Read the Gospels in 40 Days
Human Traditions and God’s Commandments
7 And the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered to him. 2 And they saw that some of his disciples were eating their[a] bread with unclean—that is, unwashed—hands. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands ritually,[b] thus[c] holding fast to the traditions of the elders. 4 And when they come[d] from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions[e] which they have received and[f] hold fast to—for example,[g] the washing of cups and pitchers and bronze kettles and dining couches.)[h] 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their[i] bread with unclean hands?” 6 So he said to them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
‘This people honors me with their[j] lips,
but their heart is far, far away from me.
7 And they worship me in vain,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’[k]
8 Abandoning the commandment of God, you hold fast to the tradition of men.”
9 And he said to them, “You splendidly ignore the commandment of God so that you can keep[l] your tradition. 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’[m] and, ‘The one who speaks evil of father or mother must certainly die[n].’[o] 11 But you say, ‘If a man says to his[p] father or to his[q] mother, “Whatever benefit you would have received[r] from me is corban”[s] (that is, a gift to God), 12 you no longer permit him to do anything for his[t] father or his[u] mother, 13 thus[v] making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down, and you do many similar things such as this.”
Defilement from Within
14 And summoning the crowd again, he said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside of a person that is able to defile him by[w] going into him. But the things that go out of a person are the things that defile a person.”[x] 17 And when he entered into the house away from the crowd, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “So are you also without understanding? Do you not understand that everything that is outside that goes into a person is not able to defile him? 19 For it does not enter into his heart but into his[y] stomach, and goes out into the latrine”—thus[z] declaring all foods clean. 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person, that defiles a person. 21 For from within, from the heart of people, come evil plans, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, 22 adulteries, acts of greed, malicious deeds, deceit, licentiousness, envy,[aa] abusive speech, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a person.”
A Syrophoenician Woman’s Great Faith
24 And from there he set out and[ab] went to the region of Tyre. And when he[ac] entered into a house, he wanted no one to know, and yet he was not able to escape notice. 25 But immediately a woman whose young daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit, when she[ad] heard about him, came and[ae] fell down at his feet, 26 Now the woman was a Greek—a Syrophoenician by nationality—and she was asking him that he would expel the demon from her daughter. 27 And he said to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it[af] to the dogs!” 28 But she answered and said to him, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 And he said to her, “Because of this statement, go! The demon has gone out of your daughter.” 30 And when she[ag] went to her home, she found the child lying on the bed and the demon gone.
A Man Deaf and Unable to Speak Healed
31 And again he went away from the region of Tyre and[ah] came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of the Decapolis. 32 And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had difficulty speaking, and they were imploring him that he would place his[ai] hand on him. 33 And he took him away from the crowd by himself and[aj] put his fingers into his ears, and after[ak] spitting, he touched his tongue. 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”). 35 And[al] his ears were opened and his difficulty in speaking was removed[am] and he began to speak normally. 36 And he ordered them that they should say nothing, but as much as he ordered them not to, they proclaimed it[an] even more instead. 37 And they were amazed beyond all measure, saying, “He has done all things well! He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak!”
The Feeding of Four Thousand
8 In those days there was[ao] again a large crowd, and they did not have[ap] anything they could eat. Summoning the disciples, he said to them, 2 “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have remained with me three days already and do not have anything to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their homes they will give out on the way, and some of them have come from far away.” 4 And his disciples answered him, “Where is anyone able to feed these people with bread here in the desert?” 5 And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” So they said, “Seven.” 6 And he commanded the crowd to recline for a meal on the ground, and taking the seven loaves, after he[aq] had given thanks he broke them[ar] and began giving[as] them[at] to his disciples so that they could set them[au] before them.[av] And they set them[aw] before the crowd. 7 And they had a few small fish, and after[ax] giving thanks for them, he said to set these before them also. 8 And they ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces that were left, seven baskets full. 9 Now there were about four thousand. And he sent them away. 10 And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and[ay] went to the district of Dalmanutha.
Pharisees Demand a Sign
11 And the Pharisees came and began to argue with him, demanding from him a sign from heaven in order to[az] test him. 12 And sighing deeply in his spirit, he said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation!” 13 And he left them, got into the boat[ba] again, and[bb] went to the other side.
Beware the Leaven of the Pharisees and Herod
14 And they had forgotten to take bread, and except for one loaf, they did not have any[bc] with them in the boat. 15 And he ordered them, saying, “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod!” 16 And they began to discuss with one another that they had no bread. 17 And knowing this,[bd] he said to them, “Why are you discussing that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Have your hearts been hardened? 18 Although you[be] have eyes, do you not see? And although you[bf] have ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand how many baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” 20 “When I also[bg] broke[bh] the seven loaves[bi] for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” 21 And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”
A Blind Man Healed at Bethsaida
22 And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought to him a blind man and implored him that he would touch him. 23 And he took hold of the blind man’s hand and[bj] led him outside the village, and after[bk] spitting in his eyes, he placed his hands on him and[bl] asked him, “Do you see anything?” 24 And looking up he said, “I see people, for I see them[bm] like trees walking around.” 25 Then he placed his[bn] hands on his eyes again, and he opened his eyes and was cured, and could see everything clearly. 26 And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even go into the village.”
Peter’s Confession at Caesarea Philippi
27 And Jesus and his disciples went out to the villages of Caesarea Philippi, and on the way he asked his disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 And they told him, saying, “John the Baptist, and others Elijah, and others that you are one of the prophets.” 29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and[bo] said to him, “You are the Christ!” 30 And he warned them that they should tell no one about him.
Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection
31 And he began to teach them that it was necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things and to be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and to be killed, and after three days to rise. 32 And he was speaking openly about the subject, and Peter took him aside and[bp] began to rebuke him. 33 But turning around and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan, because you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but the things of people!”
Taking Up One’s Cross to Follow Jesus
34 And summoning the crowd together with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone wants to come[bq] after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life on account of me and of the gospel will save it. 36 For what does it benefit a person to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? 37 For what can a person give in exchange for his life? 38 For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous 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 And he said to them, “Truly I say to you, that there are some of those standing here who will never experience death until they see the kingdom of God having come with power.”
The Transfiguration
2 And after six days, Jesus took along Peter and James and John, and led them to a high mountain by themselves alone. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothing became radiant—extremely white, like no cloth refiner on earth can make so white.[br] 4 And Elijah appeared to them together with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5 And Peter answered and[bs] said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here! And let us make three shelters, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 (For he did not know what he should answer, because they were terrified.) 7 And a cloud came, overshadowing them, and a voice came from the cloud, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him!” 8 And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus alone.
9 And as[bt] they were coming down from the mountain, he ordered them that they should tell no one the things that they had seen, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 And they kept the matter to themselves, discussing what this rising from the dead meant.[bu] 11 And they asked him, saying, “Why do[bv] the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 12 And he said to them, “Elijah indeed does come first and[bw] restores all things. And how is it written concerning the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? 13 But I tell you that indeed Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they wanted, just as it is written about him.”
A Demon-possessed Boy Healed
14 And when they[bx] came to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and scribes arguing with them. 15 And immediately the whole crowd, when they[by] saw him, were amazed, and ran up to him[bz] and[ca] greeted him. 16 And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” 17 And one individual from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought to you my son who has a spirit that makes him mute.[cb] 18 And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down and he foams at the mouth and grinds his[cc] teeth and becomes paralyzed. And I told your disciples that they should expel it, and they were not able to do so.[cd] 19 And he answered them and[ce] said, “O unbelieving generation! How long[cf] will I be with you? How long[cg] must I put up with you? Bring him to me!” 20 And they brought him to him. And when he[ch] saw him, the spirit immediately convulsed him, and falling on the ground, he began to roll around, foaming at the mouth. 21 And he asked his father how long it was since this had been happening to him. And he said, “From childhood. 22 And often it has thrown him both into fire and into water, in order that it could destroy him. But if you are able to do anything, have compassion on us and[ci] help us!” 23 But Jesus said to him, “If you are able! All things are possible for the one who believes!” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and[cj] said, “I believe! Help my unbelief!” 25 Now when[ck] Jesus saw that a crowd was running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and enter into him no more!” 26 And it came out, screaming and convulsing him[cl] greatly, and he became as if he were dead, so that most of them said, “He has died!” 27 But Jesus took hold of his hand and[cm] raised him up, and he stood up. 28 And after[cn] he had entered into the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why were we not able to expel it?” 29 And he said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing except by prayer.”[co]
Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection a Second Time
30 And from there they went out and[cp] passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, 31 for he was teaching his disciples and was telling them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he[cq] is killed, after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand the statement, and they were afraid to ask him.
The Question About Who Is Greatest
33 And they came to Capernaum. And after he[cr] was in the house, he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they were silent, because they had argued with one another on the way about who was greatest. 35 And he sat down and[cs] called the twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he will be last of all and servant of all.” 36 And he took a young child and[ct] had him stand among them.[cu] And taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes one of the young children such as these in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me, but the one who sent me.”
Whoever Is Not Against Us Is for Us
38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone expelling demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not prevent him, because there is no one who does a miracle in my name and will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 For whoever is not against us is for us. 41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in my name because you are Christ’s, truly I say to you that he will never lose his reward.
Temptations to Sin
42 “And whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it is better for him if instead a large millstone[cv] is placed around his neck and he is thrown into the sea. 43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter into life crippled than, having two hands, to go into hell—into the unquenchable fire![cw] 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter into life lame than, having two feet, to be thrown into hell![cx] 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out! It is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than, having two eyes, to be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not extinguished.’[cy] 49 For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good, but if the salt becomes deprived of its salt content, by what can you make it salty? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software