Daily Gospel Plan

¹After He had finished all that He had to say in the hearing of the people, He went to Capernaum.

²Now a [Roman] centurion's slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and on the verge of death.

³When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to Him, asking Him to come and save the life of his slave.

⁴When they reached Jesus, they pleaded with Him earnestly [to come], saying, "He is worthy for You to do this for him,

⁵because he loves our nation and he built us our synagogue [at his own expense]."

⁶And Jesus went with them. But when He was near the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying, "Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof.

⁷Therefore I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You. But just speak a word, and my slave will be healed.

⁸For I also am a man subject to authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it."

⁹Now when Jesus heard this, He was amazed at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, "I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith [as this man's]."

¹⁰When the messengers who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

¹¹Soon afterward Jesus went to a city called Nain [near Nazareth], and His disciples and a large crowd accompanied Him.

¹²Now as He approached the city gate, a dead man was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her [in the funeral procession].

¹³When the Lord saw her, He felt [great] compassion for her, and said to her, "Do not weep."

¹⁴And He came up and touched the bier [on which the body rested], and the pallbearers stood still. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise [from death]!"

¹⁵The man who was dead sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother.

¹⁶Fear and profound awe gripped them all, and they began glorifying and honoring and praising God, saying, "A great prophet has arisen among us!" and, "God has visited His people [to help and care for and provide for them]!"

¹⁷This news about Him spread through all of Judea and in all the surrounding countryside.

¹⁸John's disciples brought word to him [in prison] of all these things.

¹⁹John called two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord, saying, "Are You the Expected One (the Messiah), or should we look for someone else?"

²⁰So the men came to Jesus and said, "John the Baptist sent us to You to ask, 'Are You the Expected One (the Messiah), or should we look for someone else?'"

²¹At that very hour Jesus healed many people of sicknesses and infirmities and evil spirits; and He gave [the gracious gift of] sight to many who were blind.

²²So He replied to them, "Go and tell John about everything you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the good news (gospel) preached to them.

²³Blessed [joyful, spiritually favored] is he who does not take offense at Me."

²⁴When John's messengers left, Jesus began speaking to the crowds about John: "What did you go out to the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

²⁵But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing [entirely unsuited for the harsh wilderness]? Those who wear splendid clothing and live in luxury are in royal palaces!

²⁶But what did you [really] go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and one far more [eminent and remarkable] than a prophet [who foretells the future].

²⁷This is the one of whom it is written [by the prophet Malachi], 'Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You, Who will prepare Your way before You.'

²⁸I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater [in privilege] than he."

²⁹All the people and the tax collectors who heard Jesus, acknowledged [the validity of] God's justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John.

³⁰But the Pharisees and the lawyers [who were experts in the Mosaic Law] annulled and set aside God's purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.

³¹"To what then shall I compare the people of this generation [who set aside God's plan], and what are they like?

³²They are like children sitting in the market place and calling to one another, and saying, 'We played the flute for you [pretending to be at a wedding], and you did not dance; we sang a dirge [pretending to be at a funeral], and you did not weep [so nothing we did appealed to you].'

³³For John the Baptist has come neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon!'

³⁴The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look, a man who is a glutton and a [heavy] wine-drinker, a friend of tax collectors and sinners [including non-observant Jews].'

³⁵Yet wisdom is vindicated and shown to be right by all her children [by the lifestyle, moral character, and good deeds of her followers]."

³⁶One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and He went into the Pharisee's house [in the region of Galilee] and reclined at the table.

³⁷Now there was a woman in the city who was [known as] a sinner; and when she found out that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume;

³⁸and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began wetting His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and [respectfully] kissed His feet [as an act signifying both affection and submission] and anointed them with the perfume.

³⁹Now when [Simon] the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, "If this Man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching Him, that she is a [notorious] sinner [an outcast, devoted to sin]."

⁴⁰Jesus, answering, said to the Pharisee, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And he replied, "Teacher, say it."

⁴¹"A certain moneylender had two debtors: one owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.

⁴²When they had no means of repaying [the debts], he freely forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?"

⁴³Simon answered, "The one, I take it, for whom he forgave more." Jesus said to him, "You have decided correctly."

⁴⁴Then turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house [but you failed to extend to Me the usual courtesies shown to a guest]; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair [demonstrating her love].

⁴⁵You gave Me no [welcoming] kiss, but from the moment I came in, she has not ceased to kiss My feet.

⁴⁶You did not [even] anoint My head with [ordinary] oil, but she has anointed My feet with [costly and rare] perfume.

⁴⁷Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little."

⁴⁸Then He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."

⁴⁹Those who were reclining at the table with Him began saying among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"

⁵⁰Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith [in Me] has saved you; go in peace [free from the distress experienced because of sin]."

¹Soon afterward, Jesus began going around from one city and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve [disciples] were with Him,

²and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and diseases: Mary, called Magdalene [from the city of Magdala in Galilee], from whom seven demons had come out,

³and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household steward, and Susanna, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means [as was the custom for a rabbi's disciples].

⁴When a large crowd was gathering together, and people from city after city were coming to Him, He spoke [to them] using a parable:

⁵"The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road and it was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the sky ate it up.

⁶And some seed fell on [shallow soil covering] the rocks, and as soon as it sprouted, it withered away, because it had no moisture.

⁷Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out.

⁸And some fell into good soil, and grew up and produced a crop a hundred times as great." As He said these things, He called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear and heed My words."

⁹Now His disciples began asking Him what this parable meant.

¹⁰And He said, "To you [who have been chosen] it has been granted to know and recognize the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that though seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.

¹¹"Now [the meaning of] the parable is this: The seed is the word of God [concerning eternal salvation].

¹²Those beside the road are the people who have heard; then the devil comes and takes the message [of God] away from their hearts, so that they will not believe [in Me as the Messiah] and be saved.

¹³Those on the rocky soil are the people who, when they hear, receive and welcome the word with joy; but these have no firmly grounded root. They believe for a while, and in time of trial and temptation they fall away [from Me and abandon their faith].

¹⁴The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, but as they go on their way they are suffocated with the anxieties and riches and pleasures of this life, and they bring no fruit to maturity.

¹⁵But as for that seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word with a good and noble heart, and hold on to it tightly, and bear fruit with patience.

¹⁶"Now no one lights a lamp and then covers it with a container [to hide it], or puts it under a bed; instead, he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light.

¹⁷For there is nothing hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come out into the open.

¹⁸So be careful how you listen; for whoever has [a teachable heart], to him more [understanding] will be given; and whoever does not have [a longing for truth], even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him."

¹⁹Then Jesus' mother and His brothers came up toward Him, but they could not reach Him because of the crowd.

²⁰And He was told, "Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, asking to see You."

²¹But He answered, "My mother and My brothers are these who listen to the word of God and do it!"

²²Now on one of those days Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the lake (Sea of Galilee)." So they set out.

²³But as they were sailing, He fell asleep. And a fierce gale of wind swept down [as if through a wind tunnel] on the lake, and they began to be swamped, and were in great danger.

²⁴They came to Jesus and woke Him, saying, "Master, Master, we are about to die!" He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging, violent waves, and they ceased, and it became calm [a perfect peacefulness].

²⁵And He said to them, "Where is your faith [your confidence in Me]?" They were afraid and astonished, saying to one another, "Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the sea, and they obey Him?"

²⁶Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is east of Galilee.

²⁷Now when Jesus stepped out on land, He was met by a man from the city [of Gerasa] who was possessed with demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and was not living in a house, but among the tombs.

²⁸Seeing Jesus, he cried out [with a terrible voice from the depths of his throat] and fell down before Him [in dread and terror], and shouted loudly, " What business do we have [in common] with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me [before the appointed time of judgment]!"

²⁹Now He was [already] commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him [violently] many times; and he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.

³⁰Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" And he answered, "Legion"; because many demons had entered him.

³¹They continually begged Him not to command them to go into the abyss.

³²Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the mountain. The demons begged Jesus to allow them to enter the pigs, and He gave them permission.

³³Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

³⁴When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and told it in the city and out in the country.

³⁵And people came out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus' feet, clothed and in his right mind (mentally healthy); and they were frightened.

³⁶Those who had seen it told them how the man who had been demon-possessed had been healed.

³⁷Then all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to leave them, because they were overwhelmed with fear. So Jesus got into the boat and returned [to the west side of the Sea of Galilee].

³⁸But the man from whom the demons had gone out kept begging Him, pleading to go with Him; but Jesus sent him away, saying,

³⁹"Return home and tell [about] all the great things God has done for you." So the man went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

⁴⁰Now as Jesus was returning [to Galilee], the people welcomed Him, for they had all been expecting Him.

⁴¹Now a man named Jairus, a synagogue official, came [to Him]; and he fell at Jesus' feet and began begging Him to come to his house;

⁴²for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as Jesus went, the people were crowding against Him [almost crushing Him].

⁴³And a woman who had [suffered from] a hemorrhage for twelve years[and had spent all her money on physicians], and could not be healed by anyone,

⁴⁴came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His outer robe, and immediately her bleeding stopped.

⁴⁵Jesus said, "Who touched Me?" While they all were denying it, Peter[and those who were with him] said, "Master, the people are crowding and pushing against You!"

⁴⁶But Jesus said, "Someone did touch Me, because I was aware that power [to heal] had gone out of Me."

⁴⁷When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came up trembling and fell down before Him. She declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed.

⁴⁸He said to her, "Daughter, your faith [your personal trust and confidence in Me] has made you well. Go in peace (untroubled, undisturbed well-being)."

⁴⁹While He was still speaking, someone from the synagogue official's house came and said [to Jairus], "Your daughter is dead; do not inconvenience the Teacher any further."

⁵⁰But Jesus, hearing this, answered him, "Do not be afraid any longer; only believe and trust [in Me and have faith in My ability to do this], and she will be made well."

⁵¹When He came to the house, He allowed no one to enter with Him, except Peter and John and James, and the girl's father and mother.

⁵²Now they were all weeping loudly and mourning for her; but He said, "Do not weep, for she is not dead, but is sleeping."

⁵³Then they began laughing scornfully at Him and ridiculing Him, knowing [without any doubt] that she was dead.

⁵⁴But Jesus took hold of her hand and spoke, saying, "Child, arise!"

⁵⁵And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He ordered that she be given something to eat.

⁵⁶Her parents were greatly astonished [by the miracle]; but He instructed them to tell no one what had happened.