They did not really understand what Jesus was telling them

On his way to Capernaum, Jesus passed through Galilee. He tried to keep his trip anonymous, seeking rest from the crowds.

He began to teach his 12 disciples, saying to them:

The Son of man will be delivered up into the hands of men.

While the multitudes marveled all the things that Jesus did, he said to his disciples:


Let these words really sink into your mind, for the Son of man will be delivered up into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after he is dead for three days, he will rise again.

The disciples were grieved by what Jesus was telling them.
They did not really understand what Jesus was telling them because it was hidden from them by God. They were afraid to ask Jesus for the details.

Jesus said: whoever would lose his life for my sake and the sake of the Gospel, will save it.

Red buttercup, a flower of the Bible



From that time on Jesus began to plainly tell his 12 disciples that he was going to suffer greatly.

He told them that he must go to Jerusalem and be rejected and be tormented by the elders, chief priests and scribes. He told them that he was going to be killed, and that he would rise again on the third day.

Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, telling him that the things Jesus was predicting would never happen.

Jesus turned around so that all his disciples could hear him and he said to Peter:

Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me. You are not thinking about this the way God does. You are talking about things that concern men.

After this, Jesus called the multitude along with his disciples together and began to speak to them.

He said:

If anyone would follow after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever would lose his life for my sake and the sake of the Gospel, will save it.

What does it profit a man if he gains the entire world but forfeits his own life? What can a person exchange for his life?

Whoever in this adulterous and sinful generation is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of man will also be ashamed of him when he comes with the holy angels, in his own glory and the glory of the Father.

The truth is that some of you who stand here will be alive to see the kingdom of God coming with power.

Jesus asked, who do you think I am?

Jesus went out with his disciples into the villages of Caesarea and Philippi. Having spent time in prayer with his disciples, he asked:

Who do men say that I am?
His disciples answered:
Some say that you are John the Baptist, others say you are Elijah, others say that you are Jeremiah or one of the other old time prophets come back to life.

Jesus asked them:
But who do you think I am?

Simon Peter said:
You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Jesus said to him:
Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah: For flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

I tell you that your name is Peter (petros - a small loose stone), and upon this Rock (petra – bedrock or foundation stone) I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

He then told his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

Jesus healing blind man

Judean countryside

Jesus went immediately into the boat with his disciples and went to the borders of Magadan, which is in Dalmanutha.

The Pharisees and Sadducees found Jesus and began to question him. They wanted Jesus to show them a sign from heaven.

Jesus was deeply grieved in his spirit at their unbelief.

Jesus told said:

Why is this generation looking for a sign? When it is evening you look at the sky and see that it is red, and you predict good weather.

In the morning you look at the sky and see that it red and lowering and you predict foul weather.

You know how to discern the face of the sky and yet you cannot see the signs of the times.

An evil and adulterous generation looks for a sign. The truth is that no sign will be given to this generation except the sign of Jonah.

So Jesus left that area and went to the boat and sailed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee with his 12 disciples.

The disciples forgot to bring any bread along for the trip. When they mentioned it to Jesus he said:

Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Beware of the yeast of Herod.

The disciples, not quite understanding what Jesus was talking about, wondered if he was saying these things to them because they forgot to bring bread.

Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to them:

You have so little faith, why are you worrying about not having any bread? Don’t you understand yet?

Don’t you remember the five loaves and the five thousand it fed, with an abundance left over?

Don’t you recall the seven loaves and the four thousand it fed with an abundance left over?

Why is it that you do not understand that what I am telling you is not about bread.

Have your hearts been hardened? Do you have eyes and yet do not see? Do you have ears that do not hear? Don’t you remember anything?

Then the disciples understood that Jesus was not talking about bread, but that he was warning them to beware of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Once they landed on shore, Jesus and his disciples went to Bethsaida -- not the suburb of Capernaum but Bethsaida Julias, which is a town on the east side of the Jordan river near where it flows into the sea of Galilee.

A blind man was brought to Jesus for healing. Jesus took the man’s hand and led him outside the village. Jesus then spit into his eyes and laid his hands on his eyes, and asked:

Do you see yet?

The man looked up and said:

I see men, but they look like walking trees.

Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again and when the man opened his eyes everything became perfectly clear.
Jesus sent the man to his home and gave him instructions not to enter the village.

Jesus make the deaf can hear

Jesus was directed to a man who was deaf and spoke with an impediment.

They asked Jesus to lay hands on him. Jesus took him away from the crowd that had gathered around him.

Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears and spat and touched his tongue. Looking up to heaven, Jesus sighed and said in Aramaic:

Be opened.

The man’s ears were immediately opened. The speech impediment was healed and the man spoke plainly.

He told the man not to tell anyone what had happened. But the man went away and told everyone he met.

Everyone was astonished and began to say:

He can even make the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak.

When the crowds saw the lame walking and the blind seeing, and the deaf hearing, they glorified the God of Israel.

The crowd that came to Jesus had grown to about 4,000 men. They stayed with Jesus for three days.

On the third day, Jesus spoke to his 12 disciples and told them that he had compassion for the crowds.

Jesus knew that they had not eaten in three days and he did not want to send them back to their homes until they had eaten and regained some of their strength.

Jesus did not want them to faint from hunger on their journey back home, for some had traveled a great distance.

The disciples asked Jesus where they were going get enough bread to feed such a large crowd, since they were in a desert area with no provisions nearby.

Jesus asked his disciples how many loaves of bread they had. The disciples answered that they had seven loaves and a few small fish.

Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks and broke the bread into pieces and gave it to his disciples to distribute to the multitude. Jesus took the few small fish and blessed them, and gave them to the disciples to give to the multitude.

Everyone ate until they were full. The disciples then gathered up all the bread and fish that remained, and there were seven baskets full.
After this miracle of feeding the 4,000, he sent them their homes.

if your faith is great at Jesus; let it be done as you wish.

Early bronze Canaanite temple complex
in Israel

Jesus found a house to stay in so that he could escape the public eye. But his fame was too great and it soon became known to the people in the region where Jesus was staying.

Almost immediately, a Canaanite woman, whose daughter had an unclean spirit, heard that Jesus was nearby, and found him.

She said to Jesus:

Have mercy on me, Oh Lord, son of David. My daughter is grievously tormented by a demon.

But Jesus didn’t say a word to her.

The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by race.

The woman kept begging Jesus to cast the demon out of her daughter. Finally the disciples came to Jesus and complained that she was making a nuisance of herself and creating a disturbance every where they went.

Jesus said to the 12 disciples:

I was sent to the house of Israel.

But the woman came and fell down at Jesus’ feet and worshipped him, saying:

Lord help me.

Jesus said to her:

Let the children first be filled, for it is not becoming to take the children’s food and cast it to the dogs.

She responded:

Yes Lord; but the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs even while the children eat.

Jesus said:

Woman, your faith is great; let it be done as you wish. The demon has gone out of your daughter.
The woman returned home and found her daughter lying on her bed, completely healed.

Scribes Criticize Jesus

Jesus returned to Galilee where he continued his ministry. But he did not return to Judea because the Jews were determined to kill him.

A group of Pharisees came from Jerusalem and joined some scribes. They began to question Jesus. They had seen some of Jesus’ disciples eat their food with unwashed hands. They considered this a defilement and rebellion against the tradition of the elders.

The Pharisees and the scribes asked Jesus:

Why don’t your disciples follow the traditions of the elders?

Jesus told them:

Why do you disobey the commandment of God? Because of your traditions? You hypocrites. The prophet Isaiah was right about you when he said:

This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

They worship me in vain, teaching instead the precepts and principles of men.

You push away the commandments of God and hold fast the traditions of men. You would rather obey man than obey God.

For God, through Moses, said:

Honor your father and your mother, let anyone who speaks evil of his father or mother be put to death.

But you have undone the clear intention of Gods law with your own traditions.

You refuse to support your parents in their old age by calling the money that should be used for your parents a special gift to God.

That allows you to keep the gift for yourself instead of using it to support your parents.

In this way you insult God and create a tradition that undoes God’s purpose that you should support your parents in their old age.

This is just one example of the ways you subvert the true intentions of God’s commands with your own traditions.

Jesus called the crowds of people to him.

Jesus said to them:

It is not what goes into a man’s mouth that corrupts or defiles him, it is what comes out of his mouth that corrupts and defiles.

Jesus then entered into the home where he was staying. His disciples came to him and said:

Did you know that you greatly offended the Pharisees by what you said?

Jesus said:

Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. Leave the Pharisees alone; they are blind guides. The blind guides and the blind who they lead will both fall into a pit.

Peter said to Jesus:

Tell us the meaning of what you said to the Pharisees.

Jesus said:

You don’t understand that it is not the outside things that defile a man but the things that are in his heart.

If a man eats meat, it goes into his stomach and through his digestive system and is then flushed out of his system. It does not go through the heart of a man.

It is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean, and they are:
Evil thoughts
Fornications
Theft
Murders
Adulteries
Covetousness
Wickedness
Deceit
Sensuality and envious eye
Lying
Temper tantrums
Pride

All these evil things are produced from inside a man. Eating with unwashed hands does not defile a man.

Jesus said, who comes to Jesus, Jesus will never turn away

Judean desert daisies



The day after Jesus had feed the 5,000, the crowds that had been on the other side of the shore realized that Jesus had left.

They began looking for him, and once they figured out where he had gone, they got into their own boats and rowed across the lake to Capernaum to find him.

When they found Jesus on the other side of the shore, they asked him:

Teacher, why did you come here?

Jesus answered them and said:

I am going to tell you an important truth that you need to understand.

You are looking for me not because you saw a miracle, but because you ate loaves of bread and your hunger was satisfied.

Don’t work for the food that spoils but for the food that gives life for eternity, which only the Son of man can give you.

For I am the only one the Father has commissioned to give eternal life.

They asked:

What must we do in order to earn this food that gives life for eternity?

Jesus said to them:

The work you can do to please God is to believe on the one whom God has sent.

They said to him:

What sign are you going to do so that we will believe in you? What wonders will you work? Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness, just as it is written. He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.

Jesus said to them:

It was not Moses that gave you the bread out of heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread out of heaven. The bread of God is the one that comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world.

They said to Jesus:

Lord, give us this bread always.

Jesus said to them:

I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not hunger, and he who believes on me will never thirst.

But I say to you, You have seen me and you still do not believe in me. All those who the Father gives to me will come to me. He who comes to me I will never turn away.

For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but to do the will of him who sent me. This is the will of him who sent me, that I loose none of all he has given to me, but that I will raise them up at the last day.

For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks to the Son, and believes on him, will have eternal life. I will raise him up in the last day.

The Jews began to start grumbling about Jesus because he said he was the bread of life that came down from heaven. They said:

Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph? Don’t we know his father and mother? How can he say he came down from heaven?

Jesus answered them:

Stop grumbling among yourselves. No one can come to me, unless the Father who sent me draws him. I will raise him up in the last day. It is written in the prophets: they will all be taught by God.

Every one who has heard from the Father, and has learned, comes to me. Not that any one has seen the Father, except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.

I am going to tell you a very important truth: He who believes in me has eternal life. I am the bread of life.

Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness, but they all eventually died.

I am the living bread that comes down from heaven and once a man eats it he will never die, but live forever. The bread that I give is my flesh, given for the life of the world.

The Jews began to discuss what these mysterious words meant:

How can a man give us his flesh to eat?

Jesus said to them:

Again, I tell you a very important truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink my blood, you will not have life.

He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

For my body is true food and my blood is true drink. The person who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.

I live because the living Father sent me. The same is true for the person who partakes of me; he will live because of me.

This is the true bread that comes down from heaven. Unlike the bread your fathers ate in the wilderness and died, the person who eats this bread will live forever.

These are the things that Jesus taught in the synagogue while he was in Capernaum.

Many of the followers of Jesus, other than his disciples, were offended when they heard this teaching.

Jesus, knew what they were grumbling about and said to them:

Does this cause you to stumble? What would happen if you saw the Son of man ascend to where he came from?

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no profit. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.

(Jesus knew from the very beginning who didn’t believe and who would reject him.)

Jesus said to them:

This is the reason that I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father reveals the truth to him and draws him to me.

After this, many people went back to their homes and stopped following him.

Jesus called his 12 disciples together and asked them:

Do you want to go away, too?

Simon Peter answered:

Lord, to whom would we go? You are the one with the words of eternal life. We believe in you and know that you are the holy one of God.

Jesus answered them:

Did not I choose all 12 of you, and one of you is a devil? He was speaking of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, for he was the one of the 12 who would betray Jesus.

Jesus Walks on Water

Sea of Galilee at sunrise

Jesus knew that these crowds of people wanted to take him by force to make him King.

He told his 12 disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of him to the shore on the other side of Bethsaida, the town next to Capernaum. He then sent the multitude away.

Jesus then went up into the mountain to pray. The evening came, and Jesus was alone.

As the disciples rowed to Capernaum, a great wind blew up. They were about three and a half miles across the lake, about half way to where Jesus had told them to go.

Jesus looked across the lake and saw that his disciples were in trouble, trying to row the boat against the wind.

Jesus walked on the water toward the disciples.

When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water in their direction, they were afraid. They thought it was a ghost, and they cried out with fear.

But Jesus spoke to them and said:

Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid.

They started preparing for Jesus to enter the boat. But Simon Peter said to Jesus:

If it is you, then ask me to come meet you on the water.

Jesus said:

Come.

Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the force of the wind, he was afraid and began to sink.

He cried out:

Lord save me.

Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and took hold of Peter. He said to Peter:

Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?

As soon as Jesus and Peter went into the boat, the wind stopped blowing. The disciples were amazed and began worshipping him, saying:

It is the truth, you are the Son of God.

When they had crossed the lake, they came to the land of Genessaret, where they moored their boat.

As soon as Jesus and his disciples left the boat, the people recognized who he was and began sending word around the region that Jesus was there.

Jesus went about healing the sick, and many asked Jesus if they could touch the border of his garment. All who did were made whole.

Jesus Give food to 5,000 people

But when the multitude heard that Jesus was crossing the lake, they followed him. Many others ran from all the surrounding cities to find Jesus.

When Jesus saw the crowds, he had pity on them and he welcomed them. Jesus taught them and healed all their diseases.

Later on, he and his disciples went into the mountain, and Jesus sat with them. The time for the feast of the Passover was near.

As the day wore on, the 12 disciples came to Jesus and said:

Send the multitudes away, it is getting late and they need to leave so that they can go into the villages and towns nearby to buy food and find lodging.

But Jesus said to them:

There is no reason for them to go away.

Jesus lifted his eyes and looked over the crowd coming to him. He said to Phillip:

Where can we buy bread enough for all these people to eat?

Jesus already knew what he was going to do, but said this to test Philip. Philip answered and said:

Even if everyone only had a small piece of bread it would cost thousands of dollars to feed them.

Jesus said to his disciples:

Give them food to eat. they asked him, Do you want us to go and spend thousands of dollars on bread?

Jesus asked them:

How many loaves of bread do you have? Simon Peter’s brother said to Jesus, There is a young lad who has five barley loaves and two fish.

But there are about 5,000 men to feed. What good would a couple loaves of bread and two fish do?

Jesus told them to bring him the five loaves and two fish. When they had done this, Jesus commanded all the people to sit down on the grass in groups of 50.

He took the bread and fish and looked up to heaven. He blessed the food and broke the loaves. He gave the loaves and fish to the disciples to distribute to the crowd.

Everyone ate until they were filled.

Once they were full, he told his disciples to gather up everything that was left over. They gathered up all the remaining loaves and fish, and it filled 12 baskets.

When the people saw this miracle they said:

This is truly the Messiah who has come into the world.

Jesus go to Bethsaida

They told Jesus all the things that they had seen and done. They told him how the sick were healed and the demons cast out. They shared what they taught and preached regarding the kingdom.
When John the Baptist’s disciples told Jesus about the death of John, Jesus gathered his disciples and withdrew to the other side of the Sea of Galilee to Bethsaida.

The disciples of John told Jesus about how john die

About this time, King Herod Antipas, the tetrarch, heard about all the things that Jesus was doing. He was perplexed because some thought Jesus was John the Baptist risen from the dead. Others thought that Jesus was Elijah or some other prophet.

Herod began to ask if John the Baptist, who he beheaded, had risen from the dead.

Herod had arrested John and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias. Herodias had been the wife of his brother Phillip.

John the Baptist had spoken up and said that it was not lawful or right for Herod to take his brother’s wife.

Herodias hated John the Baptist and was looking for a way to kill him. Herod feared John, but nevertheless spent time talking with him.

Herodias got her chance to kill John on Herod’s birthday. All the highest ranking people in the land were invited. When it came time for entertainment, Herodias had her daughter dance for Herod, and he was very pleased.

Herod promised her with an oath in front of everyone that he would give her anything she wanted, up to half his kingdom. She conspired with her mother and asked Herod for the head of John the Baptist on a platter.

Herod was very grieved at this, but because he was afraid of losing face and for the sake of his oath, he commanded that John’s head be cut off and brought to the party on a platter.

One of Herod’s soldiers went to the prison where John was, beheaded him, put his head on a platter and gave it to the girl who then gave it to her mother Herodias.
The disciples of John collected his body and buried it. They told Jesus what had happened.

jesus sent out his 12 disciples:

Jesus continued his travels to many cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of diseases and all kinds of sickness.

But when he saw the crowds, he was moved with compassion for them. They were distressed and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd.

Jesus said to his 12 disciples:

The harvest is huge, but the harvesters are few. Pray to the Lord of the harvest and ask him to send laborers into his harvest.

Jesus called his 12 together and began to send them out two by two. He told them to heal the sick and to preach the good news of the kingdom.

He told them that they should take nothing for the journey, except a staff. They were not to take bread or money. Instead they were to go out in sandaled feet without so much as an extra coat.

He told them not to go to the Gentiles, and not to go to the cities of Samaria, but instead to concentrate on the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

As they went out, Jesus reminded them that they had received freely and they were to give freely.

Jesus told them to find someone worthy in a city and stay with that family. If the house was worthy, they were to salute it with a proclamation of peace. If it was not worthy, then no peace would be upon the house.

Jesus said:

Wherever you go, stay in one house until you leave the city. If they do not receive you and your preaching, then shake off the dust that is under your feet as a testimony against them.

The truth you need to understand is that it will be better for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for the city that rejects your testimony that the kingdom of God is near.

I am sending you out as sheep among wolves; be wise as serpents and as harmless as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you over to the courts, and they will whip you in their synagogues.

You will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, as a testimony to the Gentiles.

But when they deliver you up, do not be anxious, and do not worry about what you are going to say. You will be given the words to say by the Spirit of God -- when the time comes.

Brother will deliver brother up to death, and a father will deliver up his own child, and children will rise up against their parents and cause them to be put to death for my name’s sake.

He that endures to the end will be saved.

When they persecute you in one city, flee to the next. I tell you this truth: you will not have gone through all the cities of Israel, before the Son of man comes.

If they have called me the master of the house of Beelzebub, you cannot expect better treatment.

Do not be afraid of them. There is nothing covered that will not be revealed.

Everything that is hidden will be known. What I tell you in the darkness, speak it in the light.

Do not be afraid of those who can kill the body but not the soul. Fear God who can cast body and soul into hell.

He who does not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. He who finds his life will lose it; and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.

He who receives you receives me. he who receives me, receives the one who sent me.

If a person receives a prophet in the name of the prophet, he will receive a prophet’s reward. If you receive a righteous man in the name of a righteous man, you will receive the reward of a righteous man.

The disciples departed and went out throughout the villages and preached that men should repent. They preached the good news. They cast out demons, anointed the sick with oil and healed them.
After Jesus gave his disciples these instructions, he left to preach and teach in the cities.

Jesus Is Rejected

Jesus left the area of Galilee and returned to his hometown of Nazareth. His 12 disciples followed him.

When the Sabbath came, Jesus entered the synagogue, as was his custom, and stood to read the Scriptures. He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.

He opened the book and found the place where it is written:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to preach good news to the poor, he has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those that are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

Jesus closed the book and handed it back to the attendant and sat down. All eyes were fixed on Jesus as he said to them:

Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your ears.

Those who heard him asked each other:

Where did he get this power, and how does he do these mighty works? Isn’t this the son of the carpenter, Joseph, the son of Mary? Where did he get all these things?

They were offended.

Jesus said to them:

I tell you this truth: a prophet is not without honor except in his own country and among his relatives. No prophet is acceptable in his own country.

Try and understand the truth I am about to share with you. In the days of Elijah when the heavens were shut up and it did not rain for three and a half years, and a great famine was upon all the land, Elijah was not sent to anyone from his home country.

He was sent to a widow from Zaraphath, in the land of Sidon, and she was saved from the famine by the miracle from God.

And although there were many lepers in Israel at the time of this tribulation, only one leper was healed by Elijah. He was Naaman, a man from Syria.

When they heard this, they became furious. They rose up against Jesus and led him to the edge of the hill upon which their city was built with the intention of throwing him down the cliff to his death.

But Jesus simply passed through the middle of them and went on his way.
Jesus performed few mighty works in Nazareth because of the residents’ lack of faith and unbelief. He left Nazareth and returned to Capernaum.

Jesus Healing Blind Men

Sea of Galilee at Sunrise



Jesus left the house of Jairus, and as he was leaving, two blind men followed him, crying out:

Have mercy on us, son of David.

The blind men followed him to his destination. He said to them:

Do you believe that I can give you sight? And they said, Yes, Lord.

He touched their eyes and said to them:

Let it be done to you according to your faith.

Their eyes were opened and they saw. Jesus sternly told them not to tell anyone what he had healed them.

But instead of doing as Jesus had asked, they went and told everyone they met that Jesus had restored their sight.

Jesus continued walking and ran into a man who was dumb and possessed by a demon.

When Jesus cast out the demon, the man began to speak. The crowds that witnessed this marveled. Some of the people said that had never happened before in Israel.

But the Pharisees rebutted them, saying:

He casts out demons by the prince of demons.

Jairus begged Jesus to come and heal his 12-year-old daughter:

While Jesus was speaking to John’s disciples, a man named Jairus came up to Jesus and fell at his feet in worship. Jairus was one of the rulers of the synagogue. Jairus begged Jesus to come and heal his 12-year-old daughter:

Come and lay hands on her and she will live, for she is at the point of death.

Jesus got up and started toward the home of Jairus. His 12 disciples followed him. The multitudes also followed him and pressed him from every side.

There was a women in the crowd who for 12 years had been afflicted by a disease that discharged blood. She had spent everything she earned paying physicians to cure her but to no avail.

She had heard about Jesus and said to herself:

If only I can touch the border of his garment, I would be made whole.

She forced her way through the crowd and got behind Jesus and reached down and touched his garment, and she was immediately healed.

Jesus turned around and said:

Who touched my garment?

Everyone denied it.

Peter and the other disciples came to Jesus and said:

The crowd is pressing you from all sides. What do you mean when you ask who touched me?

Jesus answered and said:

I know that someone touched me, because I felt the power go out from me.

He looked all around to find the person who had touched him. When the woman realized that she could no longer hide, she came to Jesus, trembling with fear. She fell at his feet and confessed that she was the one who had touched him.

She told Jesus and the crowd why she had touched him and that she was healed immediately.

Jesus said to her:

Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be healed.

The woman left, completely healed.

While Jesus was speaking to the woman, someone came from the house of Jairus and said to him:

Your daughter is dead, you do not need to trouble the teacher any further.

When Jesus heard this, he said:

Don’t be afraid, simply believe and the girl will be healed.

When Jesus entered Jairus’ house, he told everyone to stay out except for the father and mother of the dead girl, along with Peter, James and John.

When he entered the house, the funeral party was already there, weeping and wailing, playing the flutes.

Jesus told them to stop all the commotion. He told them that girl was not dead, just asleep. When the funeral party heard this they started laughing and mocking Jesus.

He insisted they all leave, and finally they did. Jesus then took the father and mother and went into the room where the child was lying. He took the child’s hand and spoke to her.

He said:

Little girl, I say to you, get up.

Immediately her spirit returned and she got up and walked around. Jesus told them to bring her food.
Her parents were stunned. But he told them not to tell anyone what they had witnessed. Nevertheless, Jesus’ fame spread through all the country.

they began to criticize Jesus

Matthew, who is also called Levi, was the last of the 12 disciples Jesus had called while he was collecting taxes near the Sea of Galilee. Matthew made a great feast for Jesus at his house.

The other disciples joined Jesus, along with Matthew’s old friends and acquaintances, which included tax collectors and other people of low reputation.

When the religious leaders (Pharisees and teachers) saw Jesus eating and drinking with tax collectors and other outcasts of society, they began to criticize Jesus and his disciples by asking:

Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?

When Jesus heard what they were saying, he replied:

It isn’t people who are well that need a doctor, but those that are sick. I haven’t come to call the righteous; I have come to call sinners to repentance. Go and learn what this means. I desire mercy and not sacrifice.

John’s disciples and some of the Pharisees were fasting. Some of John’s disciples came to Jesus to ask him why his disciples did not fast.

Jesus replied:

Do the friends of the bridegroom mourn (fast) as long as the bridegroom is with them? No. As long as the bridegroom is with them, they cannot fast.

But the day will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

He told this same story to the disciples of John. Jesus said:

No one takes a piece of cloth from a new garment and sews it on an old garment.

No man puts new wine into old wineskins, or else the new wine would burst the skins and the wine would be spilled and lost. But they put new wine into new wine skins.

Jesus Heals Two Demoniacs

Date palms in modern Israel



After the storm, they came to the other side of the lake to a region called the Gadarenes.

As Jesus and his disciples came out of the boat, they were met by men who came out from the caves and the tombs.

These men had unclean, evil spirits that had great power over them, so great that even when they had been bound with chains, they were able to break the iron.

No man was strong enough to tame these men possessed by demons.

They spent their time crying out and doing harm to themselves by cutting themselves with stones. They wore no clothes.

When they saw Jesus, they ran to him and fell down before him and worshipped him. They cried out with a loud voice and said:

What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the most high God?

As Jesus was commanding the unclean spirits to come out, they begged Jesus not to torment them.

Jesus asked them:

What is your name? My name is Legion, for we are many.

The demons begged Jesus not to send them out of the country, and they begged Jesus not to send them to the abyss.

Off in the distance was a great herd of pigs feeding on the hillside. The demons begged to enter the swine, saying, If you do cast us out send us into the herd of swine.

Jesus told them:

Go.

They came out of the men and entered into the herd of about 2,000 pigs. Once this happened, the entire herd rushed down the steep cliffs and hurled themselves into the sea and drowned.

When the herdsmen saw what had happened they fled to the city and told everyone what they had witnessed.

Those who lived in the city came to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the men who had been possessed by the unclean spirits sitting on the ground, clothed and in their right minds.

The herdsmen told how the demons possessed the pigs and how the herd of pigs threw themselves into the sea and drowned.

And they told the men from the city how those who had been filled with the unclean, evil spirits had been healed. And they were afraid.

All the people of the city of Gadarenes began to ask Jesus to leave their country. They were full of fear.

Jesus and his disciples headed toward the boat in order to leave the region. One of the men who had been possessed by the unclean spirits begged Jesus to let him come along with him.

But Jesus told him that he could not, that he must return to his home and his friends and tell them the great things that God had done for him and how God had shown him great mercy.

The man went his way, declaring throughout the entire what Jesus had done for him.
As Jesus crossed to the other side of the lake, a great multitude was waiting for him by the shore. They welcomed Jesus as he returned. They had been there all that time, waiting for Jesus to come back.

storm,wind and the seas obey jesus

Fisherman on the sea of Galilee



Later on, when it was about sunset, there was a great crowd gathered around Jesus.

Jesus got into a boat with his 12 disciples and told them to take the boat to the other side of the sea.

As they were preparing to shove off, a scribe came up to Jesus and said:

Teacher I will follow you wherever you go.

Jesus said to him:

The foxes have dens and the birds of the sky have nests; but the Son of man has no place to lay his head.

After this, one of Jesus’ disciples said to him:

Allow me to go and bury my father.

But Jesus said to him:

Follow me; and let the spiritually dead bury their own dead.

Jesus then entered the boat that his disciples had prepared and began to travel to the other side of the lake. They left the crowd on the shore.

As the boat sailed off toward the other shore, Jesus fell asleep in the boat.

While Jesus slept a great windstorm came up on the lake. The waves began to beat against the boat and fill it up with water.

The disciples became afraid, to the point of thinking they would be lost in the storm. But Jesus lay asleep at the back of the boat.

The disciples came to Jesus and woke him, saying:

Lord, we are perishing! And Jesus stood up and rebuked the wind and the sea and the raging water.

He said to the sea:

Peace, be still.

The storm ceased and there was a great calm.

Jesus said to his disciples:

Why are you so fearful? Don’t you have faith yet? Oh you of little faith.

The disciples, still afraid, began to marvel, saying to one another:

Who is this man that even the wind and the seas obey him?

jesus say the kingdom of heaven was like a treasure hidden in a field that a man finds.

Jesus then went on to teach that the kingdom of heaven was like a treasure hidden in a field that a man finds. Once he finds the treasure he sells everything that he has and buys the field:

The kingdom of heaven is also like a merchant who is looking for precious pearls.

When he finds one pearl of great value, he sells everything that he has and buys it.

The kingdom of heaven is also like a net that is cast into the sea: it gathers every kind of fish.

When the net is pulled in, the fishermen sit down and sort out the good fish they want to keep from the worthless ones.

This is how it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the righteous from the wicked. The wicked will be cast into a furnace of fire where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Then Jesus asked his disciples:

Have you understood all these things?

They answered:

Yes.

the disciples came to Jesus and asked him to explain the parable of the weeds in the field.

Jesus left the multitudes and came in the house where he was staying with his disciples.

And the disciples came to Jesus and asked him to explain the parable of the weeds in the field.

Jesus told them that the one planting the good seed is the Son of man – the field is the world:

The good seed are the sons of the kingdom.

And the one who sows the weeds is the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil.

The harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are angels.

The weeds that are gathered and burnt with fire is a picture of what it will be like at the end of the world. The Son of man will send out his angels, and they will gather all the things that are evil and cause people to stumble.

He will cast them into the furnace where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Then the righteous who are left will shine out as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Anyone who has ears, let him hear these things.

jesus said, To what can we compare the kingdom of God?

Jesus told them another parable. He said:

To what can we compare the kingdom of God? What parable can explain its excellence?

The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. A mustard seed is the smallest of seeds grown in the garden.

But once it starts growing, it gets bigger and bigger, bigger than any of the other plants in the garden. Finally, it grows to the size of a tree and puts out large branches.

The birds come and take refuge and find shade and make their homes in its branches.

In another parable, Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is like the yeast that a woman hid in three measures of flour, and it was mixed into and permeated all of the dough.

Jesus told all these parables to the multitudes, and he only taught them in parables with no explanation. This was a fulfillment of the prophecies found in the Psalms that said:

I will open my mouth in parable; I will say things hidden since the foundation of the world.
But to his own disciples he explained everything.

jesus said about The kingdom of heaven

Picking vegetables in the field


Jesus told them another parable:

The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sows good seed in his field.

But as he slept the enemy came in and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then slipped away.

As soon as the blades of grain started showing, so did the weeds. The servants came and asked the owner of the field:

Didn’t you plant good seed? Why are weeds growing up among the wheat?

The man said:

The enemy has done this.

The servants asked if they should go and gather up the weeds. The man said:

No, you might destroy some of the good wheat.

Let them grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers:

Gather up the weeds and tie them in bundles and burn them. Then gather the wheat and put it into my barn.

jesus said The kingdom of God is like a man who cast seed upon the earth.

Biblical garden plants - almond tree and nuts



And Jesus said:

The kingdom of God is like a man who cast seed upon the earth.

The man goes to sleep and rises again the next day, and the seed springs up and grows, but the man does not know how it grew.

The earth bears fruit with out any help from the man, it does it by itself.

First the blade, then the ear, the full grain. But when the fruit is ripened, he takes a sickle and harvests the grain.

Jesus told them that they would be told the mystery of the kingdom,

Harvesting apples at a kibbutz



Jesus taught:

Look, The sower went out to sow his seed, and as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and were trodden under foot, and the birds of the sky came and ate the seeds.

Some of the seeds fell among the thorns and grew up among the thorns. But the thorns choked out the plants so that they did not produce any fruit.

Some of the seeds fell on the good soil and grew and some produced 100-fold, and some produced 60-fold and some produced 30-fold.

And Jesus cried out:

Anyone that has ears to hear, let him hear.

When Jesus was alone, the 12 disciples came to him and asked him what the parables meant and why he was speaking in parables?

Jesus told them that they would be told the mystery of the kingdom, but that the others who heard the parables would not understand them. Jesus told them that this was in fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah who said:

By hearing you will hear, but you will not understand. For this people’s heart is hardened and their ears are dull and their eyes have been closed.

Because if they did hear, and see and understand with their hearts, they would repent and I would heal them.

But, blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.

This is a truth you need to understand. Many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things that you are seeing and to hear the things that you are hearing.

Now this is how you are to understand this parable and all the parables I teach.

Therefore hear the parable of the sower.

The seed is the word of God. The sower sows the word. The seeds that land on the way side and are eaten by the birds, are the words that are heard.

After the words are heard then Satan immediately comes and snatches it away from them, so that it does not take root in their heart. Once the word is snatched away then they cannot believe and be saved.

The seed that is sown in the rocky place are like those who hear the word and believe it for a while; then difficulties and trials come because of the word, and they stumble and fall away.

The seed that is sown among the thorns is like the word that is heard and begins to take root, but the cares, deceitfulness of riches and the lusts of this world choke out its life.

The seed that is sown on the good ground are those with honest hearts, who hear the word and hold it fast and accept it.

They produce fruit, some one100-fold, some 60 and some 30.

A great multitude came to be with Jesus and hear him teach.

Sea of Galilee at sunset



Jesus left the house he was staying in and went down to the seaside where he began to teach.

A great multitude came to be with Jesus and hear him teach. The crowd was so great that Jesus got into a boat and pushed it a little ways offshore.

Then Jesus sat in the boat while the crowd stood on the beach.
And Jesus began to teach them using parables.

jesus ask, do you think they were greater sinners?

Fig tree bearing fruit



As Jesus was preaching about the signs of the times, there were some present who told Jesus about the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

Jesus heard this and said:

Do you think that these Galilaeans were greater sinners than others? Unless you repent you will also perish.

Regarding those 18 whom the tower of Siloam fell on and killed, do you think they were greater sinners than all the rest of the men who live in Jerusalem? Unless you repent you will also perish.

Then Jesus told this parable:

A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. The season for it to bear fruit came, but when the man examined the tree, he found no fruit.

He said to the gardener in charge, I have come and examined this tree for three years and for three years it has not produced any figs.

I want you to cut it down so that it stops blocking the light and taking up the space that the other fruit-bearing trees need.

The gardener said, Lord please leave it growing for another year. I will dig around it and fertilize it, and if still does not produce fruit, then I will cut it down.

Jesus spoke to the crowds and teaching his disciples.

Date palms at a Judean kibbutz



In the meantime, the crowds continued to grow to many thousands. There were so many people that they could hardly move without stepping on someone.

With the crowds nearby, Jesus began teaching his disciples. Jesus told them:

Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There is nothing that is now concealed that will not be revealed, and nothing is hidden that will not be made known.

Remember that whatever you have said in darkness will be heard in the light, and things which you have spoken in the most secret place will be broadcast on the housetops.

I say to you my friends, Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, because that is all they can do. But I warn you to be afraid of he who has the power not only to kill the body but to cast the soul into hell. Fear him.

Aren’t five sparrows worth about two cents? And not one of them is forgotten in the sight of God. Every hair of your head is numbered, Fear not: You are more valuable than many sparrows.

And I tell you this, everyone who acknowledges me before men, I will acknowledge him before the angels of God. But the person who denies me in the presence of men, he will be denied before the angels of God.

Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of man will be forgiven. But if a person blasphemes the Holy Spirit, will not be forgiven.

When they bring you before the synagogue and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you will answer their charges, or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you what to say at the time when you are required to speak.

One of the people in the multitude shouted out:

Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.

Jesus told him:

Who made me a judge or a divider over you?

He turned to the crowd and said:

Pay attention and keep yourself from covetousness. A man’s life is not measured by the number of things that he owns.

Jesus then told them a parable:

There was a rich man who had a tremendous harvest. He said to himself:

What should I do since I have no place to store all the harvest.

And he said to himself:

This is what I will do: I will pull down my barns and build bigger barns; I will put all my grains and my goods in the new barns. I will say to my soul,

Soul you have much wealth laid up for many years to come, take your ease, eat drink and be merry.

But God said to him:

You foolish man, this very night your soul is required of you; the things that you have stored up for yourself, whose will they be?

This is just like the person who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.

And he said to his disciples:

Listen to what I say. Do not be anxious about your life, as to what you are going to eat; or about your body, as to what you will wear. Life is more than food and clothing.

Think about the ravens, they do not plant or reap, they have no barns to store up grain, and yet God feeds them.

How much more valuable are you than the birds? Who among you, by being anxious, can add one minute to the length of his life?

You cannot affect even the smallest thing by being anxious. Why be anxious about everything else.

Think about the lilies of the field. They do not labor or make their own clothing, and yet Solomon and all his glory was not dressed like any of them.

If God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and gone into the furnace tomorrow, how much more will he clothe you? Oh you of little faith.

Don’t worry about what you are going to eat or drink, and don’t be anxious in your minds about the future. For this is how the world responds to life. Seek the kingdom and all these other things will be taken care of.

Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good will to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have, and give gifts to God and his service.

Make for yourselves purses that do not wear out, and a treasure in heaven that will never run out, where there is no thief who will steal it or moths that will consume it. Wherever your treasure is, that’s where your heart will be.

And be prepared to move quickly and keep your lamps burning.

Keep alert like men who are waiting for the groom to return to the marriage feast, so that when he comes and knocks on the door you are ready to answer it and let him in quickly.

Blessed are the servants who the Lord finds waiting for his return. When he comes he will gather his faithful servants together and sit down to a meal with them and serve them.

Blessed are the servants who are ready for their Lord to come, even when he is least expected. So be ready, for he will come at a time when you don’t think he is coming.

Peter then asked the Lord if these parables were for the disciples only or for everyone.

Jesus answered:

Blessed is the wise steward who is found doing his master’s will when he comes. That faithful servant will be put in charge of much more after the master returns.

But woe to the servant who thinks, My Lord is going to be late coming, so I may mistreat the servants under me, and eat and drink and becomes drunk without any regard for the Lord’s coming.

The Lord will come on a day that the servant does not expect and he will be punished severely.

The servant who acts disobediently, out of ignorance, will receive a lesser punishment.

To everyone who has been given much, much shall be required.

I came to rouse men to spiritual conflict. Do not think that I have come to give peace on the earth. No, but rather division.

In the future, five in one house will be divided; three will be of one mind and two of another.

A father will be divided against his son, and a son against his father; mother against daughter and daughter against her mother; mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and said:

When you see a cloud rising in the west, you know that it is going to rain. And so it does. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, There will be a scorching heat; And so it happens.

You hypocrites, you know how to interpret the weather and the sky; but you don’t know how to interpret these present times.

Jesus Denounces the Pharisees

Flowers for export growing at a kibbutz



While Jesus was teaching, one of the Pharisees in the crowd asked him to come have dinner with him.

Jesus accepted the invitation and entered his home. When the Pharisee saw that Jesus did not wash his hands before sitting down to eat he was amazed.

Jesus said to him:

You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and plate, but the inward parts are full of greed and wickedness.

You fools! Didn’t the one who made the outside also make the inside? Give your inner life as an offering and everything is clean.

But woe to you Pharisees! You tithe with an exactness that is so precise that you give the tenth part of a seed or a herb.

But you ignore doing justice to others and loving God. Those are the things you should be giving, and not the other.

Woe to you Pharisees! You love the important seats in the synagogues and fancy greetings in the marketplace.

Woe to you! You are like tombs that have been whitewashed on the outside but are full of corruption and dead bones on the inside.

One of the lawyers who was listening, said to Jesus, Aren’t you being hasty in your condemnation?

Jesus said to him:

Woe to you lawyers also! You load up men with burdens too heavy to carry, while you will not lift a finger to carry your own burdens.

Woe to you! You decorate the tombs of the prophets that your fathers killed. So you are witnesses and agree with the works of your fathers. Your fathers killed the prophets and you decorate their tombs.

Jesus then summarized the words spoken by the prophets of old and said:

I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute. The blood of the prophets, which was shed from the beginning of the world, will be required of this generation.

From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharia, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary, yes, I say to you, it will be required of this generation.

Woe to you lawyers! You took away the key to understanding Scripture. You didn’t even use the key to enter into the kingdom yourself and you make it difficult for others to enter.
When Jesus was finished speaking, he left the building. The scribes and the Pharisees pressed hard against him to try and provoke him to say something that they could use against him.

jesus tell about the true family

Chrysanthemums in the Hula Valley, Galilee



While Jesus was still teaching the multitudes, his mother and his brothers stood outside the house where Jesus was, wanting to talk to him.

Because the crowd was too thick to come into the house, they sent word through the crowd that they were calling him.

There was a great number of people sitting around Jesus, and as the word was passed along, someone said to Jesus:

Look, your mother and your brothers are looking for you, they are outside the building waiting to see you and they want to speak to you.

Jesus answered and said to the one who spoke:
Who is my mother? And who are my brothers? My mother and my brothers are those who hear the words of God and do them. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister and mother.

jesus say Blessed are those that hear the word of God and obey it.

Trees in Galilee



Again, the multitudes gathered together and came to Jesus. Some of the scribes and Pharisees questioned Jesus and asked for a miraculous sign.

But Jesus told them:

This generation is evil, it looks for a sign. Only an evil and adulterous generation looks for signs. No sign will be given to you, except the sign of Jonah the prophet.

Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights.

In the same way the Son of man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the Earth. Just like Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of man be a sign to this generation.

The men of Nineveh will stand in judgment and condemn this generation, for they repented when Jonah preached to them: O look, someone greater than Jonah is here with you.

The queen of the south will rise up in judgment with this generation and condemn it. She came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And look, someone greater than Solomon is here with you.

When an unclean spirit goes out of a man he goes through desolate places and finds no rest. Then he says to himself, I will return to my old house that I left. And when he returns he finds the house empty and swept clean and decorated.

He then goes and finds seven other evil spirits more evil than himself and they enter the house and become residents. The last state of the man is worse that the first. It is the same way with this generation.

While Jesus was speaking, a woman in the crowd lifted up her voice and said:

Blessed is the womb from which you were born, and the breasts that nourished you.

Jesus answered her and said:

Blessed are those that hear the word of God and obey it.

No one lights a lamp and puts it in his cellar, or under a pan, but on a lamp stand so that everyone that comes into his house can see the light.

The lamp of your body is your eye: When your eyes are focused on the right thing your whole body is full of light. But when your eyes are focused on what is evil, your entire body is full of darkness.

Look at yourselves and examine whether you are full of light or darkness.