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Where is Jesus in this book?
Did you know that Jesus had to suffer to save the world? Mark
highlights Jesus as the suffering servant who came to die for
both the Jews and the Gentiles (people who aren't Jewish).
Jesus shows us how to love and serve one another, and he set
the perfect example by giving "his life as a ransom for many"
(Mark 10:45).
Who wrote this book?
A young man named John Mark wrote down stories Peter told
about Jesus.
Why was this book written?
Mark shows people who Jesus is by telling what Jesus did.
For whom was this book written?
Mark wrote this book for Gentiles (people who were not Jews).
What happens in this book?
Jesus shows his power by performing miracles that help people,
and he teaches his disciples.
Who is the key person in this book?
Jesus is the most important person in this book.
When did this happen?
Jesus worked miracles and taught from a.d. 26 to 30.
Where did this happen?
Most events in Mark 1–9 happened in Galilee. Most events in
Mark 10–16 took place in or near Jerusalem.
What are some of the
stories in this book?
Jesus heals a paralyzed man
Jesus calms a storm
Jesus raises a dead girl
Jesus walks on water
Jesus feeds 4,000 people
Jesus heals a young boy
Jesus holds the Last Supper
Jesus dies and is buried
Jesus is raised again
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Mark 2:1–12
Mark 4:35–41
Mark 5:21–43
Mark 6:45–56
Mark 8:1–10
Mark 9:14–32
Mark 14:12–26
Mark 15:21–47
Mark 16:1–8
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
The beginning of the good news about
J esus the Messiah, a the Son of God, b 2 as
it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
"I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way" c —
3 "a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
'Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.' " d
4 And
so John the Baptist appeared in the
wildern ess, preaching a baptism of re
pentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The
whole Judean countryside and all the peo
ple of Jerusalem went out to him. Confess
ing their sins, they were baptized by him in
the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made
of camel's hair, with a leather belt around
his waist, and he ate locusts and wild hon
ey. 7 And this was his message: "After me
comes the one more powerful than I, the
straps of w
hose sandals I am not worthy to
stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with e
water, but he will baptize you with e the
Holy Spirit."
The Baptism and Testing of Jesus
9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth
in Galilee and was baptized by John in the
Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out
of the water, he saw heaven being torn
open and the Spirit descending on him like
a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven:
"You are my Son, whom I love; with you I
am well pleased."
12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the
wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness
for t y days, being tempted f by Satan. He
was with the wild animals, and angels at
tended him.
Jesus Announces the Good News
14 Af
John was put in prison, Jesus
went into Galilee, proclaiming the good
news of God. 15 " The time has come," he
said. "The kingdom of God has come near.
Repent and believe the good news!"
Jesus Calls His First Disciples
16 As
J esus walked beside the Sea of Gal
ilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew
casting a net into the lake, for they were fish
ermen. 17 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and
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I will send you out to fish for people." 18 At
once they left their nets and followed him.
19 When he had gone a little farther, he
saw James son of Zebedee and his brother
John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 With
out delay he called them, and they left their
father Zebedee in the boat with the hired
men and followed him.
Jesus Drives Out an Impure Spirit
21 T hey
went to Capernaum, and when
the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the syn
agogue and began to t each. 22 The people
were amazed at his teaching, because he
taught them as one who had authorit y, not
as the teachers of the law. 23 Just then a man
in t heir synagogue who was possessed by
an impure spirit cried out, 24 " 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!"
25 " Be quie t!" said J esus sternly. "Come
out of him!" 26 The impure spirit s hook the
man violently and came out of him with a
27 T he peo
ple were all so amazed that
they asked each other, "What is this? A new
teaching — and with authorit y! He even
gives orders to impure spirits and they
obey him." 28 News about him spread quick
ly over the w
hole region of Galilee.
Jesus Heals Many
29 A s soon as they left the syn
they went with James and John to the
home of Simon and Andrew. 30 Sim on's
mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and
they immediately told Jesus about her. 31 So
he went to her, took her hand and helped
her up. The fever left her and she began to
wait on them.
32 T hat evening after sunset the people
brought to Jesus all the sick and demon hole town gathered at
possessed. 33 The w
the door, 34 and Jesus healed many who had
various diseases. He also d
rove out many
demons, but he w
ould not let the demons
speak because they knew who he was.
a 1 Or Jesus Christ. Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ
(Greek) both mean Anointed One. b 1 Some
manuscripts do not have the Son of God.
c 2 Mal. 3:1 d 3 Isaiah 40:3 e 8 Or in
f 13 The Greek for tempted can also mean tested.
Little Words
The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son
of God.
Mark 1:1
These are the words Mark chose to begin the story of Jesus. And there's
a ton of information packed into these fourteen little words!
The good news! The word gospel means good news. Mark was saying,
"Hey readers and listeners, I have really good news to share with you!"
And this was certainly news. J esus' story was still spreading around the
world. People were still hearing of this life-changing, history-changing
story. Mark was like a journalist delivering the best news in history.
J esus the Messiah. No beating around the bush there. Mark declared
it right up front: Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior whom God had
promised for hundreds of years, the Savior everyone was waiting for.
Here he is!
The Son of God. In the first line of his story, Mark declared Jesus' deity.
Jesus wasn't just a good teacher. He wasn't just a nice guy. He wasn't
just a soldier and king who came to save the people from oppression.
He was God. He was God in human form. This is what Mark wanted
us to understand!
Dear God, thank you for the Bible. I am so grateful that your
Word teaches me about Jesus. Help me to spread the good news
around my world today. Amen.
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Jesus Prays in a Solitary Place
early in the morning, w
hile it
was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house
and went off to a solitary p
lace, w
here he
prayed. 36 Simon and his companions went
to look for him, 37 and when they found
him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking
for you!"
38 J esus rep lied, "Let us go somewhere
else — to the nearby villages — so I can
preach there also. That is why I have come."
39 So he trave led througho ut Galil ee,
preaching in their synagogues and driving
out demons.
Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy
40 A man with leprosy a came to him and
egged him on his knees, "If you are will
ing, you can make me clean."
41 Jesus was indignant. b He reached out
his hand and touched the man. "I am will
ing," he said. "Be clean!" 42 Immediately the
leprosy left him and he was cleansed.
Jesus sent him away at once with a
strong warning: 44 "See that you d
on't tell
this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the
priest and of fer the sacrif ices that Moses
commanded for your cleansing, as a testi
mony to them." 45 Instead he went out and
began to talk freely, spreading the news. As
a result, J esus c ould no longer enter a town
openly but stayed outside in lonely places.
Yet the people s till came to him from ev
ery where.
J esus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed
A few days later, when Jesus again en
tered Cap ernaum, the people heard
that he had come home. 2 They gathered
in such large numbers that there was no
room left, not even outside the door, and
he p
reached the word to them. 3 Some men
came, bringing to him a paralyzed man,
carried by four of them. 4 Since they could
not get him to J esus because of the c rowd,
they made an opening in the roof a bove
Jesus by digging t hrough it and then low
ered the mat the man was lying on. 5 When
Jesus saw their faith, he said to the para
lyzed man, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
6 Now some teachers of the law were sit
ting there, thinking to themselves, 7 " Why
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does this fellow talk like that? He's blas
pheming! Who can forgive sins but God
8 I mm ed iatel y J esus knew in his spiri t
that this was what they were thinking in
their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are
you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier:
to say to this paralyzed man, 'Your sins are
forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat
and walk'? 10 But I want you to know that
the Son of Man has authorit y on earth to
forgive sins." So he said to the man, 11 "I tell
you, get up, take your mat and go home."
12 He got up, took his mat and walked out
in full view of them all. This a mazed every
one and they praised God, saying, "We have
never seen anything like this!"
Jesus Calls Levi and Eats With Sinners
13 Once again J
esus went out beside the
lake. A l arge c rowd came to him, and he be
alked a long,
gan to t each them. 14 As he w
he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the
tax collector's booth. "Follow me," Jesus
told him, and Levi got up and followed him.
15 While Jesus was having dinner at Le
vi's house, many tax collectors and sinners
were eating with him and his disciples,
for there were many who followed him.
16 When the teachers of the law who were
Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners
and tax collectors, they a sked his disciples:
"Why does he eat with tax collectors and
17 On hearing this, J
esus said to them, "It
is not the healthy who need a doctor, but
the sick. I have not come to call the righ
teous, but sinners."
a 40
The Greek word traditionally translated
leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the
skin. b 41 Many manuscripts Jesus was filled
with compassion
Mark 2:17
Jesus said to them, "It is not the
healthy who need a doctor, but
the sick. I have not come to call
the righteous, but sinners."
Jesus Questioned About Fasting
18 Now
J ohn's disciples and the Pharisees
were fasting. Some people came and asked
Jesus, "How is it that John's disciples and
the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting,
but yours are not?"
19 Jesus answered, "How can the guests
of the bridegroom fast while he is with
them? They cannot, so long as they have
him with them. 20 But the time will come
when the bridegroom will be taken from
them, and on that day they will fast.
21 "No one sews a p
atch of unshrunk c loth
on an old garment. Otherwise, the new
piece will pull away from the old, making
the tear worse. 22 And no one pours new
wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the
wine will burst the skins, and both the wine
and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they
pour new wine into new wineskins."
Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath
23 One Sabbath Jesus was going t hrough
the grainf ields, and as his disciples walked
along, they began to pick some h
eads of
grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, "Look,
why are they doing what is unlawful on the
25 H e ans wered, "Have you nev
er read
what David did when he and his compan
ions were hungry and in need? 26 In the
days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered
the house of God and ate the consecrated
bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat.
And he also gave some to his companions."
27 T hen he said to them, "The Sabb ath
was made for man, not man for the Sab
bath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of
the Sabbath."
Jesus Heals on the Sabbath
Another time Jesus went into the syna
gogue, and a man with a shriveled hand
was there. 2 Some of them were looking for
a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched
him closely to see if he would heal him on
the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the man with
the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of
4 Then J
esus asked them, "Which is lawful
on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to
save life or to kill?" But they remained silent.
5 He looked around at them in anger and,
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deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts,
said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."
He stretched it out, and his hand was com
pletely restored. 6 Then the Pharisees went
out and began to plot with the Herodians
how they m
ight kill Jesus.
Crowds Follow J esus
7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the
lake, and a large crowd from Galilee fol
lowed. 8 When they heard a bout all he was
doing, many people came to him from Ju
dea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions
across the Jordan and around Tyre and Si
don. 9 Because of the crowd he told his dis
ciples to have a s mall boat ready for him, to
keep the people from crowding him. 10 For
he had healed many, so that those with dis
eases were pushing forward to touch him.
11 Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they
fell down before him and cried out, "You are
the Son of God." 12 But he gave them strict
orders not to tell others about him.
Jesus Appoints the Twelve
13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and
c alled to him those he wanted, and they
came to him. 14 He appointed t welve a that
they might be with him and that he m
send them out to p
reach 15 and to have au
thority to drive out demons. 16 These are the
t welve he appointed: Simon (to whom he
gave the name Peter), 17 James son of Zebe
dee and his brother John (to them he gave
the name Boanerges, which means "sons of
thunder"), 18 Andrew, Philip, Bar tholomew,
Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus,
Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot 19 and Judas
Iscariot, who betrayed him.
J esus Accused by His Family and
by Teachers of the Law
20 Then Jesus entered a h
ouse, and again a
c rowd gathered, so that he and his disciples
were not even able to eat. 21 When his family b
heard a bout this, they went to take charge
of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."
22 And the teachers of the law who came
down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed
by Beelzebul! By the p
rince of demons he is
driving out demons."
a 14
Some manuscripts twelve — designating them
apostles — b 21 Or his associates
23 So Jesus c
alled them over to him and
began to speak to them in parables: "How
can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is
divided against itself, that kingdom cannot
stand. 25 If a h
ouse is divided a gainst itself,
that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan
opposes himself and is divided, he cannot
stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one
can enter a strong man's house without
first tying him up. Then he can plunder the
strong man's house. 28 Truly I tell you, people
can be forgiven all their sins and every slan
der they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes
against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiv
en; they are guilty of an eternal sin."
30 He said this because they were saying,
"He has an impure spirit."
31 T hen
Jesus' mother and brothers ar
rived. Standing outside, they sent someone
in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around
him, and they told him, "Your mother and
brothers are outside looking for you."
33 " Who are my moth
er and my broth
ers?" he asked.
34 T hen he looked at those seate d in a
circle a round him and said, "Here are my
mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does
G od's will is my brother and sister and
The Parable of the Sower
Again Jesus began to t each by the lake.
The crowd that gathered around him
was so large that he got into a boat and sat
in it out on the lake, while all the people
were along the shore at the water's edge.
2 He taught them many t hings by parables,
and in his teaching said: 3 "Listen! A farmer
went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scat
tering the seed, some fell along the path,
and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some
fell on rocky places, where it did not have
much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the
soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came
up, the plants were scorched, and they
withered because they had no root. 7 Other
seed fell among t horns, w
hich grew up and
choked the plants, so that they did not bear
grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It
came up, grew and produced a crop, some
multiplying thirt y, some sixt y, some a hun
dred times."
9 T hen J
esus said, "Whoever has ears to
hear, let them hear."
10 W hen he was
alone, the Twelve and
the others around him asked him about the
parables. 11 He told them, "The secret of the
kingdom of God has been given to you. But
to those on the outside everything is said in
parables 12 so that,
" 'they may be ever seeing but never
and ever hearing but never
otherwise they might turn and be
forgiven!' a "
a 12 Isaiah 6:9,10
Live Like Jesus
How many brothers and sisters do you have? According to Jesus' definition
of family, you have too many siblings to count! J esus loved everyone like broth
ers and sisters. He shared his time, food, wisdom, and love. And he said that
whoever does the will of God is part of his family. So for about 2,000 years, his
family has been constantly growing. Have you joined J esus' huge family? The
next time you are in church, look around. You're looking at a whole lot of broth
ers and sisters in Christ.
Mark 3:31 – 35
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13 T hen J esus said to them, "Don't you
understand this parable? How then will
you understand any parable? 14 The farm
er sows the word. 15 Some people are like
seed along the path, w
here the word is
sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan c omes
and takes away the word that was sown in
them. 16 O thers, like seed sown on rocky
places, hear the word and at once receive it
with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they
last only a s hort time. When trouble or per
secution comes because of the word, they
quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed
sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but
the worries of this life, the deceitfulness
of wealth and the desires for other things
come in and choke the word, making it un
fruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good
soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce
a crop — some thirt y, some sixt y, some a
hundred times what was sown."
A Lamp on a Stand
21 H e said to them, "Do you
bring in a
lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? In
stead, d
on't you put it on its s tand? 22 For
whatever is hidden is meant to be dis
closed, and whatever is concealed is meant
to be b
rought out into the open. 23 If any
one has ears to hear, let them hear."
24 "Consider carefully what you hear," he
continued. "With the measure you use, it
will be measured to you — and even more.
25 Whoever has will be given more; whoever
does not have, even what they have will be
taken from them."
The Parable of the Growing Seed
26 H e also said, "This is what the king
dom of God is like. A man scatters seed
on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether
he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and
grows, t hough he does not know how. 28 All
by itself the soil produces grain — first the
stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in
the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he
puts the sickle to it, because the harvest
has come."
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30 Again he said, "What shall we say the
kingdom of God is like, or what parable
shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mus
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tard seed, which is the smallest of all s eeds
on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and
becomes the largest of all garden plants,
with such big branches that the b
irds can
perch in its shade."
33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke
the word to them, as much as they could
understand. 34 He did not say anything to
them without using a parable. But when
he was alone with his own disciples, he ex
plained every thing.
Jesus Calms the Storm
35 That day when evening came, he said
to his disciples, "Let us go over to the oth
er side." 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they
took him a long, just as he was, in the boat.
There were also other boats with him. 37 A
furious squall came up, and the waves
broke over the boat, so that it was nearly
swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping
on a cushion. The disciples woke him and
said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said
to the w
aves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind
died down and it was completely calm.
40 He said to his disciples, "Why are you so
afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
41 T hey were ter
rified and asked each
other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the
waves obey him!"
J esus Restores a Demon-Possessed
They went a cross the lake to the region
of the Gerasenes. a 2 When J esus got out
of the boat, a man with an impure spirit
came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This
man lived in the tombs, and no one could
bind him anymore, not even with a chain.
4 For he had often been c
hained hand and
foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke
the irons on his feet. No one was s trong
enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day
among the t ombs and in the h
ills he would
cry out and cut himself with stones.
6 When he saw J
esus from a distance, he
ran and fell on his k nees in f ront of him. 7 He
shouted at the top of his voice, "What do
you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most
a 1 Some manuscripts Gadarenes; other
manuscripts Gergesenes
In the
A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that
it was nearly swamped. J esus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.
The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we
Mark 4:37 – 38
Crash! Boom! Flash!
It's the middle of the night and a vicious storm is threatening to blow
your house down. You quiver in the dark with your covers pulled over
your head. What do your mom and dad do? Well, they're still sleeping.
How can they sleep through such dangerous chaos?
This is what the disciples thought when a big storm came over their
boat. How could J esus possibly be sleeping through it? Didn't he care?
Imagine a groggy Jesus struggling to his feet in the rocking and rolling
boat. He stands up and says to the storm, "Quiet!"
The disciples wondered what kind of a man could do that. What kind
of a man can command the weather to obey him? It was almost too
hard to believe.
This story is to let us know that Jesus is more powerful than any storm.
We will go through storms, or difficult times, in life. Yet we don't need
to be afraid of anything, for the God of the universe is on our side.
When the storms blow in my life, I know that you, Lord, are
powerful. I can trust you to keep me safe from the lightning and
thunder. I can trust you to be with me always. Amen.
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High God? In G od's name don't torture
me!" 8 For Jesus had said to him, "Come out
of this man, you impure spirit!"
9 T hen
Jesus asked him, "What is your
"My name is Legion," he replied, "for we
are many." 10 And he begged J esus again
and a gain not to send them out of the area.
large herd of pigs was feeding on
the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged
Jesus, "Send us a mong the pigs; allow us to
go into them." 13 He gave them permission,
and the impure spirits came out and went
into the pigs. The herd, a bout two thou
sand in number, rushed down the steep
bank into the lake and were drowned.
14 Those tending the pigs ran off and re
ported this in the town and countryside,
and the people went out to see what had
happ ened. 15 When they came to Jesus,
they saw the man who had been pos
sessed by the legion of demons, sitting
there, d
ressed and in his right mind; and
they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen it
told the people what had happened to the
demon-possessed man — and told about
the pigs as well. 17 Then the people began
to plead with Jesus to l eave their region.
18 A s J
esus was getting into the boat,
the man who had been demon-possessed
begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let
him, but said, "Go home to your own peo
ple and tell them how much the Lord has
done for you, and how he has had mercy on
you." 20 So the man went away and began
to tell in the Decapolis a how much J esus
had done for him. And all the people were
J esus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals a
Sick Woman
21 When Jesus had a
gain crossed over by
boat to the other side of the lake, a large
crowd gathered around him while he was
by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue
leaders, n
amed Jairus, came, and when he
saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23 He pleaded
earnestly with him, "My little daughter is
dying. Please come and put your hands on
her so that she will be healed and live." 24 So
Jesus went with him.
A large crowd followed and p ressed
around him. 25 And a woman was t here who
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had been subject to bleeding for t welve
years. 26 She had suffered a great deal un
der the care of many doctors and had spent
all she had, yet instead of getting better she
eard a bout J esus,
grew worse. 27 When she h
she came up behind him in the c rowd and
touched his cloak, 28 because she thought,
"If I just touch his clothes, I will be h
29 Immediately her bleeding s topped and
she felt in her body that she was f reed from
her suf fering.
30 At once Jesus realized that power had
gone out from him. He turned around in
the c rowd and a sked, "Who touched my
31 " You see the people crowding against
you," his disciples answered, "and yet you
can ask, 'Who touched me?' "
32 But Jesus kept looking around to see
who had done it. 33 Then the woman, know
ing what had happened to her, came and
fell at his feet and, trembling with fear,
told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her,
"Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in
peace and be f reed from your suffering."
35 W hile J esus was s till speaking, some
people came from the house of Jairus, the
synagogue leader. "Your daughter is dead,"
they said. "Why bother the teacher any
36 O verh eari ng b what they said,
J esus
told him, "Don't be a fraid; just believe."
37 He did not let anyone follow him except
Peter, James and John the brother of James.
38 When they came to the home of the syna
gogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with
people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went
in and said to them, "Why all this commo
tion and wailing? The child is not dead but
asleep." 40 But they laughed at him.
After he put them all out, he took the
child's father and mother and the disciples
who were with him, and went in w
here the
child was. 41 He took her by the hand and
said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which means
"Little girl, I say to you, get up!"). 42 Imme
diately the girl stood up and began to walk
around (she was t welve years old). At this
they were comp letel y astonished. 43 H e
gave strict orders not to let anyone know
about this, and told them to give her some
thing to eat.
a 20
That is, the Ten Cities b 36 Or Ignoring
A Prophet Without Honor
J esus left there and went to his home
town, accomp anied by his disciples.
2 W hen the Sab
bath came, he began to
teach in the synagogue, and many who
heard him were amazed.
"Where did this man get these things?"
they asked. "What's this wisdom that has
been given him? What are these remark
able miracles he is per forming? 3 Isn't this
the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the
brother of James, Joseph, a Judas and Si
mon? A
ren't his sisters here with us?" And
they took offense at him.
4 Jesus said to them, "A prophe t is not
without honor except in his own town,
among his relatives and in his own h
5 He could not do any miracles there, except
lay his hands on a few sick people and heal
them. 6 He was amazed at their lack of faith.
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
Then Jesus went a round teaching from
village to village. 7 Calling the T welve to
him, he began to send them out two by
two and gave them authorit y over impure
8 These were his instructions: "Take noth
ing for the journey except a staff — no
bread, no bag, no money in your b elts.
9 Wear san
d als but not an extra shirt.
10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there
until you leave that town. 11 And if any place
will not welcome you or listen to you, l eave
that place and shake the dust off your feet
as a testimony against them."
12 They went out and preached that peo
rove out many
ple should repent. 13 They d
demons and anointed many sick people
with oil and healed them.
John the Baptist Beheaded
14 King Herod heard about this, for J
name had become well known. Some were
saying, b "John the Baptist has been raised
from the dead, and that is why miraculous
powers are at work in him."
15 O thers said, "He is Elijah."
And still others c laimed, "He is a prophet,
like one of the prophets of long ago."
16 But when Her
od heard this, he said,
"John, whom I beheaded, has been raised
from the dead!"
9780310726005_int_05_matt_acts_NIV_Jesus_Bible_FINAL.indd 1313
17 For Herod himself had given orders to
have John arrested, and he had him b
and put in prison. He did this because of
Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, whom
he had married. 18 For John had been say
ing to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have
your brother's wife." 19 So Herodias nursed a
grudge against John and wanted to kill him.
But she was not able to, 20 because Herod
feared John and protected him, knowing
him to be a righteous and holy man. When
Herod h
eard John, he was greatly puzzled c;
yet he liked to listen to him.
21 Finally the opp ortune time came. On
his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his
high of f icials and milit ary commanders
and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When the
daughter of d Herodias came in and danced,
she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.
The king said to the girl, "Ask me for any
thing you want, and I'll give it to you." 23 And
he promised her with an oath, "Whatever
you ask I will give you, up to half my king
24 She went out and said to her mother,
"What s hall I ask for?"
"The head of John the Baptist," she an
25 At once the girl hurried in to the king
with the request: "I want you to give me
right now the head of John the Baptist on
a platter."
26 T he king was great
ly distressed, but
because of his o
aths and his dinner g
he did not want to refuse her. 27 So he im
mediately sent an executioner with orders
to bring John's head. The man went, be
headed John in the prison, 28 and brought
back his head on a platter. He presented it
to the girl, and she gave it to her mother.
29 On hearing of this, John's disciples came
and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
30 T he apostles gathe red around J esus
and reported to him all they had done and
taught. 31 Then, because so many people
were coming and going that they did not
even have a c hance to eat, he said to them,
a 3 Greek Joses, a variant of Joseph b 14 Some
early manuscripts He was saying c 20 Some
early manuscripts he did many things
d 22 Some early manuscripts When his daughter
"Come with me by yourselves to a quiet
place and get some rest."
32 So they went away by thems elves in
a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who
saw them leaving recognized them and ran
on foot from all the towns and got there
ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and
saw a large crowd, he had compassion on
them, because they were like s heep with
out a sheph erd. So he began teaching
them many things.
35 B y this time it was late in the day, so
his disciples came to him. "This is a remote
place," they said, "and it's already very late.
36 Send the people away so that they can go
to the surrounding countryside and villag
es and buy themselves something to eat."
B ut he answered, "You give them
something to eat."
They said to him, "That would take more
than half a y ear's wages a ! Are we to go and
spend that much on bread and give it to
them to eat?"
38 " How many loaves do you have?" he
asked. "Go and see."
When they f ound out, they said, "Five —
and two fish."
39 T hen J
esus directed them to have all
the people sit down in groups on the green
grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of hun
dreds and fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves
and the two fish and looking up to heav
en, he gave t hanks and b
roke the loaves.
Then he gave them to his disciples to dis
tribute to the people. He also divided the
two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and
were satisfied, 43 and the disciples picked up
twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread
and fish. 44 The number of the men who had
eaten was five thousand.
him to Bethsaida, w
hile he dismissed the
crowd. 46 After leaving them, he went up on
a mountainside to pray.
47 L ater that night, the boat was in the
middle of the lake, and he was a lone on
land. 48 He saw the disciples straining at the
oars, because the wind was against them.
Shortly before dawn he went out to them,
walking on the lake. He was a bout to pass
by them, 49 but when they saw him walking
on the lake, they t hought he was a g
They cried out, 50 because they all saw him
and were terrif ied.
Imm ed iatel y he spoke to them and
said, "Take courage! It is I. D
on't be a fraid."
51 Then he climbed into the boat with them,
and the wind died down. They were com
pletely amazed, 52 for they had not under
stood about the loaves; their h
earts were
53 When they had crossed over, they land
ed at Gennesaret and anchored there. 54 As
soon as they got out of the boat, people
recognized Jesus. 55 They ran throughout
that whole region and carried the sick on
mats to wherever they heard he was. 56 And
wherever he went — into villages, towns
or countryside — they placed the sick in
the marketplaces. They begged him to let
them t ouch even the edge of his c loak, and
all who t ouched it were healed.
That Which Defiles
Jesus Walks on the Water
45 I mm ed ia tel y J esus made his disc i
ples get into the boat and go on ahead of
Mark 6:41
Taking the five loaves and the two
fish and looking up to heaven, he
gave thanks and broke the loaves.
The Pharisees and some of the teachers
of the law who had come from Jerusa
lem gathered around Jesus 2 and saw some
of his disciples eating food with h
that were def iled, that is, unwashed. 3 ( The
Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless
they give their hands a ceremonial wash
ing, holding to the tradition of the elders.
4 W hen they come from the mar
they do not eat unless they wash. And they
observe many other traditions, such as the
washing of cups, pitchers and kettles. b )
5 S o the Phar
isees and teachers of the
law asked Jesus, "Why d
on't your disciples
live according to the tradition of the elders
instead of eating their food with defiled
a 37 Greek take two hundred denarii b 4 Some
early manuscripts pitchers, kettles and dining
9780310726005_int_05_matt_acts_NIV_Jesus_Bible_FINAL.indd 1314
6 H e rep lied, "Isaiah was r ight when he
prophesied a bout you hypocrites; as it is
" 'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
7 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human
rules.' a
8 You
have let go of the commands of God
and are holding on to human traditions."
9 A nd he cont inu ed, "You have a fine
way of setting aside the commands of God
in order to observe b your own traditions!
10 For Moses said, 'Honor your father and
mother,' c and, 'Anyone who curses their fa
ther or mother is to be put to d
eath.' d 11 But
you say that if anyone declares that what
might have been used to help their father
or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to
God) — 12 then you no longer let them do
anything for their father or mother. 13 Thus
you nullif y the word of God by your tradi
tion that you have handed down. And you
do many things like that."
14 Again J esus c alled the crowd to him
and said, "Listen to me, everyone, and un
derstand this. 15 Nothing outside a person
can def ile them by going into them. Rather,
it is what c omes out of a person that def iles
them." [16] e
17 Af
ter he had left the c rowd and en
tered the house, his disciples asked him
about this parable. 18 "Are you so dull?" he
asked. "Don't you see that nothing that en
ters a person from the outside can def ile
them? 19 For it doesn't go into their heart
but into their stomach, and then out of
the body." (In saying this, J esus declared all
foods clean.)
20 He went on: "What comes out of a per
son is what defiles them. 21 For it is from
within, out of a person's h
eart, that evil
thoughts come — sexual immoralit y, theft,
murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and fol
ly. 23 All these evils come from inside and
def ile a person."
J esus Honors a Syrophoenician
Woman's Faith
24 Jesus left that place and went to the vi
cinit y of Tyre. f He entered a house and did
9780310726005_int_05_matt_acts_NIV_Jesus_Bible_FINAL.indd 1315
not want anyone to know it; yet he could
not keep his presence secret. 25 In fact, as
soon as she h
eard about him, a woman
whose little daughter was possessed by an
impure spirit came and fell at his feet. 26 The
woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoe
nicia. She begged Jesus to d
rive the demon
out of her daughter.
27 "First let the children eat all they want,"
he told her, "for it is not right to take the
children's bread and toss it to the dogs."
28 "Lord," she replied, "even the dogs un
der the table eat the children's crumbs."
29 Then he told her, "For such a reply, you
may go; the demon has left your daughter."
30 She went home and found her child ly
ing on the bed, and the demon gone.
Jesus Heals a Deaf and Mute Man
31 Then J
esus left the vicinity of Tyre and
went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Gal
ilee and into the region of the Decapolis. g
32 There some people brought to him a man
who was deaf and c ould hardly talk, and
they begged Jesus to p
lace his hand on him.
33 After he took him aside, away from the
crowd, J esus put his fingers into the m
ears. Then he spit and touched the m
tongue. 34 H e looked up to heaven and
with a deep sigh said to him, "Ephphatha!"
(which means "Be opened!"). 35 At this, the
man's ears were o
pened, his tongue was
loosened and he began to s peak plainly.
36 Jesus commanded them not to tell any
one. But the more he did so, the more they
kept talking about it. 37 People were over
whelmed with amazement. "He has done
everything well," they said. "He even makes
the deaf hear and the mute speak."
Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand
During those days another large crowd
gathered. Since they had nothing to
eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and
said, 2 " I have compassion for these peo
ple; they have already been with me three
days and have nothing to eat. 3 If I send
them home hungry, they will collapse on
a 6,7 Isaiah 29:13 b 9
Some manuscripts set up
Exodus 21:17;
Some manuscripts include here
the words of 4:23. f 24 Many early manuscripts
Tyre and Sidon g 31 That is, the Ten Cities
c 10 Exodus 20:12; Deut. 5:16 d 10
Lev. 20:9 e 16
the way, b
ecause some of them have come
a long distance."
4 His discip les ans wered, "But where in
this remote place can anyone get enough
bread to feed them?"
5 "How many loaves do you have?" Jesus
"Seven," they replied.
6 H e told the crowd to sit down on the
ground. When he had taken the seven
loaves and given thanks, he b
roke them
and gave them to his disciples to distrib
ute to the people, and they did so. 7 They
had a few s mall fish as well; he gave thanks
for them also and told the disciples to dis
tribute them. 8 The people ate and were
satisf ied. Afterward the disciples picked up
seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were
left over. 9 About four thousand were pres
ent. After he had sent them away, 10 he got
into the boat with his disciples and went to
the region of Dalmanutha.
T he Pharisees came and began to
question Jesus. To test him, they a sked him
for a sign from heaven. 12 He sighed deeply
and said, "Why does this generation ask for
a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given
to it." 13 Then he left them, got back into the
boat and crossed to the other side.
The Yeast of the Pharisees and Herod
14 T he
disciples had forgotten to bring
bread, except for one loaf they had with
them in the boat. 15 " Be caref ul," J esus
warned them. "Watch out for the yeast of
the Pharisees and that of Herod."
16 T hey discussed this with one another
and said, "It is because we have no bread."
17 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked
them: "Why are you talking about having no
bread? Do you still not see or understand?
Are your h
earts hardened? 18 Do you have
eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?
And don't you remember? 19 When I broke
the five loaves for the five thousand, how
many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?"
"Twelve," they replied.
20 "And when I broke the seven loaves for
the four thousand, how many basketfuls of
pieces did you pick up?"
They answered, "Seven."
21 He said to them, "Do you s
till not un
9780310726005_int_05_matt_acts_NIV_Jesus_Bible_FINAL.indd 1316
Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida
T hey
came to Bethsaida, and some
people b
rought a b
lind man and b
Jesus to touch him. 23 He took the blind man
by the hand and led him outside the village.
When he had spit on the man's eyes and
put his h
ands on him, J esus a sked, "Do you
see any thing?"
24 He looked up and said, "I see people;
they look like trees walking around."
25 Once more Jesus put his h
ands on the
man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his
sight was restored, and he saw everything
clearl y. 26 Jesus sent him home, saying,
"Don't even go into a the village."
Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah
27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the vil
lages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way
he a sked them, "Who do people say I am?"
28 They replied, "Some say John the Bap
tist; others say Elijah; and s till others, one of
the prophets."
29 "But what a
bout you?" he a sked. "Who
do you say I am?"
Peter answered, "You are the Messiah."
30 Jesus w
arned them not to tell anyone
about him.
Jesus Predicts His Death
31 He then began to t each them that the
Son of Man must suffer many t hings and be
rejected by the elders, the chief priests and
the teachers of the law, and that he must be
killed and after three days rise again. 32 He
spoke plainly about this, and Peter took
him aside and began to rebuke him.
33 But when Jesus t urned and looked at
his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind
me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in
mind the concerns of God, but merely hu
man concerns."
The Way of the Cross
34 Then he called the crowd to him a
with his dis
p les and said: "Whoe ve r
wants to be my disciple must deny them
selves and take up t heir c ross and follow
me. 35 For whoever wants to save t heir life b
will lose it, but whoever loses t heir life for
a 26
Some manuscripts go and tell anyone in
The Greek word means either life or soul ; also
in verses 36 and 37.
b 35
Take Up
Their Cross
Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up
their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose
it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.
Mark 8:34 – 35
Christ followers aren't always considered "normal." Instead of cursing,
they praise Jesus. Instead of getting into fights, they turn the other
cheek. Christians often stand out in a crowd, and people might think
they are a little weird. Sometimes, it's downright hard to fit in.
But that's a good thing. Jesus didn't fit in. He did things differently
than the religious leaders of his time. And he certainly confused the
Romans, who were in charge of the country. Some people called him
crazy. Some people called him rebellious. Some people called him the
devil. But God called J esus his Son.
J esus said that following him requires sacrifice. We might be deemed
weird or strange. We might have to walk in a path that leads us away
from what others are doing. It will be hard sometimes. And it may feel
lonely. But J esus lived that way so we could look at his example.
J esus asks each of us to take up our own cross and follow him. Are you
ready? It won't be ordinary.
Lord Jesus, I am honored to take up my cross and follow you.
Help me to not be concerned with what the world thinks of me.
Remind me that what you think of me is all that counts. Amen.
9780310726005_int_05_matt_acts_NIV_Jesus_Bible_FINAL.indd 1317
me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What
good is it for someone to gain the w
world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can
anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If
anyone is a shamed of me and my words in
this adulterous and sinful generation, the
Son of Man will be a shamed of them when
he c omes in his Father's glor y with the holy
And he said to them, "Truly I tell you,
some who are standing here will not
taste death before they see that the king
dom of God has come with power."
The Transfiguration
2 After six days J esus took Peter, James
and John with him and led them up a high
mountain, w
here they were all a lone. T here
he was transfigured before them. 3 His
clothes became dazzling white, whiter than
anyone in the world could bleach them.
4 And there ap
peared before them Elijah
and Moses, who were talking with J esus.
5 Peter said to J esus, "Rabb i, it is good
for us to be here. Let us put up three shel
ters — one for you, one for Moses and one
for Elijah." 6 (He did not know what to say,
they were so frightened.)
7 T hen a c
loud app eared and covered
them, and a v oice came from the c loud:
"This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!"
Mark 9:7
A cloud appeared and covered
them, and a voice came from the
cloud: "This is my Son, whom
I love. Listen to him!"
8 Sudd enl y, when they l ooked around,
they no longer saw anyone with them ex
cept Jesus.
9 A s they were coming down the moun
tain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell any
one what they had seen until the Son of
Man had risen from the dead. 10 They kept
the matter to themselves, discussing what
"rising from the dead" meant.
11 And they asked him, "Why do the teach
ers of the law say that Elijah must come first?"
9780310726005_int_05_matt_acts_NIV_Jesus_Bible_FINAL.indd 1318
12 Jesus replied, "To be sure, Elijah does
come first, and restores all things. Why then
is it written that the Son of Man must suffer
much and be rejected? 13 But I tell you, Eli
jah has come, and they have done to him
everything they wished, just as it is written
about him."
J esus Heals a Boy Possessed by an
Impure Spirit
14 When they came to the other disciples,
they saw a large crowd a round them and
the teachers of the law arguing with them.
15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they
were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to
greet him.
16 " What are you ar
g uing with them
about?" he asked.
17 A man in the crowd answered, "Teach
er, I brought you my son, who is possessed
by a spirit that has r obbed him of s peech.
18 Whenever it seizes him, it t hrows him to
the g
round. He foams at the m
outh, gnash
es his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your
disciples to d
rive out the spirit, but they
could not."
19 " You unbelieving generation," Jesus re
plied, "how long shall I stay with you? How
long shall I put up with you? B
ring the boy
to me."
20 So they brought him. When the spir
it saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy
into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and
rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
21 Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long
has he been like this?"
"From childhood," he answered. 22 "It has
often thrown him into fire or water to kill
him. But if you can do anything, take pity
on us and help us."
23 " 'If you can'?" said J
esus. "Everything is
possible for one who believes."
24 Imm ed ia tel y the b oy's fat her ex
claimed, "I do believe; help me overcome
my unbelief !"
25 When J
esus saw that a c rowd was run
ning to the s cene, he rebuked the impure
spirit. "You deaf and mute spirit," he said, "I
command you, come out of him and never
enter him again."
26 T he spirit shrieked, convulsed him vi
olently and came out. The boy looked so
much like a corpse that many said, "He's
dead." 27 But Jesus took him by the hand
and lifted him to his feet, and he s tood up.
28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disci
ples asked him privately, "Why couldn't we
drive it out?"
29 H e rep lied, "This kind can come out
only by prayer. a "
millstone were hung a round their neck and
they were thrown into the sea. 43 If your
hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It
is better for you to enter life maimed than
with two hands to go into hell, where the
fire never goes out. [44] b 45 And if your foot
causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better
for you to enter life crippled than to have
two feet and be thrown into hell. [46] b 47 And
if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it
out. It is better for you to enter the king
dom of God with one eye than to have two
eyes and be t hrown into hell, 48 where
Jesus Predicts His Death a Second Time
30 They left that place and p
assed through
Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know
where they were, 31 because he was teach
ing his disciples. He said to them, "The Son
of Man is going to be delivered into the
hands of men. They will kill him, and after
three days he will rise." 32 But they did not
understand what he m
eant and were a fraid
to ask him about it.
33 T hey came to Ca
p ernaum. When he
was in the house, he asked them, "What
were you arguing about on the road?" 34 But
they kept quiet because on the way they
had argued about who was the greatest.
35 Sitting down, J
esus called the T welve
and said, "Anyone who w
ants to be first
must be the very last, and the servant of
36 He took a little child whom he placed
among them. Taking the c hild in his arms,
he said to them, 37 " Whoever welcomes
one of these little children in my name
welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me
does not welcome me but the one who
sent me."
" 'the worms that eat them do not die,
and the fire is not quenched.' c
49 Everyone
will be salted with fire.
is good, but if it loses its saltiness,
how can you make it salty again? Have salt
among yourselves, and be at p
eace with
each other."
50 "Salt
38 " Teacher," said John, "we saw someone
driving out demons in your name and we
told him to stop, because he was not one
of us."
39 " Do not stop him," Jesus said. "For no
one who does a miracle in my name can in
the next moment say anything bad about
me, 40 for whoever is not against us is for us.
41 Truly I tell you, anyone who g
ives you a
cup of water in my name because you be
long to the Messiah will certainly not lose
their reward.
J esus then left that place and went
into the region of Judea and a cross
the Jordan. A
gain c rowds of people came
to him, and as was his custom, he taught
2 Some Pharisees came and tested him by
asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his
3 " What did Mo
ses command you?" he
4 T hey said, "Moses permitted a man to
write a certificate of divorce and send her
5 " It was because your h
earts were hard
that Moses wrote you this law," Jesus re
plied. 6 "But at the beginning of creation
God 'made them male and female.' d 7 'For
this reason a man will leave his father and
mother and be united to his wife, e 8 and the
two will become one f lesh.' f So they are no
longer two, but one f lesh. 9 Therefore what
God has joined together, let no one sepa
10 W hen they were in the house again,
the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11 He
Causing to Stumble
a 29
Whoever Is Not Against Us Is for Us
42 " If
anyone causes one of these little
ones — those who believe in me — to stum
ble, it would be better for them if a large
9780310726005_int_05_matt_acts_NIV_Jesus_Bible_FINAL.indd 1319
Some manuscripts prayer and fasting
Some manuscripts include here the words
of verse 48. c 48 Isaiah 66:24 d 6 Gen. 1:27
e 7 Some early manuscripts do not have and be
united to his wife. f 8 Gen. 2:24
b 44,46
answered, "Anyone who divorces his wife
and marr ies ano the r woma n comm its
adultery against her. 12 And if she divorces
her husband and marries another man, she
commits adultery."
The Little Children and Jesus
13 People were bringing little children to
J esus for him to place his h
ands on them,
but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When
Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to
them, "Let the little children come to me,
and do not hinder them, for the kingdom
of God belongs to such as t hese. 15 Truly I
tell you, anyone who will not receive the
kingdom of God like a little c hild will nev
er enter it." 16 And he took the children in
his arms, p
laced his h
ands on them and
blessed them.
The Rich and the Kingdom of God
17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran
up to him and fell on his k nees before him.
"Good teacher," he a sked, "what must I do
to inherit eternal life?"
18 " Why do you call me good?" J
esus an
swered. "No one is good — except God
alone. 19 You know the commandments:
'You s hall not murder, you shall not commit
adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not
give false testimony, you shall not defraud,
honor your father and mother.' a "
20 " Teacher," he declared, "all these I have
kept since I was a boy."
Jesus looked at him and loved him.
"One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell ev
erything you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven. Then
come, follow me."
22 At this the
man's face fell. He went
away sad, because he had g
reat wealth.
23 Jesus looked a
round and said to his dis
ciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter
the kingdom of God!"
T he dis
c i
p les were
a mazed at his
words. But Jesus said a gain, "Children, how
hard it is b to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It
is easier for a camel to go through the eye
of a needle than for someone who is rich to
enter the kingdom of God."
26 The disciples were even more a
and said to each other, "Who then can be
9780310726005_int_05_matt_acts_NIV_Jesus_Bible_FINAL.indd 1320
27 Jesus looked at them and said, "With
man this is impossible, but not with God;
all things are possible with God."
28 Then Peter spoke up, "We have left ev
erything to follow you!"
29 " 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
me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a
hundred times as much in this present age:
homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children
and f ields — along with persecutions —
and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But
many who are f irst will be last, and the last
Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time
32 T hey were on t heir way up to Jerus a
lem, with Jesus leading the way, and the
disciples were astonished, while those who
followed were a fraid. Again he took the
Twelve aside and told them what was going
to happen to him. 33 " We are going up to Je
rusalem," he said, "and the Son of Man will
be delivered over to the chief priests and
the teachers of the law. They will condemn
him to death and will hand him over to the
Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on
him, flog him and kill him. T hree days later
he will rise."
The Request of James and John
35 Then
J ames and John, the sons of Zeb
edee, came to him. "Teacher," they said, "we
want you to do for us whatever we ask."
36 " What do you want me to do for you?"
he asked.
37 They replied, "Let one of us sit at your
right and the other at your left in your glory."
38 " You don't know what you are asking,"
Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink
or be baptized with the baptism I am bap
tized with?"
39 " We can," they answered.
Jesus said to them, "You will drink the
cup I d
rink and be baptized with the bap
tism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my
right or left is not for me to grant. These
places belong to those for whom they have
been prepared."
41 W hen the ten heard about this, they
a 19 Exodus 20:12-16; Deut. 5:16-20 b 24 Some
manuscripts is for those who trust in riches
You Have
J esus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go,
sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure
in heaven. Then come, follow me."
Mark 10:21
At Christmastime, have you ever seen someone standing outside a store
and ringing a little bell? These devoted volunteers are asking others
to give money to people in need. They ring their bells in hopes that
shoppers will drop some change into their buckets. A lot of people do.
It's easy to drop some spare change into a bucket.
But what if the bell ringer asked you to put everything you have into the
That's what J esus asked one young man to do. J esus was testing this
man's heart. Was this man willing to give up everything to follow J esus?
When you see how great Jesus is, and when you understand that living
for him brings blessings that are better than the world could ever give,
your desire will be to give up whatever he asks — even if he asks for
Lord, show me how great you are so that I don't live for the
things in this world but for you alone. Amen.
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the Cost
"You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the
cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?"
Mark 10:38
Think about a really good friend of yours. When you go to a party or
a game, you probably try to sit next to your friend. Without thinking
about it, you know that the place next to your friend is a special spot
reserved just for you.
J esus' disciples were asking to sit next to J esus when he took his throne
as King. They were his friends. And since he was going to be king,
they were thinking they were extra special and deserved the place that
only people of authority were given. They wanted to be promoted to
a big-time position. But they didn't understand Jesus' type of kingship
or friendship.
Jesus responded by asking the disciples to consider the true cost of
following him. Jesus was going to his death. Following him means
that we will exchange our lives and anything this world has to offer
in exchange to serve and sacrifice for him. Following Jesus will not
make us more important. Instead, it causes humility and servant hood.
That's a different kind of friendship for sure! But it's all about love for
God and for others.
Lord, show me what it means to truly be your friend and follow
you. Help me to hear you with my heart. Amen.
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became indignant with J ames and John.
42 Jesus called them together and said, "You
know that t hose who are regarded as rul
ers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and
their high of f icials exercise authorit y over
them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever
wants to become g
reat a mong you must
be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to
be f irst must be s lave of all. 45 For even the
Son of Man did not come to be served, but
to s erve, and to give his life as a ransom for
Blind Bartimaeus Receives His Sight
46 T hen they came to Jer
icho. As Jesus
and his disciples, together with a large
crowd, were leaving the city, a b
lind man,
Bar timaeus (which means "son of Timae
us"), was sitting by the roadside begging.
47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Naza
reth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of Da
vid, have mercy on me!"
48 Many rebuked him and told him to be
quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of
David, have mercy on me!"
49 Jesus s
topped and said, "Call him."
So they called to the blind man, "Cheer
up! On your feet! He's calling you." 50 Throw
ing his c loak aside, 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
52 "Go," said Jesus, "your f aith has healed
you." Immediately he received his sight and
followed Jesus a long the road.
Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King
As they approached Jerusalem and
came to Bethphage and Bethany at
the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his
disciples, 2 saying to them, "Go to the village
ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you
will find a colt tied there, which no one has
ever ridden. Untie it and b
ring it here. 3 If
anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this?'
say, 'The Lord needs it and will send it back
here shortly.' "
4 T hey went and found a colt outside in
the street, tied at a doorway. As they un
tied it, 5 some people standing there asked,
"What are you doing, unt ying that colt?"
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6 They
answered as Jesus had told them to,
and the people let them go. 7 When they
brought the colt to Jesus and threw their
cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8 Many people
spread their cloaks on the road, w
hile oth
ers spread branches they had cut in the
f ields. 9 Those who went a head and t hose
who followed shouted,
"Hosanna! a "
"Blessed is he who comes in the name
of the Lord!" b
10 "Blessed is the coming kingdom of our
father David!"
"Hosanna in the highest heaven!"
11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into
the temple courts. He l ooked around at ev
erything, but s ince it was already late, he
went out to Bethany with the Twelve.
J esus Curses a Fig Tree and Clears
the Temple Courts
T he next day as they were leaving
Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 Seeing in the
distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find
out if it had any f ruit. When he r eached it,
he found nothing but leaves, because it
was not the season for figs. 14 Then he said
to the tree, "May no one ever eat f ruit from
you again." And his disciples heard him
say it.
15 On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered
the temple courts and began driving out
those who were buying and selling there.
He overturned the tables of the money
changers and the benches of those sell
ing doves, 16 and would not allow anyone
to carr y merchandise through the temple
courts. 17 And as he taught them, he said,
"Is it not written: 'My h
ouse will be c alled
a house of prayer for all nations' c ? But you
have made it 'a den of robbers.' d "
18 T he c
hief priests and the teachers of
the law heard this and began looking for
a way to kill him, for they feared him, be
cause the whole crowd was amazed at his
a 9 A Hebrew expression meaning "Save!"
which became an exclamation of praise; also in
verse 10 b 9 Psalm 118:25,26 c 17 Isaiah 56:7
d 17 Jer. 7:11
19 When evening came, J
esus and his dis
ciples a went out of the city.
20 In the morn
ing, as they went along,
they saw the fig tree withered from the
roots. 21 Peter rem emb ered and said to
Jesus, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you c ursed
has withered!"
22 " Have faith in God," J esus ans wered.
23 " Trul y b I tell you, if anyone says to this
mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,'
and does not doubt in their heart but be
lieves that what they say will happen, it will
be done for them. 24 Therefore I tell you,
whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that
you have received it, and it will be yours.
25 And when you stand praying, if you hold
anything a gainst anyone, forgive them, so
that your Father in heaven may forgive you
your sins." [26] c
Jesus said, "Neither will I tell you by what
authorit y I am doing these things."
The Parable of the Tenants
Mark 11:23
Truly I tell you, if anyone says
to this mountain, "Go, throw
yourself into the sea," and does
not doubt in their heart but
believes that what they say will
happen, it will be done for them.
The Authority of Jesus Questioned
27 They
arrived again in Jerusalem, and
hile Jesus was walking in the temple courts,
the chief priests, the teachers of the law and
the elders came to him. 28 "By what authori
ty are you doing these t hings?" they asked.
"And who gave you authority to do this?"
29 Jesus replied, "I will ask you one ques
tion. Answer me, and I will tell you by what
authorit y I am doing these things. 30 John's
baptism — was it from heaven, or of human
origin? Tell me!"
31 T hey discussed it among themselves
and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will
ask, 'Then why didn't you believe him?'
32 But if we say, 'Of human origin' . . ." (They
feared the people, for everyone held that
John really was a prophet.)
So they answered Jesus, "We don't
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J esus then began to speak to them in
parables: "A man planted a vineyard.
He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the
winepress and built a watchtower. Then he
rented the vineyard to some farmers and
moved to another place. 2 At harvest time
he sent a servant to the tenants to collect
from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.
3 But they s eized him, beat him and sent
him away empt y-handed. 4 Then he sent
another servant to them; they struck this
man on the head and treated him shame
fully. 5 He sent s till another, and that one
they k illed. He sent many others; some of
them they beat, others they killed.
6 " He had one left to send, a son, whom
he loved. He sent him last of all, saying,
'They will respect my son.'
7 " But the tenants said to one another,
'This is the heir. Come, l et's kill him, and the
inheritance will be ours.' 8 So they took him
and killed him, and threw him out of the
9 " What then will the owner of the vine
yard do? He will come and kill those tenants
and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven't
you read this passage of Scripture:
" 'The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
11 the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes' d ?"
12 Then the c
hief priests, the teachers of
the law and the elders looked for a way to
arrest him because they knew he had spo
ken the parable against them. But they
were afraid of the crowd; so they left him
and went away.
Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar
13 L ater they sent some of the Pharisees
and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in
his words. 14 They came to him and said,
"Teacher, we know that you are a man of
a 19
Some early manuscripts came, Jesus
Some early manuscripts "If you have faith in
God," Jesus answered, 23"truly c 26 Some
manuscripts include here words similar to
Matt. 6:15. d 11 Psalm 118:22,23
b 22,23
integrit y. You aren't swayed by others, be
cause you pay no attention to who they are;
but you teach the way of God in accordance
with the t ruth. Is it right to pay the imperial
tax a to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay or
shouldn't we?"
But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. "Why are
you trying to trap me?" he asked. "Bring
me a denarius and let me look at it." 16 They
b rought the coin, and he asked them,
"Whose image is this? And whose inscrip
"Caesar's," they replied.
17 Then Jesus said to them, "Give back to
Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is
And they were amazed at him.
Marriage at the Resurrection
18 Then the Sadducees, who say there is
no resurrection, came to him with a ques
tion. 19 " Teacher," they said, "Moses w
for us that if a man's brother dies and l eaves
a wife but no children, the man must mar
ry the widow and r aise up offspring for his
brother. 20 Now there were seven brothers.
The first one married and died without
leaving any children. 21 T he second one
married the widow, but he also died, leav
ing no child. It was the same with the third.
22 In fact, none of the seven left any chil
dren. Last of all, the woman died too. 23 At
the resurrection b whose wife will she be,
since the seven were married to her?"
24 Jesus replied, "Are you not in error be
cause you do not know the Scriptures or
the power of God? 25 When the dead rise,
they will neither marr y nor be given in mar
riage; they will be like the angels in heaven.
26 N ow about the dead rising — have you
not read in the Book of Moses, in the ac
count of the burning bush, how God said
to him, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God
of Isaac, and the God of Jacob' c ? 27 He is not
the God of the dead, but of the living. You
are badly mistaken!"
The Greatest Commandment
28 O ne
of the teachers of the law came
and heard them debating. Noticing that
Jesus had given them a good answer, he
asked him, "Of all the commandm ents,
which is the most important?"
9780310726005_int_05_matt_acts_NIV_Jesus_Bible_FINAL.indd 1325
29 " The most imp ort ant one," ans wered
Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our
God, the Lord is one. d 30 Love the Lord your
God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your mind and with all
your strength.' e 31 The second is this: 'Love
your neighb or as yourself.' f T here is no
commandment greater than these."
32 " Well said, teacher," the man replied.
"You are right in saying that God is one and
there is no other but him. 33 To love him with
all your heart, with all your understanding
and with all your strength, and to love your
neighb or as yourself is more imp ortant
than all burnt of ferings and sacrif ices."
34 When J
esus saw that he had answered
wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from
the kingdom of God." And from then on no
one dared ask him any more questions.
Whose Son Is the Messiah?
35 While J
esus was teaching in the tem
ple courts, he asked, "Why do the teachers
of the law say that the Messiah is the son
of David? 36 David himself, speaking by the
Holy Spirit, declared:
" 'The Lord said to my Lord:
"Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your feet." ' g
37 David himself calls him 'Lord.' How then
can he be his son?"
The l arge crowd listened to him with de
Warning Against the Teachers
of the Law
38 A s he t aught, J
esus said, "Watch out
for the teachers of the law. They like to
walk a round in flowing robes and be greet
ed with respect in the marketplaces, 39 and
have the most important s eats in the syn
agogues and the places of honor at ban
quets. 40 They devour widows' houses and
for a show make lengthy p
rayers. These
men will be punished most severely."
a 14
A special tax levied on subject peoples, not
on Roman citizens b 23 Some manuscripts
resurrection, when people rise from the dead,
c 26 Exodus 3:6 d 29 Or The Lord our God is one
Lord e 30 Deut. 6:4,5 f 31 Lev. 19:18
g 36 Psalm 110:1
The Widow's Offering
sat down opp osite the p lace
where the offerings were put and watched
the crowd putting their money into the
temple treasury. Many rich people threw
in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came
and put in two very small copper coins,
worth only a few c ents.
43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said,
"Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put
more into the treasury than all the others.
44 They all gave out of their w
ealth; but she,
out of her povert y, put in everything — all
she had to live on."
The Destruction of the Temple and
Signs of the End Times
As Jesus was leaving the temple, one
of his disciples said to him, "Look,
Teacher! What massive s tones! What mag
nificent buildings!"
2 "Do you see all these g
reat buildings?"
replied Jesus. "Not one s tone here will be
left on another; every one will be thrown
3 A s J esus was sitting on the M ount of
Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James,
John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 "Tell
us, when will these things happen? And
what will be the sign that they are all about
to be fulf illed?"
5 Jesus said to them: "Watch out that no
one deceives you. 6 Many will come in my
name, claiming, 'I am he,' and will deceive
many. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors
of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things
must happen, but the end is still to come.
8 Nation will rise against nation, and king
dom against kingdom. T here will be earth
quakes in vario us places, and famines.
These are the beginning of birth pains.
9 " You must be on your g
uard. You will
be handed over to the local councils and
f logged in the synagogues. On account of
me you will stand before governors and
kings as witnesses to them. 10 And the gos
pel must first be p
reached to all nations.
11 Whenever you are arrested and brought
to trial, do not worry beforehand a bout
what to say. Just say whatever is given you
at the time, for it is not you speaking, but
the Holy Spirit.
12 " Brother will betray brother to d
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and a father his c hild. Children will rebel
against their parents and have them put to
death. 13 Everyone will hate you because of
me, but the one who stands firm to the end
will be saved.
14 " When you see 'the abomination that
causes desolation' a standing where it b does
not belong — let the reader understand —
then let those who are in Judea flee to the
mountains. 15 Let no one on the housetop
go down or enter the h
ouse to take any
thing out. 16 Let no one in the f ield go back
to get their c loak. 17 How dreadful it will
be in those days for pregnant women and
nursing mothers! 18 Pray that this will not
take place in winter, 19 because those will
be days of distress unequaled from the be
ginning, when God created the world, until
now — and never to be e
qualed again.
20 " If the Lord had not cut
short those
days, no one would survive. But for the sake
of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has
shortened them. 21 At that time if anyone
says to you, 'Look, here is the Messiah!' or,
'Look, t here he is!' do not believe it. 22 For
false messiahs and f alse prophets will ap
pear and perform signs and wonders to
deceive, if possible, even the elect. 23 So be
on your guard; I have told you everything
ahead of time.
24 " But in those days, following that dis
" 'the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
25 the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be
shaken.' c
26 "At that time people will see the Son
of Man coming in clouds with great pow
er and glor y. 27 And he will send his angels
and gather his elect from the four winds,
from the ends of the earth to the ends of
the heavens.
28 " Now
learn this lesson from the fig
tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its
leaves come out, you know that summer is
near. 29 Even so, when you see t hese t hings
happening, you know that it b is near, r ight
at the door. 30 Truly I tell you, this generation
will certainly not pass away until all these
a 14 Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11 b 14,29 Or he
c 25 Isaiah 13:10; 34:4
Out of Her
Calling his disciples to him, J esus said, "Truly I tell you, this poor
widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave
out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything — all
she had to live on."
Mark 12:43 – 44
Have you ever played a game of Monopoly? If you own Boardwalk and
land on a railroad that doesn't belong to you, dipping into your play
money doesn't hurt all that much. But if all you own is the Electric
Company, then landing on someone else's railroad really stings. Ouch!
Before you know it, you're down to your last blue dollar.
The poor widow didn't have much to give. She definitely had given much
less than the other people at the temple. But she gave it all. The wealthy
gave because they had plenty and would still have plenty afterward. It
didn't hurt. In the widow's case, giving didn't just come from her purse,
but it came from her heart.
This woman loved God so much that she would rather give her money
to God than keep it for herself. That was a lesson Jesus had been trying
to pass on to the disciples. The more you love God, the less you care
about money or things. The widow did not give her money because
God required her to give her last cent. She gave the money because this
world did not own her heart. That's really big love.
Lord, teach me how to love you with all that I have and all that I
am so that I will not love the world. Amen.
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Mark 13:26
People will see the Son of Man
coming in clouds with great
power and glory.
things have happened. 31 Heaven and earth
will pass away, but my words will never pass
The Day and Hour Unknown
32 " But a
bout that day or hour no one
k nows, not even the angels in heaven, nor
the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard!
Be alert a ! You do not know when that time
will come. 34 It's like a man going away: He
leaves his h
ouse and puts his servants in
charge, each with their assigned task, and
tells the one at the door to keep watch.
35 " Therefore keep w
atch because you do
not know when the owner of the house will
come back — whether in the evening, or at
midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at
dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let
him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I
say to everyone: 'Watch!' "
Jesus Anointed at Bethany
Now the Passover and the Festival
of Unleavened Bread were only two
days away, and the c hief priests and the
teachers of the law were scheming to arrest
Jesus secretly and kill him. 2 "But not during
the festival," they said, "or the people may
3 W hile he was in Bethany, reclining at
the table in the home of Simon the Leper,
a woman came with an alabaster jar of very
expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She
broke the jar and poured the perfume on
his head.
4 Some of those present were saying in
dignantly to one another, "Why this waste
of per fume? 5 It could have been sold for
more than a year's wages b and the money
given to the poor." And they rebuked her
6 "Leave her alone," said Jesus. "Why are
you bothering her? She has done a beau
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tiful thing to me. 7 The poor you will always
have with you, c and you can help them any
time you want. But you will not always have
me. 8 She did what she c ould. She poured
perfume on my body beforehand to pre
pare for my burial. 9 Truly I tell you, wherev
er the gospel is preached throughout the
world, what she has done will also be told,
in memor y of her."
10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve,
went to the chief priests to betray J esus to
them. 11 They were delighted to hear this
and promised to give him money. So he
watched for an opportunit y to hand him
The Last Supper
12 On the f irst day of the Festival of Un
leavened Bread, when it was customary to
sacrif ice the Passover lamb, Jesus' disciples
asked him, "Where do you want us to go
and make preparations for you to eat the
13 So he sent two of his disciples, telling
them, "Go into the city, and a man carr y
ing a jar of water will meet you. Follow him.
14 Say to the owner of the house he enters,
'The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room,
where I may eat the Passover with my disci
ples?' 15 He will show you a large room up
stairs, furnished and ready. Make prepara
tions for us there."
16 The disciples left, went into the city and
found t hings just as J esus had told them. So
they prepared the Passover.
17 When evening came, Jesus arrived with
the Twelve. 18 While they were reclining at
the table eating, he said, "Truly I tell you,
one of you will betray me — one who is
eating with me."
19 They were saddened, and one by one
they said to him, "Surely you don't mean
20 " It is one of the
Twelve," he replied,
"one who dips bread into the bowl with me.
21 The Son of Man will go just as it is written
about him. But woe to that man who be
trays the Son of Man! It would be better for
him if he had not been born."
W hile they were eating, Jesus took
a 33
Some manuscripts alert and pray
b 5 Greek than three hundred denarii c 7 See
Deut. 15:11.
bread, and when he had given thanks, he
roke it and gave it to his disciples, saying,
"Take it; this is my body."
23 Then he took a cup, and when he had
given thanks, he gave it to them, and they
all drank from it.
24 " This is my
blood of the a covenant,
which is p oured out for many," he said
to them. 25 " Truly I tell you, I will not d
again from the fruit of the vine until that
day when I drink it new in the kingdom of
W hen they had sung a hymn, they
went out to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus Predicts Peter's Denial
27 " You
will all fall away," Jesus told them,
"for it is written:
" 'I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered.' b
28 But after I have risen, I will go a
head of
you into Galilee."
29 Peter declared, "Even if all fall away, I
will not."
30 " Truly I tell you," Jesus answered, "to
day — yes, tonight — b efore the rooster
crows t wice c you yourself will disown me
three times."
31 But Peter insisted emphatically, "Even
if I have to die with you, I will never disown
you." And all the others said the same.
32 They went to a p
lace called Gethsema
ne, and Jesus said to his disciples, "Sit here
while I pray." 33 He took Peter, James and
John along with him, and he began to be
deeply distressed and troubled. 34 "My soul
is overwhelmed with sorrow to the p
of death," he said to them. "Stay here and
keep watch."
35 G o
ing a little farther, he fell to the
ground and p
rayed that if possible the hour
might pass from him. 36 "Abba, d Father," he
said, "everything is possible for you. Take
this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but
what you will."
37 T hen he returned to his disciples and
found them sleeping. "Simon," he said to
Peter, "are you a sleep? C
ouldn't you keep
watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray so
9780310726005_int_05_matt_acts_NIV_Jesus_Bible_FINAL.indd 1329
that you will not fall into temptation. The
spirit is willing, but the f lesh is weak."
39 Once more he went away and p
the same t hing. 40 When he came back, he
again found them sleeping, because their
eyes were heavy. They did not know what
to say to him.
41 R e
turning the third time, he said to
them, "Are you still sleeping and resting?
Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son
of Man is delivered into the hands of sin
ners. 42 Rise! Let us go! Here c omes my be
Jesus Arrested
43 J ust as he was speak
ing, Judas, one
of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a
crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent
from the chief priests, the teachers of the
law, and the elders.
44 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal
with them: "The one I kiss is the man; arrest
him and lead him away under guard." 45 Go
ing at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Rabbi!"
and k issed him. 46 The men s eized J esus and
arrested him. 47 Then one of t hose standing
near drew his sword and struck the servant
of the high p
riest, cutting off his ear.
48 "Am I leading a reb ellion," said Jesus,
"that you have come out with swords and
clubs to capture me? 49 Every day I was with
you, teaching in the temple courts, and you
did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must
be fulf illed." 50 Then everyone deserted him
and fled.
51 A y
oung man, wearing nothing but a
linen garment, was following Jesus. When
they s eized him, 52 he fled naked, leaving his
garment behind.
Jesus Before the Sanhedrin
T hey
took Jesus to the high p
and all the chief priests, the elders and the
teachers of the law came together. 54 Peter
followed him at a distance, r ight into the
courtyard of the high priest. There he sat
with the guards and warmed himself at the
55 T he c
hief p
riests and the whole San
hedrin were looking for evidence against
a 24
Some manuscripts the new b 27 Zech. 13:7
Some early manuscripts do not have twice.
d 36 Aramaic for father
c 30
J esus so that they could put him to d
but they did not find any. 56 Many testif ied
falsely a gainst him, but their statements
did not agree.
57 Then some stood up and gave this false
eard him
testimony against him: 58 " We h
say, 'I will destroy this temple made with
human hands and in three days will build
another, not made with hands.' " 59 Yet even
then their testimony did not agree.
60 T hen the high priest s
tood up before
them and asked Jesus, "Are you not going
to answer? What is this testimony that t hese
men are bringing a gainst you?" 61 But Jesus
remained silent and gave no answer.
Again the high priest asked him, "Are you
the Messiah, the Son of the B
lessed One?"
62 "I am," said J
esus. "And you will see the
Son of Man sitting at the r ight hand of the
Mighty One and coming on the c louds of
63 The high priest tore his clothes. "Why
do we need any more witnesses?" he asked.
64 " You have h
eard the blasphemy. What do
you think?"
They all condemned him as worthy of
death. 65 Then some began to spit at him;
they blindfolded him, s truck him with t heir
f ists, and said, "Prophesy!" And the guards
took him and beat him.
the word J esus had spoken to him: "Before
the rooster crows t wice c you will disown
me three times." And he broke down and
Jesus Before Pilate
Peter Disowns Jesus
66 W hile Pe
ter was below in the court
yard, one of the servant girls of the high
p riest came by. 67 W hen she saw Peter
warming himself, she looked closely at him.
"You also were with that Nazarene,
Jesus," she said.
68 But he denied it. "I don't know or un
derstand what you're talking about," he
said, and went out into the entryway. a
69 When the servant girl saw him there,
she said a gain to t hose standing a round,
"This fellow is one of them." 70 Again he de
nied it.
After a little w
hile, t hose standing near
said to Peter, "Surely you are one of them,
for you are a Galilean."
H e began to call down curses, and
he swore to them, "I don't know this man
you're talking about."
72 I mm ediatel y the rooste r crowed the
seco nd time. b Then Peter rem emb ered
9780310726005_int_05_matt_acts_NIV_Jesus_Bible_FINAL.indd 1330
Very early in the morning, the c hief
riests, with the elders, the teachers
of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made
their plans. So they b
ound J esus, led him
away and handed him over to Pilate.
2 "Are you the king of the Jews?" asked
"You have said so," Jesus replied.
3 The c
hief p
riests accused him of many
things. 4 So again Pilate asked him, "Aren't
you going to answer? See how many t hings
they are accusing you of."
5 But J
esus s till made no reply, and Pilate
was amazed.
6 N ow it was the custom at the festival
to release a prisoner whom the people re
quested. 7 A man called Barabbas was in
prison with the insurrectionists who had
committed murder in the uprising. 8 The
crowd came up and a sked Pilate to do for
them what he usually did.
9 "Do you want me to release to you the
king of the Jews?" asked Pilate, 10 knowing it
was out of self-interest that the chief priests
had handed Jesus over to him. 11 But the
chief priests stirred up the crowd to have
Pilate release Barabbas instead.
12 " What s
hall I do, then, with the one
you call the king of the Jews?" Pilate asked
13 "Crucif y him!" they shouted.
14 " Why? What crime has he committed?"
asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, "Crucif y
15 Wanting to satisf y the crowd, Pilate
released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus
f logged, and handed him over to be cru
cif ied.
The Soldiers Mock J esus
16 T he sol
diers led Jesus away into the
palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called
a 68 Some early manuscripts entryway and the
rooster crowed b 72 Some early manuscripts do
not have the second time. c 72 Some early
manuscripts do not have twice.
together the whole company of soldiers.
T hey put a purple robe on him, then
twisted together a c rown of thorns and set
it on him. 18 And they began to call out to
him, "Hail, king of the Jews!" 19 Again and
again they struck him on the head with a
staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees,
they paid homage to him. 20 And when they
had mocked him, they took off the purple
robe and put his own c lothes on him. Then
they led him out to crucif y him.
Jesus Revealed
Mark 15:19
Before he was crucified, soldiers
struck Jesus on the head with a
staff and spit on him. This was
prophesied in Isaiah 50:6.
The Crucifixion of Jesus
21 A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the
father of Alexander and Rufus, was pass
ing by on his way in from the country, and
they forced him to carr y the c ross. 22 They
brought Jesus to the place c alled Golgo
tha (which means "the place of the skull").
23 T hen they offered him wine mixed with
myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they
crucif ied him. Dividing up his clothes, they
cast lots to see what each w
ould get.
25 It was nine in the morning when they
crucif ied him. 26 The written notice of the
charge against him read: the king of the jews.
27 T hey cru
cified two rebels with him,
one on his r ight and one on his left. [28] a
29 T hose who p assed by hurled insults at
him, shaking their heads and saying, "So!
You who are going to destroy the temple
and build it in three days, 30 come down
from the cross and save yourself !" 31 In the
same way the c hief priests and the teach
ers of the law m
ocked him a mong them
selves. "He saved others," they said, "but he
can't save himself ! 32 Let this Messiah, this
king of Israel, come down now from the
cross, that we may see and believe." Those
crucif ied with him also heaped insults on
9780310726005_int_05_matt_acts_NIV_Jesus_Bible_FINAL.indd 1331
The Death of Jesus
33 At noon, darkness came over the whole
land until t hree in the afternoon. 34 And at
t hree in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a
loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani? "
(which means "My God, my God, why have
you forsaken me?"). b
35 W hen some of
those standing near
heard this, they said, "Listen, he's calling
S omeone ran, filled a sponge with
wine vinegar, put it on a s taff, and offered
it to J esus to drink. "Now leave him alone.
Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down,"
he said.
37 With a loud cry, Jesus b
reathed his last.
38 T he cur
tain of the temple was torn
in two from top to bottom. 39 And when
the centurion, who s tood there in f ront of
Jesus, saw how he died, c he said, "Surely
this man was the Son of God!"
40 S ome women were watching from a
distance. A
mong them were Mary Magda
lene, Mary the mother of James the youn
ger and of Joseph, d and Salome. 41 In Galilee
these women had followed him and cared
for his needs. Many other women who had
come up with him to Jerusalem were also
Jesus Revealed
Mark 15:36
Jesus was offered gall and vinegar to
drink while he was on the cross. This
was prophesied in Psalm 69:21.
The Burial of Jesus
42 It
was Preparation Day (that is, the day
before the Sabbath). So as evening ap
proached, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prom
inent memb er of the Council, who was
himself waiting for the kingdom of God,
went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus'
a 28 Some manuscripts include here words similar
to Luke 22:37. b 34 Psalm 22:1 c 39 Some
manuscripts saw that he died with such a cry
d 40 Greek Joses, a variant of Joseph; also in
verse 47
As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white
robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. "Don't be
alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was
crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid
Mark 16:5 – 6
Just try to imagine it. Your best friend just died. You go to visit his
grave and it's empty. Not only is his body missing, but there's some guy
sitting in his spot. The stranger calmly tells you that your best friend
has risen from the dead, as if these things happen every day.
Now can you see why the women who went to Jesus' tomb ran away in
fear? It would be hard to grasp that not only was there someone inside
the tomb alive, but also the person supposed to be in it had gotten up
and walked out.
"He's alive!" Mary told Jesus' followers. "He's alive!" And alive he was.
And alive he is. We do not serve a dead Savior. Our Savior is alive and
well. He is able to conquer. Are you surprised? No need to be — God
can do anything.
Lord Jesus, I am so thankful that you live. I am so glad you rose
again! Because you live, I can live with you forever. Hallelujah!
9780310726005_int_05_matt_acts_NIV_Jesus_Bible_FINAL.indd 1332
body. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he
was already dead. Summoning the centuri
on, he asked him if J esus had already died.
W hen he learned from the centurio n
that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph.
46 So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took
down the body, w
rapped it in the linen, and
placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he
rolled a stone against the entrance of the
tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the
mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.
Jesus Has Risen
When the Sabbath was over, Mary
d a
l ene, Mary the moth
e r of
James, and Salome bought spices so that
they m
ight go to anoint Jesus' body. 2 Very
early on the f irst day of the week, just after
sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb
3 and they a
sked each other, "Who will roll
the stone away from the entrance of the
4 But when they l ooked up, they saw that
the stone, which was very large, had been
rolled away. 5 A s they entered the tomb,
they saw a young man dressed in a white
robe sitting on the right side, and they were
6 " Don't be a
larmed," he said. "You are
looking for J esus the Nazarene, who was
crucif ied. He has risen! He is not here. See
the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell
his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead
of you into Galilee. T here you will see him,
just as he told you.' "
8 Tremb ling and bew ildered, the wom
en went out and fled from the tomb. They
said nothing to anyone, because they were
afraid. a
9780310726005_int_05_matt_acts_NIV_Jesus_Bible_FINAL.indd 1333
[The earliest manuscripts and some other
ancient witnesses do not have verses 9 – 20.]
9 When Jesus rose early on the f irst day of the
week, he appeared f irst to Mary Magdalene, out
of whom he had driven seven demons. 10 She went
and told t hose who had been with him and who
were mourning and weeping. 11 When they heard
that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him,
they did not believe it.
12 Af ter ward Jesus appeared in a dif ferent form
to two of them while they were walking in the coun
try. 13 These returned and reported it to the rest; but
they did not believe them either.
14 Late r J esus app eared to the Eleve n as they
were eating; he rebuked them for t heir lack of f aith
and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had
seen him after he had risen.
15 He said to them, "Go into all the w
orld and
preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever be
lieves and is baptized will be s aved, but whoever
does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these
signs will accompany those who believe: In my
name they will drive out demons; they will speak in
new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their
hands; and when they d
rink deadly poison, it will
not hurt them at all; they will place t heir hands on
sick people, and they will get well."
19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he
was taken up into heaven and he sat at the r ight
hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out and
preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with
them and confirmed his word by the s igns that ac
companied it.
a 8
Some manuscripts have the following ending
between verses 8 and 9, and one manuscript has it
after verse 8 (omitting verses 9-20): Then they
quickly reported all these instructions to those around
Peter. After this, Jesus himself also sent out through
them from east to west the sacred and imperishable
proclamation of eternal salvation. Amen.


text:
Mahmutlar 55.000€
- Property IDR1-1092
- Area120 m.sq.
- Price55.000€
- Bathrooms1
- Installmentsno
- Floor3
- CityMahmutlar
- To the sea50 m.
- Bedrooms2
- Year of construction2003
For sale a very spacious and bright apartment 2+1, good layout. Total area 120 sq. m. Apartment have two bedrooms, a bathroom, two balconies, living room and separate kitchen.
The apartment is locating in Mahmutlar, in a complex of two buildings. The apartment on the 3-rd floor of 5-storey building, facing South-East facing position. Apartment with sea views, very bright and cozy. Fully furnished, all appliances, air conditioners, tankless water heater. No repairs needed, in perfect condition. The house of 2003 buildings.
Located just 50 metres from the sea.
Property details
- Conditioners
- Furniture
- Appliances
- Panoramic view
- Sea view
Social space
- Wİ-fİ in the territory
- Open swimming pool
- Parking by the house
- Concierge
Service cost aidat: 20€

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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text:
While sitting in my studio, I had a sudden craving for Mexican food and ice cream - so, I grabbed my keys and headed to Edgewood to satisfy both.
I had a lovely lunch (with a basket of chips all to myself!), and was able to read more a few delicious pages of Anne Lamott's new book that she wrote with her son, Sam, called "Some Assembly Required: A Journal of My Son's First Son." Her way with words is one of the reasons I aspire to be a writer. The way she turns a phrase and bears her soul with candor, humility and humor are both qualities I admire and aspire to have one day.
After lunch, I dragged myself away from reading - the guilt from continuing to sit at the table in the restaurant without ordering anything else started to detract from the enjoyment of Anne's words. (...and yes, I just referred to her by first name...we are friends, at least in MY head.) I headed next door to the ice cream shop for a yummy treat.
Since I was the only person in the ice cream shop when I arrived, I leisurely browsed the flavors, and did some deep breathing to inhale the incredibly decadent smell of freshly baked waffle cones. I didn't realize I was doing it, but while I was browsing, I had my hand resting on my ever-expanding belly.
When I finally placed my order, the guy behind the counter smiled and asked when I was due...and then, I watched a panic set in as it occurred to him that I might not be pregnant. (When I wasn't pregnant, I did get asked from time to time, and it was always devastating for me - and horribly embarrassing for the person that had asked. For whatever reason, I take perverse pleasure in pausing for a second these days when someone asks me about being pregnant.) After a pause, I smiled and told him my due date, and we struck up a conversation that lasted over the course of my two scoops and covered everything from a crazy encounter his ex-wife had with a gun in a rental car to what we both did for a living to my pregnancy to how to get him back into the dating world. It was a great conversation - and I was grateful that I happened into his shop at a time when few others were craving ice cream. He seemed grateful to have the chance to talk. He even thanked for talking before I got up to leave.
On the way out, the only other woman in the shop (she arrived and ordered while he and I were chatting) mentioned that she had overheard me talking about being pregnant, and then, she and I had a great chat about being pregnant. As it turns out, she hasn't lived in Alabama all that long either, so she had lots to share about what is different about being pregnant in the South vs. anywhere else.
I left in the best of moods! Filling food, stimulating conversation and compelling reading - all in the span of 45 minutes. I am so grateful for the fact that the stars lined up for all of us to be where we were and also to be open to conversation.
I know that a lot of the time, I have my head buried on my iPhone - or I am so distracted by my own selfish issues that I don't take the time to savor the moments that come along like these. Do they happen every day? Nope. But COULD they? I guess there's only one way to find out. :)