Read the Gospels in 40 Days

Pharisees Object To Eating With Unwashed Hands. Jesus Condemns Their Traditions

7 And the Pharisees and some of the scribes are gathered-together with Him, having come from Jerusalem. ² And having seen some of His disciples, that they are eating their bread with defiled^[a] hands, that is, unwashed^[b]— ³ for the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands with a fist^[c], holding-on-to the tradition of the elders. ⁴ And they do not eat [when they return]^[d] from the marketplace unless they cleanse^[e] [themselves]. And there are many other traditions which they received to hold-on-to— the cleansing of cups and pitchers and copper-pots and couches^[f]. ⁵ And the Pharisees and the scribes ask Him, “For what reason are Your disciples not walking according to the tradition of the elders, but are eating their bread with defiled hands?” ⁶ And the One said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly concerning you hypocrites, as it has been written [in Isa 29:13], that ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far distant from Me. ⁷ But they are worshiping Me in-vain^[g], teaching as teachings^[h] the commandments of humans’. ⁸ Having neglected the commandment of God, you are holding on to the tradition of humans!” ⁹ And He was saying to them, “You are nicely^[i] setting-aside^[j] the commandment of God in order that you may establish^[k] your tradition! ¹⁰ For Moses said [in Ex 20:12], ‘Be honoring your father and your mother’, and [in Ex 21:17], ‘Let the one speaking-evil-of father or mother come-to-an-end^[l] by a death’. ¹¹ But you say if a person says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you might be benefitted from me is Corban (which means “Gift”)’, ¹² you no longer permit him to do anything^[m] for his father or mother— ¹³ nullifying^[n] the word of God by your tradition which you handed-down. And you are doing many similar such things”. ¹⁴ And having summoned the crowd again, He was saying to them, “Everyone listen-to Me and understand— ¹⁵ there is nothing outside of the person proceeding into him which is able to defile him. But the things proceeding out of the person are the things defiling the person. ^16 [o]

What Goes Into The Body Does Not Defile, But What Comes Out of The Heart

¹⁷ And when He entered into a house away-from the crowd, His disciples were questioning Him as to the parable. ¹⁸ And He says to them, “So are even you without-understanding? Do you not perceive that everything outside proceeding into the person is not able to defile^[p] him ¹⁹ because it does not proceed into his heart, but into his stomach, and it proceeds out into the latrine?” (He was making all foods clean^[q].) ²⁰ And He was saying that “The thing proceeding out of the person— that defiles the person. ²¹ For from within, out of the heart of people, proceed the evil thoughts, sexual-immoralities, thefts, murders, ²² adulteries, greeds, evils, deceit, sensuality, an evil eye^[r], blasphemy, arrogance, foolishness. ²³ All these evil things proceed-out from within, and defile the person”.

A Gentile Woman Begs For Crumbs From The Master’s Table

²⁴ And having arisen, He went from there to the districts of Tyre. And having entered into a house, He was wanting^[s] no one to know^[t] it. And-yet He was not able to escape-notice. ²⁵ But immediately, a woman having heard about Him— of whom her little daughter was having an unclean spirit— having come, fell at His feet. ²⁶ Now the woman was a Greek^[u], a Syro-Phoenician^[v] by nationality. And she was asking Him that He cast out the demon from her daughter. ²⁷ And He was saying to her, “First allow the children to be filled-to-satisfaction. For it is not good to take the bread of the children and throw it to the little-dogs^[w]”. ²⁸ But the one responded and says to Him, “Master, even the little dogs under the table eat from the crumbs of the children!” ²⁹ And He said to her, “Because of this statement, go— the demon has gone out of your daughter”. ³⁰ And having gone to her house, she found the child having been put^[x] on the bed, and the demon having gone out.

Jesus Heals a Deaf-Mute

³¹ And again having gone out of the districts of Tyre, He went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee in the midst of the districts of Decapolis. ³² And they bring to Him a deaf and speech-impaired one, and are begging Him that He lay His hand on him. ³³ And having taken him away from the crowd privately, He put His fingers into his^[y] ears. And having spit^[z], He touched his^[aa] tongue. ³⁴ And having looked up to heaven, He sighed. And He says to him “Ephphatha”, which means “Be opened”. ³⁵ And immediately his ears were opened and the binding^[ab] of his tongue was released and he was speaking correctly. ³⁶ And He gave-orders to them that they should be telling no one. But as much as He was giving orders to them, they even more abundantly were proclaiming it. ³⁷ And they were being super-abundantly astounded, saying “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak”.

Jesus Again Multiplies Loaves And Fish To Feed 4000

8 In those days, there again being a large crowd, and they not having anything they might eat— having summoned the disciples, He says to them ² “I feel-deep-feelings [of compassion] toward the crowd because it is already three days they are remaining-with Me, and they do not have anything they may eat. ³ And if I send them away to their house hungry, they will become-exhausted^[ac] on the way. And some of them have come from a distance”. ⁴ And His disciples responded to Him that “From where will anyone be able to fill these ones to satisfaction with bread here in a desolate-place?” ⁵ And He was asking them, “How many loaves do you have?” And the ones said “Seven”. ⁶ And He orders the crowd to fall-back on the ground [to eat]. And having taken the seven loaves, having given-thanks, He broke them, and was giving them to His disciples in order that they might be setting them before them. And they set them before the crowd. ⁷ And they had a few small-fish. And having blessed them, He said to be setting these also before them. ⁸ And they ate and were filled-to-satisfaction. And they picked up the leftovers of fragments— seven large-baskets. ⁹ And there were about four-thousand men. And He sent them away.

The Pharisees Ask For a Sign. No Sign Will Be Given To This Generation

¹⁰ And immediately, having gotten into the boat with His disciples, He went to the regions of Dalmanutha. ¹¹ And the Pharisees came out and began to debate^[ad] with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him. ¹² And having sighed-deeply in His spirit, He says “Why is this generation seeking a sign? Truly I say to you, a sign will never^[ae] be given to this generation”.

Jesus Warns The Disciples To Beware of The Leaven of The Pharisees

¹³ And having left them, having again gotten into the boat, He went to the other side. ¹⁴ And they forgot to take bread. And except one loaf, they were not having any with them in the boat. ¹⁵ And He was giving orders to them, saying “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and the leaven of Herod”. ¹⁶ And they were discussing with one another that they did not have bread. ¹⁷ And having known it, He says to them “Why are you discussing that you do not have bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Do you have your heart hardened? ¹⁸ Having eyes, are you not seeing? And having ears, are you not hearing? And do you not remember?— ¹⁹ When I broke the five loaves for the five-thousand, how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?” They say to Him, “Twelve”. ²⁰ “When I broke the seven loaves for the four-thousand, the fillings of how many large-baskets of fragments did you pick up?” And they say to Him, “Seven”. ²¹ And He was saying to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

Jesus Heals a Blind Man In Two Stages

²² And they come to Bethsaida. And they bring Him a blind man, and are begging Him that He touch him. ²³ And having taken-hold-of the hand of the blind man, He brought him outside of the village. And having spit in his eyes, having laid His hands on him, He was asking him “Do you see anything?” ²⁴ And having looked-up, he was saying “I am seeing people, because I am looking-at something like trees walking around”. ²⁵ Then again He laid His hands on his eyes, and looked-intently, and restored^[af] them. And he was seeing everything clearly. ²⁶ And He sent him away to his house, saying “Do not even enter into the village”.

Who Do You Disciples Say That I Am? Peter Says, You Are The Messiah

²⁷ And Jesus and His disciples went forth into the villages of Philip’s^[ag] Caesarea. And on the way, He was questioning His disciples, saying to them “Who do people say that I am?” ²⁸ And the ones spoke to Him, saying “That You are John the Baptist. And others, Elijah. But others, that You are one of the prophets”. ²⁹ And He was questioning them, “But who do you say that I am?” Having responded, Peter says to Him “You are the Christ”. ³⁰ And He warned them that they should be telling no one about Him.

Jesus Began To Teach Them That He Must Die And Be Raised. Peter Rebukes Him

³¹ And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and rise-up after three days. ³² And He was stating the matter with openness. And Peter, having taken Him aside, began to rebuke Him. ³³ But the One, having turned around, and having looked-at^[ah] His disciples, rebuked Peter. And He says “Get behind Me, Satan— because you are not thinking the things of God, but the things of humans”.

Deny Yourself, Take Up Your Cross, And Follow Me. Some Here Will See My Kingdom

³⁴ And having summoned the crowd with His disciples, He said to them, “If anyone wants to be following after Me, let him deny himself ^[ai] and take up his cross^[aj], and be following Me. ³⁵ For whoever wants to save^[ak] his life^[al] will lose it. But whoever will lose his life for the sake of Me and the good-news will save it. ³⁶ For what does it profit a person to gain the whole world, and forfeit^[am] his life^[an]? ³⁷ For what might a person give in-exchange-for his life? ³⁸ For whoever is ashamed-of Me and My words in this adulterous^[ao] and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels”. 9 ¹ And^[ap] He was saying to them, “Truly I say to you that there are some of the ones standing here who will by-no-means taste death until^[aq] they see the kingdom of God having come in power”.

Three Disciples See Jesus Transformed, And Hear God Tell Them To Listen To Jesus

² And after six days, Jesus takes along Peter and James and John, and brings them up on a high mountain privately, alone. And He was transfigured^[ar] in front of them. ³ And His garments became shining^[as], very white, such as a bleacher^[at] on earth is not able to make so white. ⁴ And Elijah appeared to them, with Moses. And they were talking-with Jesus. ⁵ And having responded, Peter says to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. And let us make three dwellings^[au]— one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah”. ⁶ For he did not know what he should respond, for they became terrified. ⁷ And there came-to-be a cloud overshadowing^[av] them. And a voice came out of the cloud: “This is My beloved Son. Be listening-to Him”. ⁸ And suddenly, having looked around, they no longer saw anyone with themselves but Jesus alone.

The Disciples Ask, Wasn’t Elijah Supposed To Come Before The Messiah?

⁹ And while they were coming down from the mountain, He gave orders to them that they should relate to no one the things which they saw, except when the Son of Man rises-up from the dead. ¹⁰ And they held^[aw] the matter to themselves, discussing what the ‘rising-up from the dead’ meant. ¹¹ And they were questioning Him, saying “Why is it that the scribes say that Elijah must come first^[ax]?” ¹² And the One said to them, “Elijah, having come first, restores all things— and-yet how has it been written for^[ay] the Son of Man that He would suffer many things and be treated-with-contempt^[az]? ¹³ But I say to you that Elijah indeed has come^[ba], and they did to him whatever they were wanting, just as it has been written for him”.

A Father Pleads With Jesus To Heal His Son Whom The Disciples Could Not Heal

¹⁴ And having come to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and scribes debating^[bb] with them. ¹⁵ And immediately all the multitude, having seen Him, were struck-with-wonder. And running-up, they were greeting Him. ¹⁶ And He asked them, “What are you debating with them?” ¹⁷ And one from the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought my son having a mute spirit to You. ¹⁸ And wherever it overcomes^[bc] him, it throws-him-to-the-ground, and he foams-at-the-mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes-stiff. And I spoke^[bd] to Your disciples in order that they might cast it out, and they were not strong-enough ^[be]”. ¹⁹ And the One, having responded to them, says “O unbelieving^[bf] generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I bear-with you? Bring him to Me”. ²⁰ And they brought him to Him. And having seen Him, the spirit immediately convulsed him. And having fallen on the ground, he was rolling-himself while foaming-at-the-mouth. ²¹ And He asked his father, “How long is it since this has happened to him?” And the one said, “From childhood. ²² And it often threw him even into fire and into waters in order that it might destroy him. But if You are able to do anything, help^[bg] us, having felt-deep-feelings [of pity] toward us”. ²³ And Jesus said to him, “‘If You are able?’ All things are possible for the one believing”. ²⁴ Immediately, having cried-out, the father of the child was saying, “I believe. Help my unbelief ”. ²⁵ And Jesus, having seen that a crowd is running-together-upon them, rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it “Mute and deaf spirit, I command you— come out of him and enter into him no longer”. ²⁶ And having cried-out, and having convulsed him greatly, it came out. And he became as if dead, so that the majority were saying that “He died”. ²⁷ But Jesus, having taken hold of his hand, raised him. And he stood-up. ²⁸ And He having entered into a house, His disciples were questioning Him privately, “Why is it that we were not able to cast it out?” ²⁹ And He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing except by prayer”.

Jesus Again Teaches His Disciples That He Must Die And Be Raised

³⁰ And having gone forth from there, they were passing through Galilee. And He was not wanting anyone to know it. ³¹ For He was teaching His disciples, and saying to them that “The Son of Man is being handed-over into the hands of men. And they will kill Him. And having been killed, He will rise-up after three days”. ³² But the ones were not-understanding the statement, and they were fearing to question Him.

The Disciples Argue About Who Is The Greatest. Jesus Says, To Be First You Must Be Last

³³ And they came to Capernaum. And having come-to-be in the house, He was questioning them, “What were you discussing on the way?” ³⁴ But the ones were being silent. For on the way they argued with one another who was greater^[bh]. ³⁵ And having sat-down, He called the twelve. And He says to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he shall^[bi] be last of all, and servant of all”.

Whoever Welcomes a Child In My Name Welcomes Me

³⁶ And having taken a child, He stood him^[bj] in the middle of them. And having taken him in His arms, He said to them, ³⁷ “Whoever welcomes one such-as-these children^[bk] on the basis of My name, welcomes Me. And whoever welcomes Me does not [merely] welcome Me, but the One having sent Me forth”.

John Recalls an Instance When The Disciples Did Not Welcome Someone

³⁸ John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting-out demons in Your name. And we were forbidding him because he was not following us”. ³⁹ But Jesus said, “Do not be forbidding him. For there is no one who will do a miracle on the basis of My name, and soon be able to speak-evil-of Me. ⁴⁰ For he who is not against^[bl] us is for us. ⁴¹ For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in the name that you are Christ’s— truly I say to you that he will by no means lose his reward.

Whoever Causes One of These Little Ones To Fall Would Be Better Off Dead

⁴² “And whoever causes one of these little ones believing in Me to fall— it would be better for him if instead a donkey’s millstone^[bm] were lying around his neck, and he had^[bn] been thrown into the sea.

Better To Remove Whatever Causes You To Fall Than To Go Into Hell

⁴³ And if your hand should be causing you to fall, cut^[bo] it off. It is better that you enter into life crippled than go into Gehenna^[bp] having two hands— into the inextinguishable^[bq] fire. ^{44 [br] 45} And if your foot should be causing you to fall, cut it off. It is better that you enter into life lame than be thrown into Gehenna having two feet. ^{46 [bs] 47} And if your eye should be causing you to fall, throw it out. It is better that you enter into the kingdom of God one-eyed than be thrown into Gehenna having two eyes— ⁴⁸ where their worm^[bt] does not come-to-an-end, and the fire is not quenched. ⁴⁹ For everyone will be salted with fire.

Have Salt In Yourselves, And Live In Peace

⁵⁰ “Salt is good. But if the salt should become unsalty, with what will you season it? Be having salt^[bu] in yourselves, and be living-in-peace with one another”.