New Testament Plan

¹On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret,

²and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.

³Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

⁴And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

⁵And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”

⁶And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking.

⁷They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

⁸But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

⁹For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken,

¹⁰and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”

¹¹And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

¹²While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”

¹³And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him.

¹⁴And he charged him to tell no one, but “go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”

¹⁵But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities.

¹⁶But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.

¹⁷On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal.

¹⁸And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus,

¹⁹but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus.

²⁰And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”

²¹And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

²²When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts?

²³Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?

²⁴But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” — he said to the man who was paralyzed — “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.”

²⁵And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God.

²⁶And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”

²⁷After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.”

²⁸And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.

²⁹And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them.

³⁰And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

³¹And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.

³² I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

³³And they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.”

³⁴And Jesus said to them, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?

³⁵ The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.”

³⁶He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old.

³⁷And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed.

³⁸But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.

³⁹And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’”

¹On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands.

²But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?”

³And Jesus answered them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:

⁴how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?”

⁵And he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

⁶On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered.

⁷And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him.

⁸But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there.

⁹And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?”

¹⁰And after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored.

¹¹But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

¹²In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.

¹³And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles:

¹⁴Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew,

¹⁵and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot,

¹⁶and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

¹⁷And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon,

¹⁸who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.

¹⁹And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.

²⁰And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

²¹ “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

²²“Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!

²³ Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.

²⁴ “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.

²⁵“Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

²⁶“Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.

²⁷“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

²⁹ To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either.

³⁰ Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back.

³¹And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

³² “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

³³And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

³⁴And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount.

³⁵But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

³⁶ Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

³⁷ “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;

³⁸ give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

³⁹He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?

⁴⁰ A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.

⁴¹ Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

⁴²How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.

⁴³“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit,

⁴⁴for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.

⁴⁵ The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

⁴⁶ “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

⁴⁷ Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like:

⁴⁸he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.

⁴⁹ But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

¹After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.

²Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him.

³When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant.

⁴And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him,

⁵for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.”

⁶And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.

⁷Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed.

⁸For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

⁹When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”

¹⁰And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.

¹¹Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him.

¹²As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her.

¹³And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”

¹⁴Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”

¹⁵And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

¹⁶Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!”

¹⁷And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

¹⁸The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John,

¹⁹calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

²⁰And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’”

²¹In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight.

²²And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.

²³And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

²⁴When John's messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

²⁵What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings' courts.

²⁶What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.

²⁷This is he of whom it is written, “‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’

²⁸I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

²⁹(When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John,

³⁰but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)

³¹“To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like?

³²They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’

³³For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’

³⁴The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’

³⁵Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.”

³⁶One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table.

³⁷And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment,

³⁸and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.

³⁹Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.”

⁴⁰And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”

⁴¹“A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.

⁴² When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

⁴³Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.”

⁴⁴Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

⁴⁵ You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet.

⁴⁶ You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.

⁴⁷Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven — for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

⁴⁸And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

⁴⁹Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”

⁵⁰And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”