Part One



Here begins the good news of Jesus Christ the Son of God.

The prophet Isaiah wrote:
'Here is my herald whom I send on ahead of you, and he will prepare your way.
A voice crying aloud in the wilderness, "Prepare a way for the Lord; clear a straight path for him."'

And so it was that John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness proclaiming a baptism in token of repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, and they flocked to him from the whole Judaean countryside and the city of Jerusalem, and were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins.

John was dressed in a rough coat of camel's hair, with a leather belt round his waist, and he fed on locusts and wild honey.
His proclamation ran:
'After me comes one who is mightier than I. I am not fit to unfasten his shoes. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.'

It happened at this time that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. At the moment when he came up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice spoke from heaven:
'Thou art my Son, my Beloved.'

Thereupon the Spirit sent him away into the wilderness, and there he remained for forty days tempted by Satan. He was among the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

After John had been arrested, Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the good news of God:
'The time has come; the kingdom of God is upon you; repent, and believe the good news.'

Jesus was walking by the shore of the Sea of Galilee when he saw Simon and his brother Andrew on the lake at work with a casting-net; for they were fishermen. Jesus said to them,
'Come with me, and I will make you fishers of men.'

And at once they left their nets and followed him.

When he had gone a little further he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in the boat overhauling their nets. He called them; and, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, they went off to follow him.

They came to Capernaum, and on the Sabbath he went to synagogue and began to teach. The people were astounded at his teaching, for, unlike the doctors of the law, he taught with a note of authority. Now there was a man in the synagogue possessed by an unclean spirit. He shrieked:
'What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are-the Holy One of God.'

Jesus rebuked him:
'Be silent', he said, 'and come out of him.'

And the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions and with a loud cry left him. They were all dumbfounded and began to ask one another,
'What is this? A new kind of teaching! He speaks with authority. When he gives orders, even the unclean spirits submit.'
The news spread rapidly, and he was soon spoken of all over the district of Galilee.

On leaving the synagogue they went straight to the house of Simon and Andrew; and James and John went with them. Simon's mother-in-law was ill in bed with fever. They told him about her at once. He came forward, took her by the hand, and helped her to her feet. The fever left her and she waited upon them.

That evening after sunset they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by devils; and the whole town was there, gathered at the door. He healed many who suffered from various diseases, and drove out many devils. He would not let the devils speak, because they knew who he was.

Very early next morning he got up and went out. He went away to a lonely spot and remained there in prayer. But Simon and his companions searched him out, found him, and said,
'They are all looking for you.'
He answered,
'Let us move on to the country towns in the neighbourhood; I have to proclaim my message there also; that is what I came out to do.'

So all through Galilee he went, preaching in the synagogues and casting out the devils.

Once he was approached by a leper, who knelt before him begging his help.
'If only you will,' said the man, 'you can cleanse me.'
In warm indignation Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,
'Indeed I will; be clean again.'

The leprosy left him immediately, and he was clean. Then he dismissed him with this stern warning:
'Be sure you say nothing to anybody. Go and show yourself to the priest, and make the offering laid down by Moses for your cleansing; that will certify the cure.'


But the man went out and made the whole story public; he spread it far and wide, until Jesus could no longer show himself in any town, but stayed outside in the open country. Even so, people kept coming to him from all quarters.

Part Two

When after some days he returned to Capernaum, the news went round that he was at home; and such a crowd collected that the space in front of the door was not big enough to hold them. And while he was proclaiming the message to them, a man was brought who was paralysed. Four men were carrying him, but because of the crowd they could not get him near. So they opened up the roof over the place where Jesus was, and when they had broken through they lowered the stretcher on which the paralysed man was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralysed man,
'My son, your sins are forgiven.'

Now there were some lawyers sitting there and they thought to themselves,
'Why does the fellow talk like that? This is blasphemy! Who but God alone can forgive sins?'
Jesus knew in his own mind that this was what they were thinking, and said to them:
'Why do you harbour thoughts like these? Is it easier to say to this paralysed man, "Your sins are forgiven", or to say, "Stand up, take your bed, and walk"? But to convince you that the Son of Man has the right on earth to forgive sins'—he turned to the paralysed man— 'I say to you, stand up, take your bed, and go home.'
And he got up, took his stretcher at once, and went out in full view of them all, so that they were astounded and praised God.
'Never before', they said, 'have we seen the like.'

Once more he went away to the lakeside. All the crowd came to him, and he taught them there. As he went along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus at his seat in the custom-house, and said to him,
'Follow me';
and Levi rose and followed him.

When Jesus was at table in his house, many bad characters — tax-gatherers and others — were seated with him and his disciples; for there were many who followed him. Some doctors of the law who were Pharisees noticed him eating in this bad company, and said to his disciples,
'He eats with tax-gatherers and sinners!'
Jesus overheard and said to them,
'It is not the healthy that need a doctor, but the sick; I did not come to invite virtuous people, but sinners.'

Once, when John's disciples and the Pharisees were keeping a fast, some people came to him and said,
'Why is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?'
Jesus said to them,
'Can you expect the bridegroom's friends to fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, there can be no fasting. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and on that day they will fast.

'No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on to an old coat; if he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and leaves a bigger hole. No one puts new wine into old wine-skins, if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and then wine and skins are both lost. Fresh skins for new wine!'

One Sabbath he was going through the cornfields; and his disciples, as they went, began to pluck ears of corn. The Pharisees said to him,
'Look, why are they doing what is forbidden on the Sabbath?'
He answered,
'Have you never read what David did when he and his men were hungry and had nothing to eat? He went into the House of God, in the time of Abiathar the High Priest, and ate the sacred bread, though no one but a priest is allowed to eat them, and even gave them to his men.'

He also said to them,
'The Sabbath was made for the sake of man and not man for the Sabbath: therefore the Son of Man is sovereign even over the Sabbath.'

Part Three


On another occasion when he went to synagogue, there was a man in the congregation who had a withered arm; and they were watching to see whether Jesus would cure him on the Sabbath, so that they could bring a charge against him. He said to the man with the withered arm,

'Come and stand out here.'

Then he turned to them:

'Is it permitted to do good or to do evil on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill?'

They had nothing to say; and, looking round at them with anger and sorrow at their obstinate stupidity, he said to the man,

'Stretch out your arm.'

He stretched it out and his arm was restored. But the Pharisees, on leaving the synagogue, began plotting against him with the partisans of Herod to see how they could make away with him.


Jesus went away to the lake-side with his disciples. Great numbers from Galilee, Judaea and Jerusalem, Idumaea and Transjordan, and the neighbourhood of Tyre and Sidon, heard what he was doing and came to see him. So he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him, to save him from being crushed by the crowd. For he cured so many that sick people of all kinds came crowding in upon him to touch him. The unclean spirits too, when they saw him, would fall at his feet and cry aloud, 'You are the Son of God'; but he insisted that they should not make him known.

He then went up into the hill-country and called the men he wanted; and they went and joined him. He appointed twelve as his companions, whom he would send out to proclaim the good news, with a commission to drive out devils. So he appointed the Twelve: to Simon he gave the name Peter; then came the sons of Zebedee, James and his brother John, to whom he gave the name Boanerges, Sons of Thunder; then Andrew and Philip and Bartholomew and Matthew and Thomas and James the son of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus and Simon, a member of the Zealot party, and Judas Iscariot, the man who betrayed him.

He entered a house; and once more such a crowd collected round them that they had no chance to eat. When his family heard of this, they set out to take charge of him; for people were saying that he was out of his mind.

The doctors of the law, too, who had come down from Jerusalem, said, 'He is possessed by Beelzebub', and, 'He drives out devils by the prince of devils.'
So he called them to come forward, and spoke to them in parables:

'How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand; if a household is divided against itself, that house will never stand; and if Satan is in rebellion against himself, he is divided and cannot stand; and that is the end of him.

'On the other hand, no one can break into a strong man's house and make off with his goods unless he has first tied the strong man up; then he can ransack the house.

'I tell you this: no sin, no slander, is beyond forgiveness for men; but whoever slanders the Holy Spirit can never be forgiven; he is guilty of eternal sin.'

He said this because they had declared that he was possessed by an unclean spirit.


Then his Mother and his brothers arrived, and remaining outside sent in a message asking him to come out to them. A crowd was sitting round and word was brought to him: 'Your Mother and your brothers are outside asking for you.'
He replied,
'Who is my Mother? Who are my brothers?'

And looking round at those who were sitting in the circle about him he said,

'Here are my Mother and my brothers. Whoever does the will of God is my brother, my sister, my Mother.'

Part Four


On another occasion he began to teach by the lakeside. The crowd that gathered round him was so large that he had to get into a boat on the lake, and there he sat, with the whole crowd on the beach right down to the water's edge. And he taught them many things by parables.

As he taught he said:

'Listen! A sower went out to sow. And it happened that as he sowed, some seed fell along the footpath; and the birds came and ate it up. Some seed fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil, and it sprouted quickly because it had no depth of earth; but when the sun rose the young corn was scorched, and as it had no proper root it withered away. Some seed fell among thistles; but the thistles shot up and choked the corn, and it yielded no crop. And some of the seed fell into good soil, where it came up and grew, and bore fruit; and the yield was thirtyfold, sixtyfold, even a hundredfold.'

He added,
'If you have ears to hear, then hear.'


When he was alone, the Twelve and others who were round him questioned him about the parables. He replied,

'To you the secret of the kingdom of God has been given, but to those who are outside everything comes by way of parables, so that (as Scripture says) they may look and look, but see nothing; they may hear and hear, but understand nothing; otherwise they might turn to God and be forgiven.'


So he said,
'You do not understand this parable? How then are you to understand any parable? The sower sows the word. Those along the footpath are people in whom the word is sown, but no sooner have they heard it than Satan comes and carries off the word which has been sown in them. It is the same with those who receive the seed on rocky ground; as soon as they hear the word, they accept it with joy, but it strikes no root in them; they have no staying-power; then, when there is trouble or persecution on account of the word, they fall away at once. Others again receive the seed among thistles; they hear the word, but worldly cares and the false glamour of wealth and all kinds of evil desire come in and choke the word, and it proves barren. And there are those who receive the seed in good soil; they hear the word and welcome it; and they bear fruit thirtyfold, sixtyfold, or a hundredfold.'


He said to them,
'Do you bring in the lamp to put it under the meal-tub, or under the bed? Surely it is brought to be set on the lamp-stand? For nothing is hidden unless it is to be disclosed, and nothing put under cover unless it is to come into the open. If you have ears to hear, then hear.'


He also said,
'Take note of what you hear; the measure you give is the measure you will receive, with something more besides. For the man who has will be given more, and the man who has not will forfeit even what he has.'


He said,
'The kingdom of God is like this. A man scatters seed on the land; he goes to bed at night and gets up in the morning, and the seed sprouts and grows — how, he does not know. The ground produces a crop by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then full-grown corn in the ear; but as soon as the crop is ripe, he sets to work with the sickle, because harvest-time has come.'


He said also,
'How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we describe it? It is like the mustard-seed, which is smaller than any seed in the ground at its sowing. But once sown, it springs up and grows taller than any other plant, and forms branches so large that the birds can settle in its shade.'


With many such parables he would give them his message, so far as they were able to receive it. He never spoke to them except in parables; but privately to his disciples he explained everything.


That day, in the evening, he said to them,
'Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.'

So they left the crowd and took him with them in the boat where he had been sitting; and there were other boats accompanying him. A heavy squall came on and the waves broke over the boat until it was all but swamped. Now he was in the stern asleep on a cushion; they roused him and said, 'Master, we are sinking! Do you not care?'

He stood up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea,
'Hush! Be still!'

The wind dropped and there was a dead calm. He said to them,
'Why are you such cowards? Have you no faith even now?'

They were awestruck and said to one another, 'Who can this be whom even the wind and the sea obey?'

Part Five

So they came to the other side of the lake, into the country of the Gerasenes. As he stepped ashore, a man possessed by an unclean spirit came up to him from among the tombs where he had his dwelling. He could no longer be controlled; even chains were useless; he had often been fettered and chained up, but he had snapped his chains and broken the fetters. No one was strong enough to master him. And so, unceasingly, night and day, he would cry aloud among the tombs and on the hill-sides and cut himself with stones. When he saw Jesus in the distance, he ran and flung himself down before him, shouting loudly, 'What do you want with me, Jesus, son of the Most High God? In God's name do not torment me.'

(For Jesus was already saying to him,
'Out, unclean spirit, come out of this man!')

Jesus asked him,
'What is your name?'

'My name is Legion,' he said, 'there are so many of us.' And he begged hard that Jesus would not send them out of the country.

Now there happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hill-side, and the spirits begged him, 'Send us among the pigs and let us go into them.' He gave them leave; and the unclean spirits came out and went into the pigs; and the herd, of about two thousand, rushed over the edge into the lake and were drowned.

The men in charge of them took to their heels and carried the news to the town and country-side; and the people came out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and saw the madman who had been possessed by the legion of devils, sitting there clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. The spectators told them how the madman had been cured and what had happened to the pigs. Then they begged Jesus to leave the district.

As he was stepping into the boat, the man who had been possessed begged to go with him. Jesus would not allow it, but said to him,

'Go home to your own folk and tell them what the Lord in his mercy has done for you.'

The man went off and spread the news in the Ten Towns of all that Jesus had done for him, and they were all amazed.


As soon as Jesus had returned by boat to the other shore, a great crowd once more gathered round him. While he was by the lakeside, the president of one of the synagogues came up, Jairus by name, and, when he saw him, threw himself down at his feet and pleaded with him. 'My little daughter', he said, 'is at death's door. I beg you to come and lay your hands on her to cure her and save her life.' So Jesus went with him, accompanied by a great crowd which pressed upon him.

Among them was a woman who had suffered from haemorrhages for twelve years; and in spite of long treatment by doctors, on which she had spent all she had, there had been no improvement; on the contrary, she had grown worse. She had heard what people were saying about Jesus, so she came up from behind in the crowd and touched his cloak; for she said to herself, 'If I touch even his clothes, I shall be cured.' And there and then the source of her haemorrhages dried up and she knew in herself that she was cured of her trouble. At the same time Jesus, aware that power had gone out of him, turned round in the crowd and asked,

'Who touched my clothes?'

31His disciples said to him, 'You see the crowd pressing upon you and yet you ask,

"Who touched me?" '

Meanwhile he was looking round to see who had done it. And the woman, trembling with fear when she grasped what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and told him the whole truth. He said to her,

'My daughter, your faith has cured you. Go in peace, free for ever from this trouble.'


While he was still speaking, a message came from the president's house, 'Your daughter is dead; why trouble the Rabbi further?' But Jesus, overhearing the message as it was delivered, said to the president of the synagogue,

'Do not be afraid; only have faith.'

After this he allowed no one to accompany him except Peter and James and James's brother John. They came to the president's house, where he found a great commotion, with loud crying and wailing. So he went in and said to them,

'Why this crying and commotion? The child is not dead: she is asleep.'

But they only laughed at him. After turning all the others out, he took the child's father and mother and his own companions and went in where the child was lying. Then, taking hold of her hand, he said to her,

'Talitha cum'

which means,

'Get up, my child.'



Immediately the girl got up and walked about-she was twelve years old. At that they were beside themselves with amazement. He gave them strict orders to let no one hear about it, and told them to give her something to eat.

Part Six

He left that place and went to his home town accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue; and the large congregation who heard him were amazed and said, 'Where does he get it from?', and, 'What wisdom is this that has been given him?', and, 'How does he work such miracles? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?' So they fell foul of him. Jesus said to them,

'A prophet will always be held in honour except in his home town, and among his kinsmen and family.'

He could work no miracle there, except that he put his hands on a few sick people and healed them; and he was taken aback by their want of faith.


On one of his teaching journeys round the villages he summoned the Twelve and sent them out in pairs on a mission. He gave them authority over unclean spirits, and instructed them to take nothing for the journey beyond a stick: no bread, no pack, no money in their belts. They might wear sandals, but not a second coat.

'When you are admitted to a house', he added, 'stay there until you leave those parts. At any place where they will not receive you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet as you leave, as a warning to them.'

So they set out and called publicly for repentance. They drove out many devils, and many sick people they anointed with oil and cured.


Now King Herod heard of it, for the fame of Jesus had spread; and people were saying, 'John the Baptist has been raised to life, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.' Others said, 'It is Elijah.' Others again, 'He is a prophet like one of the old prophets.' But Herod, when he heard of it, said, 'This is John, whom I beheaded, raised from the dead.'

For this same Herod had sent and arrested John and put him in prison at the instance of his brother Philip's wife, Herodias, whom he had married. John had told Herod, 'You have no right to your brother's wife.' Thus Herodias nursed a grudge against him and would willingly have killed him, but she could not; for Herod went in awe of John, knowing him to be a good and holy man; so he kept him in custody. He liked to listen to him, although the listening left him greatly perplexed.

Herodias found her opportunity when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet to his chief officials and commanders and the leading men of Galilee. Her daughter came in and danced, and so delighted Herod and his guests that the king said to the girl, 'Ask what you like and I will give it you.' And he swore an oath to her: 'Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.' She went out and said to her mother, 'What shall I ask for?' She replied, 'The head of John the Baptist.' The girl hastened back at once to the king with her request: 'I want you to give me here and now, on a dish, the head of John the Baptist.' The king was greatly distressed, but out of regard for his oath and for his guests he could not bring himself to refuse her. So the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John's head. The soldier went off and beheaded him in the prison, brought the head on a dish, and gave it to the girl; and she gave it to her mother.

When John's disciples heard the news, they came and took his body away and laid it in a tomb.


The apostles now rejoined Jesus and reported to him all that they had done and taught. He said to them,

'Come with me, by yourselves, to some lonely place where you can rest quietly.'

(For they had no leisure even to eat, so many were coming and going.) Accordingly, they set off privately by boat for a lonely place. But many saw them leave and recognized them, and came round by land, hurrying from all the towns towards the place, and arrived there first. When he came ashore, he saw a great crowd; and his heart went out to them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he had much to teach them. As the day wore on, his disciples approached him and said, 'This is a lonely place and it is getting very late; send the people off to the farms and villages round about, to buy themselves something to eat.'

'Give them something to eat yourselves', he answered.

They replied, 'Are we to go and spend 200 denarii on bread to give them a meal?'

'How many loaves have you?' he asked; 'go and see.'

They found out and told him, 'Five, and two fishes also.' He ordered them to make the people sit down in groups on the green grass, and they sat down in rows, a hundred rows of fifty each. Then, taking the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples to distribute. He also divided the two fishes among them. They all ate to their hearts' content; and twelve great basketfuls of scraps were picked up, with what was left of the fish. Those who ate the loaves numbered five thousand men.


As soon as it was over he made his disciples embark and cross to Bethsaida ahead of him, while he himself sent the people away. After taking leave of them, he went up the hill-side to pray. It grew late and the boat was already well out on the water, while he was alone on the land. Somewhere between three and six in the morning, seeing them labouring at the oars against a head-wind, he came towards them, walking on the lake. He was going to pass them by; but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought it was a ghost and cried out; for they all saw him and were terrified. But at once he spoke to them:

'Take heart! It is I; do not be afraid.'

Then he climbed into the boat beside them, and the wind dropped. At this they were completely dumbfounded, for they had not understood the incident of the loaves; their minds were closed.



So they finished the crossing and came to land at Gennesaret, where they made fast. When they came ashore, he was immediately recognized; and the people scoured that whole country-side and brought the sick on stretchers to any place where he was reported to be. Wherever he went, to farmsteads, villages, or towns, they laid out the sick in the marketplaces and begged him to let them simply touch the edge of his cloak; and all who touched him were cured.

Part Seven

A group of Pharisees, with some doctors of the law who had come from Jerusalem, met him and noticed that some of his disciples were eating their food with 'defiled' hands—in other words, without washing them. (For the Pharisees and the Jews in general never eat without washing the hands in obedience to an old-established tradition; and on coming from the market-place they never eat without first washing. And there are many other points on which they have a traditional rule to maintain, for example, washing of cups and jugs and copper bowls.) Accordingly, these Pharisees and the lawyers asked him, 'Why do your disciples not conform to the ancient tradition, but eat their food with defiled hands?'
He answered,

'Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites in these words: "This people pays me lip-service, but their heart is far from me: their worship of me is in vain, for they teach as doctrines the commandments of men." You neglect the commandment of God, in order to maintain the tradition of men.'


He also said to them,

'How well you set aside the commandment of God in order to maintain your tradition! Moses said, "Honour your father and your mother", and, "The man who curses his father or mother must suffer death." But you hold that if a man says to his father or mother, "Anything of mine which might have been used for your benefit is Corban"' (meaning, set apart for God), 'he is no longer permitted to do anything for his father or mother. Thus by your own tradition, handed down among you, you make God's word null and void. And many other things that you do are just like that.'


On another occasion he called the people and said to them,

'Listen to me, all of you, and understand this: nothing that goes into a man from outside can defile him; no, it is the things that come out of him that defile a man.'


When he had left the people and gone indoors, his is disciples questioned him about the parable. He said to them,

'Are you as dull as the rest? Do you not see that nothing that goes from outside into a man can defile him, because it does not enter into his heart but into his stomach, and so passes out into the drain?'

Thus he declared all foods clean.

He went on,

'It is what comes out of a man that defiles him. For from inside, out of a man's heart, come evil thoughts, acts of fornication, of theft, murder, adultery, ruthless greed, and malice; fraud, indecency, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly; these evil things all come from inside, and they defile the man.'



Then he left that place and went away into the territory of Tyre. He found a house to stay in, and he would have liked to remain unrecognized, but this was impossible. Almost at once a woman whose young daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit heard of him, came in, and fell at his feet. (She was a Gentile, a Phoenician of Syria by nationality.) She begged him to drive the spirit out of her daughter. He said to her,

'Let the children be satisfied first; it is not fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.'


'Sir,' she answered, 'even the dogs under the table eat the children's scraps.'
He said to her,

'For saying that, you may go home content; the unclean spirit has gone out of your daughter.'

And when she returned home, she found the child lying in bed; the spirit had left her.



On his return journey from Tyrian territory he went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee through the territory of the Ten Towns. They brought to him a man who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, with the request that he would lay his hand on him. He took the man aside, away from the crowd, put his fingers into his ears, spat, and touched his tongue. Then, looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said to him,

'Ephphatha'

which means

'Be opened.'


With that his ears were opened, and at the same time the impediment was removed and he spoke plainly. Jesus forbade them to tell anyone; but the more he forbade them, the more they published it. Their astonishment knew no bounds: 'All that he does, he does well,' they said; 'he even makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.'

Part Eight


There was another occasion about this time when a huge crowd had collected, and, as they had no food, Jesus called his disciples and said to them,

'I feel sorry for all these people; they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home unfed, they will turn faint on the way; some of them have come from a distance.'

The disciples answered, 'How can anyone provide all these people with bread in this lonely place?'

'How many loaves have you?' he asked;

and they answered, 'Seven.'
So he ordered the people to sit down on the ground; then he took the seven loaves, and, after giving thanks to God, he broke the bread and gave it to his disciples to distribute; and they served it out to the people. They had also a few small fishes, which he blessed and ordered them to distribute. They all ate to their hearts' content, and seven baskets were filled with the scraps that were left. The people numbered about four thousand. Then he dismissed them; and, without delay, got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.


Then the Pharisees came out and engaged him in discussion. To test him they asked him for a sign from heaven. He sighed deeply to himself and said,

'Why does this generation ask for a sign? I tell you this: no sign shall be given to this generation.'

With that he left them, re-embarked, and went off to the other side of the lake.


Now they had forgotten to take bread with them; they had no more than one loaf in the boat. He began to warn them:

'Beware,' he said, 'be on your guard against the leaven (the yeast) of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.'

They said among themselves, 'It is because we have no bread.'

Knowing what was in their minds, he asked them,

'Why do you talk about having no bread? Have you no inkling yet? Do you still not understand? Are your minds closed? You have eyes: can you not see? You have ears: can you not hear? Have you forgotten? When I broke the five loaves among five thousand, how many basketfuls of scraps did you pick up?'

'Twelve', they said.

'And how many when I broke the seven loaves among four thousand?'

They answered, 'Seven.'

He said,

'Do you still not understand?'


They arrived at Bethsaida. There the people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged him to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him away out of the village. Then he spat on his eyes, laid his hands upon him, and asked whether he could see anything. The man's sight began to come back, and he said, 'I see men; they look like trees, but they are walking about.' Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; he looked hard, and now he was cured so that he saw everything clearly. Then Jesus sent him home, saying,

'Do not tell anyone in the village.'


Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples,

'Who do men say I am?'

They answered, 'Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, others one of the prophets.'

'And you,' he asked, 'who do you say I am?'

Peter replied: 'You are the Messiah.'

Then he gave them strict orders not to tell anyone about him.


And he began to teach them that the Son of Man had to undergo great sufferings, and to be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and doctors of the law; to be put to death, and to rise again three days afterwards. He spoke about it plainly. At this Peter took him by the arm and began to rebuke him. But Jesus turned round, and, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter.

'Away with you, Satan,' he said; 'you think as men think, not as God thinks.'


Then he called the people to him, as well as his disciples, and said to them,

'Anyone who wishes to be a follower of mine must leave self behind; he must take up his cross, and come with me. Whoever cares for his own safety is lost; but if a man will let himself be lost for my sake and for the Good News, that man is safe. What does a man gain by winning the whole world at the cost of his true self? What can he give to buy that self back? If anyone is ashamed of me and of my words. in this wicked and godless age, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him, when he comes in the glory of his Father and of the holy angels.'

Part Nine


He also said, 'I tell you this: there are some of those standing here who will not taste death before they have seen the kingdom of God already come in power.'



Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him and led them up a high mountain where they were alone; and in their presence he was transfigured; his clothes became dazzling white, with a whiteness no bleacher on earth could equal. They saw Elijah appear, and Moses with him, and there they were, conversing with Jesus. Then Peter spoke: 'Rabbi,' he said, 'how good it is that we are here! Shall we make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah?' (For he did not know what to say; they were so terrified.) Then a cloud appeared, casting its shadow over them, and out of the cloud came a voice:


'This is my Son, my Beloved; listen to him.'


And now suddenly, when they looked around, there was nobody to be seen but Jesus alone with themselves.



On their way down the mountain, he enjoined them not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. They seized upon those words, and discussed among themselves what this 'rising from the dead' could mean. And they put a question to him: 'Why do our teachers say that Elijah must be the first to come?'

He replied,
'Yes, Elijah does come first to set everything right. Yet how is it that the scriptures say of the Son of Man that he is to endure great sufferings and to be treated with contempt? However, I tell you, Elijah has already come and they have worked their will upon him, as the scriptures say of him.'


When they came back to the disciples they saw a large crowd surrounding them and lawyers arguing with them. As soon as they saw Jesus the whole crowd were overcome with awe, and they ran forward to welcome him.

He asked them,
'What is this argument about?'

A man in the crowd spoke up: 'Master, I brought my son to you. He is possessed by a spirit which makes him speechless. Whenever it attacks him, it dashes him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and goes rigid. I asked your disciples to cast it out, but they failed.'

Jesus answered:
'What an unbelieving and perverse generation! How long shall I be with you? How long must I endure you? Bring him to me.'

So they brought the boy to him; and as soon as the spirit saw him it threw the boy into convulsions, and he fell on the ground and rolled about foaming at the mouth.

Jesus asked his father,
'How long has he been like this?'

'From childhood,' he replied; 'often it has tried to make an end of him by throwing him into the fire or into water. But if it is at all possible for you, take pity upon us and help us.'

'If it is possible!' said Jesus. 'Everything is possible to one who has faith.'

'I have faith,' cried the boy's father; 'help me where faith falls short.' Jesus saw then that the crowd was closing in upon them, so he rebuked the unclean spirit.

'Deaf and dumb spirit.' he said, 'I command you, come out of him and never go back!'

After crying aloud and racking him fiercely, it came out; and the boy looked like a corpse; in fact, many said, 'He is dead.' But Jesus took his hand and raised him to his feet, and he stood up.

Then Jesus went indoors, and his disciples asked him privately, 'Why could not we cast it out?'

He said, 'There is no means of casting out this sort but prayer.'


They now left that district and made a journey so through Galilee. Jesus wished it to be kept secret; for he was teaching his disciples, and telling them,

'The Son of Man is now to be given up into the power of men, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.'

But they did not understand what he said, and were afraid to ask.


So they came to Capernaum; and when he was indoors, he asked them,

'What were you arguing about on the way?'

They were silent, because on the way they had been discussing who was the greatest. He sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,

'If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.'

Then he took a child, set him in front of them, and put his arm round him.

'Whoever receives one of these children in my name', he said, 'receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.'


John said to him, 'Master, we saw a man driving out devils in your name, and as he was not one of us, we tried to stop him.'

Jesus said,
'Do not stop him; no one who does a work of divine power in my name will be able in the same breath to speak evil of me. For he who is not against us is on our side. I tell you this: if anyone gives you a cup of water to drink because you are followers of the Messiah, that man assuredly will not go unrewarded.


'As for the man who leads astray one of these little ones who have faith, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone round his neck. If your hand is your undoing, cut it off; it is better for you to enter into life maimed than to keep both hands and go to hell and the unquenchable fire where the devouring worm never dies and the fire is not quenched. And if it is your foot that leads you astray, cut it off; it is better to enter into life a cripple than to keep both your feet and be thrown into hell where the devouring worm never dies and the fire is not quenched. And if it is your eye, tear it out; it is better to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than to keep both eyes and be thrown into hell, where the devouring worm never dies and the fire is not quenched.

'For everyone will be salted with fire. (Everyone will be purified by fire as a sacrifice is purified by salt.)

'Salt is a good thing; but if the salt loses its saltness, what will you season it with?


'Have the salt of fellowship and be at peace with one another.'

Part Ten


On leaving those parts he came into the regions of Judaea and Transjordan; and when a crowd gathered round him once again, he followed his usual practice and taught them. The question was put to him: 'Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?' This was to test him. He asked in return,

'What did Moses command you?'

They answered, 'Moses permitted a man to divorce his wife by note of dismissal.'

Jesus said to them,
'It was because you were so unteachable that he made this rule for you; but in the beginning, at the creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and be made one with his wife; and the two shall become one flesh. It follows that they are no longer two individuals: they are one flesh. What God has joined together, man must not separate.'


When they were indoors again the disciples questioned him about this matter.

He said to them,
'Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against his wife: so too, if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.'



They brought children for him to touch; and the disciples scolded them for it. But when Jesus saw this he was indignant, and said to them,

'Let the children come to me; do not try to stop them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.'

And he put his arms round them, laid his hands upon them, and blessed them.



As he was starting out on a journey, a stranger ran up, and, kneeling before him, asked, 'Good Master, what must I do to win eternal life?'

Jesus said to him,
'Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments:

"Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not give false evidence; do not defraud; honour your father and mother."'


'But, Master,' he replied, 'I have kept all these since I was a boy.' Jesus looked straight at him; his heart warmed to him, and he said,

'One thing you lack: go, sell everything you have, and give to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; and come, follow me.'

At these words his face fell and he went away with a heavy heart; for he was a man of great wealth.



Jesus looked round at his disciples and said to them,

'How hard it will be for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!'


They were amazed that he should say this, but Jesus insisted,

'Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.'


They were more astonished than ever, and said to one another, 'Then who can be saved?'

Jesus looked at them and said,
'For men it is impossible, but not for God; to God everything is possible.'



At this Peter spoke. 'We here', he said, 'have left everything to become your followers.'


Jesus said,
'I tell you this: anyone who has given up home, brothers or sisters, mother, father or children, or land, for my sake and for the Good News, will receive in this age a hundred times as much - houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and land — and persecutions besides; and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last and the last first.'




They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, Jesus leading the way; and the disciples were filled with awe; while those who followed behind were afraid. He took the Twelve aside and began to tell them what was to happen to him.

'We are now going to Jerusalem,' he said; 'and the Son of Man will be given up to the chief priests and the doctors of the law; they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the foreign power. He will be mocked and spat upon, flogged and killed; and three days afterwards, he will rise again.'


James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached him and said, 'Master, we should like you to do us a favour.'


'What is it you want me to do?' he asked.


They answered, 'Grant us the right to sit in state with you, one at your right and the other at your left.'

Jesus said to them,
'You do not understand what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?'

'We can', they answered.

Jesus said,
'The cup that I drink you shall drink, and the baptism I am baptized with shall be your baptism; but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant; it is for those to whom it has already been assigned.'



When the other ten heard this, they were indignant with James and John. Jesus called them to him and said,


'You know that in the world the recognized rulers lord it over their subjects, and their great men make them feel the weight of authority. That is not the way with you; among you, whoever wants to be great must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the willing slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to surrender his life as a ransom for many.'



They came to Jericho; and as he was leaving the town, with his disciples and a large crowd, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was seated at the roadside. Hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, 'Son of David, Jesus, have pity on me!' Many of the people rounded on him: 'Be quiet', they said; but he shouted all the more, 'Son of David, have pity on me.' Jesus stopped and said,

'Call him';

so they called the blind man and said, 'Take heart; stand up; he is calling you.' At that he threw off his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.

Jesus said to him,
'What do you want me to do for you?'


'Master,' the blind man answered, 'I want my sight back.'

Jesus said to him,
'Go; your faith has cured you.'


And at once he recovered his sight and followed him on the road.

Part Eleven



They were now approaching Jerusalem, and when they reached Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples with these instructions:

'Go to the village opposite, and, just as you enter, you will find tethered there a colt which no one has yet ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks,
"Why are you doing that?",
'say,
"Our Master needs it, and will send it back here without delay." '


So they went off, and found the colt tethered to a door outside in the street. They were untying it when some of the bystanders asked, 'What are you doing, untying that colt?' They answered as Jesus had told them, and were then allowed to take it. So they brought the colt to Jesus and spread their cloaks on it, and he mounted. And people carpeted the road with their cloaks, while others spread brushwood which they had cut in the fields; and those who went ahead and the others who came behind shouted, 'Hosanna! Blessings on him who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessings on the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the heavens!'


He entered Jerusalem and went into the temple, where he looked at the whole scene; but, as it was now late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.



On the following day, after they had left Bethany, he felt hungry, and, noticing in the distance a fig-tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. But when he came there he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.

He said to the tree,
'May no one ever again eat fruit from you!'


And his disciples were listening.



So they came to Jerusalem, and he went into the temple and began driving out those who bought and sold in the temple. He upset the tables of the money-changers and the seats of the dealers in pigeons; and he would not allow anyone to use the temple court as a thoroughfare for carrying goods.

Then he began to teach them, and said,
'Does not Scripture say,
'"My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations"?
'But you have made it a robbers' cave.'


The chief priests and the doctors of the law heard of this and sought some means of making away with him; for they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching. And when evening came he went out of the city.



Early next morning, as they passed by, they saw that the fig-tree had withered from the roots up; and Peter, recalling what had happened, said to him, 'Rabbi, look, the fig-tree which you cursed has withered.'

Jesus answered them,
'Have faith in God. I tell you this: if anyone says to this mountain,
'"Be lifted from your place and hurled into the sea",
'and has no inward doubts, but believes that what he says is happening, it will be done for him. I tell you, then, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours.

'And when you stand praying, if you have a grievance against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you the wrongs you have done.'



They came once more to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple court the chief priests, lawyers, and elders came to him and said, 'By what authority are you acting like this? Who gave you authority to act in this way?'

Jesus said to them,
'I have a question to ask you too; and if you give me an answer, I will tell you by what authority I act. The baptism of John: was it from God, or from men? Answer me.'


This set them arguing among themselves: 'What shall we say? If we say, "from God", he will say, "Then why did you not believe him?" Shall we say, "from men"?'- but they were afraid of the people, for all held that John was in fact a prophet. So they answered Jesus, 'We do not know.'


And Jesus said to them,

'Then neither will I tell you by what authority I act.'

Part Twelve



He went on to speak to them in parables:
'A man planted a vineyard and put a wall round it, dug a hole for the winepress, and built a watch-tower; then he let it out to vine-growers and went abroad. When the vintage season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce. But they took him, thrashed him, and sent him away empty-handed. Again, he sent them another servant, whom they beat about the head and treated outrageously. So he sent another, and that one they killed; and many more besides, of whom they beat some, and killed others. He had now only one left to send, his own dear son. Last of all, then, he sent his son to the tenants.
'"They will respect my son", he said.
'But the tenants said to one another, "This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the property will be ours." So they seized him and killed him, and flung his body out of the vineyard. What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and put the tenants to death and give the vineyard to others.

'Can it be that you have never read this text:
'"The stone which the builders rejected has become the main corner-stone. This is the Lord's doing, and it is wonderful in our eyes"?'


Then they began to look for a way to arrest him, for they saw that the parable was aimed at them; but they were afraid of the people, so they left him alone and went away.




A number of Pharisees and men of Herod's party were sent to trap him with a question. They came and said, 'Master, we know that you tell the truth, without worrying about what people think. You pay no attention to a man's status, but you teach in all honesty the way of life that God requires. Are we or are we not permitted to pay taxes to the Roman Emperor? Shall we pay or not?'

He saw how crafty their question was, and said,
'Why are you trying to catch me out? Fetch me a silver piece, and let me look at it.'

They brought one, and he said to them,
'Whose head is this, and whose inscription?'

'Caesar's', they replied.

Then Jesus said,
'Pay Caesar what is due to Caesar, and pay God what is due to God.'


And they heard him with astonishment.



Next some Sadducees, who say that people will not rise from death, came to him. Their question was this: 'Master, Moses wrote for us that if there are brothers, and one dies leaving a wife but no child, then the next should marry the widow and carry on his brother's family. Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife and died without having children. Then the second married her, and he too died without having children. So did the third. Eventually all seven brothers married the woman and died without having children. Finally the woman died. Now, when all the dead rise to life on the day of resurrection, whose wife will she be, since all seven had married her?'

Jesus said to them,
'You are mistaken, and surely this is the reason: you do not know either the scriptures or the power of God. When they rise from the dead, men and women do not marry; they are like angels in heaven.

'But, as for the dead being raised: have you never read in the Book of Moses, in the story of the burning bush, how God spoke to him and said,

"I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob"?

'God is not God of the dead but of the living. You are greatly mistaken.'



Then one of the lawyers, who had been listening to these discussions and had noted how well he answered, came forward and asked him, 'Which commandment is the most important of all?'

Jesus answered,
'The most important one is this, "Hear, O Israel: the Lord your God is the only Lord; love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." The second most important commandment is this: "Love your neighbour as yourself." There is no other commandment greater than these.'


The lawyer said to him, 'Well said. Master. You are right in saying that God is one and beside him there is no other. And to love him with all your heart, all your understanding, and all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself—that is far more than any burnt offerings or sacrifices.'

When Jesus saw how sensibly he answered, he said to him,
'You are not far from the kingdom of God.'



After that nobody ventured to put any more questions to him; and Jesus went on to say, as he taught in the temple,
'How can the teachers of the law maintain that the Messiah is "Son of David"? David himself said, when inspired by the Holy Spirit,
'"The Lord said to my Lord,
''Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.'"

'David himself calls him "Lord"; how can he also be David's son?'


There was a great crowd and they listened eagerly.



He said as he taught them,
'Beware of the teachers of the law, who love to walk up and down in long robes, receiving respectful greetings in the street; and to have the chief seats in synagogues, and places of honour at feasts. These are the men who eat up the property of widows, while they say long prayers for appearance' sake, and they will receive the severest sentence.'



Once he was standing opposite the temple treasury, watching as people dropped their money into the chest. Many rich people were giving large sums. Presently there came a poor widow who dropped in two tiny coins, together worth about a penny.

He called his disciples to him.

'I tell you this,' he said: 'that this poor widow has put more in the offering box than all the others. For the others put in what they had to spare of their riches; but she, poor as she is, put in all she had-she gave all she had to live on.'