Going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in a boat ¹  with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. Then ²  he called them.

So a report about him spread throughout Syria. People ¹  brought to him all who suffered with various illnesses and afflictions, those who had seizures, ²  paralytics, and those possessed by demons, ³  and he healed them.

Thus whenever you do charitable giving, ¹  do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in synagogues ²  and on streets so that people will praise them. I tell you the truth, ³  they have their reward.

“Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray while standing in synagogues ¹  and on street corners so that people can see them. Truly I say to you, they have their reward.

“When ¹  you fast, do not look sullen like the hypocrites, for they make their faces unattractive ²  so that people will see them fasting. I tell you the truth, ³  they have their reward.

Look at the birds in the sky: ¹  They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds ²  them. Aren’t you more valuable ³  than they are?

Do not give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before pigs; otherwise they will trample them under their feet and turn around and tear you to pieces. ¹ 

Then Jesus said to him, “See that you do not speak to anyone, ¹  but go, show yourself to a priest, and bring the offering ²  that Moses commanded, ³  as a testimony to them.” ⁴ 

But ¹  he said to them, “Why are you cowardly, you people of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked ²  the winds and the sea, ³  and it was dead calm.

When ¹  he went into the house, the blind men came to him. Jesus ²  said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.”

At that time Jesus said, ¹  “I praise ²  you, Father, Lord ³  of heaven and earth, because ⁴  you have hidden these things from the wise ⁵  and intelligent, and revealed them to little children.

He said to them, “Would not any one of you, if he had one sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath, take hold of it and lift it out?

Now when Jesus ¹  realized what they were thinking, he said to them, ²  “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed, ³  and no town or house divided against itself will stand.

The people ¹  of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented when Jonah preached to them ²  – and now, ³  something greater than Jonah is here!

Let both grow together until the harvest. At ¹  harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, but then ²  gather ³  the wheat into my barn.”’”

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with ¹  three measures ²  of flour until all the dough had risen.” ³ 

Then he said to them, “Therefore every expert in the law ¹  who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his treasure what is new and old.”

A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then ¹  he left them and went away.

While he was still speaking, a ¹  bright cloud ²  overshadowed ³  them, and a voice from the cloud said, ⁴  “This is my one dear Son, ⁵  in whom I take great delight. Listen to him!” ⁶ 

What do you think? If someone ¹  owns a hundred ²  sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go look for the one that went astray? ³