Gospel according to Saint Matthew

Matthew 1

Genealogy of Jesus 

¹ The genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham. ² Abraham fathered Isaac, Isaac fathered Jacob, Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers, ³ Judah of Tamar begat Phares and Zara, Phares begat Esron, Esron begat Aram, ⁴ Aram begat Aminadab, Aminadab begat Naasson, Naasson begat Salmon, ⁵ Salmon, son of Rahab, fathered Boaz; Boaz, son of Ruth, fathered Obed; Obed fathered Jesse; and Jesse fathered King David. ⁶ David fathered Solomon, by the woman who was the wife of Uriah., ⁷ Solomon begat Rehoboam, Rehoboam begat Abias, Abias begat Asa, ⁸ Asa begat Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begat Joram, Joram begat Uzziah, ⁹ Uzziah begat Joathan, Joathan begat Ahaz, Ahaz begat Hezekiah, ¹⁰ Hezekiah fathered Manasseh, Manasseh fathered Amun, Amun fathered Josiah, ¹¹ Josiah fathered Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. ¹² And after the deportation to Babylon, Jeconiah fathered Shealtiel, and Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel, ¹³ Zerubbabel begat Abiud, Abiud begat Eliacim, Eliacim begat Azor, ¹⁴ Azor begat Zadoc, Zadoc begat Achim, Achim begat Eliud, ¹⁵ Eliud begat Eleazar, Eleazar begat Mathan, Mathan begat Jacob, ¹⁶ And Jacob fathered Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. ¹⁷ So there are fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen generations from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations from the Babylonian exile to Christ.

Joseph and the Miracle of the Virginity of Mary

¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. Mary, his mother, being betrothed to Joseph, it was found, before they came together, that she had conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Joseph, her husband, who was a righteous man, not wanting to disgrace her, resolved to dismiss her secretly. ²⁰ While he was thinking this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, and said to him, «Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for that which is formed in her is the work of the Holy Spirit. ²¹ And she will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.» ²² All this took place so that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled: ²³ «"Behold, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel," that is to say, God with us. ²⁴ Awakened from his sleep, Joseph did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him; he took Mary, his wife, with him. ²⁵ But he did not know her until she gave birth to his firstborn son, and he named him Jesus.

Matthew 2

The Three Wise Men

¹ After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, during the reign of King Herod, behold, wise men came to Jerusalem from the East, ² saying, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him."« ³ When King Herod learned of this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ He assembled all the Princes of the priests and the Scribes of the people, and asked them where Christ was to be born. ⁵ They told him, «In Bethlehem of Judea, according to what was written by the prophet: ⁶ »And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not least among the rulers of Judah, for from you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.” ⁷ Then Herod, having secretly summoned the Magi, learned from them the precise date on which the star had appeared. ⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, «Go and search carefully for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, so that I too may go and worship him.» ⁹ Having heard the king's words, they departed. And behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, until, coming over the place where the child was, it stopped. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced with great joy. ¹¹ They entered the house and found the child with Mary, his mother, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

The Flight into Egypt

¹² But having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their country by another way. ¹³ After they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph while he was sleeping and said, «Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt and stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.» ¹⁴ Joseph got up, and that same night, taking the child with his mother, he withdrew to Egypt. ¹⁵ And he remained there until the death of Herod, so that what the Lord had said through the Prophet might be fulfilled: «I have called my son back from Egypt.»

The Holy Innocents

 ¹⁶ Then Herod, seeing that he had been deceived by the Magi, became very angry, and sent and killed all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in the vicinity, from the age of two years and under, according to the time which he knew precisely from the Magi. ¹⁷ Then was fulfilled the word of the prophet Jeremiah, saying: ¹⁸ A voice was heard in Rama, lamentable complaints and cries: Rachel is weeping for her children and she did not want to be comforted because they are no more.

Nazareth

¹⁹ After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in the land of Egypt, ²⁰ and said to him, «Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.»²¹ Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and came to the land of Israel. ²² But, learning that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of Herod, his father, he did not dare to go there, and, having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to Galilee. ²³ and went to live in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled: «He will be called a Nazarene.»

Matthew 3

Saint John the Baptist

¹ In those days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ² and saying, «Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.» ³ This is the one foretold by the prophet Isaiah, who said: «A voice called out in the wilderness: »Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’” ⁴ Now John had a garment of camel hair, and around his waist a leather belt, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁵ Then Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the land watered by the Jordan, came to him.

Every fruitless tree shall be thrown into the fire

 ⁶ And, confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan. ⁷ Seeing a large number of Pharisees and Sadducees coming to this baptism, he said to them, «Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Therefore, bear worthy fruits of repentance. ⁹ And do not try to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you that out of these very stones God is able to raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰ The axe is already at the root of the trees: therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 

In the Holy Spirit and in the fire

¹¹ I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is to come after me is more powerful than I, whose sandal I am not worthy to carry; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His hand holds the winnowing fork, he will clear his threshing floor, he will gather his wheat into the barn, and he will burn up the chaff in an unquenchable fire.»

The Holy Trinity at the Baptism of Jesus

¹³ Then Jesus, coming from Galilee, went to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ John defended himself by saying, "It is I who must be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"« ¹⁵ Jesus answered him, «Let it be so now, for it is fitting that we fulfill all righteousness.» Then John let him do it. ¹⁶ Jesus, having been baptized, immediately came up out of the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."«

Matthew 4

The Temptation of Jesus in the Desert

4 ¹ Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. ² After fasting for forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ And the tempter, approaching, said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread."« ⁴ Jesus answered him, «It is written: »Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” ⁵ Then the devil transported him to the holy city, and having placed him on the pinnacle of the temple,

If you are the Son of God

⁶He said to him, «If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written: »He has commanded his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” ⁷ Jesus said to him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"« ⁸ The devil, once again, transported him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, with their glory, ⁹ He said to her, "I will give you all this, if you fall at my feet and worship me."« ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to him, «Away from me, Satan! For it is written: »You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” ¹¹ Then the devil left him, and immediately angels approached and ministered to him.

Jesus begins to preach

¹² When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. ¹³ And leaving the city of Nazareth, he came and lived in Capernaum, by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, ¹⁴ so that the word of the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled ¹⁵ «"Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. ¹⁶ The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and on those who sat in the region of the shadow of death, a light has dawned. ¹⁷ From that time on, Jesus began to preach, saying, «Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.»

Pierre, André, Jacques and Jean

¹⁸ As he walked along the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers, Simon, called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting their net into the sea because they were fishermen. ¹⁹ And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."« ²⁰ They immediately left their nets and followed him. ²¹ Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James, son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. ²² They too, leaving their boat and their father at that very moment, followed him.

Jesus preaches and heals

²³ Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. ²⁴ His fame spread throughout Syria, and people brought to him all the sick suffering from various infirmities and afflictions, the possessed, the lunatics, the paralytics, and he healed them. ²⁵ And a great multitude followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.

Matthew 5

The Beatitudes

¹ When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. ² Then, opening his mouth, he began to teach them, saying ³ «Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”. ⁴ Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. ⁵ Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. ⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. ⁷ Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. ⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. ⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. ¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ¹¹ Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven: for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The Salt of the Earth

¹³ You are the salt of the earth. If the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. ¹⁴ You are the light of the world. A city built on a mountaintop cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ And a lamp is not lit and put under a bushel, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶ In this way your light may shine before men, so that, seeing your good works, they may glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Jesus comes to perfect the Law

¹⁷ Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not one iota, not one stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. ¹⁹ Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commandments will be great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. ²¹ You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, «You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be subject to judgment.» ²² And I tell you, anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment; anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' will be subject to judgment; and anyone who says, 'You fool,' will be in danger of the fire of hell.

Reconcile before praying

²³ Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and you remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ Leave your offering there before the altar and go first to be reconciled to your brother, then come and present your offering. ²⁵ Settle matters with your adversary as soon as possible, while you are going together to the court, lest he hand you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the guard, and you be thrown into prison. ²⁶ Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid every last penny.

You shall not commit adultery

²⁷ You have learned that it was said, "You shall not commit adultery."« ²⁸ And I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³¹ It has also been said: "Whoever divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce."« ³² And I tell you: Anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Let Yes be Yes, and No be No

³³ You have also heard that it was said to the people long ago, «You shall not break your oath, but you shall fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.» ³⁴ And I tell you not to swear by heaven, for it is God's throne, ³⁵ neither by the earth, because it is the footstool of his feet, nor by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. ³⁶ Don't swear by your hair either, because you can't make a single hair white or black. ³⁷ But let your yes be yes. Let your no be no. Anything beyond that comes from the Devil.

Don't stand up to the bad guy

³⁸ You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth."« ³⁹ And I tell you not to resist an evil person, but if someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. ⁴⁰ And to the one who wants to sue you for your tunic, give up your cloak as well. ⁴¹ And if someone wants to force you to take a thousand steps, take two thousand with him. ⁴² Give to those who ask and don't try to avoid those who want to borrow from you.

Love your enemies

⁴³ You have heard that it was said, «You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.» ⁴⁴ And I tell you: Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you. ⁴⁵ so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends down rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.

Be perfect, just as your Father is perfect.

⁴⁶ If you love those who love you, what reward do you deserve? Don't tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing that is extraordinary? Do not even pagans do the same? ⁴⁸ Therefore you must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 6

Act for God and not for glory

¹ Beware of doing your good works before men, to be seen by them: otherwise you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. ² So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with a trumpet, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ³ For you, when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing., ⁴ so that your alms may be in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. ⁵ When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ⁶ But when you want to pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. ⁷ In your prayers, do not heap up many words as the pagans do, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

The Lord's Prayer

⁹ Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. ¹⁰ Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. ¹¹ Give us this day the bread we need to live on. ¹² Forgive us our debts, as we forgive those who owe us. ¹³ And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. ¹⁴ For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, your Father will not forgive your trespasses.

Fasting from food

¹⁶ When you fast, do not look somber like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ¹⁷ For you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ so that it will not appear to men that you are fasting, but to your Father who is in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

A treasure in the sky

¹⁹ Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where rust and moths destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Purity

²² The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body will be in the light., ²³ But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!.

Money and Trust in God

²⁴ No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and wealth. ²⁵ Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Which of you, through constant worrying, could add a single cubit to the length of your life?

Each day has enough trouble of its own.

²⁸ And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither labor nor spin. ²⁹ And yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If God so clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' ³² For it is the pagans who seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ So don't worry about tomorrow, tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 7

The Straw and the Beam

¹ Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. ² For according to what you have judged, you will be judged, and with the measure you have used, it will be measured to you. ³ Why do you look at the speck of sawdust that is in your brother's eye, and do not notice the plank that is in your own eye? ⁴ Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is a log in your own eye? ⁵ Hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

Don't give pearls to pigs.

⁶ Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn against you, and tear you in pieces. ⁷ 

Ask and you shall receive

Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Which of you, if your son asks you for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or, if he asks him for a fish, will he give him a snake? ¹¹ If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask him?

The Golden Rule

¹² Therefore, in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Few find the path to Paradise

¹³ Enter through the narrow gate, for the wide gate and the broad road lead to destruction, and many are those who enter through them., ¹⁴ For small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.

The False Prophets

¹⁵ Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will recognize them by their fruits: do you pick grapes from thorns, or figs from brambles? ¹⁷ Thus, every good tree bears good fruit, and every bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Any tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ You will therefore recognize them by their fruits.

The Condition for Entering Heaven

²¹ Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? And did we not perform many miracles in your name?” ²³ Then I will tell them plainly: I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of iniquity.

Build your house on rock, not sand

²⁴ Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. ²⁵ The rain fell, the torrents came, the winds blew and beat against that house, yet it was not overturned, because it was founded on the rock. ²⁶ But whoever hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain fell, the torrents came, the winds blew and beat against that house, and it was overturned, and great was its ruin.»²⁸ When Jesus had finished this discourse, the people were amazed at his teaching. ²⁹ For he taught them as having authority, and not as their scribes.

Matthew 8

Miracle for a leper

¹ When Jesus came down from the mountain, a great multitude followed him. ² And a leper approached him, knelt before him, and said, «Lord, if you are willing, you can heal me.» ³ Jesus reached out his hand, touched him, and said, «I will it; be healed.» And instantly his leprosy was healed. ⁴ Then Jesus said to him, «See that you tell no one, but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift prescribed by Moses, to testify to the people that you are healed.»

Jesus admires the Centurion's faith

 ⁵ As Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him ⁶ and prayed to him, «Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed in my house, suffering terribly.» ⁷ Jesus said to him, «I will go and heal him.”. ⁸ “Lord,” replied the centurion, “I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.”. ⁹ For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes; and that one, 'Do this,' and he does it.» ¹⁰ When Jesus heard these words, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, «Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. ¹¹ That is why I tell you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven., ¹² while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into outer darkness: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.» ¹³ Then Jesus said to the centurion, «Go, and let it be done to you according to your faith,» and at that very hour his servant was healed.

A miracle for Pierre's mother-in-law

¹⁴ And Jesus came to Peter's house and found his mother-in-law lying in bed, suffering from a fever. ¹⁵ He touched her hand, and the fever left her; immediately she got up and began to serve them. ¹⁶ In the evening, several demon-possessed people were brought to him, and with a word he drove out the spirits and healed all the sick: ¹⁷ thus fulfilling the words of the prophet Isaiah: "He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases."« ¹⁸ When Jesus saw a large crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. ¹⁹ Then a scribe approached him and said, "Master, I will follow you wherever you go."« ²⁰ Jesus answered him, «Foxes have their dens and birds of the air their nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.» ²¹ Another disciple said to him, «Lord, first let me go and bury my father.» ²² But Jesus answered him, «Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.»

The Storm Calmed

²³ He then got into the boat, followed by his disciples. ²⁴ And suddenly there was a great commotion in the sea, so that the waves covered the boat: but he, however, was asleep. ²⁵ His disciples came to him, woke him, and said, «Lord, save us, we are perishing!» ²⁶ Jesus said to them, «Why are you afraid, you of little faith?» Then he got up and commanded the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. ²⁷ And filled with admiration, they all said, "Who is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?"«

Exorcism and a herd of pigs

²⁸ When Jesus landed on the other side of the lake, in the country of the Gerasenes, two demon-possessed men came out of the tombs and approached him. They were so furious that no one dared to pass that way. ²⁹ And they began to shout, "What do we have to do with you, Jesus, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?"« ³⁰ Now there was, at some distance, a large herd of pigs grazing. ³¹ And the demons made this plea to Jesus: «If you drive us out of here, send us into that herd of pigs.» ³² He told them, «Go.» They came out of the bodies of the possessed and went into the pigs. At that very moment, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned. ³³ The guards fled and came to the city, where they told all these things and what had happened to the demonic people. ³⁴ Immediately the whole town came out to meet Jesus and as soon as they saw him, they begged him to leave their territory.

Matthew 9

Get up and walk

¹ Jesus then got into the boat, crossed back over the lake and came to his own town. ² And behold, they brought to him a paralytic lying on a bed. Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, «My son, take heart; your sins are forgiven.» ³ Immediately, some scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming."« ⁴ Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said to them, «Why do you think evil in your hearts? ⁵ Which is easier, to say: Your sins are forgiven, or to say: Get up and walk? ⁶ But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, he said to the paralytic, »Get up, take your mat and go home.” ⁷ And he got up and went home. ⁸ When the multitude saw this, they were filled with awe and gave glory to God, who had given such power to men.

Jesus calls Matthew

⁹ Leaving that place, Jesus saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him. ¹⁰ Now it happened that Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, and a large number of tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. ¹¹ When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, «Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?» ¹² When Jesus heard this, he said to them, «It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ¹³ Go and learn what this saying means: »I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

New wine in new wineskins

¹⁴ Then John's disciples came to him and said, "Why is it that the Pharisees and we fast often, but your disciples do not fast?"« ¹⁵ Jesus answered them, «Can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”. ¹⁶ No one puts a new piece of cloth on an old garment, because it takes something away from the garment, and the tear is made worse. ¹⁷ Nor do you put new wine into old wineskins, otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. But you put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.»

A miracle happened when he touched his coat.

¹⁸ As he was speaking to them in this way, a synagogue leader came in, and bowing down before him, he said, «My daughter has just died, but come, lay your hand on her and she will live.» ¹⁹ Jesus got up and followed him with his disciples. ²⁰ And then a woman, afflicted with a flow of blood for twelve years, approached from behind and touched the tassel of his coat. ²¹ For she said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I shall be healed."« ²² Jesus turned around, and seeing her, he said to her, «Take heart, daughter; your faith has healed you.» And the woman was healed at that very moment.

Resurrection of the Synagogue Leader's Daughter

²³ When Jesus arrived at the house of the synagogue leader, seeing the flute players and a noisy crowd, he said to them: ²⁴ «"Go away, for the girl is not dead, but asleep," and they mocked him. ²⁵ When the crowd had been ushered out, he entered, took the girl's hand and she stood up. ²⁶ And the news spread throughout the country.

Miracle for two blind people

²⁷ As Jesus continued on his way, two blind men began to follow him, saying in a loud voice, "Son of David, have mercy on us."« ²⁸ When he entered the house, the blind men approached him, and Jesus said to them, «Do you believe that I am able to do this?» They said to him, «Yes, Lord.» ²⁹ Then he touched their eyes and said, «According to your faith let it be done to you.» ³⁰ Immediately their eyes were opened, and Jesus said sternly to them, «See that no one knows about this.» ³¹ But when they left, they spread the word about him throughout the land.

Jesus accused of being a sorcerer

³² After they left, he was shown a mute man, possessed by a demon. ³³ The demon having been driven out, the mute man spoke, and the multitude, filled with admiration, said: "Never before has anything like this been seen in Israel."« ³⁴ But the Pharisees said, "It is by the prince of demons that he casts out demons."« ³⁵ And Jesus went through all the cities and towns, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness. ³⁶ But when he saw this multitude of men, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷ Then he said to his disciples, «The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. ³⁸ Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.»

Matthew 10

Jesus chose 12 Apostles

¹ Then, having called his twelve disciples together, he gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every infirmity. ² These are the names of the twelve Apostles: first is Simon, who is called Peter, then Andrew his brother, James son of Zebedee, and John his brother, ³ Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector, James, son of Alphaeus and Thaddeus, ⁴ Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. ⁵ These are the twelve whom Jesus sent out, after giving them his instructions: «Do not go among the Gentiles, nor enter any town of the Samaritans,

Instructions given to the Apostles

 ⁶ Go instead to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ Everywhere you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is near. ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons; you have received freely, give freely. ⁹ Do not carry gold, silver, or any other currency in your belts., ¹⁰ neither bag for the journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staff, for the worker deserves his food. ¹¹ In whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy there, and stay with him until you leave. ¹² Upon entering the house, greet her. ¹³ And if this house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴ If they refuse to receive you and listen to your words, leave that house or town, shaking the dust off your feet.

The Spirit of your Father will speak through you

 ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for this city. ¹⁶ See, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. ¹⁷ Beware of men, for they will hand you over to their tribunals and flog you in their synagogues. ¹⁸ You will be brought before governors and kings on account of me, to bear witness about me before them and before the Gentiles. ¹⁹ When you are handed over, do not think about how you should speak or what you should say: what you should say will be given to you at that very hour. ²⁰ For it is not you who will be speaking, but the Spirit of your Father who will be speaking through you.

Whoever perseveres to the end will be saved

²¹ Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. ²² You will be hated by everyone because of my name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved. ²³ When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. ²⁴ The disciple is not above the master, nor the servant above his lord. ²⁵ It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the head of the family Beelzebul, how much more those of his household! ²⁶ Do not be afraid of them. For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, nothing secret that will not eventually be made known. ²⁷ What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight, and what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops.

Losing one's soul and body in Gehenna

²⁸ Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹ Do not two sparrows sell each other for an ace? And not one of them falls to the earth apart from your Father's permission. ³⁰ Even the hairs on your head are all counted. ³¹ So do not be afraid: you are worth more than many sparrows. ³² Therefore, whoever has confessed me before men, I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven., ³³ And whoever disowns me before men, I will also disown before my Father who is in heaven.

I have come to bring the sword.

³⁴ Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have come to bring not peace, but a sword. ³⁵ I have come to set the son against his father, the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ³⁶ Our enemies will be the people of our own household. ³⁷ Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ Whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever saves their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will save it. ⁴⁰ Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. ⁴¹ He who receives a prophet in the capacity of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and he who receives a righteous person in the capacity of a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward. ⁴² And whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is one of my disciples, truly I tell you, he will by no means lose his reward.»

Matthew 11

John the Baptist prepares his disciples

¹ When Jesus had finished giving instructions to his twelve disciples, he left from there to teach and preach in their towns. ² John, in prison, having heard about the works of Christ, sent two of his disciples to tell him: ³ «"Are you the one who is supposed to come, or should we wait for someone else?"» ⁴ Jesus answered them, «Go and tell John what you hear and see: ⁵ The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are healed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor are evangelized. ⁶ Blessed is the one for whom I will not cause anyone to stumble.»

Jesus speaks of Saint John the Baptist

⁷ As they were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: ⁸ «What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What did you go out to see? A man dressed in sumptuous garments? But those who wear sumptuous garments are found in the houses of kings. ⁹ But what did you go to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰ For this is the one of whom it is written: “Behold, I send my messenger before you, who will go before you and prepare the way for you.”. ¹¹ Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹² From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been carried away by force, and the violent have been seizing it. ¹³ For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. ¹⁴ And if you want to understand it, he himself is Elijah who is to come. ¹⁵ Let anyone who has ears hear.»

To whom would I compare this generation?

¹⁶ «To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplace, shouting to their companions: ¹⁷ We played the flute, and you did not dance; we sang a lament, and you did not beat your breast. ¹⁸ John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He is possessed by a demon.”, ¹⁹ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a wine drinker, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' But Wisdom is vindicated by her children.»

Jesus accuses several cities

²⁰ Then Jesus began to reproach the cities where he had performed the greatest number of his miracles, for not having done penance. ²¹ «Woe to you, Chorazin. Woe to you, Bethsaida. For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.”. ²² Yes, I tell you, on the day of judgment it will be less severe for Tyre and Sidon than for you. ²³ And you, Capernaum, who exalt yourself to the heavens, you shall be brought down to hell, for if the miracles that were done within your walls had been done in Sodom, it would have remained standing to this day. ²⁴ »Yes, I tell you, it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.” ²⁵ At that time Jesus also said: «I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed them to little children.

My yoke is easy and my burden is light

 ²⁶ Yes, Father, I bless you for it has pleased you so. ²⁷ All things have been handed over to me by my Father; no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son has chosen to reveal him. ²⁸ Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and receive my instruction, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.»

Matthew 12

The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath

¹ At that time, Jesus was walking through the wheat fields on the Sabbath, and his disciples, being hungry, began to pick some ears of grain and eat them. ² When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, «Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.» ³ But he answered them, «Have you not read what David did when he and those with him were hungry? ⁴ how he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which was not permitted to him or those with him to eat, but only to the priests?⁵ Or have you not read in the Law that on the Sabbath day the priests in the temple violate the Sabbath and yet commit sin? ⁶ But I tell you that there is someone here greater than the temple. ⁷ If you understood this saying: "I want mercy, not sacrifice," you would never have condemned innocent people. ⁸ For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.»

Miracle of the withered hand

⁹ Jesus left that place and went into their synagogue. ¹⁰ Now there was a man there who had a withered hand, and they asked Jesus, «Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?» This was to have a pretext for accusing him. ¹¹ He answered them, «Which of you, having only one sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath day, does not take hold of it and lift it out?” ¹² Now, how much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.» ¹³ Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and it was restored to its original health. ¹⁴ The Pharisees went out and plotted against him how they might destroy him. ¹⁵ But when Jesus learned of this, he withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all their sick. ¹⁶ And he commanded them not to make it known: ¹⁷ so that the word of the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:¹⁸ «Here is my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved, in whom I am well pleased. I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.”. ¹⁹ He will not quarrel, he will not shout, and his voice will not be heard in the public squares. ²⁰ He will not break the bruised reed or snuff out the smoking wick until he has brought justice to victory. ²¹ In his name, the nations will place their hope.»

New witchcraft accusation

²² They then presented him with a blind and mute possessed man, and he healed him, so that this man spoke and saw. ²³ And all the people, filled with amazement, said, "Is this not the son of David?"« ²⁴ But the Pharisees, hearing this, said, "He casts out demons only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons."« ²⁵ Jesus, who knew their thoughts, said to them, «Every kingdom divided against itself will be desolate, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. ²⁶ If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself: how then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁸ But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²⁹ And how can one enter the house of a strong man and plunder his furniture, without first tying up that strong man? Only then can one plunder his house. ³⁰ Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit

 ³¹ Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven them. ³² And whoever speaks against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. ³³ Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for a tree is known by its fruit. ³⁴ You brood of vipers, how could you say anything good, being so wicked? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. ³⁵ A good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of an evil treasure. ³⁶ I tell you, on the day of judgment, people will give account for every careless word they have spoken. ³⁷ For you will be justified by your words, and you will be condemned by your words.»

The sign of the prophet Jonah

³⁸ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees spoke up and said, «Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.» ³⁹ He answered them, «This wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah: ⁴⁰ Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. ⁴¹ The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the voice of Jonah, and there is something greater than Jonah here. ⁴² The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

Who is my mother and who are my brothers?

⁴³ «When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, it goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. ⁴⁴ Then he said, "I will return to my house from which I came." And when he came back, he found it empty, cleaned, and decorated. ⁴⁵ Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell in that house, and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So it will be with this wicked generation.» ⁴⁶ While he was still speaking to the people, his mother and brothers were outside, seeking to speak to him. ⁴⁷ Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are outside, and they want to speak to you."« ⁴⁸ Jesus answered the man who asked him this, «Who is my mother and who are my brothers?» ⁴⁹ And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, «Here are my mother and my brothers. ⁵⁰ For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.»

Matthew 13

The Parable of the Sower

¹ That day, Jesus left the house and sat by the sea. ² A large crowd having gathered around him, he had to get into a boat, where he sat, while the crowd stood on the shore., ³ and he told them many things in parables: the sower, he said, went out to sow. ⁴ And as he was sowing, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds of the air came and ate them up. ⁵ Other grains fell on stony ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprouted immediately, because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But when the sun rose, the plant, stricken by its heat and having no roots, withered. ⁷ Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸ Others fell on good soil and produced fruit, some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty. ⁹ "Let anyone who has ears hear."»

Why speak in parables?

¹⁰ Then his disciples came to him and said, «Why do you speak to them in parables?» ¹¹ He answered them, «To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. ¹² For to him who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. ¹³ That is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear or understand. ¹⁴ For them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: «You will hear with your ears but you will not understand, you will see with your eyes but you will not see. ¹⁵ For the heart of this people has grown dull, they have hardened their ears and closed their eyes: lest their eyes should see, their ears hear, their hearts understand, and they should turn and I should heal them.»¹⁶ For you, blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. ¹⁷ I tell you truly, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

Explanation of the Parable of the Sower

¹⁸ Therefore, listen to what the parable of the sower means: ¹⁹ «Whoever hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the Evil One comes and takes away what was sown in his heart: this is the way in which the seed was sown. ²⁰ The rocky ground on which it fell is like the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy: ²¹ But he has no roots; he is fickle; as soon as tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. ²² The thorns that received the seed are those who hear the word, but the worries about the things of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it does not bear fruit. ²³ The good soil sown is the one who hears the word and understands it; he bears fruit and yields one a hundredfold, another sixty, another thirtyfold.»

Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

²⁴ He told them another parable, saying, «The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵ But while the men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. ²⁶ When the grass had grown and borne its fruit, then the weeds also appeared. ²⁷ And the servants of the family owner came to him and said, “Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?” ²⁸ He replied, "An enemy did this." The servants said to him, "Do you want us to go and pick it?" ²⁹ “No,” he told them, “lest you uproot the wheat along with the tares.”. ³⁰ Let both grow until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers: First gather the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, and gather the wheat into my barn.»

Parable of the Mustard Seed

³¹ He told them another parable, saying, «The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field. ³² It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it grows, it is larger than all vegetable plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come to shelter in its branches.»

Parable of the leaven in the dough

³³ He also told them this parable: «The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.» ³⁴ Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables, and he spoke to them only in parables., ³⁵ thus fulfilling the word of the prophet: «I will open my mouth in parables, and I will reveal things hidden since the creation of the world.» ³⁶ Then, having dismissed the people, he returned to the house. His disciples came to him and said, «Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.»

Hell for those who commit iniquity

 ³⁷ He replied, «The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, ³⁸ The field represents the world, the good grain represents the sons of the kingdom, the tares represent the sons of the Evil One., ³⁹ The enemy who sowed it is the devil, the harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels. ⁴⁰ As the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. ⁴¹ The Son of God will send his angels, and they will remove from his kingdom all causes of sin and all lawbreakers, ⁴² and they will throw them into the blazing furnace: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

The Parable of the Treasure and the Parable of the Pearl

⁴⁴ «The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid again, and in his joy went and sold all that he had and bought that field. ⁴⁵ «"The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. ⁴⁶ Having found a pearl of great price, he went and sold everything he had, and bought it.

Parable of the net cast into the sea

⁴⁷ «"The kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught all kinds of fish.". ⁴⁸ When it is full, the fishermen take it out, and, sitting on the shore, they choose the good ones to put in baskets, and throw away the bad ones. ⁴⁹ The same will happen at the end of the world: angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous., ⁵⁰ and they will throw them into the blazing furnace: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁵¹ «Have you understood all these things?» They said to him, «Yes, Lord.» ⁵² And he added: «Therefore every scribe skilled in the kingdom of heaven is like a father of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.» ⁵³ After Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place.

Disbelief partially blocks miracles.

⁵⁴ Having come to his homeland, he taught in the synagogue, so that, seized with astonishment, they said, "Where did this man get this wisdom and these miracles?" ⁵⁵ Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Jude? ⁵⁶ And aren't all his sisters here with us? Where did he get all these things from?» ⁵⁷ And he was a stumbling block to them. But Jesus said to them, «A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and home.» ⁵⁸ And he did not perform many miracles in that place because of their unbelief.

Matthew 14

Herod has John the Baptist beheaded

¹ At that time, Herod the Tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus. ² And he said to his servants, «This is John the Baptist. He has risen from the dead; that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.» ³ For Herod had arrested John, bound him with chains, and thrown him into prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, ⁴ because John told him, "It is not lawful for you to have her as your wife."« ⁵ He would gladly have had him killed, but he feared the people, who regarded John as a prophet. ⁶ Now, as Herod's birthday was being celebrated, Herodias's daughter danced before the guests and pleased Herod, ⁷ so he swore an oath to give her anything she asked for. ⁸ Urged on by her mother, she said, "Give me, here on a platter, the head of John the Baptist."« ⁹The king was saddened, but because of his oath and his guests, he commanded that it be given to him., ¹⁰ and he sent and beheaded John in his prison. ¹¹ And the head, brought on a platter, was given to the young girl, who carried it to her mother. ¹² John's disciples came and took the body and buried it, and then they went and told Jesus. ¹³ When Jesus heard of it, he left there in a boat and withdrew to a solitary place by himself, but the people knew about it and followed him on foot from the surrounding towns.

Food multiplication

¹⁴ When he landed, he saw a large crowd, and he had compassion on them, and he healed their sick. ¹⁵ That evening, his disciples came to him and said, «This is a deserted place, and it’s already late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.» ¹⁶ But Jesus said to them, «They do not need to go away; you yourselves give them something to eat.» ¹⁷ They replied, "We only have five loaves of bread and two fish here."« ¹⁸ «"Bring them here to me," he told them. ¹⁹ After having this multitude sit down on the grass, he took the five loaves and the two fish, and raising his eyes to heaven, he pronounced a blessing, then, breaking the loaves, he gave them to his disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. ²⁰ They all ate and were satisfied, and twelve baskets full of the leftover pieces were taken up. ²¹ Now, the number of those who had eaten was about five thousand men, not including women and children. ²² Immediately afterwards, Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the opposite side of the lake, while he dismissed the crowd.

Jesus walks on water

²³ When he had sent her away, he went up on the mountain to pray by himself, and when evening came, he was there alone. ²⁴ However, the boat, already in the middle of the sea, was being battered by the waves, because the wind was against it. ²⁵ In the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went out to his disciples, walking on the sea. ²⁶ When they saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, and said, "It's a ghost," and they cried out in terror. ²⁷ Jesus immediately spoke to them: «Take courage! It is I; do not be afraid.»

Pierre walks on water, then doubts

²⁸ Peter spoke up, saying, «Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.» ²⁹ He said to him, "Come," and Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. ³⁰ But seeing the violence of the wind, he was afraid, and as he began to sink, he cried out: "Lord, save me!"« ³¹ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him, saying, «You of little faith, why did you doubt?» ³² And when they got into the boat, the wind calmed down. ³³ Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped him, saying, «Truly you are the Son of God.» ³⁴ Having crossed the lake, they landed in the land of Gennesaret. ³⁵ The local people, having recognized him, sent messengers throughout the surrounding area, and all the sick were brought to him. ³⁶ And they begged him to let them just touch the fringe of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

Matthew 15

¹ Then some scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem came to Jesus and said to him:

Criticisms of the Pharisees

 ² «Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? Because they do not wash their hands when they eat.» ³ He answered them, «And why do you transgress God’s commandment by your tradition?” ⁴ For God said: Honor your father and your mother, and: Whoever curses his father or his mother, let him be put to death. ⁵ But you say: “Whoever says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever help I might have otherwise given you, I have given to him,’”, ⁶ He does not need to honor his father or mother in any other way. And thus you nullify God's commandment by your tradition. ⁷ Hypocrites, Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ⁸ «These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”. ⁹ "It is in vain that they honor me, giving precepts that are merely commandments from men."»

Any plant that my Father did not plant

¹⁰ Then, having brought the crowd closer, he said to them, «Listen and understand. ¹¹ It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this is what defiles a person.» ¹² Then his disciples came to him and said, «Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?» ¹³ He replied, «Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up.”. ¹⁴ Leave them; they are blind men leading blind men. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.»

That which defiles man

¹⁵ Peter, speaking up, said to him, "Explain this parable to us."« ¹⁶ Jesus answered, «Are you also still without understanding?” ¹⁷ Don't you understand that everything that goes into the mouth goes to the stomach, and is expelled to the secret place? ¹⁸ But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this is what defiles a person. ¹⁹ For it is out of the heart that evil thoughts come, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testimony, abusive speech. ²⁰ "That is what defiles a person, but eating without washing one's hands does not defile a person."»

The Canaanite woman's great faith

²¹ Jesus left that place and withdrew to the direction of Tyre and Sidon. ²² And behold, a Canaanite woman from that land came out, crying out in a loud voice, «Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely tormented by a demon.» ²³ Jesus did not answer her a word. Then his disciples came to him and begged him, saying, «Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.» ²⁴ He replied, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."« ²⁵ But this woman came and knelt before him, saying, «Lord, help me!» ²⁶ He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."« ²⁷ «That’s true, Lord,» she said, “but at least little dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” ²⁸ Then Jesus said to her, «Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.» And her daughter was healed at that very moment. ²⁹ Jesus left that place and came to the Sea of Galilee. He went up on a mountainside and sat down. ³⁰ And large crowds of people approached him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the deaf and mute, the crippled, and many other sick people. They laid them at his feet, and he healed them., ³¹ so that the multitude was filled with wonder, seeing the mute speak, the crippled healed, the lame walk, the blind see, and they glorified the God of Israel.

New multiplication of food

³² However, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, «I have compassion for these people, because they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may faint on the way.» ³³ The disciples asked him, «Where in this desert can we find enough bread to feed such a large crowd?» ³⁴ Jesus asked them, "How many loaves of bread do you have?" "Seven," they replied, "and a few small fish."« ³⁵ Then he made the crowd sit down on the ground, ³⁶ He took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples, and these to the people. ³⁷ They all ate and were satisfied, and of the leftover pieces they took up seven full baskets. ³⁸ Now the number of those who had eaten was four thousand, not counting women and children. ³⁹ After dismissing the people, Jesus got into the boat and came to the land of Magedan.

Matthew 16

Recognizing the signs of the times

¹ The Pharisees and Sadducees approached Jesus, and, to test him, they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. ² He replied to them: «In the evening you say it will be fine, because the sky is red, ³ and in the morning: There will be a storm today, for the sky is a dark red. ⁴ Hypocrites, you know how to interpret the appearances of the heavens, but you do not know how to recognize the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.» And leaving them, he went away.

The leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees

⁵ When they crossed to the other side of the lake, his disciples had forgotten to take loaves of bread. ⁶ Jesus said to them, «Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.» ⁷ And they thought and said to themselves, "It's because we didn't bring any bread."« ⁸ But Jesus, who saw their thoughts, said to them, «You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about not having taken any bread? ⁹ Are you still without understanding, and do you not remember the five loaves of bread distributed to five thousand men, and how many baskets you carried away? ¹⁰ Nor the seven loaves distributed to four thousand men, and how many baskets you carried away? ¹¹ How is it that you don't understand that I wasn't talking about bread when I told you, "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees"?» ¹² Then they understood that he had said to beware, not of the leaven that is put in bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Who do we say is the Son of Man?

¹³ When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, «Who do people say the Son of Man is?» ¹⁴ They answered him: "Some say that you are John the Baptist, others Elijah, others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. ¹⁵ »And you,” he said to them, “who do you say I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter, speaking up, said: «You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.»

Promises of Jesus to Peter and the Church

¹⁷ Jesus answered him, «Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. ¹⁹ And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.» ²⁰ Then he forbade his disciples to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

Jesus prophesies his passion

²¹ Jesus began to reveal to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things at the hands of the elders, scribes, and chief priests, be killed, and on the third day rise again. ²² Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "God forbid, Lord, this shall never happen to you."« ²³ But Jesus turned and said to Peter, «Get away from me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not understand the things of God, but only human things.»

Take up your cross and follow Jesus

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, «If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. ²⁶ For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? ²⁷ For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will repay each person according to what they have done. ²⁸ Truly I tell you, many who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.»

Matthew 17

The Holy Trinity manifests itself at the Transfiguration

¹ Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. ² And he was transfigured before them: his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. ³ And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. ⁴ Speaking up, Peter said to Jesus, «Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, let us put up three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.» ⁵ He was still speaking when a bright cloud covered them, and a voice came from within the cloud, saying, «This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to him.» ⁶ When they heard this voice, the disciples fell facedown to the ground and were terrified. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them, saying, «Get up, do not be afraid.» ⁸ Then, looking up, they saw only Jesus alone. ⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them this command: «Tell no one about this vision until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.»

Elijah and John the Baptist

¹⁰ His disciples then questioned him, saying, «Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?» ¹¹ He answered them, «Elijah does indeed come and restore all things. ¹² But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, yet they treated him as they pleased; they will do the same to the Son of Man.» ¹³ The disciples then understood that he had been speaking to them about John the Baptist.

Jesus exorcises and recommends fasting

¹⁴ When they rejoined the crowd, a man approached, and, falling to his knees before him, ¹⁵ He said to him, "Lord, have mercy on my son who is moody and suffers cruelly; he often falls into the fire and often into the water. ¹⁶ I presented him to your disciples, and they were unable to heal him.» ¹⁷ Jesus replied, «O unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to me.» ¹⁸ And Jesus rebuked the demon, and the demon came out of the child, who was healed at that very hour.

A faith that can move mountains

¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked him, «Why couldn’t we drive him out?» ²⁰ Jesus said to them, «Because of your lack of faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”²¹ Nothing can expel this species except prayer and fasting. ²² As they traveled through Galilee, Jesus said to them, «The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, ²³ and they will kill him, and he will rise again on the third day.» And they were very grieved.

Miracle of the stater in the fish

²⁴ When they returned to Capernaum, those who collected the didrachmas approached Peter and said to him, "Doesn't your teacher pay for the didrachmas?"« ²⁵ «Yes,» said Peter. And as they were entering the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, «What is your opinion, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect taxes or dues? From their own children, or from foreigners?» ²⁶ Peter answered, "Foreigners." "Then the sons," Jesus told him, "are exempt.". ²⁷ But so as not to offend them, go to the sea, cast your line, take the first fish that comes up, and then, opening its mouth, you will find a stater. Take it and give it to them for me and for you.»

Matthew 18

The spirit of childhood to enter Heaven

¹ At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, «Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?» ² Jesus called in a little child and placed him in their midst. ³ and said to them, «Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵ And whoever receives one of these little children in my name receives me.

The hand or the eye: occasions for falling

⁶ But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and to be thrown into the depths of the sea. ⁷ Woe to the world because of scandals. Scandals are inevitable, but woe to the man through whom they come. ⁸ If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away: it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to be thrown with two hands or two feet into eternal fire. ⁹ And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away: it is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell. ¹⁰ «See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. ¹¹ [For the Son of Man came to save what was lost.]

Parable of the Lost Sheep

¹² «What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders off, does he not leave the ninety-nine others on the mountain and go to look for the one that wandered off?” ¹³ And if he is lucky enough to find her, I tell you truly, he has more joy for her than for the ninety-nine who did not go astray. ¹⁴ Likewise, it is the will of your Father in heaven that not one of these little ones should perish.

Fraternal correction

¹⁵ «If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone; if he listens to you, you have gained your brother.”. ¹⁶ If he does not listen to you, take one or two others along with you, so that every case may be decided by the testimony of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷ If he does not listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he does not listen to the church either, let him be to you as a pagan and a tax collector. ¹⁸ Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. ¹⁹ «Again I tell you, if two of you on earth agree, whatever they ask for it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.» ²¹ Then Peter approached him and said, «Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?» ²² Jesus said to him, «I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

Forgive from the bottom of your heart

²³ «"Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ The settling of accounts having begun, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. ²⁵ Since he had no way to pay, his master ordered that he, his wife, his children and everything he had be sold to settle his debt. ²⁶ The servant, throwing himself at his feet, begged him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything. ²⁷ Moved by compassion, the master of this servant let him go and forgave him his debt. ²⁸ The servant, having barely left, encountered one of his companions who owed him a hundred denarii. Seizing him by the throat, he choked him, saying: Pay what you owe. ²⁹ His companion, throwing himself at his feet, begged him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything. ³⁰ But he, refusing to listen, went away and had him put in prison until he paid his debt. ³¹ When the other servants saw this, they were deeply saddened, and they came and told their master what had happened. ³² Then the master called him in and said to him, “You wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt because you begged me to.”. ³³ Shouldn't you have had pity on your companion, just as I had pity on you? ³⁴ And his angry master handed him over to the executioners until he had paid all his debt. ³⁵ This is how my heavenly Father will treat you unless each of you forgives his brother from your heart.»

Matthew 19

¹ When Jesus had finished these sayings, he left Galilee and came to the borders of Judea, beyond the Jordan. ² A large crowd followed him, and there he healed the sick.

Jesus abolishes divorce.

³ Then the Pharisees approached him to test him, saying, «Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?» ⁴ He answered them, «Have you not read that the Creator, in the beginning, made them male and female and said: ⁵ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. ⁶ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.» ⁷ «Why then,» they asked him, “did Moses command that a certificate of divorce be issued and the wife sent away?” ⁸ He answered them, «It was because of the hardness of your hearts that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it was not so. ⁹ But I tell you, anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.»

Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven

¹⁰ His disciples told him, "If this is the case between a man and a woman, it is better not to marry."« ¹¹ He said to them, «Not everyone can accept this teaching, but only those to whom it has been given. ¹² For there are eunuchs who were born that way, from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by the hands of others; and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who can accept this accept it.» ¹³ Then little children were brought to him so that he might lay his hands on them and pray for them. And when the disciples rebuked them with harsh words, ¹⁴ Jesus said to them, «Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.» ¹⁵ And, having laid his hands on them, he continued on his way.

The rich young man

¹⁶ And then a young man approached him and said, "Good Master, what good must I do to have eternal life?"« ¹⁷ Jesus answered him, «Why do you call me good? Only God is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.» ¹⁸ «"Which ones?" he said. Jesus answered, "You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness.". ¹⁹ Honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.» ²⁰ The young man said to him, "I have observed all these commandments since my childhood, what more do I need?"« ²¹ Jesus said to him, «If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.» ²² When he heard these words, the young man went away sad, for he had great possessions.

The danger of attachment to wealth

²³ And Jesus said to his disciples, «Truly I tell you, it is hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ I tell you again, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.» ²⁵ When the disciples heard these words, they were greatly astonished, and they said, «Who then can be saved?» ²⁶ Jesus looked at them and said, «With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.» ²⁷ Then Peter spoke up: «Look,» he said, “we have left everything to follow you, so what do we have to wait for?” ²⁸ Jesus answered them, «Truly I tell you, at the renewal of the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ And whoever has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will possess eternal life. ³⁰ Many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.»

Matthew 20

Parable of the Workers of the Last Hour

¹ «For the kingdom of heaven is like a family owner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. ² Having agreed with the workers on a denarius a day, he sent them to his vineyard. ³He went out around the third hour and saw others standing in the square doing nothing. ⁴ He said to them, “Go also to my vineyard, and I will give you what is right.” ⁵ And they went there. He went out again around the sixth and ninth hour, and did the same thing. ⁶ Finally, going out around the eleventh hour, he found others standing idle, and he said to them, "Why do you stand here all day doing nothing?" ⁷ They answered him, "Because no one has hired us." He said to them, "You also go into my vineyard.". ⁸ When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman: Call the workers and pay their wages, starting with the last and going on to the first. ⁹ Those who came at the eleventh hour received a denarius each. ¹⁰ Those who came first thought they would receive more, but they each received a denarius. ¹¹ Upon receiving him, they murmured against the father of the family., ¹² saying: These last ones have worked only one hour, and you are giving them as much as we have, who have borne the burden of the day and the heat. ¹³ But the Master, addressing one of them, replied: My friend, I am not doing you an injustice: did you not agree with me on a denarius? ¹⁴ Take what belongs to you, and go. As for me, I want to give him as much as I give you. ¹⁵ Am I not allowed to do with my own property as I please? And will your eye be evil because I am good?

Many are called, but few are chosen.

¹⁶ Thus the last will be first, and the first, last, for many are called, but few are chosen.» ¹⁷ As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them on the way ¹⁸ «We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes. They will condemn him to death, ¹⁹ and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked, flogged, and crucified, and he will rise again on the third day.»

Drink the cup and be in the front row

²⁰ Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons, and knelt before him to ask him for something. ²¹ He said to her, "What do you want?" She replied, "Order that these two sons of mine, one at your right hand and the other at your left, should sit in your kingdom."« ²² Jesus said to them, «You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?» “We can,” they said to him. ²³ He answered them, «You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or my left is not mine to grant, except to those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.» ²⁴ Having heard this, the other ten were indignant against the two brothers.

To give one's life as a ransom for the multitude

²⁵ But Jesus called them together and said, «You know that the rulers of the nations lord it over them, and that the great ones exercise authority over them. ²⁶ It will not be so among you, but whoever wants to become great among you must become your servant, ²⁷ And whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. ²⁸ This is why the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.»

Miracle for two blind men of Jericho

²⁹ As they left Jericho, a large crowd followed them. ³⁰ And behold, two blind men, who were sitting by the roadside, hearing that Jesus was passing by, began to cry out, «Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!» ³¹ The crowd rebuked them to silence them, but they shouted all the louder: «Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!» ³² Jesus stopped, called them, and said, «What do you want me to do for you? ³³ »Lord,” they said to him, “open our eyes.” ³⁴ Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes, and immediately they regained their sight and followed him.

Matthew 21

Miraculous preparations

¹ When they approached Jerusalem and arrived at Bethphage, near the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, ² saying to them, «Go to the village ahead of you, you will immediately find a donkey tied up and a colt with her, untie them, and bring them to me. ³ And if anyone says anything to you, reply that the Lord needs them, and they will be let go immediately.» ⁴ And this happened, so that the word of the prophet might be fulfilled: ⁵ «Tell the daughter of Zion, »See, your king is coming to you, gentle and seated on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of her who bears the yoke.’” ⁶ So the disciples went and did what Jesus had commanded them.

Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem

 ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt, put their cloaks on them, and made them sit on them. ⁸ The people in large numbers spread their cloaks along the road, others cut branches from trees and strewn them across the road. ⁹ And all these people, in front of Jesus and behind him, shouted: «Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!» ¹⁰ When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in an uproar, people were saying, "Who is it?"« ¹¹ And the people answered, "This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee."«

Jesus drives the merchants out of the temple

¹² When Jesus entered the temple, he drove out all those who were buying and selling there, overturning the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves., ¹³ and said to them, «It is written: »My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.” ¹⁴ Blind and lame people came to him in the temple, and he healed them. ¹⁵ But the chief priests and the scribes, seeing the miracles he performed, and the children who cried out in the temple, saying, "Hosanna to the son of David," were indignant, ¹⁶ And they said to him, «Do you hear what they are saying?» “Yes,” Jesus replied, “have you never read: ‘From the lips of children and infants you have prepared a hymn of praise for yourselves’?”¹⁷ And having left them there, he went out of the city and headed towards Bethany, where he spent the night in the open air.

Jesus curses a fig tree

¹⁸ The next morning, as he was returning to the city, he was hungry.¹⁹ Seeing a fig tree by the roadside, he approached it, but found nothing but leaves on it, and he said to it, "May no fruit ever be born from you again." And at once the fig tree withered. ²⁰ At this sight, the disciples said in amazement, "How did it dry up in an instant?"«

The power of prayer

²¹ Jesus answered them, «Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do as was done to the fig tree, but also you will say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. ²² Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.»²³ When he entered the temple and was teaching, the chief priests and the elders approached him and said, «By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?» ²⁴ Jesus answered them, «I too will ask you a question, and if you answer it, I will tell you by what right I do these things: ²⁵ "Where did John's baptism come from, from heaven or from men?" But they were considering this among themselves: ²⁶ «If we answer, »From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe in him?’ And if we answer, ‘From men,’ we have to fear the people, for everyone considers John to be a prophet.” ²⁷ They answered Jesus, «We do not know. And I,» Jesus said, “cannot tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Parable of the Two Sons

²⁸ «But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he went to the first and said, ‘My son, go and work today in my vineyard. ²⁹ He replied: I don't want to, but then, moved by remorse, he went. ³⁰ Then, addressing the other, he gave him the same command. The latter replied: I will go, lord, and he did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father? The first, they told him. Then Jesus said, «Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³² For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, having seen this, have not yet repented to believe him.

Parable of the Murderous Vineyard Workers

³³ «Listen to another parable. There was a family man who planted a vineyard. He put a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. Then he rented it to some tenants and went on a journey. ³⁴ When the time for harvest came, he sent his servants to the tenants to receive the produce of his vineyard. ³⁵ The vineyard workers seized his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned the third. ³⁶ He sent other servants again, in greater numbers than the first time, and they treated them the same way. ³⁷ Finally he sent them his son, saying: they will respect my son. ³⁸ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, “This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and we’ll have his inheritance.”. ³⁹ And having seized him, they 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?» ⁴¹ They replied, "He will strike these wretches without pity, and rent his vineyard to other tenants, who will give him the fruit in due season."«

The kingdom of God will be taken from you.

⁴² Jesus said to them, «Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone?’ The Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. ⁴³ That is why I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruits. ⁴⁴ Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.» ⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard these parables, they understood that Jesus was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ And they sought to seize him, but they feared the people, who regarded him as a prophet.

Matthew 22

Parable of the Wedding Guests

¹ Jesus, speaking again, addressed them in parables, saying: ² «The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. ³ He sent his servants to call those who had been invited to the wedding, but they refused to come. ⁴ He sent out other servants, saying, “Tell those who have been invited: I have prepared my feast; my oxen and fattened animals have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”. ⁵ But they paid no attention, and went their separate ways, one to his field, the other to his business, ⁶ and the others seized the servants, and after insulting them, they killed them. ⁷ The king, having learned of this, became angry, he sent his armies, exterminated these murderers and burned their city. ⁸ Then he said to his servants: the wedding feast is ready, but those I invited were not worthy. ⁹ Go to the crossroads, and invite everyone you find to the wedding feast. ¹⁰ These servants, going out along the roads, gathered together all those they found, good or bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. ¹¹ The king entered to see those who were at the table and, having noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, ¹² He said to him, "My friend, how did you get in here without a wedding dress?" And the man remained speechless. ¹³ Then the king said to his servants, “Tie his hands and feet, and throw him into the outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth there.”. ¹⁴ Because many are called, but few are chosen.»

Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's

¹⁵ Then the Pharisees, having withdrawn, conspired to catch Jesus in his words. ¹⁶ And they sent some of their disciples, along with some Herodians, to tell him, «Teacher, we know that you are a man of truth and that you teach the way of God in truth, not caring about anyone, because you pay no attention to the appearance of men. ¹⁷ Tell us, then, what you think: Is it permissible, or not, to pay tribute to Caesar?» ¹⁸ Jesus, knowing their malice, said to them, «Hypocrites, why are you testing me? ¹⁹ "Show me the tribute coin." They presented him with a denarius. ²⁰ And Jesus said to them, «Whose image is this and whose inscription?” ²¹ »From Caesar,« they told him. Then Jesus replied, »Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” ²² This answer filled them with admiration, and, leaving him, they went away.

The Sadducees try to trap Jesus

²³ On the same day, some Sadducees, who deny the resurrection, came to him and asked him this question:²⁴ «Master, Moses said: If a man dies and leaves no children, let his brother marry his wife and raise up children for his brother. ²⁵ Now, there were seven brothers among us; the first took a wife and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. ²⁶ The same thing happened to the second, then to the third, up to the seventh. ²⁷ After all of them, the woman also died. ²⁸ At the time of the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven brothers? For they all had her.» ²⁹ Jesus answered them, «You are mistaken, because you do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God. ³⁰ For at the resurrection men have neither wives nor husbands, but are like the angels of God in heaven. ³¹ As for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what God said to you, in these words: ³² »I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? Yet God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” ³³ And the people, listening to him, were filled with admiration for his doctrine.

Two commandments that sum it all up

³⁴ The Pharisees, having learned that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, gathered together. ³⁵ And one of them, a doctor of the law, asked him, to test him: ³⁶ «"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"» ³⁷ Jesus said to him, «You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the greatest and first commandment. ³⁹ The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ To these two commandments are attached all the Law and the Prophets.»

The Divinity of the Messiah

⁴¹ When the Pharisees had gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: ⁴² «What is your opinion about the Christ? Whose son is he?» They answered him, «The son of David.» ⁴³ «How then,” he said to them, “does David, inspired from on high, call him Lord, saying: ⁴⁴ The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet?" ⁴⁵ If David calls him Lord, how can he be his son?» ⁴⁶ No one could answer him, and from that day on, no one dared to question him again.

Matthew 23

Do not act in order to be praised by men

¹ Then Jesus, addressing the people and his disciples, spoke thus: ² «"The Scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' chair.". ³ Do and observe all that they tell you, but do not imitate their works, for they say, and do not do. ⁴ They tie heavy, difficult-to-bear burdens together and place them on men's shoulders, but they do not want to lift a finger to move them. ⁵ They do all their actions to be seen by men, wearing larger phylacteries and longer fringes. ⁶ They love the first place at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues., ⁷ greetings in public places, and being called Rabbi by men. ⁸ As for you, do not call yourselves Rabbi, for you have only one Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ And do not call anyone on earth 'Father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. ¹⁰ Nor should anyone call you Master, for you have only one Master, the Christ. ¹¹ The greatest among you will be your servant. ¹² But whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

The Pharisees do not enter heaven

 ¹³ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor do you allow those who come to enter. ¹⁴ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For under the guise of long prayers you devour widows' houses. Therefore you will receive a greater condemnation. ¹⁵ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across seas and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. ¹⁶ Woe to you, blind guides, who say: If a man swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if he swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound. ¹⁷ You fools and blind men, which is greater, gold, or the temple that sanctifies gold? ¹⁸ And again: If a man swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if he swears by the gift that is placed on the altar, he is bound. ¹⁹ Blind men, which is greater, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering? ²⁰ Therefore, whoever swears by the altar swears by the altar and by everything on it, ²¹ And he who swears by the temple, swears by the temple and by him who dwells in it., ²² And he who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits on it. ²³ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and neglect the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

Swallow the camel and filter the midge

²⁴ Blind guides, who filter out the gnat, and swallow the camel. ²⁵ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. ²⁶ Blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and the dish, so that the outside also may be clean.

Woe to you Pharisees!

 ²⁷ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all kinds of decay. ²⁸ So you, on the outside, appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. ²⁹ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, who build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous!, ³⁰ and who say: If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been their accomplices in shedding the blood of the prophets. ³¹ Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are the sons of those who killed the prophets. ³² Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. ³³ Snakes, brood of vipers, how will you avoid being condemned to hell? ³⁴ Therefore, I am sending you prophets, wise men, and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify, others you will beat with clubs in your synagogues, and you will pursue them from town to town. ³⁵ so that on you may fall all the innocent blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Barachiah, whom you killed between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I tell you, all this will come upon this generation.

Your temple is left deserted.

³⁷ Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. ³⁸ Behold, your temple is left to you deserted. ³⁹ For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, »Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

Matthew 24

Signs of the end of the world

¹ As Jesus was leaving the temple, his disciples approached him to point out its buildings. ² But he answered them, «Do you see all these buildings? Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.» ³ When he sat down on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him, and they were alone with him. They asked, «Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?» ⁴ Jesus answered them, «Beware lest anyone deceive you. ⁵ For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will deceive many. ⁶ You will hear of wars and rumors of wars; do not be troubled by them, for these things must happen, but the end is not yet.

Plagues, famines and earthquakes

⁷ Nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom, and there will be plagues, famines, and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All of this will only be the beginning of the pain. ⁹ Then they will hand you over to be tortured and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. ¹⁰ Then many will fail, they will betray and hate each other. ¹¹ And many false prophets will arise and deceive a great number of people. ¹² And because of the increasing progress of iniquity, the charity of many will grow cold.

Whoever perseveres to the end will be saved

¹³ But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ This gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. ¹⁵ «When you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (and let the reader understand), ¹⁶ while those in Judea flee to the mountains, ¹⁷ and let the one who is on the roof not come down to take what he has in his house, ¹⁸ and let him who is in the fields not return to get his garment. ¹⁹ Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are breastfeeding in those days. ²⁰ Pray that your escape does not occur in winter, nor on a Sabbath day., ²¹ for then there will be such great distress as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, and never will be again.

These days will be shortened because of the elected officials.

²² And if those days were not shortened, no one would escape; but for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened. ²³ So if someone tells you, 'Here is the Christ,' or 'There he is,' do not believe it. ²⁴ For false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ There you have it, I told you so. ²⁶ So if they tell you, 'Here he is in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is in the innermost part of the house,' do not believe it. ²⁷ For as lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ²⁸ Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

The sign of the Son of Man will appear

²⁹ Immediately after the days of their affliction, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the tribes of the earth will beat their breasts, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with great power and great majesty. ³¹ And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

A comparison taken from the fig tree

³² «"Listen to a comparison taken from the fig tree. As soon as its branches become tender, and it puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³ So when you see all these things, you will know that the Son of Man is near, that he is at the door. ³⁴ I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass away until all these things happen. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. ³⁶ As for the day and the hour, no one knows them, not even the angels in heaven, but only the Father. ³⁷ As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ And they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away: so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰ So, of two men who will be in a field, one will be taken, the other left, ⁴¹ of two women who will be ground at the millstone, one will be taken, the other left.

Be vigilant, be ready

⁴² Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know when your Lord will come. ⁴³ Know this well: if the father of the family knew what time the thief was coming, he would be vigilant and would not let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. ⁴⁵ Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that servant whom his master finds so doing when he returns. ⁴⁷ Truly I tell you, he will establish it over all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But if that servant is wicked and says to himself, “My master is taking a long time to come,”, ⁴⁹ He began to beat his companions, and to eat and drink with people who were fond of wine., ⁵⁰ The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him, and at an hour he does not know., ⁵¹ And he will have him torn with blows, and assign him his place with the hypocrites: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth there.»

Matthew 25

Parable of the Foolish Virgins

¹ «Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.”. ² There were five who were crazy and five who were wise. ³ The five foolish women, having taken their lamps, did not take any oil with them., ⁴ But the wise men took oil in their vessels along with their lamps. ⁵ As the husband was late in coming, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. ⁶ In the middle of the night, a cry went up: Here is the bridegroom coming, go out to meet him. ⁷ Then all the virgins got up and prepared their lamps. ⁸ And the foolish ones said to the wise ones, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.”. ⁹ The wise men replied: Lest there not be enough for us and for you, go rather to those who sell it, and buy some for yourselves. ¹⁰ But while they were going to buy some, the bridegroom arrived, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding hall, and the door was shut. ¹¹ Later, the other virgins also came, saying, "Lord, Lord, open to us.". ¹² He answered them, “Truly I tell you, I do not know you.”. ¹³ Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

Parable of the Talents

¹⁴ For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.¹⁵ To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, according to each one's ability, and he departed immediately. ¹⁶ The one who had received five talents went away and put them to good use, and gained five more. ¹⁷Similarly, the one who had received two, won two more. ¹⁸ But the one who had received only one went and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money there. ¹⁹ A long time later, the master of these servants returned and made them give an account. ²⁰ The one who had received five talents came forward and presented him with five more, saying, “Master, you entrusted me with five talents; see, here are five more that I have gained.”. ²¹ His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; because you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”. ²² The one who had received two talents also came and said, “Master, you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.”. ²³ His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; because you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”. ²⁴ Approaching in turn, the one who had received only one talent said, “Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not winnowed.”. ²⁵ I was afraid, and I hid your talent in the ground; here it is, I am returning to you what is yours. ²⁶ His master answered him, “You wicked, lazy servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not winnowed?”, ²⁷ So you had to take my money to the bankers, and, on my return, I would have withdrawn what belonged to me with interest. ²⁸ Take that talent away from him, and give it to the one who has ten. ²⁹ For to him who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰ And throw that useless servant into the outer darkness: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats

³¹ When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² And, with all the nations gathered before him, he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ And he will place the sheep on his right, and the goats on his left.

Come, you blessed of my Father!

³⁴ Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world.”. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶ Naked, and you clothed me; sick, and you visited me; in prison, and you came to me. ³⁷ The righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?” ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger, and take you in, naked, and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison, and come to you? ⁴⁰ And the King will answer them, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”.

Cursed ones, go to the eternal fire

⁴¹ Then, addressing those on his left, he will say: Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger, and you did not take me in; naked, and you did not clothe me; sick and in prison, and you did not visit me. ⁴⁴ Then they too will say to him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?” ⁴⁵ And he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”. ⁴⁶ And these will go away to eternal torment, but the righteous to eternal life.»

Matthew 26

Jesus prophesies his crucifixion

¹ When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples: ² «You know that the Passover is in two days, and that the Son of Man is going to be handed over to be crucified.» ³ Then the Princes of the priests and the Elders of the people gathered in the court of the high priest, called Caiaphas, ⁴ And they plotted how they might seize Jesus by trickery and kill him. ⁵ «"But," they said, "it must not be during the festival, lest there be some tumult among the people."»

A woman pours perfume on Jesus

⁶ While Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, ⁷ A woman approached him with an alabaster vase containing very expensive perfume, and while he was at the table, she poured the perfume over his head. ⁸ Seeing this, the disciples said indignantly, "What good is this loss?" ⁹ We could have sold this perfume at a very high price and given the proceeds to the poor.» ¹⁰ Jesus, having noticed this, said to them, «Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a good thing for me. ¹¹ For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me. ¹² By spreading this perfume on my body, she did it for my burial. ¹³ Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she did will be recounted in her memory.»

Judas's betrayal

¹⁴ Then one of the Twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests, ¹⁵ and said to them, "What are you willing to give me and I will deliver it to you?" And they counted out thirty pieces of silver to him. ¹⁶ From that moment on, he sought a favorable opportunity to betray Jesus. ¹⁷ On the first day of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, «Where do you want us to prepare the Passover meal?» ¹⁸ Jesus answered them, «Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, »The Teacher says: My time is near; I will celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’” ¹⁹ The disciples did as Jesus had commanded them, and they prepared the Passover. ²⁰ When evening came, he sat down to eat with the Twelve.

It would have been better if Judas had not been born

²¹ While they were eating, he said, "Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me."« ²² They were deeply saddened, and each one began to say to him, "Is it I, Lord?"« ²³ He replied: "Whoever has dipped their hand into the dish with me will betray me.". ²⁴ The Son of Man will go as it is written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him if that man had not been born.» ²⁵ Judas, who betrayed him, spoke up and said, "Is it I, Master?" "You have said so," replied Jesus.

This is my body, this is my blood

²⁶ During the meal, Jesus took the bread, and after saying a blessing, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, «Take and eat; this is my body.» ²⁷ Then he took the cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them, saying, «Drink from it, all of you: ²⁸ for this is my blood, the blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹ I tell you, I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.»

Jesus prophesies Peter's denial

³⁰ After the singing of the hymn, they went to the Mount of Olives. ³¹ Then Jesus said to them, «This very night I will cause all of you to stumble, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’. ³² But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.» ³³ Peter, speaking up, said to him, «Even if you cause everyone to stumble, you never will cause me to stumble.» ³⁴ Jesus said to him, «Truly I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.» ³⁵ Peter answered him, «Even if I have to die with you, I will not deny you.» And all the other disciples said the same.

Agony in Gethsemane

 ³⁶ Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, «Sit here while I go over there and pray.» ³⁷ Having taken with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to feel sorrow and anguish.

My soul is sad unto death

³⁸ And he said to them, «My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death; stay here and keep watch with me.» ³⁹ And going a little farther, he bowed down with his face to the ground, praying and saying, «My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.» ⁴⁰ He then came to his disciples, and finding them asleep, he said to Peter, «So you could not watch with me for one hour. ⁴¹ Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.» ⁴² He withdrew a second time and prayed thus: "My Father, if this cup cannot pass away unless I drink it, may your will be done."« ⁴³ When he came again, he found them still asleep, for their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ He left them, and went away to pray for the third time, saying the same words. ⁴⁵ Then he returned to his disciples and said to them, «Sleep now and rest, for the hour is near when the Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ "Get up, come on, the one who betrays me is near here."»

Jesus' arrest because of Judas

⁴⁷ He was still speaking when Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, and with him a large troop of men armed with swords and clubs, sent by the chief priests and the elders of the people. ⁴⁸ The traitor had given them this sign: "The one I kiss is him, arrest him."« ⁴⁹ And immediately, approaching Jesus, he said, "Greetings, Master," and he kissed him. ⁵⁰ Jesus said to him, «Friend, why are you here?» At the same time, they came forward, laid hands on Jesus, and seized him. ⁵¹ And behold, one of those who were with Jesus, drawing his sword, struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. ⁵² Then Jesus said to him, «Put your sword back in its place, for all who draw the sword will perish by the sword.”.

May the oracles of the prophets be fulfilled.

⁵³ Do you think I cannot pray to my Father right now, who would give me more than twelve legions of angels? ⁵⁴ How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which testify that it must happen this way?» ⁵⁵ At the same time, Jesus said to the crowd, «Have you come out as to a thief, with swords and clubs to arrest me? Every day I sat among you in the temple courts teaching, and you did not seize me, ⁵⁶ But all this was done so that the words of the prophets might be fulfilled.» Then all the disciples deserted him and fled. ⁵⁷ Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders of the people had gathered. ⁵⁸ Peter followed him at a distance to the courtyard of the high priest, entered, and sat with the servants to see the end. ⁵⁹ However, the chief priests and the entire council were seeking false testimony against Jesus in order to have him put to death., ⁶⁰ And they found none, although several false witnesses had come forward. Finally, two came. ⁶¹ who said, "This man said, 'I can destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.'"«

Jesus declares his divinity

⁶² The high priest stood up and said to Jesus, «Have you nothing to say to the charges these men are bringing against you?» ⁶³ Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, «I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God?» ⁶⁴ Jesus answered him, «You have said so; moreover, I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Almighty and coming on the clouds of heaven.» ⁶⁵ Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, «He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? You have just heard his blasphemy!” ⁶⁶ "What do you think?" They replied, "He deserves to die."» ⁶⁷ Then they spat in his face, and punched him, others slapped him, ⁶⁸ saying, "Christ, guess who hit you."«

Peter's Denial and Tears

⁶⁹ However, Peter was outside, sitting in the courtyard. A servant girl approached him and said, "You also were with Jesus of Galilee."« ⁷⁰ But he denied it in front of everyone, saying, "I don't know what you mean."« ⁷¹ As he was heading towards the vestibule to leave, another servant girl saw him and said to those who were there, "This man was also with Jesus of Nazareth."« ⁷² And Peter denied it a second time under oath: "I do not know this man."« ⁷³ Shortly afterward, those who were there approached Peter and said to him, "Surely you are one of them, for your very speech gives you away."« ⁷⁴ Then he began to curse and swear that he did not know this man. Immediately the rooster crowed. ⁷⁵ And Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken to him: «Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times,» and he went out and wept bitterly.

Matthew 27

Judas's suicide

¹ Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people held a council against Jesus to put him to death. ² And, having bound him, they led him away and handed him over to the governor Pontius Pilate. ³ Then Judas, who had betrayed him, seeing that he was condemned, was moved with repentance, and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the Chief Priests and the Elders, ⁴ saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." They replied, "What is that to us? That's your problem."« ⁵ Then, having thrown the silver coins into the Sanctuary, he withdrew and went and hanged himself. ⁶ But the chief priests gathered up the money and said, "It is not permitted to put it into the sacred treasury, since it is blood money."« ⁷ And, after consulting among themselves, they used this money to buy the Potter's field for the burial of strangers. ⁸ That is why this field is still called the Field of Blood today. ⁹ Then was fulfilled the word of the prophet Jeremiah: «They received thirty pieces of silver, the price of him whose value the children of Israel had determined, ¹⁰ and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me.»

«"Are you the king of the Jews?"»

¹¹ Jesus appeared before the governor, and the governor questioned him, saying, «Are you the king of the Jews?» Jesus answered him, «You say so.» ¹² But he did not respond to the accusations of the Princes of the Priests and the Elders. ¹³ Then Pilate said to him, "Do you not hear how many things they are accusing you of?"« ¹⁴ But he did not answer any of his grievances, so the governor was greatly astonished. ¹⁵ At each Easter festival, the governor used to release a prisoner, the one the crowd demanded. ¹⁶ Now they had a famous prisoner at that time, named Barabbas. ¹⁷ Pilate, having summoned the people, said to him, «Which one do you want me to deliver to you, Barabbas or Jesus who is called Christ?» ¹⁸ Because he knew that it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over. ¹⁹ While he was sitting on his tribunal, his wife sent word to him: "Let there be nothing between you and that righteous man, for I have been greatly troubled today in a dream because of him."«

The Princes of the Priests persuade the people

²⁰ But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the people to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. ²¹ The governor addressed them, saying, "Which of the two do you want me to release for you?" They replied, "Barabbas."« ²² Pilate said to them, «What then shall I do with Jesus, who is called Christ?» ²³ They answered him, "Let him be crucified!" The governor said to them, "What evil has he done?" And they shouted all the louder, "Let him be crucified!"« ²⁴ Pilate, seeing that he was gaining nothing, but that the uproar was increasing, took water and washed his hands in front of the people, saying, «I am innocent of this righteous man’s blood; you are the ones who must answer for it.» ²⁵ And all the people said, "His blood be on us and on our children."«

Flagellation and Crowning with Thorns

²⁶ Then he released Barabbas to them, and after having Jesus flogged, he handed him over to be crucified. ²⁷ The governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium, and they gathered the whole cohort around him. ²⁸ Having stripped him of his clothes, they threw a scarlet cloak over him. ²⁹ They twisted together a crown of thorns and placed it on his head. They also put a reed in his right hand and, kneeling before him, mocked him, saying, «Hail, King of the Jews.» ³⁰ They also spat in his face, and taking the reed, they struck his head with it. ³¹ After mocking him in this way, they took off his cloak, put his own clothes back on him, and led him away to be crucified.

Stations of the Cross and Crucifixion

³² As they went out, they met a man from Cyrene named Simon, whom they compelled to carry Jesus' cross. ³³ Then, having arrived at the place called Golgotha, that is, the place of the Skull, ³⁴ They gave him wine mixed with gall to drink, but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. ³⁵ When they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots, so that what was spoken through the Prophet might be fulfilled: «They divided my garments among themselves, and for my robe they cast lots.» ³⁶ And, having sat down, they kept watch over him. ³⁷ Above his head they placed a sign indicating the reason for his execution: "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews."« ³⁸ At the same time, two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and the other on his left. ³⁹ And passersby insulted him, shaking their heads. ⁴⁰ and saying, «You who destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!» ⁴¹ The Princes of the Priests, along with the Scribes and the Elders, also mocked him and said: ⁴² «"He saved others, and he cannot save himself. If he is the king of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in him.".

Jesus dies on the cross

⁴³ He trusted in God; if God loves him, let him deliver him now, for he said, »I am the Son of God.” ⁴⁴ The brigands who were crucified with him insulted him in the same way. ⁴⁵ From the sixth hour until the ninth hour, there was darkness over all the land. ⁴⁶ About the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, «Eli, Eli, lamma sabachthani, that is, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?» ⁴⁷ Some of those who were there, having heard it, said, "He is calling for Elijah."« ⁴⁸ And immediately one of them ran to get a sponge, filled it with vinegar, and, having put it on the end of a reed, offered it to him to drink. ⁴⁹ The others said, "Leave it, let's see if Elijah will come to save him."« ⁵⁰ Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up his spirit.

Miracles at the death of Jesus

⁵¹ And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom; the earth shook, the rocks split, ⁵² The tombs opened, and several saints, whose bodies were lying there, were resurrected. ⁵³ Having come out of their tomb, they entered the holy city after the resurrection of Jesus and appeared to many. ⁵⁴ The centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and all that was happening, were terrified and exclaimed, «Truly this man was the Son of God!» ⁵⁵ There were also several women there watching from a distance; they had followed Jesus from Galilee to serve him. ⁵⁶ Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. ⁵⁷ In the evening, a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus, arrived. ⁵⁸ He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. And Pilate ordered that it be given to him.

Joseph of Arimathea offers his tomb to Jesus

⁵⁹ Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a white shroud, ⁶⁰ and placed it in the new tomb, which he had cut out of the rock for himself, and then, having rolled a large stone to the entrance of the tomb, he went away. ⁶¹ Now Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb. ⁶² The next day, which was Saturday, the chief priests and the Pharisees went together to Pilate, ⁶³ and said to him, «Lord, we remember that this deceiver, while he was still alive, said: After three days I will rise again, ⁶⁴ Therefore, order that his tomb be guarded until the third day, lest his disciples come and steal the body and tell the people, »He has risen from the dead.” This last deception would be worse than the first.» ⁶⁵ Pilate replied, "You have a guard; go, guard him as you see fit."« ⁶⁶ So they went away and secured the tomb by sealing the stone and placing guards there.

Matthew 28

Jesus rises from the dead

¹ After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to visit the tomb. ² And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³ Its appearance was like lightning, and its garment was white as snow. ⁴ At the sight of him, the guards were struck with terror and became as if dead. ⁵ And the angel, addressing the women, said: «Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where the Lord was laid., ⁷ »And go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead. Look, he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, as I have told you.”

Jesus appears to women

⁸ Immediately they came out of the tomb with fear and great joy, and they ran to tell the disciples. ⁹ And behold, Jesus stood before them and said to them, «Greetings.» And they came up and kissed his feet, and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, «Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.» ¹¹ While they were on their way, some of the guards came into the city and told the Princes of the priests everything that had happened. ¹² They gathered the Elders, and, having held council, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, ¹³ telling them, «Proclaim that his disciples came by night and took him away while you were sleeping. ¹⁴ And if the governor finds out, we will appease him and protect you.» ¹⁵ The soldiers took the money and did as they were told, and the rumor they spread is still repeated among the Jews today.

Jesus mentions the Holy Trinity

¹⁶ The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain that Jesus had indicated to them. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they adored him, they who had hesitated to believe. ¹⁸ And Jesus came to them and said, «All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.»