Read The Jewish Annotated New Testament Online
Authors: Amy-Jill Levine
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“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
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You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles?
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In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.
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A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
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Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
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Thus you will know them by their fruits.
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“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
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On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’
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Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’
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“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
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The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock.
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And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
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The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!”
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Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching,
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for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
8
When Jesus
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had come down from the mountain, great crowds followed him;
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and there was a leper
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who came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.”
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He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I do choose. Be made clean!” Immediately his leprosy
*
was cleansed.
4
Then Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
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When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him
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and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.”
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And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.”
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The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed.
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For I also am a man 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 slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.”
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When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “Truly I tell you, in no one
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in Israel have I found such faith.
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I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,
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while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
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And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.” And the servant was healed in that hour.
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When Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever;
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he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve him.
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That evening they brought to him many who were possessed with demons; and he cast out the spirits with a word, and cured all who were sick.
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This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah, “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.”
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Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side.
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A scribe then approached and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
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And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
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Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
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But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
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And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him.
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A windstorm arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.
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And they went and woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
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And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm.
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They were amazed, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?”
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When he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes,
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two demoniacs coming out of the tombs met him. They were so fierce that no one could pass that way.
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Suddenly they shouted, “What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
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Now a large herd of swine was feeding at some distance from them.
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The demons begged him, “If you cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.”
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And he said to them, “Go!” So they came out and entered the swine; and suddenly, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the water.
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The swineherds ran off, and on going into the town, they told the whole story about what had happened to the demoniacs.
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Then the whole town came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their neighborhood.
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1
And after getting into a boat he crossed the sea and came to his own town.
2
And just then some people were carrying a paralyzed man lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”
3
Then some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.”
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But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?
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For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’?
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But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Stand up, take your bed and go to your home.”
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And he stood up and went to his home.
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When the crowds saw it, they were filled with awe, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to human beings.
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As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.
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And as he sat at dinner
*
in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting
*
with him and his disciples.
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When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
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But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
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Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”
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Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often,
*
but your disciples do not fast?”
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And Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.
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No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, for the patch pulls away from the cloak, and a worse tear is made.
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Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”
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While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader of the synagogue
*
came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.”
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And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples.
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Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak,
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for she said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.”
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Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.
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When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion,
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he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him.
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But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up.
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And the report of this spread throughout that district.
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As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, crying loudly, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”
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When he entered the house, the blind men came to him; and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.”
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Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you.”
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And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly ordered them, “See that no one knows of this.”
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But they went away and spread the news about him throughout that district.