Then Herod secretly called the wise men, and learned from them exactly what time the star appeared.
Don’t think to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
He opened his mouth and taught them, saying,
Neither do you light a lamp, and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the house.
“Don’t think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill.
For most certainly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished.
“Again you have heard that it was said to them of old time, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall perform to the Lord your vows,’ Numbers 30:2; Deuteronomy 23:21; Ecclesiastes 5:4
but I tell you, don’t swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God;
nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
Neither shall you swear by your head, for you can’t make one hair white or black.
But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No.’ Whatever is more than these is of the evil one.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light.
But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye?
Or how will you tell your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye;’ and behold, the beam is in your own eye?
You hypocrite! First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.
“Don’t give that which is holy to the dogs, neither throw your pearls before the pigs, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.
By their fruits you will know them. Do you gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?
Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’
“Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house on a rock.
Everyone who hears these words of mine, and doesn’t do them will be like a foolish man, who built his house on the sand.
for he taught them with authority, and not like the scribes.
Neither do people put new wine into old wine skins, or else the skins would burst, and the wine be spilled, and the skins ruined. No, they put new wine into fresh wine skins, and both are preserved.”
Therefore don’t be afraid of them, for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed; and hidden that will not be known.
What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in the ear, proclaim on the housetops.
Everyone therefore who confesses me before men, him I will also confess before my Father who is in heaven.
But whoever denies me before men, him I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven.
“Don’t think that I came to send peace on the earth. I didn’t come to send peace, but a sword.
But why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet.
At that time, Jesus answered, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from the wise and understanding, and revealed them to infants.
Yes, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in your sight.
All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows the Son, except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and he to whom the Son desires to reveal him.
But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ Hosea 6:6 you wouldn’t have condemned the guiltless.
“Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit.
You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet.
The queen of the south will rise up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, someone greater than Solomon is here.
He answered them, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them.
Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they don’t see, and hearing, they don’t hear, neither do they understand.
In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, ‘By hearing you will hear, and will in no way understand; Seeing you will see, and will in no way perceive:
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.” Psalm 78:2
For Herod had laid hold of John, and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife.
For John said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”
Those who were in the boat came and worshiped him, saying, “You are truly the Son of God!”
He answered them, “Why do you also disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition?
he shall not honor his father or mother.’ You have made the commandment of God void because of your tradition.
You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,
And in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrine rules made by men.’” Isaiah 29:13
That which enters into the mouth doesn’t defile the man; but that which proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”
Then the disciples came, and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended, when they heard this saying?”
But he answered, “Every plant which my heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted.
Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind. If the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing him, asked him to show them a sign from heaven.
In the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but you can’t discern the signs of the times!
Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
Then they understood that he didn’t tell them to beware of the yeast of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
Then he commanded the disciples that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ.
As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Don’t tell anyone what you saw, until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.”
His disciples asked him, saying, “Then why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
He said, “Yes.” When he came into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth receive toll or tribute? From their children, or from strangers?”
“If your brother sins against you, go, show him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained back your brother.
But if he doesn’t listen, take one or two more with you, that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. Deuteronomy 19:15
Pharisees came to him, testing him, and saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?”
He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it has not been so.
He said to him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder.’ ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ‘You shall not steal.’ ‘You shall not offer false testimony.’
“But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Didn’t you agree with me for a denarius?
Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, which if you tell me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things.
The baptism of John, where was it from? From heaven or from men?” They reasoned with themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’
But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all hold John as a prophet.”
They answered Jesus, and said, “We don’t know.” He also said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
He came to the second, and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I’ m going, sir,’ but he didn’t go.
Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Most certainly I tell you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering into God’s Kingdom before you.
When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he spoke about them.
Jesus answered and spoke to them again in parables, saying,
Then the Pharisees went and took counsel how they might entrap him in his talk.
They sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are honest, and teach the way of God in truth, no matter whom you teach, for you aren’t partial to anyone.
Tell us therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test me, you hypocrites?
He asked them, “Whose is this image and inscription?”
They said to him, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
When they heard it, they marveled, and left him, and went away.
One of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, testing him.
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?”
Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question,
“If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?”
No one was able to answer him a word, neither did any man dare ask him any more questions from that day forward.
saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees sat on Moses’ seat.
All things therefore whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do, but don’t do their works; for they say, and don’t do.
“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men; for you don’t enter in yourselves, neither do you allow those who are entering in to enter.
“Woe to you, you blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated.’
You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold?
‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obligated?’
He therefore who swears by the altar, swears by it, and by everything on it.












