Month: December 2019

The Question about the Sabbath

1 Not long afterward Jesus was walking through some wheat fields on a Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, so they began to pick heads of wheat and eat the grain.

2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Jesus, “Look, it is against our Law for your disciples to do this on the Sabbath!”

3 Jesus answered, “Have you never read what David did that time when he and his men were hungry?

4 He went into the house of God, and he and his men ate the bread offered to God, even though it was against the Law for them to eat it—only the priests were allowed to eat that bread.

5 Or have you not read in the Law of Moses that every Sabbath the priests in the Temple actually break the Sabbath law, yet they are not guilty?

6 I tell you that there is something here greater than the Temple.

7 The scripture says, ‘It is kindness that I want, not animal sacrifices.’ If you really knew what this means, you would not condemn people who are not guilty;

8 for the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

The Man with a Paralyzed Hand

9 Jesus left that place and went to a synagogue,

10 where there was a man who had a paralyzed hand. Some people were there who wanted to accuse Jesus of doing wrong, so they asked him, “Is it against our Law to heal on the Sabbath?”

11 Jesus answered, “What if one of you has a sheep and it falls into a deep hole on the Sabbath? Will you not take hold of it and lift it out?

12 And a human being is worth much more than a sheep! So then, our Law does allow us to help someone on the Sabbath.”

13 Then he said to the man with the paralyzed hand, “Stretch out your hand.”

He stretched it out, and it became well again, just like the other one.

14 Then the Pharisees left and made plans to kill Jesus.

God’s Chosen Servant

15 When Jesus heard about the plot against him, he went away from that place; and large crowds followed him. He healed all the sick

16 and gave them orders not to tell others about him.

17 He did this so as to make come true what God had said through the prophet Isaiah:

18 “Here is my servant, whom I have chosen,

the one I love, and with whom I am pleased.

I will send my Spirit upon him,

and he will announce my judgment to the nations.

19 He will not argue or shout,

or make loud speeches in the streets.

20 He will not break off a bent reed,

nor put out a flickering lamp.

He will persist until he causes justice to triumph,

21 and on him all peoples will put their hope.”

Jesus and Beelzebul

22 Then some people brought to Jesus a man who was blind and could not talk because he had a demon. Jesus healed the man, so that he was able to talk and see.

23 The crowds were all amazed at what Jesus had done. “Could he be the Son of David?” they asked.

24 When the Pharisees heard this, they replied, “He drives out demons only because their ruler Beelzebul gives him power to do so.”

25 Jesus knew what they were thinking, and so he said to them, “Any country that divides itself into groups which fight each other will not last very long. And any town or family that divides itself into groups which fight each other will fall apart.

26 So if one group is fighting another in Satan’s kingdom, this means that it is already divided into groups and will soon fall apart!

27 You say that I drive out demons because Beelzebul gives me the power to do so. Well, then, who gives your followers the power to drive them out? What your own followers do proves that you are wrong!

28 No, it is not Beelzebul, but God’s Spirit, who gives me the power to drive out demons, which proves that the Kingdom of God has already come upon you.

29 “No one can break into a strong man’s house and take away his belongings unless he first ties up the strong man; then he can plunder his house.

30 “Anyone who is not for me is really against me; anyone who does not help me gather is really scattering.

31 For this reason I tell you: people can be forgiven any sin and any evil thing they say;but whoever says evil things against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

32 Anyone who says something against the Son of Man can be forgiven; but whoever says something against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven—now or ever.

A Tree and Its Fruit

33 “To have good fruit you must have a healthy tree; if you have a poor tree, you will have bad fruit. A tree is known by the kind of fruit it bears.

34 You snakes—how can you say good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

35 A good person brings good things out of a treasure of good things; a bad person brings bad things out of a treasure of bad things.

36 “You can be sure that on the Judgment Day you will have to give account of every useless word you have ever spoken.

37 Your words will be used to judge you—to declare you either innocent or guilty.”

The Demand for a Miracle

38 Then some teachers of the Law and some Pharisees spoke up. “Teacher,” they said, “we want to see you perform a miracle.”

39 “How evil and godless are the people of this day!” Jesus exclaimed. “You ask me for a miracle? No! The only miracle you will be given is the miracle of the prophet Jonah.

40 In the same way that Jonah spent three days and nights in the big fish, so will the Son of Man spend three days and nights in the depths of the earth.

41 On the Judgment Day the people of Nineveh will stand up and accuse you, because they turned from their sins when they heard Jonah preach; and I tell you that there is something here greater than Jonah!

42 On the Judgment Day the Queen of Sheba will stand up and accuse you, because she traveled all the way from her country to listen to King Solomon’s wise teaching; and I assure you that there is something here greater than Solomon!

The Return of the Evil Spirit

43 “When an evil spirit goes out of a person, it travels over dry country looking for a place to rest. If it can’t find one,

44 it says to itself, ‘I will go back to my house.’ So it goes back and finds the house empty, clean, and all fixed up.

45 Then it goes out and brings along seven other spirits even worse than itself, and they come and live there. So when it is all over, that person is in worse shape than at the beginning. This is what will happen to the evil people of this day.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

46 Jesus was still talking to the people when his mother and brothers arrived. They stood outside, asking to speak with him.

47 So one of the people there said to him, “Look, your mother and brothers are standing outside, and they want to speak with you.”

48 Jesus answered, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?”

49 Then he pointed to his disciples and said, “Look! Here are my mother and my brothers!

50 Whoever does what my Father in heaven wants is my brother, my sister, and my mother.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/MAT/12-f881f2dcd4ae5aa999e3c96dd199c9f1.mp3?version_id=68—

The Parable of the Sower

1 That same day Jesus left the house and went to the lakeside, where he sat down to teach.

2 The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it, while the crowd stood on the shore.

3 He used parables to tell them many things.

“Once there was a man who went out to sow grain.

4 As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.

5 Some of it fell on rocky ground, where there was little soil. The seeds soon sprouted, because the soil wasn’t deep.

6 But when the sun came up, it burned the young plants; and because the roots had not grown deep enough, the plants soon dried up.

7 Some of the seed fell among thorn bushes, which grew up and choked the plants.

8 But some seeds fell in good soil, and the plants bore grain: some had one hundred grains, others sixty, and others thirty.”

9 And Jesus concluded, “Listen, then, if you have ears!”

The Purpose of the Parables

10 Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?”

11 Jesus answered, “The knowledge about the secrets of the Kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.

12 For the person who has something will be given more, so that he will have more than enough; but the person who has nothing will have taken away from him even the little he has.

13 The reason I use parables in talking to them is that they look, but do not see, and they listen, but do not hear or understand.

14 So the prophecy of Isaiah applies to them:

‘This people will listen and listen, but not understand;

they will look and look, but not see,

15 because their minds are dull,

and they have stopped up their ears

and have closed their eyes.

Otherwise, their eyes would see,

their ears would hear,

their minds would understand,

and they would turn to me, says God,

and I would heal them.’

16 “As for you, how fortunate you are! Your eyes see and your ears hear.

17 I assure you that many prophets and many of God’s people wanted very much to see what you see, but they could not, and to hear what you hear, but they did not.

Jesus Explains the Parable of the Sower

18 “Listen, then, and learn what the parable of the sower means.

19 Those who hear the message about the Kingdom but do not understand it are like the seeds that fell along the path. The Evil One comes and snatches away what was sown in them.

20 The seeds that fell on rocky ground stand for those who receive the message gladly as soon as they hear it.

21 But it does not sink deep into them, and they don’t last long. So when trouble or persecution comes because of the message, they give up at once.

22 The seeds that fell among thorn bushes stand for those who hear the message; but the worries about this life and the love for riches choke the message, and they don’t bear fruit.

23 And the seeds sown in the good soil stand for those who hear the message and understand it: they bear fruit, some as much as one hundred, others sixty, and others thirty.”

The Parable of the Weeds

24 Jesus told them another parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man sowed good seed in his field.

25 One night, when everyone was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.

26 When the plants grew and the heads of grain began to form, then the weeds showed up.

27 The man’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, it was good seed you sowed in your field; where did the weeds come from?’

28 ‘It was some enemy who did this,’ he answered. ‘Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?’ they asked him.

29 ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because as you gather the weeds you might pull up some of the wheat along with them.

30 Let the wheat and the weeds both grow together until harvest. Then I will tell the harvest workers to pull up the weeds first, tie them in bundles and burn them, and then to gather in the wheat and put it in my barn.’”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

31 Jesus told them another parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man takes a mustard seed and sows it in his field.

32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it grows up, it is the biggest of all plants. It becomes a tree, so that birds come and make their nests in its branches.”

The Parable of the Yeast

33 Jesus told them still another parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A woman takes some yeast and mixes it with a bushel of flour until the whole batch of dough rises.”

Jesus’ Use of Parables

34 Jesus used parables to tell all these things to the crowds; he would not say a thing to them without using a parable.

35 He did this to make come true what the prophet had said,

“I will use parables when I speak to them;

I will tell them things unknown since the creation of the world.”

Jesus Explains the Parable of the Weeds

36 When Jesus had left the crowd and gone indoors, his disciples came to him and said, “Tell us what the parable about the weeds in the field means.”

37 Jesus answered, “The man who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man;

38 the field is the world; the good seed is the people who belong to the Kingdom; the weeds are the people who belong to the Evil One;

39 and the enemy who sowed the weeds is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvest workers are angels.

40 Just as the weeds are gathered up and burned in the fire, so the same thing will happen at the end of the age:

41 the Son of Man will send out his angels to gather up out of his Kingdom all those who cause people to sin and all others who do evil things,

42 and they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where they will cry and gnash their teeth.

43 Then God’s people will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Listen, then, if you have ears!

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

44 “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man happens to find a treasure hidden in a field. He covers it up again, and is so happy that he goes and sells everything he has, and then goes back and buys that field.

The Parable of the Pearl

45 “Also, the Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man is looking for fine pearls,

46 and when he finds one that is unusually fine, he goes and sells everything he has, and buys that pearl.

The Parable of the Net

47 “Also, the Kingdom of heaven is like this. Some fishermen throw their net out in the lake and catch all kinds of fish.

48 When the net is full, they pull it to shore and sit down to divide the fish: the good ones go into the buckets, the worthless ones are thrown away.

49 It will be like this at the end of the age: the angels will go out and gather up the evil people from among the good

50 and will throw them into the fiery furnace, where they will cry and gnash their teeth.

New Truths and Old

51 “Do you understand these things?” Jesus asked them.

“Yes,” they answered.

52 So he replied, “This means, then, that every teacher of the Law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of heaven is like a homeowner who takes new and old things out of his storage room.”

Jesus Is Rejected at Nazareth

53 When Jesus finished telling these parables, he left that place

54 and went back to his hometown. He taught in the synagogue, and those who heard him were amazed. “Where did he get such wisdom?” they asked. “And what about his miracles?

55 Isn’t he the carpenter’s son? Isn’t Mary his mother, and aren’t James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas his brothers?

56 Aren’t all his sisters living here? Where did he get all this?”

57 And so they rejected him.

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is respected everywhere except in his hometown and by his own family.”

58 Because they did not have faith, he did not perform many miracles there.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/MAT/13-b9bbaccfd8bac38692a2e449f635cc2b.mp3?version_id=68—

The Death of John the Baptist

1 At that time Herod, the ruler of Galilee, heard about Jesus.

2 “He is really John the Baptist, who has come back to life,” he told his officials. “That is why he has this power to perform miracles.”

3 For Herod had earlier ordered John’s arrest, and he had him tied up and put in prison. He had done this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife.

4 For some time John the Baptist had told Herod, “It isn’t right for you to be married to Herodias!”

5 Herod wanted to kill him, but he was afraid of the Jewish people, because they considered John to be a prophet.

6 On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced in front of the whole group. Herod was so pleased

7 that he promised her, “I swear that I will give you anything you ask for!”

8 At her mother’s suggestion she asked him, “Give me here and now the head of John the Baptist on a plate!”

9 The king was sad, but because of the promise he had made in front of all his guests he gave orders that her wish be granted.

10 So he had John beheaded in prison.

11 The head was brought in on a plate and given to the girl, who took it to her mother.

12 John’s disciples came, carried away his body, and buried it; then they went and told Jesus.

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand

13 When Jesus heard the news about John, he left there in a boat and went to a lonely place by himself. The people heard about it, and so they left their towns and followed him by land.

14 Jesus got out of the boat, and when he saw the large crowd, his heart was filled with pity for them, and he healed their sick.

15 That evening his disciples came to him and said, “It is already very late, and this is a lonely place. Send the people away and let them go to the villages to buy food for themselves.”

16 “They don’t have to leave,” answered Jesus. “You yourselves give them something to eat!”

17 “All we have here are five loaves and two fish,” they replied.

18 “Then bring them here to me,” Jesus said.

19 He ordered the people to sit down on the grass; then he took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, and gave thanks to God. He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.

20 Everyone ate and had enough. Then the disciples took up twelve baskets full of what was left over.

21 The number of men who ate was about five thousand, not counting the women and children.

Jesus Walks on the Water

22 Then Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people away.

23 After sending the people away, he went up a hill by himself to pray. When evening came, Jesus was there alone;

24 and by this time the boat was far out in the lake, tossed about by the waves, because the wind was blowing against it.

25 Between three and six o’clock in the morning Jesus came to the disciples, walking on the water.

26 When they saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said, and screamed with fear.

27 Jesus spoke to them at once. “Courage!” he said. “It is I. Don’t be afraid!”

28 Then Peter spoke up. “Lord, if it is really you, order me to come out on the water to you.”

29 “Come!” answered Jesus. So Peter got out of the boat and started walking on the water to Jesus.

30 But when he noticed the strong wind, he was afraid and started to sink down in the water. “Save me, Lord!” he cried.

31 At once Jesus reached out and grabbed hold of him and said, “What little faith you have! Why did you doubt?”

32 They both got into the boat, and the wind died down.

33 Then the disciples in the boat worshiped Jesus. “Truly you are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.

Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret

34 They crossed the lake and came to land at Gennesaret,

35 where the people recognized Jesus. So they sent for the sick people in all the surrounding country and brought them to Jesus.

36 They begged him to let the sick at least touch the edge of his cloak; and all who touched it were made well.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/MAT/14-627c8233f65f3d1e564611eae4ea96b9.mp3?version_id=68—

The Teaching of the Ancestors

1 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the Law came from Jerusalem to Jesus and asked him,

2 “Why is it that your disciples disobey the teaching handed down by our ancestors? They don’t wash their hands in the proper way before they eat!”

3 Jesus answered, “And why do you disobey God’s command and follow your own teaching?

4 For God said, ‘Respect your father and your mother,’ and ‘If you curse your father or your mother, you are to be put to death.’

5 But you teach that if people have something they could use to help their father or mother, but say, ‘This belongs to God,’

6 they do not need to honor their father.In this way you disregard God’s command, in order to follow your own teaching.

7 You hypocrites! How right Isaiah was when he prophesied about you!

8 ‘These people, says God, honor me with their words,

but their heart is really far away from me.

9 It is no use for them to worship me,

because they teach human rules as though they were my laws!’”

The Things That Make a Person Unclean

10 Then Jesus called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand!

11 It is not what goes into your mouth that makes you ritually unclean; rather, what comes out of it makes you unclean.”

12 Then the disciples came to him and said, “Do you know that the Pharisees had their feelings hurt by what you said?”

13 “Every plant which my Father in heaven did not plant will be pulled up,” answered Jesus.

14 “Don’t worry about them! They are blind leaders of the blind; and when one blind man leads another, both fall into a ditch.”

15 Peter spoke up, “Explain this saying to us.”

16 Jesus said to them, “You are still no more intelligent than the others.

17 Don’t you understand? Anything that goes into your mouth goes into your stomach and then on out of your body.

18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these are the things that make you ritually unclean.

19 For from your heart come the evil ideas which lead you to kill, commit adultery, and do other immoral things; to rob, lie, and slander others.

20 These are the things that make you unclean. But to eat without washing your hands as they say you should—this doesn’t make you unclean.”

A Woman’s Faith

21 Jesus left that place and went off to the territory near the cities of Tyre and Sidon.

22 A Canaanite woman who lived in that region came to him. “Son of David!” she cried out. “Have mercy on me, sir! My daughter has a demon and is in a terrible condition.”

23 But Jesus did not say a word to her. His disciples came to him and begged him, “Send her away! She is following us and making all this noise!”

24 Then Jesus replied, “I have been sent only to the lost sheep of the people of Israel.”

25 At this the woman came and fell at his feet. “Help me, sir!” she said.

26 Jesus answered, “It isn’t right to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”

27 “That’s true, sir,” she answered, “but even the dogs eat the leftovers that fall from their masters’ table.”

28 So Jesus answered her, “You are a woman of great faith! What you want will be done for you.” And at that very moment her daughter was healed.

Jesus Heals Many People

29 Jesus left there and went along by Lake Galilee. He climbed a hill and sat down.

30 Large crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the dumb, and many other sick people, whom they placed at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them.

31 The people were amazed as they saw the dumb speaking, the crippled made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they praised the God of Israel.

Jesus Feeds Four Thousand

32 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I feel sorry for these people, because they have been with me for three days and now have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away without feeding them, for they might faint on their way home.”

33 The disciples asked him, “Where will we find enough food in this desert to feed this crowd?”

34 “How much bread do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven loaves,” they answered, “and a few small fish.”

35 So Jesus ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground.

36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks to God, broke them, and gave them to the disciples; and the disciples gave them to the people.

37 They all ate and had enough. Then the disciples took up seven baskets full of pieces left over.

38 The number of men who ate was four thousand, not counting the women and children.

39 Then Jesus sent the people away, got into a boat, and went to the territory of Magadan.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/MAT/15-76abdda8ad82f29d4d6f2b64a2b34b1a.mp3?version_id=68—

The Demand for a Miracle

1 Some Pharisees and Sadducees who came to Jesus wanted to trap him, so they asked him to perform a miracle for them, to show that God approved of him.

2 But Jesus answered, “When the sun is setting, you say, ‘We are going to have fine weather, because the sky is red.’

3 And early in the morning you say, ‘It is going to rain, because the sky is red and dark.’ You can predict the weather by looking at the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs concerning these times!

4 How evil and godless are the people of this day! You ask me for a miracle? No! The only miracle you will be given is the miracle of Jonah.”

So he left them and went away.

The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees

5 When the disciples crossed over to the other side of the lake, they forgot to take any bread.

6 Jesus said to them, “Take care; be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

7 They started discussing among themselves, “He says this because we didn’t bring any bread.”

8 Jesus knew what they were saying, so he asked them, “Why are you discussing among yourselves about not having any bread? What little faith you have!

9 Don’t you understand yet? Don’t you remember when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand men? How many baskets did you fill?

10 And what about the seven loaves for the four thousand men? How many baskets did you fill?

11 How is it that you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? Guard yourselves from the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!”

12 Then the disciples understood that he was not warning them to guard themselves from the yeast used in bread but from the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter’s Declaration about Jesus

13 Jesus went to the territory near the town of Caesarea Philippi, where he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

14 “Some say John the Baptist,” they answered. “Others say Elijah, while others say Jeremiah or some other prophet.”

15 “What about you?” he asked them. “Who do you say I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

17 “Good for you, Simon son of John!” answered Jesus. “For this truth did not come to you from any human being, but it was given to you directly by my Father in heaven.

18 And so I tell you, Peter: you are a rock, and on this rock foundation I will build my church, and not even death will ever be able to overcome it.

19 I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven; what you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and what you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”

20 Then Jesus ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Jesus Speaks about His Suffering and Death

21 From that time on Jesus began to say plainly to his disciples, “I must go to Jerusalem and suffer much from the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. I will be put to death, but three days later I will be raised to life.”

22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “God forbid it, Lord!” he said. “That must never happen to you!”

23 Jesus turned around and said to Peter, “Get away from me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my way, because these thoughts of yours don’t come from God, but from human nature.”

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me.

25 For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for my sake, you will find it.

26 Will you gain anything if you win the whole world but lose your life? Of course not! There is nothing you can give to regain your life.

27 For the Son of Man is about to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will reward each one according to his deeds.

28 I assure you that there are some here who will not die until they have seen the Son of Man come as King.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/MAT/16-e1d6226c49058e3942813c81f03fb22a.mp3?version_id=68—

The Transfiguration

1 Six days later Jesus took with him Peter and the brothers James and John and led them up a high mountain where they were alone.

2 As they looked on, a change came over Jesus: his face was shining like the sun, and his clothes were dazzling white.

3 Then the three disciples saw Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus.

4 So Peter spoke up and said to Jesus, “Lord, how good it is that we are here! If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

5 While he was talking, a shining cloud came over them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my own dear Son, with whom I am pleased—listen to him!”

6 When the disciples heard the voice, they were so terrified that they threw themselves face downward on the ground.

7 Jesus came to them and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid!”

8 So they looked up and saw no one there but Jesus.

9 As they came down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Don’t tell anyone about this vision you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from death.”

10 Then the disciples asked Jesus, “Why do the teachers of the Law say that Elijah has to come first?”

11 “Elijah is indeed coming first,” answered Jesus, “and he will get everything ready.

12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come and people did not recognize him, but treated him just as they pleased. In the same way they will also mistreat the Son of Man.”

13 Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.

Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon

14 When they returned to the crowd, a man came to Jesus, knelt before him,

15 and said, “Sir, have mercy on my son! He is an epileptic and has such terrible attacks that he often falls in the fire or into water.

16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”

17 Jesus answered, “How unbelieving and wrong you people are! How long must I stay with you? How long do I have to put up with you? Bring the boy here to me!”

18 Jesus gave a command to the demon, and it went out of the boy, and at that very moment he was healed.

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked him, “Why couldn’t we drive the demon out?”

20 “It was because you do not have enough faith,” answered Jesus. “I assure you that if you have faith as big as a mustard seed, you can say to this hill, ‘Go from here to there!’ and it will go. You could do anything!”

Jesus Speaks Again about His Death

22 When the disciples all came together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be handed over to those

23 who will kill him; but three days later he will be raised to life.”

The disciples became very sad.

Payment of the Temple Tax

24 When Jesus and his disciples came to Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Does your teacher pay the Temple tax?”

25 “Of course,” Peter answered.

When Peter went into the house, Jesus spoke up first, “Simon, what is your opinion? Who pays duties or taxes to the kings of this world? The citizens of the country or the foreigners?”

26 “The foreigners,” answered Peter.

“Well, then,” replied Jesus, “that means that the citizens don’t have to pay.

27 But we don’t want to offend these people. So go to the lake and drop in a line. Pull up the first fish you hook, and in its mouth you will find a coin worth enough for my Temple tax and yours. Take it and pay them our taxes.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/MAT/17-f510de5a75a08b92b30dd35ab2f4fa95.mp3?version_id=68—

Who Is the Greatest?

1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, asking, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”

2 So Jesus called a child to come and stand in front of them,

3 and said, “I assure you that unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven.

4 The greatest in the Kingdom of heaven is the one who humbles himself and becomes like this child.

5 And whoever welcomes in my name one such child as this, welcomes me.

Temptations to Sin

6 “If anyone should cause one of these little ones to lose his faith in me, it would be better for that person to have a large millstone tied around his neck and be drowned in the deep sea.

7 How terrible for the world that there are things that make people lose their faith! Such things will always happen—but how terrible for the one who causes them!

8 “If your hand or your foot makes you lose your faith, cut it off and throw it away! It is better for you to enter life without a hand or a foot than to keep both hands and both feet and be thrown into the eternal fire.

9 And if your eye makes you lose your faith, take it out and throw it away! It is better for you to enter life with only one eye than to keep both eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

10 “See that you don’t despise any of these little ones. Their angels in heaven, I tell you, are always in the presence of my Father in heaven.

12 “What do you think a man does who has one hundred sheep and one of them gets lost? He will leave the other ninety-nine grazing on the hillside and go and look for the lost sheep.

13 When he finds it, I tell you, he feels far happier over this one sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not get lost.

14 In just the same way yourFather in heaven does not want any of these little ones to be lost.

When Someone Sins

15 “If your brother sins against you,go to him and show him his fault. But do it privately, just between yourselves. If he listens to you, you have won your brother back.

16 But if he will not listen to you, take one or two other persons with you, so that ‘every accusation may be upheld by the testimony of two or more witnesses,’ as the scripture says.

17 And if he will not listen to them, then tell the whole thing to the church. Finally, if he will not listen to the church, treat him as though he were a pagan or a tax collector.

Prohibiting and Permitting

18 “And so I tell all of you: what you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and what you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.

19 “And I tell you more: whenever two of you on earth agree about anything you pray for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.

20 For where two or three come together in my name, I am there with them.”

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, if my brother keeps on sinning against me, how many times do I have to forgive him? Seven times?”

22 “No, not seven times,” answered Jesus, “but seventy times seven,

23 because the Kingdom of heaven is like this. Once there was a king who decided to check on his servants’ accounts.

24 He had just begun to do so when one of them was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.

25 The servant did not have enough to pay his debt, so the king ordered him to be sold as a slave, with his wife and his children and all that he had, in order to pay the debt.

26 The servant fell on his knees before the king. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay you everything!’

27 The king felt sorry for him, so he forgave him the debt and let him go.

28 “Then the man went out and met one of his fellow servants who owed him a few dollars. He grabbed him and started choking him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he said.

29 His fellow servant fell down and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back!’

30 But he refused; instead, he had him thrown into jail until he should pay the debt.

31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were very upset and went to the king and told him everything.

32 So he called the servant in. ‘You worthless slave!’ he said. ‘I forgave you the whole amount you owed me, just because you asked me to.

33 You should have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you.’

34 The king was very angry, and he sent the servant to jail to be punished until he should pay back the whole amount.”

35 And Jesus concluded, “That is how my Father in heaven will treat every one of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/MAT/18-2710c9ea06ef57ebcae1072f7ea6b77d.mp3?version_id=68—

Jesus Teaches about Divorce

1 When Jesus finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went to the territory of Judea on the other side of the Jordan River.

2 Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

3 Some Pharisees came to him and tried to trap him by asking, “Does our Law allow a man to divorce his wife for whatever reason he wishes?”

4 Jesus answered, “Haven’t you read the scripture that says that in the beginning the Creator made people male and female?

5 And God said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and the two will become one.’

6 So they are no longer two, but one. No human being must separate, then, what God has joined together.”

7 The Pharisees asked him, “Why, then, did Moses give the law for a man to hand his wife a divorce notice and send her away?”

8 Jesus answered, “Moses gave you permission to divorce your wives because you are so hard to teach. But it was not like that at the time of creation.

9 I tell you, then, that any man who divorces his wife for any cause other than her unfaithfulness, commits adultery if he marries some other woman.”

10 His disciples said to him, “If this is how it is between a man and his wife, it is better not to marry.”

11 Jesus answered, “This teaching does not apply to everyone, but only to those to whom God has given it.

12 For there are different reasons why men cannot marry: some, because they were born that way; others, because men made them that way; and others do not marry for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven. Let him who can accept this teaching do so.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children

13 Some people brought children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and to pray for them, but the disciples scolded the people.

14 Jesus said, “Let the children come to me and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

15 He placed his hands on them and then went away.

The Rich Young Man

16 Once a man came to Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what good thing must I do to receive eternal life?”

17 “Why do you ask me concerning what is good?” answered Jesus. “There is only One who is good. Keep the commandments if you want to enter life.”

18 “What commandments?” he asked.

Jesus answered, “Do not commit murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not accuse anyone falsely;

19 respect your father and your mother; and love your neighbor as you love yourself.”

20 “I have obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else do I need to do?”

21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow me.”

22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he was very rich.

23 Jesus then said to his disciples, “I assure you: it will be very hard for rich people to enter the Kingdom of heaven.

24 I repeat: it is much harder for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.”

25 When the disciples heard this, they were completely amazed. “Who, then, can be saved?” they asked.

26 Jesus looked straight at them and answered, “This is impossible for human beings, but for God everything is possible.”

27 Then Peter spoke up. “Look,” he said, “we have left everything and followed you. What will we have?”

28 Jesus said to them, “You can be sure that when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne in the New Age, then you twelve followers of mine will also sit on thrones, to rule the twelve tribes of Israel.

29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake, will receive a hundred times more and will be given eternal life.

30 But many who now are first will be last, and many who now are last will be first.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/MAT/19-ce0653fec0184f1f3d7659e50968f402.mp3?version_id=68—

The Workers in the Vineyard

1 “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. Once there was a man who went out early in the morning to hire some men to work in his vineyard.

2 He agreed to pay them the regular wage, a silver coin a day, and sent them to work in his vineyard.

3 He went out again to the marketplace at nine o’clock and saw some men standing there doing nothing,

4 so he told them, ‘You also go and work in the vineyard, and I will pay you a fair wage.’

5 So they went. Then at twelve o’clock and again at three o’clock he did the same thing.

6 It was nearly five o’clock when he went to the marketplace and saw some other men still standing there. ‘Why are you wasting the whole day here doing nothing?’ he asked them.

7 ‘No one hired us,’ they answered. ‘Well, then, you go and work in the vineyard,’ he told them.

8 “When evening came, the owner told his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with those who were hired last and ending with those who were hired first.’

9 The men who had begun to work at five o’clock were paid a silver coin each.

10 So when the men who were the first to be hired came to be paid, they thought they would get more; but they too were given a silver coin each.

11 They took their money and started grumbling against the employer.

12 ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘while we put up with a whole day’s work in the hot sun—yet you paid them the same as you paid us!’

13 ‘Listen, friend,’ the owner answered one of them, ‘I have not cheated you. After all, you agreed to do a day’s work for one silver coin.

14 Now take your pay and go home. I want to give this man who was hired last as much as I gave you.

15 Don’t I have the right to do as I wish with my own money? Or are you jealous because I am generous?’”

16 And Jesus concluded, “So those who are last will be first, and those who are first will be last.”

Jesus Speaks a Third Time about His Death

17 As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and spoke to them privately, as they walked along.

18 “Listen,” he told them, “we are going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the teachers of the Law. They will condemn him to death

19 and then hand him over to the Gentiles, who will make fun of him, whip him, and crucify him; but three days later he will be raised to life.”

A Mother’s Request

20 Then the wife of Zebedee came to Jesus with her two sons, bowed before him, and asked him for a favor.

21 “What do you want?” Jesus asked her.

She answered, “Promise me that these two sons of mine will sit at your right and your left when you are King.”

22 “You don’t know what you are asking for,” Jesus answered the sons. “Can you drink the cup of suffering that I am about to drink?”

“We can,” they answered.

23 “You will indeed drink from my cup,” Jesus told them, “but I do not have the right to choose who will sit at my right and my left. These places belong to those for whom my Father has prepared them.”

24 When the other ten disciples heard about this, they became angry with the two brothers.

25 So Jesus called them all together and said, “You know that the rulers of the heathen have power over them, and the leaders have complete authority.

26 This, however, is not the way it shall be among you. If one of you wants to be great, you must be the servant of the rest;

27 and if one of you wants to be first, you must be the slave of the others—

28 like the Son of Man, who did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life to redeem many people.”

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

29 As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd was following.

30 Two blind men who were sitting by the road heard that Jesus was passing by, so they began to shout, “Son of David! Have mercy on us, sir!”

31 The crowd scolded them and told them to be quiet. But they shouted even more loudly, “Son of David! Have mercy on us, sir!”

32 Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked them.

33 “Sir,” they answered, “we want you to give us our sight!”

34 Jesus had pity on them and touched their eyes; at once they were able to see, and they followed him.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/MAT/20-9dc09f61464a829e9e6d03c875836f1b.mp3?version_id=68—

The Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem

1 As Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to Bethphage at the Mount of Olives. There Jesus sent two of the disciples on ahead

2 with these instructions: “Go to the village there ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied up with her colt beside her. Untie them and bring them to me.

3 And if anyone says anything, tell him, ‘The Masterneeds them’; and then he will let them go at once.”

4 This happened in order to make come true what the prophet had said:

5 “Tell the city of Zion,

Look, your king is coming to you!

He is humble and rides on a donkey

and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

6 So the disciples went and did what Jesus had told them to do:

7 they brought the donkey and the colt, threw their cloaks over them, and Jesus got on.

8 A large crowd of people spread their cloaks on the road while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

9 The crowds walking in front of Jesus and those walking behind began to shout, “Praise to David’s Son! God bless him who comes in the name of the Lord! Praise be to God!”

10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was thrown into an uproar. “Who is he?” the people asked.

11 “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee,” the crowds answered.

Jesus Goes to the Temple

12 Jesus went into the Temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the stools of those who sold pigeons,

13 and said to them, “It is written in the Scriptures that God said, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer.’ But you are making it a hideout for thieves!”

14 The blind and the crippled came to him in the Temple, and he healed them.

15 The chief priests and the teachers of the Law became angry when they saw the wonderful things he was doing and the children shouting in the Temple, “Praise to David’s Son!”

16 So they asked Jesus, “Do you hear what they are saying?”

“Indeed I do,” answered Jesus. “Haven’t you ever read this scripture? ‘You have trained children and babies to offer perfect praise.’”

17 Jesus left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

18 On his way back to the city early next morning, Jesus was hungry.

19 He saw a fig tree by the side of the road and went to it, but found nothing on it except leaves. So he said to the tree, “You will never again bear fruit!” At once the fig tree dried up.

20 The disciples saw this and were astounded. “How did the fig tree dry up so quickly?” they asked.

21 Jesus answered, “I assure you that if you believe and do not doubt, you will be able to do what I have done to this fig tree. And not only this, but you will even be able to say to this hill, ‘Get up and throw yourself in the sea,’ and it will.

22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

The Question about Jesus’ Authority

23 Jesus came back to the Temple; and as he taught, the chief priests and the elders came to him and asked, “What right do you have to do these things? Who gave you such right?”

24 Jesus answered them, “I will ask you just one question, and if you give me an answer, I will tell you what right I have to do these things.

25 Where did John’s right to baptize come from: was it from God or from human beings?”

They started to argue among themselves, “What shall we say? If we answer, ‘From God,’ he will say to us, ‘Why, then, did you not believe John?’

26 But if we say, ‘From human beings,’ we are afraid of what the people might do, because they are all convinced that John was a prophet.”

27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you, then, by what right I do these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

28 “Now, what do you think? There was once a man who had two sons. He went to the older one and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’

29 ‘I don’t want to,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

30 Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. ‘Yes, sir,’ he answered, but he did not go.

31 Which one of the two did what his father wanted?”

“The older one,” they answered.

So Jesus said to them, “I tell you: the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the Kingdom of God ahead of you.

32 For John the Baptist came to you showing you the right path to take, and you would not believe him; but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. Even when you saw this, you did not later change your minds and believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants in the Vineyard

33 “Listen to another parable,” Jesus said. “There was once a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a hole for the wine press, and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to tenants and left home on a trip.

34 When the time came to gather the grapes, he sent his slaves to the tenants to receive his share of the harvest.

35 The tenants grabbed his slaves, beat one, killed another, and stoned another.

36 Again the man sent other slaves, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way.

37 Last of all he sent his son to them. ‘Surely they will respect my son,’ he said.

38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the owner’s son. Come on, let’s kill him, and we will get his property!’

39 So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

40 “Now, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” Jesus asked.

41 “He will certainly kill those evil men,” they answered, “and rent the vineyard out to other tenants, who will give him his share of the harvest at the right time.”

42 Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you ever read what the Scriptures say?

‘The stone which the builders rejected as worthless

turned out to be the most important of all.

This was done by the Lord;

what a wonderful sight it is!’

43 “And so I tell you,” added Jesus, “the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce the proper fruits.”

45 The chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables and knew that he was talking about them,

46 so they tried to arrest him. But they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/MAT/21-b5f83e63932bfbe58563603290d9ea01.mp3?version_id=68—