'He took away our illnesses and lifted our diseases from us.'
18 AT THE SIGHT of the crowds surrounding him Jesus gave word to cross to the other shore. 19 A doctor of the law came up, and said, 'Master, I will follow you wherever you go.' 20 Jesus replied, 'Foxes have their holes, the birds their roosts; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.' 21 Another man, one of his disciples, said to him, 'Lord, let me go and bury my father first.' 22 Jesus replied, 'Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their dead.'
23 Jesus then got into the boat, and his disciples followed. 24 All at once a great storm arose on the lake, till the waves were breaking right over the boat; but he went on sleeping. 25 So they came and woke him up, crying: 'Save us. Lord; we are sinking!' 26 'Why are you such cowards?' he said; 'how little faith you have!' Then he stood up and rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was a dead calm. 27 The men were astonished at what had happened, and exclaimed, 'What sort of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?'
28 When he reached the other side, in the country of the Gadarenes, he was met by two men who came out from the tombs; they were possessed by devils, and so violent that no one dared pass that way. 29 'You son of God,' they shouted, 'what do you want with us? Have you come here to torment us before our time?' 30 In the distance a large herd of pigs was feeding; 31 and the devils begged him: 'If you drive us out, send us into that herd of pigs.' 32 'Begone', he said. Then they came out and went into the pigs; the whole herd rushed over the edge into the lake, and perished in the water.
33 The men in charge of them took to their heels, and made for the town, where they told the whole story, and what had happened to the madmen. 34 Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him they begged him to leave the district and go.
1 So he got into the boat and crossed over, and came to his own town.
2 And now some men brought him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith Jesus said to the man, 'Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.' 3 At this some of the lawyers said to themselves, 'This is blasphemous talk.' 4 Jesus read their thoughts, and said, 'Why do you harbour these evil thoughts? 5 Is it easier to say, "Your sins are forgiven", or to say, "Stand up and walk"? 6 But to convince you that the Son of Man has the right on earth to forgive sins' - he now addressed the paralytic - 'stand up, take your bed, and go home.' 7 Thereupon the man got up, and went off home. 8 The people were filled with awe at the sight, and praised God for granting such authority to men.
9 AS HE PASSED ON from there Jesus saw a man named Matthew at his seat in the custom-house; and he said to him, 'Follow me.' And Matthew rose and followed him.
10 When Jesus was at table in the house, many bad characters-tax-gatherers and others-were seated with him and his disciples. 11 The Pharisees noticed this, and said to his disciples, 'Why is it that your master eats with tax-gatherers and sinners?' 12 Jesus heard them and said, 'It is not the healthy that need a doctor, but the sick. 13 Go and leam what that text means, "I require mercy, not sacrifice." I did not come to invite virtuous people, but sinners.'
14 Then John's disciples came to him with the question: 'Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?' 15 Jesus replied, 'Can you expect the bridegroom's friends to go mourning while the bridegroom is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; that will be the time for them to fast.
16 'No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on to an old coat; for then the patch tears away from the coat, and leaves a bigger hole. 17 No more do you put new wine into old wine-skins; if you do, the skins burst, and then the wine runs out and the skins are spoilt. No, you put new wine into fresh skins; then both are preserved.'
18 EVEN AS HE SPOKE, there came a president of the synagogue, who bowed low before him and said, 'My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.' 19 Jesus rose and went with him, and so did his disciples.
20 Then a woman who had suffered from haemorrhages for twelve years came up from behind, and touched the edge of his cloak; 21 for she said to herself, 'If I can only touch his cloak, I shall be cured.' 22 But Jesus turned and saw her, and said, 'My daughter, your faith has cured you.' And from that moment she recovered.
23 When Jesus arrived at the president's house and saw the flute-players and the general commotion, 24 he said, 'Be off! The girl is not dead: she is asleep'; but they only laughed at him. 25 But, when everyone had been turned out, he went into the room and took the girl by the hand, and she got up.
26 This story became the talk of all the country round.
27 As he passed on Jesus was followed by two blind men, who cried out, 'Son of David, have pity on us!' 28 And when he had gone indoors they came to him. Jesus asked, 'Do you believe that I have the power to do what you want?' 'Yes, sir', they said. 29 Then he touched their eyes, and said, 'As you have believed, so let it be'; 30 and their sight was restored. Jesus said to them sternly, 'See that no one hears about this.' 31 But as soon as they had gone out they talked about him all over the countryside.
32 They were on their way out when a man was brought to him, who was dumb and possessed by a devil; 33 the devil was cast out and the patient recovered his speech. Filled with amazement the onlookers said, 'Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.' 34 [Some manuscripts add: But the Pharisees said, 'He casts out devils by the prince of devils.']
35 SO JESUS WENT ROUND all the towns and villages teaching in their synagogues, announcing the good news of the Kingdom, and curing every kind of ailment and disease. 36 The sight of the people moved him to pity: they were like sheep without a shepherd, harassed and helpless; 37 and he said to his disciples, 'The crop is heavy, but labourers are scarce; 38 you must therefore beg the owner to send labourers to harvest his crop.'
1 Then he called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to cast out unclean spirits and to cure every kind of ailment and disease.
2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first Simon, also called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax-gatherer, James son of Alphaeus, Lebbaeus, 4 Simon, a member of the Zealot party, and Judas Iscariot, the man who betrayed him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: 'Do not take the road to gentile lands, and do not enter any Samaritan town; 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go proclaim the message: "The kingdom of Heaven is upon you." 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out devils. You received without cost; give without charge.
9 'Provide no gold, silver, or copper to fill your purse, 10 no pack for the road, no second coat, no shoes, no stick; the worker earns his keep.
11 'When you come to any town or village, look for some worthy person in it, and make your home there until you leave. 12 Wish the house peace as you enter it, 13 so that, if it is worthy, your peace may descend on it; if it is not worthy, your peace can come back to you. 14 If anyone will not receive you or listen to what you say, then as you leave that house or that town shake the dust of it off your feet. 15 I tell you this: on the day of judgement it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
16 'Look, I send you out like sheep among wolves; be wary as serpents, innocent as doves.
17 'And be on your guard, for men will hand you over to their courts, they will flog you in the synagogues, 18 and you will be brought before governors and kings, for my sake, to testify before them and the heathen. 19 But when you are arrested, do not worry about what you are to say; when the time comes, the words you need will be given you; 20 for it is not you who will be speaking: it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking in you.
21 'Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; children will turn against their parents and send them to their death. 22 All will hate you for your allegiance to me; but the man who holds out to the end will be saved. 23 When you are persecuted in one town, take refuge in another; I tell you this: before you have gone through all the towns of Israel the Son of Man will have come.
24 'A pupil does not rank above his teacher, or a servant above his master. 25 The pupil should be content to share his teacher's lot, the servant to share his master's. If the master has been called Beelzebub, how much more his household!
26 'So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing covered up that will not be uncovered, nothing hidden that will not be made known. 27 What I say to you in the dark you must repeat in broad daylight; what you hear whispered you must shout from the house-tops. 28 Do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. Fear him rather who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
29 'Are not sparrows two a penny? Yet without your Father's leave not one of them can fall to the ground. 30 As for you, even the hairs of your head have all been counted. 31 So have no fear; you are worth more than any number of sparrows.
32 'Whoever then will acknowledge me before men, I will acknowledge him before my Father in heaven; 33 and whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.
34 'You must not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a young wife against her mother-in-law; 36 and a man will find his enemies under his own roof.
37 'No man is worthy of me who cares more for father or mother than for me; no man is worthy of me who cares more for son or daughter; 38 no man is worthy of me who does not take up his cross and walk in my footsteps. 39 By gaining his life a man will lose it; by losing his life for my sake, he will gain it.
40 'To receive you is to receive me, and to receive me is to receive the One who sent me.
41 Whoever receives a prophet as a prophet will be given a prophet's reward, and whoever receives a good man because he is a good man will be given a good man's reward. 42 And if anyone gives so much as a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, because he is a disciple of mine, I tell you this: that man will assuredly not go unrewarded.'
1 When Jesus had finished giving his twelve disciples their instructions, he left that place and went to teach and preach in the neighbouring towns.
2 JOHN, WHO WAS IN PRISON, heard what Christ was doing, and sent his own disciples to him 3 with this message: 'Are you the one who is to come, or are we to expect some other?' 4 Jesus answered, 'Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind recover their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are clean, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, the poor are hearing the good news - 6 and happy is the man who does not find me a stumbling-block.'
7 When the messengers were on their way back, Jesus began to speak to the people about John: 'What was the spectacle that drew you to the wilderness? A reed-bed swept by the wind? No? 8 Then what did you go out to see? A man dressed in silks and satins? Surely you must look in palaces for that. 9 But why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes indeed, and far more than a prophet. 10 He is the man of whom Scripture says,
"Here is my herald, whom I send on ahead of you,
And he will prepare your way before you." 11 I tell you this: never has there appeared on earth a mother's son greater than John the Baptist, and yet the least in the kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.
12 'Ever since the coming of John the Baptist the kingdom of Heaven has been subjected to violence and violent men are seizing it. 13 For all the prophets and the Law foretold things to come until John appeared, 14 and John is the destined Elijah, if you will but accept it. 15 If you have ears that can hear, then hear.
16 'How can I describe this generation? They are like the children sitting in the market-place and shouting at each other,
17 "We piped for you and you would not dance."
"We wept and wailed, and you would not mourn."
18 For John came, neither eating nor drinking, and they is say, "He is possessed." 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, "Look at him! a glutton and a drinker, a friend of tax-gatherers and sinners!" And yet God's wisdom is proved right by its results.'
20 THEN HE SPOKE of the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, and denounced them for their impenitence. 21 'Alas for you, Chorazin!' he said; 'alas for you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sack-cloth and ashes. 22 But it will be more bearable, I tell you, for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgement than for you. 23 And as for you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to the skies? No, brought down to the depths! For if the miracles had been performed in Sodom which were performed in you, Sodom would be standing to this day. 24 But it will be more bearable, I tell you, for the land of Sodom on the day of judgement than for you.'
25 At that time Jesus spoke these words: 'I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from the learned and wise, and revealing them to the simple. 26 Yes, Father, such was thy choice. 27 Everything is entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son but the Father, and no one knows the Father but the Son and those to whom the Son may choose to reveal him.
28 'Come to me, all whose work is hard, whose load is heavy; and I will give you relief. 29 Bend your necks to my yoke, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble-hearted; and your souls will find relief. 30 For my yoke is good to bear, my load is light.'
References: [ Mt.8.17: Is.53.4 ] [ Mt.9.13: Hs.6.6 ] [ Mt.10.36: Mic.7.6 ] [ Mt.11.5: Is.35.5-6, Is.42.18, Is.61.1 ] [ Mt.11.10: Mal.3.1 ] [ Mt.11.23: Jn.3.7-8, Is.14.13-15 ]
New English Bible: © The Delegates of the Oxford University Press & the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press 1961.
This Webpage layout © Paul Ingram 2009.
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