The New Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Part 3

(40)He that receives you receives me; and he that receives me receives him who sent me. (41)He that receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. (42)And whoever shall give to drink a cup of cold water only to one of these little ones, in the name of a disciple, verily I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.

XI.

AND it came to pa.s.s, when Jesus made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, that he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.

(2)And John, having heard in the prison the works of the Christ, sent by his disciples, (3)and said to him: Art thou he that comes, or look we for another?

(4)And Jesus answering said to them: Go and report to John what ye hear and see. (5)The blind receive sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and to the poor good tidings are published. (6)And happy is he, whoever shall not be offended at me.

(7)And as these were departing, Jesus began to say to the mult.i.tudes concerning John: What went ye out into the wilderness to behold? A reed shaken by the wind?

(8)But what went ye out to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they who wear soft clothing are in king's houses.

(9)But what went ye out to see? A prophet[11:9]? Yea, I say to you, and more than a prophet. (10)For this is he of whom it is written:

Behold, I send forth my messenger before thy face, Who shall prepare thy way before thee.

(11)Verily I say to you, among those born of women, there has not risen a greater than John the Immerser. But he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

(12)And from the days of John the Immerser until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent seize upon it. (13)For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. (14)And if ye are willing to receive it, he is the Elijah that should come. (15)He that has ears to hear, let him hear.

(16)But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like to children sitting in the markets, who call to their fellows, (17)and say: We piped to you, and ye danced not; we sang the lament, and ye did not beat the breast. (18)For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say: He has a demon. (19)The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say: Behold a glutton and a wine-drinker, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom was justified on the part of her children.

(20)Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his miracles were done, because they repented not. (21)Woe to thee, Chorazin! Woe to thee, Bethsaida! For if the miracles, that were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. (22)But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment, than for you.

(23)And thou, Capernaum, [11:23a]that wast exalted to heaven, shalt go down to the underworld[11:23b]. For if the miracles, that were done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

(24)But I say to you, that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

(25)At that time Jesus answered and said: I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and discerning, and reveal them to babes; (26)yea, O Father, that so it seemed good in thy sight! (27)All things were delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son but the Father; nor does any one know the Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son is pleased to reveal him.

(28)Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. (29)Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest for your souls.

(30)For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.

XII.

AT that time Jesus went on the sabbath through the grain-fields; and his disciples were hungry, and began to pluck ears of grain, and to eat. (2)And the Pharisees seeing it said to him: Behold, thy disciples are doing that which it is not lawful to do on the sabbath. (3)And he said to them: Have ye not read what David did, when he hungered, himself and those with him; (4)how he entered into the house of G.o.d, and ate the show-bread, which it was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? (5)Or have ye not read in the law, that on the sabbath the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? (6)But I say to you, that a greater than the temple is here. (7)But if ye had known what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the blameless.

(8)For the Son of man is Lord of the sabbath.

(9)And departing from thence, he went into their synagogue. (10)And behold, there was a man, having his hand withered. And they asked him, saying: Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath? that they might accuse him. (11)And he said to them: What man will there be of you, that shall have one sheep, and if this fall into a pit on the sabbath, will not lay hold of it, and raise it up? (12)How much better then is a man than a sheep! So that it is lawful to do well on the sabbath. (13)Then he says to the man: Stretch forth thy hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, as the other.

(14)And the Pharisees went out, and took counsel against him, how they might destroy him. (15)But Jesus, knowing it, withdrew from thence; and great mult.i.tudes followed him, and he healed them all. (16)And he charged them that they should not make him known; (17)that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying:

(18)Behold my servant, whom I chose, My beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased.

I will put my spirit upon him, And he will declare judgment to the Gentiles.

(19)He will not strive, nor cry; Nor will any one hear his voice in the streets.

(20)A bruised reed he will not break, And smoking flax he will not quench, Till he send forth judgment unto victory.

(21)And in his name will Gentiles hope.

(22)Then was brought to him one possessed with a demon, blind, and dumb; and he healed him, so that the blind and dumb both[12:22] spoke and saw. (23)And all the mult.i.tudes were amazed, and said: Is this the Son of David? (24)But the Pharisees hearing it said: This man does not cast out the demons, except through Beelzebul, prince of the demons.

(25)And Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said to them: Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and any city or house divided against itself shall not stand. (26)And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand? (27)And if I through Beelzebul cast out the demons, through whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.

(28)But if I through the Spirit of G.o.d cast out the demons, then is the kingdom of G.o.d come near to you. (29)Or how can any one enter into a strong man's house, and seize upon his goods, except he first bind the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

(30)He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathers not with me scatters abroad.

(31)Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven to men; but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.

(32)And whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come.

(33)Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt; for from the fruit the tree is known.

(34)Brood of vipers! How can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. (35)The good man out of the good treasure sends forth good things; and the evil man out of the evil treasure sends forth evil things. (36)But I say to you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. (37)For from thy words thou shalt be justified, and from thy words thou shalt be condemned.

(38)Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered him saying: Teacher, we desire to see a sign from thee. (39)But he answering said to them: An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and no sign shall be given to it, but the sign of Jonah the prophet. (40)For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (41)Men of Nineveh will rise in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it; because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, a greater than Jonah is here.

(42)A queen of the south will rise up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it; for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

(43)But when the unclean spirit is gone out from the man, he goes through dry places seeking rest, and finds it not. (44)Then he says, I will return into my house from whence I came out and coming he finds it empty, swept, and set in order. (45)Then he goes, and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. So shall it be also with this wicked generation.

(46)While he was yet speaking to the mult.i.tudes, behold, his mother and his brothers were standing without, seeking to speak to him.

(47)And one said to him: Behold, thy mother and thy brothers are standing without, seeking to speak to thee. (48)But he answering said to him that told him: Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?

(49)And stretching forth his hand toward his disciples, he said: Behold my mother and my brothers! (50)For whoever shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.

XIII.

AND on that day Jesus went out of the house, and sat by the sea-side.

(2)And great mult.i.tudes were gathered together to him, so that he went into the s.h.i.+p and sat down; and all the mult.i.tude stood on the beach.

(3)And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying:

(4)Behold, the sower went forth to sow. And as he sowed, some fell by the way-side, and the birds came and devoured them. (5)And others fell on the rocky places, where they had not much earth; and forthwith they sprang up, because they had not depth of earth. (6)And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had not root, they withered away. (7)And others fell upon the thorns; and the thorns came up, and choked them. (8)And others fell on the good ground, and yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. (9)He that has ears to hear, let him hear[13:9].

(10)And the disciples came and said to him: Why dost thou speak to them in parables? (11)And he answering said to them: To you it is given[13:11] to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven; but to them it is not given. (12)For whoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but whoever has not, even what he has shall be taken from him. (13)Therefore I speak to them in parables; because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, nor understand.

(14)And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which says:

With the hearing ye will hear, and will not understand; And seeing ye will see, and will not perceive.

(15)For the heart of this people is become gross, And their ears are dull of hearing, And their eyes they have closed; Lest haply they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And turn, and I shall heal them.

(16)But happy are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. (17)For verily I say to you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what ye are beholding, and did not see, and to hear what ye are hearing, and did not hear.

(18)Hear therefore the parable of the sower. (19)When any one hears the word of the kingdom, and understands not, then comes the evil one and s.n.a.t.c.hes away what was sown in his heart. This is that which was sown by the way-side.

(20)And that sown on the rocky places, this is he that hears the word, and immediately with joy receives it; (21)and has not root in himself, but is only for a time; and when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he is offended.

(22)And that sown among the thorns, this is he that hears the word, and the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. (23)And that sown on the good ground, this is he that hears the word and understands; who bears fruit, and produces, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

(24)Another parable he put forth to them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is likened to a man that sowed good seed in his field. (25)But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel among the wheat, and went away. (26)And when the blade sprang up and produced fruit, then appeared the darnel also. (27)And the servants of the householder came and said to him: Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? From whence then has it darnel? (28)He said to them: An enemy did this. The servants said to him: Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?