McCracken New Testament Reading; 2021-11-15; Matthew 22:1 - Matthew 2:28

The Gospel, according to Matthew, chapter 22 verse 1. Then Jesus spoke to them again in parables. The kingdom of heaven is like this. There was a king who prepared a feast for his son's wedding. But when he sent his servants to summon the guests he had invited, they would not come. He sent others again, telling them to say to the guests, see now, I have prepared this feast for you.

I have had my bullocks and fatted beasts slaughtered. Everything is ready. Come to the wedding at once. But they took no notice. One went off to his farm, another to his business, and the other seized the servants, attacked them brutally, and killed them. Then he said to his servants, the wedding feast is ready. But the guests I invited did not deserve the honour. Go out to the main thoroughfares, and invite everyone you can find to the wedding. The servants went out into the streets, and collected all they could find, good and bad alike, so the whole was packed with guests. When the king came in to see the company at table, he observed one man who was not dressed for a wedding.

My friend said the king, how do you come to be here without your wedding clothes? He had nothing to say. The king then said to his attendants, bind him, hand him foot, turn him out into the dark, the place of wailing and grinding of teeth. For, though many are invited, few are chosen. Then the Pharisees went and agreed on a plan to trap him in his own words. Some of their followers were sent to him, in company with men of Herod's party. They said, Master, you are an honest man, we know. You teach in all honesty the way of life that God requires, truckling to no man, whoever he may be. Give us your ruling on this. Are we, or are we not, permitted to pay taxes to the Roman Emperor?

Jesus was aware of their malicious intention and said to them, you hypocrites. Why are you trying to catch me out? Show me the money in which the tax is paid. They handed him a silver piece. Jesus asked, whose head is this? And whose inscription? Caesars, they replied. He said to them, then pay Caesar what is Jew to Caesar and pay God what is Jew to God. This answer took them by surprise and they went away and left him alone. The same day, Sadducees came to him, maintaining that there is no resurrection. Their question was this. Master Moses said, if a man should die childless, his brother shall marry the widow

and carry on his brother's family. Now we knew of seven brothers. The first married and died. And as he was without issue, his wife was left to his brother. The same thing happened with the second and the third. And so on with all seven. Last of all, the woman died. At the resurrection then, whose wife will she be? For they had all married her. Jesus answered, you are mistaken because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God. At the resurrection, men and women do not marry, but are like angels in heaven. But about the resurrection of the dead. Have you never read what God himself said to you? I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,

and the God of Jacob. He is not God of the dead, but of the living. The people heard what he said and were astounded at his teaching. Hearing that he had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees met together. And one of the number tested him with this question. Master, which is the greatest commandment in the law? He answered, love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. That is the greatest commandment. It comes first. The second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself. Everything in the law and the prophets hangs on these two commandments. Turning to the assembled Pharisees, Jesus asked them, what is your opinion about the Messiah?

Whose son is he? The son of David, they replied. How then is it he asked that David, by inspiration, calls him Lord? For he says, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet. If David calls him Lord, how can he be David's son? Not a man could say a word in reply. And from that day forward, no one dared ask him another question. Jesus then addressed the people and his disciples in these words. The doctors of the law and the Pharisees sit in the chair of Moses. Therefore do what they tell you. Pay attention to their words. But do not follow their practice. For they say one thing and do another.

They make up heavy packs and pile them on main shoulders. But will not raise a finger to lift the load themselves. Whatever they do is done for show. They go about with broad factories and wear deep fringes on their robes. They like to have places of honour at feasts and the chief seats in synagogues. To be greeted respectfully in the street and to be addressed as rabbi. But you must not be called rabbi. For you have one rabbi and you are all brothers. Do not call any man on earth father. For you have one father and he is in heaven. No must you be called teacher. You have one teacher, the Messiah. The greatest among you must be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled.

And whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Alas, alas for you lawyers and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are. You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in man's faces. You do not enter yourselves and when others are entering you stop them. Alas for you lawyers and Pharisees, hypocrites. You travel over sea and land to win one convert. And when you have won him you make him twice as fit for hell as you are yourselves. Alas for you blind guides. You see if a man swears by the sanctuary that is nothing. But if he swears by the gold in the sanctuary he is bound by his oath blind fools. Which is the more important the gold or the sanctuary which sanctifies the gold.

Or you see if a man swears by the altar that is nothing. But if he swears by the offering that lies on the altar he is bound by his oath what blindness. Which is the more important the offering or the altar which sanctifies it. To swear by the altar then is to swear both by the altar and by whatever lies on it. To swear by the sanctuary is to swear both by the sanctuary and by him who dwells there. And to swear by heaven is to swear both by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it. Alas for you lawyers and Pharisees hypocrites you pay tithes of mint and dill and tumult. But you have overlooked the weightier demands of the law justice mercy and good faith.

It is these you should have practiced without neglecting the others blind guides. You strain off a midge yet gulp down a camel. Alas for you lawyers and Pharisees hypocrites you clean the outside of cup and dish which you have filled inside by robbery and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee clean the inside of the cup. First then the outside will be clean also. Alas for you lawyers and Pharisees hypocrites you are like tombs covered with white wash. They look well from outside but inside. They are full of dead men's bones and all kinds of filth. So it is with you outside you look like honest men but inside.

You are brim full of hypocrisy and crime. Alas for you lawyers and Pharisees hypocrites you build up the tombs of the prophets and embellish the monuments of the saints. And you say if we had been alive in our father's time we should never have taken part with them in the murder of the prophets. So you acknowledge that you are the sons of the men who killed the prophets. Go on then finish off what your fathers began. You snakes, you viper's brood. How can you escape being condemned to hell? I send you there for prophets, sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify.

Others you will flog in your synagogues and hound from city to city. And so on you will fall the guilt of all the innocent blood spilled on the ground. From innocent able to Zechariah, son of Barachaya whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar, believe me. This generation will bear the guilt of it all or Jerusalem. Jerusalem, the city that murders the prophets and stones the messengers sent to her. So often have I longed to gather your children as a hen gathers her brood under her wings. But you would not let me look, look, there is your temple forsaken by God.

I tell you, you shall never see me until the time when you say blessings on him who comes in the name of the Lord. The lesson ends at chapter 23 verse 39. The gospel according to Matthew chapter 24 verse 1, prophecies and warnings. Jesus was leaving the temple when his disciples came and pointed to the temple buildings.

He answered, you see all these buildings? I tell you this, not one stone will be left upon another, all will be thrown down. When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to speak to him privately. Tell us they said, when will this happen? And what will be the signal for your coming and the end of the age? Jesus replied, take care that no one misleads you. For many will come claiming my name and saying, I am the Messiah, and many will be misled by them. The time is coming when you will hear the noise of battle near at hand and the news of battles far away. See that you are not alarmed, such things are bound to happen, but the end is still to come.

For nation will make war upon nation, kingdom upon kingdom, there will be famines and earthquakes in many places, with all these things, the birth pangs of the new age begin. You will then be handed over for punishment and execution, and many of all nations will hate you for your allegiance to me. Many will lose their faith, they will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many, and as lawlessness spreads, means love for one another will grow cold. But the man who holds out to the end will be saved, and this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the earth as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. So when you see the abomination of desolation, of which the prophet Daniel spoke, standing in the holy place, let the reader understand, then those who are in Judea must take to the hills.

If a man is on the roof, he must not come down to fetch his goods from the house. If in the field he must not turn back for his coat, alas, for women with child in those days, and for those who have children at the breast, pray that it may not be winter when you have to make your escape or Sabbath, it will be a time of great distress, such as has never been from the beginning of the world until now, and will never be again. If that time of troubles were not cut short, no living thing could survive, but for the sake of God's chosen, it will be cut short. Then, if anyone says to you, look, here is the Messiah, or there he is, do not believe it.

Impostors will come claiming to be Messiah's or prophets, and they will produce great signs and wonders to mislead even God's chosen, if such a thing were possible. See, I have forewarned you, if they tell you he is there in the wilderness, do not go out, or if they say he is there in the inner room, do not believe it, like lightning from the east, flashing as far as the west, will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. As soon as the distress of those days has passed, the Son will be darkened, the moon will not give her light, the stars will fall from the sky, the celestial powers will be shaken, then will appear in heaven the sign that heralds the Son of Man. All the peoples of the world will make lamentation, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with great power and glory.

With a trumpet blast, he will send out his angels, and they will gather his chosen from the four winds, from the farthest bounds of heaven on every side. Learn a lesson from the fig tree, when its tender shoots appear, and are breaking into leaf, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see all these things, you may know that the end is near at the very door. I tell you this, the present generation will live to see it all. Heaven and earth will pass away, my words will never pass away. But about that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, not even the Son, only the Father.

As things were in Noah's days, so will they be when the Son of Man comes in the days before the flood, they ate and drank and married, until the day that Noah went into the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away. That is how it will be when the Son of Man comes. Then there will be two men in the field, one will be taken, the other left, two women grinding at the mill, one will be taken, the other left. Keep awake then, for you do not know on what day your Lord is to come. Remember, if the householder had known at what time of night the burglar was coming, he would have kept awake and not have let his house be broken into.

Hold yourselves ready therefore, because the Son of Man will come at the time you least expect him. Who is the trusty servant? The sensible man charged by his master to manage his household staff and issue their rations at the proper time. Happy that servant, who is found at his task when his master comes. I tell you this, he will be put in charge of all his master's property, but if he is a bad servant and says to himself, the master is a long time coming and begins to bully the other servants and to eat and drink with his drunken friends, then the master will arrive on a day that servant does not expect. At a time he does not know and will cut him in pieces.

Thus he will find his place among the hypocrites, where there is wailing and grinding of teeth. When that day comes, the kingdom of heaven will be like this. There were ten girls who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five prudent. When the foolish ones took their lamps, they took no oil with them. But the others took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was late in coming, they all dozed off to sleep. But at midnight a cry was heard, here is the bridegroom, come out to meet him. With that the girls all got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the prudent, our lamps are going out, give us some of your oil.

No, they said, there will never be enough for us both. You had better go to the shop and buy some for yourselves. While they were away, the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding, and the door was shut. And then the other five came back, sir, sir, they cried, open the door for us. But he answered, I declare, I do not know you. Keep awake then, for you never know the day or the hour. It is like a man going abroad, who called his servants and put his capital in their hands. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two, to another one, each according to his capacity. Then he left the country. The man who had the five bags went at once and employed them in business and made a profit of five bags.

And the man who had two bags made two. But the man who had been given one bag of gold went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. A long time afterwards, their master returned and proceeded to settle accounts with them. The man who had been given the five bags of gold came and produced the five he had made. Master, he said, you left five bags with me. Look, I have made five more. Well done, my good and trusty servants said the master. You have proved trustworthy in a small way. I will now put you in charge of something big. Come and share your master's delight. The man with the two bags then came and said, master, you left two bags with me. Look, I have made two more. Well done, my good and trusty servants said the master. You have proved trustworthy in a small way. I will now put you in charge of something big.

Come and share your master's delight. Then the man who had been given one bag came and said, master, I knew you to be a hard man. You reap where you have not sown. You gather where you have not scattered. So I was afraid. And I went and hid your gold in the ground. Here it is. You have what belongs to you. You lazy rascals said the master. You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered. Then you ought to have put my money on deposit. And on my return I should have got it back with interest. Take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one with the ten bags. For the man who has will always be given more till he has enough and to spare.

And the man who has not will forfeit even what he has. Fling the useless servant out into the dark, the place of wailing and grinding of teeth. When the son of man comes in his glory and all the angels with him he will sit in state on his throne with all the nations gathered before him. He will separate men into two groups as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats and he will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right hand, you have my father's blessing. Come enter and possess the kingdom that has been ready for you since the world was made. For when I was hungry you gave me food.

When thirsty you gave me drink. When I was a stranger you took me into your home. When naked you clothed me. When I was ill you came to my help. When in prison you visited me then the righteous will reply, Lord when was it that we saw you hungry and fed you? Or thirsty and gave you drink? A stranger and took you home or naked and clothed you? When did we see you ill or in prison and come to visit you? And the king will answer, I tell you this, anything you did for one of my brothers here however humble you did for me. Then he will say to those on his left hand the curse is upon you. Go from my sight to the eternal fire that is ready for the devil and his angels.

For when I was hungry you gave me nothing to eat. When thirsty nothing to drink. When I was a stranger you gave me no home. When naked you did not clothed me. When I was ill and in prison you did not come to my help. And they too will reply, Lord when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison and did nothing for you? And he will answer, I tell you this, anything you did not do for one of these however humble you did not do for me and they will go away to eternal punishment but the righteous will enter eternal life. The lesson ends at chapter 25 verse 46.

The gospel according to Matthew chapter 26 verse 1, the final conflict. When Jesus had finished this discourse he said to his disciples, you know that in two days time it will be Passover and the son of man is to be handed over for crucifixion. Then the chief priests and the elders of the nation met in the palace of the high priest Caiaphas and there they conferred together on a scheme to have Jesus arrested by some trick and put to death. It must not be during the festival they said or there may be rioting among the people.

Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper when a woman came to him with a small bottle of fragrant oil very costly and as he sat at table she began to pour it over his head. The disciples were indignant when they saw it. Why this waste they said it could have been sold for a good sum and the money given to the poor. Jesus was aware of this and said to them, why must you make trouble for the woman? It is a fine thing that she has done for me. You have the poor among you always but you will not always have me when she poured this oil on my body. It was her way of preparing me for burial. I tell you this wherever in all the world this gospel is proclaimed what she has done will be told as her memorial.

Then one of the twelve, the man called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, what will you give me to betray him to you? They weighed him out 30 silver pieces. From that moment he began to look for a good opportunity to betray him. On the first day of unleavened bread, the disciples came to ask Jesus, where would you like us to prepare for your Passover supper? He answered, go to a certain man in the city and tell him, the Master says, my appointed time is near. I am to keep Passover with my disciples at your house. The disciples did as Jesus directed them and prepared for Passover.

In the evening he sat down with the twelve disciples and during supper he said, I tell you this, one of you will betray me. In grade distress they exclaimed one after the other, can you mean me, Lord? He answered, one who has dipped his hand into this bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man is going the way appointed for him in the Scriptures, but alas for that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born. Then Judas spoke the one who was to betray him. Rabbi he said, can you mean me? Jesus replied, the words are yours. During supper Jesus took bread and having said the blessing, he broke it and gave it to the disciples with the words, take this and eat.

This is my body. Then he took a cup and having offered thanks to God, he gave it to them with the words, drink from it, all of you. For this is my blood, the blood of the covenant, shed for many, for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, never again shall I drink from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in the kingdom of my Father. After singing the Passover hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, tonight you will all fall from your faith on my account. For it stands written, I will strike the shepherd down and the sheep of his flock will be scattered. But after I am raised again, I will go on before you into Galilee.

Peter replied, everyone else may fall away on your account, but I never will. Jesus said to him, I tell you, tonight, before the cock grows, you will disown me three times. Peter said, even if I must die with you, I will never disown you. And all the disciples said the same. Jesus then came with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane. He said to them, sit here while I go over there to pray. He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, Anguish, and his May came over him. And he said to them, my heart is ready to break with grief.

Stop here and stay awake with me. He went on a little, fell on his face in prayer and said, my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass me by, yet not as I will but as thou wilt. He came to the disciples and found them asleep. And he said to Peter, what could none of you stay awake with me? One hour, stay awake and pray that you may be spared the test. The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away a second time and prayed, my Father, if it is not possible for this cup to pass me by without my drinking it, thy will be done.

He came again and found them asleep for their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away again and he prayed the third time using the same words as before. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, still sleeping, still taking your ease, the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed to sinful man, up. Let us go forward, the traitor is upon us. While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve appeared, with him was a great crowd armed with swords and cudgles sent by the chief priests and the elders of the nations. The traitor gave them this sign. The one I kiss is your man, seize him. And stepping forward at once he said, hail Rabbi and kiss him.

Jesus replied, friend, do what you are here to do. The then came forward, seize Jesus and held him fast. At that moment one of those with Jesus reached for his sword and drew it and he struck at the high priest's servant and cut off his ear. But Jesus said to him, put up your sword, all who take the sword die by the sword. Do you suppose that I cannot appeal to my father, who would at once send to my aid more than twelve legions of angels? But how then could the scriptures be fulfilled, which say that this must be? At the same time Jesus spoke to the crowd, do you take me for a bandit, he said, that you have come out with swords and cudgles to arrest me? Day after day I said, teaching in the temple and you did not lay hands on me, but this has all happened to fulfill what the prophets wrote.

Then the disciples all deserted him and ran away. Jesus was laid off under arrest to the house of Caiaphas, the high priest, where the lawyers and elders were assembled. Peter followed him at a distance till he came to the high priest's courtyard and going in he sat down there among the attendants, meaning to see the end of it all. The chief priests and the whole council tried to find some allegation against Jesus, on which a death sentence could be based, but they failed to find one, though many came forward with false evidence. Finally, two men alleged that he had said, I can pull down the temple of God and rebuild it in three days, at this the high priest rose and said to him,

have you no answer to the charge that these witnesses bring against you, but Jesus kept silence? The high priest then said, by the living God, I charge you to tell us, are you the Messiah, the Son of God? Jesus replied, the words are yours, but I tell you this, from now on you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of God and coming on the clouds of heaven. At these words, the high priest tore his robes and exclaimed, blasphemy. Need we call further witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy? What is your opinion? He is guilty, they answered, he should die. Then they spat in his face and beat him with the fists and others said, as they struck him, no, Messiah, if you are a prophet, tell us who hit you.

Meanwhile, Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard when a serving-made accosted him and said, you were there too with Jesus, the Galilean? Peter denied it in face of them all. I do not know what you mean, he said. He then went out to the gateway where another guy, seeing him, said to the people there, this fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth. Once again he denied it, saying, with an oath, I do not know the man. Shortly afterwards the bystanders came up and said to Peter, surely you are another of them, your accent gives you away. At this, he broke into cusses and declared with an oath, I do not know the man. At that moment the cock crowed and Peter remembered how Jesus had said, before the cock crowed, you will disown me three times. He went outside and wept bitterly.

When morning came the chief priests and the elders of the nation made in conference to plan the death of Jesus. They then put him in chains and led him off to hand him over to pilot the Roman governor. When Judas the traitor saw that Jesus had been condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver pieces to the chief priests and elders. I have sinned, he said. I have brought an innocent man to his death, but they said, what is that to us? See to that yourself so he threw the money down in the temple and left them and went and hanged himself. Taking up the money, the chief priests argued, this cannot be put into the temple fund, it is blood money. So after conferring they used it to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners.

This explains the name blood acre by which that field has been known ever since. And in this way fulfillment was given to the prophetic utterance of Jeremiah, they took the thirty silver pieces, the price set on a man's head. For that was his price among the Israelites and gave the money for the potter's field as the Lord directed me. The gospel according to Matthew, chapter 27 verse 11.

Jesus was now brought before the governor. And as he stood there, the governor asked him, are you the king of the Jews? The words are yours, said Jesus. And to the charges laid against him by the chief priests and elders, he made no reply. Then Pilate said to him, do you not hear all this evidence that is brought against you? But he still refused to answer one word to the governor's greatest punishment. At the festival season, it was the governor's custom to release one prisoner chosen by the people. There was then, in custody, a man of some notoriety called Jesus Barabbas. When they were assembled, Pilate said to them, which would you like me to release to you? Jesus Barabbas or Jesus called Messiah?

For he knew that it was out of spite that they had brought Jesus before him. While Pilate was sitting in court, a message came to him from his wife. Have nothing to do with that innocent man. I was much troubled on his account in my dreams last night. Meanwhile, the chief priests and elders had persuaded the crowd to ask for the release of Barabbas and to have Jesus put to death. So when the governor asked which of the two do you wish me to release to you, they said Barabbas. Then what am I to do with Jesus called Messiah asked Pilate, and with one voice they answered, crucify him. Why? What harm has he done?

Pilate asked, but they shouted, all the loader, crucify him. Pilate could see that nothing was being gained, and a riot was starting. So he took water and washed his hands in full view of the people saying, my hands are clean of this man's blood. See to that yourselves. And with one voice the people cried, his blood be on us and on our children. He then released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flagged and handed him over to be crucified. Pilate soldiers then took Jesus into the governor's headquarters where they collected the whole company round him. First they stripped him and dressed him in a scarlet mantle. And plating a crown of thorns, they placed it on his head with a cane in his right hand, falling on their knees before him, they jeered at him, healed King of the Jews.

They spat on him and used the cane to beat him about the head. Finally when the mockery was over they took off the mantle and dressed him in his own clothes. Then they led him away to be crucified. On their way out they met a man from Cyrene, Simon by name, and praised him into service to carry his cross. So they came to a place called Golgotha, which means place of a skull. And there they offered him a draft of wine mixed with gold. But when he had tasted it he would not drink. After fastening him to the cross they divided his clothes among them by casting lords and then sat down there to keep watch.

Over his head was placed the inscription giving the charge. This is Jesus the King of the Jews. Two bandits were crucified with him, one on his right and the other on his left. The passes by hurled abuse at him. They wed their heads and cried, you would pull the temple down with you and build it in three days. Come down from the cross and save yourself if you are indeed the Son of God. So too the chief priests with the lawyers and elders mocked at him. He saved others they said, but he cannot save himself King of Israel indeed. Let him come down now from the cross and then we will believe him. Did he trust? In God? Let God rescue him if he wants him, for he said he was God's Son.

Even the bandits who were crucified with him taunted him in the same way. Darkness fell over the whole land from midday until three in the afternoon. And about three, Jesus cried aloud, Eli, Eli, Lima, Sabakhthani, which means my God, my God. Why hast thou forsaken me? Some of the bystanders on hearing this said he is calling Elijah, one of them ran at once and fetched a sponge which he soaked in sower wine and held it to his lips on the end of a cane. But the others said, let us see if Elijah will come to save him. Jesus again gave a loud cry and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn into from top to bottom.

There was an earthquake, the rocks split and the graves opened and many of God's people arose from sleep and coming out of their graves after his resurrection they entered the holy city where many saw them. And when the centurion and his men who were keeping watch over Jesus saw the earthquake and all that was happening they were filled with awe and they said, truly this man was a son of God. A number of women were also present watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee and waited on him among them where Mary of Magdala, Mary, the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zemedy. When evening fell there came a man of Arimathea, Joseph by name, who was a man of means and had himself become a disciple of Jesus. He approached Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus and Pilate gave orders that he should have it.

Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen sheet and laid it in his own unused tomb which he had cut out of the rock. He then rolled a large stone against the entrance and went away. Mary of Magdala was there and the other Mary sitting opposite the grave. Next day, the morning after that Friday, the chief priests and the Pharisees came in a body to Pilate. Your excellency, they said, we recall how that imposter said while he was still alive. I am to rise after three days. So will you give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day? Otherwise his disciples may come, steal the body and then tell the people that he has been raised from the dead and the final deception will be worse than the first. You may have your guards at Pilate. Go and make it secure as best you can. So they went and made the grave secure. They sealed the stone and left the guard in charge.

The Sabbath had passed and it was about debris on Sunday when Mary of Magdala and the other Mary came to look at the grave. Suddenly there was a violent earthquake. An angel of the Lord descended from heaven. He came to the stone and rolled it away and sat himself down on it. His face shone like lightning. His garments were white as snow. At the sight of him, the guards shook with fear and lay like the dead. The angel then addressed the woman. You, he said, have nothing to fear. I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. He has been raised again. As he said, he would be. Come and see the place where he was laid. And then go quickly and tell his disciples he has been raised from the dead and is going on before you into Galilee. There you will see him. That is what I had to tell you.

They hurried away from the tomb in awe and great joy and ran to tell the disciples. Suddenly Jesus was there in their path. He gave them his greeting and they came up and clasped his feet, falling prostrate before him. Then Jesus said to them, do not be afraid. Go and take word to my brothers that they are to leave for Galilee. They will see me there. The woman had started on their way when some of the guard went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. After meeting with the elders and conferring together, the chief priests offered the soldiers a substantial bribe and told them to say his disciples came by night and stole the body while we were asleep.

They added, if this should reach the governor's ears, we will put matters right with him and see that you do not suffer. So they took the money and did as they were told. This story became widely known and is current in Jewish circles to this day. The eleven disciples made their way to Galilee to the mountain where Jesus had told them to meet him. When they saw him, they fell prostrate before him, though some were doubtful. Jesus then came up and spoke to them. He said, full authority in heaven and on earth has been committed to me. Go forth there for and make all nations my disciples. Baptize me everywhere in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and teach them to observe all that I have commanded you and be assured.

I am with you always to the end of time. And thus concludes the gospel according to Matthew. The gospel according to Mark, the coming of Christ, here begins the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In the prophet Isaiah, it stands written, here is my herald, whom I send on ahead of you, and he will prepare your way.

A voice crying aloud in the wilderness, prepare a way for the Lord, clear a straight path for him. And so it was that John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness proclaiming a baptism in token of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, and they flocked to him from the whole Judean countryside and the city of Jerusalem, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. John was dressed in a rough coat of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and he fed on locusts and wild honey. His proclamation ran, after me comes one who is mightier than I, I am not fit to unfasten his shoes.

I have baptized you with water, he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. It happened at this time that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by Jordan. At the moment when he came up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn open and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him, and a voice spoke from heaven, thou art my Son, my beloved, on thee my favour rests. Thereupon the Spirit sent him away into the wilderness, and there he remained for forty days tempted by Satan. He was among the wild beasts and the angels waited on him.

In Galilee, success and opposition, after John had been arrested, Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God. The time has come, the kingdom of God is upon you, repent and believe the gospel. Jesus was walking by the shore of the sea of Galilee, when he saw Simon and his brother Andrew on the lake at work with a casting net for they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, come with me and I will make you fishers of men, and at once they left their nets and followed him. When he had gone a little further, he saw James, son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in the boat overhauling their nets. He called them, and leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, they went off to follow him.

They came to Capernaum, and on the Sabbath he went to synagogue and began to teach. The people were astounded at his teaching, for unlike the doctors of the law, he taught with a note of authority. Now there was a man in the synagogue possessed by an unclean spirit. He shrieked, what do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the holy one of God. Jesus rebuked him, be silent, he said, and come out of him, and the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions, and with a loud cry left him. They were all dumbfounded, and began to ask one another, what is this, a new kind of teaching? He speaks with authority.

When he gives orders, even the unclean spirits submit. The news spread rapidly, and he was soon spoken of all over the district of Galilee. On leaving the synagogue, they went straight to the house of Simon and Andrew, and James and John went with them. Simon's mother-in-law was ill in bed with fever. They told him about her at once. He came forward, took her by the hand, and helped her to her feet. The fever left her, and she waited upon them. That evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by devils, and the whole town was there, gathered at the door. He healed many who suffered from various diseases, and drove out many devils. He would not let the devils speak, because they knew who he was.

Very early, next morning, he got up, and went out. He went away to a lonely spot, and remained there in prayer. But Simon and his companions searched him out, found him, and said, they are all looking for you. He answered, let us move on to the country towns in the neighborhood. I have to proclaim my message there also. That is what I came out to do. So all through Galilee he went, preaching in the synagogues, and casting out the devils. Once he was approached by a leper, who knelt before him, begging his help. If only you will, said the man, you can cleanse me. In warm indignation, Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, indeed I will. Be clean again.

The leprosy left him immediately, and he was clean. Then he dismissed him with this stern warning. Be sure you say nothing to anybody. Go and show yourself to the priest, and make the offering laid down by Moses for your cleansing. That will certify the cure. But the man went out, and made the whole story public. He spread it far and wide, until Jesus could no longer show himself in any town, but stayed outside in the open country. Even so, people kept coming to him from all quarters. When, after some days, he returned to Capernaum, the news went round that he was at home, and such a crowd collected that the space in front of the door was not big enough to hold them. And while he was proclaiming the message to them, a man was brought who was paralyzed. Four men were carrying him, but because of the crowd, they could not get him near.

So they opened up the roof over the place where Jesus was, and when they had broken through, they lured the stretcher, on which the paralyzed man was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, my son, your sins are forgiven. Now there were some lawyers sitting there, and they thought to themselves, why does the fellow talk like that? This is blasphemy. Who but God alone can forgive sins? Jesus knew in his own mind that this was what they were thinking, and said to them, why do you harbor thoughts like these? Is it easier to say to this paralyzed man, your sins are forgiven? Or to say, stand up, take your bed, and walk.

But to convince you that the son of man has the right on earth to forgive sins, he turned to the paralyzed man, I say to you, stand up, take your bed, and go home. And he got up, took his stretcher at once, and went out in full view of them all, so that they were astounded and praised God. Never before they said, have we seen the like. Once more he went away to the lake side, all the crowd came to him, and he taught them there. As he went along, he saw Levi, son of Alphius, at his seat in the custom house, and said to him, follow me, and Levi rose and followed him. When Jesus was at table in his house, many bad characters, tax-gatherers and others, were seated with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.

Some doctors of the law, who were Pharisees, noticed him eating in this bad company, and said to his disciples, he eats with tax-gatherers and sinners. Jesus overheard and said to them, it is not the healthy that need a doctor, but the sick. I did not come to invite virtuous people, but sinners. Once when John's disciples and the Pharisees were keeping a fast, some people came to him and said, why is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not? Jesus said to them, can you expect the bridegroom's friends to fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, there can be no fasting, but the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them,

and on that day they will fast. No one shows a patch of unshrunk cloth onto an old coat. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old and leaves a bigger hole. No one puts new wine into old wine skins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and then wine and skins are both lost, fresh skins for new wine. One Sabbath he was going through the corn fields, and his disciples, as they went, began to pluck ears of corn. The Pharisees said to him, look, why are they doing what is forbidden on the Sabbath? He answered, have you never read what David did, when he and his men were hungry and had nothing to eat? He went into the house of gone, in the time of a biother, the high priest, and ate the consecrated loaves, though no one but a priest is allowed to eat them, and even gave them to his men.

He also said to them, the Sabbath was made for the sake of man, and not man for the Sabbath, therefore the Son of man is sovereign even over the Sabbath. The lesson ends at the 28th verse of the second chapter of the gospel, according to Luke. The verse ends at the 28th verse of the last chapter of the gospel, according to Luke.