Part 3

Whoever hears these sayings and does them, I liken to a wise man who built his house upon a rock. When the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon the house, it did not fall because it was founded upon a rock.

Whoever hears these sayings and does not do them I liken to a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. When the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, it fell. And a great fall it was.

When Jesus finished these sayings, people were astonished at His doctrine because He taught as one having authority different from the scribes.

8 When He came down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And, behold, there came a leper who worshipped Him, saying, Lord, if Thou will, Thou can make me clean. Jesus put out His hand, touched him, and said, Be thou clean. Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Then Jesus said to him, See that thou tell no man. Go thy way, show thyself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded for a testimony.

Then, when Jesus was in Capernaum, a centurion beseeched Him saying, Lord, my servant lies at home sick with palsy and grievously tormented. Jesus said to him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered, Lord, I am not worthy that thou should come under my roof, but only give the word and my servant shall be healed. I am a man of authority, understand commands, and have soldiers under me. I command this man, Go, and he goes. To another I say, Come, and he comes. I direct my servant to do this, and he does it.

When Jesus heard this, He marvelled and said to those who followed, Verily, I say unto you, I have not found such great faith anywhere, no, not even in Israel. And I say to you, Many shall come from the east and west and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Jesus said to the centurion, Go thy way. As thou has believed, so be it done unto thee. And the servant was healed that same hour.

When Jesus went to Peter's house, He saw Peter's wife's mother laid sick with a fever. He touched her hand and the fever left her. She arose and ministered to them. That evening they brought to Him many that were possessed with devils and He cast out the spirits with His word. He healed all who were sick so that it might be fulfilled what was spoken by Esaias the prophet: He took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.

Jesus saw great multitudes gathering. He decided they should depart to the other side of the water. A scribe approached Him and said, Master, I will follow wherever thou go. Jesus only replied, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has no place to lay His head. Another came to Him and said, Lord, let me first go and bury my father. But Jesus replied, Follow me and let the dead bury their dead. Then they got in a boat and started for the other side.

Behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea. It was so great that the boat was covered with the waves. Jesus was asleep. His disciples woke Him and said, Lord, save us. We will perish. Jesus replied, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea. There was a great calm. The disciples marvelled and said, What kind of man is this who even the winds and the sea obey!

On the other side they came into the country of the Gergesenes. There He met two men coming out of the tombs who were possessed with devils so fierce that no man dared pass them. They cried out, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? Art thou come here to torment us before the time?

At a distance from them was a herd of swine. The devils said to Him, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go into the herd of swine. Jesus said to them, Go. When they came out of the men, they went into the herd of swine. Behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea and perished in the waters. The herders who kept them fled into the city and told everything including what happened to those possessed by the devils. Then the whole city came out to see Jesus and, when they saw Him, they besought Him to depart from their coasts.

9 He took a boat to His own city. There they brought to Him a man with palsy who was lying on a bed. Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the sick man; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins are forgiven thee.

Behold, certain of the scribes said, This man blasphemes. And, Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? Is it easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee or Arise and walk? So ye may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins, (then He said to the sick man) Arise, take up thy bed and go to thy house. The man did get up and went to his house. When the multitude saw it, they marvelled and glorified God who had given such power.

When Jesus left there He saw a man sitting at the receipt of custom. He said to him, Follow me. And he arose and followed Him. As Jesus sat at dinner, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, Why does your master eat with publicans and sinners? When Jesus heard this, He said, Those who are well do not need a physician, but those who are sick do. Go and learn what that means. I will have mercy and not revenge because I have not come to call the righteous, but to call sinners to repentance.

Then John's disciples came to Him and asked, Why do we and the Pharisees often fast, but thy disciples do not fast? Jesus said to them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The day will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them and then they will fast.

No man uses a piece of new cloth to patch an old garment for that which is put in to cover the space takes from the garment and the rent is worse than before. Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, the wine runs out and the bottles perish. They put new wine into new bottles and both are preserved. While He spoke these things there came a certain ruler who worshipped Him and said, My daughter is almost now dead, but come and lay thy hand upon her and she shall live. Jesus arose and followed him, and His disciples came along also.

On the way, a woman who was diseased with an issue of blood for twelve years came up behind Him. She touched the hem of His garment because she said within herself, If I may but touch His garment I shall be healed. Jesus turned around, and when He saw her, He said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith has made thee whole. The woman was healed from that hour.

Finally, when Jesus arrived at the ruler's house, He saw many mourners. He said to them, Stand aside. The maid is not dead but sleeps. They laughed Him to scorn. But when the people moved aside, He went in, took her by the hand, and she arose. This news spread abroad into all that land.

When Jesus left there, two blind men followed Him. They cried, Thou son of David, have mercy on us. When He entered a house, the blind men came to Him. Jesus said to them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said to Him, Yea, Lord. Then He touched their eyes and said, According to your faith be it done unto you. Their eyes were opened. Then Jesus charged them to make sure that no man knew of this. But, after they departed, they spread His fame all around that country.

As they were leaving that place a mute man possessed with a devil was brought to Jesus. When the devil was cast out, the man could then speak. The multitude marvelled and said nothing like it was ever before seen in Israel. But the Pharisees said, He casts out devils through the prince of the devils.

Jesus went to all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom. He healed every kind of sickness and disease among the people. But when He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion on them because they fainted and were scattered like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few. Pray to the Lord so He will send forth laborers to His harvest.

10 Jesus called together His twelve disciples and gave them power to cast out unclean spirits and to heal all manner of sickness and disease. The names of the twelve apostles are these; Simon, who is called Peter, Andrew, his brother; James the son of Zebedee, John his brother; Philip; Bartholomew; Thomas; the publican; James the son of Alphaeus; Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Canaanite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

These twelve Jesus sent forth and commanded them: Go not into the way of the Gentiles or into any city of the Samaritans. Rather, go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As ye go, preach that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick. Cleanse the lepers. Raise the dead. Cast out devils. Freely ye have received, freely give.

Provide neither gold nor silver nor brass in your purses. Take no scrip for your journey. Neither take two coats, nor shoes, nor staves because the workman is worthy of his food. Into whatever city or town ye enter, enquire who in it is worthy. Abide there until ye go on. When ye come into a house, salute it. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it. If it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. Whoever shall not receive you or hear your words, when ye leave that house or city, shake the dust from your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment than for that city.

Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Beware of men. They will deliver you up to the councils. They will scourge you in their synagogues. Ye shall be brought before governors and kings for a testimony against them and the Gentiles because of me. But when they deliver you up, do not worry how or what ye shall speak. It will be given you at the time ye speak because it is not ye that will speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaks through you.

Also be aware that a brother shall deliver up a brother to death, and a father the child. Children shall rise up against their parents and cause them to be put to death. Ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. But he that endures to the end shall be saved. When they persecute you in one city, flee to another.

Verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone to all the cities of Israel before the Son comes. The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house, Beelzebub, how much more shall they call those of God's household?

Fear them not. There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed; and nothing hid that shall not be known. What I tell you in darkness, speak ye in light. And what ye hear in the ear, preach that upon the housetops. Fear not those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul. Instead, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.