven (BO)to test him. 12 And (BP)he sighed deeply (BQ)in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” 13 And (BR)he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.
The Leaven of the Pharisees and Herod
14 Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; (BS)beware of (BT)the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of (BU)Herod.”[j] 16 And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. 17 And (BV)Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? (BW)Do you not yet perceive (BX)or understand? (BY)Are your hearts hardened? 18 (BZ)Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke (CA)the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” 20 “And (CB)the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” 21 And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”
Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida
22 And they came (CC)to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. 23 And (CD)he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when (CE)he had (CF)spit on his eyes and (CG)laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” 24 And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” 25 Then Jesus[k] laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 And he sent him to his home, saying, (CH)“Do not even enter the village.”
Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ
27 (CI)And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 And they told him, (CJ)“John the Baptist; and others say, (CK)Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, (CL)“You are (CM)the Christ.” 30 (CN)And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.
Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection
31 (CO)And he began to teach them that (CP)the Son of Man must (CQ)suffer many things and (CR)be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and (CS)after three days rise again. 32 And he said this (CT)plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, (CU)“Get behind me, Satan! For you (CV)are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him (CW)deny himself and (CX)take up his cross and follow me. 35 For (CY)whoever would save his life[l] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake (CZ)and the gospel's will save it. 36 (DA)For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For (DB)what can a man give in return for his soul? 38 For (DC)whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this (DD)adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed (DE)when he comes in the glory of his Father with (DF)the holy angels.”
9 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not (DG)taste death (DH)until they see the kingdom of God after it has come (DI)with power.”
The Transfiguration
2 (DJ)And after six days Jesus took with him (DK)Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was (DL)transfigured before them, 3 and (DM)his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one[m] on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5 And Peter said to Jesus, (DN)“Rabbi,[n] it is good that we are here. Let us make three (DO)tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 For (DP)he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 And (DQ)a cloud overshadowed them, and (DR)a voice came out of the cloud, (DS)“This is my beloved Son;[o] (DT)listen to him.” 8 And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.
9 (DU)And as they were coming down the mountain, (DV)he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, (DW)until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 (DX)So they kept the matter to themselves, (DY)questioning what this rising from the dead might mean. 11 And they asked him, “Why do the scribes say (DZ)that first Elijah must come?” 12 And he said to them, “Elijah does come first (EA)to restore all things. And (EB)how is it written of the Son of Man that he should (EC)suffer many things and (ED)be treated with contempt? 13 But I tell you that Elijah has come, and (EE)they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.”
Jesus Heals a Boy with an Unclean Spirit
14 (EF)And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. 15 And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, (EG)were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. 16 And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” 17 And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has (EH)a spirit that makes him mute. 18 And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and (EI)they were not able.” 19 And he answered them, “O (EJ)faithless generation, (EK)how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” 20 And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it (EL)convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21 And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But (EM)if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 And Jesus said to him, (EN)“‘If you can’! (EO)All things are possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out[p] and said, “I believe; (EP)help my unbelief!” 25 And when Jesus saw that (EQ)a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, (ER)“You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26 And after crying out and (ES)convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus (ET)took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28 And when he had (EU)entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”[q]
Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection
30 (EV)They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, 31 for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, (EW)after three days he will rise.” 32 (EX)But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.
Who Is the Greatest?
33 And (EY)they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house (EZ)he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the way (FA)they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. 35 And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, (FB)“If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” 36 And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and (FC)taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 (FD)“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and (FE)whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”
Anyone Not Against Us Is for Us
38 (FF)John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone (FG)casting out demons in your name,[r] and (FH)we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 (FI)For the one who is not against us is for us. 41 For truly, I say to you, (FJ)whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.
Temptations to Sin
42 (FK)“Whoever causes one of (FL)these little ones who believe in me to sin,[s] (FM)it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 43 (FN)And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to (FO)hell,[t] to (FP)the unquenchable fire.[u] 45 (FQ)And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into (FR)hell. 47 (FS)And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into (FT)hell, 48 ‘where (FU)their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ 49 For everyone will be salted with fire.[v] 50 (FV)Salt is good, (FW)but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? (FX)Have salt in yourselves, and (FY)be at peace with one another.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.