The Beatitudes

Matt. 5:1–12

20 Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:

t“Blessed are you poor,

For yours is the kingdom of God.

21 uBlessed are you who hunger now,

For you shall be vfilled. 5

wBlessed are you who weep now,

For you shall xlaugh.

22 yBlessed are you when men hate you,

And when they zexclude you,

And revile you, and cast out your name as evil,

For the Son of Man’s sake.

23 aRejoice in that day and leap for joy!

For indeed your reward is great in heaven,

For bin like manner their fathers did to the prophets.

24 “But cwoe to you dwho are rich,

For eyou have received your consolation.

25 fWoe to you who are full,

For you shall hunger.

gWoe to you who laugh now,

For you shall mourn and hweep.

26 iWoe 6to you when 7all men speak well of you,

For so did their fathers to the false prophets.

Rules of Kingdom Life

Matt. 5:39–48; 7:1, 2, 12

27 j“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 kbless those who curse you, and lpray for those who spitefully use you. 29 mTo him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. nAnd from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. 30 oGive to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. 31 pAnd just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.

32 q“But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 rAnd if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. 35 But slove your enemies, tdo good, and ulend, 8hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and vyou will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. 36 wTherefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

37 x“Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. yForgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 zGive, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your abosom. For bwith the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

Parable of the Blind Leading the Blind

Matt. 7:3–5, 16–18

39 And He spoke a parable to them: c“Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch? 40 dA disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. 41 eAnd why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye? 42 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

43 f“For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 For gevery tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. 45 hA good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil 9treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out iof the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Parable of the Two Foundations

Matt. 7:21–27

46 j“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? 47 kWhoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was 1founded on the rock. 49 But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it 2fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”

A Centurion’s Servant is Healed

Matt. 8:5–13

7 Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He aentered Capernaum. 2 And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. 3 So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, 5 “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.”

6 Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But bsay the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I also am a man placed under cauthority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

9 When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” 10 And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well 1who had been sick.

A Widow’s Son is Raised

11 Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd. 12 And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, He had dcompassion on her and said to her, e“Do not weep.” 14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, farise.” 15 So he who was dead gsat up and began to speak. And He hpresented him to his mother.

16 iThen fear 2came upon all, and they jglorified God, saying, k“A great prophet has risen up among us”; and, l“God has visited His people.”

John’s Questions are Answered

Matt. 11:2–6

17 And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.

18 mThen the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things. 19 And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to 3Jesus, saying, “Are You nthe Coming One, or 4do we look for another?”

20 When the men had come to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?’ ” 21 And that very hour He cured many of 5infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight.

22 oJesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: pthat the blind qsee, the lame rwalk, the lepers are scleansed, the deaf thear, the dead are raised, uthe poor have the gospel preached to them. 23 And blessed is he who is not 6offended because of Me.”

Jesus Praises John

Matt. 11:7–15

24 vWhen the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 25 But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. 26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is written:

w‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,

Who will prepare Your way before You.’

28 For I say to you, among those born of women there is 7not a xgreater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

29 And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors 8justified God, yhaving been baptized with the baptism of John. 30 But the Pharisees and 9lawyers rejected zthe will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.

Jesus Criticizes His Generation

Matt. 11:16–19

31 1And the Lord said, a“To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying:

‘We played the flute for you,

And you did not dance;

We mourned to you,

And you did not weep.’

33 For bJohn the Baptist came cneither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man has come deating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a 2winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 eBut wisdom is justified by all her children.”

A Woman Anoints Jesus’ Feet

36 fThen one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. 37 And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, 38 and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, g“This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”

The Parable of the Two Debtors

40 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”

So he said, “Teacher, say it.”

41 “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred hdenarii, and the other fifty. 42 And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?”

43 Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.”

And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” 44 Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no iwater for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. 45 …