Next, they came to Jericho. And as Jesus and His disciples were leaving Jericho with a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting beside the road.

Then Jesus left that place and went into the region of Judea, beyond the Jordan. Again the crowds came to Him and He taught them, as was His custom. Some Pharisees came to test Him. “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” they inquired. “What did Moses command you?” He replied. They answered, “Moses permitted a man to write his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away.” But Jesus told them, “Moses wrote this commandment for you because of your hardness of heart. . . .

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

When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. . . .

Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.

All the people were amazed and began to ask one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him!”

Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man. “Take courage!” they said. “Get up! He is calling for you.”

“What do you want Me to do for you?” Jesus asked. “Rabboni,” said the blind man, “let me see again.”

No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you.

We tear down arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ.

“Where is the promise of His coming?” they will ask. “Ever since our fathers fell asleep, everything continues as it has from the beginning of creation.”

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience as did my forefathers, as I constantly remember you night and day in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am convinced is in you as well. . . .

This became known to all who lived in Jerusalem, so they called that field in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted through the Spirit that a great famine would sweep across the whole world. (This happened under Claudius.)

He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.

Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.

And now I commit you to God and to the word of His grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all who are sanctified.

After several days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice came down to Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus.

Once we were safely ashore, we learned that the island was called Malta.

But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a short time.

This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, as well as Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.

You have taken along the tabernacle of Molech and the star of your god Rephan, the idols you made to worship. Therefore I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’

There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been paralyzed and bedridden for eight years.

In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which is translated as Dorcas), who was always occupied with works of kindness and charity.

I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints,

And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes of the Dispersion: Greetings.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—

When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.

Many have undertaken to compose an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by the initial eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah, and whose wife Elizabeth was a daughter of Aaron. . . .

But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!

And indeed, some who are last will be first, and some who are first will be last.”

As He entered one of the villages, He was met by ten lepers. They stood at a distance

Now people were even bringing their babies to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them. And when the disciples saw this, they rebuked those who brought them. But Jesus called the children to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

Truly I tell you, anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

Then a certain ruler asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call Me good?” Jesus replied. “No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother.’” “All these I have kept from my youth,” he said. On hearing this, Jesus told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.” . . .

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God

Then Jesus took the Twelve aside and said to them, “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything the prophets have written about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. They will flog Him and kill Him, and on the third day He will rise again.”

As Jesus drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting beside the road, begging.

As Jesus drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting beside the road, begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by,” they told him. So he called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Those who led the way admonished him to be silent, but he cried out all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” . . .

Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of the whole empire.

So Jesus declared, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in authority over them call themselves benefactors. But you shall not be like them. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who leads like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines? But I am among you as one who serves.

But you shall not be like them. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who leads like the one who serves.

Just then some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They tried to bring him inside to set him before Jesus,

“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!”

Then a leper came to Jesus, begging on his knees: “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”

Then Jesus left that place and went into the region of Judea, beyond the Jordan. Again the crowds came to Him and He taught them, as was His custom.

So He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her.

And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”

Now people were bringing the little children to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them, and the disciples rebuked those who brought them.

But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and told them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

Truly I tell you, anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

And He took the children in His arms, placed His hands on them, and blessed them.

As Jesus started on His way, a man ran up and knelt before Him. “Good Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not cheat others, honor your father and mother.’”

“Teacher,” he replied, “all these I have kept from my youth.”

Jesus looked at him, loved him, and said to him, “There is one thing you lack: Go, sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

And the disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!

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.”

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

Peter began to say to Him, “Look, we have left everything and followed You.”

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for My sake and for the gospel

will fail to receive a hundredfold in the present age—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and fields, along with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.

But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

As they were going up the road to Jerusalem, Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were amazed, but those who followed were afraid. Again Jesus took the Twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him:

who will mock Him and spit on Him and flog Him and kill Him. And after three days He will rise again.”

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and declared, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.”

They answered, “Grant that one of us may sit at Your right hand and the other at Your left in Your glory.”

“You do not know what you are asking,” Jesus replied. “Can you drink the cup I will drink, or be baptized with the baptism I will undergo?”

“We can,” the brothers answered. “You will drink the cup that I drink,” Jesus said, “and you will be baptized with the baptism that I undergo.

They answered, “Moses permitted a man to write his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away.”

But to sit at My right or left is not Mine to grant. These seats belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”

So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them. But it shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

But it shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,

But Jesus told them, “Moses wrote this commandment for you because of your hardness of heart.

Throwing off his cloak, Bartimaeus jumped up and came to Jesus.

“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

However, from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’

‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,

and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh.

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent out two of His disciples and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks, ‘Why are you doing this?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it and will return it shortly.’” So they went and found the colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. They untied it, and some who were standing there asked, “Why are you untying the colt?” . . .

For those will be days of tribulation unmatched from the beginning of God’s creation until now, and never to be seen again.

“Abba, Father,” He said, “all things are possible for You. Take this cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but what You will.”

Now Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and the soldiers forced him to carry the cross of Jesus.

A few days later Jesus went back to Capernaum. And when the people heard that He was home,

Then Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God arrive with power.” After six days Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There He was transfigured before them. His clothes became radiantly white, brighter than any launderer on earth could bleach them. And Elijah and Moses appeared before them, talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” . . .

Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the last of all and the servant of all.”

Then He had a little child stand among them. Taking the child in His arms, He said to them,

I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance that are in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and my testimony about Jesus.

Then I saw a beast with ten horns and seven heads rising out of the sea. There were ten royal crowns on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back its four winds so that no wind would blow on land or sea or on any tree.