He ¹  sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and look carefully for the child. When you find him, inform me so that I can go and worship him as well.”

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ ¹  will enter into the kingdom of heaven – only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons and do ¹  many powerful deeds?’

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth. ¹  “Follow me,” he said to him. And he got up and followed him.

All things have been handed over to me by my Father. ¹  No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son decides ²  to reveal him.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower, ¹  he must deny ²  himself, take up his cross, ³  and follow me.

Jesus answered, ¹  “You ²  unbelieving ³  and perverse generation! How much longer ⁴  must I be with you? How much longer must I endure ⁵  you? ⁶  Bring him here to me.”

Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give the money ¹  to the poor, and you will have treasure ²  in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Jesus ¹  answered them, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.

The ¹  one who had received the five talents came and brought five more, saying, ‘Sir, ²  you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’

Then ¹  Jesus ²  called the crowd, along with his disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to become my follower, ³  he must deny ⁴  himself, take up his cross, ⁵  and follow me.

But he saw through their hypocrisy and said ¹  to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius ²  and let me look at it.”

Jesus ¹  said to them, “No doubt you will quote to me the proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ ²  and say, ‘What we have heard that you did in Capernaum, ³  do here in your hometown too.’”

But Martha was distracted ¹  with all the preparations she had to make, ²  so ³  she came up to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care ⁴  that my sister has left me to do all the work ⁵  alone? Tell ⁶  her to help me.”

Then ¹  he will reply ²  from inside, ‘Do not bother me. The door is already shut, and my children and I are in bed. ³  I cannot get up and give you anything.’ ⁴ 

Returning ¹  home, he calls together ²  his ³  friends and neighbors, telling them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost.’

Won’t ¹  the master ²  instead say to him, ‘Get my dinner ready, and make yourself ready ³  to serve me while ⁴  I eat and drink. Then ⁵  you may eat and drink’?

The tax collector, however, stood ¹  far off and would not even look up ²  to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful ³  to me, sinner that I am!’ ⁴ 

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have ¹  and give the money ²  to the poor, ³  and you will have treasure ⁴  in heaven. Then ⁵  come, follow me.”

and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading ¹  the people. When I examined him before you, I ²  did not find this man guilty ³  of anything you accused him of doing.