McCracken New Testament Reading; 6-10 Matthew 12:1 - Matthew 21:46

You The Gospel according to Matthew chapter 12 controversy once about that time Jesus took a walk on the Sabbath through the corn fields and his disciples feeling hungry began to pluck some years of corn and eat them. The Pharisees noticed this and said to him, look, your disciples are doing something which is forbidden on the Sabbath. He

answered, have you not read what David did when he and his men were hungry? He went into the house of God and ate the consecrated loaves, though neither he nor his men had a right to eat them but only the priests. Or have you not read in the low that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and it is not held against them? I tell you, there is something greater than the temple here. If you had known what that text means, I require mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of man is sovereign over the Sabbath. He went on to another place and entered their synagogue. A man was there with a withered arm and they

asked Jesus, is it permitted to heal on the Sabbath? Their aim was to frame a charge against him. But he said to them, suppose you had one sheep which fell into a ditch on the Sabbath, is that one of you who would not catch hold of it and lift it out and surely a man is worth far more than a sheep? It is therefore permitted to do good on the Sabbath, turning to the man he said, stretch out your arm. He stretched it out and it was made sound again like the other. But the Pharisees on leaving the synagogue laid a plot to do away with him. Jesus was aware of it and withdrew. Many followed and he cured all who were ill and he gave strict injunctions that they were not to make him known. This was in fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy.

Here is my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved, on whom my favour rests. I will put my spirit upon him and he will proclaim judgment among the nations. He will not strive. He will not shout nor will his voice be heard in the streets. He will not snap off the broken reed nor snuff out the smoldering wick until he leads justice on to victory. In him the nations shall place their hope. Then they brought him a man who was possessed. He was blind and dumb. And Jesus cured him, restoring both speech and sight. The bystanders were all amazed and the word went round. Can this be the Son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said,

it is only by Beelzebub, Prince of Devils, that this man drives the devils out. He knew what was in their minds, so he said to them, every kingdom divided against itself goes to ruin, and no town, no household that is divided against itself, can stand. And if it is Satan who casts out Satan, Satan is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? And if it is by Beelzebub that I cast out devils? By whom do your own people drive them out? If this is your argument, they themselves will refute you. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out the devils, then be sure the kingdom of God has already come upon you. Or again, how can anyone break into a strong man's house and make off with his goods,

unless he has first tied the strong man up before ransacking the house? He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. And so I tell you this, no sin, no slander is beyond forgiveness for man, except slander spoken against the Spirit, and that will not be forgiven. Any man who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But if anyone speaks against the Holy Spirit, for him there is no forgiveness, either in this age or in the age to come. Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad, you can tell a tree by its fruit, you viper's brood.

How can your words be good when you yourselves are evil, for the words that the mouth come from the overflowing of the heart? A good man produces good from the store of good within himself, and an evil man from evil within produces evil. I tell you this, there is not a thoughtless word that comes from men's lips, but they will have to account for it on the day of judgment. For out of your own mouth, you will be acquitted, out of your own mouth, you will be condemned. At this some of the doctors of the law and the Pharisees said, master, we should like you to show us a sign. He answered, it is a wicked, godless generation that asks for a sign, and the only sign that will be given it is the sign of the prophet Jonah. Jonah was in the sea

monster's belly for three days and three nights, and in the same way the son of man will be three days and three nights in the bowels of the earth. At the judgment, when this generation is on trial, the man of Nineveh will appear against it, and ensure its condemnation for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and what is here is greater than Jonah. The queen of the south will appear at the judgment when this generation is on trial, and ensure its condemnation, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and what is here is greater than Solomon. When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it wanders over the deserts seeking a resting place, and finding none, it says, I will go back to the home I left. So it returns, and finds the house

unoccupied, swept clean and tidy, off it goes, and collects seven other spirits, more wicked than itself, and they all come in and settle down, and in the end the man's plight is worse than before. That is how it will be with this wicked generation. He was still speaking to the crowd when his mother and brothers appeared. They stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone said, your mother and your brothers are here outside, they want to speak to you. Jesus turned to the man who brought the message and said, who is my mother, who are my brothers, and pointing to the disciples, he said,

here are my mother and my brothers, whoever does the will of my Heavenly Father is my brother, my sister, my mother. That same day Jesus went out and said beside the lake, where so many people gathered around him, that he had to get into a boat, he sat there, and all the people stood on the shore. He spoke to them in parables at some length. He said, a saw went out to saw, and as he sawed, some seed fell along the footpath, and the birds came and ate it up. Some seed fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprouted quickly, because it had no depth of earth. But when the sun rose, the young corn was scorched,

and as it had no root, it withered away. Some seed fell among thistles, and the thistles shot up and choked the corn, and some of the seed fell into good soil, where it bore fruit, yielding a hundredfold, or it might be sixtyfold or thirtyfold. If you have years, then here. The disciples went up to him and asked, why do you speak to them in parables? He replied, it has been granted to you to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. But to those others, it has not been granted. For the man who has will be given more, till he has enough and to spare. And the man who has not will forfeit even what he has. That is why I speak to them in parables. For they look without seeing, and listen without hearing,

or understanding. There is a prophecy of Isaiah, which is being fulfilled for them. You will hear and hear, but never understand. You will look and look, but never see. For this people has grown gross at heart. Their ears are dull, and their eyes are closed. Otherwise, their eyes might see. Their ears hear, and their heart understand, and then they might turn again, and I would heal them. But happy are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear, many prophets and saints, I tell you, desired to see, what you now see, yet never saw it, to hear what you hear, yet never heard it. You then may hear the parable of the saw. When a man hears the word that tells of the kingdom,

but fails to understand it, the evil one comes, and carries off what has been sown in his heart. There you have the seed sown along the footpath. The seed sown on rocky ground stands for the man who, on hearing the word, accepts it at once with joy. But as it strikes no root in him, he has no staying power, and when there is trouble or persecution on account of the word, he falls away at once. The seed sown among thistles represents the man who hears the word, but worldly cares, and the false clamor of wealth choke it, and it proves barren. But the seed that fell into good soil is the man who hears the word, and understands it, who accordingly bears fruit, and heals a hundredfold, or it may be sixtyfold, or thirtyfold.

The lesson concludes at chapter 13, verse 23. The gospel according to Matthew chapter 13, verse 24. Here is another parable that he put before them. The kingdom of heaven is like this. A man soared his field with good seed, but while everyone was asleep, his enemy came,

soared down all among the wheat and made off. When the corn sprouted and began to fill out, the down all could be seen among it. The farmer's mane went to their master and said, Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? Then where has the darnal come from? This is an enemy's doing, he replied. Well then they said, shall we go and gather the darnal? No, he answered. In gathering it you might pull up the wheat at the same time, let them both grow together till harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, gather the darnal first, and tie it in bundles for burning, then collect the wheat into my barn.

And this is another parable that he put before them. The kingdom of heaven is like mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field. As a seed, mustard is smaller than any other, but when it has grown it is bigger than any garden plant. It becomes a tree big enough for the birds to come and roast among its branches. He told them also this parable. The kingdom of heaven is like yeast, which a woman took and mixed with half a hundred width of flour till it was all leavened. In all this teaching to the crowds, Jesus spoke in parables. In fact, he never spoke to them without a parable. Thus making good the prophecy of Isaiah, I will open my mouth in parables.

I will utter things kept secret since the world was made. He then dismissed the people and went into the house where his disciples came to him and said, explain to us the parable of the darnal in the field. And this was his answer. The soar of the good seed is the son of man. The field is the world. The good seed stands for the children of the kingdom, the darnal for the children of the evil one. The enemy who sowed the darnal is the devil. The harvest is the end of time. The reapers are angels. As the darnal then is gathered up and burnt. So at the end of time, the son of man will send out his angels, who will gather out of his kingdom, everything that causes offense, and all whose deeds are

evil, and these will be thrown into the blazing furnace, the place of wailing and grinding of teeth. And then the righteous will shine as brightly as the sun in the kingdom of their father. If you have ears, then here. The kingdom of heaven is like treasure lying buried in a field. The man who found it buried it again, and for sheer joy went and sold everything he had and bought that field. Here is another picture of the kingdom of heaven, a merchant looking out for fine perils found one of very special value. So he went and sold everything he had and bought it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net, let down into the sea, where fish of every kind were

caught in it. When it was full, it was dragged ashore. Then the man sat down and collected the good fish into pales and threw the worthless away. That is how it will be at the end of time. The angels will go forth and they will separate the wicked from the good and throw them into the blazing furnace, the place of wailing and grinding of teeth. Have you understood all this? He asked and they answered, yes. He said to them, when therefore a teacher of the law has become a learner in the kingdom of heaven, he is like a house holder who can produce from his store, both the new and the old. When he had finished these parables, Jesus left that place and came to his hometown

where he taught the people in their synagogue, in amazement they asked, where does he get this wisdom from? And these miraculous powers, is he not the carpenter's son, is not his mother, called Mary, his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters here with us? Where then has he got all this from? So they fell foul of him and this led him to say, a prophet will always be held in honor, except in his hometown and in his own family. And he did not work many miracles there, such was their want of faith. It was at that time that reports about Jesus reached the ears of Prince Herod.

This is John the Baptist, he said to his attendants, John has been raised to life, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him. For Herod had arrested John, put him in chains and thrown him into prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. For John had told him, you have no right to her. Herod would have liked to put him to death, but he was afraid of the people in whose eyes John was a prophet. But at his birth these celebrations, the daughter of Herodias danced before the guests, and Herod was so delighted that he took a note to give her anything she cared to ask. Prompted by her mother, she said, give me here on a dish, the head of John the Baptist. The king was deeply distressed when he heard it, but out of regard for his oath and for his guests,

he ordered the requests to be granted, and had John beheaded in prison. The head was brought in on a dish, and given to the girl, and she carried it to her mother. Then John's disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus. When he heard what had happened, Jesus withdrew privately by boat to a lonely place, but people heard of it and came after him in crowds by land from the towns. When he came ashore, he saw a great crowd. His heart went out to them, and he cured those of them who were sick. When it grew late, the disciples came up to him and said, this is a lonely place, and the day has gone, send the people off to the villages to buy themselves

food. He answered, there is no need for them to go, give them something to eat, yourselves. All we have here, they said, is five loaves and two fishes. Let me have them, he replied. So he told the people to sit down on the grass. Then, taking the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate to their hearts content, and the scraps left over which they picked up were enough to fill twelve great baskets. Some five thousand men shared in this meal to say nothing of women and children. Then he made the disciples embark, and go on ahead to the other side, while he sent the people away.

After doing that, he went up the hillside to pray alone. It grew late, and he was there by himself. The boat was already some far longs from the shore, battling with a headwind and a rough sea. Between three and six in the morning, he came to them, walking over the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were so shaken that they cried out in terror, it is a ghost. But at once he spoke to them, take heart, it is I, do not be afraid. Peter called to him, Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you over the water. Come, said Jesus. Peter stepped down from the boat, and walked over the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strength of the gale, he was seized with fear, and beginning to sink, he cried,

save me, Lord. Jesus, at once, reached out and caught hold of him and said, why did you hesitate? How little faith you have. Then they climbed into the boat, and the wind dropped, and the main in the boat fell at his feet, exclaiming, truly, you are the Son of God. So they finished the crossing and came to land at Genesaret. There Jesus was recognised by the people of the place, who sent out word to all the country round, and all who were ill were brought to him, and he was begged to allow them simply to touch the edge of his cloak, and everyone who touched it was completely cured. Then Jesus was approached by a group of Pharisees and lawyers from Jerusalem with the question,

why do your disciples break the old established tradition? They do not wash their hands before meals. He answered them, and what of you? Why do you break God's commandment in the interest of your tradition? For God said, honour your father and mother, and the man who curses his father or mother must suffer death. But you say, if a man says to his father or mother, anything of mine which might have been used for your benefit is set apart for God, then he must not honour his father or his mother. You have made God's law null and void out of respect for your tradition. What hypocrisy? Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you. This people pays me lip service, but their heart

is far from me. Their worship of me is in vain for they teach as doctrines, the commandments of man. He called the crowd and said to them, listen to me and understand this. A man is not defiled by what goes into his mouth, but by what comes out of it. Then the disciples came to him and said, do you know that the Pharisees have taken great offence at what you have been saying? His answer was any plant that is not of my heavenly father's planting will be rooted up, leave them alone. They are blind guides and if one blind man guides another, they will both fall into the ditch. Then Peter said, tell us what that parable means. Jesus answered, are you still as dull as the rest?

Do you not see that whatever goes in by the mouth passes into the stomach and so is discharged into the drain? But what comes out of the mouth has its origins in the heart and that is what defiles a man wicked thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, perjury, slander. These all proceed from the heart and these are the things that defile a man but to eat without first washing his hands that cannot defile him. The reading concludes at chapter 15 verse 20.

The gospel according to Matthew chapter 15 verse 21, Jesus and His disciples. Jesus then left that place and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon and a canonite woman from those parts came crying out, Sir, have pity on me son of David, my daughter is tormented by a devil but he said not a word in reply. His disciples came and urged him, send her away, see how she comes

shouting after us. Jesus replied, I was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and to them alone. But the woman came and fell at his feet and cried, help me, sir. To this Jesus replied, it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs, true sir, she answered, and yet the dogs eat the scraps that fall from their master's table. Hearing this Jesus replied, woman, what faith you have, be it as you wish. And from that moment her daughter was restored to health. After leaving that region, Jesus took the road by the sea of Galilee and went up to the hills.

When he was seated there, crowds flocked to him, bringing with them the lame, blind, dumb and crippled and many other sufferers. They flung them down at his feet and he healed them. Great was the amazement of the people when they saw the dumb speaking, the crippled, strong, the lame walking and sight restored to the blind and they gave praise to the God of Israel. Jesus called His disciples and said to them, I feel sorry for all these people. They have been with me now for three days and of nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away unfaid. They might turn faint on the way. The disciples replied, where in this lonely place, can we find bread enough to feed such a crown? How many loaves have you, Jesus asked?

Seven, they replied, and there are a few small fishes. So he ordered the people to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fishes and after giving thanks to God, he broke them and gave to the disciples and the disciples gave to the people. They all eat to their hearts content and the scraps left over which they picked up, where enough to fill seven baskets. Four thousand men shared in this meal to say nothing of women and children. He then dismissed the crowns, got into a boat and went to the neighborhood of Magadan. The Pharisees and Sadducees came and to test him, they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.

His answer was, it is a wicked generation that asks for a sign and the only sign that will be given it is the sign of Jonah. So he went off and left them. In crossing to the other side, the disciples had forgotten to take bread with them. So when Jesus said to them, beware, be on your guard against the liven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, they began to say among themselves, it is because we have brought no bread. Knowing what was in their minds, Jesus said to them, why do you talk about bringing no bread? Where is your faith? Do you not understand even yet? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand and how many basket-fuls you picked up or the seven loaves

for the four thousand and how many basket-fuls you picked up? How can you feel to see that I was not speaking about bread? Be on your guard, I said, against the liven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Then they understood they were to be on their guard, not against the beakers liven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, but against their teaching. When he came to the territory of Cisaria, Philippi, Jesus asked his disciples, who do men say that the Son of Man is? They answered, some say, John the Baptist, others Elijah, others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets, and you, he asked, who do you say I am? Simon Peter answered, you are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.

Then Jesus said, Simon, Son of Jonah, you are favored indeed. You did not learn that from mortal man. It was revealed to you by my Heavenly Father, and I say this to you, you are Peter, the rock, and on this rock I will build my church and the forces of death shall never overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. What you forbid on earth shall be forbidden in heaven, and what you allow on earth shall be allowed in heaven. He then gave his disciples strict orders not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. From that time, Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he had to go to Jerusalem,

and there to suffer much from the elders, chief priests, and lawyers, to be put to death, and to be raised again on the third day. At this Peter took him by the arm and began to rebuk him, heaven forbid he said, no Lord, this shall never happen to you. Then Jesus turned and said to Peter, away with you Satan, you are a stumbling block to me, you think as man think, not as God thinks. Jesus then said to his disciples, if anyone wishes to be a follower of mine, he must leave self behind, he must take up his cross and come with me. Whoever cares for his own safety is lost, but if a man will let himself be lost for my sake, he will find his true

self. What will a man gain by winning the whole world at the cost of his true self, or what can he give that will buy that self back? For the sin of man is to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will give each man the due reward for what he has done. I tell you this, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they have seen the Son of man coming in his kingdom. Six days later, Jesus took Peter and James, and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain where they were alone, and in their presence he was transfigured, his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became

white as the light, and they saw Moses and Elijah appear conversing with him. Then Peter spoke, Lord, he said, how good it is that we are here. If you wish it, I will make three shelters here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. While he was still speaking, a bright cloud suddenly overshadowed them, and a voice called from the cloud, this is my son, my beloved, on whom my favour rests, listen to him. At the sound of the voice, the disciples fell on their faces in terror. Jesus then came up to them, touched them and said, stand up. Do not be afraid, and when they raised their eyes, they saw no one, but only Jesus.

On their way down the mountain, Jesus enjoined them not to tell anyone of the vision, until the Son of man had been raised from the dead. The disciples put a question to him, why then do our teachers say that Elijah must come first? He replied, yes, Elijah will come and say everything right, but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they fail to recognize him, and work their will upon him, and in the same way the Son of man is to suffer at their hands. Then the disciples understood that he meant John the Baptist. When they returned to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, fell on his knees before him, and said, have pity, sir, on my son, he is an epileptic, and has bad fits,

and he keeps falling about, often into the fire, often into water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him. Jesus answered, what an unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, how much longer must I endure you, bring him here to me? Jesus then spoke sternly to the boy, the devil left him, and from that moment he was cured. Afterwards, the disciples came to Jesus and asked him privately, why could not we cast it out? He answered, your faith is too weak. I tell you this, if you have faith, no bigger even than a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, move from here to there, and it will move.

Nothing will prove impossible for you. They were going about together in Galilee, when Jesus said to them, the son of man is to be given up into the power of men, and they will kill him, then on the third day he will be raised again, and they were filled with grief. On their arrival at Capernum, the collectors of the temple tax came up to Peter and asked, does your master not pay temple tax? He does, said Peter. When he went indoors, Jesus forestalled him by asking, what do you think about this Simon? From whom do earthly monarchs collect tax or toll from their own citizens, or from aliens? From aliens, said Peter, why then said Jesus, the citizens are exempt?

But as we do not want to cause difficulty for these people, go and cast a line in the lake, take the first fish that comes to the hoop, open its mouth, and you will find a silver coin, take that, and pay it in. It will meet the tax for us both. The reading concludes at chapter 18 verse 27. The Gospel according to Matthew chapter 18 verse 1. At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

He called a child, said him in front of them, and said, I tell you this, unless you turn round and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Let a man humble himself till he is like this child, and he will be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but if a man is a cause of stumbling to one of these little ones who have faith in me, it would be better for him to have a millstone, hung round his neck, and be drowned in the depths of the sea. Alas, for the world, that such causes of stumbling arise, come, they must, but woe

beside the man through whom they come. If your hand or your foot is your undoing, cut it off, and fling it away, it is better for you to enter into life, maimed or lame, than to keep two hands or two feet, and be thrown into the eternal fire. If it is your eye, that is your undoing, tear it out, and fling it away, it is better to enter into life with one eye, than to keep both eyes and be thrown into the fires of hell. Never despise one of these little ones. I tell you, they have their guardian angels in heaven, who look continually on the face of my heavenly father. What do you think? Suppose a man has a hundred sheep, if one of them strays, does he not

leave the other ninety-nine on the hillside, and go in search of the one that strayed, and if he should find it, I tell you this. He is more delighted over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that never strayed. In the same way, it is not your heavenly father's will, that one of these little ones should be lost. If your brother commits a sin, go and take the matter up with him, strictly between yourselves, and if he listens to you, you have won your brother over. If he will not listen, take one or two others with you, so that all facts may be julie-established on the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, report the matter to the congregation, and if he will not listen even to the congregation,

you must then treat him as you would a pagan or a tax gatherer. I tell you this, whatever you forbid on earth shall be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you allow on earth shall be allowed in heaven. Again, I tell you this, if two of you agree on earth about any request you have to make, that request will be granted by my heavenly Father. For where two or three have met together in my name, I am there among them. Then Peter came up and asked him, Lord, how often am I to forgive my brother if he goes on wronging me? As many as seven times? Jesus replied, I do not say seven times. I say seventy times seven. The kingdom of heaven, that first should be thought of

in this way. There was once a king who decided to settle accounts with the men who served him. At the outset, there appeared before him a man whose debt ran into millions. Since he had no means of pay, his master ordered him to be sold to meet the date, with his wife, his children, and everything he had. The man fell prostrate at his master's feet, be patient with me, he said, and I will pay in full, and the master was so moved with pity that he let the man go and remitted the debt. But no sooner had the man gone out, than he met a fellow servant who owed him a few pounds, and catching hold of him, he gripped him by the throat and said, pay me what you owe. The man fell at his fellow servant's feet and

begged him, be patient with me, and I will pay you, but he refused and had him jailed until he should pay the debt. The other servants were deeply distressed when they saw what had happened, and they went to their master and told him the whole story. He accordingly sent for the man. You scoundrel, he said to him, I remitted the whole of your debt when you appealed to me, were you not bound to show your fellow servant the same pity as I showed to you, and so angry was the master that he condemned the man to torture, until he should pay the debt in full, and that is how my Heavenly Father will deal with you, unless you each forgive your brother from your hearts. When Jesus had finished this discourse, he left Galilee and came into the region

of Judea across Jordan. Great crowds followed him and he healed them there. Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife on any and every ground? He asked in return, have you never read that the creator made them from the beginning male and female, and he added, for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and be made one with his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. It follows that they are no longer two individuals, they are one flesh. What God has joined together, man must not separate. Why then the object did Moses lay it down that a man might divorce his wife by note of dismissal?

He answered, it was because you were so unteachable that Moses gave you permission to divorce your wives, but it was not like that when all began. I tell you, if a man divorces his wife, for any cause other than unjustity, and marries another, he commits adultery. The disciples said to him, if that is the position with husband and wife, it is better to refrain from marriage. To this he replied, that is something which not everyone can accept, but only those for whom God has appointed it. For while some are incapable of marriage, because they were born so, or were made so by men, there are others who have themselves renounced marriage

for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let those accepted who can. They brought children for him to lay his hands on them with prayer. The disciples scolded them for it, but Jesus said to them, let the children come to me. Do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these, and he laid his hands on the children and went his way. And now a man came up and asked him, master, what good must I do to gain eternal life? Good said Jesus, why do you ask me about that? One alone is good. But if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments, which commandments he asked? Jesus answered, do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not give false evidence.

Honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself. The young man answered, I have kept all these. Where do I still fall short? Jesus said to him, if you wish to go the whole way, go, sell your possessions, and give to the poor, and then you will have riches in heaven, and come, follow me. When the young man heard this, he went away with a heavy heart, for he was a man of great wealth. Jesus said to his disciples, I tell you this, a rich man will find it hard to enter the kingdom of heaven. I repeat, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. The disciples were amazed to hear this, then who can be saved,

they asked. Jesus looked them in the face and said, for men, this is impossible, but everything is possible for God. At this Peter said, here are we who left everything to become your followers. What will there be for us? Jesus replied, I tell you this, in the world that it is to be. When the son of man is seated on his throne in heavenly splendor, you, my followers, will have thrones of your own, where you will sit as judges of the twelve tribes of Israel, and anyone who has left brothers or sisters, father, mother or children, land or houses, for the sake of my name will be repaired many times over and gain eternal life, but many who are first will be last and the last first. The kingdom of heaven is like this. There was once a landowner

who went out early one morning to hire laborers for his vineyard, and after agreeing to pay them the usual day's wage, he sent them off to work. Going out three hours later, he saw some more main standing idol in the marketplace. Go and join the others in the vineyard, he sent, and I will pay you a fair wage. So off they went. At noon he went out again, and at three in the afternoon and made the same arrangement as before. An hour before sunset he went out and found another group standing there. So he said to them, why are you standing about like this all day with nothing to do? Because no one has hired us, they reply. So he told them, go and join the others in the vineyard. When evening fell, the owner of the vineyard said to his children,

call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with those who came last and ending with the first. Those who had started work an hour before sunset came forward and were paid the full day's wage. When it was the turn of the man who had come first, they expected something extra, but were paid the same amount as the others. As they took it, they grumbled at their employer. These late comers have done only one hour's work, yet you have put them on a level with us, who have sweated the whole day long in the blazing sun. The owner turned to one of them and said, my friend, I am not being unfair to you. You agreed on the usual wage for the day, did you not? Take your pay and go home. I choose to pay the last man the same as you. Surely I am free to do what

I like with my own money? Why be jealous because I am kind? Thus will the last be first and the first last. The reading concludes chapter 20 verse 16. The gospel according to Matthew chapter 20 verse 17, challenge to Jerusalem. Jesus was journeying towards Jerusalem and on the way he took the twelve aside and said to them,

we are going to Jerusalem and the son of man will be given up to the chief priests and the doctors of the law. They will condemn him to death and hand him over to the foreign power to be mocked and flogged and crucified and on the third day he will be raised to life again. The mother of Zebedee's sons then came before him with her sons. She bowed low and begged a favor. What is it you wish asked Jesus? I want you she said to give orders that in your kingdom my two sons here may sit next to you, one at your right and the other at your left. Jesus turned to the brothers and said, you do not understand what you are asking.

Can you drink the cup that I am to drink? We can, they replied. Then he said to them, you shall indeed share my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. It is for those to whom it has already been assigned by my father. When the other ten had this, they were indignant with the two brothers. So Jesus called them to him and said, you know that in the world rulers lord it over their subjects and their great men make them feel the weight of authority, but it shall not be so with you. Among you whoever wants to be great must be your servant and whoever would be first must be the willing slave of all like the son of man. He did not come to be served but to serve

and to surrender his life as a ransom for many. As they were leaving Jericho, he was followed by a great crowd of people. At the roadside said two blind men. When they heard it said that Jesus was passing, they shouted, have pity on us, son of David. The people rounded on them and told them to be quiet. But they shouted all the more, sir, have pity on us, have pity on us, son of David. Jesus stopped and called the man. What do you want me to do for you? He asked. Sir, they answered, we want our sight. Jesus was deeply moved and touched their eyes. At once their sight came back and they went on after him.

They were now nearing Jerusalem and when they reached Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples with these instructions. Go to the village opposite, where you will at once find a donkey, tethered with her fall beside her, untie them and bring them to me. If anyone speaks to you, say, our master needs them and he will let you take them at once. This was in fulfillment of the prophecy which says, tell the daughter of Zion, here is your king, who comes to you in gentleness, riding on an ass, riding on the full of a beast of burden. The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed and brought the donkey and her fall.

They laid their cloaks on them and Jesus mounted. Crowds of people carpeted the road with their cloaks and some cut branches from the trees to spread in his path. Then the crowd that went ahead and the others that came behind raised the shout, Hosanna to the Son of David, Hosanna in the heavens. When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city went wild with excitement, who is this people lost and the crowd replied, this is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee. Jesus then went into the temple and drove out all who were buying and selling in the temple precincts. He upset the tables of the money changers and the seats of the dealers' impudence

and said to them, Scripture says, My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a robber's cave. In the temple, blind men and cripples came to him and he healed them. The chief priests and doctors of the law saw the wonderful things he did and heard the boys in the temple shouting, Hosanna to the Son of David and they asked him indignantly, Do you hear what they are saying? Jesus answered, I do, have you never read that text? Laughest made children and babes at the breast sound allowed thy praise, then he left them and went out of the city to Bethany where he spent the night. Next morning on his way to the city he felt hungry and seeing

a fig tree at the roadside he went up to it but found nothing on it but leaves. He said to the tree, You shall never bear fruit anymore and the tree withered away at once. The disciples were amazed at the sight, How is it they asked that the tree has withered so suddenly? Jesus answered them, I tell you this, If only you have faith and have no doubts, you will do what has been done to the fig tree and more than that, you need only say to this mountain belifted from your place and hurled into the sea and what you say will be done and whatever you pray for in faith, you will receive. He entered the temple and the chief priests and elders of the nation came to

him with the question, By what authority are you acting like this? Who gave you this authority? Jesus replied, I have a question to ask too answer it and I will tell you by what authority I act. The baptism of John was it from God or from men? This set them arguing among themselves if we say from God he will say then why did you not believe him but if we say from men we are afraid of the people for they all take John for a prophet so they answered we do not know and Jesus said then neither will I tell you by what authority I act. But what do you think about this? A man had two sons, he went to the first and said my boy

go and work today in the vineyard, I will say the boy replied but he never went. The father came to the second and said the same I will not he replied but afterwards he changed his mind and went which of these two did as his father wished the second they said then Jesus answered I tell you this tax gatherers and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you for when John came to show you the right way to live you did not believe him but the tax gatherers and prostitutes did and even when you had seen that you did not change your minds and believe him. Listen to another parable there was a landowner who planted a vineyard

he put a wall around it, huge out a winepress and built a watchtower then he let it out to vine growers and went abroad. When the vintage season approached he sent his servants to the tenants to collect the produce due to him but they took his servants and thrashed one murdered another and stoned a third. Again he sent other servants this time a larger number and they did the same to them. At last he sent to them his son they will respect my son he said but when they saw the son the tenants sent to one another this is the heir come on let us kill him and get his inheritance and they took him flung him out of the vineyard and murdered him. When the owner of the vineyard comes

how do you think he will deal with those tenants he will bring those bad men to a bad end they answered and hand the vineyard over to other tenants who will let him have his share of the crop when the season comes then Jesus said to them have you never read in the scriptures the stone which the builders rejected has become the main cornerstone this is the Lord's doing and it is wonderful in our eyes therefore I tell you the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that yields the proper fruit. When the chief priests and Pharisees heard his parables they saw that he was referring to them they wanted to arrest him but they were afraid of the people who looked on Jesus as a prophet.

The reading concludes at chapter 21 verse 46