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3 how to use this ile DeDition To my sweet mm, Mrth Ann Myers Mkohon, whose love for wors le me to love the Wor. I n t wit to see you gin. An to Forrest Blk n Lin Rogers whose love for people n for Go s truth hs ignite pssion for Go s Wor n fuele Wlk Thru the Bile s ministry worlwie for genertion. knowledgments A hertfelt thnk you to my er frien, mentor, n eitor, Pul A. Kirk. Sitting t your feet s you ve tught from Go s Wor throughout our ees-long frienship is ounte mong my life s rihest lessings. An to my sweet husn, John Greo, who re n eite every wor of this projet with sweet tenerness n wisom tht I m elighte to e overe y until Jesus lls us home. An most of ll to Jesus. I wrote muh of this with hns rise in prise n overwhelme we of his gooness n gret love. Anything tht s eutiful in these wors is eutiful euse you re eutiful, King Jesus. An eing love y you is my eepest joy. Lurin Mkohon Greo out wlk thru the ile For more thn three ees, Wlk Thru the Bile hs een eite to igniting pssion for Go s Wor worlwie through live events, evotionl mgzines, n resoures esigne for oth smll groups n iniviul use. Known for innovtive methos n high-qulity resoures, we serve the whole oy of Christ ross enomintionl, ulturl, n ntionl lines. Wlk Thru the Bile ommunites the truths of Go s Wor in wy tht mkes the Bile reily essile to nyone. We re ommitte to eveloping user-frienly resoures tht re Bile entere, of exellent qulity, life hnging for iniviuls, n tlyti for hurhes, ministries n movements; n we re ommitte to mintining our glol reh through strtegi prtnerships while hering to the highest levels of integrity in ll tht we o. Wlk Thru the Bile prtners with the lol hurh worlwie to fulfill its mission, helping people wlk thru the Bile with greter lrity n unerstning. Live events n smll group urriul re tught in over lnguges y more thn 0,000 instrutors in more thn ountries, n more thn 0 million evotionls hve een pkge into ily mgzines, ooks, n other pulitions tht reh over million people eh yer. Wlk Thru the Bile Go, the eternl, sovereign Inventor of the universe oul hve kept himself mystery forever. He oul hve ontinue sustining the universe nonymously, leving us to guess t why we exist or to rem up our own fulty explntions. But Go in t o tht euse tht s not his hert. Go s hert is this: he wnts us to know him n to live in his gret love. So Go gve us his Wor. The Bile is the Go of the universe opening himself up to show us who he is n wht his hert is like. It s living n tive ook through whih Go meets with us, speks with us n shres with us who he is. The Bile is ivine invittion. Get to know me, Go is ekoning in its wors n pges. The NIV Disover Go s Hert Devotionl Bile is over-to-over journey through Go s entire written Wor with spotlight on Go s hert. The evotionl reings in this Bile serve s tour guie through ll of Sripture. If you fithfully re every evotionl n orresponing portion of Sripture, you will not only re the Bile from over-to-over, ut you ll re it in wy where you enounter n grow loser to the Go who loves you so eeply. Here s wht you ll fin in this Bile: 1 D ily D e voti o nl s This Bile inlues six reings week, with one y off week, for full -week yer if you hoose to re through this Bile in one yer. You n lso re through it t your own pe the gol is not the spee t whih you re through Go s Wor, ut the further you press into his hert. The first reing is on pge. Eh evotionl hs orresponing Sripture reing. Eh evotionl hs three setions: Go s Story, The King s Hert n Insight. The Go s Story setion summrizes the portion of Sripture you re going to re, whih will give you etter unerstning of the pssge n how it fits into the ig piture of Go s story overll. Re this setion first. Then re the Sripture shown t the top of the pge. The King s Hert setion shres wht Go revels to us out who he is n wht his hert is like y further elorting on the history of the pssge or illuminting how it reltes to us. Re this fter you hve re the Sripture. You my then wish to re-re the Sripture portion. The Insight setion shres n extr it of informtion tht you my not know out the pssge. B ook introd u ti o ns Eh of the ooks of the Bile hs short introution tht provies si informtion out tht ook n shows how the ook fits into Go s Story. The ook intros ll tie together, so if you re them stright through from Genesis to Reveltion you will survey the entire plotline of Go s Story. re Ding Pl ns On pge vii you ll fin full list of eh ily reing, inluing heklist so you n iv v

4 vi How to Use this BiBle mrk your progress through Go s Wor. At the k of the Bile there re severl itionl reing plns to further enhne your Bile reing experiene. the new i nt er nt i o n l ve r s i o n s r i P tu re te xt Fr more importnt thn ny of the resoures we ve provie is the Bile text itself, the Wor of Go. Go euse he loves us n wnts us to know him hs given us welth of eep truths stright from his hert to show us who he is. The insights Go wnts to show you through his Wor go fr eyon wht we ve shre in these evotionl reings. It s our hope n pryer tht through his wors, his Spirit, n his eep love, you will onnet with Go n get to know him more eeply thn you ever imgine. M t t h ew Author: The fteful fll in the Gren of Een Mtthew, lso lle Levi ws evstting. Go s lose reltionship with his people ws rippe prt. Auiene: Souls hine. Herts line. The worl Greek-speking Jewish Christins infete. But Go wouln t give up. He wnte to e lose to his people. So he Ate: fithfully egn putting his resue pln Between AD 0 n 0 into motion n tenerly prepring his people for theme: wht ws to ome. Mtthew presents Jesus Sometimes Go stte it plinly: Resue is s the Jewish Messih oming through your esennts, he si to sent y Go to fulfill OT prophey. Arhm. Resue is oming through your royl line, he tol King Dvi. Sometimes Go ws more sutle, his pln whispering through history like the win through the trees: Resue is going to look like the srifie of elove son, he whispere, s genertions tol the story of Arhm s shoking willingness to srifie his son Is. Resue is going to look like Pssover, he hinte, s genertions rememere the Lor pssing over loo-mrke homes. Resue is going to look like righteousness live out, he suggeste through the Ten Commnments t Mount Sini. Resue is oming, he tol his people throughout the Ol Testment. An then, mzingly, eutifully, the time for resue omes. Jesus steps on erth n shows the worl wht his pln hs een ll long: Go isn t going to resue his people through prophet or king. He is going to resue them himself. He is the Resue. Mtthew, tx-olletor-turne-isiple, writes own his experienes with Jesus. As Jewish mn himself, he wnts to help Go s people see tht Jesus is the fulfillment of ll Go s whispers throughout their rih history. Over n over Mtthew shows how Jesus fulfills speifi propheies of the Ol Testment. Go s people hve een given the honor of eing the people to whom Go h tol his gret seret. All long, Go s goo hert hs een to resue his people n restore their reltionship. An ll long his goo hert hs een to o it himself.

5 1 Mtthew 1: Mtthew : 1 The Genelogy of Jesus the Messih 1 This is the ge ne l o gy of Jesus the Messi h the son of D vi, the son of Arhm: Ar hm ws the f ther of Is, Is the f ther of J o, J o the f ther of Ju h n his roth ers, Ju h the f ther of Pe rez n Ze rh, whose moth er ws T mr, Pe rez the f ther of Hez ron, Hez ron the f ther of Rm, Rm the f ther of Am min, Am min the f ther of Nh shon, Nh shon the f ther of Sl mon, Sl mon the f ther of Boz, whose moth er ws R h, Boz the f ther of Oe, whose moth er ws Ruth, Oe the f ther of Jes se, n Jes se the f ther of King D vi. D vi ws the f ther of Sol o mon, whose moth er h een Uri h s wife, Sol o mon the f ther of Re ho o m, Re ho o m the f ther of Ai jh, Ai jh the f ther of As, As the f ther of Je hosh pht, Je hosh pht the f ther of Je ho rm, Je ho rm the f ther of Uz zi h, Uz zi h the f ther of Jo thm, Jo thm the f ther of Ahz, Ahz the f ther of Hez e ki h, Hez e ki h the f ther of M ns seh, M ns seh the f ther of Amon, Amon the f ther of Jo si h, n Jo si h the f ther of Je o ni h n his roth ers t the time of the ex ile to B ylon. 1 Af ter the ex ile to B ylon: Je o ni h ws the f ther of She l ti el, She l ti el the f ther of Ze ru el, Ze ru el the f ther of Ai hu, Ai hu the f ther of Eli kim, Eli kim the f ther of Azor, 1 Azor the f ther of Z ok, Z ok the f ther of Akim, Akim the f ther of Eli hu, Eli hu the f ther of El e zr, El e zr the f ther of Mt thn, Mt thn the f ther of J o, n J o the f ther of Jo seph, the hus n of Mry, n Mry ws the moth er of Jesus who is lle the Mes si h. 1 Thus there were four teen gen er tions in ll from Ar hm to D vi, four teen from D vi to the ex ile to B ylon, n four teen from the ex ile to the Mes si h. Joseph Aepts Jesus s His Son This is how the irth of Jesus the Mes si h me out : His moth er Mry ws plege to e mr rie to Jo seph, ut e fore they me to geth er, she ws foun to e preg nnt through the Holy Spir it. 1 Be use Jo seph her hus n ws fith ful to the lw, n yet e i not wnt to ex pose her to pu li is gre, he h in min to i vore her qui et ly. But f ter he h on si ere this, n ngel of the Lor p pere to him in rem n si, Jo seph son of D vi, o not e fri to tke Mry home s your wife, euse wht is on eive in her is from the Holy Spir it. She will give irth to son, n you re to give him the nme Jesus, f e use he will sve his peo ple from their sins. All this took ple to ful fill wht the Lor h si through the proph et: The vir gin will on eive n give irth to son, n they will ll him Im mn u el g (whih mens Go with us ). When Jo seph woke up, he i wht the 1 Or is n ount of the origin 1 Or Jesus Christ. Messih (Herew) n Christ (Greek) oth men Anointe One; lso in verse. Tht is, Jehoihin; lso in verse 1 Or The origin of Jesus the Messih ws like this e 1 Or ws righteous mn n f Jesus is the Greek form of Joshu, whih mens the Lor sves. g Isih :1 n gel of the Lor h om mn e him n took Mry home s his wife. But he i not on sum mte their mr rige un til she gve irth to son. An he gve him the nme Jesus. The Mgi Visit the Messih Af ter Jesus ws orn in Beth le hem in Ju e, ur ing the time of King Her o, Mgi from the est me to Je ru s lem n ske, Where is the one who hs een orn king of the Jews? We sw his str when it rose n hve ome to wor ship him. When King Her o her this he ws isture, n ll Je ru s lem with him. When he h lle to geth er ll the peo ple s hief priests n teh ers of the lw, he ske them where the Mes si h ws to e orn. In Beth le hem in Ju e, they re plie, for this is wht the proph et hs writ ten: But you, Bethlehem, in the ln of Juh, re y no mens lest mong the rulers of Juh; for out of you will ome ruler who will shepher my people Isrel. Then Her o lle the Mgi se ret ly n foun out from them the ex t time the str h p pere. He sent them to Beth le hem n si, Go n serh re ful ly for the hil. As soon s you fin him, re port to me, so tht I too my go n wor ship him. Af ter they h her the king, they went on their wy, n the str they h seen when it rose went he of them un til it stoppe over the ple where the hil ws. When they sw the str, they were overjoye. On om ing to the house, they sw the hil with his moth er Mry, n they owe own n wor shipe him. Then they opene their tre sures n pre sent e him with gifts of gol, frnk in ense n myrrh. 1 An hv ing een wrne in rem not to go k to Her o, they re turne to their oun try y n oth er route. The Espe to Egypt When they h gone, n n gel of the Lor p pere to Jo seph in rem. Get up, he si, tke the hil n his mother n es pe to Egypt. Sty there un til I tell you, for Her o is go ing to serh for the hil to kill him. 1 So he got up, took the hil n his moth er ur ing the night n left for Egypt, where he stye un til the eth of Her o. An so ws ful fille wht the Lor h si through the proph et: Out of Egypt I lle my son. When Her o re l ize tht he h een out wit te y the Mgi, he ws fu ri ous, n he gve or ers to kill ll the oys in Beth lehem n its vi in i ty who were two yers ol n un er, in or ne with the time he h lerne from the Mgi. 1 Then wht ws si through the proph et Jer e mi h ws fulfille: A voie is her in Rmh, weeping n gret mourning, Rhel weeping for her hilren n refusing to e omforte, euse they re no more. The Return to Nzreth 1 Af ter Her o ie, n n gel of the Lor p pere in rem to Jo seph in Egypt n si, Get up, tke the hil n his moth er n go to the ln of Is r el, for those who were try ing to tke the hil s life re e. So he got up, took the hil n his moth er n went to the ln of Is r el. But when he her tht Ar he l us ws reigning in Ju e in ple of his f ther Her o, he ws fri to go there. Hv ing een wrne in rem, he with rew to the is trit of Gl i lee, n he went n live in town lle Nz reth. So ws ful fille wht ws si through the proph ets, tht he woul e lle Nz rene. John the Bptist Prepres the Wy In those ys John the Bp tist me, preh ing in the wil er ness of Ju e n sy ing, Re pent, for the king om of hev en hs ome ner. This is he who ws spo ken of through the proph et Is ih: A voie of one lling in the wilerness, Prepre the wy for the Lor, mke stright pths for him. e John s lothes were me of m el s hir, n he h leth er elt roun his wist. 1 Tritionlly wise men Mih :, Hose :1 Jer. 1: e Isih 0:

6 Mtthew : Mtthew :1 His foo ws lo usts n wil hon ey. People went out to him from Je ru s lem n ll Ju e n the whole re gion of the Jor n. Con fess ing their sins, they were p tize y him in the Jor n Riv er. But when he sw mny of the Phr i sees n S u ees om ing to where he ws ptiz ing, he si to them: You roo of vi pers! Who wrne you to flee from the om ing wrth? Pro ue fruit in keep ing with repen tne. An o not think you n sy to your selves, We hve Ar hm s our fther. I tell you tht out of these stones Go n rise up hil ren for Ar hm. The x is l rey t the root of the trees, n ev ery tree tht oes not pro ue goo fruit will e ut own n thrown into the fire. I p tize you with w ter for re pentne. But f ter me omes one who is more pow er ful thn I, whose sn ls I m not wor thy to r ry. He will p tize you with the Holy Spir it n fire. 1 His win nowing fork is in his hn, n he will ler his thresh ing floor, gth er ing his whet into the rn n urn ing up the hff with unquenh le fire. The Bptism of Jesus Then Jesus me from Gl i lee to the Jorn to e p tize y John. 1 But John trie to e ter him, sy ing, I nee to e p tize y you, n o you ome to me? Jesus re plie, Let it e so now; it is prop er for us to o this to ful fill ll righteous ness. Then John on sent e. As soon s Jesus ws p tize, he went up out of the w ter. At tht mo ment hev en ws opene, n he sw the Spir it of Go e sen ing like ove n light ing on him. 1 An voie from hev en si, This is my Son, whom I love; with him I m well plese. Jesus Is Teste in the Wilerness Then Jesus ws le y the Spir it into the wil er ness to e tempt e y the ev il. Af ter fst ing for ty ys n for ty nights, he ws hun gry. The tempt er me to him n si, If you re the Son of Go, tell these stones to e ome re. Jesus n swere, It is writ ten: Mn shll not live on re lone, ut on ev ery wor tht omes from the mouth of Go. Then the ev il took him to the holy ity n h him stn on the high est point of the tem ple. If you re the Son of Go, he si, throw your self own. For it is writ ten: He will ommn his ngels onerning you, n they will lift you up in their hns, so tht you will not strike your foot ginst stone. Jesus n swere him, It is lso writ ten: Do not put the Lor your Go to the test. e Agin, the ev il took him to very high moun tin n showe him ll the king oms of the worl n their splen or. All this I will give you, he si, if you will ow own n wor ship me. Jesus si to him, Awy from me, S tn! For it is writ ten: Wor ship the Lor your Go, n serve him only. f Then the ev il left him, n n gels me n t ten e him. Jesus Begins to Preh 1 When Jesus her tht John h een put in pris on, he with rew to Gl i lee. Lev ing Nz reth, he went n live in Cper n um, whih ws y the lke in the re of Ze u lun n Nph t li 1 to ful fill wht ws si through the proph et Is ih: Ln of Zeulun n ln of Nphtli, the Wy of the Se, eyon the Jorn, Glilee of the Gentiles the people living in rkness hve seen gret light; on those living in the ln of the show of eth light hs wne. g 1 From tht time on Jesus e gn to preh, Re pent, for the king om of hev en hs ome ner. Jesus Clls His First Disiples As Jesus ws wlk ing e sie the Se of Gl i lee, he sw two roth ers, Si mon lle Pe ter n his roth er An rew. They were st ing net into the lke, for they were fisher men. 1 Come, fol low me, Jesus si, n Mtthew 1 Go s Humn Fmily Tree Go s story Finlly Go unveils the msterful story-pln he hs een rfting for enturies. The Reeemer he hs een pointing to n promising is none other thn his own Son. Auity of uities, Go hs steppe into single ell in the wom of womn to eome the Go-Mn. Deity hs humn fmily tree. Go s Spirit visits young womn, Mry, who is soon pregnnt with Go s Son. Go sens n ngel to Mry s finé, Joseph, to explin the inreile thing he hs one. Soon Go s Son is orn. He is Immnuel, Go with us. Following the ngel s instrutions, Joseph nmes the y Jesus Yhweh sves. Following the str Go hs positione in the sky, sholrly mgi from the est ome to Bethlehem. Through their visit, Hero, the evil Romn-ppointe king of Jue, hers out Jesus n orers n infnt mssre. Go les his Son s fmily to sfety. Yers pss n Jesus reltive John egins to prepre the people for Jesus, hllenging them to hnge their lives n ptizing them in the Jorn River. Jesus omes to e ptize too, n Go elres how eeply he loves his Son. The Spirit les Jesus into the wilerness to fst. After 0 ys Stn omes to tempt him perhps he n use the Son to sin. Jesus lings to the truths he knows out his Fther. Beten, Stn leves. John is imprisone n Jesus lls his first isiples it is hnging of the spiritul gur. the KinG s hert It s story line so stouning tht Go h to revel it in piees over enturies: Go the Cretor eme one of his retions. Most of the religious leers never were le to wrp their hes roun it. But it ws Go s pln ll long. Go oul hve rrive on erth t ny point. Inste he hose to ultivte fmily tree over enturies, to grft himself into the story of his people n then to grft us in too. Perhps Go knew tht if he just rrive on erth without prepring us, no one woul hve elieve him. It is just too uious. But sine his gol ws to onvine his people of his love, Go me slowly loving long. Go hose tht the wy he woul sve us woul e personl, working through people. It elres Go s sole hert-intention: I wnt to e lose to you. insight The ook of Mtthew rrnges Jesus genelogy into three groups of 1 men or six groups of seven men. Seven ws highly signifint numer to Go s people. Jesus eing orn s the seventh group of seven me it ler Go ws oing something wonerful. Or in 1 The Greek for tempte n lso men teste. Deut. : Pslm 1:,1 e Deut. : f Deut. : g Isih :1, For your next reing, go to pge.

7 Mtthew : Mtthew : Mtthew : Mtthew : I will sen you out to fish for peo ple. At one they left their nets n fol lowe him. Go ing on from there, he sw two other roth ers, Jmes son of Ze e ee n his roth er John. They were in ot with their f ther Ze e ee, pre pr ing their nets. Jesus lle them, n im me i te ly they left the ot n their f ther n fol lowe him. Jesus Hels the Sik Jesus went through out Gl i lee, teh ing in their syn gogues, pro lim ing the goo news of the king om, n hel ing ev ery isese n sik ness mong the peo ple. News out him spre ll over Syr i, n peo ple rought to him ll who were ill with vr i ous is es es, those suf fer ing se vere pin, the emon pos sesse, those hv ing sei zures, n the pr lyze; n he hele them. Lrge rows from Gl i lee, the De p o lis, Je ru slem, Ju e n the re gion ross the Jor n fol lowe him. Introution to the Sermon on the Mount Now when Jesus sw the rows, he went up on moun tin sie n st own. His is i ples me to him, n he e gn to teh them. The Betitues He si: Blesse re the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingom of heven. Blesse re those who mourn, for they will e omforte. Blesse re the meek, for they will inherit the erth. Blesse re those who hunger n thirst for righteousness, for they will e fille. Blesse re the meriful, for they will e shown mery. Blesse re the pure in hert, for they will see Go. Blesse re the peemkers, for they will e lle hilren of Go. Blesse re those who re perseute euse of righteousness, for theirs is the kingom of heven. Blesse re you when peo ple in sult you, per se ute you n flse ly sy ll kins of evil ginst you e use of me. 1 Re joie n e gl, e use gret is your re wr in hev en, for in the sme wy they per se ut e the proph ets who were e fore you. Slt n Light You re the slt of the erth. But if the slt los es its slt i ness, how n it e me slty gin? It is no lon ger goo for ny thing, ex ept to e thrown out n trm ple uner foot. 1 You re the light of the worl. A town uilt on hill n not e hi en. Nei ther o peo ple light lmp n put it un er owl. In ste they put it on its stn, n it gives light to ev ery one in the house. In the sme wy, let your light shine e fore oth ers, tht they my see your goo ees n glo ri fy your F ther in hev en. The Fulfillment of the Lw 1 Do not think tht I hve ome to ol ish the Lw or the Proph ets; I hve not ome to ol ish them ut to ful fill them. For tru ly I tell you, un til hev en n erth is p per, not the smll est let ter, not the lest stroke of pen, will y ny mens is p per from the Lw un til ev ery thing is om plishe. 1 There fore ny one who sets sie one of the lest of these om mns n teh es oth ers or ing ly will e lle lest in the king om of hev en, ut who ev er pr ti es n teh es these om mns will e lle gret in the king om of hev en. For I tell you tht un less your righ teous ness sur psses tht of the Phr i sees n the teh ers of the lw, you will er tin ly not en ter the kingom of hev en. Murer You hve her tht it ws si to the peo ple long go, You shll not mur er, n ny one who mur ers will e su jet to jugment. But I tell you tht ny one who is ngry with roth er or sis ter, will e su jet to jug ment. Agin, ny one who sys to roth er or sis ter, R, e is n swer le to the ourt. An ny one who sys, You fool! will e in n ger of the fire of hell. Tht is, the Ten Cities Exous : The Greek wor for rother or sister (elphos) refers here to fellow isiple, whether mn or womn; lso in verse. Some mnusripts rother or sister without use e An Armi term of ontempt There fore, if you re of fer ing your gift t the l tr n there re mem er tht your roth er or sis ter hs some thing ginst you, leve your gift there in front of the l tr. First go n e re on ile to them; then ome n of fer your gift. Set tle mt ters quik ly with your versry who is tk ing you to ourt. Do it while you re still to geth er on the wy, or your ver sry my hn you over to the juge, n the juge my hn you over to the of fi er, n you my e thrown into pris on. Tru ly I tell you, you will not get out un til you hve pi the lst pen ny. Aultery You hve her tht it ws si, You shll not om mit ul tery. But I tell you tht ny one who looks t wom n lust fully hs l rey om mit te ul tery with her in his hert. If your right eye us es you to stum le, gouge it out n throw it wy. It is et ter for you to lose one prt of your oy thn for your whole oy to e thrown into hell. 0 An if your right hn us es you to stum le, ut it off n throw it wy. It is etter for you to lose one prt of your oy thn for your whole oy to go into hell. Divore 1 It hs een si, Any one who i vores his wife must give her er tif i te of ivore. But I tell you tht ny one who i vor es his wife, ex ept for sex u l im morl i ty, mkes her the vi tim of ul tery, n ny one who mr ries i vore wom n om mits ul tery. Oths Agin, you hve her tht it ws si to the peo ple long go, Do not rek your oth, ut ful fill to the Lor the vows you hve me. But I tell you, o not swer n oth t ll: ei ther y hev en, for it is Go s throne; or y the erth, for it is his foot stool; or y Je ru s lem, for it is the ity of the Gret King. An o not swer y your he, for you n not mke even one hir white or lk. All you nee to sy is sim ply Yes or No ; ny thing e yon this omes from the evil one. Eye for Eye You hve her tht it ws si, Eye for eye, n tooth for tooth. But I tell you, o not re sist n evil per son. If ny one slps you on the right heek, turn to them the oth er heek lso. 0 An if ny one wnts to sue you n tke your shirt, hn over your ot s well. 1 If ny one for es you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who sks you, n o not turn wy from the one who wnts to or row from you. Love for Enemies You hve her tht it ws si, Love your neigh or e n hte your en e my. But I tell you, love your en e mies n pry for those who per se ute you, tht you my e hil ren of your F ther in hev en. He us es his sun to rise on the evil n the goo, n sens rin on the righ teous n the un righteous. If you love those who love you, wht re wr will you get? Are not even the tx olle tors o ing tht? An if you greet only your own peo ple, wht re you o ing more thn oth ers? Do not even p gns o tht? Be per fet, there fore, s your hev en ly Fther is per fet. Giving to the Neey Be re ful not to pr tie your righteous ness in front of oth ers to e seen y them. If you o, you will hve no re wr from your F ther in hev en. So when you give to the neey, o not n noune it with trum pets, s the hypo rites o in the syn gogues n on the streets, to e hon ore y oth ers. Tru ly I tell you, they hve re eive their re wr in full. But when you give to the neey, o not let your left hn know wht your right hn is o ing, so tht your giv ing my e in se ret. Then your F ther, who sees wht is one in se ret, will re wr you. Pryer An when you pry, o not e like the hyp o rites, for they love to pry stn ing in the syn gogues n on the street or ners to e seen y oth ers. Tru ly I tell you, they hve re eive their re wr in full. But when you pry, go into your room, lose the oor n Exous :1 1 Deut. :1 Or from evil Exous :; Lev. :; Deut. 1: e Lev. 1:

8 Mtthew : Mtthew : pry to your F ther, who is un seen. Then your F ther, who sees wht is one in se ret, will re wr you. An when you pry, o not keep on ling like p gns, for they think they will e her e use of their mny wors. Do not e like them, for your F ther knows wht you nee e fore you sk him. This, then, is how you shoul pry: Our Fther in heven, hllowe e your nme, your kingom ome, your will e one, on erth s it is in heven. Give us toy our ily re. 1 An forgive us our ets, s we lso hve forgiven our etors. An le us not into tempttion, ut eliver us from the evil one. 1 For if you for give oth er peo ple when they sin ginst you, your hev en ly F ther will lso for give you. But if you o not for give oth ers their sins, your F ther will not for give your sins. Fsting When you fst, o not look som er s the hyp o rites o, for they is fig ure their f es to show oth ers they re fst ing. Tru ly I tell you, they hve re eive their re wr in full. 1 But when you fst, put oil on your he n wsh your fe, so tht it will not e o vi ous to oth ers tht you re fst ing, ut only to your F ther, who is un seen; n your F ther, who sees wht is one in se ret, will re wr you. Tresures in Heven 1 Do not store up for your selves tre sures on erth, where moths n ver min e stroy, n where thieves rek in n stel. But store up for your selves tre sures in hev en, where moths n ver min o not e stroy, n where thieves o not rek in n stel. For where your tre sure is, there your hert will e lso. The eye is the lmp of the oy. If your eyes re helthy, your whole oy will e full of light. But if your eyes re un helthy, your whole oy will e full of rk ness. If then the light with in you is rk ness, how gret is tht rk ness! No one n serve two ms ters. Ei ther you will hte the one n love the oth er, or you will e e vot e to the one n e spise the oth er. You n not serve oth Go n mon ey. Do Not Worry There fore I tell you, o not wor ry out your life, wht you will et or rink; or out your oy, wht you will wer. Is not life more thn foo, n the oy more thn lothes? Look t the irs of the ir; they o not sow or rep or store wy in rns, n yet your hev en ly F ther fees them. Are you not muh more vlu le thn they? Cn ny one of you y wor ry ing single hour to your life e? An why o you wor ry out lothes? See how the flow ers of the fiel grow. They o not l or or spin. Yet I tell you tht not even Sol o mon in ll his splen or ws resse like one of these. 0 If tht is how Go lothes the grss of the fiel, whih is here to y n to mor row is thrown into the fire, will he not muh more lothe you you of lit tle fith? 1 So o not wor ry, sy ing, Wht shll we et? or Wht shll we rink? or Wht shll we wer? For the p gns run f ter ll these things, n your hev en ly Fther knows tht you nee them. But seek first his king om n his righ teous ness, n ll these things will e giv en to you s well. There fore o not wor ry out to mor row, for to mor row will wor ry out it self. Eh y hs enough trou le of its own. Juging Others Do not juge, or you too will e juge. For in the sme wy you juge oth ers, you will e juge, n with the me sure you use, it will e me sure to you. Why o you look t the spek of sw ust in your roth er s eye n py no t ten tion to the plnk in your own eye? How n you sy to your roth er, Let me tke the spek out of your eye, when ll the time there is plnk in your own eye? You hyp o rite, first tke the plnk out of your own eye, n then Mtthew Go s Personl Heven lesson Go s story Jesus wlks up mountin with his friens n egins to teh people his wys. It is n eho of Moses who h long efore lime nother mountin to e tught Go s wys. Jesus, whose home is heven, gives insight into the wys of Go s kingom. These re the wys of life tht he wnts people to get use to living right now. The tehings re opposite from the wys of the worl euse the worl is roken. Jesus is tehing the right wy. Hrships in this roken worl push us into eeper knowlege of Go n his kingom. Dily, Go griously pours out sunshine n rin on people who on t eserve it. We re to love others generously too. Jesus tehes how to hve onverstion with the King of the universe, who invites us to ll him Fther. He instruts us to spen time lone with Go so tht we ll e soul-honest, n he gives n exmple of how we n pry. We n sk our high n holy Fther for nything, espeilly tht he ll mke erth look more like heven. Jesus points out the folly of worry. As muh-love sons n ughters of the universe s King, we shouln t worry euse Go won t fil in tking re of us. the KinG s hert In Jesus y, mny Jews woul sy kingom of heven inste of kingom of Go in orer to voi using Go s nme. So when Jesus prolime, Repent, for the kingom of heven hs ome ner (Mtthew :1), he ws sying tht Go s kingom h ome ner. Jesus oming to erth ws n invsion: He ws inving to estlish his kingom. Go s kingom, the kingom of heven, isn t some fr-off ple where his followers will somey go. Jesus, the true King, rought his kingom, his rule n reign, to erth. His kingom is ny ple where people live uner his lorship where his love, joy, pee, gooness, wholeness, justie n kinness re the orer of the y. It s Go s pln tht we live in his kingom now. One y he will usher it in fully, when he sets the worl right n joins heven n erth. But for now we re to live in our here-ut-not-yet home. The Sermon on the Mount is the King of heven sitting own mong his retions, tehing them out his goo home their home n inviting them to live in it. insight Jesus expline tht he wsn t olishing ll tht Go h tught his people through the Lw n the Prophets the ooks of the Ol Testment (see Mtthew :1). In ft, he h ome to fulfill the Sriptures. The Greek for tempttion n lso men testing. Or from evil ; some lte mnusripts one, / for yours is the kingom n the power n the glory forever. Amen. The Greek for helthy here implies generous. The Greek for unhelthy here implies stingy. e Or single uit to your height For your next reing, go to pge 1.

9 Mtthew : Mtthew : Mtthew : Mtthew : you will see ler ly to re move the spek from your roth er s eye. Do not give ogs wht is s re; o not throw your perls to pigs. If you o, they my trm ple them un er their feet, n turn n ter you to pie es. Ask, Seek, Knok Ask n it will e giv en to you; seek n you will fin; knok n the oor will e opene to you. For ev ery one who sks reeives; the one who seeks fins; n to the one who knoks, the oor will e opene. Whih of you, if your son sks for re, will give him stone? Or if he sks for fish, will give him snke? If you, then, though you re evil, know how to give goo gifts to your hil ren, how muh more will your F ther in hev en give goo gifts to those who sk him! 1 So in ev ery thing, o to oth ers wht you woul hve them o to you, for this sums up the Lw n the Proph ets. The Nrrow n Wie Gtes En ter through the nr row gte. For wie is the gte n ro is the ro tht les to e stru tion, n mny en ter through it. 1 But smll is the gte n nrrow the ro tht les to life, n only few fin it. True n Flse Prophets Wth out for flse proph ets. They ome to you in sheep s loth ing, ut in wrly they re fe ro ious wolves. By their fruit you will re og nize them. Do peo ple pik grpes from thorn ush es, or figs from thistles? 1 Like wise, ev ery goo tree ers goo fruit, ut tree ers fruit. A goo tree n not er fruit, n tree n not er goo fruit. 1 Ev ery tree tht oes not er goo fruit is ut own n thrown into the fire. Thus, y their fruit you will re og nize them. True n Flse Disiples Not ev ery one who sys to me, Lor, Lor, will en ter the king om of hev en, ut only the one who oes the will of my F ther who is in hev en. Mny will sy to me on tht y, Lor, Lor, i we not proph e sy in your nme n in your nme rive out e mons n in your nme per form mny mir les? Then I will tell them plin ly, I nev er knew you. Awy from me, you evil o ers! The Wise n Foolish Builers There fore ev ery one who hers these wors of mine n puts them into pr tie is like wise mn who uilt his house on the rok. The rin me own, the strems rose, n the wins lew n et ginst tht house; yet it i not fll, e use it h its foun tion on the rok. But ev ery one who hers these wors of mine n oes not put them into pr tie is like fool ish mn who uilt his house on sn. The rin me own, the strems rose, n the wins lew n et ginst tht house, n it fell with gret rsh. When Jesus h fin ishe sy ing these things, the rows were mze t his tehing, e use he tught s one who h uthor i ty, n not s their teh ers of the lw. Jesus Hels Mn With Leprosy When Jesus me own from the mountin sie, lrge rows fol lowe him. A mn with lep ro sy me n knelt e fore him n si, Lor, if you re will ing, you n mke me len. Jesus rehe out his hn n touhe the mn. I m will ing, he si. Be len! Im me i te ly he ws lense of his lep ro sy. Then Jesus si to him, See tht you on t tell ny one. But go, show your self to the priest n of fer the gift Mo ses om mn e, s tes ti mo ny to them. The Fith of the Centurion When Jesus h en tere C per n um, en tu ri on me to him, sk ing for help. Lor, he si, my ser vnt lies t home pr lyze, suf fer ing ter ri ly. Jesus si to him, Shll I ome n hel him? The en tu ri on re plie, Lor, I o not eserve to hve you ome un er my roof. But just sy the wor, n my ser vnt will e hele. For I my self m mn un er uthor i ty, with sol iers un er me. I tell this one, Go, n he goes; n tht one, Come, n he omes. I sy to my ser vnt, Do this, n he oes it. When Jesus her this, he ws mze n si to those fol low ing him, Tru ly I tell you, I hve not foun ny one in Is rel with suh gret fith. I sy to you tht mny will ome from the est n the west, n will tke their pl es t the fest with Ar hm, Is n J o in the king om of hev en. 1 But the su jets of the king om will e thrown out sie, into the rk ness, where there will e weep ing n gnsh ing of teeth. Then Jesus si to the en tu ri on, Go! Let it e one just s you e lieve it woul. An his ser vnt ws hele t tht mo ment. Jesus Hels Mny 1 When Jesus me into Pe ter s house, he sw Pe ter s moth er in lw ly ing in e with fe ver. He touhe her hn n the fe ver left her, n she got up n e gn to wit on him. When eve ning me, mny who were e mon pos sesse were rought to him, n he rove out the spir its with wor n hele ll the sik. 1 This ws to ful fill wht ws spo ken through the proph et Is ih: He took up our infirmities n ore our iseses. The Cost of Following Jesus When Jesus sw the row roun him, he gve or ers to ross to the oth er sie of the lke. 1 Then teh er of the lw me to him n si, Teh er, I will fol low you wher ever you go. Jesus re plie, Fox es hve ens n irs hve nests, ut the Son of Mn hs no ple to ly his he. An oth er is i ple si to him, Lor, first let me go n ury my f ther. But Jesus tol him, Fol low me, n let the e ury their own e. Jesus Clms the Storm Then he got into the ot n his isi ples fol lowe him. Su en ly fu ri ous storm me up on the lke, so tht the wves swept over the ot. But Jesus ws sleep ing. The is i ples went n woke him, sy ing, Lor, sve us! We re go ing to rown! He re plie, You of lit tle fith, why re you so fri? Then he got up n re uke the wins n the wves, n it ws omplete ly lm. The men were mze n ske, Wht kin of mn is this? Even the wins n the wves oey him! Jesus Restores Two Demon-Possesse Men When he r rive t the oth er sie in the re gion of the G renes, two e mon possesse men om ing from the toms met him. They were so vi o lent tht no one oul pss tht wy. Wht o you wnt with us, Son of Go? they shout e. Hve you ome here to tor ture us e fore the p point e time? 0 Some is tne from them lrge her of pigs ws fee ing. 1 The e mons egge Jesus, If you rive us out, sen us into the her of pigs. He si to them, Go! So they me out n went into the pigs, n the whole her rushe own the steep nk into the lke n ie in the w ter. Those ten ing the pigs rn off, went into the town n re port e ll this, in lu ing wht h hp pene to the e mon pos sesse men. Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. An when they sw him, they ple e with him to leve their re gion. Jesus Forgives n Hels Prlyze Mn Jesus steppe into ot, rosse over n me to his own town. Some men rought to him pr lyze mn, ly ing on mt. When Jesus sw their fith, he si to the mn, Tke hert, son; your sins re forgiv en. At this, some of the teh ers of the lw si to them selves, This fel low is lsphem ing! Know ing their thoughts, Jesus si, Why o you en ter tin evil thoughts in your herts? Whih is es i er: to sy, Your sins re for giv en, or to sy, Get up n wlk? But I wnt you to know tht the Son of Mn hs u thor i ty on erth to for give sins. So he si to the pr lyze mn, Get up, tke your mt n go home. Then the mn got up n went home. When the row sw this, they were fille with we; n they prise Go, who h giv en suh u thor i ty to mn. The Greek wor tritionlly trnslte leprosy ws use for vrious iseses ffeting the skin. 1 Isih : (see Septugint) Some mnusripts Gergesenes; other mnusripts Gersenes

10 Mtthew : Mtthew : Mtthew : Mtthew : The Clling of Mtthew As Jesus went on from there, he sw mn nme Mt thew sit ting t the tx olle tor s ooth. Fol low me, he tol him, n Mt thew got up n fol lowe him. While Jesus ws hv ing in ner t Mtthew s house, mny tx ol le tors n sinners me n te with him n his is iples. When the Phr i sees sw this, they ske his is i ples, Why oes your teh er et with tx ol le tors n sin ners? 1 On her ing this, Jesus si, It is not the helthy who nee o tor, ut the sik. But go n lern wht this mens: I e sire mer y, not s ri fie. For I hve not ome to ll the righ teous, ut sin ners. Jesus Questione Aout Fsting 1 Then John s is i ples me n ske him, How is it tht we n the Phr i sees fst of ten, ut your is i ples o not fst? Jesus n swere, How n the guests of the rie groom mourn while he is with them? The time will ome when the riegroom will e tk en from them; then they will fst. No one sews pth of un shrunk loth on n ol gr ment, for the pth will pull wy from the gr ment, mk ing the ter worse. 1 Nei ther o peo ple pour new wine into ol wine skins. If they o, the skins will urst; the wine will run out n the wineskins will e ru ine. No, they pour new wine into new wine skins, n oth re preserve. Jesus Rises De Girl n Hels Sik Womn While he ws sy ing this, syn gogue le er me n knelt e fore him n si, My ugh ter hs just ie. But ome n put your hn on her, n she will live. 1 Jesus got up n went with him, n so i his is i ples. Just then wom n who h een sujet to lee ing for twelve yers me up ehin him n touhe the ege of his lok. She si to her self, If I only touh his lok, I will e hele. Jesus turne n sw her. Tke hert, ugh ter, he si, your fith hs hele you. An the wom n ws hele t tht moment. Hose : When Jesus en tere the syn gogue le er s house n sw the noisy row n peo ple ply ing pipes, he si, Go wy. The girl is not e ut sleep. But they lughe t him. Af ter the row h een put out sie, he went in n took the girl y the hn, n she got up. News of this spre through ll tht re gion. Jesus Hels the Blin n the Mute As Jesus went on from there, two lin men fol lowe him, ll ing out, Hve mer y on us, Son of D vi! When he h gone in oors, the lin men me to him, n he ske them, Do you e lieve tht I m le to o this? Yes, Lor, they re plie. Then he touhe their eyes n si, A or ing to your fith let it e one to you ; 0 n their sight ws re store. Jesus wrne them stern ly, See tht no one knows out this. 1 But they went out n spre the news out him ll over tht re gion. While they were go ing out, mn who ws e mon pos sesse n oul not tlk ws rought to Jesus. An when the emon ws riv en out, the mn who h een mute spoke. The row ws mze n si, Noth ing like this hs ever een seen in Is r el. But the Phr i sees si, It is y the prine of e mons tht he rives out e mons. The Workers Are Few Jesus went through ll the towns n vil lg es, teh ing in their syn gogues, prolim ing the goo news of the king om n hel ing ev ery is ese n sik ness. When he sw the rows, he h om ps sion on them, e use they were h rsse n helpless, like sheep with out shep her. Then he si to his is i ples, The hr vest is plenti ful ut the work ers re few. Ask the Lor of the hr vest, there fore, to sen out work ers into his hr vest fiel. Jesus Sens Out the Twelve Jesus lle his twelve is i ples to him n gve them u thor i ty to rive out im pure spir its n to hel ev ery is ese n sik ness. These re the nmes of the twelve postles: first, Si mon (who is lle Pe ter) n his roth er An rew; Jmes son of Ze e ee, n his roth er John; Phil ip n Br thol o mew; Thom s n Mt thew the tx ol letor; Jmes son of Al phe us, n Th e us; Si mon the Zel ot n Ju s Is r i ot, who e trye him. These twelve Jesus sent out with the follow ing in stru tions: Do not go mong the Gen tiles or en ter ny town of the S mri tns. Go rth er to the lost sheep of Is rel. As you go, pro lim this mes sge: The king om of hev en hs ome ner. Hel the sik, rise the e, lense those who hve lep ro sy, rive out e mons. Free ly you hve re eive; free ly give. Do not get ny gol or sil ver or op per to tke with you in your elts no g for the jour ney or ex tr shirt or sn ls or stff, for the work er is worth his keep. Wht ever town or vil lge you en ter, serh there for some wor thy per son n sty t their house un til you leve. 1 As you en ter the home, give it your greet ing. If the home is e serv ing, let your pee rest on it; if it is not, let your pee re turn to you. 1 If ny one will not welome you or lis ten to your wors, leve tht home or town n shke the ust off your feet. Tru ly I tell you, it will e more erle for So om n Go mor rh on the y of jug ment thn for tht town. I m sen ing you out like sheep mong wolves. There fore e s shrew s snkes n s in no ent s oves. 1 Be on your gur; you will e hn e over to the lo l oun ils n e flogge in the syn gogues. On my ount you will e rought e fore gov er nors n kings s wit ness es to them n to the Gen tiles. 1 But when they r rest you, o not wor ry out wht to sy or how to sy it. At tht time you will e giv en wht to sy, for it will not e you spek ing, ut the Spir it of your F ther spek ing through you. Broth er will e try roth er to eth, n f ther his hil; hil ren will re el ginst their pr ents n hve them put to eth. You will e hte y ev ery one euse of me, ut the one who stns firm to the en will e sve. When you re perse ut e in one ple, flee to n oth er. Tru ly I tell you, you will not fin ish go ing through the towns of Is r el e fore the Son of Mn omes. The stu ent is not ove the teh er, nor ser vnt ove his ms ter. It is enough for stu ents to e like their teh ers, n servnts like their ms ters. If the he of the house hs een lle Be el ze ul, how muh more the mem ers of his house hol! So o not e fri of them, for there is noth ing on ele tht will not e islose, or hi en tht will not e me known. Wht I tell you in the rk, spek in the y light; wht is whis pere in your er, pro lim from the roofs. Do not e fri of those who kill the oy ut nnot kill the soul. Rth er, e fri of the One who n e stroy oth soul n oy in hell. Are not two spr rows sol for pen ny? Yet not one of them will fll to the groun outsie your F ther s re. 0 An even the very hirs of your he re ll num ere. 1 So on t e fri; you re worth more thn mny spr rows. Who ev er knowl eg es me e fore others, I will lso knowl ege e fore my Fther in hev en. But who ev er is owns me e fore others, I will is own e fore my F ther in hev en. Do not sup pose tht I hve ome to ring pee to the erth. I i not ome to ring pee, ut swor. For I hve ome to turn mn ginst his fther, ughter ginst her mother, ughter in lw ginst her motherin lw mn s enemies will e the memers of his own househol. Any one who loves their f ther or mother more thn me is not wor thy of me; ny one who loves their son or ugh ter more thn me is not wor thy of me. Who ev er oes not tke up their ross n fol low me is not worthy of me. Who ev er fins their life will lose it, n who ev er los es their life for my ske will fin it. 0 Any one who wel omes you wel omes me, n ny one who wel omes me welomes the one who sent me. 1 Who ev er welomes proph et s proph et will re eive proph et s re wr, n who ev er wel omes righ teous per son s righ teous per son will re eive righ teous per son s re wr. An if The Greek wor tritionlly trnslte leprosy ws use for vrious iseses ffeting the skin. Or will; or knowlege Mih :

11 1 Mtthew :1 Mtthew 1: 1 ny one gives even up of ol w ter to one of these lit tle ones who is my is i ple, tru ly I tell you, tht per son will er tin ly not lose their re wr. Jesus n John the Bptist Af ter Jesus h fin ishe in strut ing his twelve is i ples, he went on from there to teh n preh in the towns of Gl i lee. When John, who ws in pris on, her out the ees of the Mes si h, he sent his is i ples to sk him, Are you the one who is to ome, or shoul we ex pet some one else? Jesus re plie, Go k n re port to John wht you her n see: The lin reeive sight, the lme wlk, those who hve lep ro sy re lense, the ef her, the e re rise, n the goo news is prolime to the poor. Blesse is ny one who oes not stum le on ount of me. As John s is i ples were lev ing, Jesus e gn to spek to the row out John: Wht i you go out into the wil er ness to see? A ree swye y the win? If not, wht i you go out to see? A mn resse in fine lothes? No, those who wer fine lothes re in kings pl es. Then wht i you go out to see? A proph et? Yes, I tell you, n more thn proph et. This is the one out whom it is writ ten: I will sen my messenger he of you, who will prepre your wy efore you. Tru ly I tell you, mong those orn of women there hs not ris en ny one gret er thn John the Bp tist; yet who ev er is lest in the king om of hev en is gret er thn he. 1 From the ys of John the Bp tist un til now, the king om of hev en hs een sujet e to vi o lene, n vi o lent peo ple hve een ri ing it. For ll the Proph ets n the Lw proph e sie un til John. 1 An if you re will ing to ept it, he is the Eli jh who ws to ome. Who ev er hs ers, let them her. To wht n I om pre this gen er tion? They re like hil ren sit ting in the mr ketpl es n ll ing out to oth ers: 1 We plye the pipe for you, n you i not ne; we sng irge, n you i not mourn. For John me nei ther et ing nor rinking, n they sy, He hs e mon. 1 The Son of Mn me et ing n rink ing, n they sy, Here is glut ton n runk r, frien of tx ol le tors n sin ners. But wisom is prove right y her ees. Woe on Unrepentnt Towns Then Jesus e gn to e noune the towns in whih most of his mir les h een per forme, e use they i not repent. Woe to you, Cho r zin! Woe to you, Beth s i! For if the mir les tht were performe in you h een per forme in Tyre n Si on, they woul hve re pent e long go in sk loth n sh es. But I tell you, it will e more er le for Tyre n Si on on the y of jug ment thn for you. An you, C per n um, will you e lift e to the hevens? No, you will go own to Hes. e For if the mir les tht were per forme in you h een per forme in So om, it woul hve re mine to this y. But I tell you tht it will e more er le for So om on the y of jug ment thn for you. The Fther Revele in the Son At tht time Jesus si, I prise you, F ther, Lor of hev en n erth, e use you hve hi en these things from the wise n lerne, n re vele them to lit tle hilren. Yes, F ther, for this is wht you were plese to o. All things hve een om mit te to me y my F ther. No one knows the Son ex ept the F ther, n no one knows the F ther ex ept the Son n those to whom the Son hoos es to re vel him. Come to me, ll you who re we ry n ur ene, n I will give you rest. Tke my yoke upon you n lern from me, for I m gen tle n hum le in hert, n you will fin rest for your souls. 0 For my yoke is esy n my ur en is light. Jesus Is Lor of the Sth At tht time Jesus went through the 1 grin fiels on the S th. His isi ples were hun gry n e gn to pik some hes of grin n et them. When the Mtthew Jesus, THe PowerFully Goo one Go s story Jesus ontinues to show the worl wht Go is like n to revel the wys of his kingom. Jesus omes own the mountin to engge people tormente y the worl s rokenness. He hels mn with leprosy who oesn t know if Go woul even wnt to hel him. He hels the servnt of enturion who wholehertely trusts tht Jesus possesses ll uthority. He hels Peter s mother-in-lw of fever. He reukes storm tht sres his isiples. He rives emons out of those who hve een iretly tormente y rkness. He forgives prlyze mn s sins, to the shok of the Phrisees, n then hels the mn. When the Phrisees question why Jesus spens time with people who hve notso-pristine reputtions, he explins tht he hsn t ome for the helthy he hs ome for the sik. As he wlks through row, hemorrhging womn touhes his lok n is hele. He rises e girl to life. He gives the lin sight n the mute speeh. Jesus is ringing Go s kingom of wholeness. He gives his isiples hrge n then sens them out to vne his kingom like they hve seen him o. While Jesus n his isiples re tehing the wys of Go s kingom, John is in prison. Wonering if he hs misunerstoo who Jesus is, John sens his isiples to sk him. Jesus verifies who he is ut lso ommens John. John is one of Go s gretest servnts lthough nyone who enters the oming new ovennt kingom will e even more lesse. the KinG s hert Jesus is the King of the spiritul relm emons flee t his ommn n sin is forgiven t his eision. Jesus is the King of the physil relm leprosy n eth reverse t his orer, n storms still when he lls for lm. Jesus isn t just Teher with etter wys to live. He is the King of ll the erth; nothing is outsie of his uthority. We live in worl where he reigns. An he reigns well. I know you re le to hel me, Lor, the mn with leprosy ws sying to Jesus. But o you wnt to? Jesus rehe out his hn n touhe the mn. I m willing, he si. Be len! (Mtthew :). Go isn t just ll-powerful; he is wholly goo. Our herts re never sfer thn when they re trusting in him. insight Get up, Jesus tol the prlyze mn s he hele him (Mtthew :). It s Jesus fvorite wor to use when heling people. The wor is often trnslte rise, rise or rise gin. It s resurretion lnguge. 1 Greek in their towns The Greek wor tritionlly trnslte leprosy ws use for vrious iseses ffeting the skin. Ml. :1 1 Or een forefully vning e Tht is, the relm of the e 1 For your next reing, go to pge 1.

12 1 Mtthew 1: Mtthew 1: 1 1 Mtthew 1: Mtthew :1 1 Phr i sees sw this, they si to him, Look! Your is i ples re o ing wht is un lw ful on the S th. He n swere, Hven t you re wht D vi i when he n his om pn ions were hun gry? He en tere the house of Go, n he n his om pn ions te the on se rt e re whih ws not lw ful for them to o, ut only for the priests. Or hven t you re in the Lw tht the priests on S th uty in the tem ple es e rte the S th n yet re in no ent? I tell you tht some thing gret er thn the tem ple is here. If you h known wht these wors men, I e sire mer y, not s ri fie, you woul not hve on emne the in no ent. For the Son of Mn is Lor of the S th. Go ing on from tht ple, he went into their syn gogue, n mn with shrivele hn ws there. Look ing for re son to ring hrges ginst Jesus, they ske him, Is it lw ful to hel on the S th? He si to them, If ny of you hs sheep n it flls into pit on the S th, will you not tke hol of it n lift it out? 1 How muh more vlu le is per son thn sheep! There fore it is lw ful to o goo on the S th. Then he si to the mn, Streth out your hn. So he strethe it out n it ws om plete ly re store, just s soun s the oth er. 1 But the Phr i sees went out n plotte how they might kill Jesus. Go s Chosen Servnt Awre of this, Jesus with rew from tht ple. A lrge row fol lowe him, n he hele ll who were ill. He wrne them not to tell oth ers out him. 1 This ws to ful fill wht ws spo ken through the prophet Is ih: Here is my servnt whom I hve hosen, the one I love, in whom I elight; I will put my Spirit on him, n he will prolim justie to the ntions. 1 He will not qurrel or ry out; no one will her his voie in the streets. A ruise ree he will not rek, n smolering wik he will not snuff out, till he hs rought justie through to vitory. In his nme the ntions will put their hope. Jesus n Beelzeul Then they rought him e mon possesse mn who ws lin n mute, n Jesus hele him, so tht he oul oth tlk n see. All the peo ple were s ton ishe n si, Coul this e the Son of D vi? But when the Phr i sees her this, they si, It is only y Be el ze ul, the prine of e mons, tht this fel low rives out e mons. Jesus knew their thoughts n si to them, Ev ery king om i vi e ginst it self will e ru ine, n ev ery ity or house hol i vi e ginst it self will not stn. If Stn rives out S tn, he is i vi e ginst him self. How then n his king om stn? An if I rive out e mons y Be el ze ul, y whom o your peo ple rive them out? So then, they will e your jug es. But if it is y the Spir it of Go tht I rive out emons, then the king om of Go hs ome upon you. Or gin, how n ny one en ter strong mn s house n r ry off his pos sessions un less he first ties up the strong mn? Then he n plun er his house. 0 Who ev er is not with me is ginst me, n who ev er oes not gth er with me stters. 1 An so I tell you, ev ery kin of sin n slner n e for giv en, ut ls phemy ginst the Spir it will not e for giv en. Any one who speks wor ginst the Son of Mn will e for giv en, ut ny one who speks ginst the Holy Spir it will not e for giv en, ei ther in this ge or in the ge to ome. Mke tree goo n its fruit will e goo, or mke tree n its fruit will e, for tree is re og nize y its fruit. You roo of vi pers, how n you who re evil sy ny thing goo? For the mouth speks wht the hert is full of. A goo mn rings goo things out of the goo store up in him, n n evil mn rings evil things out of the evil store up in him. But I tell you tht every one will hve to give ount on the y of jug ment for ev ery emp ty wor they hve spo ken. For y your wors you will e quit te, n y your wors you will e on emne. The Sign of Jonh Then some of the Phr i sees n tehers of the lw si to him, Teh er, we wnt to see sign from you. He n swere, A wik e n ul terous gen er tion sks for sign! But none will e giv en it ex ept the sign of the proph et Jonh. 0 For s Jo nh ws three ys n three nights in the el ly of huge fish, so the Son of Mn will e three ys n three nights in the hert of the erth. 1 The men of Nin e veh will stn up t the jug ment with this gener tion n on emn it; for they re pent e t the preh ing of Jo nh, n now some thing gret er thn Jo nh is here. The Queen of the South will rise t the jug ment with this gen er tion n on emn it; for she me from the ens of the erth to lis ten to Sol o mon s wis om, n now some thing gret er thn Sol o mon is here. When n im pure spir it omes out of per son, it goes through ri pl es seek ing rest n oes not fin it. Then it sys, I will re turn to the house I left. When it r rives, it fins the house un o u pie, swept len n put in or er. Then it goes n tkes with it sev en oth er spir its more wik e thn it self, n they go in n live there. An the fi nl on i tion of tht per son is worse thn the first. Tht is how it will e with this wike gen er tion. Jesus Mother n Brothers While Jesus ws still tlk ing to the row, his moth er n roth ers stoo outsie, wnt ing to spek to him. Some one tol him, Your moth er n roth ers re stn ing out sie, wnt ing to spek to you. He re plie to him, Who is my moth er, n who re my roth ers? Point ing to his is i ples, he si, Here re my moth er n my roth ers. 0 For who ev er oes the will of my F ther in hev en is my roth er n sis ter n moth er. The Prle of the Sower Tht sme y Jesus went out of the house n st y the lke. Suh lrge rows gth ere roun him tht he got into ot n st in it, while ll the people stoo on the shore. Then he tol them mny things in pr les, sy ing: A frm er went out to sow his see. As he ws st tering the see, some fell long the pth, n the irs me n te it up. Some fell on roky pl es, where it i not hve muh soil. It sprng up quik ly, e use the soil ws shl low. But when the sun me up, the plnts were sorhe, n they with ere e use they h no root. Oth er see fell mong thorns, whih grew up n hoke the plnts. Still oth er see fell on goo soil, where it pro ue rop hun re, sixty or thir ty times wht ws sown. Who ev er hs ers, let them her. The is i ples me to him n ske, Why o you spek to the peo ple in pr les? He re plie, Be use the knowl ege of the se rets of the king om of hev en hs een giv en to you, ut not to them. 1 Whoever hs will e giv en more, n they will hve n un ne. Who ever oes not hve, even wht they hve will e tk en from them. This is why I spek to them in pr les: Though seeing, they o not see; though hering, they o not her or unerstn. 1 In them is ful fille the proph e y of Is ih: You will e ever hering ut never unerstning; you will e ever seeing ut never pereiving. For this people s hert hs eome llouse; they hrly her with their ers, n they hve lose their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, her with their ers, unerstn with their herts n turn, n I woul hel them. But lesse re your eyes e use they see, n your ers e use they her. 1 For tru ly I tell you, mny proph ets n righ teous people longe to see wht you see ut i not see it, n to her wht you her ut i not her it. Hose : Isih :1 Isih :, (see Septugint)

13 1 Mtthew : Mtthew : 1 1 Mtthew : Mtthew 1: 1 Lis ten then to wht the pr le of the sow er mens: 1 When ny one hers the mes sge out the king om n oes not un er stn it, the evil one omes n snth es wy wht ws sown in their hert. This is the see sown long the pth. The see fll ing on roky groun re fers to someone who hers the wor n t one re eives it with joy. But sine they hve no root, they lst only short time. When trou le or perse u tion omes e use of the wor, they quik ly fll wy. The see fll ing mong the thorns re fers to some one who hers the wor, ut the wor ries of this life n the eeit ful ness of welth hoke the wor, mking it un fruit ful. But the see fll ing on goo soil re fers to some one who hers the wor n un er stns it. This is the one who pro ues rop, yiel ing hun re, six ty or thir ty times wht ws sown. The Prle of the Wees Jesus tol them n oth er pr le: The king om of hev en is like mn who sowe goo see in his fiel. But while ev ery one ws sleep ing, his en e my me n sowe wees mong the whet, n went wy. When the whet sprout e n forme hes, then the wees lso p pere. The own er s ser vnts me to him n si, Sir, in t you sow goo see in your fiel? Where then i the wees ome from? An en e my i this, he re plie. The ser vnts ske him, Do you wnt us to go n pull them up? No, he n swere, e use while you re pull ing the wees, you my up root the whet with them. 0 Let oth grow to geth er un til the hr vest. At tht time I will tell the hr vest ers: First ol let the wees n tie them in un les to e urne; then gth er the whet n ring it into my rn. The Prles of the Mustr See n the Yest 1 He tol them n oth er pr le: The king om of hev en is like mus tr see, whih mn took n plnt e in his fiel. Though it is the smll est of ll sees, yet when it grows, it is the lrg est of gr en plnts n e omes tree, so tht the irs ome n perh in its rnh es. Or out kilogrms Pslm : He tol them still n oth er pr le: The king om of hev en is like yest tht wom n took n mixe into out six ty pouns of flour un til it worke ll through the ough. Jesus spoke ll these things to the row in pr les; he i not sy ny thing to them with out us ing pr le. So ws ful fille wht ws spo ken through the proph et: I will open my mouth in prles, I will utter things hien sine the retion of the worl. The Prle of the Wees Expline Then he left the row n went into the house. His is i ples me to him n si, Ex plin to us the pr le of the wees in the fiel. He n swere, The one who sowe the goo see is the Son of Mn. The fiel is the worl, n the goo see stns for the peo ple of the king om. The wees re the peo ple of the evil one, n the en e my who sows them is the ev il. The hr vest is the en of the ge, n the hr vest ers re n gels. 0 As the wees re pulle up n urne in the fire, so it will e t the en of the ge. 1 The Son of Mn will sen out his n gels, n they will wee out of his king om every thing tht us es sin n ll who o evil. They will throw them into the lz ing fur ne, where there will e weep ing n gnsh ing of teeth. Then the righ teous will shine like the sun in the king om of their Fther. Who ev er hs ers, let them her. The Prles of the Hien Tresure n the Perl The king om of hev en is like tre sure hi en in fiel. When mn foun it, he hi it gin, n then in his joy went n sol ll he h n ought tht fiel. Agin, the king om of hev en is like mer hnt look ing for fine perls. When he foun one of gret vl ue, he went wy n sol ev ery thing he h n ought it. The Prle of the Net One gin, the king om of hev en is like net tht ws let own into the lke n ught ll kins of fish. When it ws full, the fish er men pulle it up on the shore. Then they st own n ol let e the goo fish in s kets, ut threw the wy. This is how it will e t the en of the ge. The n gels will ome n sep rte the wike from the righ teous 0 n throw them into the lz ing fur ne, where there will e weep ing n gnsh ing of teeth. 1 Hve you un er stoo ll these things? Jesus ske. Yes, they re plie. He si to them, There fore ev ery teher of the lw who hs e ome is i ple in the king om of hev en is like the own er of house who rings out of his store room new tre sures s well s ol. A Prophet Without Honor When Jesus h fin ishe these pr les, he move on from there. Com ing to his home town, he e gn teh ing the peo ple in their syn gogue, n they were mze. Where i this mn get this wis om n these mi r u lous pow ers? they ske. Isn t this the r pen ter s son? Isn t his moth er s nme Mry, n ren t his roth ers Jmes, Jo seph, Si mon n Ju s? Aren t ll his sis ters with us? Where then i this mn get ll these things? An they took of fense t him. But Jesus si to them, A proph et is not with out hon or exept in his own town n in his own home. An he i not o mny mir les there e use of their lk of fith. John the Bptist Behee At tht time Her o the te trrh her 1 the re ports out Jesus, n he si to his t ten nts, This is John the Bp tist; he hs ris en from the e! Tht is why mir u lous pow ers re t work in him. Now Her o h r rest e John n oun him n put him in pris on e use of He roi s, his roth er Phil ip s wife, for John h een sy ing to him: It is not lw ful for you to hve her. Her o wnt e to kill John, ut he ws fri of the peo ple, e use they onsi ere John proph et. On Her o s irth y the ugh ter of Hero i s ne for the guests n plese Her o so muh tht he prom ise with n oth to give her wht ev er she ske. Prompt e y her moth er, she si, Give me here on plt ter the he of John the Bptist. The king ws is tresse, ut e use of his oths n his in ner guests, he orere tht her re quest e grnt e n h John e he e in the pris on. His he ws rought in on plt ter n giv en to the girl, who r rie it to her moth er. 1 John s is iples me n took his oy n ur ie it. Then they went n tol Jesus. Jesus Fees the Five Thousn When Jesus her wht h hp pene, he with rew y ot pri vte ly to sol i try ple. Her ing of this, the rows fol lowe him on foot from the towns. 1 When Jesus ln e n sw lrge row, he h omps sion on them n hele their sik. As eve ning p prohe, the is i ples me to him n si, This is re mote ple, n it s l rey get ting lte. Sen the rows wy, so they n go to the vil lg es n uy them selves some foo. Jesus re plie, They o not nee to go wy. You give them some thing to et. 1 We hve here only five loves of re n two fish, they n swere. Bring them here to me, he si. 1 An he i ret e the peo ple to sit own on the grss. Tk ing the five loves n the two fish n look ing up to hev en, he gve thnks n roke the loves. Then he gve them to the is i ples, n the is i ples gve them to the peo ple. They ll te n were st isfie, n the is i ples pike up twelve sket fuls of ro ken pie es tht were left over. The num er of those who te ws out five thou sn men, e sies wom en n hilren. Jesus Wlks on the Wter Im me i te ly Jesus me the is i ples get into the ot n go on he of him to the oth er sie, while he is misse the row. Af ter he h is misse them, he went up on moun tin sie y him self to pry. Lter tht night, he ws there lone, n the ot ws l rey on si er le is tne from ln, uf fet e y the wves e use the win ws ginst it. Short ly e fore wn Jesus went out to them, wlk ing on the lke. When the is iples sw him wlk ing on the lke, they were ter ri fie. It s ghost, they si, n rie out in fer. But Jesus im me i te ly si to them: Tke our ge! It is I. Don t e fri.

14 Mtthew 1: Mtthew :0 Lor, if it s you, Pe ter re plie, tell me to ome to you on the w ter. Come, he si. Then Pe ter got own out of the ot, wlke on the w ter n me to wr Jesus. 0 But when he sw the win, he ws fri n, e gin ning to sink, rie out, Lor, sve me! 1 Im me i te ly Jesus rehe out his hn n ught him. You of lit tle fith, he si, why i you out? An when they lime into the ot, the win ie own. Then those who were in the ot wor shipe him, sy ing, Tru ly you re the Son of Go. When they h rosse over, they lne t Gen nes ret. An when the men of tht ple re og nize Jesus, they sent wor to ll the sur roun ing oun try. Peo ple rought ll their sik to him n egge him to let the sik just touh the ege of his lok, n ll who touhe it were hele. Tht Whih Defiles Then some Phr i sees n teh ers of the lw me to Jesus from Je ru s lem n ske, Why o your is i ples rek the tr i tion of the el ers? They on t wsh their hns e fore they et! Jesus re plie, An why o you rek the om mn of Go for the ske of your tr ition? For Go si, Hon or your f ther n moth er n Any one who urs es their fther or moth er is to e put to eth. But you sy tht if ny one e lres tht wht might hve een use to help their f ther or moth er is e vot e to Go, they re not to hon or their f ther or moth er with it. Thus you nul li fy the wor of Go for the ske of your tr i tion. You hyp o rites! Is ih ws right when he proph e sie out you: These people honor me with their lips, ut their herts re fr from me. They worship me in vin; their tehings re merely humn rules. Jesus lle the row to him n si, Lis ten n un er stn. Wht goes into some one s mouth oes not e file them, ut wht omes out of their mouth, tht is wht e files them. 1 Then the is i ples me to him n ske, Do you know tht the Phr i sees were of fen e when they her this? He re plie, Ev ery plnt tht my heven ly F ther hs not plnt e will e pulle up y the roots. 1 Leve them; they re lin guies. If the lin le the lin, oth will fll into pit. Pe ter si, Ex plin the pr le to us. Are you still so ull? Jesus ske them. 1 Don t you see tht wht ev er en ters the mouth goes into the stom h n then out of the oy? But the things tht ome out of per son s mouth ome from the hert, n these e file them. 1 For out of the hert ome evil thoughts mur er, ul tery, sexu l im mo rl i ty, theft, flse tes ti mo ny, slner. These re wht e file per son; ut et ing with un wshe hns oes not e file them. The Fith of Cnnite Womn Lev ing tht ple, Jesus with rew to the re gion of Tyre n Si on. A C nn ite wom n from tht vi in i ty me to him, rying out, Lor, Son of D vi, hve mer y on me! My ugh ter is e mon pos sesse n suf fer ing ter ri ly. Jesus i not n swer wor. So his isi ples me to him n urge him, Sen her wy, for she keeps ry ing out f ter us. He n swere, I ws sent only to the lost sheep of Is r el. The wom n me n knelt e fore him. Lor, help me! she si. He re plie, It is not right to tke the hil ren s re n toss it to the ogs. Yes it is, Lor, she si. Even the ogs et the rums tht fll from their ms ter s t le. Then Jesus si to her, Wom n, you hve gret fith! Your re quest is grnt e. An her ugh ter ws hele t tht moment. Jesus Fees the Four Thousn Jesus left there n went long the Se of Gl i lee. Then he went up on moun tinsie n st own. 0 Gret rows me to Mtthew 1 Jesus, THe ComPssionTe TeCHer Go s story As Jesus ontinues to show the worl wht his kingom looks like, he enounters opposition. The Phrisees seek to trp him. When Jesus hels emon-possesse mn who n t see or spek, the Phrisees use him of using rk fores to o it. He logilly rgues tht Stn, the prine of rkness, wouln t st out rkness. He explins there s onflit going on, n nyone who isn t on his sie is ginst him. Jesus uses prles to teh out Go s kingom prles out frmer, wees, mustr see, yest, hien tresure, perl n fishing net. He tehes in prles so tht those who wnt to her n more esily sor the truths of Go s kingom n those who ren t rey won t e le to unerstn. Sly, King Hero hs John the Bptist ehee. Jesus withrws for some time lone. But the rows follow him, n he n t help ut tke re of their nees. He hels them, n when they get hungry he multiplies foo. The only lone time he is le to get is lte t night. In the wee hours of the morning, he thes up with his isiples out on the lke y wlking on the wter to their ot. The Phrisees onsistently oppose him with mn-me religious rules. An Jesus onsistently reukes them he is fter pure herts, not just outwrly pure lives. the KinG s hert Go s kingom is like frmer who plnte goo see, ut his enemy me overnight n plnte wees. An now the whet n wees grow up together. Go hs hosen for things to e tht wy. For now, the people of the kingom n the people of the evil one grow up longsie eh other. It s messy. Go s kingom exists, ut it s not here fully. The kingom of rkness with its isese, eth, n sin still infets. While we might wnt to rip out the wees one n for ll, Go sys to wit. One y he will ri the worl of rkness, ut he knows tht people who on t elieve in him will e sulties. An he oesn t wnt tht to hppen. So he ontinues to llow the fiel to grow, giving more people n opportunity to know him. insight After Go s people returne from exile, their religious tehers egn to set up metiulous rules to prevent them from reking the lw tht Go h given Moses. These rules were psse own orlly, n Go s people were weighe own y the uren of keeping them. These rules re the trition of the elers (Mtthew :) tht the Phrisees onsistently use Jesus of reking. Exous :1; Deut. : Exous :1; Lev. : Isih : 1 Some mnusripts lin guies of the lin 1 For your next reing, go to pge 1.

15 Mtthew :1 Mtthew : Mtthew : Mtthew 1: him, ring ing the lme, the lin, the ripple, the mute n mny oth ers, n li them t his feet; n he hele them. 1 The peo ple were mze when they sw the mute spek ing, the rip ple me well, the lme wlk ing n the lin see ing. An they prise the Go of Is r el. Jesus lle his is i ples to him n si, I hve om ps sion for these peo ple; they hve l rey een with me three ys n hve noth ing to et. I o not wnt to sen them wy hun gry, or they my ollpse on the wy. His is i ples n swere, Where oul we get enough re in this re mote ple to fee suh row? How mny loves o you hve? Jesus ske. Sev en, they re plie, n few smll fish. He tol the row to sit own on the groun. Then he took the sev en loves n the fish, n when he h giv en thnks, he roke them n gve them to the is i ples, n they in turn to the peo ple. They ll te n were st is fie. Af ter wr the is iples pike up sev en s ket fuls of ro ken pie es tht were left over. The num er of those who te ws four thou sn men, esies wom en n hil ren. Af ter Jesus h sent the row wy, he got into the ot n went to the vi in i ty of Mg n. The Demn for Sign The Phr i sees n S u ees me to Jesus n test e him y sk ing him to show them sign from hev en. He re plie, When eve ning omes, you sy, It will e fir weth er, for the sky is re, n in the morn ing, To y it will e stormy, for the sky is re n over st. You know how to in ter pret the p per ne of the sky, ut you n not in ter pret the signs of the times. A wik e n ul ter ous gen er tion looks for sign, ut none will e giv en it exept the sign of Jo nh. Jesus then left them n went wy. The Yest of the Phrisees n Suees When they went ross the lke, the isi ples for got to tke re. Be re ful, Jesus si to them. Be on your gur ginst the yest of the Phr i sees n S u ees. They is usse this mong them selves n si, It is e use we in t ring ny re. Awre of their is us sion, Jesus ske, You of lit tle fith, why re you tlk ing mong your selves out hv ing no re? Do you still not un er stn? Don t you remem er the five loves for the five thou sn, n how mny s ket fuls you gth ere? Or the sev en loves for the four thou sn, n how mny s ket fuls you gth ere? How is it you on t un er stn tht I ws not tlking to you out re? But e on your gur ginst the yest of the Phr i sees n Su ees. 1 Then they un er stoo tht he ws not tell ing them to gur ginst the yest use in re, ut ginst the teh ing of the Phr i sees n S u ees. Peter Delres Tht Jesus Is the Messih When Jesus me to the re gion of Ces re Phi lip pi, he ske his is i ples, Who o peo ple sy the Son of Mn is? 1 They re plie, Some sy John the Bptist; oth ers sy Eli jh; n still oth ers, Jer e mi h or one of the proph ets. But wht out you? he ske. Who o you sy I m? Si mon Pe ter n swere, You re the Mes si h, the Son of the liv ing Go. 1 Jesus re plie, Blesse re you, Si mon son of Jo nh, for this ws not re vele to you y flesh n loo, ut y my F ther in heven. An I tell you tht you re Pe ter, n on this rok I will uil my hurh, n the gtes of Hes will not over ome it. 1 I will give you the keys of the king om of hev en; wht ev er you in on erth will e oun in hev en, n wht ev er you loose on erth will e loose in hev en. Then he orere his is i ples not to tell ny one tht he ws the Mes si h. Jesus Preits His Deth From tht time on Jesus e gn to explin to his is i ples tht he must go to Je rus lem n suf fer mny things t the hns of the el ers, the hief priests n the teh ers of the lw, n tht he must e kille n on the thir y e rise to life. Pe ter took him sie n e gn to reuke him. Nev er, Lor! he si. This shll nev er hp pen to you! Jesus turne n si to Pe ter, Get ehin me, S tn! You re stum ling lok to me; you o not hve in min the on erns of Go, ut mere ly hu mn on erns. Then Jesus si to his is i ples, Whoever wnts to e my is i ple must eny them selves n tke up their ross n follow me. For who ev er wnts to sve their life will lose it, ut who ev er los es their life for me will fin it. Wht goo will it e for some one to gin the whole worl, yet for feit their soul? Or wht n ny one give in exhnge for their soul? For the Son of Mn is go ing to ome in his F ther s glo ry with his n gels, n then he will re wr eh per son or ing to wht they hve one. Tru ly I tell you, some who re stn ing here will not tste eth e fore they see the Son of Mn om ing in his king om. The Trnsfigurtion Af ter six ys Jesus took with him 1 Pe ter, Jmes n John the roth er of Jmes, n le them up high moun tin y them selves. There he ws trns fig ure efore them. His fe shone like the sun, n his lothes e me s white s the light. Just then there p pere e fore them Moses n Eli jh, tlk ing with Jesus. Pe ter si to Jesus, Lor, it is goo for us to e here. If you wish, I will put up three shel ters one for you, one for Mo ses n one for Eli jh. While he ws still spek ing, right lou ov ere them, n voie from the lou si, This is my Son, whom I love; with him I m well plese. Lis ten to him! When the is i ples her this, they fell fe own to the groun, ter ri fie. But Jesus me n touhe them. Get up, he si. Don t e fri. When they looke up, they sw no one ex ept Jesus. As they were om ing own the mountin, Jesus in strut e them, Don t tell nyone wht you hve seen, un til the Son of Mn hs een rise from the e. The is i ples ske him, Why then o the teh ers of the lw sy tht Eli jh must ome first? Jesus re plie, To e sure, Eli jh omes n will re store ll things. 1 But I tell you, Eli jh hs l rey ome, n they i not re og nize him, ut hve one to him every thing they wishe. In the sme wy the Son of Mn is go ing to suf fer t their hns. Then the is i ples un er stoo tht he ws tlk ing to them out John the Bp tist. Jesus Hels Demon-Possesse Boy 1 When they me to the row, mn p prohe Jesus n knelt e fore him. Lor, hve mer y on my son, he si. He hs sei zures n is suf fer ing gret ly. He of ten flls into the fire or into the w ter. I rought him to your is i ples, ut they oul not hel him. 1 You un e liev ing n per verse gen er tion, Jesus re plie, how long shll I sty with you? How long shll I put up with you? Bring the oy here to me. Jesus re uke the e mon, n it me out of the oy, n he ws hele t tht mo ment. 1 Then the is i ples me to Jesus in privte n ske, Why ouln t we rive it out? He re plie, Be use you hve so little fith. Tru ly I tell you, if you hve fith s smll s mus tr see, you n sy to this moun tin, Move from here to there, n it will move. Noth ing will e im pos si le for you. [] Jesus Preits His Deth Seon Time When they me to geth er in Gl i lee, he si to them, The Son of Mn is go ing to e e liv ere in to the hns of men. They will kill him, n on the thir y he will e rise to life. An the is i ples were fille with grief. The Temple Tx Af ter Jesus n his is i ples r rive in C per n um, the ol le tors of the two rhm tem ple tx me to Pe ter n ske, Doesn t your teh er py the tem ple tx? Yes, he oes, he re plie., Some erly mnusripts o not hve When evening omes... of the times. Peter mens rok. Tht is, the relm of the e 1 Or will hve een The Greek wor for The Greek wor mens either life or soul ; lso in verse. wors similr to Mrk :. Some mnusripts inlue here

16 1 Mtthew 1: Mtthew : 1 1 Mtthew : Mtthew 1: 1 When Pe ter me into the house, Jesus ws the first to spek. Wht o you think, Si mon? he ske. From whom o the kings of the erth ol let uty n tx es from their own hil ren or from oth ers? From oth ers, Pe ter n swere. Then the hil ren re ex empt, Jesus si to him. But so tht we my not use offense, go to the lke n throw out your line. Tke the first fish you th; open its mouth n you will fin four rh m oin. Tke it n give it to them for my tx n yours. The Gretest in the Kingom of Heven At tht time the is i ples me to Jesus n ske, Who, then, is the gret est in the king om of hev en? He lle lit tle hil to him, n ple the hil mong them. An he si: Tru ly I tell you, un less you hnge n e ome like lit tle hil ren, you will nev er en ter the kingom of hev en. There fore, who ev er tkes the low ly po si tion of this hil is the gretest in the king om of hev en. An who ev er wel omes one suh hil in my nme welomes me. Cusing to Stumle If ny one us es one of these lit tle ones those who e lieve in me to stumle, it woul e et ter for them to hve lrge mill stone hung roun their nek n to e rowne in the epths of the se. Woe to the worl e use of the things tht use peo ple to stum le! Suh things must ome, ut woe to the per son through whom they ome! If your hn or your foot us es you to stum le, ut it off n throw it wy. It is et ter for you to en ter life mime or ripple thn to hve two hns or two feet n e thrown into eter nl fire. An if your eye us es you to stum le, gouge it out n throw it wy. It is et ter for you to en ter life with one eye thn to hve two eyes n e thrown into the fire of hell. The Prle of the Wnering Sheep See tht you o not e spise one of these lit tle ones. For I tell you tht their n gels in hev en l wys see the fe of my F ther in hev en. [] 1 Wht o you think? If mn owns hun re sheep, n one of them wn ers wy, will he not leve the nine ty nine on the hills n go to look for the one tht wnere off? An if he fins it, tru ly I tell you, he is hp pi er out tht one sheep thn out the nine ty nine tht i not wn er off. 1 In the sme wy your F ther in heven is not will ing tht ny of these lit tle ones shoul per ish. Deling With Sin in the Churh If your roth er or sis ter sins, go n point out their fult, just e tween the two of you. If they lis ten to you, you hve won them over. But if they will not lis ten, tke one or two oth ers long, so tht ev ery mt ter my e es t lishe y the tes ti mo ny of two or three wit ness es. 1 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the hurh; n if they refuse to lis ten even to the hurh, tret them s you woul p gn or tx ol le tor. Tru ly I tell you, wht ev er you in on erth will e e oun in hev en, n whtev er you loose on erth will e e loose in hev en. 1 Agin, tru ly I tell you tht if two of you on erth gree out ny thing they sk for, it will e one for them y my F ther in heven. For where two or three gth er in my nme, there m I with them. The Prle of the Unmeriful Servnt Then Pe ter me to Jesus n ske, Lor, how mny times shll I for give my roth er or sis ter who sins ginst me? Up to sev en times? Jesus n swere, I tell you, not sev en times, ut sev en ty sev en times. f There fore, the king om of hev en is like king who wnt e to set tle ounts with his ser vnts. As he e gn the set tlement, mn who owe him ten thou sn gs of gol g ws rought to him. Sine he ws not le to py, the ms ter or ere tht he n his wife n his hil ren n ll tht he h e sol to re py the et. Some mnusripts inlue here the wors of Luke 1:. The Greek wor for rother or sister (elphos) refers here to fellow isiple, whether mn or womn; lso in verses n. Some mnusripts sins ginst you Deut. 1: e Or will hve een f Or seventy times seven g Greek ten thousn tlents; tlent ws worth out yers of y lorer s wges. At this the ser vnt fell on his knees efore him. Be p tient with me, he egge, n I will py k ev ery thing. The servnt s ms ter took pity on him, n ele the et n let him go. But when tht ser vnt went out, he foun one of his fel low ser vnts who owe him hun re sil ver oins. He gre him n e gn to hoke him. Py k wht you owe me! he e mn e. His fel low ser vnt fell to his knees n egge him, Be p tient with me, n I will py it k. 0 But he re fuse. In ste, he went off n h the mn thrown into pris on until he oul py the et. 1 When the oth er ser vnts sw wht h hp pene, they were out rge n went n tol their ms ter every thing tht h hp pene. Then the ms ter lle the ser vnt in. You wik e ser vnt, he si, I n ele ll tht et of yours e use you egge me to. Shouln t you hve h mer y on your fellow ser vnt just s I h on you? In n ger his ms ter hn e him over to the jil ers to e tor ture, un til he shoul py k ll he owe. This is how my hev en ly F ther will tret eh of you un less you for give your roth er or sis ter from your hert. Divore When Jesus h fin ishe sy ing 1 these things, he left Gl i lee n went into the re gion of Ju e to the oth er sie of the Jor n. Lrge rows fol lowe him, n he hele them there. Some Phr i sees me to him to test him. They ske, Is it lw ful for mn to i vore his wife for ny n ev ery re son? Hven t you re, he re plie, tht t the e gin ning the Cre tor me them mle n fe mle, n si, For this re son mn will leve his f ther n moth er n e unit e to his wife, n the two will e ome one flesh? So they re no lon ger two, ut one flesh. There fore wht Go hs joine togeth er, let no one sep rte. Why then, they ske, i Mo ses ommn tht mn give his wife er tif i te of i vore n sen her wy? Jesus re plie, Mo ses per mit te you to i vore your wives e use your herts were hr. But it ws not this wy from the e ginning. I tell you tht ny one who i vor es his wife, ex ept for sex u l im mo rl i ty, n mrries n oth er wom n om mits ul tery. The is i ples si to him, If this is the sit u tion e tween hus n n wife, it is et ter not to mr ry. Jesus re plie, Not ev ery one n ept this wor, ut only those to whom it hs een giv en. 1 For there re eu nuhs who were orn tht wy, n there re eu nuhs who hve een me eu nuhs y others n there re those who hoose to live like eunuhs for the ske of the king om of heven. The one who n ept this shoul ept it. The Little Chilren n Jesus Then peo ple rought lit tle hil ren to Jesus for him to ple his hns on them n pry for them. But the is i ples re uke them. 1 Jesus si, Let the lit tle hil ren ome to me, n o not hin er them, for the kingom of hev en e longs to suh s these. When he h ple his hns on them, he went on from there. The Rih n the Kingom of Go Just then mn me up to Jesus n ske, Teh er, wht goo thing must I o to get eter nl life? 1 Why o you sk me out wht is goo? Jesus re plie. There is only One who is goo. If you wnt to en ter life, keep the om mn ments. Whih ones? he in quire. Jesus re plie, You shll not mur er, you shll not om mit ul tery, you shll not stel, you shll not give flse tes ti mo ny, 1 hon or your f ther n moth er, n love your neigh or s your self. e All these I hve kept, the young mn si. Wht o I still lk? Jesus n swere, If you wnt to e perfet, go, sell your pos ses sions n give to the poor, n you will hve tre sure in hev en. Then ome, fol low me. When the young mn her this, he went wy s, e use he h gret welth. Greek hunre enrii; enrius ws the usul ily wge of y lorer (see :). Gen. 1: Gen. : 1 Exous :1 ; Deut. : e 1 Lev. 1:

17 Mtthew 1: Mtthew : Mtthew 1 Go s PlyFulness Go s story The Phrisees n Suees normlly oppose eh other. But they shre ommon enemy in Jesus. Jesus enounes them for their tehing tht emns mnipultive signs n for their unelief in spite of ll tht he is showing out who Go is. Jesus wrns his isiples out this ngerous perspetive. It n reep into their thinking like yest in ough. Jesus sks his isiples who the people think he is. Then Jesus gets iret: He sks his friens who they think he is. Peter nmes Jesus s the Messih not just Go s mouthpiee, ut Go s ppointe Svior. Jesus is elighte; someone reognizes him for who he is. He wnts them to keep his ientity seret, though. He isn t the kin of Messih his fellow Jews re expeting. Jesus explins tht he is going to hve to ie. The isiples on t unerstn, n Peter tries to tlk him out of it not knowing tht his own slvtion epens on it. Jesus reukes Peter; he is speking wht Stn woul spek. Jesus must o wht Go hs sent him to o. Jesus tkes his three losest isiples up on mountin n llows his glory to shine through. Peter, Jmes n John re terrifie. Jesus omforts them he oesn t wnt his friens to e fri. Jesus ontinues esriing wht it looks like to live the kingom life on erth. Simple, hillike elievers who trust in him re the gretest in this kingom. Go loves eh of his followers n will go to the ens of the erth to resue just one. Go s kingom is one of ounless forgiveness, ut itizenship in the kingom is given, not erne. the KinG s hert It wsn t just lesson in pying txes. Jesus oul hve simply hne Peter the oin, n Peter woul hve known tht Go wnts us to honor the government y pying txes. But Jesus h more to show his frien. At Jesus instrutions, Peter went own to the lke. Perhps he shook his he t Jesus luirous ssignment, ut he oeye. He pushe out his fishing ot, ste out his net. Peter must hve lughe in stonishment s the first fish he pulle from his th h oin in its mouth. Wht plyful wy for Jesus to teh Peter tht he is the Fish Diretor n Coin Cretor. Peter surely never forgot it. An it is ertinly one of the most interesting fishing tles ever tol roun mpfire. insight Jesus seems to inite tht hilren hve gurin ngels. Jesus sys tht these ngels lwys see the fe of my Fther in heven they hve onstnt ess to Go. 1 For your next reing, go to pge 0. Then Jesus si to his is i ples, Tru ly I tell you, it is hr for some one who is rih to en ter the king om of hev en. Agin I tell you, it is es i er for m el to go through the eye of nee le thn for some one who is rih to en ter the king om of Go. When the is i ples her this, they were gret ly s ton ishe n ske, Who then n e sve? Jesus looke t them n si, With mn this is im pos si le, ut with Go ll things re pos si le. Pe ter n swere him, We hve left every thing to fol low you! Wht then will there e for us? Jesus si to them, Tru ly I tell you, t the re new l of ll things, when the Son of Mn sits on his glo ri ous throne, you who hve fol lowe me will lso sit on twelve thrones, jug ing the twelve tries of Is r el. An every one who hs left hous es or roth ers or sisters or f ther or moth er or wife or hil ren or fiels for my ske will re eive hun re times s muh n will in her it eter nl life. 0 But mny who re first will e lst, n mny who re lst will e first. The Prle of the Workers in the Vineyr For the king om of hev en is like ln own er who went out er ly in the morn ing to hire work ers for his vine yr. He gree to py them e nr i us for the y n sent them into his vine yr. Aout nine in the morn ing he went out n sw oth ers stn ing in the mr ket ple o ing noth ing. He tol them, You lso go n work in my vine yr, n I will py you wht ev er is right. So they went. He went out gin out noon n out three in the f ter noon n i the sme thing. Aout five in the f ter noon he went out n foun still oth ers stn ing roun. He ske them, Why hve you een stning here ll y long o ing noth ing? Be use no one hs hire us, they nswere. He si to them, You lso go n work in my vine yr. When eve ning me, the own er of the vine yr si to his fore mn, Cll the workers n py them their wg es, e gin ning Some mnusripts o not hve or wife. with the lst ones hire n go ing on to the first. The work ers who were hire out five in the f ter noon me n eh re eive e nr i us. So when those me who were hire first, they ex pet e to re eive more. But eh one of them lso re eive e nri us. When they re eive it, they e gn to grum le ginst the ln own er. 1 These who were hire lst worke only one hour, they si, n you hve me them equl to us who hve orne the ur en of the work n the het of the y. But he n swere one of them, I m not e ing un fir to you, frien. Din t you gree to work for e nr i us? 1 Tke your py n go. I wnt to give the one who ws hire lst the sme s I gve you. Don t I hve the right to o wht I wnt with my own mon ey? Or re you en vi ous e use I m gen er ous? So the lst will e first, n the first will e lst. Jesus Preits His Deth Thir Time 1 Now Jesus ws go ing up to Je ru s lem. On the wy, he took the Twelve sie n si to them, We re go ing up to Je ru slem, n the Son of Mn will e e liv ere over to the hief priests n the teh ers of the lw. They will on emn him to eth 1 n will hn him over to the Gen tiles to e moke n flogge n ru i fie. On the thir y he will e rise to life! A Mother s Request Then the moth er of Ze e ee s sons me to Jesus with her sons n, kneel ing own, ske f vor of him. Wht is it you wnt? he ske. She si, Grnt tht one of these two sons of mine my sit t your right n the oth er t your left in your king om. You on t know wht you re sk ing, Jesus si to them. Cn you rink the up I m go ing to rink? We n, they n swere. Jesus si to them, You will in ee rink from my up, ut to sit t my right or left is not for me to grnt. These pl es elong to those for whom they hve een prepre y my F ther. A enrius ws the usul ily wge of y lorer.

18 1 Mtthew : Mtthew : 1 1 Mtthew : Mtthew : 1 When the ten her out this, they were in ig nnt with the two roth ers. Jesus lle them to geth er n si, You know tht the rul ers of the Gen tiles lor it over them, n their high of fi ils ex erise u thor i ty over them. Not so with you. In ste, who ev er wnts to e ome gret mong you must e your ser vnt, n whoev er wnts to e first must e your slve just s the Son of Mn i not ome to e serve, ut to serve, n to give his life s rn som for mny. Two Blin Men Reeive Sight As Jesus n his is i ples were lev ing Jer i ho, lrge row fol lowe him. 0 Two lin men were sit ting y the ro sie, n when they her tht Jesus ws go ing y, they shout e, Lor, Son of D vi, hve mery on us! 1 The row re uke them n tol them to e qui et, ut they shout e ll the lou er, Lor, Son of D vi, hve mer y on us! Jesus stoppe n lle them. Wht o you wnt me to o for you? he ske. Lor, they n swere, we wnt our sight. Jesus h om ps sion on them n touhe their eyes. Im me i te ly they reeive their sight n fol lowe him. Jesus Comes to Jeruslem s King As they p prohe Je ru s lem n me to Beth ph ge on the Mount of Ol ives, Jesus sent two is i ples, sy ing to them, Go to the vil lge he of you, n t one you will fin on key tie there, with her olt y her. Un tie them n ring them to me. If ny one sys ny thing to you, sy tht the Lor nees them, n he will sen them right wy. This took ple to ful fill wht ws spo ken through the proph et: Sy to Dughter Zion, See, your king omes to you, gentle n riing on onkey, n on olt, the fol of onkey. The is i ples went n i s Jesus h in strut e them. They rought the onkey n the olt n ple their loks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very lrge row spre their loks on the ro, while oth ers ut rnh es from the trees n spre them on the ro. The rows tht went he of him n those tht fol lowe shout e, Hosnn to the Son of Dvi! Blesse is he who omes in the nme of the Lor! Hosnn in the highest heven! When Jesus en tere Je ru s lem, the whole ity ws stirre n ske, Who is this? The rows n swere, This is Jesus, the proph et from Nz reth in Gl i lee. Jesus t the Temple 1 Jesus en tere the tem ple ourts n rove out ll who were uy ing n sell ing there. He over turne the t les of the money hng ers n the enh es of those sell ing oves. It is writ ten, he si to them, My house will e lle house of pryer, ut you re mk ing it en of ro ers. e 1 The lin n the lme me to him t the tem ple, n he hele them. But when the hief priests n the teh ers of the lw sw the won er ful things he i n the hil ren shout ing in the tem ple ourts, Hosn n to the Son of D vi, they were in ignnt. Do you her wht these hil ren re sy ing? they ske him. Yes, re plie Jesus, hve you nev er re, From the lips of hilren n infnts you, Lor, hve lle forth your prise f? 1 An he left them n went out of the ity to Beth ny, where he spent the night. Jesus Curses Fig Tree Er ly in the morn ing, s Jesus ws on his wy k to the ity, he ws hun gry. 1 Seeing fig tree y the ro, he went up to it ut foun noth ing on it ex ept leves. Then he si to it, My you nev er er fruit gin! Im me i te ly the tree with ere. When the is i ples sw this, they were mze. How i the fig tree with er so quik ly? they ske. Zeh. : A Herew expression mening Sve! whih eme n exlmtion of prise; lso in verse Pslm :, Isih : e Jer. : f Pslm : (see Septugint) Jesus re plie, Tru ly I tell you, if you hve fith n o not out, not only n you o wht ws one to the fig tree, ut lso you n sy to this moun tin, Go, throw your self into the se, n it will e one. If you elieve, you will re eive wht ev er you sk for in pryer. The Authority of Jesus Questione Jesus en tere the tem ple ourts, n, while he ws teh ing, the hief priests n the el ers of the peo ple me to him. By wht u thor i ty re you o ing these things? they ske. An who gve you this u thor i ty? Jesus re plie, I will lso sk you one ques tion. If you n swer me, I will tell you y wht u thor i ty I m o ing these things. John s p tism where i it ome from? Ws it from hev en, or of hu mn or i gin? They is usse it mong them selves n si, If we sy, From hev en, he will sk, Then why in t you e lieve him? But if we sy, Of hu mn or i gin we re fri of the peo ple, for they ll hol tht John ws proph et. So they n swere Jesus, We on t know. Then he si, Nei ther will I tell you y wht u thor i ty I m o ing these things. The Prle of the Two Sons Wht o you think? There ws mn who h two sons. He went to the first n si, Son, go n work to y in the vine yr. I will not, he n swere, ut lt er he hnge his min n went. 0 Then the f ther went to the oth er son n si the sme thing. He n swere, I will, sir, ut he i not go. 1 Whih of the two i wht his f ther wnt e? The first, they n swere. Jesus si to them, Tru ly I tell you, the tx ol le tors n the pros ti tutes re en tering the king om of Go he of you. For John me to you to show you the wy of righ teous ness, n you i not e lieve him, ut the tx ol le tors n the pros ti tutes i. An even f ter you sw this, you i not repent n e lieve him. The Prle of the Tennts Lis ten to n oth er pr le: There ws ln own er who plnt e vine yr. He put Pslm :, Some mnusripts o not hve verse. wll roun it, ug wine press in it n uilt wth tow er. Then he rent e the vineyr to some frm ers n move to n oth er ple. When the hr vest time p prohe, he sent his ser vnts to the ten nts to ol let his fruit. The ten nts seize his ser vnts; they et one, kille n oth er, n stone thir. Then he sent oth er ser vnts to them, more thn the first time, n the ten nts tret e them the sme wy. Lst of ll, he sent his son to them. They will re spet my son, he si. But when the ten nts sw the son, they si to eh oth er, This is the heir. Come, let s kill him n tke his in her i tne. So they took him n threw him out of the vineyr n kille him. 0 There fore, when the own er of the vineyr omes, wht will he o to those ten nts? 1 He will ring those wreth es to wreth e en, they re plie, n he will rent the vine yr to oth er ten nts, who will give him his shre of the rop t hr vest time. Jesus si to them, Hve you nev er re in the Srip tures: The stone the uilers rejete hs eome the ornerstone; the Lor hs one this, n it is mrvelous in our eyes? There fore I tell you tht the king om of Go will e tk en wy from you n giv en to peo ple who will pro ue its fruit. Anyone who flls on this stone will e ro ken to pie es; ny one on whom it flls will e rushe. When the hief priests n the Phri sees her Jesus pr les, they knew he ws tlk ing out them. They looke for wy to r rest him, ut they were fri of the row e use the peo ple hel tht he ws proph et. The Prle of the Weing Bnquet Jesus spoke to them gin in pr les, sy ing: The king om of heven is like king who pre pre we ing n quet for his son. He sent his ser vnts to those who h een in vit e to the n quet to tell them to ome, ut they re fuse to ome.

19 Mtthew : Mtthew : 1 Mtthew : Mtthew :1 1 Then he sent some more ser vnts n si, Tell those who hve een in vit e tht I hve pre pre my in ner: My oxen n ft tene t tle hve een uth ere, n ev ery thing is rey. Come to the we ing n quet. But they pi no t ten tion n went off one to his fiel, n oth er to his usiness. The rest seize his ser vnts, mis trete them n kille them. The king ws enrge. He sent his rmy n e stroye those mur er ers n urne their ity. Then he si to his ser vnts, The weing n quet is rey, ut those I in vit e i not e serve to ome. So go to the street or ners n in vite to the n quet ny one you fin. So the ser vnts went out into the streets n gth ere ll the peo ple they oul fin, the s well s the goo, n the we ing hll ws fille with guests. But when the king me in to see the guests, he no tie mn there who ws not wer ing we ing lothes. 1 He ske, How i you get in here with out we ing lothes, frien? The mn ws speeh less. Then the king tol the t ten nts, Tie him hn n foot, n throw him out sie, into the rk ness, where there will e weeping n gnsh ing of teeth. 1 For mny re in vit e, ut few re hosen. Pying the Imperil Tx to Cesr Then the Phr i sees went out n li plns to trp him in his wors. They sent their is i ples to him long with the He roi ns. Teh er, they si, we know tht you re mn of in teg ri ty n tht you teh the wy of Go in or ne with the truth. You ren t swye y oth ers, e use you py no t ten tion to who they re. 1 Tell us then, wht is your opin ion? Is it right to py the im pe ri l tx to Ce sr or not? But Jesus, know ing their evil in tent, si, You hyp o rites, why re you try ing to trp me? 1 Show me the oin use for pying the tx. They rought him e nr i us, n he ske them, Whose im ge is this? An whose in srip tion? Ce sr s, they re plie. Then he si to them, So give k to Cesr wht is Ce sr s, n to Go wht is Go s. When they her this, they were mze. So they left him n went wy. Mrrige t the Resurretion Tht sme y the S u ees, who sy there is no res ur re tion, me to him with ques tion. Teh er, they si, Mo ses tol us tht if mn ies with out hv ing hil ren, his roth er must mr ry the wi ow n rise up off spring for him. Now there were sev en roth ers mong us. The first one mr rie n ie, n sine he h no hilren, he left his wife to his roth er. The sme thing hp pene to the se on n thir roth er, right on own to the sev enth. Fi nl ly, the wom n ie. Now then, t the res ur re tion, whose wife will she e of the sev en, sine ll of them were mr rie to her? Jesus re plie, You re in er ror e use you o not know the Srip tures or the power of Go. 0 At the res ur re tion peo ple will nei ther mr ry nor e giv en in mr rige; they will e like the n gels in hev en. 1 But out the res ur re tion of the e hve you not re wht Go si to you, I m the Go of Ar hm, the Go of Is, n the Go of J o? He is not the Go of the e ut of the liv ing. When the rows her this, they were s ton ishe t his teh ing. The Gretest Commnment Her ing tht Jesus h si lene the Su ees, the Phr i sees got to geth er. One of them, n ex pert in the lw, test e him with this ques tion: Teh er, whih is the gretest om mn ment in the Lw? Jesus re plie: Love the Lor your Go with ll your hert n with ll your soul n with ll your min. This is the first n gret est om mn ment. An the seon is like it: Love your neigh or s yourself. 0 All the Lw n the Proph ets hng on these two om mn ments. Whose Son Is the Messih? 1 While the Phr i sees were gth ere togeth er, Jesus ske them, Wht o you think out the Mes si h? Whose son is he? The son of D vi, they re plie. He si to them, How is it then tht 1 A speil tx levie on sujet peoples, not on Romn itizens Exous : Deut. : Lev. 1: D vi, spek ing y the Spir it, lls him Lor? For he sys, The Lor si to my Lor: Sit t my right hn until I put your enemies uner your feet. If then D vi lls him Lor, how n he e his son? No one oul sy wor in reply, n from tht y on no one re to sk him ny more ques tions. A Wrning Aginst Hyporisy Then Jesus si to the rows n to his is i ples: The teh ers of the lw n the Phr i sees sit in Mo ses set. So you must e re ful to o ev ery thing they tell you. But o not o wht they o, for they o not pr tie wht they preh. They tie up hevy, um er some los n put them on oth er peo ple s shoul ers, ut they themselves re not will ing to lift fin ger to move them. Ev ery thing they o is one for peo ple to see: They mke their phy l ter ies wie n the ts sels on their gr ments long; they love the ple of hon or t n quets n the most im por tnt sets in the syn gogues; they love to e greet e with re spet in the mr ket pl es n to e lle R i y others. But you re not to e lle R i, for you hve one Teh er, n you re ll rothers. An o not ll ny one on erth fther, for you hve one F ther, n he is in hev en. Nor re you to e lle in strutors, for you hve one In stru tor, the Messi h. The gret est mong you will e your ser vnt. 1 For those who ex lt them selves will e hum le, n those who hum le them selves will e ex lt e. Seven Woes on the Tehers of the Lw n the Phrisees Woe to you, teh ers of the lw n Phr i sees, you hyp o rites! You shut the oor of the king om of hev en in peo ple s f es. You your selves o not en ter, nor will you let those en ter who re try ing to. [1] Woe to you, teh ers of the lw n Phr i sees, you hyp o rites! You trv el over ln n se to win sin gle on vert, n when you hve su ee e, you mke them twie s muh hil of hell s you re. Woe to you, lin guies! You sy, If ny one swers y the tem ple, it mens nothing; ut ny one who swers y the gol of the tem ple is oun y tht oth. 1 You lin fools! Whih is gret er: the gol, or the tem ple tht mkes the gol s re? You lso sy, If ny one swers y the l tr, it mens noth ing; ut ny one who swers y the gift on the l tr is oun y tht oth. 1 You lin men! Whih is gret er: the gift, or the l tr tht mkes the gift s re? There fore, ny one who swers y the l tr swers y it n y ev ery thing on it. An ny one who swers y the tem ple swers y it n y the one who wells in it. An nyone who swers y hev en swers y Go s throne n y the one who sits on it. Woe to you, teh ers of the lw n Phr i sees, you hyp o rites! You give tenth of your spi es mint, ill n um in. But you hve ne glet e the more im por tnt mtters of the lw jus tie, mer y n fith fulness. You shoul hve pr tie the lt ter, with out ne glet ing the for mer. You lin guies! You strin out gnt ut swl low m el. Woe to you, teh ers of the lw n Phr i sees, you hyp o rites! You len the out sie of the up n ish, ut in sie they re full of gree n self in ul gene. Blin Phr i see! First len the in sie of the up n ish, n then the out sie lso will e len. Woe to you, teh ers of the lw n Phr i sees, you hyp o rites! You re like white wshe toms, whih look eu ti ful on the out sie ut on the in sie re full of the ones of the e n ev ery thing un len. In the sme wy, on the out sie you p per to peo ple s righ teous ut on the in sie you re full of hy po ri sy n wik e ness. Woe to you, teh ers of the lw n Phr i sees, you hyp o rites! You uil toms for the proph ets n e o rte the grves of the righ teous. 0 An you sy, If we h live in the ys of our n es tors, we woul not hve tk en prt with them in she ing the loo of the proph ets. 1 So you tes ti fy Pslm 0:1 Tht is, oxes ontining Sripture verses, worn on forehe n rm 1 Some mnusripts inlue here wors similr to Mrk 1:0 n Luke :.

20 1 Mtthew : Mtthew : 1 Mtthew THe Go who loves when we sk Go s story Jesus tells his 1 friens tht they re heing to Jeruslem, where he will e torture n kille ut then rise to life on the thir y. As they get loser to the ity, Jesus sens two of them he to get onkey n her olt. As he ries into the ity on the olt, row gthers in elertion, lying loks n tree rnhes on the ro efore him n shouting, Hosnn! Heven s King hs ome, just like the prophets foretol. Jesus goes stright to the temple n rives out the merhnts who hve set up shop in the only ple Gentiles oul worship his Fther. He won t tolerte their worship eing hinere. He hels the sik they hve een rre from the temple too. The hilren shout for joy, whih inflmes the religious leers. Jesus onfronts them they ve een poor mngers of Go s vineyr. Go is going to tke his kingom from them n give it to people who will live out the kingom life. They ontinue to try to trp him with minutie of the lw, n he out mneuvers them t every turn. They sk him to ientify Go s gretest ommnment. He oes: Love Go. The Phrisees tehings re ely they teh out following rules without relting to Go. This is the grvest of eeptions, n Jesus reukes them strongly. the KinG s hert As Jesus psse y two lin men, they shoute from within the row, Lor, Son of Dvi, hve mery on us! (Mtthew :0). They shoute n shoute, n Jesus stoppe. But he i something interesting: He ske them wht they wnte. Jesus knew wht these two men wnte. He is Go, the ll-knowing One. An it ws ovious tht the men were lin. Jesus knowlege is omplete, n their nee ws pprent. Yet Jesus ske them to tell him their nee nywy. They ske for their sight, n he touhe their eyes n restore it. Our nees re just s ovious to the ll-knowing One. But our goo Go vlues our sking too. He loves the intimy tht grows when we tell him wht we nee n sk him for it. He elights in responing. An he elights in the loseness tht evelops when we relize tht he hs, inee, her n nswere us. insight It my hve een ustomry for weing host to provie lothes for the guests. The guests in the prle Jesus tol were tken off the streets. The mn who wsn t wering weing lothes ws thrown out euse he h insulte the host, who h me the lothes ville for everyone (see Mtthew :1 1). 0 For your next reing, go to pge. ginst your selves tht you re the e sennts of those who mur ere the proph ets. Go he, then, n om plete wht your n es tors strte! You snkes! You roo of vi pers! How will you es pe e ing on emne to hell? There fore I m sen ing you proph ets n sges n teh ers. Some of them you will kill n ru i fy; oth ers you will flog in your syn gogues n pur sue from town to town. An so upon you will ome ll the righteous loo tht hs een she on erth, from the loo of righ teous Ael to the loo of Zeh ri h son of Ber e ki h, whom you mur ere e tween the tem ple n the l tr. Tru ly I tell you, ll this will ome on this gen er tion. Je ru s lem, Je ru s lem, you who kill the proph ets n stone those sent to you, how of ten I hve longe to gth er your hil ren to geth er, s hen gth ers her hiks un er her wings, n you were not will ing. Look, your house is left to you es o lte. For I tell you, you will not see me gin un til you sy, Blesse is he who omes in the nme of the Lor. The Destrution of the Temple n Signs of the En Times Jesus left the tem ple n ws wlking wy when his is i ples me up to him to ll his t ten tion to its uil ings. Do you see ll these things? he ske. Tru ly I tell you, not one stone here will e left on n oth er; ev ery one will e thrown own. As Jesus ws sit ting on the Mount of Olives, the is i ples me to him pri vte ly. Tell us, they si, when will this hp pen, n wht will e the sign of your om ing n of the en of the ge? Jesus n swere: Wth out tht no one e eives you. For mny will ome in my nme, lim ing, I m the Mes si h, n will e eive mny. You will her of wrs n ru mors of wrs, ut see to it tht you re not lrme. Suh things must hp pen, ut the en is still to ome. N tion will rise ginst n tion, n king om ginst king om. There will e fm ines n erth qukes in vr i ous pl es. All these re the e gin ning of irth pins. Pslm : Dniel :; :1; 1: Isih :; : Then you will e hn e over to e per se ut e n put to eth, n you will e ht e y ll n tions e use of me. At tht time mny will turn wy from the fith n will e try n hte eh oth er, n mny flse proph ets will p per n e eive mny peo ple. 1 Be use of the inrese of wik e ness, the love of most will grow ol, ut the one who stns firm to the en will e sve. 1 An this gos pel of the king om will e prehe in the whole worl s tes ti mo ny to ll n tions, n then the en will ome. So when you see stn ing in the holy ple the om i n tion tht us es es o ltion, spo ken of through the proph et Dniel let the re er un er stn then let those who re in Ju e flee to the mountins. 1 Let no one on the house top go own to tke ny thing out of the house. Let no one in the fiel go k to get their lok. 1 How re ful it will e in those ys for preg nnt wom en n nurs ing moth ers! Pry tht your flight will not tke ple in win ter or on the S th. For then there will e gret is tress, un equle from the e gin ning of the worl un til now n never to e equle gin. If those ys h not een ut short, no one woul sur vive, ut for the ske of the elet those ys will e short ene. At tht time if ny one sys to you, Look, here is the Mes si h! or, There he is! o not e lieve it. For flse mes si hs n flse proph ets will p per n per form gret signs n won ers to e eive, if pos si le, even the elet. See, I hve tol you he of time. So if ny one tells you, There he is, out in the wil er ness, o not go out; or, Here he is, in the in ner rooms, o not e lieve it. For s light ning tht omes from the est is vis i le even in the west, so will e the oming of the Son of Mn. Wher ev er there is r ss, there the vul tures will gth er. Im me i te ly f ter the is tress of those ys the sun will e rkene, n the moon will not give its light; the strs will fll from the sky, n the hevenly oies will e shken.

21 Mtthew :0 Mtthew : 0 Then will p per the sign of the Son of Mn in hev en. An then ll the peo ples of the erth will mourn when they see the Son of Mn om ing on the lous of hev en, with pow er n gret glo ry. 1 An he will sen his n gels with lou trum pet ll, n they will gth er his elet from the four wins, from one en of the hev ens to the oth er. Now lern this les son from the fig tree: As soon s its twigs get ten er n its leves ome out, you know tht sum mer is ner. Even so, when you see ll these things, you know tht it is ner, right t the oor. Tru ly I tell you, this gen er tion will er tin ly not pss wy un til ll these things hve hppene. Hev en n erth will pss wy, ut my wors will nev er pss wy. e n sys to him self, My ms ter is sty ing wy long time, n he then e gins to et his fel low ser vnts n to et n rink with runk rs. 0 The ms ter of tht servnt will ome on y when he oes not ex pet him n t n hour he is not wre of. 1 He will ut him to pie es n s sign him ple with the hyp o rites, where there will e weep ing n gnsh ing of teeth. The Prle of the Ten Virgins At tht time the king om of hev en will e like ten vir gins who took their lmps n went out to meet the rie groom. Five of them were fool ish n five were wise. The fool ish ones took their lmps ut i not tke ny oil with them. The wise ones, how ev er, took oil in jrs long with their lmps. The rie groom ws long time in om ing, n they ll e me rowsy n fell sleep. At mi night the ry rng out: Here s the rie groom! Come out to meet him! Then ll the vir gins woke up n trimme their lmps. The fool ish ones si to the wise, Give us some of your oil; our lmps re go ing out. No, they re plie, there my not e enough for oth us n you. In ste, go to those who sell oil n uy some for yourselves. But while they were on their wy to uy the oil, the rie groom r rive. The vir gins who were rey went in with him to the weing n quet. An the oor ws shut. Lt er the oth ers lso me. Lor, Lor, they si, open the oor for us! 1 But he re plie, Tru ly I tell you, I on t know you. There fore keep wth, e use you o not know the y or the hour. The Prle of the Bgs of Gol 1 Agin, it will e like mn go ing on jour ney, who lle his ser vnts n en truste his welth to them. To one he gve five gs of gol, to n oth er two gs, n to noth er one g, e eh or ing to his il i ty. Then he went on his jour ney. The mn who h re eive five gs of gol went t one n put his mon ey to work n gine five Mtthew Go s instructions For THe ys He Go s story When Jesus tells his isiples tht the temple is going to e estroye, they sk him out the time frme for tht n out signs of the en of the ge. Jesus tells them tht life is going to get hr. People re going to hte his followers euse they rry his nme. But Jesus tells his followers to persevere euse, uring this time, people will her out the goo news of the kingom. An one every ntion hers out him, the en will ome. No one knows when Jesus is returning exept for the Fther. An it will hppen quikly, unexpetely. Jesus will ome on the lous of heven, n with trumpet ll his ngels will gther his people from the ens of the erth. Jesus return will e like the mster who returns unexpetely, ttennts of the riegroom who wit without knowing when the riegroom is oming, n the mnger who goes on long journey, leving his servnts gs of gol to oversee. Jesus tells his followers to e rey for his return ut to e usy oing wht he hs lle them to o. the KinG s hert Jesus isiples ske him when the temple is going to e estroye, when he is oming, n how they ll know it s the en of the ge. Whih future event he ws esriing in his nswers isn t lwys ler (n Bilil sholrs think tht some of Jesus sttements hve oule fulfillments), ut Go s hert to protet his people is lwys ler. Jesus h shown tht the temple wsn t operting the wy Go wnte it to. It ws orrupt, roken symol of ll tht ws going wrong with Go s people. Go ws going to juge it. An he i. Less thn 0 yers lter, in AD 0, the Romns estroye Jeruslem. During Rome s siege, Christins living in Jeruslem rememere Jesus instrutions n fle the ity, espite the ommon elief tht ity wlls serve s protetion. They were sve. Go shiele them. Jesus hert to protet us is ler in his wors out his seon oming too. He tells us wht his expettions re for us. No mtter wht omes, we shoul fous on wht s importnt to him eing rey while stying usy. insight When Jesus spoke of the omintion tht uses esoltion (Mtthew :), he ws remining his isiples (n elievers to ome) of when Antiohus Epiphnes srifie pig to Zeus on the ltr in Go s temple in BC. This prophey woul hve seon fulfillment when the temple ws estroye in AD 0, n mny Bilil sholrs think tht it will e fulfille gin t the en of ys. The Dy n Hour Unknown But out tht y or hour no one knows, not even the n gels in hev en, nor the Son, ut only the F ther. As it ws in the ys of Noh, so it will e t the om ing of the Son of Mn. For in the ys e fore the floo, peo ple were et ing n rink ing, mr ry ing n giv ing in mr rige, up to the y Noh en tere the rk; n they knew noth ing out wht woul hp pen un til the floo me n took them ll wy. Tht is how it will e t the om ing of the Son of Mn. 0 Two men will e in the fiel; one will e tk en n the oth er left. 1 Two wom en will e grin ing with hn mill; one will e tk en n the oth er left. There fore keep wth, e use you o not know on wht y your Lor will ome. But un er stn this: If the own er of the house h known t wht time of night the thief ws om ing, he woul hve kept wth n woul not hve let his house e ro ken into. So you lso must e rey, e use the Son of Mn will ome t n hour when you o not ex pet him. Who then is the fith ful n wise servnt, whom the ms ter hs put in hrge of the ser vnts in his house hol to give them their foo t the prop er time? It will e goo for tht ser vnt whose ms ter fins him o ing so when he re turns. Tru ly I tell you, he will put him in hrge of ll his posses sions. But sup pose tht ser vnt is wik 0 Or the tries of the ln 0 See Dniel : 1. Or he Some mnusripts o not hve nor the Son. e Greek five tlents... two tlents... one tlent; lso throughout this prle; tlent ws worth out yers of y lorer s wge. For your next reing, go to pge.

22 Mtthew :1 Mtthew : Mtthew : Mtthew : gs more. 1 So lso, the one with two gs of gol gine two more. But the mn who h re eive one g went off, ug hole in the groun n hi his ms ter s mon ey. 1 Af ter long time the ms ter of those ser vnts re turne n set tle ounts with them. The mn who h re eive five gs of gol rought the oth er five. Ms ter, he si, you en trust e me with five gs of gol. See, I hve gine five more. His ms ter re plie, Well one, goo n fith ful ser vnt! You hve een fith ful with few things; I will put you in hrge of mny things. Come n shre your ms ter s hp pi ness! The mn with two gs of gol lso me. Ms ter, he si, you en trust e me with two gs of gol; see, I hve gine two more. His ms ter re plie, Well one, goo n fith ful ser vnt! You hve een fith ful with few things; I will put you in hrge of mny things. Come n shre your ms ter s hp pi ness! Then the mn who h re eive one g of gol me. Ms ter, he si, I knew tht you re hr mn, hr vest ing where you hve not sown n gth er ing where you hve not st tere see. So I ws fri n went out n hi your gol in the groun. See, here is wht e longs to you. His ms ter re plie, You wik e, lzy ser vnt! So you knew tht I hr vest where I hve not sown n gth er where I hve not st tere see? Well then, you shoul hve put my mon ey on e pos it with the nk ers, so tht when I re turne I woul hve reeive it k with in ter est. So tke the g of gol from him n give it to the one who hs ten gs. For who ever hs will e giv en more, n they will hve n un ne. Who ever oes not hve, even wht they hve will e tk en from them. 0 An throw tht worth less ser vnt out sie, into the rk ness, where there will e weep ing n gnsh ing of teeth. The Sheep n the Gots 1 When the Son of Mn omes in his glory, n ll the n gels with him, he will sit on his glo ri ous throne. All the n tions will e gth ere e fore him, n he will sep rte the peo ple one from n oth er s shep her sep rtes the sheep from the gots. He will put the sheep on his right n the gots on his left. Then the King will sy to those on his right, Come, you who re lesse y my Fther; tke your in her i tne, the king om pre pre for you sine the re tion of the worl. For I ws hun gry n you gve me some thing to et, I ws thirsty n you gve me some thing to rink, I ws strng er n you in vit e me in, I nee e lothes n you lothe me, I ws sik n you looke f ter me, I ws in pris on n you me to vis it me. Then the righ teous will n swer him, Lor, when i we see you hun gry n fee you, or thirsty n give you some thing to rink? When i we see you strng er n in vite you in, or nee ing lothes n lothe you? When i we see you sik or in pris on n go to vis it you? 0 The King will re ply, Tru ly I tell you, wht ev er you i for one of the lest of these roth ers n sis ters of mine, you i for me. 1 Then he will sy to those on his left, De prt from me, you who re urse, into the eter nl fire pre pre for the ev il n his n gels. For I ws hun gry n you gve me noth ing to et, I ws thirsty n you gve me noth ing to rink, I ws strng er n you i not in vite me in, I nee e lothes n you i not lothe me, I ws sik n in prison n you i not look f ter me. They lso will n swer, Lor, when i we see you hun gry or thirsty or strng er or nee ing lothes or sik or in pris on, n i not help you? He will re ply, Tru ly I tell you, wht ev er you i not o for one of the lest of these, you i not o for me. Then they will go wy to eter nl punish ment, ut the righ teous to eter nl life. The Plot Aginst Jesus When Jesus h fin ishe sy ing ll these things, he si to his is iples, As you know, the Pss over is two ys wy n the Son of Mn will e hn e over to e ru i fie. Then the hief priests n the el ers of the peo ple s sem le in the pl e of the high priest, whose nme ws C i phs, n they sheme to r rest Jesus se ret ly n kill him. But not ur ing the fes ti vl, they si, or there my e riot mong the peo ple. Jesus Anointe t Bethny While Jesus ws in Beth ny in the home of Si mon the Lep er, wom n me to him with n l s ter jr of very ex pen sive perfume, whih she poure on his he s he ws re lin ing t the t le. When the is i ples sw this, they were in ig nnt. Why this wste? they ske. This per fume oul hve een sol t high prie n the mon ey giv en to the poor. Awre of this, Jesus si to them, Why re you oth er ing this wom n? She hs one eu ti ful thing to me. The poor you will l wys hve with you, ut you will not lwys hve me. 1 When she poure this perfume on my oy, she i it to pre pre me for uri l. Tru ly I tell you, wher ev er this gos pel is prehe through out the worl, wht she hs one will lso e tol, in memo ry of her. Jus Agrees to Betry Jesus 1 Then one of the Twelve the one lle Ju s Is r i ot went to the hief priests n ske, Wht re you will ing to give me if I e liv er him over to you? So they ount e out for him thir ty pie es of sil ver. From then on Ju s wthe for n op portu ni ty to hn him over. The Lst Supper 1 On the first y of the Fes ti vl of Un levene Bre, the is i ples me to Jesus n ske, Where o you wnt us to mke prep r tions for you to et the Pss over? He re plie, Go into the ity to ertin mn n tell him, The Teh er sys: My p point e time is ner. I m go ing to el e rte the Pss over with my is i ples t your house. 1 So the is i ples i s Jesus h i ret e them n pre pre the Pss over. When eve ning me, Jesus ws re lining t the t le with the Twelve. An while they were et ing, he si, Tru ly I tell you, one of you will e try me. They were very s n e gn to sy to him one f ter the oth er, Sure ly you on t men me, Lor? Jesus re plie, The one who hs ippe his hn into the owl with me will e try me. The Son of Mn will go just s it is written out him. But woe to tht mn who e See Deut. :. Some mnusripts the new 1 Zeh. : trys the Son of Mn! It woul e et ter for him if he h not een orn. Then Ju s, the one who woul e try him, si, Sure ly you on t men me, Ri? Jesus n swere, You hve si so. While they were et ing, Jesus took re, n when he h giv en thnks, he roke it n gve it to his is i ples, sy ing, Tke n et; this is my oy. Then he took up, n when he h giv en thnks, he gve it to them, sy ing, Drink from it, ll of you. This is my loo of the ov ennt, whih is poure out for mny for the for give ness of sins. I tell you, I will not rink from this fruit of the vine from now on un til tht y when I rink it new with you in my F ther s king om. 0 When they h sung hymn, they went out to the Mount of Ol ives. Jesus Preits Peter s Denil 1 Then Jesus tol them, This very night you will ll fll wy on ount of me, for it is writ ten: I will strike the shepher, n the sheep of the flok will e sttere. But f ter I hve ris en, I will go he of you into Gl i lee. Pe ter re plie, Even if ll fll wy on ount of you, I nev er will. Tru ly I tell you, Jesus n swere, this very night, e fore the roost er rows, you will is own me three times. But Pe ter e lre, Even if I hve to ie with you, I will nev er is own you. An ll the oth er is i ples si the sme. Gethsemne Then Jesus went with his is i ples to ple lle Geth sem ne, n he si to them, Sit here while I go over there n pry. He took Pe ter n the two sons of Ze e ee long with him, n he e gn to e sor row ful n trou le. Then he si to them, My soul is over whelme with sorrow to the point of eth. Sty here n keep wth with me. Go ing lit tle fr ther, he fell with his fe to the groun n prye, My F ther, if it is

23 Mtthew :0 Mtthew :1 Mtthew : Mtthew :0 pos si le, my this up e tk en from me. Yet not s I will, ut s you will. 0 Then he re turne to his is i ples n foun them sleep ing. Couln t you men keep wth with me for one hour? he ske Pe ter. 1 Wth n pry so tht you will not fll into temp t tion. The spir it is will ing, ut the flesh is wek. He went wy se on time n prye, My F ther, if it is not pos si le for this up to e tk en wy un less I rink it, my your will e one. When he me k, he gin foun them sleep ing, e use their eyes were hevy. So he left them n went wy one more n prye the thir time, sy ing the sme thing. Then he re turne to the is i ples n si to them, Are you still sleep ing n resting? Look, the hour hs ome, n the Son of Mn is e liv ere into the hns of sin ners. Rise! Let us go! Here omes my e try er! Jesus Arreste While he ws still spek ing, Ju s, one of the Twelve, r rive. With him ws lrge row rme with swors n lus, sent from the hief priests n the el ers of the peo ple. Now the e try er h r rnge sig nl with them: The one I kiss is the mn; r rest him. Go ing t one to Jesus, Ju s si, Greet ings, R i! n kisse him. 0 Jesus re plie, Do wht you me for, frien. Then the men steppe for wr, seize Jesus n r rest e him. 1 With tht, one of Jesus om pn ions rehe for his swor, rew it out n struk the ser vnt of the high priest, ut ting off his er. Put your swor k in its ple, Jesus si to him, for ll who rw the swor will ie y the swor. Do you think I n not ll on my F ther, n he will t one put t my is pos l more thn twelve le gions of n gels? But how then woul the Srip tures e fulfille tht sy it must hp pen in this wy? In tht hour Jesus si to the row, Am I le ing re el lion, tht you hve ome out with swors n lus to p ture me? Ev ery y I st in the tem ple ourts teh ing, n you i not r rest me. But this hs ll tk en ple tht the writ ings of the proph ets might e ful fille. Then ll the is i ples e sert e him n fle. Jesus Before the Snherin Those who h r rest e Jesus took him to C i phs the high priest, where the tehers of the lw n the el ers h s sem le. But Pe ter fol lowe him t is tne, right up to the ourt yr of the high priest. He entere n st own with the gurs to see the out ome. The hief priests n the whole Sn herin were look ing for flse ev i ene ginst Jesus so tht they oul put him to eth. 0 But they i not fin ny, though mny flse wit ness es me for wr. Fi nl ly two me for wr 1 n e lre, This fel low si, I m le to e stroy the tem ple of Go n re uil it in three ys. Then the high priest stoo up n si to Jesus, Are you not go ing to n swer? Wht is this tes ti mo ny tht these men re ring ing ginst you? But Jesus re mine si lent. The high priest si to him, I hrge you un er oth y the liv ing Go: Tell us if you re the Mes si h, the Son of Go. You hve si so, Jesus re plie. But I sy to ll of you: From now on you will see the Son of Mn sit ting t the right hn of the Mighty One n om ing on the lous of hev en. Then the high priest tore his lothes n si, He hs spo ken ls phe my! Why o we nee ny more wit ness es? Look, now you hve her the ls phe my. Wht o you think? He is wor thy of eth, they n swere. Then they spit in his fe n struk him with their fists. Oth ers slppe him n si, Proph e sy to us, Mes si h. Who hit you? Peter Disowns Jesus Now Pe ter ws sit ting out in the ourtyr, n ser vnt girl me to him. You lso were with Jesus of Gl i lee, she si. 0 But he e nie it e fore them ll. I on t know wht you re tlk ing out, he si. 1 Then he went out to the gte wy, where n oth er ser vnt girl sw him n si to the peo ple there, This fel low ws with Jesus of Nz reth. He e nie it gin, with n oth: I on t know the mn! Af ter lit tle while, those stn ing there went up to Pe ter n si, Sure ly you re one of them; your ent gives you wy. Then he e gn to ll own urs es, n he swore to them, I on t know the mn! Im me i te ly roost er rowe. Then Peter re mem ere the wor Jesus h spo ken: Be fore the roost er rows, you will is own me three times. An he went out sie n wept it ter ly. Jus Hngs Himself Er ly in the morn ing, ll the hief priests n the el ers of the people me their plns how to hve Jesus exe ute. So they oun him, le him wy n hn e him over to Pi lte the gov er nor. When Ju s, who h e trye him, sw tht Jesus ws on emne, he ws seize with re morse n re turne the thir ty pie es of sil ver to the hief priests n the el ers. I hve sinne, he si, for I hve e trye in no ent loo. Wht is tht to us? they re plie. Tht s your re spon si il i ty. So Ju s threw the mon ey into the temple n left. Then he went wy n hnge him self. The hief priests pike up the oins n si, It is ginst the lw to put this into the tre sury, sine it is loo mon ey. So they e i e to use the mon ey to uy the pot ter s fiel s uri l ple for for eign ers. Tht is why it hs een lle the Fiel of Bloo to this y. Then wht ws spo ken y Jer e mih the proph et ws ful fille: They took the thir ty pie es of sil ver, the prie set on him y the peo ple of Is r el, n they use them to uy the pot ter s fiel, s the Lor om mne me. Jesus Before Pilte Men while Jesus stoo e fore the gover nor, n the gov er nor ske him, Are you the king of the Jews? You hve si so, Jesus re plie. 1 When he ws use y the hief priests n the el ers, he gve no n swer. Then Pi lte ske him, Don t you her the tes ti mo ny they re ring ing ginst you? 1 But Jesus me no re ply, not even to single hrge to the gret mze ment of the gov er nor. Now it ws the gov er nor s us tom t the fes ti vl to re lese pris on er ho sen y the row. At tht time they h well known pris on er whose nme ws Jesus Br s. 1 So when the row h gth ere, Pi lte ske them, Whih one o you wnt me to re lese to you: Jesus Br s, or Jesus who is lle the Mes si h? For he knew it ws out of self interest tht they h hn e Jesus over to him. 1 While Pi lte ws sit ting on the juge s set, his wife sent him this mes sge: Don t hve ny thing to o with tht in no ent mn, for I hve suf fere gret el to y in rem e use of him. But the hief priests n the el ers persu e the row to sk for Br s n to hve Jesus ex e ut e. Whih of the two o you wnt me to relese to you? ske the gov er nor. Br s, they n swere. Wht shll I o, then, with Jesus who is lle the Mes si h? Pi lte ske. They ll n swere, Cru i fy him! Why? Wht rime hs he om mit te? ske Pi lte. But they shout e ll the lou er, Cru i fy him! When Pi lte sw tht he ws get ting nowhere, ut tht in ste n up ror ws strting, he took w ter n wshe his hns in front of the row. I m in no ent of this mn s loo, he si. It is your re spon siil i ty! All the peo ple n swere, His loo is on us n on our hil ren! Then he re lese Br s to them. But he h Jesus flogge, n hn e him over to e ru i fie. The Soliers Mok Jesus Then the gov er nor s sol iers took Jesus into the Pre to ri um n gth ere the whole om p ny of sol iers roun him. They strippe him n put sr let roe on him, n then twist e to geth er rown of thorns n set it on his he. They put stff in his right hn. Then they knelt in front of him n moke him. Hil, king of the Jews! they si. 0 They spit on him, n 0 Or Why hve you ome, frien? See Pslm 0:1; Dniel :. See Zeh. :1,; Jer. 1:1 ; :. Mny mnusripts o not hve Jesus; lso in verse 1.

24 Mtthew :1 Mtthew : took the stff n struk him on the he gin n gin. 1 Af ter they h moke him, they took off the roe n put his own lothes on him. Then they le him wy to ru i fy him. The Cruifixion of Jesus As they were go ing out, they met mn from Cy re ne, nme Si mon, n they fore him to r ry the ross. They me to ple lle Gol go th (whih mens the ple of the skull ). There they offere Jesus wine to rink, mixe with gll; ut f ter tst ing it, he re fuse to rink it. When they h ru i fie him, they i vie up his lothes y st ing lots. An sitting own, they kept wth over him there. Aove his he they ple the writ ten hrge ginst him: this is jesus, the king of the jews. Two re els were ru i fie with him, one on his right n one on his left. Those who psse y hurle in sults t him, shking their hes 0 n sy ing, You who re go ing to e stroy the tem ple n uil it in three ys, sve your self! Come own from the ross, if you re the Son of Go! 1 In the sme wy the hief priests, the tehers of the lw n the el ers moke him. He sve oth ers, they si, ut he n t sve him self! He s the king of Is r el! Let him ome own now from the ross, n we will e lieve in him. He trusts in Go. Let Go res ue him now if he wnts him, for he si, I m the Son of Go. In the sme wy the re els who were ru i fie with him lso hepe in sults on him. The Deth of Jesus From noon un til three in the f ter noon rk ness me over ll the ln. Aout three in the f ter noon Jesus rie out in lou voie, Eli, Eli, lem s h th ni? (whih mens My Go, my Go, why hve you for sk en me? ). When some of those stn ing there her this, they si, He s ll ing Eli jh. Im me i te ly one of them rn n got sponge. He fille it with wine vin egr, put it on stff, n of fere it to Jesus to rink. The rest si, Now leve him lone. Let s see if Eli jh omes to sve him. 0 An when Jesus h rie out gin in lou voie, he gve up his spir it. 1 At tht mo ment the ur tin of the temple ws torn in two from top to ot tom. The erth shook, the roks split n the toms roke open. The o ies of mny holy people who h ie were rise to life. They me out of the toms f ter Jesus res urre tion n went into the holy ity n ppere to mny peo ple. When the en tu ri on n those with him who were gur ing Jesus sw the erthquke n ll tht h hp pene, they were ter ri fie, n ex lime, Sure ly he ws the Son of Go! Mny wom en were there, wth ing from is tne. They h fol lowe Jesus from Gl i lee to re for his nees. Among them were Mry Mg lene, Mry the moth er of Jmes n Jo seph, n the moth er of Zee ee s sons. The Buril of Jesus As eve ning p prohe, there me rih mn from Ar i m the, nme Joseph, who h him self e ome is i ple of Jesus. Go ing to Pi lte, he ske for Jesus oy, n Pi lte or ere tht it e giv en to him. Jo seph took the oy, wrppe it in len lin en loth, 0 n ple it in his own new tom tht he h ut out of the rok. He rolle ig stone in front of the en trne to the tom n went wy. 1 Mry Mg lene n the oth er Mry were sit ting there op posite the tom. The Gur t the Tom The next y, the one f ter Prep r tion Dy, the hief priests n the Phr i sees went to Pi lte. Sir, they si, we re mem er tht while he ws still live tht e eiv er si, Af ter three ys I will rise gin. So give the or er for the tom to e me seure un til the thir y. Oth er wise, his isi ples my ome n stel the oy n tell the peo ple tht he hs een rise from the e. This lst e ep tion will e worse thn the first. Tke gur, Pi lte n swere. Go, mke the tom s se ure s you know how. So they went n me the tom se ure y Mtthew wht Go knew BeFore Time BeGn Go s story Jesus tells his isiples tht he will e ruifie in just ouple of ys. At inner, womn pours expensive perfume on Jesus he. The isiples re stunne. It s suh wste. Jesus sols them she hs eutifully prepre him for uril. Behin the senes, Jus strikes el with the religious leers to etry Jesus. At the Pssover mel ommemorting Isrel s exous from Egypt, Jesus nnounes new ovennt whih will provie his followers with their exous from the slve mster of sin. He emonstrtes it with re n wine. His oy, roken like the re, will pour out his loo, prouring forgiveness for sin. After the mel, the group trvels to the Gren of Gethsemne. Jesus egs his Fther to let him py for sin nother wy, yet sumits. Jus n the temple polie rrive, n Jesus is hne over to the religious leers. The isiples flee. Jesus is psse from the ruling Jewish ounil to the Romn governor. Jesus is righteous n innoent; yet through rooke leership n frenzie row, the hevenly Fther s pln for reemption llows for Jesus to e onemne n ruifie like riminl.. Go s Son is e. But not forever. On the thir y, in orrowe tom tht isn t orrowe for long, Go rises Jesus k to life. the KinG s hert Centuries efore, Go h ske nother fther to put his muh-love son on n ltr (see the story of Arhm n Is, Genesis ). Tht fithful fther oeye. The fithful son h too. As the fther rise his hn to ring own the knife to sly his son, Go stye his hn. Go provie nother srifie to tke the son s ple. But this time, on this ltr, this Fther i not sty his hn. There woul e no other srifie. The Son is the srifie. Go knew tht we wouln t just nee help to live etter lives. We woul nee something so powerful tht it woul rek the urse of sin n eth, nullifying Stn s lim on our souls. Go knew this efore the fountion of the worl. His ure woul e Jesus, the Lm who ws slin from the retion of the worl (Reveltion :). Before Go si, Let there e light! he knew tht Jesus woul e ruifie. Tht mens tht the Son knew too n he hose to ome to erth nywy. An he hose to sty on the ltr. Beuse he is just tht goo. insight As Jesus took on the sin of the worl, the erth physilly respone to the weight of wht ws hppening. The sky rkene n the erth shook. Some mnusripts Eloi, Eloi Pslm :1 Or toms, n fter Jesus resurretion they Greek Joses, vrint of Joseph For your next reing, go to pge.

25 0 Mtthew :1 Mtthew : 0 put ting sel on the stone n post ing the gur. Jesus Hs Risen Af ter the S th, t wn on the first y of the week, Mry Mg lene n the oth er Mry went to look t the tom. There ws vi o lent erth quke, for n n gel of the Lor me own from hev en n, go ing to the tom, rolle k the stone n st on it. His p per ne ws like lightning, n his lothes were white s snow. The gurs were so fri of him tht they shook n e me like e men. The n gel si to the wom en, Do not e fri, for I know tht you re look ing for Jesus, who ws ru i fie. He is not here; he hs ris en, just s he si. Come n see the ple where he ly. Then go quik ly n tell his is i ples: He hs ris en from the e n is go ing he of you into Gl i lee. There you will see him. Now I hve tol you. So the wom en hur rie wy from the tom, fri yet fille with joy, n rn to tell his is i ples. Su en ly Jesus met them. Greet ings, he si. They me to him, lspe his feet n wor shipe him. Then Jesus si to them, Do not e fri. Go n tell my roth ers to go to Gl i lee; there they will see me. The Gurs Report While the wom en were on their wy, some of the gurs went into the ity n re port e to the hief priests ev ery thing tht h hp pene. 1 When the hief priests h met with the el ers n e vise pln, they gve the sol iers lrge sum of mon ey, tell ing them, You re to sy, His is i ples me ur ing the night n stole him wy while we were sleep. 1 If this re port gets to the gov er nor, we will st is fy him n keep you out of trou le. So the sol iers took the mon ey n i s they were in strut e. An this sto ry hs een wie ly ir u lt e mong the Jews to this very y. The Gret Commission Then the elev en is i ples went to Gli lee, to the moun tin where Jesus h tol them to go. 1 When they sw him, they wor shipe him; ut some out e. Then Jesus me to them n si, All u thor i ty in hev en n on erth hs een giv en to me. 1 There fore go n mke is i ples of ll n tions, p tiz ing them in the nme of the F ther n of the Son n of the Holy Spirit, n teh ing them to oey ev ery thing I hve om mn e you. An sure ly I m with you l wys, to the very en of the ge. NOTES

26 Explore the King s Love for His People on Cover-to-Cover Journey Through the Bile Choolte/Crmel Itlin Duo-Tone ISBN: 0 $. Hrover ISBN: 0 $. ebook ISBN: 00 $. Re through the entire Bile. Unerstn it. Love it. Relly. Develope for men n women who love to re. These rih evotions unfol Go s relentless love for us. /NIVBile /nivile /nivile/

27 Unerstn the Bile n fll in love with its Author like never efore. The NIV Disover Go s Hert Devotionl Bile helps you unerstn n onnet your hert with the pssionte hert of Go. Crete in prtnership with Wlk Thru the Bile, glol nonprofit ministry eite to igniting pssion for Go s Wor, this Bile unveils Go s hert in wys you hve never experiene efore with rih insights into the originl ontexts of Sripture. The 1 engging evotionls serve s your tour guie, wlking you through Genesis to Reveltion in mngele portions. Devotions re provie for eh y of the week s well s one for the weeken, n eh inlues summry setion of the Sripture pssge for the y; n pplition setion tht revels Go s goo hert, helping you mke the onnetion etween wht you re n your reltionship with him; n n insight setion tht ties eh pssge into the rest of Go s gret story. Book introutions provie quik summry n give you fts out eh ook, inluing uthor, uiene, te n theme. Also inlue is etile reing sheule to help keep you on trk s well s lterntive reing plns when you wnt to re Go s Wor in vriety of wys. As you explore Go s Wor, you ll see his ivine fingerprints from eginning to en, even in the most unexpete ples. You ll enounter eeper, fuller piture of the Go you thought you knew n experiene more intimte wlk with him. Every NIV Bile you purhse helps Bili trnslte n give Biles to people in nee roun the worl. Smpler ISBN 000 BIBLES / New Interntionl Version / Devotionl