faith builders bible, nirv sampler

8/20/2019 Faith Builders Bible, NIrV sampler

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N E W I N T E R N A T I O N A L R E A D E R ’ S V E R S I O N


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Jesus Chooses His First Disciples16One day Jesus was walking beside

the Sea of Galilee. There he saw Simonand his brother Andrew. They were

throwing a net into the lake. They werefishermen. 17 “Come and follow me,”Jesus said. “I will send you out to fish forpeople.” 18At once they left their nets andfollowed him.

19 Then Jesus walked a lit tle far ther.

As he did, he saw James, the son of Zeb-edee, and his brother John. They were ina boat preparing their nets. 20Right awayhe called out to them. They left their fa-

ther Zebedee in the boat with the hiredmen. Then they followed Jesus.

Jesus Drives Out an Evil Spirit21 Jesus and those with him went to

Capernaum. When the Sabbath daycame, he went into the synagogue. There

he began to teach.22

The people wereamazed at his teaching. That’s becausehe taught them like one who had au thor-i ty. He did not talk like the teachers of

the law. 23 Just then a man in their syn-agogue cried out. He was con trolled byan evil spirit. He said, 24 “What do youwant with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Haveyou come to destroy us? I know who youare. You are the Holy One of God!”

25 “Be quiet!” said Jesus firmly. “Comeout of him!” 26 The evil spirit shook the

man wildly. Then it came out of him witha scream.

27All the people were amazed. So theyasked each other, “What is this? A new

teaching! And with so much au thori ty!He even gives orders to evil spirits, and

they obey him.” 28 News about Jesusspread quickly all over Galilee.

Jesus Heals Many People29 Jesus and those with him left the

synagogue. Right away they went withJames and John to the home of Simonand Andrew. 30 Simon’s mother-in-lawwas lying in bed with a fe ver. They toldJesus about her right away. 31So he went

to her. He took her hand and helped herup. The fe ver left her. Then she began toserve them.

32 That evening af ter sunset, the peo-ple brought to Jesus all who were sick.They also brought all who were con-

trolled by demons.33

All the people

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

1This is the beginning of the goodnews about Jesus the Messiah, the

Son of God. 2 Long ago Isaiah the proph-et wrote,

“I will send my messenger ahead ofyou.

He will prepare your way.”(Malachi 3:1)

3 “A messenger is calling out in the

desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord. Make straight paths for him.’ ”

(Isaiah 40:3)

4And so John the Bap tist appeared in thedesert. He preached that people shouldbe bap tized and turn away from theirsins. Then God would forgive them. 5All

the people from the coun tryside of Judeawent out to him. All the people from Jeru-salem went too. When they admit ted theyhad sinned, John bap tized them in the Jor-dan River. 6John wore clothes made out ofcamel’s hair. He had a leather belt aroundhis waist. And he ate locusts and wildhoney. 7 Here is what John was preach-ing. “Af ter me, there is someone comingwho is more powerful than I am. I’m notgood enough to bend down and un tie hissandals. 8 I bap tize you with wa ter. Buthe will bap tize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus Is Baptized and Tempted9 At that time Jesus came from Naz-

areth in Galilee. John bap tized Jesus in the Jordan River. 10 Jesus was coming upout of the wa ter. Just then he saw heav-en being torn open. Jesus saw the HolySpirit coming down on him like a dove.11A voice spoke to him from heaven. Itsaid, “You are my Son, and I love you. Iam very pleased with you.”

12 At once the Holy Spirit sent Jesus

out into the desert. 13He was in the des-ert 40 days. There Sa tan tempted him.The wild animals didn’t harm Jesus. An-gels took care of him.

Jesus Preaches the Good News14Af ter John was put in prison, Jesus

went into Galilee. He preached the goodnews of God. 15 “The time has come,” hesaid. “The kingdom of God has comenear. Turn away from your sins and be-

lieve the good news!”

MARK


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is this fellow talking like that? He’s say-ing a very evil thing! Only God can for-give sins!”

8 Right away Jesus knew what theywere thinking. So he said to them, “Whyare you thinking these things? 9 Is it eas-ier to say to this man, ‘Your sins are for-given’? Or to say, ‘Get up, take your matand walk’? 10But I want you to know that

the Son of Man has au thori ty on earth to forgive sins.” So Jesus spoke to theman who could not walk. 11 “I tell you,”he said, “get up. Take your mat and gohome.” 12 The man got up and took hismat. Then he walked away while ev-eryone watched. All the people wereamazed. They praised God and said, “Wehave never seen any thing like this!”

Jesus Chooses Levi and Eats With Sinners13 Once again Jesus went out beside

the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd came to him. He began to teach them. 14As hewalked along he saw Levi, the son of Al-phaeus. Levi was sit ting at the tax collec-

tor’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him.Levi got up and followed him.

15 Later Jesus was having dinner atLe vi’s house. Many tax collec tors and

sinners were eating with him and his dis-ciples. They were part of the large crowdfollowing Jesus. 16Some teachers of thelaw who were Pharisees were there. Theysaw Jesus eating with sinners and taxcollec tors. So they asked his disciples,“Why does he eat with tax collec torsand sinners?”

17Jesus heard that. So he said to them,“Those who are healthy don’t need a doc-

tor. Sick people do. I have not come to get

those who think they are right with God to follow me. I have come to get sinners to follow me.”

Jesus Is Asked About Fasting18 John’s disciples and the Pharisees

were going without eating. Some peoplecame to Jesus. They said to him, “John’sdisciples are fasting. The disciples of thePharisees are also fasting. But your dis-ciples are not. Why aren’t they?”

19 Jesus answered, “How can theguests of the groom go without eatingwhile he is with them? They will not fastas long as he is with them. 20 But the timewill come when the groom will be takenaway from them. On that day they willgo without eating.

21 “No one sews a patch of new clothon old clothes. Otherwise, the new piecewill pull away from the old. That willmake the tear worse. 22 No one pours

new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise,

in town gathered at the door. 34 Jesushealed many of them. They had all kindsof sicknesses. He also drove out manydemons. But he would not let the demonsspeak, because they knew who he was.

Jesus Prays in a Quiet Place35 It was very early in the morning andstill dark. Jesus got up and left the house.He went to a place where he could bealone. There he prayed. 36 Simon and hisfriends went to look for Jesus. 37 When

they found him, they called out, “Every-one is looking for you!”

38 Jesus replied, “Let’s go somewhereelse. I want to go to the nearby towns.I must preach there also. That is why Ihave come.” 39 So he traveled all aroundGalilee. He preached in their syna-gogues. He also drove out demons.

Jesus Heals a Man Who Had a SkinDisease

40 A man who had a skin disease came to Jesus. On his knees he begged Jesus.He said, “If you are willing to make me‘clean,’ you can do it.”

41 Jesus became angry. He reachedout his hand and touched the man. “I amwilling to do it,” Jesus said. “Be ‘clean’!”42 Right away the disease left the man,and he was “clean.”

43 Jesus sent him away at once. Hegave the man a strong warning. 44 “Don’t

tell this to anyone,” he said. “Go andshow yourself to the priest. Offer thesacrifices that Moses commanded. It willbe a witness to the priest and the people

that you are ‘clean.’ ” 45But the man wentout and started talking right away. He

spread the news to everyone. So Jesuscould no longer en ter a town openly. Hestayed outside in lonely places. But peo-ple still came to him from everywhere.

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Man WhoCould Not Walk

2A few days later, Jesus en tered Caper-naum again. The people heard that he

had come home. 2 So many people gath-ered that there was no room left. There

was not even room outside the door. AndJesus preached the word to them. 3 Fourof those who came were carrying a manwho could not walk. 4 But they could notget him close to Jesus because of thecrowd. So they made a hole by digging

through the roof above Jesus. Then theylowered the man through it on a mat.5 Jesus saw their faith. So he said to theman, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

6 Some teachers of the law were sit-

ting there. They were thinking,7

“Why


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A CHANGE OF HEART

Zacchaeus the rich tax collector was thrilled when he heard the

news—Jesus was coming to Jericho! When Jesus arrived,Zacchaeus joined the crowd surrounding the teacher. Zacchaeus

was so short, he couldn’t see or hear well. So he ran ahead of thecrowd and climbed a tree to get a better view.

As Jesus came near, he said, “Zacchaeus, come down at once. Imust stay at your house today.” Zacchaeus was shocked! He was a

tax collector, a sinner, and Jesus wanted to eat at his house?Zacchaeus knew he hadn’t been a good man, but now he wasgoing to change his ways. He said:

“Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of what I own to those whoare poor. And if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will payit back. I will pay back four times the amount I took.”

Just meeting Jesus made Zacchaeus want to be a better person.Read the story in Luke 19:1–10 to see how Jesus responded.

BUILDING BLOCK VERSE:

Have your roots in him. Build yourselves up in him. Grow strong in what

you believe, just as you were taught. Be more thankful than ever before.

COLOSSIANS 2:7


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were pushing forward to touch him.11When people con trolled by evil spiritssaw him, they fell down in front of him.The spirits shouted, “You are the Son ofGod!” 12 But Jesus ordered them not to

tell people about him.

Jesus Appoints the Twelve Disciples13 Jesus went up on a moun tainside.

He called for cer tain people to come tohim, and they came. 14He appointed 12of them so that they would be with him.He would also send them out to preach.15 And he gave them au thori ty to driveout demons. 16So Jesus appointed the 12disciples. Simon was one of them. Jesusgave him the name Pe ter. 17There wereJames, son of Zebedee, and his brotherJohn. Jesus gave them the name Boaner-ges. Boanerges means Sons of Thunder.18 There were also Andrew, Philip, Bar-

tholomew, Mat thew, Thomas, and James,son of Alphaeus. And there were Thad-daeus and Simon the Zealot. 19 Judas Is-cariot was one of them too. He was theone who was later going to hand Jesusover to his enemies.

Jesus Is Accused by Teachers of the Law20 Jesus en tered a house. Again a

crowd gathered. It was so large thatJesus and his disciples were not evenable to eat. 21His family heard about this.So they went to take charge of him. Theysaid, “He is out of his mind.”

22Some teachers of the law were there.They had come down from Jerusalem.They said, “He is con trolled by Beelze-bul! He is driving out demons by the pow-er of the prince of demons.”

23 So Jesus called them over to him.He began to speak to them using stories.He said, “How can Sa tan drive out Sa-

tan? 24 If a kingdom fights against itself,it can’t stand. 25 If a family is di vided, itcan’t stand. 26And if Sa tan fights againsthimself, and his helpers are di vided, hecan’t stand. That is the end of him. 27 Infact, none of you can en ter a strong man’shouse unless you tie him up first. Thenyou can steal things from his house.28

What I’m about to tell you is true. Every-one’s sins and evil words against God willbe forgiven. 29 But whoever speaks evil

things against the Holy Spirit will neverbe forgiven. Their guilt will last forever.”

30 Jesus said this because the teachersof the law were saying, “He has an evilspirit.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers31 Jesus’ mother and brothers came

and stood outside. They sent someone in

the wine will burst the skins. Then thewine and the wineskins will both be de-stroyed. No, people pour new wine intonew wineskins.”

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath Day23

One Sabbath day Jesus was walk-ing with his disciples through the grain-fields. The disciples began to break offsome heads of grain. 24 The Phariseessaid to Jesus, “Look! It is against the Law

to do this on the Sabbath day. Why areyour disciples doing it?”

25 He answered, “Haven’t you everread about what Da vid did? He and hismen were hungry. They needed food. 26 Itwas when Abia thar was high priest. Da-

vid en tered the house of God and ate theholy bread. Only priests were allowed toeat it. Da vid also gave some to his men.”

27 Then Jesus said to them, “The Sab-bath day was made for man. Man was notmade for the Sabbath day. 28 So the Sonof Man is Lord even of the Sabbath day.”

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath Day

3Another time Jesus went into thesynagogue. A man with a weak and

twisted hand was there. 2 Some Phari-sees were trying to find fault with Jesus.They watched him closely. They wanted

to see if he would heal the man on theSabbath day. 3 Jesus spoke to the manwith the weak and twisted hand. “Standup in front of everyone,” he said.

4 Then Jesus asked them, “What does the Law say we should do on the Sabbathday? Should we do good? Or should wedo evil? Should we save life? Or shouldwe kill?” But no one answered.

5 Jesus looked around at them in anger.He was very upset because their heartswere stubborn. Then he said to the man,“Stretch out your hand.” He stretched itout, and his hand had become as good asnew. 6 Then the Pharisees went out andbegan to make plans with the Herodians.They wanted to kill Jesus.

Crowds Follow Jesus7 Jesus went off to the Sea of Galilee

with his disciples. A large crowd fromGalilee followed. 8People heard about all

that Jesus was doing. And many came to him. They came from Judea, Jerusa-lem and Idumea. They came from thelands east of the Jordan River. And theycame from the area around Tyre and Si-don. 9 Because of the crowd, Jesus toldhis disciples to get a small boat readyfor him. This would keep the peoplefrom crowding him. 10 Jesus had healed

many people. So those who were sick


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quickly fall away from the faith when trouble or suffering comes because of themessage. 18 And what is seed scat teredamong thorns like? The people hear themessage. 19But then the worries of thislife come to them. Wealth comes with itsfalse promises. The people also long forother things. All of these are the kinds of

things that crowd out the message. Theykeep it from producing fruit. 20And whatis seed scat tered on good soil like? Thepeople hear the message. They accept it.They produce a good crop 30, 60, or even100 times more than the farmer planted.”

A Lamp on a Stand21 Jesus said to them, “Do you bring

in a lamp to put it under a large bowlor a bed? Don’t you put it on its stand?22 What is hidden is meant to be seen.And what is put out of sight is meant tobe brought out into the open. 23Whoeverhas ears should lis ten.”

24 “Think carefully about what youhear,” he said. “As you give, so you willreceive. In fact, you will receive evenmore. 25 Whoever has some thing will begiven more. Whoever has nothing, evenwhat they have will be taken away from

them.”

The Story of the Growing Seed26 Jesus also said, “Here is what God’s

kingdom is like. A farmer scat ters seedon the ground. 27 Night and day the seedcomes up and grows. It happens whether

the farmer sleeps or gets up. He doesn’tknow how it happens. 28 All by itself thesoil produces grain. First the stalk comesup. Then the head appears. Finally, the

full grain appears in the head. 29 Beforelong the grain ripens. So the farmer cutsit down, because the har vest is ready.”

The Story of the Mustard Seed30 Again Jesus said, “What can we say

God’s kingdom is like? What story canwe use to explain it? 31 It is like a mus tardseed, which is the smallest of all seeds onearth. 32 But when you plant the seed, itgrows. It becomes the largest of all gar-

den plants. Its branches are so big thatbirds can rest in its shade.”

33 Using many stories like these, Jesusspoke the word to them. He told them asmuch as they could understand. 34He didnot say any thing to them without usinga story. But when he was alone with hisdisciples, he explained every thing.

Jesus Calms the Storm35 When evening came, Jesus said to

his disciples, “Let’s go over to the other

to get him. 32A crowd was sit ting aroundJesus. They told him, “Your mother andyour brothers are outside. They are look-ing for you.”

33 “Who is my mother? Who are mybrothers?” he asked.

34 Then Jesus looked at the peoplesit ting in a circle around him. He said,“Here is my mother! Here are my broth-ers! 35Anyone who does what God wantsis my brother or sis ter or mother.”

The Story of the Farmer

4 Again Jesus began to teach by the Seaof Galilee. The crowd that gathered

around him was very large. So he got intoa boat. He sat down in it out on the lake.All the people were along the shore at

the wa ter’s edge. 2 He taught them many things using stories. In his teaching hesaid, 3 “Lis ten! A farmer went out to planthis seed. 4 He scat tered the seed on theground. Some fell on a path. Birds cameand ate it up. 5 Some seed fell on rockyplaces, where there wasn’t much soil.The plants came up quickly, because thesoil wasn’t deep. 6 When the sun cameup, it burned the plants. They dried upbecause they had no roots. 7 Other seed

fell among thorns. The thorns grew upand crowded out the plants. So the plantsdid not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fellon good soil. It grew up and produced acrop 30, 60, or even 100 times more than

the farmer planted.”9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears

should lis ten.”10Later Jesus was alone. The 12 disci-

ples asked him about the stories. So did the others around him. 11He told them,

“The secret of God’s kingdom has beengiven to you. But to outsiders every thingis told using stories. 12 In that way,

“ ‘They will see but never know what they are seeing.

They will hear but neverunderstand.

Otherwise they might turn and beforgiven!’ ” (Isaiah 6:9,10)

13Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you

understand this story? Then how willyou understand any stories of this kind?14 The seed the farmer plants is God’smessage. 15 What is seed scat tered ona path like? The message is planted.The people hear the message. Then Sa-

tan comes. He takes away the message that was planted in them. 16And what isseed scat tered on rocky places like? Thepeople hear the message. At once theyreceive it with joy. 17 But they have no

roots. So they last only a short time. They


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was now dressed and thinking clearly.All this made the people afraid. 16Thosewho had seen it told them what had hap-pened to the man. They told about thepigs as well. 17Then the people began tobeg Jesus to leave their area.

18 Jesus was get ting into the boat. Theman who had been con trolled by demonsbegged to go with him. 19 Jesus did notlet him. He said, “Go home to your ownpeople. Tell them how much the Lord hasdone for you. Tell them how kind he hasbeen to you.” 20 So the man went away.In the area known as the Ten Cities, hebegan to tell how much Jesus had donefor him. And all the people were amazed.

Jesus Heals a Dead Girl and a SufferingWoman

21 Jesus went across the Sea of Gali-lee in a boat. It landed at the other side.There a large crowd gathered aroundhim. 22 Then a man named Jairus came.He was a synagogue leader. When hesaw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23He beggedJesus, “Please come. My lit tle daugh teris dying. Place your hands on her to healher. Then she will live.” 24 So Jesus wentwith him.

A large group of people followed. Theycrowded around him. 25 A woman was

there who had a sickness that made herbleed. It had lasted for 12 years. 26 Shehad suffered a great deal, even thoughshe had gone to many doc tors. She hadspent all the money she had. But she wasget ting worse, not bet ter. 27 Then sheheard about Jesus. She came up behindhim in the crowd and touched his clothes.28 She thought, “I just need to touch his

clothes. Then I will be healed.” 29 Rightaway her bleeding stopped. She felt inher body that her suffering was over.

30 At once Jesus knew that power hadgone out from him. He turned around in

the crowd. He asked, “Who touched myclothes?”

31 “You see the people,” his disciplesanswered. “They are crowding againstyou. And you still ask, ‘Who touchedme?’ ”

32 But Jesus kept looking around. Hewanted to see who had touched him.33 Then the woman came and fell at hisfeet. She knew what had happened to her.She was shaking with fear. But she toldhim the whole truth. 34 He said to her,“Dear woman, your faith has healedyou. Go in peace. You are free from yoursuffering.”

35 While Jesus was still speaking,some people came from the house of Ja-

irus. He was the synagogue leader. “Your

side of the lake.” 36 They left the crowdbehind. And they took him along in aboat, just as he was. There were alsoother boats with him. 37 A wild stormcame up. Waves crashed over the boat.It was about to sink. 38 Jesus was in theback, sleeping on a cushion. The disci-ples woke him up. They said, “Teacher!Don’t you care if we drown?”

39 He got up and ordered the wind tostop. He said to the waves, “Quiet! Bestill!” Then the wind died down. And itwas completely calm.

40 He said to his disciples, “Why areyou so afraid? Don’t you have any faithat all yet?”

41 They were terrified. They askedeach other, “Who is this? Even the wind

and the waves obey him!”

Jesus Heals a Man Controlled by Demons

5They went across the Sea of Galilee to

the area of the Gerasenes. 2 Jesus gotout of the boat. A man con trolled by anevil spirit came from the tombs to meethim. 3 The man lived in the tombs. Noone could keep him tied up anymore. Noteven a chain could hold him. 4 His handsand feet had of ten been chained. But

he tore the chains apart. And he broke the iron cuffs on his ankles. No one wasstrong enough to con trol him. 5 Night andday he screamed among the tombs andin the hills. He cut himself with stones.

6When he saw Jesus a long way off, heran to him. He fell on his knees in front ofhim. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice,“Jesus, Son of the Most High God, whatdo you want with me? Swear to God thatyou won’t hurt me!” 8 This was becauseJesus had said to him, “Come out of thisman, you evil spirit!”

9 Then Jesus asked the demon, “Whatis your name?”

“My name is Legion,” he replied.“There are many of us.” 10And he beggedJesus again and again not to send themout of the area.

11 A large herd of pigs was feedingon the nearby hillside. 12 The demonsbegged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs.Let us go into them.” 13 Jesus allowed

it. The evil spirits came out of the manand went into the pigs. There were about2,000 pigs in the herd. The whole herdrushed down the steep bank. They raninto the lake and drowned.

14 Those who were tending the pigsran off. They told the people in the townand coun tryside what had happened.The people went out to see for them-selves. 15Then they came to Jesus. Theysaw the man who had been con trolled by

many demons. He was sit ting there. He


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vited into a house, stay there un til youleave town. 11Some places may not wel-come you or lis ten to you. If they don’t,leave that place and shake the dust offyour feet. That will be a witness against

the people living there.”12 They went out. And they preached

that people should turn away from theirsins. 13 They drove out many demons.They poured olive oil on many sick peo-ple and healed them.

John the Baptist’s Head Is Cut Off 14King Herod heard about this. Jesus’

name had become well known. Somewere saying, “John the Bap tist has beenraised from the dead! That is why he has

the power to do miracles.”15Others said, “He is Eli jah.” Still others claimed, “He is a proph-

et. He is like one of the prophets of longago.”

16But when Herod heard this, he said,“I had John’s head cut off. And now hehas been raised from the dead!”

17 In fact, it was Herod himself whohad given orders to arrest John. He hadhim tied up and put in prison. He did thisbecause of Herodias. She was the wife

of Herod’s brother Philip. But now Her-od was married to her. 18 John had beensaying to Herod, “It is against the Lawfor you to be married to your brother’swife.” 19Herodias couldn’t forgive Johnfor saying that. She wanted to kill him.But she could not, 20 because Herod wasafraid of John. So he kept John safe. Her-od knew John was a holy man who didwhat was right. When Herod heard him,he was very puzzled. But he liked to lis-

ten to John.21Finally the right time came. Herod

gave a banquet on his birthday. He in vit-ed his high officials and mili tary leaders.He also in vited the most impor tant menin Galilee. 22 Then the daugh ter of He-rodias came in and danced. She pleasedHerod and his dinner guests.

The king said to the girl, “Ask me forany thing you want. I’ll give it to you.”23 And he gave her his promise. He said

to her, “Any thing you ask for I will give

you. I’ll give you up to half my kingdom.”24She went out and said to her mother,

“What should I ask for?”“The head of John the Bap tist,” she

answered.25 At once the girl hurried to ask the

king. She said, “I want you to give me thehead of John the Bap tist on a big plateright now.”

26 The king was very upset. But he thought about his promise and his din-

ner guests. So he did not want to say no

daugh ter is dead,” they said. “Why both-er the teacher anymore?”

36 Jesus heard what they were saying.He told the synagogue leader, “Don’t beafraid. Just believe.”

37 He let only Pe ter, James, and John, the brother of James, follow him. 38 Theycame to the home of the synagogue lead-er. There Jesus saw a lot of confusion.People were crying and sobbing loudly.39 He went inside. Then he said to them,“Why all this confusion and sobbing?The child is not dead. She is only sleep-ing.” 40 But they laughed at him.

He made them all go outside. He tookonly the child’s fa ther and mother and

the disciples who were with him. And hewent in where the child was. 41 He took

her by the hand. Then he said to her,“Talitha koum!” This means, “Lit tle girl,I say to you, get up!” 42 The girl was 12years old. Right away she stood up andbegan to walk around. They were to tal-ly amazed at this. 43 Jesus gave strictorders not to let anyone know what hadhappened. And he told them to give hersome thing to eat.

A Prophet Without Honor

6 Jesus left there and went to his home-

town of Nazareth. His disciples wentwith him. 2 When the Sabbath day came,he began to teach in the synagogue.Many who heard him were amazed.

“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that hasbeen given to him? What are these re-markable miracles he is doing? 3 Isn’t

this the carpen ter? Isn’t this Mary’s son?Isn’t this the brother of James, Joseph,

Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sis ters herewith us?” They were not pleased withhim at all.

4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is hon-ored everywhere except in his own town.He doesn’t receive any honor among hisrela tives or in his own home.” 5 Jesusplaced his hands on a few sick peopleand healed them. But he could not do anyother miracles there. 6 He was amazedbecause they had no faith.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Disciples Jesus went around teaching from vil-

lage to village. 7He called the 12 disciples to him. Then he began to send them out two by two. He gave them au thori ty todrive out evil spirits.

8Here is what he told them to do. “Takeonly a walking stick for your trip. Do not

take bread or a bag. Take no money inyour belts. 9 Wear sandals. But do not

take ex tra clothes.10

When you are in-


9/25

JESUS WALKS ON WATER

Jesus’ disciples were in a boat crossing the Sea of Galilee. Jesushad gone up on a mountain by himself to pray, but now he wasready to return to his friends.

So did he get in his own boat to join them? Nope. Did he walkaround the sea? Uh-uh. Did he build a bridge? No way. Hesimply walked across the water to where his disciples werefloating. Now that’s amazing! At first they were afraid becausethey thought Jesus was a ghost, but then Peter asked if he couldcome out to Jesus on the water. What happens? Read about it inMatthew 14 or Mark 6 or John 6!


Jesus called out to them, “Be brave! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

MATTHEW 14:27


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middle of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus wasalone on land. 48 He saw the disciplespulling hard on the oars. The wind wasblowing against them. Shortly beforedawn, he went out to them. He walkedon the lake. When he was about to passby them, 49 they saw him walking on thelake. They thought he was a ghost, so

they cried out. 50 They all saw him andwere terrified.

Right away Jesus said to them, “Bebrave! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 51 Thenhe climbed into the boat with them.The wind died down. And they werecompletely amazed. 52 They had not un-derstood about the loaves. They werestubborn.

53 They went across the lake and land-

ed at Gennesaret. There they tied up theboat. 54 As soon as Jesus and his disciplesgot out, people recognized him. 55 Theyran through that whole area to bring

to him those who were sick. They car-ried them on mats to where they heardhe was. 56 He went into the villages, the

towns and the coun tryside. Everywherehe went, the people brought the sick to

the market areas. Those who were sickbegged him to let them touch just the

edge of his clothes. And all who touchedhis clothes were healed.

What Makes People “Unclean”?

7The Pharisees gathered around Jesus.So did some of the teachers of the law.

All of them had come from Jerusalem.2 They saw some of his disciples eatingfood with “unclean” hands. That means

they were not washed. 3 The Phariseesand all the Jews do not eat unless they

wash their hands to make them “clean.”That’s what the elders teach. 4When theycome from the market, they do not eatunless they wash. And they follow manyother teachings. For example, they washcups, pitchers, and ket tles in a specialway.

5 So the Pharisees and the teachersof the law ques tioned Jesus. “Why don’tyour disciples live by what the elders

teach?” they asked. “Why do they eat their food with ‘unclean’ hands?”

6 He replied, “Isaiah was right. Heprophesied about you people who pre-

tend to be good. He said,

“ ‘These people honor me by what they say.

But their hearts are far away fromme.

7 Their worship doesn’t meananything to me.

They teach nothing but human

rules.’ (Isaiah 29:13)

to the girl. 27 He sent a man right away to bring John’s head. The man went to the prison and cut off John’s head. 28 Hebrought it back on a big plate. He gave it

to the girl, and she gave it to her mother.29 John’s disciples heard about this. So

they came and took his body. Then theyplaced it in a tomb.

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand30The apos tles gathered around Jesus.

They told him all they had done and taught. 31 But many people were com-ing and going. So they did not even havea chance to eat. Then Jesus said to hisapos tles, “Come with me by yourselves toa quiet place. You need to get some rest.”

32 So they went away by themselves ina boat to a quiet place. 33 But many peo-ple who saw them leaving recognized

them. They ran from all the towns andgot there ahead of them. 34 When Jesuscame ashore, he saw a large crowd. Hefelt deep concern for them. They werelike sheep without a shepherd. So he be-gan teaching them many things.

35 By that time it was late in the day.His disciples came to him. “There is noth-ing here,” they said. “It’s already very

late. 36 Send the people away. Then theycan go to the nearby coun tryside and vil-lages to buy some thing to eat.”

37But Jesus answered, “You give themsome thing to eat.”

They said to him, “That would takemore than half a year’s pay! Should wego and spend that much on bread? Arewe supposed to feed them?”

38 “How many loaves do you have?”Jesus asked. “Go and see.”

When they found out, they said, “Fiveloaves and two fish.”

39 Then Jesus directed them to haveall the people sit down in groups on

the green grass. 40 So they sat down ingroups of 100s and 50s. 41 Jesus took thefive loaves and the two fish. He looked up

to heaven and gave thanks. He broke theloaves into pieces. Then he gave them tohis disciples to pass around to the people.He also di vided the two fish among them

all.42

All of them ate and were satisfied.43 The disciples picked up 12 baskets ofbroken pieces of bread and fish. 44 Thenumber of men who had eaten was 5,000.

Jesus Walks on the Water45 Right away Jesus made his disci-

ples get into the boat. He had them go onahead of him to Bethsaida. Then he sent

the crowd away. 46 Af ter leaving them,he went up on a moun tainside to pray.

47

Later that night, the boat was in the


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28 “Lord,” she replied, “even the dogsunder the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

29 Then he told her, “That was a goodreply. You may go. The demon has leftyour daugh ter.”

30 So she went home and found herchild lying on the bed. And the demonwas gone.

Jesus Heals a Man Who Could Not Hearor Speak

31 Then Jesus left the area of Tyreand went through Sidon. He went down

to the Sea of Galilee and into the areaknown as the Ten Cities. 32 There somepeople brought a man to Jesus. The manwas deaf and could hardly speak. Theybegged Jesus to place his hand on theman.

33 Jesus took the man to one side, awayfrom the crowd. He put his fingers into

the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. 34 Jesus looked up toheaven. With a deep sigh, he said to theman, “Ephphatha!” That means “Beopened!” 35 The man’s ears were opened.His tongue was freed up, and he began

to speak clearly.36 Jesus ordered the people not to tell

anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. 37People werereally amazed. “He has done every thingwell,” they said. “He even makes deafpeople able to hear. And he makes thosewho can’t speak able to talk.”

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

8During those days another largecrowd gathered. They had nothing to

eat. So Jesus called for his disciples to

come to him. He said, 2 “I feel deep con-cern for these people. They have alreadybeen with me three days. They don’t haveany thing to eat. 3 If I send them awayhungry, they will become too weak on their way home. Some of them have comefrom far away.”

4 His disciples answered him. “Thereis nothing here,” they said. “Where cananyone get enough bread to feed them?”

5 “How many loaves do you have?”

Jesus asked.“Seven,” they replied.6 He told the crowd to sit down on the

ground. He took the seven loaves and gave thanks to God. Then he broke them andgave them to his disciples. They passed

the pieces of bread around to the people.7 The disciples also had a few small fish.Jesus gave thanks for them too. He told

the disciples to pass them around. 8 Thepeople ate and were satisfied. Af ter that,

the disciples picked up seven baskets of

8 You have let go of God’s commands.And you are holding on to teachings thatpeople have made up.”

9 Jesus con tinued speaking, “Youhave a fine way of set ting aside God’scommands! You do this so you can fol-low your own teachings. 10 Moses said,‘Honor your fa ther and mother.’ (Exo-dus 20:12; Deu teronomy 5:16) He alsosaid, ‘Anyone who asks for bad things

to happen to their fa ther or mother mustbe put to death.’ (Exodus 21:17; Le viticus20:9) 11But you allow people to say thatwhat might have been used to help theirparents is Corban. Corban means A GiftSet Apart for God. 12 So you no longerlet them do any thing for their parents.13You make the word of God useless by

put ting your own teachings in its place.And you do many things like this.”

14Again Jesus called the crowd to him.He said, “Lis ten to me, everyone. Under-stand this. 15-16 Nothing outside of a per-son can make them ‘unclean’ by goinginto them. It is what comes out of them

that makes them ‘unclean.’ ”17Then he left the crowd and en tered

the house. His disciples asked himabout this teaching. 18 “Don’t you un-

derstand?” Jesus asked. “Don’t you see?Nothing that en ters a person from theoutside can make them ‘unclean.’ 19 Itdoesn’t go into their heart. It goes into

their stomach. Then it goes out of thebody.” In saying this, Jesus was callingall foods “clean.”

20 He went on to say, “What comes outof a person is what makes them ‘unclean.’21 Evil thoughts come from the inside,from a person’s heart. So do sexual sins,stealing and murder. 22 Adul tery, greed,hate and cheating come from a person’sheart too. So do desires that are not pure,and wanting what belongs to others. Andso do telling lies about others and beingproud and being foolish. 23 All these evil

things come from inside a person andmake them ‘unclean.’ ”

Jesus Honors a Greek Woman’s Faith24 Jesus went from there to a place

near Tyre. He en tered a house. He did

not want anyone to know where hewas. But he could not keep it a secret.25 Soon a woman heard about him. Anevil spirit con trolled her lit tle daugh ter.The woman came to Jesus and fell at hisfeet. 26 She was a Greek, born in SyrianPhoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive thedemon out of her daugh ter.

27 “First let the children eat all theywant,” he told her. “It is not right to take

the children’s bread and throw it to the

dogs.”


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On the way he asked them, “Who do peo-ple say I am?”

28 They replied, “Some say John theBap tist. Others say Eli jah. Still otherssay one of the prophets.”

29 “But what about you?” he asked.“Who do you say I am?”

Pe ter answered, “You are theMessiah.”

30 Jesus warned them not to tell any-one about him.

Jesus Tells About His Coming Death31Jesus then began to teach his disci-

ples. He taught them that the Son of Manmust suffer many things. He taught them

that the elders would not accept him. Thechief priests and the teachers of the lawwould not accept him ei ther. He must bekilled and af ter three days rise again.32He spoke clearly about this. Pe ter tookJesus to one side and began to scold him.

33 Jesus turned and looked at his dis-ciples. He scolded Pe ter. “Get behind me,Sa tan!” he said. “You are not thinkingabout the things God cares about. In-stead, you are thinking only about the

things humans care about.”

You Must Pick Up Your Cross34 Jesus called the crowd to him along

with his disciples. He said, “Whoev-er wants to be my disciple must say no

to themselves. They must pick up theircross and follow me. 35 Whoever wants

to save their life will lose it. But who-ever loses their life for me and for thegood news will save it. 36 What good isit if someone gains the whole world butloses their soul? 37 Or what can anyone

trade for their soul? 38 Suppose anyoneis ashamed of me and my words among

these adul terous and sinful people. Then the Son of Man will be ashamed of themwhen he comes in his Fa ther’s glory with

the holy angels.”

9 Jesus said to them, “What I’m about to

tell you is true. Some who are stand-ing here will not die be fore they see thatGod’s kingdom has come with power.”

Jesus’ Appearance Is Changed2 Af ter six days Jesus took Pe ter,

James and John with him. He led themup a high moun tain. They were all alone.There in front of them his appearancewas changed. 3 His clothes became sowhite they shone. They were whiter thananyone in the world could bleach them.4 Eli jah and Moses appeared in front ofJesus and his disciples. The two of themwere talking with Jesus.

5

Pe ter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good

leftover pieces. 9About 4,000 people were there. Af ter Jesus sent them away, 10hegot into a boat with his disciples. He went

to the area of Dalmanu tha.11 The Pharisees came and began to

ask Jesus ques tions. They wanted to testhim. So they asked him for a sign fromheaven. 12 He sighed deeply. He said,“Why do you people ask for a sign? WhatI’m about to tell you is true. No sign willbe given to you.” 13Then he left them. Hegot back into the boat and crossed to theother side of the lake.

The Yeast of the Pharisees and Herod14The disciples had forgot ten to bring

bread. They had only one loaf with themin the boat. 15 “Be careful,” Jesus warned

them. “Watch out for the yeast of thePharisees. And watch out for the yeastof Herod.”

16 They talked about this with eachother. They said, “He must be saying thisbecause we don’t have any bread.”

17Jesus knew what they were saying.So he asked them, “Why are you talkingabout having no bread? Why can’t yousee or un derstand? Are you stubborn?18 Do you have eyes and still don’t see?

Do you have ears and still don’t hear?And don’t you remember? 19 EarlierI broke five loaves for the 5,000. Howmany baskets of pieces did you pick up?”

“Twelve,” they replied.20 “Later I broke seven loaves for the

4,000. How many baskets of pieces didyou pick up?”

“Seven,” they answered.21He said to them, “Can’t you under-

stand yet?”

Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida22 Jesus and his disciples came to Beth-

saida. Some people brought a blind man to him. They begged Jesus to touch him.23 He took the blind man by the hand.Then he led him outside the village. Hespit on the man’s eyes and placed hishands on him. “Do you see any thing?”Jesus asked.

24 The man looked up. He said, “I see

people. They look like trees walkingaround.”

25 Once more Jesus put his handson the man’s eyes. Then his eyes wereopened so that he could see again. Hesaw every thing clearly. 26 Jesus sent himhome. He told him, “Don’t even go into

the village.”

Peter Says That Jesus Is the Messiah27 Jesus and his disciples went on to

the villages around Caesarea Philippi.


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22 “The spirit has of ten thrown him intofire or wa ter to kill him. But if you can doany thing, take pity on us. Please help us.”

23 “ ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Ev-ery thing is possible for the one whobelieves.”

24 Right away the boy’s fa ther criedout, “I do believe! Help me overcome myunbelief!”

25 Jesus saw that a crowd was runningover to see what was happening. Then heordered the evil spirit to leave the boy.“You spirit that makes him unable to hearand speak!” he said. “I command you,come out of him. Never en ter him again.”

26 The spirit screamed. It shook theboy wildly. Then it came out of him. Theboy looked so lifeless that many people

said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took himby the hand. He lifted the boy to his feet,and the boy stood up.

28 Jesus went indoors. Then his disci-ples asked him in pri vate, “Why couldn’twe drive out the evil spirit?”

29 He replied, “This kind can come outonly by prayer.”

Jesus Speaks a Second Time About HisComing Death

30 They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want any-one to know where they were. 31That wasbecause he was teaching his disciples. Hesaid to them, “The Son of Man is going

to be handed over to men. They will killhim. Af ter three days he will rise from

the dead.” 32 But they didn’t understandwhat he meant. And they were afraid toask him about it.

Who Is the Most Important Person?33 Jesus and his disciples came to a

house in Capernaum. There he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” 34 But they kept quiet. On theway, they had argued about which oneof them was the most impor tant person.

35 Jesus sat down and called for the 12disciples to come to him. Then he said,“Anyone who wants to be first must be

the very last. They must be the ser vant

of everyone.”36 Jesus took a lit tle child and had thechild stand among them. Then he took

the child in his arms. He said to them,37 “Anyone who welcomes one of theselit tle children in my name welcomes me.And anyone who welcomes me also wel-comes the one who sent me.”

Anyone Who Is Not Against Us Is for Us38 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw some-

one driving out demons in your name.

for us to be here. Let us put up three shel- ters. One will be for you, one for Moses,and one for Eli jah.” 6 Pe ter didn’t reallyknow what to say, because they were soafraid.

7 Then a cloud appeared and covered them. A voice came from the cloud. Itsaid, “This is my Son, and I love him.Lis ten to him!”

8 They looked around. Suddenly theyno longer saw anyone with them exceptJesus.

9 They came down the moun tain. On the way down, Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what they had seen. He told them to wait un til the Son of Man had ris-en from the dead. 10So they kept the mat-

ter to themselves. But they asked eachother what “rising from the dead” meant.

11Then they asked Jesus, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Eli jah has tocome first?”

12 Jesus replied, “That’s right. Eli jahdoes come first. He makes all things newagain. So why is it writ ten that the Son ofMan must suffer much and not be accept-ed? 13 I tell you, Eli jah has come. Theyhave done to him every thing they want-ed to do. They did it just as it is writ ten

about him.”

Jesus Heals a Boy Who Is Controlledby an Evil Spirit

14 When Jesus and those who werewith him came to the other disciples,

they saw a large crowd around them. The teachers of the law were arguing with them. 15When all the people saw Jesus, they were filled with wonder. And theyran to greet him.

16 “What are you arguing with themabout?” Jesus asked.

17 A man in the crowd answered.“Teacher,” he said, “I brought you myson. He is con trolled by an evil spir-it. Because of this, my son can’t speakanymore. 18 When the spirit takes holdof him, it throws him to the ground. Hefoams at the mouth. He grinds his teeth.And his body becomes stiff. I asked yourdisciples to drive out the spirit. But they

couldn’t do it.”19 “You unbelieving people!” Jesus re-

plied. “How long do I have to stay withyou? How long do I have to put up withyou? Bring the boy to me.”

20 So they brought him. As soon as the spirit saw Jesus, it threw the boyinto a fit. He fell to the ground. He rolledaround and foamed at the mouth.

21 Jesus asked the boy’s fa ther, “Howlong has he been like this?”

“Since he was a child,” he answered.


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one. 9 So no one should separate whatGod has joined together.”

10When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11Heanswered, “What if a man di vorces hiswife and gets married to another wom-an? He commits adul tery against her.12 And what if she di vorces her husbandand gets married to another man? Shecommits adul tery.”

Little Children Are Brought to Jesus13People were bringing lit tle children

to Jesus. They wanted him to place hishands on them to bless them. But the dis-ciples told them to stop. 14 When Jesussaw this, he was angry. He said to hisdisciples, “Let the lit tle children come tome. Don’t keep them away. God’s king-dom belongs to people like them. 15WhatI’m about to tell you is true. Anyone whowill not receive God’s kingdom like a lit-

tle child will never en ter it.” 16 Then he took the children in his arms. He placedhis hands on them to bless them.

Rich People and the Kingdom of God17As Jesus started on his way, a man

ran up to him. He fell on his knees be-fore Jesus. “Good teacher,” he said, “whatmust I do to receive eternal life?”

18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesusanswered. “No one is good except God.19 You know what the commandmentssay. ‘Do not murder. Do not commitadul tery. Do not steal. Do not be a falsewitness. Do not cheat. Honor your fa therand mother.’ ” (Exodus 20:12–16; Deu ter-onomy 5:16–20)

20 “Teacher,” he said, “I have obeyed all

those commandments since I was a boy.”21 Jesus looked at him and loved him.

“You are missing one thing,” he said. “Goand sell every thing you have. Give themoney to those who are poor. You willhave treasure in heaven. Then come andfollow me.”

22 The man’s face fell. He went awaysad, because he was very rich.

23 Jesus looked around. He said to hisdisciples, “How hard it is for rich people

to en ter God’s kingdom!”24 The disciples were amazed at his

words. But Jesus said again, “Children,how hard it is to en ter God’s kingdom!25 Is it hard for a camel to go through

the eye of a needle? It is even harderfor someone who is rich to en ter God’skingdom!”

26 The disciples were even moreamazed. They said to each other, “Thenwho can be saved?”

27

Jesus looked at them and said,

We told him to stop, because he was notone of us.”

39 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “Forno one who does a miracle in my namecan in the next moment say any thing badabout me. 40 Anyone who is not againstus is for us. 41What I’m about to tell youis true. Suppose someone gives you a cupof wa ter in my name because you belong

to the Messiah. That person will cer tain-ly not go without a reward.

Leading People to Sin42 “What if someone leads one of these

lit tle ones who believe in me to sin? If they do, it would be bet ter if a large mill-stone were hung around their neck and

they were thrown into the sea. 43-44 Ifyour hand causes you to sin, cut it off.It would be bet ter for you to en ter God’skingdom with only one hand than to gointo hell with two hands. In hell the firenever goes out. 45-46 If your foot causesyou to sin, cut it off. It would be bet ter toen ter God’s kingdom with only one foot

than to have two feet and be thrown intohell. 47 If your eye causes you to sin, pokeit out. It would be bet ter for you to en terGod’s kingdom with only one eye than

to have two eyes and be thrown into hell.48 In hell,

“ ‘The worms that eat them do notdie.

The fire is not put out.’(Isaiah 66:24)

49 Everyone will be salted with fire.50 “Salt is good. But suppose it loses

its saltiness. How can you make it saltyagain? Have salt among yourselves. And

be at peace with each other.”

Jesus Teaches About Divorce

10 Jesus left that place and went into

the area of Judea and across theJordan River. Again crowds of peoplecame to him. As usual, he taught them.

2 Some Pharisees came to test Jesus.They asked, “Does the Law allow a man

to di vorce his wife?”3 “What did Moses command you?” he

replied.4 They said, “Moses allowed a man

to write a let ter of di vorce and send heraway.”

5 “You were stubborn. That’s why Mo-ses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied.6 “But at the beginning of crea tion, God‘made them male and female.’ (Genesis1:27) 7 ‘That’s why a man will leave hisfa ther and mother and be joined to hiswife. 8 The two of them will become one.’

(Genesis 2:24) They are no longer two, but


15/25

THE LAST SUPPER

Te “Last Supper” was Jesus’ final meal with the disciples. ry torecreate the image above. What do you think they talked aboutthat night? What would you have wanted to tell Jesus? Tis is

what the Bible says about that meal:

Jesus took bread. He gave thanks and broke it. He handed it to themand said, “Tis is my body. It is given for you. Every time you eat it,do this in memory of me.” In the same way, after the supper he tookthe cup. He said, “Tis cup is the new covenant in my blood. It is

poured out for you.” LUKE 22:1920


God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who

believes in him will not die but will have eternal life. God did not send

his Son into the world to judge the world. He sent his Son to save the

world through him.

JOHN 3:16–17


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around. 43Don’t be like that. Instead, any-one who wants to be impor tant amongyou must be your ser vant. 44 And anyonewho wants to be first must be the slaveof everyone. 45 Even the Son of Man didnot come to be served. Instead, he came

to serve others. He came to give his lifeas the price for set ting many people free.”

Blind Bartimaeus Receives His Sight46 Jesus and his disciples came to Jer-

icho. They were leaving the city. A largecrowd was with them. A blind man wassit ting by the side of the road begging.His name was Bar timaeus. Bar timaeusmeans Son of Timaeus. 47 He heard thatJesus of Nazareth was passing by. Sohe began to shout, “Jesus! Son of Da vid!Have mercy on me!”

48 Many people commanded him tostop. They told him to be quiet. But heshouted even louder, “Son of Da vid! Havemercy on me!”

49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call forhim.”

So they called out to the blind man,“Cheer up! Get up on your feet! Jesus iscalling for you.” 50 He threw his coat toone side. Then he jumped to his feet and

came to Jesus.51 “What do you want me to do for

you?” Jesus asked him.The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to

be able to see.”52 “Go,” said Jesus. “Your faith has

healed you.” Right away he could see.And he followed Jesus along the road.

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King

11As they all approached Jerusalem,

they came to Bethphage and Betha-ny at the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent out

two of his disciples. 2 He said to them,“Go to the village ahead of you. Just asyou en ter it, you will find a donkey’s colt

tied there. No one has ever ridden it. Un- tie it and bring it here. 3 Someone mayask you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ If so,say, ‘The Lord needs it. But he will sendit back here soon.’ ”

4 So they left. They found a colt out

in the street. It was tied at a doorway.They un tied it. 5 Some people stand-ing there asked, “What are you doing?Why are you un tying that colt?” 6 Theyanswered as Jesus had told them to. So

the people let them go. 7 They brought the colt to Jesus. They threw their coatsover it. Then he sat on it. 8 Many peo-ple spread their coats on the road. Oth-ers spread branches they had cut in thefields. 9 Those in front and those in back

shouted,

“With people, this is impossible. But notwith God. All things are possible withGod.”

28 Then Pe ter spoke up, “We have leftevery thing to follow you!”

29 “What I’m about to tell you is true,”Jesus replied. “Has anyone left homeor family or fields for me and the goodnews? 30 They will receive 100 times asmuch in this world. They will have homesand families and fields. But they will alsobe treated badly by others. In the world tocome they will live forever. 31But manywho are first will be last. And the lastwill be first.”

Jesus Speaks a Third Time About His

Coming Death32 They were on their way up to Jeru-salem. Jesus was leading the way. Thedisciples were amazed. Those who fol-lowed were afraid. Again Jesus took the12 disciples to one side. He told themwhat was going to happen to him. 33 “Weare going up to Jerusalem,” he said. “TheSon of Man will be handed over to thechief priests and the teachers of the law.They will sen tence him to death. Then

they will hand him over to the Gen tiles.34 They will make fun of him and spit onhim. They will whip him and kill him.Three days later he will rise from thedead!”

James and John Ask Jesus for a Favor35 James and John came to Jesus.

They were the sons of Zebedee. “Teach-er,” they said, “we would like to ask youfor a fa vor.”

36 “What do you want me to do for

you?” he asked.37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at

your right hand in your glorious king-dom. Let the other one sit at your lefthand.”

38 “You don’t know what you’re ask-ing for,” Jesus said. “Can you drink thecup of suffering I drink? Or can you go

through the bap tism of suffering I mustgo through?”

39 “We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will drink thecup I drink. And you will go through thebap tism I go through. 40 But it is not forme to say who will sit at my right or lefthand. These places belong to those theyare prepared for.”

41The other ten disciples heard aboutit. They became angry at James and John.42 Jesus called them together. He said,“You know about those who are rulers of

the Gen tiles. They hold power over their

people. Their high officials order them


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you, when you pray for some thing, be-lieve that you have already received it.Then it will be yours. 25-26 And when youstand praying, forgive anyone you haveany thing against. Then your Fa ther inheaven will forgive your sins.”

The Authority of Jesus Is Questioned27 Jesus and his disciples arrived again

in Jerusalem. He was walking in the temple courtyard. Then the chief priestscame to him. The teachers of the law and

the elders came too. 28 “By what au thori tyare you doing these things?” they asked.“Who gave you au thori ty to do this?”

29 Jesus replied, “I will ask you oneques tion. Answer me, and I will tellyou by what au thori ty I am doing these

things. 30 Was John’s bap tism from heav-en? Or did it come from human au thor-i ty? Tell me!”

31They talked to each other about it.They said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ hewill ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believehim?’ 32But what if we say, ‘From humanau thori ty’?” They were afraid of the peo-ple. Everyone believed that John reallywas a prophet.

33 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t

know.” Jesus said, “Then I won’t tell you by

what au thori ty I am doing these thingsei ther.”

The Story of the Renters

12 Jesus began to speak to the peo-ple using stories. He said, “A man

planted a vineyard. He put a wall aroundit. He dug a pit for a winepress. He alsobuilt a lookout tower. He rented the vine-

yard out to some farmers. Then he went to another place. 2 At har vest time hesent a ser vant to the renters. He told theser vant to collect from them some of thefruit of the vineyard. 3 But they grabbed

the ser vant and beat him up. Then theysent him away with nothing. 4 So the mansent another ser vant to the renters. Theyhit this one on the head and treated himbadly. 5 The man sent still another ser-

vant. The renters killed him. The man

sent many others. The renters beat upsome of them. They killed the others.

6 “The man had one person left to send.It was his son, and he loved him. He senthim last of all. He said, ‘They will respectmy son.’

7 “But the renters said to each other,‘This is the one who will receive all theowner’s proper ty someday. Come, let’skill him. Then every thing will be ours.’8 So they took him and killed him. They

threw him out of the vineyard.

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is the one who comesin the name of the Lord!”

(Psalm 118:25,26)

10 “Blessed is the coming kingdom of

our father David!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

11 Jesus en tered Jerusalem and wentinto the temple courtyard. He lookedaround at every thing. But it was alreadylate. So he went out to Bethany with the12 disciples.

Jesus Curses a Fig Tree and Clears Outthe Temple Courtyard

12

The next day as Jesus and his dis-ciples were leaving Bethany, they werehungry. 13Not too far away, he saw a fig

tree. It was covered with leaves. He went to find out if it had any fruit. When hereached it, he found nothing but leaves.It was not the season for figs. 14 ThenJesus said to the tree, “May no one evereat fruit from you again!” And his disci-ples heard him say it.

15When Jesus reached Jerusalem, heen tered the temple courtyard. He began todrive out those who were buying and sell-ing there. He turned over the tables of thepeople who were exchanging money. Healso turned over the benches of those whowere selling doves. 16He would not allowanyone to carry items for sale through the

temple courtyard. 17Then he taught them.He told them, “It is writ ten that the Lordsaid, ‘My house will be called a housewhere people from all na tions can pray.’(Isaiah 56:7) But you have made it a ‘den

for robbers.’ ” (Jeremiah 7:11)18 The chief priests and the teachers

of the law heard about this. They beganlooking for a way to kill Jesus. They wereafraid of him, because the whole crowdwas amazed at his teaching.

19When evening came, Jesus and hisdisciples left the city.

The Dried-Up Fig Tree20 In the morning as Jesus and his

disciples walked along, they saw the fig tree. It was dried up all the way down to the roots. 21Pe ter remembered. He said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree youput a curse on has dried up!”

22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus said.23 “What I’m about to tell you is true. Sup-pose someone says to this moun tain, ‘Goand throw yourself into the sea.’ Theymust not doubt in their heart. They mustbelieve that what they say will happen.

Then it will be done for them.24

So I tell


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24 Jesus replied, “You are mis taken be-cause you do not know the Scrip tures.And you do not know the power of God.25 When the dead rise, they won’t getmarried. And their parents won’t give

them to be married. They will be like theangels in heaven. 26What about the deadrising? Haven’t you read in the Book ofMoses the story of the burning bush?God said to Moses, ‘I am the God of Abra-ham. I am the God of Isaac. And I am

the God of Jacob.’ (Exodus 3:6) 27 He isnot the God of the dead. He is the God of

the living. You have made a big mis take!”

The Most Important Commandment28 One of the teachers of the law came

and heard the Sadducees arguing. Heno ticed that Jesus had given the Saddu-cees a good answer. So he asked him,“Which is the most impor tant of all thecommandments?”

29 Jesus answered, “Here is the mostimpor tant one. Moses said, ‘Israel, lis ten

to me. The Lord is our God. The Lord isone. 30 Love the Lord your God with allyour heart and with all your soul. Lovehim with all your mind and with all yourstrength.’ (Deu teronomy 6:4,5) 31 And

here is the second one. ‘Love your neigh-bor as you love yourself.’ (Le viticus 19:18) There is no commandment more impor-

tant than these.”32 “You have spoken well, teacher,” the

man replied. “You are right in saying thatGod is one. There is no other God buthim. 33 To love God with all your heartand mind and strength is very impor-

tant. So is loving your neighbor as youlove yourself. These things are more

impor tant than all burnt offerings andsacrifices.”

34 Jesus saw that the man had an-swered wisely. He said to him, “You arenot far from God’s kingdom.” From thenon, no one dared to ask Jesus any moreques tions.

Whose Son Is the Messiah?35 Jesus was teaching in the temple

courtyard. He asked, “Why do the teach-

ers of the law say that the Messiah is theson of Da vid? 36 The Holy Spirit spoke

through Da vid himself. Da vid said,

“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your control.” ’ (Psalm 110:1)

37Da vid himself calls him ‘Lord.’ So howcan he be Da vid’s son?”

The large crowd lis tened to Jesus with

delight.

9 “What will the owner of the vineyarddo then? He will come and kill those rent-ers. He will give the vineyard to others.10 Haven’t you read what this part ofScrip ture says,

“ ‘The stone the builders didn’t accept

has become the most importantstone of all.

11 The Lord has done it. It is wonderful in our eyes’?”

(Psalm 118:22,23)

12 Then the chief priests, the teachersof the law and the elders looked for a way

to arrest Jesus. They knew he had told the story against them. But they wereafraid of the crowd. So they left him andwent away.

Is It Right to Pay the Royal Tax to Caesar?13Later the religious leaders sent some

of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus.They wanted to trap him with his ownwords. 14 They came to him and said,“Teacher, we know that you are a man ofhonor. You don’t let other people tell youwhat to do or say. You don’t care how im-por tant they are. But you teach the wayof God truthfully. Is it right to pay the

royal tax to Caesar or not? 15Should wepay or shouldn’t we?”

But Jesus knew what they were trying to do. So he asked, “Why are you trying to trap me? Bring me a sil ver coin. Let melook at it.” 16 They brought the coin. Heasked them, “Whose pic ture is this? Andwhose words?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.17Then Jesus said to them, “Give back

to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. And

give back to God what belongs to God.”They were amazed at him.

Marriage When the Dead Rise18 The Sadducees came to Jesus with

a ques tion. They do not believe that peo-ple rise from the dead. 19 “Teacher,” theysaid, “Moses wrote for us about a manwho died and didn’t have any children.But he did leave a wife behind. Thatman’s brother must get married to the

widow. He must pro vide children to car-ry on his dead brother’s name. 20 Therewere seven brothers. The first one gotmarried. He died without leaving anychildren. 21The second one got married

to the widow. He also died and left nochild. It was the same with the third one.22 In fact, none of the seven left any chil-dren. Last of all, the woman died too.23 When the dead rise, whose wife willshe be? All seven of them were married

to her.”


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of governors and kings because of me. In that way you will be witnesses to them.10 The good news has to be preached toall na tions before the end comes. 11Youwill be arrested and brought to trial. Butdon’t worry ahead of time about whatyou will say. Just say what God brings toyour mind at the time. It is not you speak-ing, but the Holy Spirit.

12 “Brothers will hand over brothers to be killed. Fa thers will hand over theirchildren. Children will rise up against

their parents and have them put to death.13Everyone will hate you because of me.But the one who remains strong in thefaith will be saved.

14 “You will see ‘the hated thing thatdestroys.’ (Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11) It will

stand where it does not belong. The read-er should understand this. Then thosewho are in Judea should escape to themoun tains. 15No one on the roof shouldgo down into the house to take any thingout. 16No one in the field should go back

to get their coat. 17How awful it will bein those days for pregnant women! Howawful for nursing mothers! 18 Pray that

this will not happen in win ter. 19 Thosedays will be worse than any others from

the time God created the world un til now.And there will never be any like themagain.

20 “If the Lord had not cut the timeshort, no one would live. But because ofGod’s chosen people, he has shortened it.21At that time someone may say to you,‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ Or, ‘Look!There he is!’ Do not believe it. 22 Falsemessiahs and false prophets will appear.They will do signs and miracles. Theywill try to fool God’s chosen people ifpossible. 23 Keep watch! I have told youevery thing ahead of time.

24 “So in those days there will be terri-ble suffering. Af ter that, Scrip ture says,

“ ‘The sun will be darkened. The moon will not shine. 25 The stars will fall from the sky. The heavenly bodies will be

shaken.’ (Isaiah 13:10; 34:4)

26 “At that time people will see the

Son of Man coming in clouds. He willcome with great power and glory. 27 Hewill send his angels. He will gather hischosen people from all four direc tions.He will bring them from the ends of theearth to the ends of the heavens.

28 “Learn a lesson from the fig tree. Assoon as its twigs get tender and its leavescome out, you know that summer is near.29 In the same way, when you see these

things happening, you know that the end

is near. It is right at the door.30

What I’m

Warning Against the Teachers of the Law38 As he taught, he said, “Watch out

for the teachers of the law. They like towalk around in long robes. They like tobe greeted with respect in the market.39 They love to have the most impor tant

seats in the synagogues. They also love to have the places of honor at dinners.40 They take over the houses of widows.They say long prayers to show off. Godwill punish these men very much.”

The Widow’s Offering41Jesus sat down across from the place

where people put their temple offerings.He watched the crowd put ting their mon-ey into the offering boxes. Many richpeople threw large amounts into them.42 But a poor widow came and put in

two very small copper coins. They wereworth only a few pennies.

43 Jesus asked his disciples to come tohim. He said, “What I’m about to tell youis true. That poor widow has put moreinto the offering box than all the oth-ers. 44 They all gave a lot because theyare rich. But she gave even though sheis poor. She put in every thing she had.That was all she had to live on.”

When the Temple Will Be Destroyed andthe Signs of the End

13 Jesus was leaving the temple. Oneof his disciples said to him, “Look,

Teacher! What huge stones! What won-derful buildings!”

2 “Do you see these huge buildings?”Jesus asked. “Not one stone here will beleft on top of another. Every stone will be

thrown down.”3 Jesus was sit ting on the Mount of

Olives, across from the temple. Pe ter,James, John and Andrew asked him aques tion in pri vate. 4 “Tell us,” they said.“When will these things happen? Andwhat will be the sign that they are allabout to come true?”

5 Jesus said to them, “Keep watch! Becareful that no one fools you. 6 Many willcome in my name. They will claim, ‘I amhe.’ They will fool many people. 7 You

will hear about wars. You will also hearpeople talking about fu ture wars. Don’tbe alarmed. These things must happen.But the end still isn’t here. 8 Na tion willfight against na tion. Kingdom will fightagainst kingdom. There will be earth-quakes in many places. People will gohungry. All these things are the begin-ning of birth pains.

9 “Watch out! You will be handed over to the local courts. You will be whipped

in the synagogues. You will stand in front


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he watched for the right time to handJesus over to them.

The Last Supper12 It was the first day of the Feast of

Unleavened Bread. That was the time to

sacrifice the Passover lamb. Jesus’ dis-ciples asked him, “Where do you wantus to go and prepare for you to eat thePassover meal?”

13 So he sent out two of his disciples.He told them, “Go into the city. A mancarrying a jar of wa ter will meet you.Follow him. 14He will en ter a house. Say

to its owner, ‘The Teacher asks, “Whereis my guest room? Where can I eat thePassover meal with my disciples?” ’ 15He

will show you a large upstairs room. Itwill have furni ture and will be ready.Prepare for us to eat there.”

16The disciples left and went into thecity. They found things just as Jesus had

told them. So they prepared the Passovermeal.

17When evening came, Jesus arrivedwith the 12 disciples. 18While they wereat the table eating, Jesus said, “What I’mabout to tell you is true. One of you whois eating with me will hand me over tomy enemies.”

19 The disciples became sad. One byone they said to him, “Surely you don’tmean me?”

20 “It is one of you,” Jesus replied. “Itis the one who dips bread into the bowlwith me. 21The Son of Man will go just asit is writ ten about him. But how terribleit will be for the one who hands over theSon of Man! It would be bet ter for him ifhe had not been born.”

22 While they were eating, Jesus tookbread. He gave thanks and broke it. Hehanded it to his disciples and said, “Takeit. This is my body.”

23 Then he took a cup. He gave thanksand handed it to them. All of them drankfrom it.

24 “This is my blood of the covenant,”he said to them. “It is poured out formany. 25 What I’m about to tell you is

true. I won’t drink wine with you again

un til the day I drink it in God’s kingdom.”26 Then they sang a hymn and went

out to the Mount of Olives.

Jesus Says That the Disciples Will TurnAway

27 “You will all turn away,” Jesus told the disciples. “It is writ ten,

“ ‘I will strike the shepherd down. Then the sheep will be scattered.’

(Zechariah 13:7)

about to tell you is true. The people livingnow will cer tainly not pass away un til all

those things have happened. 31 Heavenand earth will pass away. But my wordswill never pass away.

The Day and Hour Are Not Known32 “But no one knows about that dayor hour. Not even the angels in heav-en know. The Son does not know. Only

the Fa ther knows. 33 Keep watch! Stayawake! You do not know when that timewill come. 34 It’s like a man going away.He leaves his house and puts his ser vantsin charge. Each one is given a task to do.He tells the one at the door to keep watch.

35 “So keep watch! You do not knowwhen the owner of the house will comeback. It may be in the evening or at mid-night. It may be when the rooster crowsor at dawn. 36 He may come suddenly. Sodo not let him find you sleeping. 37 WhatI say to you, I say to everyone. ‘Watch!’ ”

A Woman Pours Perfume on Jesusat Bethany

14The Passover and the Feast of Un-leavened Bread were only two days

away. The chief priests and the teachersof the law were plot ting to arrest Jesussecretly. They wanted to kill him. 2 “Butnot during the feast,” they said. “The peo-ple may stir up trouble.”

3 Jesus was in Bethany. He was at the table in the home of Simon, who had askin disease. A woman came with a spe-cial sealed jar. It con tained very expen-sive perfume made out of pure nard. Shebroke the jar open and poured the per-fume on Jesus’ head.

4 Some of the people there becameangry. They said to one another, “Whywaste this perfume? 5 It could have beensold for more than a year’s pay. The mon-ey could have been given to poor people.”So they found fault with the woman.

6 “Leave her alone,” Jesus said. “Whyare you bothering her? She has done abeau tiful thing to me. 7 You will alwayshave poor people with you. You can help

them any time you want to. But you will

not always have me. 8 She did what shecould. She poured perfume on my body

to prepare me to be buried. 9 What I’mabout to tell you is true. What she hasdone will be told anywhere the goodnews is preached all over the world. Itwill be told in memory of her.”

10 Judas Iscariot was one of the 12disciples. He went to the chief priests tohand Jesus over to them. 11 They weredelighted to hear that he would do this.

They promised to give Judas money. So


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JESUS AND THE CROSS

Because of Jesus’ death on the cross, the sins of all people whobelieve in him were wiped away. But what does that really mean?Find a whiteboard or a chalkboard and write down something not

so good that you’ve done lately. Ten take the eraser and make the words disappear. Tat’s what Jesus does for you. If you love himand believe in him, he makes your sins disappear!


Dear children, I’m writing to you because your sins have been forgiven.

They have been forgiven because of what Jesus has done.

1 JOHN 2:12


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46 The men grabbed Jesus and arrestedhim. 47 Then one of those standing near-by pulled his sword out. He struck theser vant of the high priest and cut off hisear.

48 “Am I leading a band of armed menagainst you?” asked Jesus. “Do you have to come out with swords and clubs to cap- ture me? 49 Every day I was with you. I taught in the temple courtyard, and youdidn’t arrest me. But the Scrip tures mustcome true.” 50 Then everyone left himand ran away.

51A young man was following Jesus.The man was wearing nothing but apiece of linen cloth. When the crowdgrabbed him, 52 he ran away naked. Heleft his clothing behind.

Jesus Is Taken to the Sanhedrin53 The crowd took Jesus to the high

priest. All the chief priests, the elders,and the teachers of the law came togeth-er. 54 Not too far away, Pe ter followedJesus. He went right into the courtyardof the high priest. There he sat with theguards. He warmed himself at the fire.

55The chief priests and the whole San-hedrin were looking for some thing to use

against Jesus. They wanted to put him to death. But they did not find any proof.56 Many witnesses lied about him. But

their stories did not agree.57 Then some of them stood up. Here

is what those false witnesses said abouthim. 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy

this temple made by human hands. In three days I will build another temple,not made by human hands.’ ” 59 But what

they said did not agree.

60 Then the high priest stood up infront of them. He asked Jesus, “Aren’tyou going to answer? What are thesecharges these men are bringing againstyou?” 61 But Jesus remained silent. Hegave no answer.

Again the high priest asked him, “Areyou the Messiah? Are you the Son of theBlessed One?”

62 “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sit ting at the right hand

of the Mighty One. You will see the Sonof Man coming on the clouds of heaven.”

63 The high priest tore his clothes.“Why do we need any more witnesses?”he asked. 64 “You have heard him say a

very evil thing against God. What do you think?”

They all found him guilty and said hemust die. 65 Then some began to spit athim. They blindfolded him. They hit himwith their fists. They said, “Prophesy!”

And the guards took him and beat him.

28 But af ter I rise from the dead, I will goahead of you into Galilee.”

29 Pe ter said, “All the others may turnaway. But I will not.”

30 “What I’m about to tell you is true,”Jesus answered. “It will happen today,in fact tonight. Before the rooster crows

twice, you yourself will say three times that you don’t know me.”

31But Pe ter would not give in. He said,“I may have to die with you. But I willnever say I don’t know you.” And all theothers said the same thing.

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane32 Jesus and his disciples went to a

place called Gethsemane. Jesus said to them, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He tookPe ter, James and John along with him.He began to be very upset and troubled.34 “My soul is very sad. I feel close todeath,” he said to them. “Stay here. Keepwatch.”

35 He went a lit tle far ther. Then he fell to the ground. He prayed that, if possi-ble, the hour might pass by him. 36 “ Abba,Fa ther” he said, “every thing is possiblefor you. Take this cup of suffering awayfrom me. But let what you want be done,

not what I want.”37 Then he re turned to his disciples

and found them sleeping. “Simon,” hesaid to Pe ter, “are you asleep? Couldn’tyou keep watch for one hour? 38 Watchand pray. Then you won’t fall into sinwhen you are tempted. The spirit is will-ing, but the body is weak.”

39 Once more Jesus went away andprayed the same thing. 40 Then he cameback. Again he found them sleeping.

They couldn’t keep their eyes open. Theydid not know what to say to him.

41 Jesus re turned the third time. Hesaid to them, “Are you still sleeping andresting? Enough! The hour has come.Look! The Son of Man is about to behanded over to sinners. 42 Get up! Let usgo! Here comes the one who is handingme over to them!”

Jesus Is Arrested

43 Just as Jesus was speaking, Judasappeared. He was one of the 12 disciples.A crowd was with him. They were carry-ing swords and clubs. The chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders hadsent them.

44 Judas, who was going to hand Jesusover, had arranged a signal with them.“The one I kiss is the man,” he said. “Ar-rest him and have the guards lead himaway.” 45 So Judas went to Jesus at once.

Judas said, “Rabbi!” And he kissed Jesus.


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12 “Then what should I do with theone you call the king of the Jews?” Pi-late asked them.

13 “Crucify him!” the crowd shouted.14 “Why? What wrong has he done?”

asked Pilate.But they shouted even louder, “Cruci-

fy him!”15 Pilate wanted to satisfy the crowd.

So he let Barabbas go free. He ordered that Jesus be whipped. Then he handedhim over to be nailed to a cross.

The Soldiers Make Fun of Jesus16 The soldiers led Jesus away into

the palace. It was called the Prae torium.They called together the whole companyof soldiers. 17The soldiers put a purplerobe on Jesus. Then they twisted thorns

together to make a crown. They placed iton his head. 18They began to call out tohim, “We honor you, king of the Jews!”19 Again and again they hit him on thehead with a stick. They spit on him. Theyfell on their knees and pre tended to hon-or him. 20 Af ter they had made fun ofhim, they took off the purple robe. Theyput his own clothes back on him. Then

they led him out to nail him to a cross.

Jesus Is Nailed to a Cross21 A man named Simon was passing

by. He was from Cyrene. He was thefa ther of Alexander and Rufus. Simonwas on his way in from the coun try. Thesoldiers forced him to carry the cross.22 They brought Jesus to the place calledGolgo tha. The word Golgo tha means thePlace of the Skull. 23 Then they gave himwine mixed with spices. But he did not

take it. 24 They nailed him to the cross.Then they di vided up his clothes. Theycast lots to see what each of them wouldget.

25 It was nine o’clock in the morningwhen they crucified him. 26 They wroteout the charge against him. It read,

THE KING OF THE JEWS.

27-28 They crucified with him two reb-els against Rome. One was on his right

and one was on his left. 29 Those whopassed by shouted at Jesus and madefun of him. They shook their heads andsaid, “So you are going to destroy the

temple and build it again in three days?30 Then come down from the cross! Saveyourself!” 31 In the same way the chiefpriests and the teachers of the law madefun of him among themselves. “He savedothers,” they said. “But he can’t save him-self! 32Let this Messiah, this king of Isra-

el, come down now from the cross! When

Peter Says He Does Not Know Jesus66 Pe ter was below in the courtyard.

One of the high priest’s female ser vantscame by. 67When she saw Pe ter warminghimself, she looked closely at him.

“You also were with Jesus, that Naza-

rene,” she said.68 But Pe ter said he had not been withhim. “I don’t know or understand whatyou’re talking about,” he said. He wentout to the en trance to the courtyard.

69 The ser vant saw him there. She saidagain to those standing around, “Thisfellow is one of them.” 70 Again he saidhe was not.

Af ter a lit tle while, those standingnearby said to Pe ter, “You must be oneof them. You are from Galilee.”

71 Then Pe ter began to curse. He said to them, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about!”

72 Right away the rooster crowed thesecond time. Then Pe ter rememberedwhat Jesus had spoken to him. “Therooster will crow twice,” he had said.“Before it does, you will say three times

that you don’t know me.” Pe ter brokedown and cried.

Jesus Is Brought to Pilate

15It was very

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