Matthew tells us the Good News about Jesus
An EasyEnglish Version with Notes (1200 word vocabulary) of the Gospel of Matthew
Ruth Davies and Shirley Chapman
This translated Bible text has been through Advanced Checking.
Words in boxes are comments on the text.
A word list at the end explains words with a star * by them.
A man called Matthew wrote this book at some time between the years *AD 59 and *AD 70. Matthew was a *Jew and he was sometimes called Levi. He received *taxes for the government before he became a *disciple of Jesus. He may have written his book when he was living in *Israel. But he may have written it when he was living in Antioch. Antioch is a city in the country called Syria. Matthew wrote the book in the *Greek language. He wrote it for *Jews who understood *Greek. In his book, Matthew wrote many things about the messages that God’s *prophets had written a long time ago. The *Jews who read Matthew’s book would know all about these things.
Matthew tells us the Good News about the *Kingdom of God. He tells us about the birth of Jesus and how he lived. He tells us how Jesus died. He tells us how he went to live with God again. He also tells us who Jesus is. And he tells us why he came to live in the world. Matthew explained the things that Jesus taught the people. And he tells us about many things that Jesus did.
The *Jews were waiting for God to send a special person to them. They called this person the Messiah. God had promised to send him. It means the person whom God sent to save people from *punishment. He would also be the king of the *Jews. He is the only person who can put us right with God. In the *Greek language, the special person was called Christ. Matthew knew that Jesus was that special person. He wanted other people also to know this.
Matthew wrote his book in 8 parts:
1:1 – 2:23 what happened when Jesus was born.
3:1 – 4:11 what happened when Jesus began his work.
4:12 – 14:12 what happened when Jesus was working in Galilee.
14:13 – 17:21 what happened when Jesus went to other places in the north of *Israel.
17:22 – 18:35 what happened when Jesus returned to Galilee.
19:1 - 20:34 what happened when Jesus taught the people in Judea and Perea.
21:1 – 27:66 what happened in the city called Jerusalem in the last week of Jesus’ life.
28:1 – 28:20 people see Jesus alive again after he died.
(Galilee, Judea and Perea were all different parts of the country called *Israel.)
v1 These are the names of people in the family of Jesus Christ. Jesus was in the family of King David. David was in the family of Abraham.
Jesus was a *Jew. Abraham was the *ancestor of all the *Jews. The *Jews are also called *Israel, and they called their country *Israel. We can read about Abraham in the book called Genesis 12-25. We can read about King David in the books called 1 Samuel (chapters 16-31) and 2 Samuel.
v2 Abraham was the father of Isaac.
Isaac was the father of Jacob.
Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers.
v3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah. Their mother was called Tamar.
Perez was the father of Hezron.
Hezron was the father of Ram.
v4 Ram was the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab was the father of Nahshon.
Nahshon was the father of Salmon.
v5 Salmon was the father of Boaz (his mother was called Rahab).
Boaz was the father of Obed (his mother was called Ruth).
Obed was the father of Jesse.
v6 Jesse was the father of King David.
David was Solomon’s father. Solomon’s mother was the wife of Uriah.
v7 Solomon was the father of Rehoboam.
Rehoboam was the father of Abijah.
Abijah was the father of Asa.
v8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat.
Jehoshaphat was the father of Jehoram.
Jehoram was the father of Uzziah.
v9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham.
Jotham was the father of Ahaz.
Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah.
v10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh.
Manasseh was the father of Amon.
Amon was the father of Josiah.
Josiah was the father of Jeconiah and his brothers.
v11 This was when soldiers from Babylon took the *Jews away to Babylon.
v12 Here is a list of the people who lived after that time:
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel.
Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel.
v13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud.
Abiud was the father of Eliakim.
Eliakim was the father of Azor.
v14 Azor was the father of Zadok.
Zadok was the father of Akim.
Akim was the father of Eliud.
v15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar was the father of Matthan.
Matthan was the father of Jacob.
v16 Jacob was the father of Joseph.
Joseph married Mary. Mary was the mother of Jesus Christ. Jesus was the special person that God sent to save his people.
v17 So then, there were 14 generations from Abraham to David. There were 14 generations from David to the time the *Jews went to Babylon. There were 14 generations from then until Jesus was born.
A generation was a single step down from one *ancestor to the next. They usually counted from a father to his oldest son. The names of all their *ancestors were very important to the *Jews. Everybody knew the names of the people in their family. Then they knew that they were *Jews. The list shows that Jesus was in the same family as Abraham, Judah, Joshua and David. They were his *ancestors. Matthew records Jesus’ *ancestors until Joseph. Jesus was Mary’s son, but he was not Joseph’s son. Matthew explains this in the next few verses. But, when Joseph married Mary, he became the father of Jesus by the *law.
v18 Now this is how Jesus Christ was born. His mother’s name was Mary. She had promised to marry a man called Joseph. Then she discovered that a baby was growing inside her. This happened before she married Joseph. The powerful *Holy Spirit had caused this to happen to her. v19 Joseph always wanted to do what was right. He did not want everyone to know about Mary’s baby. He did not want her to be ashamed. So he had a plan to stop the marriage secretly.
Joseph thought that Mary had had sex with another man. When two *Jewish people promised to marry, it was not easy to stop the marriage. Joseph could have told people in a public place that Mary had done something wrong. This would stop the marriage. The *law said that they should then kill Mary. Another way was to tell only two people. Joseph wanted to choose the second way.
v20 Joseph thought about what to do. Then an *angel came from God to see him. While he was dreaming, the *angel said, ‘Joseph, you who are from the family of King David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. The baby that is growing inside her is from God’s *Holy Spirit. v21 Mary’s baby will be a boy. He will save his people from the wrong things that they have done. Because of this, you must name him Jesus.’
Jesus saves people from God’s *punishment for the wrong things that they have done. He also helps people to be better people.
v22 Many years before, God had spoken to one of his *prophets about this. Now God’s words would soon become true. The *prophet called Isaiah had said, v23 ‘There will be a young woman who has never had sex. A baby boy will grow inside her. People will call him Immanuel [Isaiah 7.4]. This name means “God is with us”.’
v24 Then Joseph woke up from his sleep. He did what God’s *angel had asked him to do. He married Mary. v25 Joseph did not have sex with Mary before the baby boy was born. Joseph said that the baby should be called Jesus.
v1 Jesus was born in the town called Bethlehem in Judea. At that time, King Herod ruled Judea. Soon after Jesus was born, some clever men came from the east to Jerusalem.
This Herod was called Herod the Great. He was king in Judea during the years from 37 BC to 4 BC. (BC means Before Christ.) Judea was a part of the country called *Israel.
v2 The men arrived in Jerusalem and they asked people, ‘Where is the baby who was born a short time ago as the King of the *Jews? We ask because we saw a special star. This star rose in the east. We knew about the baby king when we saw this star. We want to bend our knees in front of him. We want to tell him how great and important he is.’
v3 Herod heard what the men were saying. And he became *anxious. Many people in Jerusalem were also *anxious. v4 Then Herod asked all the leaders of the *priests and the teachers of the *Law to meet with him. He asked them, ‘God promised to send a special person. Where will that special person be born?’ v5 Then the leaders of the *priests and the teachers of the *Law replied, ‘The special person will be born in Bethlehem in Judea. This is what the *prophet wrote about Bethlehem.
v6 “God said:
People in Bethlehem,
your town is one of the most important towns in Judea.
A person born in your town will rule my people *Israel. He will guide my people.” ’ [Micah 5:2]
v7 Herod listened to all these things. So he asked the visitors to meet with him by himself. Herod asked them some questions. And he discovered the time that the star had appeared. v8 Then Herod sent the men to Bethlehem. ‘Go and look everywhere for this child’, he said. ‘And when you find him, come back here. Then you can tell me where he is. After that, I can also bend my knees in front of him. I can tell him how great and important he is.’
v9 After the men had heard the king, they continued their journey. While they were travelling, the same star appeared again. v10 The star moved along in front of them. Then it stopped above the place where the child was staying. The men were very happy when they saw the star. v11 They went into the house and they saw the child. He was with Mary, his mother. They went down on their knees in front of the child. They said to him, ‘You are very great and important.’ Then they opened their bags. They took out valuable gifts and they gave them to the child. The gifts were gold, incense called frankincense and myrrh. v12 God said to them in a dream, ‘Do not go back to see Herod.’ So the men returned to their own country by a different road.
Gold is a very valuable metal. People would give gold to a king. Incense makes a sweet smell when it burns. Myrrh was an expensive medicine.
v13 That night, after the men had gone away, Joseph had a dream. He saw one of God’s *angels who said to him, ‘Herod will be looking for the child, so that his soldiers can kill him. You must get up and take the child and his mother with you. Go immediately to the country called Egypt. You will all be safe there. I will tell you when you can leave. You must remain there until then.’
v14 So Joseph got up and he took the child and the child’s mother with him. They started on the journey to Egypt that same night. v15 They all remained in Egypt until Herod died. This happened to cause the words of the *prophet to become true. God had said by the *prophet, ‘I have brought my son out of Egypt.’ [Hosea 11:1]
v16 Then Herod understood that his visitors from the east would not return to him. He was very angry. He sent his soldiers to Bethlehem. He said to them, ‘Kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem. Kill those boys also who live near there. Kill all those who are not more than 2 years old.’ The visitors had told Herod that they had first seen the star 2 years ago. So he chose to kill the baby boys of that age. v17 In this way, the words that Jeremiah the *prophet spoke became true.
v18 He had said,
‘People heard a noise in the town called Ramah.
They heard someone weeping with a loud voice.
It is Rachel and she is crying for her children.
Her children are dead,
So nobody can help her to feel better.’ [Jeremiah 31:15]
v19 After Herod died, Joseph saw one of God’s *angels in a dream. v20 ‘Get up’, said the *angel. ‘The people who wanted to kill the child are dead. Take the child and his mother. You can return with them to *Israel.’
v21 So Joseph got up. He took the child and the child’s mother and they travelled to *Israel. v22 But then, Joseph heard that Archelaus, Herod’s son, was now king of Judea. So Joseph was afraid to go to Judea. Joseph had another dream. An *angel explained to him what to do. ‘Go to Galilee instead’, he said. v23 Joseph made his home in a town called Nazareth. So what the *prophets had said became true. ‘He will be called a person from Nazareth.’
v1 Some years later, a man called John the *Baptist went to the *desert in Judea. He began to tell people a message from God.
v2 John said, ‘Stop doing wrong things. Say sorry to God and obey him. You must do this because the *Kingdom of heaven is coming soon.’
A *kingdom is the place where a king rules. The *Kingdom of God is where God rules. Matthew used *Kingdom of heaven in his book. Heaven is God’s home. The *Jews did not speak God’s name because he is so much greater than everyone else.
v3 John the *Baptist is the man that the *prophet Isaiah spoke about. Isaiah said,
‘You will hear someone shouting in the *desert these words:
“The *Lord is coming, so prepare a road for him to travel on.
Make the path straight.” ’ [Isaiah 40:3]
Isaiah was telling people about a man called John. John told the people to get ready for King Jesus to come. People mend roads before a king travels along them. Isaiah is using this as a picture. It helped the people to understand how to prepare themselves for Jesus.
v4 Now John always wore a coat that he had made out of hair from a camel. He also wore a leather belt. His usual food was large insects and honey from the *desert.
Judea was part of *Israel. A camel is a large animal that lives in the *desert. It can carry heavy things on its back like a horse. The insects that John ate were called locusts. An insect called a bee makes honey. It is sweet like sugar.
v5 Many of the people went to listen to John. They lived in Jerusalem and Judea and all the other places near the river Jordan. v6 The people told God about all the wrong things that they had done. Then John *baptised the people in the river Jordan.
John *baptised people who wanted to stop doing wrong things. These people told God that they were sorry. They were sorry about the wrong things that they had done. God then *forgave them.
v7 Many *Pharisees and *Sadducees came to John. They wanted John to *baptise them. He said to them, ‘You are like dangerous snakes. You are trying to run away from God because he is angry with you. He will soon *punish people who do wrong things. v8 Stop doing the things that God does not like. Do things to show God that you are sorry. v9 Do not say to yourselves, “We are in the family of Abraham. So God will not *punish us.” Listen! God can make children for Abraham out of these stones! v10 You are like trees. God has an axe ready at the lowest part of the trees. He will cut down every tree that does not make good fruit. He will throw these trees into the fire.’
The *Pharisees were a group of *Jews. They thought that they obeyed all God’s rules. They thought that they did not do any wrong things. *Sadducees were an important group of *Jewish leaders at the time of Jesus.
v11 ‘I *baptise you with water. This shows God that you are sorry. You are sorry about the wrong things that you have done. It shows him that you now want to obey his rules. But a person is coming soon. He is more important than I am. I am not at all good like he is. I am no good even to carry his shoes for him. He will *baptise you with the *Holy Spirit and he will *baptise you with fire. v12 He is like a farmer with a special tool in his hand. A farmer throws the *wheat up in the air with this tool. He does this to remove the dry hard part that is outside of the seed. He cannot use this hard part for anything, so he burns it in a fire. Nobody can put out this fire. But he will put the seeds in a building to keep them safe.’
Jesus is the important person who is coming. John is using a story to teach the people about the work that Jesus will do.
v13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the river Jordan. He wanted John to *baptise him. v14 But John did not want to *baptise Jesus. He said to Jesus, ‘I should come to you instead, and then you can *baptise me. But you are asking me to *baptise you.’
v15 Jesus replied, ‘This time, do what I ask you. God wants you to *baptise me. And we must do everything that is proper.’ So John did what Jesus asked him to do.
v16 When John *baptised him, Jesus came up out of the water. Then God opened the sky and Jesus saw God’s Spirit coming down. He came down like a bird, which sat on Jesus. v17 Then Jesus heard a voice in the sky. ‘This man is my Son. I love him and he makes me very happy.’
v1 God’s Spirit led Jesus into the *desert. Here the *devil tried to cause Jesus to do wrong things.
The *devil is a bad *angel. He was once a good *angel but he refused to obey God. Now he is the leader of all the bad *spirits. He is also called *Satan. He tries to cause people to do wrong things. Jesus was alone when the *devil came to him. He told his friends about it later.
v2 Jesus did not eat anything for 40 days and 40 nights. He was very hungry at the end of this time. v3 Then the *devil came to Jesus and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, you can talk to these stones. Tell the stones that they must become bread.’
v4 But Jesus answered the *devil, ‘Moses wrote this in God’s book. “People need more than bread to really live. They need to hear every word that God speaks. Then they can really live.” ’ [Deuteronomy 8:3]
Jesus was very hungry. The *devil knew that Jesus could make stones become bread. He also knew that Jesus was God’s Son. God had not told Jesus to make bread, so he did not obey the *devil. Jesus used God’s word from Deuteronomy 8:3 to answer the *devil.
v5 Then the *devil led Jesus to Jerusalem. He took Jesus to stand on the highest point of God’s Great House. v6 He said to Jesus, ‘If you are God’s Son, jump down from here to the ground. Someone wrote in God’s book,
“God will ask his *angels to take *care of you.
They will hold you in their hands while you fall. And so you will be safe.
They will not even let you hurt your feet on a stone”.’ [Psalm 91:11-12]
The *devil was using the words from God’s book. But the *devil was using the words in the wrong way.
v7 Jesus answered the *devil, ‘Moses also wrote in God’s book. “You must not do something dangerous to see if God will save you”.’ [Deuteronomy 6.16]
Jesus was remembering God’s words in Deuteronomy. Jesus was standing on the highest part of God’s Great House. This place was 600 metres above the ground. God had not told Jesus to jump down. We must not do dangerous things if we do not need to. We must obey God. Then he will take *care of us.
v8 Then the *devil led Jesus up a very high mountain. He showed Jesus all the countries in the whole world. They were all very great and beautiful. v9 ‘I will give you everything that you can see’, said the *devil. ‘Go down on your knees in front of me. Say that I am great and important and beautiful. And I will give it all to you.’
v10 Jesus then said to him, ‘Go away. Moses also wrote this in God’s book. “We must only go down on our knees in front of God. We must only tell him, ‘You are great and important’. We must obey him first”.’ [Deuteronomy 6:13]
v11 Then the *devil left Jesus alone. After that, *angels came to Jesus and they took *care of him.
v12 Now Jesus heard that Herod’s soldiers had put John the *Baptist in prison. So Jesus returned to Galilee.
v13 He did not stay in Nazareth. He went to live in a town called Capernaum. Capernaum is on the shore of Lake Galilee. It was in the part of *Israel called Zebulun and Naphtali.
Zebulun and Naphtali were the names of parts of Galilee. They were also the names of two of Jacob’s sons. They lived in this land many years before.
v14 Jesus went to live in Capernaum. And this caused the words of God to become true. God had said this to his *prophet who was called Isaiah.
v15 ‘I am speaking to you people who live in Zebulun and Naphtali.
Your part of this country is on the way to Lake Galilee.
It is across the River Jordan in the part of the country called Galilee.
Some people who are not *Jews live there.
v16 They are like people who are living in the dark.
They live in the shadow which death brings.
God will send a light to shine on them.’ [Isaiah 9:1-2]
These people did not know God or his book very well. Isaiah said that they were like people who are walking in the dark. God promised to send his Son Jesus to them. He would be like a light to show them what God was like.
v17 Then Jesus began to teach the people. ‘Stop doing wrong things. Say to God that you are sorry’, Jesus said. ‘Begin to obey God. You must do all this because the *Kingdom of *Heaven is coming soon.’
v18 One day, Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee. He saw two men. One man was called Simon, and he was also called Peter. The other man’s name was Andrew, and he was Simon’s brother. Their job was to catch fish. They were throwing their *nets into the lake to catch some fish. v19 ‘Come with me and be my *disciples’, Jesus said to them. ‘And I will teach you how to catch people.’
Jesus did not mean that Simon and Andrew would really catch people. He would teach Simon and Andrew how to tell other people the good news about himself. They had brought fish out of the water. But now they would bring people to Jesus, so that they could believe in him. These people would then be his *disciples.
Simon and his brother lived in a town called Capernaum. This town is on the shore of Lake Galilee. Jesus had taught there. He had caused many people to become well again from their illnesses. So they knew that Jesus was a very powerful person.
v20 Peter and Andrew immediately stopped working with their *nets. They went with Jesus and they became his *disciples.
v21 Then Jesus continued to walk along the shore of Lake Galilee. Soon he saw two more men. Their job also was to catch fish. They were called James and John. They were brothers and their father was called Zebedee. John, James and Zebedee were in their boat and they were mending their *nets. Jesus said to James and John, ‘Come with me and be my *disciples.’ v22 Then the brothers immediately left the boat and their father behind. They went with Jesus and they became his *disciples.
v23 Jesus went everywhere in Galilee. He went into the building where the *Jews met to pray. Then he taught the people the good news about the *Kingdom. People who had many different illnesses and problems came to Jesus. He caused all these people to become well again. v24 So people began to hear about Jesus more and more. People in Syria also heard about Jesus, so they brought all the sick people to see him. They wanted Jesus to cause them to become well again. They had many different illnesses and some had pains. Bad *spirits were living inside some of them. Some people had sick minds, and some people could not move. Jesus caused all these people to become well again. v25 Because of this, large crowds followed him. These people came from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem. They also came from the part of Judea that is on the other side of the River Jordan.
Syria was a part of *Israel that was on the east side of Galilee. The Decapolis was another part of *Israel.
v1 Jesus saw all the crowds following him. So he went up a hill and he sat down there to teach. Jesus’ *disciples went close to listen to him. v2 And he began to teach them.
v3 ‘Some people’, he said, ‘know that they need God very much. God will cause those people to be happy because they will be part of the *Kingdom of *Heaven.
v4 Some people are sad now. God will help them to feel better. They will be happy.’
Jesus was not only speaking about people who are sad. Some people are sorry about all the bad things that they have done. Jesus was speaking about those people.
v5 ‘Some people know that they are not powerful. They will be happy. God will give them what he has promised them.
v6 Some people want to obey God more than they want to do anything else. God will give to them all that they need.
v7 Some people are kind and they *forgive other people. They will be happy. God will be kind to them and he will *forgive them.
v8 Some people do not want to do wrong things. They will be happy because they will see God.
v9 Some people help other people to be friends and to agree together. They will be happy because God will call them his children.
v10 Some people will have pain because they obey God. They will be happy because they are part of the *Kingdom of *Heaven.
v11 You will be happy when people say bad things about you. Sometimes people will hurt you. Sometimes people will say things about you that are not true. People will do these things to you because you are my *disciples. v12 You should be very happy when people do these things to any of you. You should shout because you are so happy. God has kept many good things for you. He will give you these things when you go to *heaven. People did all these same things to the *prophets who lived a long time ago.’
v13 ‘You are like salt’, Jesus said, ‘for all people to taste and use. Salt is good. But sometimes it does not taste like salt any longer. That salt cannot become good again. It is not good for people to use for anything. They throw it outside and they walk on it.
v14 You are like the light that everybody needs in this world. If people build a city on a hill, then other people can see it easily. v15 Nobody lights a *lamp and then puts it under a can. He will put the *lamp in a high place. Everybody who is in the house can then see the light from the *lamp. v16 You must be sure that you shine like that light. Then everybody will be able to see. People will see all the lovely things that you do. Then they will say good things about God. He is your Father in *heaven.’
Jesus is teaching his *disciples about how they must live for God. Light shows people the way. In the same way, they must show people the way to God.
At this time, people burned oil in a dish to make a light. They called this a lamp. When the lamp was burning, they sometimes put it on a place high on a wall.
v17 Jesus said, ‘You should not think that I have come to destroy the *Law. Also, I have not come to destroy the messages that the *prophets wrote down. No, I have not come to destroy their words. I have come to cause what they taught to become true. v18 Remember my words. The sky and the earth will remain for a long time. While they remain, the *Law will also remain. Not even a small change in the *Law will happen. When everything in it has happened, then the *Law will finish. v19 So then a person may think to himself, “This rule is not very important. I will not obey it.” He may also teach other people to think like that. But this teacher will be the least important person in the *Kingdom of *Heaven. On the other hand, a person who obeys all God’s rules will be important. He teaches other people also to obey, so he will be great in God’s *Kingdom. v20 I am telling you this. You will be able to come into the *Kingdom of *Heaven if you obey him. But you must obey him better than the teachers of the *Law and the *Pharisees do.’
The teachers of the *Law and the *Pharisees thought that they obeyed every rule in the *Law. But they did not do it because they loved God. They wanted other people to think well of them.
v21 ‘You have heard the words to your people long ago. “You must not kill another person. And any person who does kill will stand in front of a *judge. This *judge will say that he has done something wrong. And he will *punish him.” v22 But now, I say this to you about it. Anybody who is angry with his brother without a good reason will stand in front of a *judge. The *judge may say that this angry person has done a wrong thing. Someone might call his brother by a bad name. Then, the most important rulers will *judge him. They may say that he must be *punished. But whoever says, “You are a fool”, to their brother, God will *judge him. He may say to him, “You should go into the fire in *hell.” ’
At the time when Jesus said this, there were 71 important rulers in Jerusalem. And they met together to *judge a bad person. The most important *priest was their leader. These men had great power. God is the most powerful *judge. Only he can send a person to *hell.
When Jesus used the word brother, he was also talking about any close friend.
v23 ‘Maybe you go to give your gift to God’, said Jesus to them. ‘You take it to the special table in God’s Great House. But then you remember that your brother is angry with you. v24 You must leave your gift there in front of God’s special table. And you must first go and find your brother. Say to him that you are sorry. Then you can both become friends with each other again. After that, you can go back and give your gift to God.
v25 A person may say that you have done something wrong. So he will take you to stand in front of the *judge. You should try to agree with this person. You should decide with him what is right. Do this even while you are going with him to the *judge. Do it so that he will not speak against you to the *judge. The *judge may agree with him that you have done a wrong thing. Then he will give you to his officer who will put you in prison. v26 What I say is true. You will remain in prison until you have paid all the money.’
A *judge listens to what people say against each other. He then decides who is right or wrong. Jesus is telling the people that everyone has done wrong things to God. They do not obey him in the way that they should. Jesus says that we should believe in him now. If we do not, then God will *judge us. And he will *punish us when we stand in front of him.
v27 ‘You know what God said to your people long ago. “You must not have sex with a person who is not your husband or wife. If you do, then you have done a wrong thing.” v28 But I tell you this. A man looks at a woman who is not his wife. And he wants to have sex with her. Now this man has also done a wrong thing. v29 If your right eye makes you do wrong things, then you should take it out. You should throw it away. You will lose one eye. But it will be much worse if God throws you with your two eyes into *hell. v30 If your right hand makes you do wrong things, then you should cut it off. You should throw it away. You will lose one hand. But it is much worse if God sends you with your two hands into *hell.’
Jesus does not want his *disciples to cut their bodies. It is very important for them not to do wrong things. And Jesus is telling them this.
v31 ‘These words are also in God’s *Law. “Any man who wants to stop being married to his wife must give her a paper. This paper shows that they are now separate.” [Deuteronomy 24:1-4] v32 But now, I tell you this. A man must only become separate from his wife because of one reason. This reason is that his wife has had sex with another man. If his wife has not done this, then she is still his wife. The paper does not cause the man and his wife to be separate. Now, if his wife marries another man she is doing a wrong thing. And the other man who marries her is also doing a wrong thing.’
v33 ‘You know what God also said to your people long ago. “If you make a promise to God and use his name, do what you have said.” [Numbers 30:2] v34 But I tell you this. Do not use God’s name to make a promise. Do not use the words “by *heaven” to make a promise. *Heaven is the place where God rules. Do not use the words “by the earth” to make a promise. The earth is the place where God rests his feet. Do not use the words “by Jerusalem” to make a promise. Jerusalem is God’s city. He is the great King there. v36 Do not use the words “my head” to make a promise. You cannot make the colour of your hair black or white. v37 You should say only “Yes” if you mean, “Yes, I will do it.” And you should say only “No” if you mean, “No, I will not do it.” If you say more than this, what you say comes from the *Devil.’
People used to say these extra words when they made a promise. They wanted other people to know that they would keep their promise. Jesus taught that we should always keep our promises (do what we promised to do).
v38 ‘So, this is also in God’s *Law. “If a man destroys somebody’s eye, then somebody should destroy that man’s eye. If a man destroys a man’s tooth, then somebody should destroy that man’s tooth.” [Exodus 21:24] v39 But I tell you this. If somebody does something bad to you, do not try to do something bad back to him. Somebody may slap you on one side of your face. Then you should let him slap you on the other side of your face also.’
We should not do bad things to other people who have done bad things to us.
v40 ‘Maybe somebody wants to take you to the *judge. He says to the *judge, “This man has done a wrong thing against me. So I want him to give me his shirt.” Give the man your shirt. Give him also your coat. v41 A soldier may say to you, “Carry my luggage for one mile (1500 metres).” Help him. Carry it for two miles (3000 metres). v42 When somebody asks you for something, you should give it to him. If somebody asks you to lend him something, then you should not refuse.
v43 You hear people say, “Love the people who are your friends. Do not love those who want to hurt you.” v44 But I tell you this. You should love the people who want to hurt you. Some people hurt you because you obey God. You should pray to God that he would help them. v45 If you do this, you will be sons and daughters of your Father above. He causes the sun to shine on people who obey him. He also causes the sun to shine on people who do not obey him. God causes the rain to fall on people who obey him. He also causes the rain to fall on people who do not obey him. v46 You might only love people who love you. But then, God will not pay you for doing that. Even men who take the *taxes do it!’
The men who received *tax for the government took the money from their own people. They gave it to the *Roman ruler. They often took more money than they should have taken. So the people did not like the men who took the *tax.
v47 ‘When you only speak to your friends’, said Jesus, ‘then you are not doing anything extra. Even people who do not believe in God do that. v48 So you must be good in every way, as your Father above is good in every way.’ [See Leviticus 19:2.]
v1 Jesus still spoke to them. ‘You may do good things and help somebody. But be careful that you do not want other people to see you. Let it be a secret. If you do these things to show people, God, your Father in *heaven will not pay you back.
v2 When you give something to a poor person, do not tell anyone about it. The *hypocrites do this in the buildings where people meet to pray. They also do it outside in the busy streets of the town. They do this so that other people will say, “These men are good.” What I say is true. They have already received good words from other people. So, God will not give them anything more.’
*Hypocrites want people to think that they are good. But they are not really good people.
v3 ‘When you give something to a poor person, keep it a secret. Do not tell even your best friend. Let it be as if your left hand did not know about your right hand’s actions. v4 Nobody else will know about what you gave to the person. It will be a secret. God sees things that are secret. And he will give you good things.’
v5 ‘So, you must not pray like the *hypocrites pray. They like to stand and pray in the *Jewish meeting places and on the busy corners of the streets. Then many people can see them praying. What I say is true. They have already received good words from people and they will not get anything more.’
The corners of the streets were places where *Jews met to pray. They also prayed in the special buildings. In those places there were a lot of people who could see them praying.
v6 ‘I will tell you how to pray. Go to a place in your house where you can be alone. There you can pray to God your Father. He is in that secret place. And he sees what you do. He will give you good things. v7 When you pray, do not say the same words many times. And do not use many words that mean nothing. People who do not believe in God do that. And they think that God will hear them. v8 Do not be like them. God your Father already knows what you need. He knows this even before you ask him.
v9 This then is how you should pray,
“God our Father, you live in *heaven.
You are powerful and important.
We want more and more people to know that your name has great authority.
v10 We want you to rule everyone.
We want everyone to obey you on earth, like everyone in *heaven obeys you.
v11 Please give us the food that we need each day.
v12 Please *forgive us for all the wrong things that we have done.
We have *forgiven everyone who has done wrong things to us.
*Forgive us in the same way.
v13 Do not let anything cause us to do wrong things.
Keep us safe from the *Devil.” ’
v14 Then Jesus said, ‘You must *forgive other people for the wrong things that they have done to you. Then God, your Father in *heaven will also *forgive you for the wrong things that you have done to him. v15 But if you do not *forgive other people, then your Father will not *forgive you.’
v16 ‘Be careful when you stop eating for some time. Do not look sad. Then people will not know what you are doing. That is what the *hypocrites do. A *hypocrite wants people to think about how good he is. He will let his face become dirty. Then other people can see that he has stopped eating. You should remember that God will not give the *hypocrites anything else. Other people think that they are good. And that is all that they will get. v17 But when you stop eating for some time, you should wash your face. You should cause your hair to look nice. v18 Then other people will not know that you have stopped eating for some time. But God your Father knows. He sees what you do in that secret place. So he will give you good things.’
Some people stop eating for hours or days so that they can have more time with God. This causes them to feel closer to God when they pray. But the *hypocrites did it for the wrong reason.
v19 ‘Do not have many valuable things here in the world. Here there are insects and water that can destroy them. There are also men who can come into your house. They can rob you of all your valuable things. v20 Instead, you should put all your valuable things in God’s place above. The insects and water cannot destroy your valuable things there. Men cannot rob you of all your things. v21 You will always think about the place where you keep your valuable things. You will want to be there in *heaven.’
People think about their valuable things, so it is better to have them stored with God in *heaven above. They will be safe there. We will also think about going to be with God.
v22 ‘Eyes are like *lamps and your body is like a room. If your eyes are like a clean *lamp, then your whole body will have light. v23 If your eyes are not good, then your whole body will be in the dark. If the light in your body has become dark, you will live in a very dark place.’
Jesus himself is the light that he is talking about. If a person lets Jesus rule his life, there will be nothing dark or hidden. But some people do not believe Jesus’ words. They are like a person who is living in the dark.
v24 ‘A slave cannot work for two masters at the same time. He will not like one of the masters, but he will love the other master. He will always say good things about one of the masters and say bad things about the other master. You cannot have God as a master and have money also as your master.’
v25 Jesus said to his *disciples, ‘What I say is true. Do not be *anxious about food and drink to stay alive. Do not be *anxious about clothes to wear either. Your life is more important than your food, and your body is more important than your clothes. v26 Think about the wild birds. They do not plant seeds in the ground. They do not cut down plants to eat. And they have no buildings to store food. God gives them food. And you are much more valuable than the birds. v27 Perhaps you are *anxious about how long you will live. But you cannot live one hour longer, even if you are always thinking about it. No, you cannot do even a small thing like that. So do not be *anxious about all these other things.
v28 You should not be *anxious about your clothes. Think about how the wild flowers grow. They do not work or make clothes for themselves. v29 But this is true. King Solomon wore very beautiful clothes. But even one wild flower is more beautiful than he was. v30 God gives beautiful clothes to the grass and to the wild flowers. They are alive in the field today, but tomorrow people will burn them. God will certainly give you clothes to wear. You should know that God will take *care of you.’
People burned dry grass and wild flowers on fires to cook their food.
v31 Then Jesus said, ‘Do not always be thinking about where you will find your food and drink and clothes. Do not be *anxious. v32 People who do not know about God are always thinking about these things. God, your Father in *heaven, knows that you need them. v33 Instead, think about the things that are important in the *Kingdom of God. You should do everything that you can to obey God. Then God will also give you the other things that you need. v34 So do not be *anxious about what might happen tomorrow. Tomorrow there will be enough problems for you to be *anxious about. It is enough for you to be *anxious each day about the problems of that day.’
v1 Jesus was still speaking to the people. ‘Do not say to anybody, “You are a bad person.” Then God will not say to you, “You are a bad person.” v2 God will speak to you in the same way that you speak to other people. He will use the same rules for you as you use for other people.
v3 Do not look at the small piece of wood dirt that is in your brother’s eye. You should first see the big piece of wood that is in your own eye. v4 You should not say to your brother, “Please let me take the small piece of wood dirt out of your eye.” But you yourself have not seen the big piece of wood that is in your own eye. v5 You think that you are better than your brother. But you are not. First, you must take the big piece of wood out of your own eye. Then your eyes will be clear and you will see well. After that, you can take the small piece of wood dirt out of your brother’s eye.’
Jesus tells us to make our own mistakes right. After that, we can tell our friends about their mistakes. Jesus uses the word brother. This includes our friends.
v6 ‘Do not give really good things that are for God to dogs. The dogs will turn round and attack you. Do not throw valuable things to pigs. The pigs will only stand on them and bury them in the dirt.’
We do not give valuable things to pigs and dogs. They would not take *care of them. People who do not want God are like that. The things that God gives are not valuable to them.
v7 ‘Go on asking God for what you need. And then you will receive. Go on looking for what you need. And then you will find it. Go on knocking at the door. And then God will open it for you. v8 Everyone who asks for something will receive it. Everyone who looks for something will find it. God will open the door for everyone who knocks on it.
v9 Some of you are fathers. You would not give your son a stone when he asks you for some bread. v10 You would not give your son a snake if he asks you for a fish. v11 Even if you are bad, you know how to give good things to your children. Your Father above knows much better than you do how to give good things. So he will give good things to those people who ask him.’
Jesus is teaching his *disciples that they must pray. And they must continue to pray. God will hear them. He will give them the good things that they ask for. The most important things to pray for are the special gifts from God.
v12 ‘In the same way that you want other people to do things to you, do things to other people. This is what the *Law of Moses teaches us. It is also what the *prophets wrote in their books.’
v13 ‘You should go in through the narrow gate to get true life. The wide gate is easy to go through. The wide path is easy to travel on. Many people find that wide gate, but it is the way to *hell. v14 It is difficult to go through the small gate. It is difficult to walk on the narrow road. But when you do go that way, you will get true life. Not many people find that narrow gate.’
v15 ‘Watch out for *prophets who tell you wrong things about God. These people seem to be like sheep that are not dangerous. But they are really like hungry wild dogs. What they teach will hurt you.
v16 You will know these people by what they do. People do not pick good fruit from weeds. And they do not pick fruit to eat from wild plants.’
The *prophets are like fruit trees. The things that they do are like the fruit on the trees. If they do good things, then the fruit is good. And the people will know that they are real *prophets. If they do wrong things, then that is like bad fruit. And the people will know that they are not real *prophets.
v17 ‘Good fruit grows on a tree that is good. Bad fruit grows on a tree that is not good. v18 A good tree cannot make bad fruit. A bad tree cannot make good fruit. v19 The farmer will cut down any tree that does not make good fruit. He will burn that tree on a fire. v20 So you will know if a person is good or bad. Look at what they do. And look at what they say. A good person does good things. And a bad person does bad things.
v21 Some people say to me, “Master, Master!” But not all of them will come into the *Kingdom of *Heaven. Only the people who obey God, my Father in *heaven, will come in. They do what he wants them to do. v22 On the day when God *judges, people will say, “Master, Master! We used your authority and we told people a message from you. We used your authority and we caused bad *spirits to come out of people. We used your authority to do many powerful things.” v23 Then I will say to these people, “I never knew you. You do not obey God; you are bad. So go away from me.” ’
v24 ‘I will tell you about a man. He hears my message and he obeys it. Now, this person understands my words. He is like a man who built his house on rock. v25 Then a storm came and brought a lot of water. The water hit the house and strong winds blew hard against that house. But the house did not fall down because the man had built it on rock. v26 Another man hears my message and he does not obey it. He is like a man who built his house on sand. v27 Then a storm came and brought a lot of water. The water hit the house and strong winds blew hard against it. The house fell down. The storm destroyed it completely.’
Jesus tells us that our life is like a house. We should obey God. Then our life will be like the first house. It continued to stand when troubles came. If we do not obey God, our life will be like the second house. That house fell down. So our life will have a sad end.
v28 Jesus finished speaking. All the people were very surprised about the things that he taught them. v29 Jesus did not teach them in the same way as the teachers of the *Law. Jesus had his own authority when he taught them.
v1 A large crowd followed Jesus when he came down from the hill. v2 Then a man with an illness of the skin came to meet Jesus. The illness was called leprosy. The man went down on his knees in front of him. ‘Sir, if you want’, he said, ‘you can make me well. Please do it.’
v3 Jesus put out his hand towards him and touched him. ‘I do want to help you. Be well’, he said. Immediately, the illness left the man. v4 ‘You must not tell anyone about this’, Jesus said to him. ‘Instead, go and show yourself to the *priest. Take him a gift for God, as Moses said. “Do this to thank God for what has happened. And this will also show everyone that you are now well.” ’ [Leviticus 14:1-32]
v5 When Jesus went into Capernaum, an officer in the army came to meet him. He asked Jesus to help him.
The officer was a soldier in the army of King Herod Antipas. He had authority over 100 men. The officer was a good man and he took *care of his men. The officer was not a *Jew, but the *Jews said good things about him. The *Jews did not usually say good things about those who were not *Jews.
v6 ‘Sir, my servant is lying in bed at home. He cannot move and he has a lot of pain.’
v7 Jesus said to the officer, ‘I will go with you to your house and I will make your servant well again.’
v8 But the officer said to Jesus, ‘Sir, you are too important to come into my house. You have authority. Instead, you can say that he will be well. And I know that my servant will be well again. v9 Someone has authority over me. I also have authority over other soldiers. I say to this soldier, “Go!” and he goes. I say to that soldier, “Come!” so, he comes. I say to one of my servants, “Do this!” so, he does it.’
v10 Jesus heard what the officer said. And Jesus was very surprised. He spoke to the crowd that was following him. ‘What I say is true. I have not found anybody like this man in *Israel. Nobody else believes so well in me.’
The officer was not a *Jew. Jesus would have thought that the *Jews should have believed in him. They should have believed in him more than other people did.
v11 ‘What I say is true. Many people will come from all over the world. They will take their place in the *Kingdom of *Heaven. They will sit down to eat with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. v12 Some people were born to belong to the *Kingdom. But God’s *angels will throw them into the dark places outside his *kingdom. There the people will cry. And they will bite their teeth together because they are angry.’
Jesus was talking about many of the *Jews. God chose the *Jews to be his own people. But many of them did not obey God, so they could not be part of his *kingdom.
v13 Then Jesus said to the officer, ‘Go home. You believed that I would make your servant well again. So I will do it for you.’ And at that moment, Jesus made the servant well again.
v14 Jesus went into Peter’s house. There, he saw the mother of Peter’s wife. She was ill in bed and she felt very hot. v15 Jesus touched her hand and immediately she did not feel hot any longer. She got up and she prepared food and drink for Jesus.
v16 That evening, some people brought other people to see Jesus. Bad *spirits lived in many of these people. Jesus spoke a word and he caused the bad *spirits to leave them. He made everybody who was ill well again. v17 Jesus did all this to cause the *prophet Isaiah’s words to become true:
‘He took away all our weaknesses.
He took away everything that makes us sick.’ [Isaiah 53:4]
v18 One day, Jesus saw a large crowd round him. So he said to his *disciples, ‘Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.’ v19 A teacher of the *Law came to Jesus and said to him, ‘Teacher, I want to become one of your *disciples. I will go with you everywhere that you go.’
v20 Jesus said to him, ‘Wild dogs have a place to live. Wild birds also have their own places to live. But the Son of Man has no regular place to lie down and sleep.’
v21 Another man who was already a *disciple of Jesus spoke to him. ‘Sir, I will come with you. But first, let me go home to bury my father. After that, I will come with you.’
v22 Jesus said to him, ‘Let those people who are dead bury their own dead people.’
The man wanted to wait until his father had died. Then he would go with Jesus and be his *disciple. People who did not believe in Jesus could bury the dead people. Jesus needed people now to tell the good news about the *Kingdom of God.
v23 Then Jesus climbed into a boat and his *disciples followed him. v24 A great storm soon started on the lake. Water began to fill the boat, so that soon the boat was almost under the water. Jesus was sleeping. v25 The *disciples went to him and they woke him. ‘Save us, Master’, they said. ‘We will soon die in the water.’
v26 ‘You should not be so frightened. You do not believe in me very much!’ Jesus said. Then he stood up and he spoke to the wind and the water. ‘Be quiet!’ he said. ‘Stop moving!’ Then the wind stopped and the water became flat again.
v27 The *disciples were very surprised. ‘What kind of man is this?’ they asked each other. ‘Even the wind and the water obey him!’
v28 Jesus arrived at the other side of Lake Galilee. He was in the part of the country called Gadara. The people who lived there were called Gadarenes. Jesus arrived near the place where they buried dead people. Two men came to meet Jesus. Bad *spirits lived in these two men. The men were very dangerous. Everyone was too afraid to walk near this place because of them. v29 When the two men saw Jesus, they immediately shouted to him, ‘What are you going to do with us? You are the Son of God. Have you come to *punish us before the right time?’
This place is across the lake from Galilee on the east side of the lake. About 2 kilometres (one mile) from the shore there is a small village called Khersa. There were some big holes in the rocks there. The people from the village buried dead people in the holes. Some people also lived in the big holes as houses. They were not *Jews.
The bad *spirits were speaking to Jesus. They knew who Jesus was. They knew that one day God would *judge them.
v30 A large group of pigs was feeding near to this place. v31 The bad *spirits asked Jesus, ‘If you cause us to leave these men, please send us to those pigs. Let us go into them.’
v32 ‘Go!’ said Jesus to the bad *spirits. So the bad *spirits came out of the men and went into the pigs. All the pigs rushed down the hill. They ran into the lake and they all died in the water. v33 There were some men there, who took *care of the pigs. Those men ran away into the town, when this happened. They told people there everything that had happened to the men with bad *spirits. v34 So everybody came out of the town to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they said, ‘Please leave our part of the country.’
v1 Jesus then climbed back into the boat and he sailed across to the other side of the lake again. He returned to Capernaum, the town where he was living.
v2 Some men from the town came to see Jesus. They brought another man with them who could not move his legs. He was lying on a flat piece of wood. Jesus saw the men. And he knew what they were thinking. They believed that Jesus could cause the man on the bed to be well again. Jesus said to the man who could not move, ‘Do not be afraid, my friend. I *forgive you for all the wrong things that you have done.’
v3 Then some teachers of the *Law began to speak to each other. ‘This man should not have said this’, they said to themselves. ‘He is speaking as if he is God.’
v4 Jesus knew what the teachers were thinking. So he said to them, ‘You should not think these bad things. v5 I said to this man, “I *forgive you for all the wrong things that you have done.” I could have said to him, “Stand up and walk.” v6 But I want you to know this. The Son of Man has authority on earth. He can *forgive people for all the wrong things that they have done.’ Then he said to the man who could not move his legs, ‘Stand up. Pick up the bed where you are lying. And go home.’ v7 So then the man stood up and he went home. v8 The people saw what had happened. They were very surprised and afraid. They saw that God had given much authority to men. So they said, ‘God, how great and powerful you are.’
Jesus often called himself the Son of Man. He did this so that people would remember about some messages in the Bible. We can read about the Son of Man in the book called Daniel. (See Daniel 7:13-14.)
v9 Jesus walked away from that place. While he walked, he saw a man called Matthew. He was one of the men who received *taxes for the government. He was sitting in his office. ‘Come with me and be my *disciple’, Jesus said. So Matthew stood up and he went with Jesus.
v10 Later, Jesus went into the house. Many other men who received money for the government came to the house. Jesus was eating a meal there. Many people who had done bad things also came. All these people came to eat a meal with Jesus and his *disciples.
These people were *Jews who did not obey everything in God’s *Law. The *Pharisees did not like them. They thought that they were bad people. The *Pharisees thought that they themselves obeyed everything in God’s *Laws. They thought that they themselves were better than other people.
v11 Some *Pharisees saw all these people eating a meal with Jesus. They asked Jesus’ *disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat a meal with these people? They are people who have done bad things. And some of them take *tax money.’
v12 Jesus heard what the *Pharisees were saying. ‘People who are well do not need a doctor’, he said to them. ‘People who are ill need a doctor. v13 Go. And learn what the *prophets wrote down in God’s book. God says, “I want people to be kind to each other. I do not only want them to give me gifts in my house.” Some people think that they have not done anything wrong. I do not ask such people to be my *disciples. Many people know that they have done wrong things. It is these people that I am asking be my *disciples.’
v14 Then some of the *disciples of John the *Baptist came to meet Jesus. They asked him, ‘We, and the *disciples of the *Pharisees, often stop eating so that we can pray. Why do your *disciples never do that?’
Some people stop eating for hours or days so that they can have more time with God. This causes them to feel closer to God when they pray.
v15 Jesus answered them with a picture story. ‘When the friends of a *bridegroom are with him at his marriage, they do not stop eating. The time will come when people will take the *bridegroom away from his friends. Then his friends will stop eating.’
This kind of a picture story shows how two things are almost the same or not almost the same. In this story, Jesus is like the *bridegroom. Those who follow him are like his friends at the marriage. Jesus will not always be with them. That will be the time when they will stop eating for some time to pray.
v16 Then Jesus said, ‘Nobody uses a piece of new cloth to repair an old coat. If he did, the hole would grow bigger. When someone washed the coat, the new piece of cloth would become smaller. The new cloth would tear the old cloth again and it would make a bigger hole than before.
v17 Nobody pours new *wine into an old *wineskin. If he does, then the new *wine will tear the old *wineskin. The *wine will run out and he will lose it. And he will destroy the *wineskin. Instead of this, you must put new *wine into a new *wineskin. Then there will be nothing to destroy the *wine or the *wineskin.’
*Wine is a strong drink made from fruit. Some people kept *wine in bottles made from an animal skin. *Wine grows as it gets older, but old bottles become hard. New *wine would cause them to break.
Jesus is teaching the people that the old bottles are like the old *Law. The new *wine and the new cloth are like the new things that Jesus was teaching them. They could not mix the old things and the new things.
v18 While Jesus was saying these things to the people, an important *Jew came to him. The man went down on his knees in front of Jesus and said to him, ‘My daughter has just died. Come to my house. Touch her with your hand and then she will be well again.’ v19 So Jesus started to go along with the man. And his *disciples also went along with them.
v20 A woman was in the crowd near to Jesus. She had lost blood every day for 12 years. She came close behind Jesus and she touched the edge of his coat. v21 The woman thought, ‘If I only touch his coat, Jesus will cause me to become well again.’
v22 Jesus turned round and he saw the woman. ‘Young woman, do not be afraid’, he said. ‘You are well again because you believed in me.’ And immediately the woman became well again.
v23 Then Jesus walked on until he arrived at the house of the important *Jew. He went into the man’s house. People there were making music with pipes made out of wood. The crowd in the house was also making a loud noise.
*Jewish people made music in the house after somebody had died. They also made music while people buried that person.
v24 Jesus spoke to everybody in the house. ‘Get out of here’, he said. ‘This girl is not dead. She is only sleeping.’ The people *laughed at Jesus. v25 But the family sent the crowd out of the house. Then Jesus went into the room where the girl was lying. He held her hand, and she stood up. v26 After that, people began to tell about what had happened. They told other people in all that part of the country.
v27 Jesus left the house. While he walked along, two men began to follow him. They could not see. They were shouting out to him, ‘Son of David, be kind to us and help us.’
King David was an *ancestor of Jesus.
v28 Jesus went into a house. And the men who could not see came to him. Jesus asked them, ‘Do you believe that I can cause your eyes to become well?’
The men replied, ‘Yes, Master, we believe that you can do this.’
v29 So Jesus touched the men’s eyes and he said, ‘Because you believed in me, your eyes will become well again.’ v30 Then immediately the men could see again. Jesus said to them, ‘You must not tell anybody about this.’ v31 So the men went away. But then they told everybody in that part of the country all about what Jesus had done for them.
v32 While those two men were leaving Jesus, some people brought another man to him. This man could not talk because a bad *spirit was living inside him. v33 Jesus said to the bad *spirit, ‘Leave this man.’ The *spirit left him, and the man began to speak. Everybody there was very surprised. They said, ‘Nobody has seen anything like this happen in *Israel before.’
v34 The *Pharisees said, ‘Because *Satan makes him powerful, this man can send bad *spirits out of people.’ v35 Jesus went to visit many towns and villages in that part of the country. He taught the people in the places where they met to talk to God. He taught the good news about the *Kingdom. He also caused sick people to become well again from all their illnesses.
v36 When Jesus saw the crowds, he felt sorry for them. The people were *anxious. They had nobody to help them. Jesus thought, “These people are like sheep with nobody to take *care of them.” v37 Then Jesus said to his *disciples, ‘These people are like many good plants in the fields. The plants are ready for the workers to cut down. But there are not many workers. v38 You should ask the master of these fields to send out more workers. Then they can bring in all the plants.’
In this story, the master of the fields is like God. The fields are like the world. The plants that are growing in the fields are like the people in the world. The workers are like the people who know the Good News about the *Kingdom of God. They must tell other people about how God rules. Then all these other people can also ask God to rule them.
v1 One day, Jesus asked 12 of his *disciples to come to him. He gave them authority over bad *spirits that were living in people. These *disciples could then cause the *spirits to leave people. Jesus also gave them authority to cause sick people to become well again. They could remove all their illnesses.
v2 These are the names of the 12 *apostles:
The first *apostle is Simon, who is also called Peter.
Then next is Simon’s brother called Andrew.
There were James and his brother John, who were Zebedee’s sons.
v3 There were Philip and Bartholomew.
There were Thomas and Matthew. (Matthew received *tax money before he became a *disciple.)
And there was James who was the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus.
v4 Simon, who was called the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot.
Judas Iscariot helped the leaders of the *Jews to take hold of Jesus.
Jesus had many *disciples. He chose 12 of them to be with him so that he could teach them. He also called these 12 men *apostles. The word *apostle means ‘someone whom his master sends out to do a job’. Their job was to tell other people about Jesus. In his book, John calls Bartholomew, Nathanael (John 1:45). Matthew is another name for Levi. In Matthew 10:3 and Mark 3:18, Judas, son of James is called Thaddaeus.
A Zealot was a man who wanted to fight against the *Roman ruler. The Zealots wanted the *Jews to rule *Israel again.
v5 Jesus sent out these 12 men. Before they left, he said to them, ‘Go only to places where *Jews live. Do not go to any place where the people are not *Jews. And you must not go to any towns where only *Samaritans live.’
The *Samaritan people and the *Jews did not like each other. Some of the *Samaritans’ *ancestors were *Jewish and some of them were not.
v6 ‘Instead, you must go to the people of *Israel’, he said. ‘They are like lost sheep with nobody to take *care of them. v7 While you travel, you must tell people about the *Kingdom of *Heaven. You must tell them that it has become near. v8 Make sick people well again. Cause dead people to become alive again. And cause people with an illness of the skin to become well again. Say to bad *spirits that are living in a person, “Come out of him.” Then they will leave the person. I gave you the authority to do all these things. Now, go and do all these things for other people. This authority did not cost you anything. So do not ask them to pay you any money for what you do. v9 Do not take any money of any kind in your purse. v10 Do not take a bag with you, or an extra set of clothes. Do not take shoes or a stick. People should give a worker everything that he needs.’
Jesus would give his *apostles what they needed. He wanted them to believe that.
v11 ‘When you are travelling, go into towns and villages. Look for a good person who will take *care of you. You should live in his house until you leave that town. v12 When you go into that man’s house, say to the people inside, “I pray that you will be well.” v13 If the master of the house accepts you, then everyone in the house will be well. But there may not be anybody in the house that accepts you. Then ask God not to cause them to be well. v14 Sometimes you will go into a home or a town and the people will not accept you. And they will not listen to your message. Then you should leave that home or that town. And say to the people, “There is dirt from your town on our feet. We will clean it off before we leave.” v15 I am speaking what is true’, Jesus said to his *disciples. ‘One day God will *punish the people who refuse me. God will *punish them more than he will *punish the people from Sodom and Gomorrah.’
We can read about the cities called Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis, chapters 18 and 19. The people who lived in those towns were very bad. And they did not obey God.
v16 ‘Listen well. I am sending you to people who will want to kill you. Your journey will be dangerous. You will be like sheep among wild dogs. You must watch carefully, like a snake watches. But you must also be good and kind like a quiet bird.
v17 Watch carefully! People will take hold of you and they will cause you to stand in front of the important *Jews. They will take you into the places where they meet to talk to God. Then they will hit you with a *whip. v18 People will cause you to stand in front of kings and rulers. This will happen because of me. This is the moment to tell them and those who are not *Jews about me. Tell them the Good News about me. v19 When the people cause you stand in front of kings and rulers, do not be afraid. Do not think about what you should say. Do not be afraid about how you will say things. At that moment, God will tell you the right words to speak. v20 You will say words that do not come from you. God the *Holy Spirit will tell you what to say.
v21 Men will cause their own brothers to stand in front of kings and rulers. And these men will say, “Kill him because he believes in Jesus.” Fathers will do the same to their own children. Some children will be against their parents. The children will cause their parents to stand in front of kings and rulers and they will say, “Kill my parents because they believe in Jesus.” v22 Many people will not like you because you believe in me. But you should never stop believing in me. Then God will save you. v23 If people in one town hurt you because of me, you should leave that town immediately. You should go to another town. What I say is true. You will not have enough time to speak your message in all the towns of *Israel. No, not before the Son of Man comes again.
v24 A *disciple is not more important than his teacher is. A servant is not more important than his master is. v25 A *disciple should be happy if he knows as much as his teacher. A servant should be happy if he is as important as me, his master. Some people call the master of the house Beelzebub (that is “*Satan”). These people will call the people in his house even worse names.
v26 Do not be afraid of these people. God will remove the cover from everything that people have covered. He will tell everybody all the secrets. v27 I tell you secret things. But you must tell these things to the whole world. They must not be secret any longer. I have said things to you that other people did not hear. But now you must shout all these things from the tops of the houses.’
At that time, the top of a house was flat. Sometimes people wanted everyone to hear what they said. So they shouted from the top of their house.
v28 ‘Do not be afraid of those people who can only kill your body. These people cannot kill your *soul. I say to you that you should be afraid of God. He can kill your body, and then he can also kill your *soul in *hell. v29 Think about this. People sell two small birds for a small coin of little value. One small bird may fall to the ground. But this can only happen if God lets it happen. v30 God even knows how many hairs there are on your head. v31 So do not be afraid of people. God thinks that you are more valuable than many small birds.
v32 If a person says to everybody, “I believe in Jesus”, then I will speak to God, my Father in *heaven. I will say, “I know that person; he is one of my *disciples.” v33 If someone else says to everybody, “I do not believe in Jesus”, I will then speak to God, my Father in *heaven. I will say, “I do not know that person; he is not one of my *disciples.”
v34 I will tell you why I have come into the world. I did not come so that everyone would agree with each other. I came to cause people to be in separate groups that fight against each other.
v35 A man will fight against his father.
A daughter will fight against her mother.
A woman will fight against her husband’s mother.
v36 A man’s family will fight against him.’
Jesus came to the world to bring men and God close together. He wanted people to believe in God and to obey him. But to do this he had to fight against bad things and against *Satan. People who obey *Satan will fight people who obey God.
v37 ‘A man must love his own father and mother less than he loves me’, said Jesus. ‘Then he can be my *disciple. He must also love his own son or daughter less than he loves me. If he does not do this, then he cannot be my *disciple.’ v38 Jesus then spoke to the crowd and to his *disciples. ‘Perhaps some of you want to be my *disciples’, he said. ‘If you do, then you cannot think first about yourself. And you cannot think about what you want to do. You must only do what God wants you to do. You must do this every day. You might even have to die. Then you can be one of my *disciples. v39 If a person wants to keep himself safe, then he will never have true life. But instead, he may die because he believes in me. And then he will have true life for always.’
v40 ‘If anyone accepts you in his home, then he also accepts me. Anyone who accepts me in his home also accepts God. v41 A person accepts a *prophet into his home because the visitor is a *prophet of God. God will give him the same gift that he gives to a *prophet. A person accepts into his home a good man who obeys God. He only does this because the good man obeys God. God will give that person the same gift that he gives to the good man. v42 A person gives a drink of cold water to one of my least important *disciples. He only does this because that person is one of my *disciples. But it is also true that God will give that man good gifts.’
v1 When Jesus had finished telling all these things to his *disciples, he went away from that place. And he went to teach people in their towns.
v2 At that time, John the *Baptist was in prison. But people told him about all the things that Jesus Christ was doing. So John sent some of his own *disciples to ask Jesus some questions.
v3 Then some of the *disciples of John came to Jesus. They said to him, ‘John the *Baptist has sent us to you. He wants us to ask you a question. Are you the special person that God has sent to us? If you are not that person, should we wait for someone else?’
v4 Jesus replied, ‘Go back to John. Tell him what you have seen. Also, tell him what you have heard. v5 People who could not see can see again. People who could not walk can now walk again. Some people who were ill with an illness of the skin are now well again. Some people who could not hear can now hear again. Some people who were dead now live again. Poor people are hearing the good news. v6 If people are sure about me, they will be happy.’
John was alone in prison. He was afraid and *anxious. He was thinking about Jesus. Everyone was waiting for God to send a special person. John had told everyone about that person. He thought that Jesus was that person. But now he was not sure. So he sent some of his *disciples to ask Jesus about himself.
v7 John’s *disciples went away again. Then Jesus spoke to the crowd about John. ‘You went out to the *desert. You certainly did not go to see the wind blowing against a tall piece of grass. No, you did not go to see that. v8 You certainly did not go to see a man who was wearing expensive soft clothes. No, people like that have many beautiful things and they live in the houses of kings. v9 You went to see a man who receives messages from God’s *Holy Spirit. And John was even more important than that. v10 A long time ago, God said this about him:
“I will send someone before you.
He will tell you my message.
He will prepare the road in front of you.” ’ [Malachi 3:1]
We can read about this in the Bible in the book called Malachi. John the *Baptist was a very important man. He brought a message from God. He told all the people that Jesus was coming soon. God had promised that he would send a special person to save them.
John was not a weak man, like a piece of grass. He did the job that God had given him. He told everyone that Jesus was coming. He told them how to get ready. But he told King Herod that Herod had done wrong things. So King Herod had put John in prison.
v11 Jesus said, ‘John is a very important man. He is greater than any man who has ever lived. But a person who is not great in the *Kingdom of *Heaven, is more important than John.’
The people who believed John’s message about Jesus now knew God as their king. They are in the *Kingdom of God. This means that they are very important to God. They are all even more important than John was.
v12 ‘From the time that John the *Baptist began to teach until now’, Jesus said, ‘the *Kingdom of *Heaven is becoming very strong. Strong people who really believe God are taking hold of it. v13 All the *prophets and the books of the *Law spoke God’s word. They spoke until the time that John the *Baptist came. v14 The *prophets wrote that Elijah would come back again. They were writing about John, if you can believe it. v15 Everyone who can hear must listen. They must listen to what I say.’
v16 Jesus said, ‘I will talk to you about the people who are alive today. They are like children who are sitting in the market place. They shout to each other,
v17 “We played happy music on a pipe for you, but you did not dance.
We sang a sad song but you did not cry.” ’
People often play happy music with a pipe.
v18 ‘John the *Baptist often stopped eating for some time. He never drank *wine. So you said that a bad *spirit was living inside him. v19 And I, the Son of Man, both eat and drink. So you say about me, “He eats too much and he drinks too much. He is a friend of men who receive *taxes and other bad people.” God is good and he understands everything. People who understand my words know this. And they agree with God.’
John and Jesus were very different. But they both lived as God wanted them to live. The *Pharisees thought about themselves as men who understood God’s word. But they would not agree with either John or Jesus.
v20 Jesus had done many powerful things for the people to see. But some people in the cities did not believe in him. These people did not want to stop doing wrong things. And they did not want to start obeying God. v21 So Jesus said to them, ‘Things will be bad for you, people in Chorazin. And things will be bad for you, people in Bethsaida. I have done great and powerful things in your cities. I did not do them a long time ago in the towns called Tyre and Sidon. If I had done them, the people there would have listened to me. They would then have put on clothes made out of goat’s hair. They would also have put ash on their heads. This would have shown God that they were sorry. They would have stopped doing wrong things. And they would have started to obey God. v22 Yes, when God *judges everyone, he will *punish the people from Tyre and Sidon. But he will *punish much more the people from Chorazin and Bethsaida. v23 I will tell you what will happen to the people in Capernaum. They try to lift themselves up to *heaven. He will throw them down to *hell. If I had done these powerful things in Sodom, Sodom would still be standing today. v24 What I say is true. God will *punish the people from Sodom. But he will not *punish them as much as he will *punish the people from Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum.’
One day, God will *punish those people who do wrong things. God will *punish some people more than he will *punish other people. Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum were towns and cities in *Israel. God will *punish the people from these towns more than he will *punish the people from Sodom. The people in Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum had heard Jesus speak. But they did not believe him. The people in Sodom had never seen Jesus or heard his message. So God will *punish the people who refuse his message more than them.
v25 At this moment, Jesus said, ‘Father, you rule over everything in the sky and on the earth! You have taught people who do not know many things. And so I thank you. But you have kept these things a secret from some other people. These people think that they know a lot. And they think that they understand everything. v26 Yes, Father, you chose everything to happen in this way.’
v27 ‘My Father has given me all things. And only he knows who I am. Nobody else really knows that I am the Son. Only I know who my Father is. Nobody else knows him. But I choose to tell some people about him.
v28 Come to me all of you who are tired. You are like people who have worked for a long time. You are like people who have carried heavy things. Come to me and you will find a place to rest.
v29 Do what I teach you to do. Learn from me everything that is true. I am very kind and I obey God. Then you will have true life and you will not be *anxious. v30 I will only ask you to do good things. I will not ask you to carry anything that is too heavy for you. And I will not ask you to do things that are too difficult.’
v1 On one *Sabbath day, Jesus was walking through some fields where *wheat was growing. His *disciples were hungry. So they began to pick some of the seeds of *wheat and to eat them. v2 Some *Pharisees were with them. And they saw Jesus’ *disciples eating the *wheat seeds. ‘Look at what your *disciples are doing’, they said to Jesus. ‘It is against God’s *Law to do this on the day that we rest.’
v3 Jesus said to the *Pharisees, ‘King David and his friends were hungry once. Remember what they did then. You have read about this. v4 David went into God’s Great House. And he ate the special bread that was there. He also gave some of it to his friends. But it is against the *Law for anyone except the *priests to eat this bread.’