 CHAPTER XVIII. When Jesus had said this he went along with his disciples across the Brook of Kedron, where there was a garden into which he himself and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who was betraying him, also knew the spot, because Jesus often retired there with his disciples. Judas therefore, taking the troops and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees, proceeded there, with lanterns, torches, and arms. Jesus then, knowing all the events that were coming upon him, advanced and asked them, For whom are you looking? Jesus the Nazarene! was there reply. I AM! Jesus answered them. Judas, who was betraying him, was also standing with them. No sooner than had he said I AM, than they started backward and fell to the ground. He therefore asked them again, For whom are you looking? Jesus the Nazarene! replied they. I have told you, replied Jesus, that I AM. If you therefore want me, let these go away. Thus was verified what he had spoken. Of those whom you entrusted to me, I have not lost a single one. Simon Peter, however, having a sword, drew it, and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off the tip of his right ear. The name of that servant was Malchus. However, said to Peter, Put the sword into its scabbard! Shall I not drink the cup which the Father has given me? The troops then, headed by their colonel and the Judean officers, arrested Jesus. And having bound him, they conducted him in the first instance to Anas, because he was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest for that one year. Now it was Caiaphas who had advised the Judeans that it is profitable for one man to die on behalf of the people. Simon Peter followed Jesus, however, as well as one other disciple. That disciple, being known to the high priest, entered the court of the high priest along with Jesus, but Peter was standing near the outer door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, accordingly went out and spoke to the porteress, and brought Peter inside. The girl who acted as porteress then asked Peter, Are you also one of the disciples of this man? I am not, was his reply. Now the servants and officials, having made a charcoal fire, were standing round and warming themselves, for it was cold, and Peter was also standing and warming himself along with them. The high priest was then examining Jesus relative to his disciples and his teaching. Jesus answered him, I have spoken publicly to the world. I constantly taught in synagogue and in the temple where all the Judeans are accustomed to assemble, and in secrecy I have said nothing. Why do you ask me? Question those who heard what I said to them. They know what I said. When he answered thus, one of the attended officials struck Jesus a blow with his hand, saying, Do you answer the high priest in that fashion? Jesus replied to him. If I have said anything wrong, bring proof of the wrong. But if properly, why do you strike me? Annas then remanded him bound to Caiaphas, the high priest. Simon Peter, meantime, was standing and warming himself. They therefore asked him, Are you not also one of his disciples? He denied it, and said, I am not. One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man the tip of whose ear Peter had cut off, exclaimed, Did I not see you with him in the garden? Peter then denied it again, and at once the bugle sounded. They then led Jesus from before Caiaphas to the palace, and it was yet early. But they did not themselves enter the palace, lest they should be polluted and be unable to partake of the Passover. Pilot therefore went out to them and asked, What charge do you bring against this man? They answered him, If he had not been a criminal, we should not have handed him over to you. Take him yourselves, and try him according to your own law, said Pilate in reply to them. The Judeans then said to him, It is not permitted to us to put anyone to death? Thus was fulfilled the saying of Jesus for telling the nature of the death he was about to die. Pilate accordingly re-entered the palace, and calling Jesus asked him, Are you the king of the Judeans? Do you say this from yourself, or did others tell it you about me? Asked Jesus in reply. Pilate exclaimed, Ha! Am I a Judean? Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then my officers would have fought so that I might not have been handed over to the Judeans, but however my kingdom is not here. You are a king then, Pilate remarked to him. You say that I am a king, replied Jesus. I was born for this, and I have come into the world for this, that I might give evidence to the truth. Everyone that is of the truth listens to me, Pilate asked him. What is truth? Having said this, he again went out to the Judeans and said to them, I can find nothing criminal about him, but it is accustomed with you that I should liberate someone for you at the Passover. Is it your desire therefore that I should liberate for you the king of the Judeans? They accordingly yelled out in reply, Not this man, but Bar Abbas! Now Bar Abbas was a robber. After nineteen. Pilate therefore took Jesus and flogged him, and the soldiers, weaving a crown of thorns, placed it upon his head, and having clothed him in a purple robe, they approached him and said, Good health to the king of the Judeans! Assaulting him at the same time. Pilate going out again said to them, See, I bring him out to you so that you may know that I find nothing criminal in him. Jesus therefore came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, when Pilate said to them, Behold the man! When however the chief priests and officials saw him, they yelled out, saying, Crucify! Crucify! Pilate said to them, Take him yourselves and crucify, for I find no crime in him. We have a law, and according to that law, he ought to die! The Judeans replied to him, Because he made himself out to be a son of a God! When Pilate however heard this statement, he became still more terrified, and re-entering the palace he asked Jesus, Where do you come from? But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate addressing him therefore said, Will you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to discharge you, and have power to crucify you? Jesus replied to him, You have no power whatever over me other than what may be granted to you from above. Therefore the one who delivered me up to you is the greater sinner. Pilate hereupon endeavored to discharge him, but the Judeans were shrieking out, If you discharge him, you are not the friend of Caesar! Any man setting himself up as king is a traitor against the Emperor! When Pilate therefore heard these threats, he brought Jesus out, and seated him upon the bench in a place called the Pavement, but Gabatha in Hebrew. It was now the preparation day for the Passover. It was about twelve o'clock. Addressing the Judeans, he said, Behold your king! Get off! Get off! He yelled out in reply, Crucify him! Shall I crucify your king? exclaimed Pilate to them. We have no king but Caesar! was the response of the chief priests. He then accordingly delivered him over to them that he might be crucified. They therefore took Jesus, and he went out carrying the cross for himself to the spot called Skolfield, which in the Hebrew is named Golgotha, where they crucified him, and with him two others, one on each side, and Jesus in the middle. Pilate had also written an inscription and placed it upon the cross, and the words were Jesus the Nazarene, the king of the Judeans. Many of the Judeans accordingly read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. The chief priests of the Judeans therefore said to Pilate, Do not write the king of the Judeans, but merely that he said, I am king of the Judeans. What I have written, replied Pilate, I have written. Then when the soldiers had nailed Jesus to the cross, they took his clothes, and dividing them into four gave to each soldier a share. They also took the robe, which however was seamless, knitted throughout from the top. They accordingly remarked to each other, Do not let us tear it, but let us throw for it whose it shall be, thus verifying the scripture which said, They divided my clothing among them, and over my robe they threw dice. This was what the soldiers did. But there were standing near the cross of Jesus, his own mother, his mother's sister, Mary, the Mary of Clopus, as well as Mary the Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved, standing near, he said to his mother, Mother, see your son. He then said to the disciple, See, that is your mother. And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. After this, Jesus, seeing that all was now completed, so that the scripture might be fulfilled, said, I thirst. A vessel full of vinegar was standing at hand, so filling a sponge with the vinegar, they fastened it to a cane, and held it up to his mouth. When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished! And bowing his head, he resigned his spirit. The Judeans, therefore, since it was preparation day, for that day was the great day of the week of rest, so that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the Sabbath, requested pilot that they might be removed after their legs were broken. The soldiers, therefore, came and broke the legs of the first, as well as of the other one crucified along with him. But when they came to Jesus, and seeing that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. One of the soldiers, however, with a spear, pierced his side, when blood and water at once issued from it. And the eyewitness gives this evidence, and his evidence is truthful, and he himself knows that he speaks true, so that you may believe, for these events happened in order that the scripture might be verified. A bone of him shall not be broken. Again the scripture elsewhere says, They shall gaze upon him whom they have pierced. After this, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one owing to his dread of the Judeans, begged of Pilate to be allowed to take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate granted him permission. He accordingly came and took away his body, and Nicodemus, who in the first instance came to him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about a hundred pounds. They therefore took the body of Jesus and wrapped it up in a winding sheet, along with the aromatics, in accordance with a custom of the Judeans when burying. Now in proximity to the spot where he was crucified there was a garden, and in this garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been placed. There then, the tomb being near, they deposited Jesus on account of the preparation day of the Judeans. CHAPTER XX Now on the first day following the Sabbaths, while it was early, in fact still dusk, Mary the Magdalene went to the tomb, and observed that the stone had been removed from its entrance. She therefore came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, They have taken away the master out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have placed him. Peter therefore went out, along with the other disciple, and came to the tomb. They started running together, but the other disciple running more quickly than Peter arrived first at the tomb, and stooping down, he observed the winding sheet lying there. He did not however enter. Then Simon Peter, who was following him, also arrived, and entered into the tomb. When he saw how the grave-clothes lie as well as the napkin which had been upon his head, not lying with the winding sheet, but folded up apart in a place by itself. The other disciple who arrived first then also entered the tomb and saw, and believed, for they did not as yet understand the scripture that he must rise again from the dead. These disciples accordingly returned to their own companions. Mary however stood outside, near the sepulcher, weeping. So crying as she was, she stooped down to look into the tomb, when she saw two angels in white, sitting, one at the head, the other at the feet where the body of Jesus had lain. Addressing her they asked, Why woman are you weeping? Because they have taken away my Lord, was her answer, and I do not know where they have placed him. Having said this, she turned round and saw Jesus himself standing there, and did not perceive that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, Woman, why do you weep? What do you seek? She, thinking that it was the gardener, said to him, Sir, if you have removed him from here, tell me where you have placed him, and I will take him away. Jesus addressed her. Mary. Turning round she exclaimed in Hebrew, Rabonai. Which means master. Jesus said to her, Touch me not, because I have not as yet ascended to the Father. Go to my brothers however and tell them, I go up to my Father and your Father, and my God, and your God. Mary the Magdalene came reporting to the disciples, I have seen the Lord! And what he had said to her. On the evening therefore of that same day, the first after the Sabbaths, the doors having been shut where the disciples were, owing to dread of the Judeans, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, Peace to you! And having said this, he showed them his hands as well as his side. The disciples were accordingly delighted at seeing the Lord. He therefore said to them again, Peace to you! As the Father sent me, so in the same way I send you! And having said this, he infused himself into them and said, Receive holy spirit! If you expel sins from any, they will be free. If you subdue them, they shall be subdued. Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore told him, We have seen the Lord! In reply to them, however, he said, Unless I can see the impression of the nails in his hands and could put my finger in the nail holes and can put my hand into his side, I shall certainly never believe it. Eight days afterwards the disciples were again inside and Thomas with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus appeared standing among them and said, Peace to you! Then to Thomas he said, Reach your finger here and look at my hands and reach your hand and thrust it into my side. Do not be unbelieving, but a believer. My Lord, and my God! exclaimed Thomas in reply to him. Because you have seen me, you have believed, answered Jesus. Only they who have not seen yet are believers. Many other evidences were also produced by Jesus in the presence of his disciples which are not recorded in this narrative. But these are recorded in order that you may believe that he is the Messiah, the Son of God, and believing that you might become possessed of life by means of his power. CHAPTER XXI After this Jesus again manifested himself to his disciples at the lake of Tiberius, and he appeared in this way. There were together Simon Peter, Thomas called the twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the Zebedees, as well as two more of his disciples. Simon Peter remarked to them, I am going to fish! We are also coming with you! was their reply. They went off and entered into a boat, but during that night they caught nothing. When however the day began to dawn, Jesus stood upon the beach. The disciples nevertheless failed to recognize that it was Jesus. Jesus therefore called to them, Lads, have you got anything to eat? No, was their answer. He accordingly said to them, Know your net upon the right side of the boat, and you will find some. They therefore cast, and then found they were no longer able to haul it in, owing to the quantity of fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved then observed to Peter, It is the Lord! So when Simon Peter learned that it was the Lord, he slipped on his jacket, for he was stripped, and flung himself into the water. The other disciples, however, being only about a hundred yards distant from the shore, landed in the small boat, dragging the net with the fish. When they had got out upon the shore, they observed a charcoal fire, with fish and a cake placed upon it. Pick from the fish which you have now caught, said Jesus to them. Simon Peter accordingly went and drew the net upon the beach, full of large fish, to the number of one hundred and fifty-three. And although there were so many, the net was not broken. Come, have your breakfast! said Jesus to them. And none of the disciples ventured to ask him, Who are you perceiving as they did that it was the Lord? Jesus drew near, took the cake, and distributed among them, as well as of the fish. This was now the third occasion on which Jesus was manifested to the disciples after he had risen from the dead. Now when they had breakfasted, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, are you my friend more than these? Yes, master, he said in reply, You know that I love you. Feed my lambs, said he. Again a second time he asked him, Simon, son of John, are you my friend? Yes, master, was his answer. You know that I love you. Shepard my sheep. For the third time he asked him, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was grieved because he asked him the third time, Do you love me? And in reply he said to him, Lord, you know all, you know I love you. Jesus replied to him, Feed my little sheep. Just assuredly I tell you that when you were younger you dressed yourself and went wherever you liked. But when you get older you will hold out your hands when another will dress you and carry you where you do not desire. He said this intimating the nature of the death by which he would pay honor to God. And having spoken this he said to him, Follow me. Peter, turning round, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following the one who lay near his breast at the supper and asked, Who master is the one who is betraying you? Peter therefore seeing him said to Jesus, But what about this one, Lord? Jesus replied to him, If I decide for him to remain until I come, What is that to you? You must follow me. This remark therefore led to a general impression among the brothers that that particular disciple would not die. This however did not say that he would not die, But if I decide for him to remain until I come, What is that to you? It is this disciple who attests these events and wrote this narrative, And we know that his evidence is truth. And very many more were the acts of Jesus which were they to be severally related. I imagine the world itself could not contain the volumes that would be written. Amen. The end of chapters 18-21 and the end of the Gospel according to John from the New Testament in modern English translated by Farrar Fenton, recording by Mark Penfold. The first epistle of the Apostle John from the New Testament in modern English translated by Farrar Fenton. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter 1 He was from the beginning, whom we have heard, whom we have seen with our eyes, whom we have contemplated, and our hands have felt accompanying the living word, for the life was manifested, and we have seen him and have given evidence and proclaimed to you the life who was eternal, who existed with the Father and was manifested to us. What we have seen and heard, we also declare to you in order that you might be participators with ourselves. Yes, and our union is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ, and we have written this in order that your delight might be complete. This moreover is the announcement which we have learned from him and convey to you, namely that God is light, and darkness in him there is none. If we say that we are in union with him and still follow the darkness, we are false and act not up to the truth. But if, on the other hand, we follow the light, as he himself is in the light, we are in union with each other and the blood of Jesus his Son purifies us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is foreign to us. If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just although he should take away our sins and purify us from all our unrighteousness. If we deny that we have committed sin, we make him false and we do not grasp his doctrine. CHAPTER 2 My little children, I write this to you in order that you may not sin, and if anyone should sin, we have an advocate with the other, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is an offering for our sins and not for ours alone, but also for all the world. And by this we recognize that we know him. If we observe his commands, whoever says I know him and fails to observe his commands is a liar and the truth is not in him. But whoever observes his message, the love of God is undoubtedly perfected in him. By this we recognize that we are in him. Whoever says that he remains in him ought to conduct himself in the same way as he conducted himself. Dear friends, I write to you no new command, but on the contrary an old command, the same which you possessed from the beginning. The old command is the message which you learned. Again I write to you a new command which is true in itself and also in you, because the darkness is clearing away and the true light already shines. Whoever therefore says he is in the light yet hates his brother is even until now in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother dwells in the light and there is no stumbling block in him. Whoever hates his brother however is in the darkness, he walks in the dark and knows not where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes. I write to you, little children, because your sins are expelled through his name. I write to you, fathers, because you have known him from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have conquered the wicked one. I have written to you, youths, because you know the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you have recognized him from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong and the message of God rests in you and you have conquered the wicked one. Cherish neither the world nor yet what is in the world. If anyone cherishes the world, the affection of the Father is not in him, because all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, are not from the Father, but they are from the world. The world passes away and it's lusts, but he who works out the purpose of God continues forever. Youths, it is the last period, and as you have learned that antichrist would come and already many antichrists have come, we consequently know that it is the last period. They went out from among us, but they did not belong to us, because if they had belonged to us they would have remained with us. They left, however, in order that it might be evident that they were not connected with us. But you hold a sacred appointment from the Holy One. You know all. I have not written to you because you are ignorant of the truth, but because you do know it and because nothing false can proceed from the truth. Who is the liar if not the one who denies that Jesus is the Messiah? He is the antagonist of Christ who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son never has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son possesses the Father also. You continue in what you learned from the beginning. If what you learned from the first remains with you, you will continue in union with the Son and in union with the Father. And this is the promise which he promised to us, the life eternal. I have written this to you on account of those who would mislead you, and as for you, the sacred appointment which you received from him, retain it with you, and then you will require no other teacher. But this, his consecration, will teach you about everything, and it is truthful and not false, and as he has taught you, hold on to him. And now little children, abide in him so that at his appearance we may enjoy perfect freedom and not feel ashamed about him in his presence. If you know that he is righteous, you will also recognize that everyone who acts righteously is born of him. CHAPTER III Just think what a wealth of love the Father has lavished upon us in order that we might be called children of God, and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us because it did not know him. Friends, we are now children of God, and it is not yet revealed what we shall become. But we do know that when he is manifested we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he actually is. And everyone who has this hope in him will purify himself as he is pure. Everyone who commits sin acts lawlessly, for sin is broken law. You know also that he was manifested to remove sins, and he is sinless. All who continue with him will not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen him nor known him. Dear children, let none deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous. Whoever practices sin is from the devil, for the devil sinned from the first. This was the purpose for which the Son of God was manifested, namely, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Everyone born from God does not practice sin, because his principle of life continues in him, and he does not value sinning, because he has been born from God. By means of this the children of God are manifest as well as the children of the devil. Whoever does not practice righteousness is not from God, nor yet is he who does not love his brother. Because this is the doctrine which you learned from the first, that we should love one another. Not being impelled by the wicked one as Cain was, who murdered his brother. And on account of what did he murder him? Because his own practices were wicked and those of his brother righteous. Do not, brothers, be surprised if the world hates you. We know that we are transplanted out of death into life when we love the brotherhood. Whoever does not love remains in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer ever has eternal life existing in him. His love is known to us from the fact that he laid down his own life for our sakes, so we ought also to lay down our lives for the sake of our brothers. But whoever possesses the means of livelihood in this world and sees his brother in want yet locks up his pity from him, how can the love of God dwell in him? Children, let us not love in pretense, nor with the tongue, but in act and truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and may tranquilize our heart in his presence, and our mind can discover that God is greater than our heart when all will be clear. Friends, even if our heart should not discover it, we have free approach to God, and what we may ask we shall receive from him when we regard his commands and practice those virtues in his sight. This also is his command, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another as earnestly as he gave us an instruction, and the observer of his commands remains in him, and he in him. And by this we recognize that he dwells in us by the spirit with which he has endowed us. CHAPTER IV Friends, do not believe every thinker, but test the teachings, whether they emanate from God, because many false teachers have gone out into the world. By this you can recognize the teacher from God. Every teacher acknowledging that Jesus Christ came bodily is from God, and every teacher who does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This then is the test of the antagonist of Christ, whose coming you have heard of, and now he is already in the world. You children are from God, and have defeated them, because the one who is with you is mightier than the one who is in the world. They belong to the world, their conversation is therefore worldly, and the world listens to them. We are from God, whoever recognizes God listens to us, whoever does not proceed from God, regards us not. By this we can discern the spirit of truth as well as the spirit of error. Let us love one another friends, because love is from God, and everyone who loves is born from God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. The love of God was displayed in our own case, when God sent His only begotten Son to the world so that we might live by means of Him. Here was the love. Not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His own Son as a reconciliation for our sins. Friends, if God loved us so much, we ought also to love one another. No one has at any time seen God. If we love one another, God dwells in us, and His love is perfected in us. By this we recognize that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He has endowed us with His own spirit. And we have also seen and are giving evidence that the Father has sent the Son a savior of the world. Whoever shall acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in Him and He in God, and we realize and rely upon the love which God has for us. God is love, and whoever continues in love dwells in God and God in Him. His love with us will be perfected when we have free access in the day of judgment, because as He Himself is, we also shall be in that world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love expels fear, because fear is torture, and whoever is in fear has not reached the perfection of love. We love because He first loved us. If anyone says, I love God, yet hates his brother, he is a liar, because whoever does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. This command, moreover, we have received from him, that the lover of God should also love his own brother. Chapter 5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah is born from God, and everyone loving the Father should love his offspring. We know that we love the children of God when we love God and practice His commands. For this is the love of God, that we should keep His commands, and His commands are not burdensome, because everyone born from God conquers the world, and this is the conquest which has conquered the world, our faith. Who is the conqueror of the world, if not the believer that Jesus is the Son of God, that is Jesus the Messiah, who came through water and blood, not in the water only, but in the water and in the blood. And the Spirit is the witness, that Spirit who is the Truth, that there are three who give evidence, the Spirit, and the human nature, and the earthly life, and these three were in that one. If we accept the evidence of men, the evidence of God is stronger, and this is the evidence of God which he adduced concerning his Son. The believer in the Son of God possesses the evidence in himself, whoever disbelieves him represents him to be a liar, because he relies not upon the evidence which God has adduced concerning his Son, and this is the evidence, that God has granted to us eternal life and the same life that exists in his Son. The possessor of the Son possesses that life, whoever does not possess the Son of God, does not possess that life. These facts I have written to you in order that you may recognize that you are the possessors of everlasting life, and that you may believe upon the name of the Son of God, and this is the privilege which we possess towards him, that if we ask for anything in accordance with his intention, he listens to us, and if we are assured that he hears us, whatever we may be asking, we know that we shall have the requests that we ask from him. If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin, if not a deadly one, should he ask, then he must grant him life for those not sinning mortally. There is mortal sin, I do not say that he should supplicate about it. All injustice is sin, and there is sin not mortal. We know that whoever is born from God will not sin. On the contrary, he who is born from God guards himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. We know that we are from God, but the whole world trusts in the wicked one. We know also that the Son of God has come and has endowed us with intellect, so that we can recognize the true, and we are in that truth with his Son Jesus the Messiah. This is divine truth and eternal life. Dear children, guard yourselves from idolatry. THE RECORD OF THE GENIOLOGY OF JESUS CHRIST Son of David, Son of Abraham Abraham begat Isaac, and Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob begat Judah and his brothers, and Judah begat Farez and Zara by Tamar, and Farez begat Hezrom, and Hezrom begat Aram, and Aram begat Aminadab, and Aminadab begat Neasin, and Neasin begat Salman, and Salman begat Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz begat Obed by Ruth, and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David, the king. David the king begat Solomon by the widow of Uriah, and Solomon begat Rehoboam, and Rehoboham begat Abaya, and Abaya begat Asaph, and Asaph begat Josephat, and Josephat begat Joram, and Joram begat Osiah, and Osiah begat Jotham, and Jotham begat Achaz, and Achaz begat Hezekiah, and Hezekiah begat Manasseh, and Manasseh begat Amos, and Amos begat Josiah, and Josiah begat Jeconiah, and his brothers, about the time of the transportation into Babylon. And after the transportation into Babylon, Jeconiah begat Salafiel, and Salafiel begat Zerobabel, and Zerobabel begat Abayad, and Abayad begat Eliakim, and Eliakim begat Azor, and Azor begat Sadok, and Sadok begat Akim, and Akim begat Eliad, and Eliad begat Eliezer, and Eliezer begat Mathan, and Mathan begat Jacob, and Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary. From her was born Jesus, the appointed Messiah. Thus all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the transportation into Babylon were fourteen generations, and from the transportation into Babylon to the Messiah were fourteen generations. However, the origin of Jesus the Messiah was thus. Mary his mother was promised in marriage to Joseph, but before their union she was found to have conceived from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, however, was a righteous man, and not wishing to degrade her, felt inclined to divorce her privately. But while reflecting about it, he saw a messenger from the Lord appear to him during a vision, saying, Joseph, son of David, you need not be afraid to accept your wife Mary, for what is conceived in her was produced by the Holy Spirit, and she will give birth to a son, and you shall name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Now all this took place so that the statement of the Lord as recorded by his prophet might be fulfilled. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and give birth to a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which when translated means the God among us. Then Joseph, having awakened from his sleep, did as the messenger of the Lord commanded him, and accepted his wife, but kept apart from her until she had given birth to her son, and he named him Jesus. CHAPTER II Soon after the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem of Judea, during the reign of King Herod, there arrived in Jerusalem Magi from the east, who inquired, Where is the newly born king of the Jews, for we have seen his star in the east, and we have come to pay him homage? When Herod the king heard this he was terrified and all Jerusalem with him, so assembling the chief priests and professors he demanded of them where the Messiah would be born. They replied, In Bethlehem of Judea, for it is recorded by the prophet, and you Bethlehem, Judah's land, are not the least among the districts of Judah, for out of you shall come the leader who shall shepherd my people Israel. Then Herod, having privately interviewed the Magi, ascertained from them the exact time when the star made its appearance. He then sent them to Bethlehem, remarking, When you arrive, ascertain very carefully everything about that child, and when you have discovered all, inform me so that I may also come and pay him homage. Having listened to the king they accordingly proceeded on their way, and observed that the star which they had seen at its rising went before them, until arriving it rusted above the place where the child was. When they observed the star they rejoiced with very great delight, and having come to the house they saw the young child with his mother Mary, and prostrating themselves they paid him homage, and having opened their treasures they presented him with gold, frankincense, and myrrh as a tribute, and having been instructed by a dream not to return to Herod they accordingly departed to their own country by another road. After their departure a messenger from the Lord also appeared to Joseph in a vision saying, Arise, take the child and his mother and fly to Egypt and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to hunt out the child to murder him. Arising he accordingly took the child and his mother by night and removed to Egypt, remaining there until the death of Herod, so that the statement from the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, which declared, I called my son out of Egypt. Then Herod, when he found that he had been deceived by the Magi, was savagely furious, and sending to Bethlehem he murdered all the male children there, as well as all that were in the neighborhood, from two years of age and under, so as to include the date which he had ascertained from the Magi. Then was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet Jeremiah. I heard a sound of grief in Rama, weeping in great anguish, Rachel weeping for her children, and she cannot be consoled, because they are not. When Herod was dead, however, a messenger of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a vision while in Egypt, and said, Arise, take the child and his mother and go into the land of Israel, for they are dead who sought the child's life. He then arose, took the child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. Having however that Archelaus reigned over Judea in the place of his father Herod, he was afraid to return there, and having been also warned by a dream, he withdrew into the district of Galilee, and on arriving he settled in a town called Nazareth, so that the prediction through the prophet was fulfilled which said that he should be considered a Nazarene. CHAPTER III One time after this period, John the Baptizer began to proclaim in the desert of Judea, REFARM, FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS NEAR! This man was the one foretold by the prophet Isaiah, where he says, A voice calling out in the desert, Prepare the road for the Lord, make straight the pathway for his feet. Now John himself had his clothing of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. And Jerusalem, and the people about Judea, as well as the whole neighborhood of Jordan, went to him, and were baptized by him and the Jordan, when they had confessed their sins. But observing many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he addressed them, saying, Spawn of vipers, who has directed you to fly from the future fury? Produce then fruit displaying your conversion, and do not in your pride say to yourselves, We have our ancestor Abraham, for I tell you that God is able even from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. But the axe now lies at the root of the trees, every tree therefore which does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I indeed baptize you in water, preparatory to conversion, but the one who follows me is far stronger than I, I am not even worthy to carry his shoes. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowar is in his hand, and he will perfectly cleanse his threshing floor, and collect his wheat into the granary, while he will consume the chaff with inextinguishable fire. Jesus also came from Galilee to the Jordan, applying to John to be baptized by him. John however wished to dissuade him, saying, It is more necessary for me to be baptized by you, and yet you would come to me. But Jesus replied, Allow it for the present, for it is appointed thus to us to do all that is right. He then permitted him. And when Jesus had been baptized, he immediately came out from the water, and the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming and resting upon him. And then a voice from the heavens said, This is my Son, my beloved, in whom I have delight. CHAPTER 4 Jesus then went up into the desert under the influence of the Spirit to be tried by the agency of the devil, and having fasted forty days and forty nights, he at last became hungry. The tempter then approached him and said, If you are a Son of God, order these stones to become loaves. But Jesus in reply said, It is written, Man does not live on bread alone, but upon every word passing through the mouth of God. Then the devil, carrying him into the holy city, placed him upon the high porch of the temple, and said to him, If you are a Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is recorded that he will command his angels concerning you to support you with their hands so that you cannot dash your foot against the pavement. Jesus in reply to him said, And it is elsewhere written, You shall not tempt the Lord your God. Again the devil, carrying him up a very high mountain, pointed out to him all the kingdoms of that region, and the splendor of them, and said to him, I will give you all these, if you will pay me homage. But Jesus in reply to him said, Be gone Satan, for it is written, You shall reverence the Lord and pay homage to him alone. The devil then left him, and angels at once approached and ministered to him. Now Jesus, having heard that John was betrayed, moved into Galilee, and leaving Nazareth he went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that the prediction delivered through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled, which says, Over the Jordan, near the sea, in the land of Zebulun and Naphtali's land, in the heathen Galilee, the people living in darkness saw a great light, while in solitude crouched and the shadow of death a light has before them burst out. From that time Jesus began to proclaim and say, Change your minds, for the kingdom of heaven approaches. While walking along the coast of the sea of Galilee he observed two brothers, Simon Sir named Peter and his brother Andrew, throwing a casting net into the sea, for they were fishermen. Speaking to them he said, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And immediately abandoning their nets they followed him. And going from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat along with their father, mending their nets, and he hailed them. And at once abandoning the boat and their father they followed him. Jesus then went through all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, as well as curing every kind of disease and infirmity among the people. And the report about him spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all those who were afflicted with different mental diseases and sufferings, demoniacs, lunatics, and paralytics, and he restored them to health. And great crowds followed him from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea, as well as from the other side of the Jordan. THE END OF CHAPTERS I THROUGH FOUR CHAPTERS V THROUGH EIGHT OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATHEW, FROM THE NEW TESTIMENT IN MODERN INGLESH, TRANSLATED BY FERRAR FENTON. THIS LIBERVOX RECORDING IS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. RECORDING BY MARK PENFOLD. CHAPTER FIVE Now observing those crowds, he ascended the hill, and seating himself, his disciples approached him. Then having opened his mouth, he addressed them as follows, BLESSED ARE THE GENTLE IN SPIRIT, FOR THERE'S IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. BLESSED ARE THE SUFFERERS, FOR THEY SHALL BE COMFORTED. BLESSED ARE THE KIND HEARTED, FOR THEY SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH. BLESSED ARE THE HUNGERING AND THIRSTING FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS, FOR THEY SHALL BE SATISFIED. BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL, FOR THEY SHALL SECURE MERCY. BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART, FOR THEY SHALL SEE GOD HIMSELF. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS, FOR THEY SHALL BE DECLARED GOD'S OWN SONS. BLESSED ARE THE PERSECUTED ON ACCOUNT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, BECAUSE THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS THERES. YOU ARE BLESSED WHENEVER THEY CURSE AND PERSECUTE YOU, AND SAY EVERY VILE THING AGAINST YOU FALSELY BECAUSE OF ME. BE GLAD AND DELIGHTED, BECAUSE YOUR REWARD IN HEAVEN WILL BE GREAT, FOR SO THEY PERSECUTED THE PROPHETS WHO WERE BEFORE YOU. YOU ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH, BUT IF THE SALT SHOULD LOSE ITS STRENGTH, WITH WHAT CAN ITSELF BE SALTED? IT IS THEN GOOD FOR NOTHING, BUT TO BE FLUNG OUT AND TROT AN UNDERFOOT BY MANKIND. YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD, A TOWN BUILT UPON A HILL CANNOT BE CONCEALED. A LAMP IS NEVER LIGHTED AND PLACED UNDER A CORN MEASURE, BUT UPON THE LAMP STAND, AND IT GIVES LIGHT TO ALL THOSE IN THE HOUSE. THUS LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE IN THE PRESENCE OF MANKIND, SO THAT THEY MAY SEE YOUR GOOD CONDUCT AND PRAISE YOUR FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN. DO NOT IMAGINE THAT I HAVE COME TO ABOLISH THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS, I HAVE NOT COME TO ABOLISH BUT TO COMPLETE THEM. FOR I TELL YOU INDEED THAT UNTIL THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH SHALL PASS AWAY, A SINGLE DOT OR HAIRSTROKE SHALL NOT DISAPPEAR FROM THE LAW UNTIL ALL HAS BEEN COMPLETED. IF THEREFORE ANYONE SHALL MAKE LIGHT OF ONE OF THE LEAST OF ITS COMMANDS AND SHALL TEACH MEN SO, HE SHALL BE DECLARED THE LEAST IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, BUT WHOEVER TEACHES THEM AND ACTS UP TO THEM, HE SHALL BE GREAT IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. FOR I TELL YOU THAT IF YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS DOES NOT SURPASS THAT OF THE PROPHESERS AND FARACIES, YOU CAN BY NO MEANS ENTER THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. YOU HAVE HEARD THAT IT WAS SAID BY THE ANCIENTS, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, AND IF A MAN SHOULD MURDER, HE WOULD BE LIABLE TO PUNISHMENT. But I tell you that every man quarreling with his brother will be liable to punishment. And if he should call his brother scoundrel, he will be liable to the High Court of Justice, and whoever shall call his brother REBEL, will be liable to the branding by fire. Therefore, even if you have carried your offering up to the altar, and you should there discover that your brother has suffered any wrong by you, leave your offering even before the altar and go away. First be reconciled to your brother, and then returning, present your offering. Make friends with your accuser quickly, even while you are in his company. For your accuser may drag you before the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and he in turn may take you to prison. I tell you indeed, that you will not depart until you have repaid the very last farthing. You have heard it said that you shall not commit adultery, but I tell you that everyone who looks lewdly upon a woman has already committed adultery with her in his own heart. If therefore your right eye leads you to sin, tear it out and throw it from you, for it will be profitable to you to destroy one of your members, rather than that your whole body should perish in the pit. And if your right hand leads you to sin, cut it off and throw it from you, for it will be profitable for you to destroy one of your limbs, rather than that your whole body should perish in the pit. It has also been decreed that if anyone would dismiss his wife, let him have her divorced. But I tell you that if anyone divorces his wife, except on account of fornication, he represents her to be an adulteress. And if anyone marries her when she has been divorced, he commits adultery. Again you have heard it was decreed to the ancients that you shall not perjure yourselves, but give up your vow to the Lord. And I tell you in short, do not vow at all, not by heaven, for that is the throne of God, nor by the earth, because that is his footstool, nor by Jerusalem, for that is the city of the great king. Neither vow by your head, because you are not able to make a single hair white or black, but let your language be yes, yes, no, no, for whatever exceeds these proceeds from evil. You have heard that it was enacted, eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. But I tell you, do not contend with a wicked, but whoever strikes you upon your right cheek, then turn the other to him as well. And whoever drags you to law, and takes your vest, let him have your cloak as well. And whoever forces you to go with him one mile, then go too. Give to the man who begs from you, and do not turn away from the one wishing to borrow from you. You have heard it was commanded that you should love your neighbor, and hate your enemy. But I tell you, to love your enemies, bless those who curse you, act generally to those who hate you, and pray for those who ill use and persecute you. Then you will become the sons of your father, who is in heaven, for he raises his son over both bad and good, and reigns upon both just and unjust. For if you should merely be friendly with your friends, what reward have you? Is not the same thing done even by the extortioners? And if you salute your associates only, is that anything to be proud of? For is not that done even by the extortioners? You however should be perfect, as your father in heaven is perfect. CHAPTER VI Take care and do not display your charities before men, with the intention of being observed by them. For if you do, you will not have a reward from your father, who is in heaven. When therefore you do a kindness, do not blow a trumpet before yourself, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues, and in the streets, so that they may secure the praise of men. I tell you, however, that they obtain their reward. But whenever you do a kindness, do not let your left hand know what your right hand does, so that your kindness may be secret, and your father who looks into the secret will return it to you openly. And when you pray, do not follow the example of the hypocrites, for they delight to pray standing in the crowds and at the corners of the squares, so that they may be seen by men. I tell you, however, that they receive their wages. But when you pray, enter your chamber, and having shut your door, pray to your father in that privacy, and your father seeing into that privacy will return it to you openly. But when praying, make use of no babble, like the heathen, for they imagine that they will be listened to because of their volubility, do not therefore imitate them, for your father knows your necessities before you can ask him. Consequently, you must pray in this way. Your Father in the heavens, your name must be being hallowed. Your kingdom must be being restored. Your will must be being done both in heaven and upon the earth. Give us today our tomorrow's bread, and forgive us our faults, as we forgive those offending us. For you would not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from its evil. For if you forgive men their faults, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours. But if you do not forgive those who wrong you, then neither will your Father forgive you your misdeeds. Moreover, when you fast, become not like the hypocrites, for they distort their faces so that it may be seen by men that they are fasting. I tell you, however, that they receive their wages. But when you are fasting, dress your head and wash your face so that men may not know you are fasting, but only your Father who is in the secret, and your Father who observes in secret will reward you. Do not hoard up for yourselves treasure upon the earth, where moth and canker destroy, and where thieves may burrow through and steal, but store up your treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy, and where thieves cannot dig through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be. The eye is the lamp of the body. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be illuminated. But if your eye is diseased, your whole body will be in darkness. Consequently, if your sight is defective, all your body will be darkness. No man can serve two masters, for either he will dislike the one and be fond of the other, or else he will honor the one and despise the other. So you are not able to serve both God and Mammon. Because of this I tell you, do not embitter your lives how you shall eat, how you shall drink, nor respecting your body, how you shall be clothed. Is not the life more important than the food and the body itself than its clothing? Just look at the birds in the sky. They neither sow nor reap nor collect into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more important than they? But who among you by fretting is able to add a single foot to his height? And why should you fret about clothing? Reflect upon the lilies of the field, how they grow, they neither toil nor spin, and yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory arrayed not himself like one of them. If therefore God so clothes the flowers of the field, which flourish today and tomorrow are thrown into the fire, how much more you, you of little faith, never therefore fret saying, What shall we eat, what shall we drink, nor how shall we find clothing? For they heathen hunt eagerly for all these. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all, but first secure the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be ready for you. You not therefore fret about tomorrow, for the morrow has its own trouble. The care of each day by itself is quite enough. CHAPTER VII Condemn not so that you may not be condemned, for according to the sentence you pronounce, you will yourself be convicted, and with the same measure with which you measure, you will be measured. But why do you take notice of the dust in your brother's eye, while you cannot observe the chip in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, Let me remove the dust from your eye, while the chip is in your own eye? Pretender, first remove the chip from your own eye, and then you will see straight to remove the dust from the eye of your brother. Give not what is holy to dogs, nor throw your pearls before swine, for fear they should trample them under their feet, and turning rend you. Seek and it will be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and it will be opened to you, for whoever asks will receive, and the seeker will find, and they will open to him who knocks. Is there even a man among you who, if his son should ask bread of him, would hand him a stone, and if he asked a fish, would he hand him a serpent? If therefore you who are corrupt know how to bestow benefits upon your children, how much rather will your father who is in heaven give benefits to those who ask him? Whatever therefore you wish men to do to you, do the same yourselves to them, for this is the law and the prophets. Enter through the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the road well paved that leads to destruction, and through it the majority go. How narrow the gate and difficult the path that leads to life, and they are few who find it. But guard yourselves from the false teachers who come to you in sheep's clothing, but who in their hearts are plundering wolves. You can recognize them by their fruits. Do they ever gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles? Thus every useful tree produces useful fruit, but the worthless tree produces worthless fruit. A useful tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a worthless tree produce good fruit. Every tree not producing good fruit will be felled and used as firewood. Reject their produce, for by this you can recognize them. Not everyone who says to me, Master, Master, will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my father who is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Master, Master, have we not preached in your name, and have we not cast out demons in your name, and in your name have we not done many wonders? And then I shall declare to them, I never knew you, depart from me, you traitors in lawlessness. Therefore, everyone who listens to these precepts of mine and practices them, I will compare him to a reflective man who built his house upon the rock, and the storm raged, and the floods came, and the wind blew, and assailed that house. And it fell not, because it was founded upon the rock. And everyone who listens to these precepts of mine and does not practice them, I will compare him to a foolish man who built his dwelling in the sand, and the storm raged, and the floods came, and the wind blew, and they demolished that house, and its wreck was complete. And it came about that when Jesus had finished these addresses, the crowd were astonished at his teaching, for he had been teaching them like a man possessing authority, and not as their professors. CHAPTER VIII Now when he descended from the hill a great crowd followed him, and a leper, also approaching, bowed to him, and said, Master, if you will, you are able to cure me. And Jesus, extending his hand, touched him, saying, I am willing. He cured, and at once he was relieved from his leprosy. Jesus then said to him, Take care and tell no one about this, but go at once, show yourself to the priest, and present the offering appointed by Moses as an evidence to these people. When he was entering Capernaum, a captain approached, and addressing him said, Master, my boy lies in the house paralyzed in great anguish. And Jesus, in reply to him, said, I will come and cure him. The captain answering, however, declared, I am not a sufficient rank, sir, for you to come under my roof, rather order it only by a word, and my son will be restored. Although I am a man under a superior officer, I have soldiers under myself, and I say to this man, Go, and he goes, to another, come, and he comes, and to my servant, do this, and he does it. When Jesus heard this, he was surprised, and said to his followers, Indeed I tell you, I have never found such faith as this in Israel. I also tell you that many shall come from the east and west, and shall recline together with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, when the sons of the kingdom shall be flung into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then Jesus said to the captain, Go back, and as you have believed it shall come to you, and the boy was cured from that very hour. When Jesus entered the house of Peter, he saw his mother-in-law on a couch and suffering from a fever, and as he touched her hand the fever left her, and she arose and served him. Then when evening came they brought to him many demoniacs, and he cast out the spirits with a word, and he cured all those who were sick, so that the statement made through Isaiah the prophet was verified. He took away our weaknesses, and endured our mental diseases. Once Jesus, seeing great crowds around him, gave instructions to cross over to the farther shore, then a lawyer approaching said to him, Teacher, I will follow you wherever you may go. In reply Jesus said to him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have roosts, while the son of man has not a place where he can lay his head. And another of his disciples said to him, Master, allow me first to return and bury my father, but Jesus said to him, Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead. Then himself embarking in the vessel, his disciples followed him, and soon after a hurricane swept across the lake so that the boat was overwhelmed by the waves, but he slept, and the disciples approaching awoke him, calling out, Lord, save us, we are perishing. In reply he exclaimed, What cowards you are, how weak your faith is! Then getting up he commanded the winds and the sea, and perfect calm ensued, and the men expressed wonder, saying, What kind of a man is this? For even the wind and the sea obey him! On landing with him at the other side in the district of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs coming out of the tombs opposed him. They were very savage, and none were able to pass that road, and they howled out, exclaiming, What is there between you and us, Jesus, son of God? Do you come here before the time to punish us? While there was pasturing at a distance a large herd of swine, and the demons calling out to him said, If you cast us out, allow us to go away into that herd of swine! Be gone, said he to them. They accordingly departed, went into the swine, and at once all the herd rushed down the slope into the lake, and perished in the water. The feeders then fled, and arriving at the village reported everything, including what had befallen to those demoniacs, and accordingly all the town went out to meet Jesus, and seeing him they begged that he would depart from their locality. The end of chapters five through eight. Recording by Mark Penfold. Chapters nine through twelve of the Gospel according to Matthew from the New Testament in modern English, translated by Farrar Fenton. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Mark Penfold. Chapter nine Consequently, embarking in the boat, he recrossed and came to his own town, and then they brought to him a paralytic lying upon a rug, and when Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic, Take heart, man, your sins are forgiven you. Some of the professors, however, muttered to themselves, the man blasphemes, but Jesus reading their thoughts replied, Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier to say your sins are forgiven or to say arise and walk, but in order that you may see that the son of man has authority to forgive sins upon earth, he then said to the paralytic, Rise up, take your rug and go into your own house, and having got up he went into his house, and when the crowd sought they were astonished and they gave praise to God who had given such power to men, and passing on from there Jesus saw a man named Matthew sitting at the custom house, and he said to him, Follow me, and arising he did follow him. It so happened that while he reclined in the house, several tax-farmers and reprobates arriving reclined with Jesus and his disciples, and the Pharisees observing it said to his disciples, Why does your teacher eat along with those tax-farmers and sinners? But Jesus having heard it replied, The healthy have no need of a physician, but only those who are sick go, however, and learn what this means. I desire mercy rather than sacrifice, for I have not come to invite righteous men, but sinners. The disciples of John afterwards approached him inquiring, Why do we in the Pharisees often fast, while your disciples never fast? In reply Jesus said to them, The groomsmen must not be distressed while the bridegroom is with them, but the time will come when the bridegroom will depart, and they can then fast. Further, no one patches an old coat with a bit of new felt, for the patch would disfigure the coat and be worse than the whole. Neither do they pour new wine into old wineskins, for if they did, the skins would burst, the wine be spilt, and the skins destroyed. On the contrary, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are safe together. While he was thus speaking to them, a nobleman arriving bowed to him, saying, My daughter is almost dead, however, if you come and place your hand upon her, she will live! And Jesus rising followed him with his disciples. Then a woman who had suffered from hemorrhage for twelve years, approaching him from behind, touched the hem of his robe, for she said to herself, If I can but touch his robe, I shall be cured. Jesus however turned, and seeing her said, Cheer up, daughter, your faith has saved you. And the woman was cured from that very hour. When Jesus arrived at the house of the nobleman and found the musicians and the crowd lamenting, he said to them, Go away, for the girl is not dead, but has fainted! And they laughed at him in ridicule. But when he had dismissed the crowd, entering, he took her hand and raised the girl, and the report of it went through the whole of that district. And when Jesus withdrew from there, two blind men followed him, calling out and saying, Pity us, son of David! Then when he had entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus asked them, Do you believe that I can do this? Yes, sir, was their answer. He then touched their eyes, remarking, As your faith, so shall the result be. Their eyes were opened, and Jesus enjoined them to take care and inform no one about it. But they, departing, published his fame through all that neighborhood. Then as soon as they went out, there was brought to him a dumb man, a demoniac. And when he had cast out the demon, the dumb man spoke, and the astonished crowd exclaimed, Nothing like this has ever appeared in Israel! The Pharisees, however, remarked, By the prince of the demons, he casts out the demons! Jesus then went about all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, as well as curing every mental disease and every sickness. Observing the crowds, however, he felt pity for them, because they were harassed and abandoned like shepherdless sheep. He therefore said to his disciples, The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the workmen are few. Ask therefore the owner of the harvest, so that he may send workmen to his harvest. CHAPTER X Then calling together his twelve disciples, he gave them power over unclean spirits, so that they might cast them out as well as cure every kind of mental disease and all sickness. Now these are the names of those twelve apostles. First, Simon, surnamed Peter, and Andrew his brother, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax-farmer, James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebeius, surnamed Thaddeus, Simon the Canaanite, and Judas the Ascariot, who also betrayed him. Jesus sent out these twelve, giving them these instructions. Do not turn aside into the heathen districts, nor enter the towns of the Samaritans, but rather go to the lost sheep of Israel's house, and as you travel, proclaim the fact that the kingdom of heaven is approaching. Restore the feeble, cure the lepers, cast out demons. You have received freely, give freely. Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your purses, nor yet a bag for the journey, nor two cloaks, nor shoes nor staff, for the workman is worthy of his food, and into whatever town or village you may enter, inquire who in it is of good repute, stay there until you leave it, and when entering a house, show respect to it, and if the family are worthy of you, let your blessing come upon it, but if it should prove unworthy, keep your blessing to yourselves, and if it will not receive you nor listen to your discourse, departing from that family or that town, shake the dust from your feet. I tell you indeed that it will be more indurable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that town. I now send you like sheep into the midst of wolves, be you therefore wisest serpents and harmless as doves, but guard yourselves from those men, for they will take you to the police courts and will flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, so that you may give evidence to them and to the heathen about me. But when they betray you, do not trouble as to what you can say, for in that hour you will be instructed what to say. You are not the speakers, but the spirit of your father will plead from within you. Then brother will betray brother to death and father his child, and children will rise up against parents and murder them, and you shall be hated by all for my namesake, but whoever endures to the end will be saved. Then however they persecute you in this town, fly into the other, for I assure you that you will not have completed the cities of Israel until the son of man comes. The scholar is not greater than his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough if the scholar can become equal to his teacher and the servant equal to his master. If they call the master of the house Beelzebul, how much rather his attendance, be not therefore afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be displayed, nor hidden which shall not become known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light, and what is whispered to your ear, proclaim it upon the house tops, and do not shrink in fear from those who kill the body, for they are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him who has power to destroy both soul and body in the pit. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing, and not one of them has fallen to the ground without your father, and even the hairs of your head are all numbered? Fear not, therefore, you are worth many sparrows. Consequently whoever declares for me before men, I also will recognize him before my father who is in heaven. But whoever denies me before men, I will also deny him before my father who is in heaven. Do not conclude that I have come to send peace upon the earth, I have not come to send peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and the bride against her mother-in-law, and the enemies of every man will be his own relatives. Whoever prefers his father or his mother before me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever will not take up his cross and follow me is unworthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake shall find it. Who receives you receives me, and my entertainer entertains the one who sent me. When a man entertains a prophet, he will receive a prophet's reward, and whoever receives the righteous because he is righteous will receive a righteous reward, and if any give one of the least of them but a drink of cold water because he is a disciple, I tell you indeed that he shall not go unrewarded. CHAPTER XI Now it came about that when Jesus had finished giving instructions to his twelve disciples, he dismissed them to teach and preach in their own towns. When John heard in the prison the doings of the Messiah, he sent to of his own disciples to ask him, Are you the coming one, or must we expect another? And Jesus in reply said to them, When you return, report to John what you have heard and seen. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and to the poor is given hope, and happy is he who will not be ashamed of me. But when they had gone, Jesus began to say to the crowd concerning John, What did you go out to the desert to see, a reed dancing under the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man attired in fine clothes? Those however who wear fine clothing are in the houses of kings. What then did you go to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and far more than a prophet, for he is the one about whom it is written. See I will send my messenger before your face who will prepare your way before you. I tell you indeed that there has not been born of women a more exalted than John the baptizer, yet the very least in the kingdom of heaven is more exalted than he. But since the days of John the baptizer until now, the kingdom of heaven is stormed and the stormers will seize it, for all the prophets as well as the law foretold as far as John. And if you will accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. Let all hear who have ears to hear. But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the markets calling out to their mates and saying, we have piped to you but you are not dancing, we have mourned to you but you will not lament. John came neither eating nor drinking, and so they say he has a demon. The son of man came eating and drinking and they say, look what a greedy drunken fellow, a friend of tax farmers and black guards, yet wisdom is justified by her children. He then began to reproach the towns in which most of his powers had been displayed because they were not converted. Alas for you Corazine, alas for you Bethsaida, because if the powers displayed in you had been shown in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented in sackcloth and ashes. I tell you further that it will be more indurable for Tyre and Sidon than the day of judgment than for you, and you Capernaum, who have been raised as high as the heaven, will be thrown down as low as the grave. For if the powers which were displayed in you had been brought to Sodom, it would have existed until now. Nay, more I tell you that it will be easier for the land of the Sodomites in the day of judgment than for you. Jesus at that time reflecting said, I fully acknowledge your wisdom Father, Lord of the heavens and of the earth, that you have hidden these things from the intelligent and clever, but have made them known to simple men. Yes, Father, for thus it was decided of old by you. All has been committed to me under my Father, and none except the Father fully knows the Son, and none fully knows the Father but the Son, and the one to whom the Son will decide to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and kind-hearted, and you will find rest for your souls, because my yoke is easy and my burden light. CHAPTER XII When Jesus was walking at that time through the cornfields on the Sabbath, his disciples, being hungry, began to plep the ears of corn and eat them. The Pharisees seeing it, however, said to him, Look, your disciples are doing what the law forbids to be done on the Sabbath. But in reply he said to them, Do you not know what David did when he and those with him were hungry, how he entered the house of God and ate the shoe-bread, which it was not permissible for him, nor yet for his attendants to eat, but the priests alone? Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the sacrificing priests may break the Sabbath and be blameless? But here I tell you there is something more important than the temple. If however you had been acquainted with the text, I desire mercy rather than sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent, for the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. Then taking his departure he entered their synagogue, and a man with a paralyzed hand happening to be there. They asked of him if it was allowable to effect a cure on the Sabbath, so that they might incriminate him. But in reply he said to them, Who is there among you that has a single sheep, and if it should fall into a ditch on the Sabbath, would not get hold of it and lift it out? By how much does a man differ from a sheep? Therefore it is allowable to do a kindness on the Sabbath. He then said to the man, Stretch out your hand. He accordingly extended it, and it was restored to soundness like the other one. The Pharisees consequently consulted together against him so as to find out a means of murdering him. But Jesus knowing it removed from there, and great crowds following him he cured them all and enjoined them not to make him known, so that the prediction delivered through Isaiah the prophet might be verified. Observe my son whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom my soul delights. I will put my spirit into him, and he shall proclaim justice to the heathen. He will neither wrangle nor contend, nor shall any hear his shouting in the streets. He will not crush a bruised reed, nor extinguish a flickering light, until he leads justice to victory, and in his name shall the nations hope. They then brought to him a blind and dumb demonic, and he cured him so that the blind and dumb both spoke and saw. And all the crowd were astonished and said, Must not this be the son of David? But the Pharisees who heard it replied, This fellow does not cast out demons except by the help of Beelzebul, who rules over those demons. Then Jesus, who read their thoughts, answered them. Any kingdom divided against itself is desolated, and no city or house divided against itself can hold together. So if Satan expels Satan, he is divided against himself. How therefore can his kingdom hold together? And if I cast out demons through the help of Beelzebul, by whose help do your own followers cast them out? By that they should be your judges. But if I, by a divine energy, cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has burst out above you. How indeed can anyone enter the house of that strong man and destroy his armaments unless he can first overpower his strength? Then he may plunder his dwelling. Whoever is not on my side is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. Because of this I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven to men, but the blasphemy of the Spirit will never be forgiven to men. And if one gives expression to a thought against the Son of Man, he may be forgiven. But if one shall speak insultingly of the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither at the present time nor in the future. Assume the tree to be good when its fruit is good, or assume that the tree is worthless when its fruit is worthless, for the tree is known by its fruit. You venomous breed! How can you preach purity when you are yourselves depraved? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. The beneficent man draws from his treasury of purity, goodness, and the depraved man can only produce depravity from his stores of depravity. I tell you, however, that every vile idea that men give expression to, they shall render a reason for it in the day of judgment. For by your thoughts you will be acquitted, and by your thoughts you will be convicted. Some of the professors and Pharisees then addressed him, saying, Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you. But in reply he said to them, Does a depraved and debauched race ask for a divine sign? None, however, will be given it other than the sign of the Prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was for three days and three nights in the hold of the whale, thus shall the Son of Man be for three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, the men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment against this generation and convict it, for they reformed under the preaching of Jonah, and now a mightier than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South shall rise up in the judgment against this generation and convict it, because she came from the most distant parts of the earth to learn the wisdom of Solomon, and yet a greater than Solomon is here. When, however, the foul spirit has gone out from a man, it wanders about in waterless places seeking rest and finding none, then it reflects, I will return to my house from which I came, and returning he finds it quite ready for him, cleaned and decorated. He accordingly goes and takes along with him seven other spirits more depraved than himself, and entering they live there, and the last state of that man is worse than the first, it will be the same with this debased race. While he was still speaking to the crowd, his mother and his brother stood outside, desiring to speak with him, and someone said to him, See, your mother and brothers are outside wishing to speak to you. Addressing the one who told him, however, he asked, Who is my mother, and who are my brothers? Then extending his hand in the direction of his disciples, he said, Why, those are my mother and my brothers, for whoever does the will of my father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother. The end of chapters 9 through 12, Recording by Mark Penfold. CHAPTERS 13 THROUGH 16 OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATHEW, FROM THE NEW TESTIMENT IN MODERN ENGLISH, TRANSLATED BY FERRAR FENTON. THIS LIPPERVOX RECORDING IS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. RECORDING BY MARK PENFOLD. CHAPTER 13 About this time, however, Jesus, going out from the house, sat down by the sea, and a great crowd collected about him so that he ascended into a boat and sat down in it, while all the crowd stood upon the shore, and he spoke many things to them in parables, saying, It happened that a sower went out to sow, and as he sowed, some fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured it. Another part fell upon stony land where the soil was not deep enough, and it sprouted very quickly on account of the shallowness of the soil, but when the sun arose it was scorched and it also withered for want of root, and another lot fell among the thistles and the thistles grew up and choked it, but the rest fell upon good land and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Whoever has ears to hear, let him listen. His disciples approaching him afterwards asked, Why do you speak to them in parables? Because he answered, It is granted to you to become acquainted with the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but it is not granted to others. For whoever has a possession it will increase with him, but the one who possesses nothing even what he has will be torn from him. I therefore speak to them in parables, because seeing they see not, and hearing they do not hear, neither will they understand. Asked by them is verified the prophecy of Isaiah which says, Listen to a sound and never understand it, and seeing see, but never perceive. For the heart of this people is stupefied, and they listen with loaded ears, and their eyes they have closed, fearing they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts, and turn back and I would restore them. But your eyes are happy because they see, and your ears because they can listen. For I tell you truly that many prophets and good men have ardently desired to see what you see and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear and have not heard it. Listen therefore to the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the message of the kingdom of heaven and does not comprehend, the devil comes and snatches what was scattered in his heart. Thus it is with that son along the roadside, but that son upon stony land, that is the one who hears the discourse and accepts it immediately with pleasure, but being without root in himself, he is therefore temporary, and when trouble or persecution comes against the truth, he at once falls away. Now as to what was sown among the thistles, that is the one who listens to the message, but the anxieties of this age and the slavedom of wealth suffocate the message, and it becomes fruitless. Now as to that which falls upon good soil, that is the man who listens to the reason and comprehends it. He consequently produces grain, it may be to the extent of a hundred, sixty, or thirty fold. Continuing he put before them another parable. I may compare the kingdom of heaven to a man sowing good seed in his field, but while his men were asleep, his enemy came and sowed darnel weeds among the wheat, and went away. However when the plant shot out, and should have produced grain, then the weeds were also seen. Then his servants coming to the farmer asked him, Did you not sow so perfect seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from? And in reply to them he said, Some enemy must have done this. His servants then asked, Do you wish us to go and pull them up? No was his reply, lest while you are plucking up the weeds you should uproot the wheat along with them, allow both of them to grow together until the harvest, and during the harvest I will say to the reapers, First collect the weeds and bind them into bundles to burn, but store up the wheat into my granaries. He also told them another parable, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard which a man took and sowed in his field. This is the smallest of such seeds, but when it grows up it is the largest of all garden herbs and becomes a bush, so that the birds of the air come and shelter among its branches. He told them another parable, The kingdom of heaven is like yeast which a woman took and mixed in three stones of flour, so that the whole was fermented by it. Jesus spoke the whole of this to the crowd in parables, and without a parable he seldom spoke to them, so that the statement delivered through the prophet might be fulfilled, which says, I will open my mouth in parables, I will dig up what has been hidden from the foundation of the world. Then Jesus sending the crowd away went into the house, and his disciples came to him, saying, Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field! And replying to them he said, The sower of the perfect seed is the son of man, the field is the world, the perfect seed are the sons of the kingdom, the weeds are the sons of the wicked, while the enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the completion of the age, and the reapers are the angels, just as they collect the weeds and burn them, so it will be at the end of this period. The son of man will send his messengers and will collect out of his kingdom every offensive thing and whatever causes sin, and will throw them into the furnace of fire where we'll be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous shall shine out like the son in the kingdom of their father. Let all listen who have ears to hear! Again the kingdom of heaven is comparable to a buried treasure in a field which, if a man finds, he covers up, and in his delight he goes and sells whatever he possesses to enable him to buy that field. Again the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for valuable pearls, who, having found a particular one of very great value, goes and disposes of all the others he has and buys it. Again the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet which has been spread out in the sea and collects all kinds. Then when fall they draw it up on the beach, and sitting down they collect the good into baskets and cast the bad away. Thus it will be at the completion of the period. The angels will pick out and carry away the wicked from the midst of the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Do you, asked Jesus, understand all this? Yes, Lord, was their reply. Since that is the case, he further said to them, every teacher who has been trained into the kingdom of heaven is like one who is the master of a house who brings out from his stores what is new as well as what is old. Now when Jesus had finished these parables he removed from there and coming into his own country he taught them in their synagogue and so greatly astonished were they that they asked, Where has this man acquired this knowledge and power? Is he not the son of that carpenter? Is not his mother called Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judah? And his sisters, are they not all here with us? Where then did he attain all this? And they were embarrassed concerning him. Jesus however said to them, A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house and he did not display much power there because of their unbelief. Chapter 14 About this time Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus and said to his companions, This is John the baptizer. He must have risen from the dead and therefore the powers energize him. For Herod had arrested John, put him in chains, and sent him to prison on account of Herodia, the wife of his own brother Philip, because John had told him, It is not legal for you to have her. And although wishing to murder him he was afraid of the people because all honored him as a prophet. At Herod's birthday feast however the daughter of Herodia danced before the guests and delighted Herod. He thereupon promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask, and she, having been previously instigated by her mother, said, Give me hereupon a dish, the head of John the baptizer. The king was horrified, but because of his oaths and those who reclined with him he ordered it to be given to her, and sending he beheaded John in the prison, and his head was brought upon a dish and handed to the girl, and she carried it to her mother. His disciples then came forward, took the body and buried it, and went to report it to Jesus. And Jesus hearing it went away privately in a boat to a desert place, but the people having become aware of it they followed him by land from the towns. When Jesus came out he saw a great crowd and pitied them, and restored the sick to health. But when the evening came his disciples approached him, saying, This place is a desert, and the hour now late. Dismiss the crowd so that going into the villages they may buy food for themselves. They have no need to go away, remarked Jesus in reply. Give them figsuals yourselves. We have nothing here, they responded, except five loaves and two fishes. Bring those to me, he said. And he ordered the crowd to recline upon the grassy places, and taking the five loaves and the two fishes looking up to heaven, he blessed, and then breaking, he distributed the loaves to his disciples and the disciples among the crowd. And they all partook and were satisfied, and of the broken pieces remaining they picked up twelve full bags. Now those who had eaten numbered about five thousand, besides women and children. He then immediately instructed his disciples to embark in the boat, and to proceed him to the other side until he could dismiss the crowd. When he had sent the crowd away he went up the hill privately to pray, and during the evening he was there alone, while the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was against them. At about three o'clock in the morning he came towards them, walking upon the sea, and his disciples, seeing him walking upon the water, were terrified, exclaiming, It is a phantom! and called out for fear. Jesus however at once spoke to them, saying, Take courage, I live, be not afraid. Peter in reply said to him, Master, if you live, order me to come to you upon the waters. Come, said he. Peter accordingly got out of the boat and walked upon the water towards Jesus, but seeing the strength of the wind he became afraid and beginning to sink, he exclaimed, Master, save me! Jesus at once holding out his hand, lifted him up, and said to him, Faint heart, why did you hesitate? And when they had entered the vessel he lulled the wind, then those in the vessel coming to him paid homage, saying, You most assuredly are a son of God! And having crossed they arrived in the land of Gennesaret, and the people of that place recognizing him sent round the whole of the neighborhood and brought to him all those who suffered from sickness, and begged that they might only be allowed to touch the hem of his cloak, and as many as touched him were restored to health. CHAPTER XV Professors and Pharisees from Jerusalem then approached Jesus, inquiring, Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread. Why, asked Jesus in reply to them, Do you transgress the command of God by means of your own tradition? For God commanded, Honor your father and your mother, And he who neglects father or mother, Let his end be death. But you say, If anyone should say to his father or mother, What I might assist you with is consecrated to God, Then he need not assist his father or mother, And thus you set aside the command of God by your tradition. You hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy about you when he said, This people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, But their hearts run away from me, So in vain do they pay me homage, Teaching for doctrines the commands of men. Then having called the crowd to him, He addressed them, saying, Listen and understand, What goes into the mouth does not corrupt the man, But what comes out of his mouth does corrupt him. His disciples, however, approaching him said, Do you not see that the Pharisees were shocked when they heard your assertion? But he replied, Every plant that has not been planted by my heavenly father shall be uprooted. Let them alone, they are blind guides of the blind, But when the blind guide the blind, Both will fall into a ditch. After then making answer said to him, Explain this puzzle to us. But Jesus replied, Are you ignorant even yet? Do you not know that everything going into the mouth proceeds to the stomach and is from there evacuated? But what come out from the mouth proceed from the heart and corrupt the man, for there come from the heart wicked thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, perjuries, blasphemies. These are what corrupt the man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not corrupt the man. When Jesus removed from there he proceeded to the district of Tyre in Sidon, and there a Canaanites woman of that part, running, called out to him, saying, Pity me, master, son of David, my daughter is horribly possessed with demons. But not a word did he answer her. His disciples then advanced and begged him to relieve her because she calls after us. In reply, however, he said, I was not sent to other than the lost sheep of Israel's house. But she approaching paid him homage, saying, Master, help me. It is not right, was his reply, to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs. Most true, master, she said. And even the dogs feed upon the crumbs falling from their master's table. Noble woman, exclaimed Jesus in reply to her, how firm your faith. Let it be even as you desire. And her daughter was restored from that very hour. And when Jesus removed from there he came along the shore of the Sea of Galilee and ascending the hill he sat down. Great crowds then approached him, bringing with them the lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and they threw them down near the feet of Jesus. And he restored them so that the crowd wondered, observing the dumb speaking, the maimed made sound, the lame walking, and the blind seeing, and they praised the God of Israel. Jesus then calling his disciples to him, said, I feel pity for the crowd because they have now stayed with me three days and they have nothing to eat. I do not wish to send them away starving for fear they should faint on the road. And the disciples asked him, Where can we procure bread enough in a desert like this to satisfy such a crowd? How many loaves have you? Jesus asked them. Seven, and a few small fishes, was their reply. He accordingly ordered the crowd to be reclined upon the ground, and taking the seven loaves and the fishes, giving thanks, he broke and handed to his disciples and the disciples to the crowd, and they all ate and were satisfied, and of the broken pieces left over they afterwards gathered up seven baskets full, and those who had partaken numbered four thousand men besides women and children. Then having dismissed the crowd he took the boat and came to the neighborhood of Magdala. The Pharisees and Sadducees then coming to him tried him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven. In response, however, he told them, When evening comes you say, Sign of fine weather for the sky is fiery. In the morning it will be stormy for the sky is fiery and threatening. You pretenders, you know how to read the face of the sky, why not the signs of the times? This depraved and corrupt race are in search of a sign, and no sign shall be given to it other than the sign of Jonah the prophet. And leaving them he went away, and upon reaching the other side his disciples found that they had forgotten to bring bread. Jesus then addressing them said, Look out, and take care to keep free from the ferment of the Pharisees and Sadducees. What they reflecting said among themselves, It is because we have brought no bread. Jesus perceiving this however said, You skeptics, why do you debate among yourselves because you have not brought bread? Besides, do you not know nor remember the five loaves for the five thousand and how many bags you collected, nor the seven loaves for the four thousand and how many baskets you gathered up? Why do you not understand that I spoke not to you concerning bread, but about avoiding the ferment of the Pharisees and Sadducees? They then fully comprehended that he had not told them to guard against the ferment of the bread of the Pharisees and Sadducees, but about avoiding their teaching. Now when Jesus arrived at the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, Who do men say that the son of man is? They replied. Some say John the baptizer, others Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. He said to them, But who do you say that I am? Then Simon Peter replying said, You are the Messiah, the son of the living God. Jesus answering said to him, You are happy, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood have not revealed it to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I also tell you that you have said it, and upon that rock I will build my church, and the gates of the grave shall not overpower it. And to you I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you may bind upon earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you may dissolve upon earth shall be dissolved in heaven. He then enjoined his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah. From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and endure much from the elders, chief priests, and professors, and be murdered and raised up the third day. But Peter, taking his hand, began to remonstrate with him, saying, Mercy on you master, this will never happen to you. Turning round, however, he said to Peter, Depart from me you enemy, you are a stumbling block to me, because you do not reflect upon the thoughts of God, but of men. Addressing his disciples, Jesus then said, If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. But whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, and if he should lose his life for my sake, he shall find it. For what would it benefit a man if he gained the whole world, but should lose his life? Or what will a man give an exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come in the future in the majesty of his Father, accompanied by his angels, and then he will reward everyone in proportion to his actions. I tell you indeed that there are some of those standing here who shall not taste of death until they see the Son of Man entering his own kingdom. The End of chapters 13 through 16 Recording by Mark Penfold