As soon as they had gone ashore, the people knew Jesus and searched all
that part of the country, and whenever they heard that he had come to a
certain place, they brought to him the sick on their beds. In every city
or town or village to which he went people would lay their sick in the
market-place and beg him to let them touch even the edge of his robe.
And all who touched him were made well.
JESUS TELLS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE CLEAN
The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem went
together to Jesus, because they had seen that some of his disciples ate
their food without washing their hands as the scribes thought necessary.
For the Pharisees and all the Jews always wash their hands up to the
wrists before eating. So the Pharisees and scribes asked him, "Why do
not your disciples obey the old custom instead of eating food with
unwashed hands?" Jesus said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy about you
hypocrites: 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is
not with me; their worship is worthless, for they teach what are only
commands of men.' You set aside the command of God and follow that of
men.
"Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'He who speaks
evil of father or mother shall die.' But you say, 'If a man says to his
father or to his mother, What you were to have received from me is given
to God,' you hold that he need not do anything for his father or mother.
In this way you set aside the command of God in favor of the teaching
which you have handed down; and you do many other things like that."
Then calling the crowd to him again, he said to them, "Hear me, all of
you, and understand. Nothing can make a man unclean by going into him
from outside. It is what comes from him that makes him unclean, for from
within, from the heart of man, come evil thoughts, acts of theft,
murder, greed, wickedness, deceit, impure thoughts, envy, slander,
pride, and recklessness. All these evil things come from within, and
they make a man unclean."
[Illustration: _Among the Lowly_
Painted by L. L'hermitte. In the Metropolitan Museum of Art]
JESUS IS KIND TO A STRANGER
Certain Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, "Go away from here; for
Herod wishes to kill you." He said to them, "Go and tell that fox, 'See,
I cast out evil spirits and cure the sick to-day and to-morrow, but
on the third day I must go on my way; for it cannot be that a prophet
will be put to death anywhere except in Jerusalem.'"
Jesus left Capernaum and went into the land of Tyre and Sidon. Going
into a house, he wished that no one should know that he was there, but
he could not escape notice. Soon a woman whose little daughter had an
evil spirit heard of him and came and knelt at his feet. Now the woman
was a heathen of the Phoenician race. She begged him to drive the evil
spirit out of her daughter, but he said to her, "Let the children of
Israel first be fed, for it is not fair to take their bread and throw it
to the dogs!" She answered him, "True, sir, yet the little dogs under
the table do eat the children's crumbs." He said to her, "Because of
this answer go to your home; the evil spirit has gone out of your
daughter." On returning home she found the child lying on the bed and
the evil spirit gone from her.
Jesus again left the land of Tyre and passed through Sidon to the Sea of
Galilee, crossing the land of Decapolis. The people brought to him a
deaf man, who also stammered; and they begged Jesus to lay his hand on
him.
Jesus took the man away from the crowd, put his fingers into the man's
ears, touched his tongue with saliva, and looking up to heaven, sighed,
and said to him, "Ephphatha" (which means "Open"). And at once, the man
could hear and could talk without stammering.
Then Jesus told them to tell no one, but in spite of what he said the
people kept telling about it, saying: "How well he has done everything!
He even makes the deaf hear, and the dumb speak."
JESUS MAKES AN HEROIC CHOICE
On their way to the villages of Caesarea Philippi Jesus asked his
disciples, "Who do people say I am?" They told him, "John the Baptist;
others say, 'Elijah'; some say, 'One of the prophets.'" Then he said to
them, "But you yourselves, who do you say that I am?" Peter answered
him, "You are the Christ." But he strictly charged them to tell no one
that he was the Christ.
Then Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must suffer many
things and be rejected by the elders and high priests and scribes and be
killed, but that after three days he would rise from the dead. This he
said openly; and Peter tried to reprove him. But Jesus turned and,
looking upon his disciples, reproved Peter, saying, "Away with you,
Satan, for your mind is not on the things of God but of men."
Then Jesus called the crowd and his disciples to him, and said to them,
"If any one wishes to follow me, let him forget himself, take up his
cross, and come with me. For any one who is thinking only of saving his
life, will lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake and for the
sake of the good news, will save it. What does it profit a man to gain
the whole world and lose his soul? For what could a man give in exchange
for his soul? Whoever is ashamed of me and my teachings in this sinful
world, of him I will be ashamed when I come in the glory of my Father
with the holy angels."
JESUS IS GLORIFIED
Six days later Jesus took Peter, James and John up a high mountain where
they were alone, and in their presence he was transfigured. His clothes
glistened with a dazzling whiteness such as no bleaching could give on
earth. And there appeared to them Elijah and Moses, who talked with
Jesus. Then Peter said, "Master, it is fortunate that we are here. Let
us make three tabernacles, one for you, one for Moses, and one for
Elijah." (For in his terror he did not know what to say.) Then a cloud
came and overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my
Beloved Son; give heed to him." And suddenly, looking around, they saw
no one with them but Jesus.
As they came down from the mountain, he commanded them to tell no one
what they had seen until after he had risen from the dead. And they
obeyed the command but discussed among themselves what "rising from the
dead" meant. Therefore they asked him, "How is it that the scribes say,
'Elijah must first come'?" He answered, "Elijah is to come first to
restore everything. And what is written about the Son of Man? Is it not
that he is to endure great suffering and be despised? But I tell you,
Elijah has come, and they have done to him what they pleased, even as it
is written of him."
JESUS TELLS HOW ONE MAY BECOME GREAT
Leaving Caesarea Philippi, Jesus and his disciples passed through
Galilee; but he wished no one to know of this, for he was teaching his
disciples. He said to them, "The Son of Man will be betrayed and men
will put him to death, but in three days he will rise from the dead."
But they did not understand his meaning and were afraid to ask.
When they had reached Capernaum and were in the house, he asked them,
"What were you arguing about on the way?" But they made no reply, for
they had been disputing on the way about which of them was greatest.
Sitting down, he called the twelve disciples, and said, "If any one
wishes to be first, he will be last of all and servant of all." Then he
took a little child and set him by his side and with his arm around him
said to them, "Whoever receives a little child like this in my name,
receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not only me, but God who
sent me."
JESUS MAKES THE WICKED ZACCHEUS HIS FRIEND
As Jesus passed through Jericho a man named Zaccheus, who was the chief
tax-gatherer and rich, tried to see what Jesus was like, but could not
on account of the crowd and because he was short. So he ran ahead and
climbed into a sycamore-tree to see Jesus, for he was to pass that way.
When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zaccheus,
come down, for to-day I must stay at your house." And Zaccheus came down
quickly and welcomed him joyfully.
Then all who saw this began to find fault, saying, "He has gone to eat
with a man who is a sinner." But Zaccheus stood up and said to Jesus,
"Lord, I will give half of all that I have to the poor; and to every man
whom I have cheated out of anything I will give back four times as
much." And Jesus said to him, "To-day salvation has come to this house,
for you have proved yourself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of
Man came to seek and to save the lost."
JESUS IS GLADLY WELCOMED BY THE PEOPLE
As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples, followed by a large
crowd, there sat by the road a blind beggar, Bartimaeus (the son of
Timaeus). When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he cried out,
"Jesus, son of David, have pity on me!" Many reproved him, saying, "Keep
still," but he cried out the more, "Son of David, have pity on me!"
Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called the blind man and
said, "Have courage! Get up, he has sent for you." Throwing off his
cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him, "What do you
want me to do for you?" The blind man answered, "Master, let me receive
my sight." Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way, your faith has healed
you." And at once he received his sight, and followed Jesus along the
road.
When Jesus and those with him were drawing near to Jerusalem and had
reached Bethpage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of
his disciples ahead, saying, "Go into the village over there. As soon as
you enter it, you will find a colt tied, which no one has ever ridden.
Untie it and bring it here. If any one asks you, 'Why are you doing
that?' say, 'The Master needs it and will immediately send it back.'"
So they left him and found a colt tied, outside a door, on the street.
As they untied it, some of the men standing there said, "What are you
doing, untying the colt?" The disciples answered as Jesus had told them,
and the men let them take it. When they had brought it to Jesus, they
threw their cloaks upon it, and he mounted it. Many also spread their
clothes on the road, while others strewed leafy branches cut from the
fields; and people in front and behind kept shouting:
"God save him!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the coming Kingdom of our father David!
God on high, save him!"
Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the Temple. And when he had looked
about, because it was already late in the day, he went out to Bethany
with his twelve disciples.
JESUS FIGHTS WRONG IN THE TEMPLE
About this time certain people came to tell Jesus of the Galileans whom
Pilate had killed while they were offering sacrifices. He said to them,
"Do you believe that these Galileans were worse sinners than the
rest? No, I tell you; and unless you are sorry for your sins and do
right, you too will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen men who were
killed by the fall of the tower of Siloam--do you suppose that they were
worse sinners than the rest of the people of Jerusalem? No, I tell you;
and unless you are sorry for your sins and do right, you too will all
perish."
[Illustration: _Christ in the Temple_
Painted by C. A. Slade]
Then Jesus went into the Temple, and drove out those who were buying and
selling there. He upset the tables of the money-changers, and the seats
of those who sold doves, and would allow no one to carry any goods
through the Temple. For he said to them, "Is it not written, 'My house
shall be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it
a den of robbers!" When the chief priests and scribes heard of it, they
began to look for some way of putting him to death, for they feared him
because all the people were deeply stirred by his teachings. But each
evening he and his disciples left the city.
Then once more Jesus and his disciples entered Jerusalem, and as he was
walking about the Temple, some high priests and scribes and elders came
and asked him, "By what right are you doing these things, and who gave
you this right?" Jesus answered, "I will ask you a question; answer me,
and I will tell you by what right I do such things. What about John's
baptism? Was it from God or from men? Answer me." They argued among
themselves, saying, "If we answer, 'From God,' he will ask, 'Why then
did you not believe in him?' But if we say, 'From men'"--they were
afraid of the people, for the people believed that John was truly a
prophet. So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." He said to them,
"Then I will not tell you by what right I do these things.
"But give me your opinion. A man who had two sons went to one of them
and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard to-day.' And the young man
answered, 'I will not'; but afterward changed his mind and went. Then
the man went with the same request to the other son, who said, 'I will
go, sir'; but he did not go. Which of the two did as his father wished?"
They answered, "The first." Jesus said to them, "I tell you that
tax-gatherers and sinners will enter the Kingdom of God before you; for
John showed you the way to an upright life, and you did not believe him.
But the tax-gatherers and sinners believed him; and even when you saw,
you would not say that you were wrong and believe in him.
"Listen to this: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, and set
a hedge around it, dug a pit for the wine-press, and built a
watch-tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country.
At vintage time he sent his servants to the tenants to collect the
fruits of the vineyard, but they took the servants and flogged one,
stoned another, and killed another. Then he sent other servants, more
than at first, but they did the same to these. Finally he sent his son,
saying to himself, 'They will respect my son.' But the tenants said to
one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and get his
inheritance.' So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now,
when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to these tenants?"
They said, "He will destroy the wretches and lease the vineyard to
others who will give him the fruits in their season."
Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures:
"'The stone which the builders rejected
Has been made the chief corner-stone;
This is the Lord's doing,
And marvellous in our sight.'"
When the high priests and the Pharisees heard these stories, they knew
that he was speaking about them, and they wished to seize him but were
afraid of the common people who regarded him as a prophet.
JESUS CONDEMNS THOSE WHO PRETEND TO BE GOOD
The common people were listening to Jesus eagerly. As he taught he said,
"Be on your guard against the scribes, who like to walk about in long
robes and to have the people bow to them in the market-places. They like
to sit in the front seats in the synagogue and in the best places at
feasts. These, who use up the property of widows and then to cover their
guilt make long prayers, will receive the greater condemnation."
He also said, "Woe to you scribes! For you load men with burdens heavy
to bear, which you yourselves do not touch with one of your fingers. Woe
to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You shut in men's faces the
door to the Kingdom of God; for you neither enter yourselves nor let
those enter who wish to come in.
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you carefully pay to
the Temple the tenth part of what grows in your garden, but you do not
show justice, mercy, and faithfulness. Blind guides, who strain out the
gnat and swallow the camel!
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you make clean the
outside of the cup and the plate, and then fill them with your greed and
selfishness. Blind Pharisee! first make clean the inside of the cup,
that the outside as well may become clean.
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like
whitewashed tombs, beautiful outside, but inside full of dead men's
bones and filth. So you yourselves appear upright, but inside you are
full of hypocrisy and sin."
JESUS WARNS HIS DISCIPLES
As Jesus went out of the Temple, one of his disciples said to him,
"Master, see what great stones and what a beautiful building!" Then
Jesus answered, "This Temple, made by man's hands, shall be destroyed.
But another will soon arise, made without hands." And as he sat on the
Mount of Olives opposite the Temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew
asked him privately, "Tell us, when shall these things happen, and what
is to be the sign to show when all these things are about to happen?"
Jesus said to them, "No one knows the day or the hour when this will
happen, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the
Father."
"The Kingdom of God shall be like ten maidens who took their torches and
went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were
wise. For the foolish ones, when they took their torches, took no oil
with them; but the wise took oil in their vessels with their torches.
"Now while the bridegroom delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at
midnight a cry was raised: 'Look! The bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'
Then all those maidens rose, and trimmed their torches. And the foolish
ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; for our torches are
going out.' But the wise maidens answered, 'There may not be enough for
us and for you. Go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.'
Now while they went away to buy, the bridegroom came and those who were
ready went in with him to the marriage feast; and the door was shut.
Afterward the other maidens came also and said, 'Sir, open to us.' But
he answered, 'I tell you truly, I do not know you.'
"Watch, therefore, for you do not know the day nor the hour when the
Kingdom of God shall come."
JESUS CURES A BLIND MAN
As Jesus was passing along the road he saw a man who was born blind, and
the disciples asked him, "Master, for whose sin, his own or his
parents', was this man born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither for his own
sin nor his parents', but that God's power to heal may be shown in him.
We must do the work of him who sent me while day lasts; night is coming
when no man can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the
world."
When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made clay with the
saliva, put the clay on the eyes of the blind man, and said to him, "Go,
wash in the Pool of Siloam." So he went off and washed, and returned
able to see.
Then the neighbors and those who before had seen him begging said, "Is
not this the man who used to sit and beg?" Some said, "It is he." Others
said, "No, but he is like him." He said, "I am the man." So they said to
him, "How then were your eyes opened?" He answered, "The man who is
called Jesus made clay and put it upon my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to
the Pool of Siloam and wash.' So I went away and washed, and I received
my sight." They asked him, "Where is he?" He answered, "I do not know."
Then they brought the man who had once been blind to the Pharisees. Now
it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the clay and opened his eyes.
Therefore the Pharisees asked him again how he had received his sight,
and he told them, "Jesus put clay on my eyes and I washed them and can
see." Then some of the Pharisees said, "This man does not come from God,
for he does not keep the Sabbath." Others said, "How can a sinner do
such wonderful deeds of healing?" And they could not agree among
themselves. So they asked the blind man once more, "What have you to say
about him, for it was your eyes that he opened?" The man replied, "He is
a prophet."
Now the Jews would not believe that he had been born blind and had
received his sight until they called his parents and asked them, "Is
this your son who you say was born blind? How is it that he now can
see?" His parents answered them, "We know that this is our son and that
he was born blind, but we do not know why he can now see nor who opened
his eyes. He is of age; ask him, he can speak for himself." His parents
said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already
agreed that any one who said that Jesus was the Christ should be put out
of the synagogue. That was why his parents said, "He is of age, ask
him."
So the Jews again called the man who had been born blind, and said to
him, "Give God the praise; we know that this man Jesus is a sinner." He
answered and said, "I do not know whether he is a sinner; one thing I do
know, that, although I was blind, I now see." So they said to him, "What
did he do to you? How did he give you your sight?" He replied, "I have
told you already, but you would not listen to me. Why do you want to
hear it again? Do you also wish to become his disciples?" Then they
reviled him and said, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of
Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this
man came from." The man answered, "This is strange! You do not know
where he comes from, and yet he gave me my sight! We know that God does
not listen to sinners but that he does listen to him who worships him
and does his will. Since the world began no one has ever heard of sight
being given to a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could
do nothing." They answered, "You were born wholly bad, and yet you would
teach us?" Then they put him out of the synagogue.
Jesus heard that they had put him out, and meeting him said, "Do you
believe in the Son of God?" He answered, "Who is he, sir? Tell me that I
may believe." Jesus said to him, "Not only have you seen him but he is
now talking to you." The man said, "Then I do believe, Master," and he
worshipped him, and Jesus said to him, "It is to right wrongs that I
have come to this world, that the blind may see and that those who see
may become blind." Hearing this, some of the Pharisees who were with him
said, "And are we blind?" Jesus replied, "If you were blind you would
not be guilty; but you say, 'We can see,' and so your sin remains."
JESUS TELLS WHAT HE CAME TO DO
Jesus said to the people, "I am the light of the world; he who follows
me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light which gives
life."
As Jesus spoke these words many believed in him. Then he said to the
Jews who had believed in him, "If you faithfully do what I say, you are
truly my disciples, and you shall know the truth and the truth shall set
you free." They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have
never been slaves to any man. What do you mean by saying, 'You shall be
set free'?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, I tell you, every one who sins
is a slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the household forever,
but the Son remains forever. If therefore the Son sets you free, you
shall be free indeed.
"I am the Door; if any man enters by me he shall be saved and shall go
in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill
and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have
it more abundantly.
"I am the Good Shepherd; the good shepherd lays down his life for the
sheep. But a hired man, who is not a shepherd and does not own the
sheep, leaves them and runs away when he sees the wolf coming, and the
wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them. The hired man runs away
because he is only a hired man and does not care for the sheep.
"I am the Good Shepherd and know my own, and my own know me, just as the
Father knows me and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the
sheep. I have other sheep which do not belong to this fold; I must lead
them also, and they will hear my voice, and they will be one flock and
one shepherd."
JESUS BRINGS LAZARUS BACK TO LIFE
Now a certain man, Lazarus of Bethany, was sick. He was the brother of
Martha and of the Mary who anointed the Master with perfume and wiped
his feet with her hair. Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.
So the sisters sent word to him, "Master, he whom you love is sick." But
when Jesus heard it he said, "This sickness is not to end in death, but
it is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it."
So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two days.
After that he said to the disciples, "Let us go again into Judea. Our
friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going to waken him." The
disciples said to him, "Master, if he has fallen asleep he will get
well." Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he
meant taking rest in sleep. So Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is
dead, and for your sakes I am glad that I was not there, so that you may
learn to believe. But let us go to him."
When Jesus came he found that Lazarus had been in the tomb four days.
Now Bethany was only about two miles from Jerusalem, and many of the
Jews had come to comfort Mary and Martha about their brother.