New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Sabbath Questions

1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the headsof grainand eat.

2 But when the Pharisees sawthis,they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.”

3 But He said to them,“Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions,

4 how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone?

5 Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent?

6 But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here.

7 But if you had known what this means, ‘Idesire compassion,and not a sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

Lord of the Sabbath

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

9 Departing from there, He went into their synagogue.

10 And a manwas therewhose hand was withered. And they questioned Jesus, asking, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse Him.

11 And He said to them,“What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out?

12 How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, 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 normal, like the other.

14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him,as tohow they might destroy Him.

15 But Jesus, aware ofthis,withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all,

16 and warned them not to tell who He was.

17 This wasto fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

18 “Behold, MyServant whomIhave chosen;

MyBeloved in whomMy souliswell-pleased;

Iwill putMySpirit uponHim,

AndHe shall proclaim justice to theGentiles.

19 He will not quarrel,nor cry out;

Nor will anyone hearHis voice in the streets.

20 Abattered reedHe will not break off,

And a smoldering wickHe will not put out,

UntilHe leads justice to victory.

21 And inHis name theGentiles will hope.”

The Pharisees Rebuked

22 Then a demon-possessed manwho wasblind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw.

23 All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?”

24 But when the Pharisees heardthis,they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

25 And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them,“Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand.

26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?

27 If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons castthemout? For this reason they will be your judges.

28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

29 Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strongman?And then he will plunder his house.

The Unpardonable Sin

30 He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

31 “Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.

32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in theageto come.

Words Reveal Character

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit.

34 You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.

35 The good man brings out ofhisgood treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out ofhisevil treasure what is evil.

36 But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.

37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The Desire for Signs

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”

39 But He answered and said to them,“An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; andyetno sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet;

40 for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

41 The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

42 TheQueen oftheSouth will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will 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.

43 “Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not findit.

44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it findsitunoccupied, swept, and put in order.

45 Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

Changed Relationships

46 While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him.

47 Someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.”

48 But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said,“Who is My mother and who are My brothers?”

49 And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said,“Behold My mother and My brothers!

50 For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/MAT/12-303f118460462bbdc1e28b2edb073ba5.mp3?version_id=100—

Jesus Teaches in Parables

1 That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea.

2 And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.

3 And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying,“Behold, the sower went out to sow;

4 and as he sowed, someseedsfell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.

5 Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil.

6 But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

7 Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out.

8 And others fell on the good soil and *yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.

9 He who has ears, let him hear.”

An Explanation

10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

11 Jesus answered them,“To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.

12 For whoever has, to himmoreshall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.

13 Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

14 In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

‘You will keep on hearing,but will not understand;

You will keep on seeing,but will not perceive;

15 For the heart of this people has become dull,

With their ears they scarcely hear,

And they have closed their eyes,

Otherwise they would see with their eyes,

Hear with their ears,

And understand with their heart and return,

AndIwould heal them.’

16 But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.

17 For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not seeit,and to hear what you hear, and did not hearit.

The Sower Explained

18 “Hear then the parable of the sower.

19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evilonecomes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.

20 The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;

21 yet he has nofirmroot in himself, but isonlytemporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.

22 And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

23 And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

Tares among Wheat

24 Jesus presented another parable to them, saying,“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.

25 But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowedtares among the wheat, and went away.

26 But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.

27 The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’

28 And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’

29 But he *said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.

30 Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

The Mustard Seed

31 He presented another parable to them, saying,“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field;

32 and this is smaller than allotherseeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so thatthe birds of the aircome andnest in its branches.”

The Leaven

33 He spoke another parable to them,“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”

34 All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable.

35 This wasto fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

“Iwill openMy mouth in parables;

Iwill utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”

The Tares Explained

36 Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”

37 And He said,“The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,

38 and the field is the world; andas forthe good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evilone;

39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.

40 So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age.

41 The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness,

42 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

43 Thenthe righteous will shine forth as the sunin the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

Hidden Treasure

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hidagain;and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

A Costly Pearl

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls,

46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

A Dragnet

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gatheringfishof every kind;

48 and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the goodfishinto containers, but the bad they threw away.

49 So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous,

50 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

51 “Have you understood all these things?”They *said to Him, “Yes.”

52 And Jesus said to them,“Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

Jesus Revisits Nazareth

53 When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there.

54 He came to His hometown andbeganteaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Wheredidthis mangetthis wisdom andthesemiraculous powers?

55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?

56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where thendidthis mangetall these things?”

57 And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them,“A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in hisownhousehold.”

58 And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/MAT/13-458bb19b24c028ee4646f46ec10e1870.mp3?version_id=100—

John the Baptist Beheaded

1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus,

2 and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

3 For when Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip.

4 For John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”

5 Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded John as a prophet.

6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced beforethemand pleased Herod,

7 somuchthat he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked.

8 Having been prompted by her mother, she *said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”

9 Although he was grieved, the king commandeditto be given because of his oaths, and because of his dinner guests.

10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison.

11 And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.

12 His disciples came and took away the body and buried it; and they went and reported to Jesus.

Five Thousand Fed

13 Now when Jesus heardabout John,He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heardof this,they followed Him on foot from the cities.

14 When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.

15 When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”

16 But Jesus said to them,“They do not need to go away; you give themsomethingto eat!”

17 They *said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”

18 And He said,“Bring them here to Me.”

19 Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessedthe food,and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciplesgave themto the crowds,

20 and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets.

21 There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.

Jesus Walks on the Water

22 Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away.

23 After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.

24 But the boat was alreadya long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary.

25 And in thefourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea.

26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear.

27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying,“Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”

28 Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”

29 And He said,“Come!”And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.

30 But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

31 Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him,“You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

32 When they got into the boat, the wind stopped.

33 And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly God’s Son!”

34 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret.

35 And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sentwordinto all that surrounding district and brought to Him all who were sick;

36 and they implored Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as toucheditwere cured.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/MAT/14-bd3c85afa408cb0afa0d7f1ff9cfb5e1.mp3?version_id=100—

Tradition and Commandment

1 Then some Pharisees and scribes *came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,

2 “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”

3 And He answered and said to them,“Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?

4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother is to be put to death.’

5 But you say, ‘Whoever says tohisfather or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been givento God,”

6 he is not to honor his father or his mother.’ Andby thisyou invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

7 You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you:

8 ‘This people honorsMe with their lips,

But their heart is far away fromMe.

9 But in vain do they worshipMe,

Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’ ”

10 After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them,“Hear and understand.

11 It isnot what enters into the mouththatdefiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”

12 Then the disciples *came and *said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?”

13 But He answered and said,“Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted.

14 Let them alone; they are blind guidesof the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

The Heart of Man

15 Peter said to Him, “Explain the parable to us.”

16 Jesus said,“Are you still lacking in understanding also?

17 Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated?

18 But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.

19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.

20 These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

The Syrophoenician Woman

21 Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon.

22 And a Canaanite woman from that region came out andbeganto cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.”

23 But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.”

24 But He answered and said,“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

25 But she came andbeganto bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”

26 And He answered and said,“It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

27 But she said, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”

28 Then Jesus said to her,“O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.”And her daughter was healed at once.

Healing Crowds

29 Departing from there, Jesus went along by the Sea of Galilee, and having gone up on the mountain, He was sitting there.

30 And large crowds came to Him, bringing with themthose who werelame, crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and He healed them.

31 So the crowd marveled as they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

Four Thousand Fed

32 And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said,“I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.”

33 The disciples *said to Him, “Where would we get so many loaves inthisdesolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?”

34 And Jesus *said to them,“How many loaves do you have?”And they said, “Seven, and a few small fish.”

35 And He directed the people to sit down on the ground;

36 and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciplesgave themto the people.

37 And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large baskets full.

38 And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

39 And sending away the crowds, Jesus got into the boat and came to the region of Magadan.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/MAT/15-a8baf5818f6584750d7dff6be10bbe50.mp3?version_id=100—

Pharisees Test Jesus

1 The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven.

2 But He replied to them,“When it is evening, you say, ‘It will befair weather, for the sky is red.’

3 And in the morning, ‘There will bea storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannotdiscernthe signs of the times?

4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.”And He left them and went away.

5 And the disciples came to the other sideof the sea,but they had forgotten to bringanybread.

6 And Jesus said to them,“Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

7 They began to discussthisamong themselves, saying, “He said thatbecause we did not bringanybread.”

8 But Jesus, aware of this, said,“You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread?

9 Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many basketsfullyou picked up?

10 Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large basketsfullyou picked up?

11 How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

12 Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter’s Confession of Christ

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples,“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

14 And they said, “SomesayJohn the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”

15 He *said to them,“But who do you say that I am?”

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

17 And Jesus said to him,“Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not revealthisto you, but My Father who is in heaven.

18 I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

20 Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.

Jesus Foretells His Death

21 From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.

22 Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbidit,Lord! This shall never happen to You.”

23 But He turned and said to Peter,“Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”

Discipleship Is Costly

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples,“If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.

25 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

27 For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, andwill then repay every man according to his deeds.

28 “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/MAT/16-0319913c49a6ce89b148307a7b820222.mp3?version_id=100—

The Transfiguration

1 Six days later Jesus *took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and *led them up on a high mountain by themselves.

2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.

3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.

4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!”

6 When the disciples heardthis,they fell face down to the ground and were terrified.

7 And Jesus came tothemand touched them and said,“Get up, and do not be afraid.”

8 And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.

9 As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying,“Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.”

10 And His disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

11 And He answered and said,“Elijah is coming and will restore all things;

12 but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.”

13 Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.

The Demoniac

14 When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying,

15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.

16 I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.”

17 And Jesus answered and said,“You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.”

18 And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once.

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?”

20 And He *said to them,“Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.

21 [But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”]

22 And while they were gathering together in 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 be raised on the third day.”And they were deeply grieved.

The Tribute Money

24 When they came to Capernaum, those who collected thetwo-drachmataxcame to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the two-drachmatax?”

25 He *said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying,“What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?”

26 When Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him,“Then the sons are exempt.

27 However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will finda shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/MAT/17-bde00b69b47e7b8b96c995bae1f03279.mp3?version_id=100—

Rank in the Kingdom

1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

2 And He called a child to Himself and set him before them,

3 and said,“Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

4 Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

5 And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me;

6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Stumbling Blocks

7 “Woe to the world because ofitsstumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!

8 “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire.

9 If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.

10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.

11 [For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]

Ninety-nine Plus One

12 “What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying?

13 If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray.

14 So it is notthewill of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

Discipline and Prayer

15 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.

16 But if he does not listento you,take one or two more with you, so thatby the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed.

17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

18 Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.

19 “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.

20 For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”

Forgiveness

21 Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? 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.

23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.

24 When he had begun to settlethem,one who owed himten thousand talents was brought to him.

25 But since he did not havethe meansto repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made.

26 So the slave fellto the groundand prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’

27 And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt.

28 But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundreddenarii; and he seized him andbeganto chokehim,saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’

29 So his fellow slave fellto the groundandbeganto plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’

30 But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed.

31 So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened.

32 Then summoning him, his lord *said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.

33 Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’

34 And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him.

35 My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/MAT/18-09ff513221eb05bcf1656a6e1e3f09be.mp3?version_id=100—

Concerning Divorce

1 When Jesus had finished these words, He departed from Galilee and came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan;

2 and large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.

3 SomePharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, “Is it lawfulfor a manto divorce his wife for any reason at all?”

4 And He answered and said,“Have you not read that He who createdthemfrom the beginningmade them male and female,

5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,and the two shall become one flesh’?

6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”

7 They *said to Him, “Why then did Moses command togive her a certificate of divorce and sendheraway?”

8 He *said to them,“Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way.

9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

10 The disciples *said to Him, “If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.”

11 But He said to them,“Not all mencanaccept this statement, butonlythose 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 men; and there arealsoeunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to acceptthis,let him acceptit.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children

13 Thensomechildren were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them.

14 But Jesus said,“Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

15 After laying His hands on them, He departed from there.

The Rich Young Ruler

16 And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?”

17 And He said to him,“Why are you asking Me about what is good? There isonlyOne who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

18 Thenhe *said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said,“You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness;

19 Honor your father and mother; and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

20 The young man *said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?”

21 Jesus said to him,“If you wish to be complete, goandsell your possessions and give tothepoor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

22 But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

23 And Jesus said to His disciples,“Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

24 Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

25 When the disciples heardthis,they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?”

26 And looking atthemJesus said to them,“With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

The Disciples’ Reward

27 Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?”

28 And Jesus said to them,“Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or motheror children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.

30 But manywho arefirst will be last; andthelast, first.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/MAT/19-ec45847e415cb418dc2844eeb0c84330.mp3?version_id=100—

Laborers in the Vineyard

1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.

2 When he had agreed with the laborers for adenarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard.

3 And he went out about thethird hour and saw others standing idle in the market place;

4 and to those he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ Andsothey went.

5 Again he went out about thesixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing.

6 And about theeleventhhourhe went out and found others standingaround;and he *said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’

7 They *said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He *said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’

8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard *said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the lastgroupto the first.’

9 When thosehiredabout the eleventh hour came, each one received adenarius.

10 When thosehiredfirst came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius.

11 When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner,

12 saying, ‘These last men have workedonlyone hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’

13 But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius?

14 Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.

15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’

16 So the last shall be first, and the first last.”

Death, Resurrection Foretold

17 As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelvedisciplesaside by themselves, and on the way He said to them,

18 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death,

19 and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucifyHim,and on the third day He will be raised up.”

Preferment Asked

20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him.

21 And He said to her,“What do you wish?”She *said to Him, “Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on Your right and one on Your left.”

22 But Jesus answered,“You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?”They *said to Him, “We are able.”

23 He *said to them,“My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and onMyleft, this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.”

24 And hearingthis,the ten became indignant with the two brothers.

25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said,“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, andtheirgreat men exercise authority over them.

26 It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant,

27 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave;

28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Sight for the Blind

29 As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him.

30 And two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”

31 The crowd sternly told them to be quiet, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

32 And Jesus stopped and called them, and said,“What do you want Me to do for you?”

33 They *said to Him, “Lord,we wantour eyes to be opened.”

34 Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/MAT/20-759a8f08b1da775267e9d32f5e750af1.mp3?version_id=100—

The Triumphal Entry

1 When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,

2 saying to them,“Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tiedthereand a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me.

3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”

4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

5 “Say to the daughter ofZion,

‘Behold yourKing is coming to you,

Gentle,and mounted on a donkey,

Even on a colt,the foal of a beast of burden.’ ”

6 The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them,

7 and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats.

8 Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road.

9 The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting,

“Hosanna to the Son of David;

Blessed isHe who comes in the name of theLord;

Hosanna in the highest!”

10 When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?”

11 And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Cleansing the Temple

12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.

13 And He *said to them,“It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it arobbers’den.”

14 Andtheblind andthelame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.

15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant

16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what thesechildrenare saying?” And Jesus *said to them,“Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babiesYou have prepared praise forYourself’?”

17 And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

The Barren Fig Tree

18 Now in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry.

19 Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He *said to it,“No longer shall there ever beanyfruit from you.”And at once the fig tree withered.

20 Seeingthis,the disciples were amazed and asked, “How did the fig tree witherallat once?”

21 And Jesus answered and said to them,“Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen.

22 And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

Authority Challenged

23 When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?”

24 Jesus said to them,“I will also ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.

25 The baptism of John was from whatsource,from heaven or from men?”And theybeganreasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’

26 But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the people; for they all regard John as a prophet.”

27 And answering Jesus, they said, “We do not know.” He also said to them,“Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

Parable of Two Sons

28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’

29 And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went.

30 The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘Iwill,sir’; but he did not go.

31 Which of the two did the will of his father?”They *said, “The first.” Jesus *said to them,“Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before 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, seeingthis,did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.

Parable of the Landowner

33 “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner whoplanted a vineyard and put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it,and built a tower, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey.

34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce.

35 The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third.

36 Again he sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them.

37 But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

38 But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’

39 They took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

40 Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?”

41 They *said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at theproperseasons.”

42 Jesus *said to them,“Did you never read in the Scriptures,

‘The stone which the builders rejected,

This became the chief cornerstone;

This came about from theLord,

And it is marvelous in our eyes’?

43 Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it.

44 And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them.

46 When they sought to seize Him, they feared the people, because they considered Him to be a prophet.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/MAT/21-bef8ede7222d2fa15096908aa84a2780.mp3?version_id=100—