The Gospel Part 3

Jesus asked, Have you understood all these things? They said, Yes, Lord. Then He said, Therefore, every scribe who is instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings forth, out of his treasure, things both new and old.

Jesus went into His own country. He taught in the synagogue. The people were astonished and said, Whence has He this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter's son? Is His mother not called Mary and His brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? Are His sisters not here with us? Where did this man get all this?

They were offended by Him. Jesus told them that a prophet is not without honor except in His own country and in His own house. He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

14 At that time Herod heard of the fame of Jesus. He said to his servants, This is John the Baptist. He is risen from the dead and mighty works show forth in him.

Herod had imprisoned John for the sake of Herodia, his brother Philip's wife. He did this because John told Herod that it was not lawful for Herod to have her. He would have immediately put John to death but Herod feared the mult.i.tude, who counted John as a prophet.

But when Herod's birthday was celebrated, Herodias' daughter danced and greatly pleased Herod. He promised, with an oath, to give her whatever she asked. Having previously been instructed by her mother, she said, Give me John the Baptist's head on a charger. Herod was sorry. However, for the oath's sake and because of those at his dinner, he commanded it be given her. He had John beheaded in prison. Then his head was brought on a charger, presented to her, and she took it to her mother. Then John's disciples came, took up the body, buried it, and reported it to Jesus.

When Jesus heard, He departed from there by boat to a desert place.

When the people heard this, they followed Him on foot out of the cities. As Jesus went along, He saw a great mult.i.tude. He was moved with compa.s.sion for them and He healed their sick. When it was evening, His disciples came to Him and said, This is a desert place and it is late. Send the mult.i.tude away so they may go into the villages and buy food. But Jesus said, They need not depart. Give them food to eat. They said, We have only five loaves and two fish. Jesus said, Bring them to me.

He told the mult.i.tude to sit down on the gra.s.s. He took the five loaves and the two fish, and, looking up to heaven, He blessed it. Then He broke and gave the loaves to His disciples, and the disciples gave them to the mult.i.tude. They all ate and were full. Afterwards, they took up the fragments that remained, twelve baskets full. Those who had eaten numbered about five thousand men, in addition to women and children.

Immediately, Jesus instructed His disciples to get into a boat and go ahead of Him to the other side. After He sent the mult.i.tude away, He went up into a mountain to pray. When evening came He was there alone.

But the boat was now in the midst of the sea and tossed with waves by the strong wind. In the fourth watch of the night, the disciples saw Jesus walking toward them on the sea. They were afraid and said, It is a spirit. They cried out for fear. But Jesus said, Be of good cheer. It is I. Be not afraid.

Peter answered and said, Lord, if it is you, bid me to come to you on the water. Jesus said, Come. Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he became afraid and immediately began to sink. He cried, Lord, save me. Jesus stretched out His hand, caught Peter, and said, O thou of little faith. Why did you doubt?

When they got into the boat the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshipped Jesus. They said, Surely thou art the Son of G.o.d. Then they reached the land of Gennesaret. When the people heard, they sent word all around the country. They brought to Jesus all who were diseased. They besought Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment. And all who touched His garment were made perfectly whole.

15 Then scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem came to Jesus. They asked, Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?

They do not wash their hands when they eat bread. Jesus answered, Why do you also transgress the commandment of G.o.d by your tradition? G.o.d commanded: Honor thy father and mother. Let him be put to death who curses father or mother. But ye say that whoever says to his father or mother that it is a gift by whatever thou might profit by me, dishonoring the father or mother, shall be free. Your tradition has made the commandment of G.o.d useless.

Ye hypocrites. Well did Isaiah prophesy: This people draw nigh unto me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips. But their hearts are far from me. In vain do they worship me. They teach the commandments of men as doctrines.

Jesus then called the mult.i.tude and said, Hear and understand. Nothing that goes into the mouth defiles a man. But that which comes out of the mouth defiles a man. His disciples approached him and said, Do you know that the Pharisees were offended by your words? Jesus said, Every plant that was not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted. Ignore them. They are blind leaders of the blind. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the ditch.

Next, Peter approached Him and said, Explain the parable to us. Jesus replied, Are ye still without understanding? Do ye not yet understand that whatever goes in at the mouth goes into the belly and is expelled.

But those things which come out of the mouth come from the heart. They defile the man because out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies. These are the things that defile a man. To eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.

Then Jesus went into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. A woman of Canaan came to Him and said, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David. My daughter is grievously tormented with a devil. Jesus said not a word to her. Finally, His disciples came and said, Send her away for she cries after us. Jesus replied, I am not here for the lost sheep of the house of Israel only.

She came forward and worshipped Him. She said, Lord, help me. He answered, It is not fit to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs. She answered, True, Lord. Yet dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table. Jesus said to her, O woman, great is thy faith.

Be it done unto thee as thou wilt. So her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

Jesus left and went to rest in the mountains near the sea of Galilee.

Soon, great mult.i.tudes came to Him. They brought those who were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others. They placed them at Jesus' feet and He healed them. The mult.i.tude wondered when they saw the dumb speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. They glorified the G.o.d of Israel.

Jesus called His disciples aside and said, I have compa.s.sion on the mult.i.tude because they have been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I will not send them away hungry lest they faint on the way. His disciples said, Where should we find enough bread in the wilderness to fill so great a mult.i.tude? Jesus asked them, How many loaves have ye?

They said, Seven and a few little fish.

Jesus commanded the mult.i.tude to sit down on the ground. He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks. He broke them and gave them to His disciples and the disciples gave them to the mult.i.tude. They all ate and were full. They took up the food that was left, seven baskets full. Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

Then Jesus sent away the mult.i.tude and took a boat to the coasts of Magdala.

16 The Pharisees and the Sadducees came and, testing Jesus, asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said, When it is evening, ye say it will be fair weather because the sky is red. In the morning, ye say it will be foul weather because the sky is red.

O ye hypocrites. Ye can discern the face of the sky but cannot discern the signs of the times! It is a wicked and adulterous generation that seeks a sign. There shall be no sign given except the sign of the prophet, Jonah. Then He left them, and departed to the other side.

Jesus uttered, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. The disciples thought He referred to their not remembering to bring bread along with them. When Jesus perceived this, He said, O ye of little faith, why do you concern yourselves because ye have brought no bread? Do ye not yet understand or remember the five loaves for the five thousand and how many baskets of leftovers ye took up? Do ye not remember the seven loaves for the four thousand and how many baskets of leftovers ye took up?

How is it that ye do not understand that I spoke not about the leaven of bread but that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then they understood that the leaven was the doctrine and teachings of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

When Jesus came to the coast of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, Who do men say that I, the Son of man, am? They answered, Some say that thou art John the Baptist. Some say Elias. Others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets.

Then Jesus asked them, But who do you say that I am? Simon Peter spoke up, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living G.o.d. Jesus answered and said, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood has not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven.

I say also unto thee, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church. The gates of h.e.l.l shall not prevail against it. I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven. Whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven. Then He charged His disciples to tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

From that time, Jesus instructed His disciples about how He must go into Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and scribes. He told them He would be killed and be raised again on the third day. Peter began to rebuke Him and said, Far be it from thee, Lord. This shall not be. Jesus turned quickly, stopped Peter, and said, Get thee behind me, Satan. Thou art an offence to me.

Thou savor not the things of G.o.d, but those of men.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. Whoever saves his life shall lose it. Whoever loses his life, for my sake, shall find it.

What is a man profited if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? What can a man give in exchange for his soul? The Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father, with His angels and shall reward every man according to his works. I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of man coming in His kingdom.

17 After six days Jesus took Peter, James and his brother, John up into a high mountain. Here Jesus was transfigured before them. His face shone as bright as the sun. His raiment was as white as pure light. And, behold, Moses and Elias appeared and talked with Him.

Peter then said, Lord, it is good for us to be here. If thou wilt, let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, one for Moses, and one for Elias. But, as he was speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them. From the cloud, a voice said, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye Him.

When the disciples heard, they fell on their faces and were afraid.

Then Jesus came, touched them, and said, Arise. Be not afraid. When they looked up they saw no one but Jesus. As they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them to tell no one what they witnessed until the Son of man had risen from the dead.

His disciples asked Him, Why, then, do the scribes say that Elias must come first? Jesus answered, Elias comes first and restores all things.

But I tell you that Elias has already come. They knew him not and caused him to suffer at their hands. Likewise, the Son of man shall also suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that Jesus meant John the Baptist.

As they approached the mult.i.tude, a man came up to Jesus. Kneeling down, the man said, Lord, have mercy on my son. He is lunatic and greatly vexed. He often falls into the fire and into the water. I brought my son to thy disciples but they could not cure him.

Jesus said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Bring the boy here to me. When Jesus rebuked the devil, he left the child and the boy was cured from that very hour.

The disciples took Jesus aside and asked, Why could we not cast the devil out? Jesus answered, Because of your unbelief. Verily, I say to you, if ye have the faith of a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say to this mountain, Move yonder and it shall move. Nothing shall be impossible. This kind of devil goes out only after much strengthening of faith by prayer and fasting.

During their time in Galilee, Jesus told all His disciples, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men. They shall kill Him and, on the third day, He shall be raised again. The disciples felt great sorrow.

When they arrived at Capernaum, those who collected tribute money came to Peter and asked, Does your master pay tribute? Peter said, Yes.

When Peter came into the house, Jesus stopped him and said, What do you think, Simon? Should the kings of the earth take custom or tribute from their own children or from strangers? Peter replied, From strangers.

Jesus said, So then, the children are free.

Then Jesus added, Nonetheless, so we do not offend them, go to the sea, cast a hook, and take up the first fish that comes up. In his mouth you will find a coin. Take that and give it to those who collect the tribute money for me and thee.

18 Later, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, I tell you, Unless you are converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this little child, is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Whoever receives a little child in my name receives me. But whoever offends one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for him that a millstone were hung around his neck and he drown in the deep of the sea.

Woe unto the world because of offences! It must needs be that offences come; but woe to the one by whom the offence comes! Therefore, if thy hand or foot offends thee, cut it off and cast it away. It is better to enter eternal life halt or maimed, than have two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offends thee, pluck it out and cast it away. It is better to enter into life with one eye, than have two eyes to be cast into h.e.l.l fire. Be careful not to despise one of these little ones; for I tell you, in heaven, their angels always look upon the face of my Father.