Read the Gospels in 40 Days
God’s Commandments, Man’s Traditions
7 (A)And the Pharisees and some of the scribes *gathered around Him when they had come (B)from Jerusalem, 2 and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with (C)defiled hands, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they [a]carefully wash their hands, thus observing the (D)tradition of the elders; 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they [b]wash themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of (E)cups and pitchers and copper pots.) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes *asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the (F)tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with (G)defiled hands?” 6 And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘(H)This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me.
7 (I)But in vain do they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commands of men.’
8 Leaving the commandment of God, you hold to the (J)tradition of men.”
9 And He was also saying to them, “You are good at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your (K)tradition. 10 For Moses said, ‘(L)Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘(M)He who speaks evil of father or mother, is to [c]be put to death’; 11 but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever you might benefit from me is (N)Corban (that is to say, [d]given to God),’ 12 you no longer leave him to do anything for his father or his mother; 13 thus invalidating the word of God by your (O)tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”
The Heart of Man
14 And after He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: 15 there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man. 16 [e][And if anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”]
17 And when He had left the crowd and entered (P)the house, (Q)His disciples were asking Him about the parable. 18 And He *said to them, “Are you lacking understanding in this way as well? Do you not [f]perceive that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and goes to the sewer?” (Thus He declared (R)all foods (S)clean.) 20 And He was saying, “(T)That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, [g](U)envy, slander, [h]pride, and foolishness. 23 All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”
A Gentile Woman’s Faith
24 (V)Now Jesus stood up and went away from there to the region of (W)Tyre[i]. And when He had entered a house, He was wanting no one to know of it; [j]yet He could not escape notice. 25 But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. 26 Now the woman was a [k]Greek, of Syrophoenician descent. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And He was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not [l]good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered and *said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.” 29 And He said to her, “Because of this [m]answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” 30 And going back to her home, she found the child [n]lying on the bed, the demon having left.
The Deaf Hear, the Mute Speak
31 (X)And again He went out from the region of (Y)Tyre, and came through Sidon to (Z)the Sea of Galilee, within the region of the (AA)Decapolis. 32 And they *brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they *pleaded with Him to (AB)lay His hand on him. 33 (AC)And Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after (AD)spitting, He touched his tongue; 34 and looking up to heaven with a (AE)sigh, He *said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” 35 And his ears were opened, and the [o]impediment of his tongue [p]was removed, and he began speaking plainly. 36 And (AF)He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He was ordering them, the more widely they (AG)continued to proclaim it. 37 And they were utterly astonished, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”
Jesus Feeds Four Thousand
8 In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, (AH)Jesus called His disciples and *said to them, 2 “(AI)I feel compassion for the crowd because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance.” 4 And His disciples answered Him, “Where will anyone be able to find enough [q]bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?” 5 And He was asking them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.” 6 And He *directed the crowd to [r]sit down on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks and broke them. And He kept giving them to His disciples to [s]serve to them, and they served them to the crowd. 7 And they also had a few small fish; and (AJ)after He blessed them, He ordered these to be [t]served as well. 8 And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large (AK)baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces. 9 Now about four thousand were there, and He sent them away. 10 And immediately He entered the boat with His disciples and came to the district of (AL)Dalmanutha.
11 (AM)And the Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, (AN)seeking from Him [u]a sign from heaven, testing Him. 12 (AO)And sighing deeply [v]in His spirit, He *said, “Why does this generation seek [w]a sign? Truly I say to you, [x](AP)no [y]sign will be given to this generation.” 13 And leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side.
14 And they had forgotten to take bread, and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them. 15 And He was giving orders to them, saying, “(AQ)Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of (AR)Herod.” 16 And they began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread. 17 And Jesus, aware of this, *said to them, “Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? (AS)Do you not yet perceive or understand? Do you have a hardened heart? 18 (AT)Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember, 19 when I broke (AU)the five loaves for the five thousand, how many (AV)baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They *said to Him, “Twelve.” 20 “When I broke (AW)the seven for the four thousand, how many large (AX)baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they *said to Him, “Seven.” 21 And He was saying to them, “(AY)Do you not yet understand?”
22 And they *came to (AZ)Bethsaida. And they *brought a blind man to Jesus and *pleaded with Him to (BA)touch him. 23 And taking the blind man by the hand, He (BB)brought him out of the village; and after (BC)spitting on his eyes and (BD)laying His hands on him, He was asking him, “Do you see anything?” 24 And he [z]looked up and was saying, “I see men, for [aa]I see them like trees, walking around.” 25 Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly. 26 And He sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter (BE)the village.”
Peter Confesses Jesus Is the Christ
27 (BF)And Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of (BG)Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He was asking His disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 (BH)And they told Him, saying, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.” 29 And He continued asking them, “But who do you say that I am?” (BI)Peter *answered and *said to Him, “You are the [ab]Christ.” 30 And (BJ)He [ac]warned them to tell no one about Him.
31 (BK)And He began to teach them that (BL)the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And He was stating the matter (BM)openly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and *said, “Get behind Me, (BN)Satan! For you are not setting your mind on [ad]God’s interests, but man’s.”
Take Up Your Cross
34 And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to [ae]come after Me, he must deny himself, and (BO)take up his cross and follow Me. 35 For (BP)whoever wishes to save his [af]life will lose it, but whoever loses his [ag]life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? 37 For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 For (BQ)whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, (BR)the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He (BS)comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
The Transfiguration
9 And Jesus was saying to them, “(BT)Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God having come in power.”
2 (BU)And six days later, Jesus *took with Him (BV)Peter and James and John, and *brought them up on a high mountain alone by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; 3 and (BW)His garments were shining intensely white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them. 4 And Elijah appeared to them along with Moses and they were conversing with Jesus. 5 And Peter answered and *said to Jesus, “(BX)Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; (BY)let us make three [ah]booths, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified. 7 Then a cloud [ai]formed, overshadowing them, and (BZ)a voice [aj]came out of the cloud, “(CA)This is My beloved Son, [ak]listen to Him!” 8 And all at once when they looked around, they saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone.
9 (CB)And as they were coming down from the mountain, He (CC)gave them orders not to recount to anyone what they had seen, [al]until the Son of Man rose from the dead. 10 And they [am]seized upon [an]that statement, arguing with one another [ao]what rising from the dead meant. 11 And they began asking Him, saying, “Why is it that the scribes say that (CD)Elijah must come first?” 12 And He said to them, “Elijah does first come and restore all things. And yet how is it written of (CE)the Son of Man that (CF)He will suffer many things and be treated with contempt? 13 But I say to you that Elijah has [ap]indeed come, and they did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written of him.”
I Believe, Help My Unbelief
14 (CG)And when they came back to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. 15 And immediately, when the entire crowd saw Him, they were (CH)amazed. And as they ran up, they were greeting Him. 16 And He asked them, “What are you arguing with them?” 17 And one of the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; 18 and [aq]whenever it seizes him, it [ar]slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and [as]becomes rigid. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.” 19 And He *answered them and *said, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!” 20 And they brought [at]the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around, foaming at the mouth. 21 And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 And it has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” 23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ (CI)All things are possible to him who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father cried out and was saying, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” 25 Now when Jesus saw that (CJ)a crowd was [au]rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, [av]I command you, come out of him and do not enter him [aw]again.” 26 And after crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, “He is dead!” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he stood up. 28 And when He came (CK)into the house, His disciples began questioning Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 And He said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.”
Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection
30 (CL)From there they went out and were going through Galilee, and He was not wanting anyone to know about it. 31 For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “(CM)The Son of Man is to be [ax]delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise again three days later.” 32 But (CN)they [ay]did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him.
33 (CO)And they came to Capernaum; and when He [az]was in (CP)the house, He began to question them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the way (CQ)they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest. 35 And sitting down, He called the twelve and *said to them, “(CR)If anyone wants to be first, [ba]he shall be last of all and servant of all.” 36 And taking a child, He set him [bb]before them. And taking him in His arms, He said to them, 37 “(CS)Whoever receives [bc]one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me.”
Warnings About Discipleship
38 (CT)John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and (CU)we tried to hinder him because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. 40 (CV)For he who is not against us is [bd]for us. 41 For (CW)whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name because you are of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.
42 “(CX)And whoever causes one of these [be]little ones who believe to stumble, it [bf]would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he [bg]had been cast into the sea. 43 (CY)And if your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into [bh](CZ)hell, into the (DA)unquenchable fire, 44 [bi][and where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.] 45 And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into [bj](DB)hell, 46 [bk][and where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.] 47 (DC)And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into [bl](DD)hell, 48 (DE)where their worm does not die, and (DF)the fire is not quenched.
49 “For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good; but (DG)if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you [bm]make it salty again? (DH)Have salt in yourselves, and (DI)be at peace with one another.”
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