Mark – Gospel 3 – Satan Can’t Drive Out Satan

On another occasion Jesus went in to a synagogue, where there was a man whose hand was withered. 2 And they watched Jesus closely, to see if he would cure the man on the Sabbath, so that they might have a charge to bring against him.

3 “Stand out in the middle,” Jesus said to the man with the withered hand; 4 And to the people he said: “Is it allowable to do good on the Sabbath? Or harm? To save a life, or destroy it?” 5 As they remained silent, Jesus looked round at them in anger, grieving at the hardness of their hearts, and said to the man: “Stretch out your hand.” The man stretched it out; and his hand had become sound. 6 Immediately on leaving the Synagogue, the Pharisees and the Herodians united in laying a plot against Jesus, to put him to death.

7 Then Jesus went away with his disciples to the sea, followed by a great number of people from Galilee. 8 And a great number, hearing of all that he was doing, came to him from Judea, from Jerusalem, from Edom, from beyond the Jordan, and from the country round Tyre and Sidon. 9 So Jesus told his disciples to keep a small boat close by, for fear the crowd should crush him. 10 For he had cured many of them, and so people kept crowding upon him, that all who were afflicted might touch him.

11 The foul spirits, too, whenever they caught sight of him, flung themselves down before him, and screamed out: “You are the Son of God”! 12 But he repeatedly warned them not to make him known. 13 And Jesus made his way up the hill, and called those whom he wished; and they went to him. 14 And he appointed twelve, whom he also named ‘apostles,’ that they might be with him, and that he might send them out as his messengers, to preach, 15 And with power to drive out demons.

16 So he appointed the twelve: Peter (which was the name that Jesus gave to Simon), 17 James, the son of Zebediah, and his brother John (whom he surnamed Boanerges, meaning the sons of thunder), 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, 19 And Judas Iscariot, the man that betrayed him. 20 Jesus went into a house; and again a crowd collected, so that they were not able even to eat their food.

21 When his relations heard of it, they went to take charge of him, for they said that he was out of his mind. 22 And the teachers of the law, who had come down from Jerusalem, said: “He has the devil in him, and he drives the demons out by the help of Beelzebub, their chief.” 23 So Jesus called them to him, and answered them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 When a kingdom is divided against itself, it cannot last; 25 And when a household is divided against itself, it will not be able to last. 26 So, if Satan is in revolt against himself and is divided, he cannot last; his end has come!

27 No one who has got into a strong man’s house can carry off his goods, without first securing him; and not till then will they plunder his house. 28 I tell you that men will be forgiven everything: their sins, and all the slanders that they utter; 29 but whoever slanders the Holy Spirit remains unforgiven to the end; he has to answer for an enduring sin.” 30 This was said in reply to the charge that he had a foul spirit in him.

31 And his mother and his brothers came, and stood outside, and sent to ask him to come to them. 32 There was a crowd sitting round Jesus, and some of them said to him: “Look, your mother and your brothers are outside, asking for you.” 33 “Who is my mother? and my brothers?” was his reply. 34 Then he looked around on the people sitting in a circle round him, and said: “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

To read the next chapter of the Book of Mark, please go to The Gospel of Mark – 4.

This Online New Testament Gospel of Mark is excerpted from the book The Living Hour: The Lord’s Prayer for Daily Life (with New Century Gospels). Including over 200 bookmarked citations from the canonical Gospels, this Progressive Christian book appeals to the Unitarian spirit at the heart of all faiths.

Challenge your perceptions on the Gospel of Christ, Jesus’s parables, and the Kingdom of God by purchasing The Lord’s Prayer book today. Produced by LivingHour.org, a Thailand-based small press dedicated to publishing unique Learn Thai Language books and eBooks, as well as works on progressive spirituality.

Mark – Gospel 5 – My Name is Legion

And they came to the other side of the sea—the country of the Gerasenes; 2 And, as soon as Jesus had got out of the boat, he met a man coming out of the tombs, who was under the power of a foul spirit, 3 And who made his home in the tombs. No one had ever been able to secure him, even with a chain; 4 For, though he had many times been left secured with fetters and chains, he had snapped the chains and broken the fetters to pieces, and no one could master him. 5 Night and day alike, he was continually shrieking in the tombs and among the hills, and cutting himself with stones.

6 Catching sight of Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed to the ground before him, 7 Shrieking out in a loud voice: “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the most high God? For God’s sake do not torment me!” 8 For Jesus had said: “Come out from the man, you foul spirit.” 9 And he asked him: “What is your name?” “My name,” he said, “is legion, for there are many of us;” 10 and he begged Jesus again and again not to send them away out of that country.

11 There was a large drove of pigs close by, feeding on the hill-side. 12 And the spirits begged Jesus: “Send us into the pigs, that we may take possession of them.” 13 Jesus gave them leave. They came out, and entered into the pigs; and the drove—about two thousand in number—rushed down the steep slope into the sea and were drowned in the sea. 14 On this the men who tended them ran away, and carried the news to the town, and to the country round; and the people went to see what had happened.

15 When they came to Jesus, they found the possessed man sitting there, clothed and in his right mind—the very man who had had the ‘legion’ in him—and they were awe-struck. 16 Then those who had seen it related to them all that had happened to the possessed man, as well as about the pigs; 17 Upon which they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood.

18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the possessed man begged him to let him stay with him. 19 But Jesus refused. “Go back to your home, to your own people,” he said, “and tell them of all that the Lord has done for you, and how he took pity on you.” 20 So the man went, and began to proclaim in the district of the ten towns all that Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.

21 By the time Jesus had re-crossed in the boat to the opposite shore, a great number of people had gathered to meet him, and were standing by the sea. 22 And one of the presidents of the synagogue, whose name was Jaeirus, came and, as soon as he saw Jesus, threw himself at his feet with repeated entreaties. 23 “My little daughter,” he said, “is at the point of death; I beg you to come and place your hands on her, that her life may be spared.” 24 So Jesus went with him. A great number of people followed Jesus, and kept pressing round him.

25 Meanwhile a woman who for twelve years had suffered from hemorrhage, 26 And undergone much at the hands of many doctors, (spending all she had without obtaining any relief, but, on the contrary, growing worse), 27 Heard about Jesus, came behind in the crowd, and touched his cloak. 28 “If I can only touch his clothes,” she said, “I shall get well!” 29 At once the mischief was stopped, and she felt in herself that she was cured of her complaint. 30 Jesus at once became aware of the power that had gone out from him, and, turning round in the crowd, he said: “Who touched my clothes?”

31 “You see the people pressing round you,” exclaimed his disciples, “and yet you say: ‘Who touched me?’” 32 But Jesus looked about to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, in fear and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and threw herself down before him, and told him the whole truth. 34 “Daughter,” he said, “your faith has delivered you. Go, and peace be with you; be whole from your sickness.”

35 Before he had finished speaking, some people from the house of the president of the synagogue came and said: “Your daughter is dead! Why should you trouble the teacher further?” 36 But Jesus, overhearing what they were saying, said to the president of the synagogue: “Do not be afraid; only have faith.” 37 And he allowed no one to accompany him, except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.

38 Presently they reached the president’s house, where Jesus saw a scene of confusion: people weeping and wailing incessantly. 39 “Why this confusion and weeping?” he said on entering. “The little child is not dead; she is asleep.” 40 They began to laugh at him; but he sent them all out, and then, with the child’s father and mother and his companions, went into the room where she was lying.

41 Taking her hand, Jesus said to her: “Taleitha, koum!”—which means ‘little girl, I am speaking to you: rise!’ 42 The little girl stood up at once, and began to walk about; for she was twelve years old. And, as soon as they saw it, they were overwhelmed with amazement; 43 But Jesus repeatedly cautioned them not to let anyone know of it, and told them to give her something to eat.

To read the next chapter of the Book of Mark, please go to The Gospel of Mark – 6.

This Online New Testament Gospel of Mark is excerpted from the book The Living Hour: The Lord’s Prayer for Daily Life (with New Century Gospels). Including over 200 bookmarked citations from the canonical Gospels, this Progressive Christian book appeals to the Unitarian spirit at the heart of all faiths.

Challenge your perceptions on the Gospel of Christ, Jesus’s parables, and the Kingdom of God by purchasing The Lord’s Prayer book today. Produced by LivingHour.org, a Thailand-based small press dedicated to publishing unique Learn Thai Language books and eBooks, as well as works on progressive spirituality.

Matthew – Gospel 24 – The Son of Man & Fig Tree

Leaving the temple courts, Jesus was walking away, when his disciples came up to draw his attention to the temple buildings. 2 “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “I tell you, not a single stone will be left here upon another, which will not be throne down,” 3 So, while Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came up to him privately and said: “Tell us when this will be, and what will be the sign of your coming, and of the close of the age.”

4 Jesus replied to them as follows: “See that no one leads you astray; 5 For, many will take my name, and come saying ‘I am the Christ,’ and will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; take care not to be alarmed, for such things must occur; but the end is not yet here. 7 For ‘nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom,’ and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All this, however, will be but the beginning of the birth pangs!”

9 “When that time comes, they will give you up to persecution, and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations on account of my name. 10 And then many will fall away, and will betray one another, and hate one another. 11 Many false prophets, also, will appear and lead many astray; 12 And, owing to the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold. 13 Yet those who endure to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be proclaimed throughout the world as a witness to all nations; and then will come the end.”

15 “As soon, then, as you see ‘the foul desecration,’ mentioned by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place,” (whosoever reads this let them understand) 16 “Then those of you who are in Judea must take refuge in the mountains; 17 And those on the housetops must not go down to get their things that are in their houses; 18 Nor must those who are on their farm turn back to get their cloaks. 19 And woe to the women that are with child, and for those that are nursing infants in those days!”

20 “Pray, too, that your flight may not take place in winter, nor on a Sabbath; 21 For that will be ‘a time of great distress, the like of which has not occurred from the beginning of the world down to the present time’—no, nor ever will again. 22 And had not those days been limited, not a single soul would escape; but for the sake of ‘God’s People’ a limit will be put to them.”

23 “And, at that time, if anyone should say to you: ‘Look! Here is the Christ!’ or ‘Here he is!’ do not believe it; 24 For false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will display great signs and marvels, so that, were it possible, even God’s people would be led astray. 25 Remember, I have told you beforehand. 26 Therefore, if people say to you: ‘He is in the wilderness!’ do not go out there; or: ‘He is in an inner room!’ do not believe it; 27 For, just as lightning will start from the east and flash across to the west, so will it be with the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever a dead body lies, there will the vultures flock.’”

29 “Immediately after the distress of those days, ‘the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give her light, the stars will fall from the heavens,’ and ‘the forces of the heavens will be convulsed.’ 30 Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in the heavens; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn, when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the heavens,’ with power and great glory; 31 And he will send his angels, with a great trumpet, and they will gather his people round him from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

32 “Learn the lesson taught by the fig tree. As soon as its branches are full of sap, and it is bursting into leaf, you know that summer is near. 33 And so may you, as soon as you see all these things, know that he is at your doors. 34 I tell you, even the present generation will not pass away, till all these things have taken place. 35 The heavens and the earth will pass away, but my words shall never pass away.”

36 “But about that day and hour, no one knows: not even the angels of heaven, nor yet the Son, but only the Father himself. 37 For, just as in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 In those days before the flood they went on eating and drinking, marrying and being married, up to the very day on which Noah entered the ark, 39 Taking not notice till the flood came and swept them one and all away; and so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.”

40 “At that time, two shall be in the field, one will be taken and the other left; 41 Two shall be grinding at the mill, one will be taken and the other left. 42 Therefore watch; for you cannot be sure on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But this you do know, that, had the owner of the house known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have been on the watch, and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore, do you also prepare, since it is just when you are least expecting him that the Son of Man will come.”

45 “Who then are those trustworthy, careful servants, who have been placed by their master over their household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Happy will those servants be whom their master, when he comes home, shall find doing this. 47 I tell you that his master will put them in charge of the whole of his property.”

48 “But, should they be a bad servants, and say to themselves, ‘My master is a long time in coming,’ 49 And begin to beat their fellow-servants, and eat and drink with drunkards, 50 Those servants’ master will come on a day when they do not expect him, and at an hour of which they are unaware, 51 And will flog them severely, and assign them their place among the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.”

To read the next chapter of the Book of Matthew, please go to The Gospel of John – 25.

This Online New Testament Gospel of Matthew is excerpted from the book The Living Hour: The Lord’s Prayer for Daily Life (with New Century Gospels). Including over 200 bookmarked citations from the canonical Gospels, this Progressive Christian book appeals to the Unitarian spirit at the heart of all faiths.

Challenge your perceptions on the Gospel of Christ, Jesus’s parables, and the Kingdom of God by purchasing The Lord’s Prayer book today. Produced by LivingHour.org, a Thailand-based small press dedicated to publishing unique Learn Thai Language books and eBooks, as well as works on progressive spirituality.

Matthew – Gospel 27 – God, Why Has Thou Forsaken Me?

At daybreak all the chief priests and the councilors of the nation consulted together against Jesus, to bring about his death. 2 They put him in chains and led him away, and gave him up to the Roman governor, Pilate. 3 Then Judas, who betrayed him, seeing that Jesus was condemned, repented of what he had done, and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and councilors. 4 “I did wrong in betraying a good man to his death,” he said. “What has that to do with us?” they replied. “You must see to that yourself.”

5 Judas flung down the pieces of silver in the temple and left; and went away and hanged himself. 6 The chief priests took the pieces of silver, but they said: “We must not put them into the temple treasury, because they are blood-money.” 7 So after consultation, they bought with them the ‘Potter’s Field’ for a burial-ground for foreigners; 8 And that is why that field is called the ‘Field of Blood’ to this very day. 9 It was then that these words spoken by the prophet Jeremiah were fulfilled: ‘They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him who was valued, whom some of the people of Israel valued, 10 And gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.’

11 Meanwhile Jesus was brought before the Roman governor. “Are you the King of the Jews?” asked the governor. “That is what you say,” answered Jesus. 12 While charges were being brought against him by the chief priests and councilors, Jesus made no reply. 13 Then Pilate said to him: “Do not you hear how many accusations they are making against you?” 14 Yet Jesus made no reply, not even a single word; at which the governor was greatly astonished.

15 Now, at the feast, the governor was accustomed to grant the people the release of any one prisoner whom they might choose. 16 At that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 So, when the people had gathered, Pilate said to them: “Which do you wish me to release for you? Barabbas? Or Jesus who is called ‘Christ’?” 18 For he knew that it was out of jealousy that they had given Jesus up to him.

19 While he was still on the bench, his wife sent this message to him: “Do not have anything to do with that good man, for I have been very unhappy today because of a dream I had of him.” 20 But the chief priests and the councilors persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas, and to kill Jesus. 21 The governor, however, said to them: “Which of these two do you wish me to release for you?” “Barabbas,” they answered. 22 “What then,” Pilate asked, “shall I do with Jesus who is called ‘Christ’?” “Let him be crucified,” they all replied. 23 “Why, what harm has he done?” he asked. But they kept shouting furiously: “Let him be crucified!”

24 When Pilate saw that contrary to his efforts a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands in the sight of the crowd, saying as he did so: “I am not answerable for this bloodshed; you must see to it yourselves.” 25 And all the people answered: “His blood be on our heads and on our children’s!” 26 Then Pilate released Barabbas to them; but Jesus he scourged and gave him up to be crucified.

27 After that, the governor’s soldiers took Jesus with them into the government house and gathered the whole garrison round him. 28 They stripped him and put on him a red military cloak, 29 And having twisted some thorns into a crown, put it on his head, and a rod in his right hand, and then, going down on their knees before him, they mocked him: “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 They spat at him and, taking the rod, kept striking him on the head; 31 And, when they had quit mocking him, they took off the military cloak, and put his own clothes on him, and led him away to be crucified.

32 As they were on their way out, they came upon a man from Cyrene named Simon; and they compelled him to go with them to carry the cross. 33 On reaching a place named Golgotha (a place named from its likeness to a skull), 34 they gave him some wine to drink which had been mixed with gall; but after tasting it, Jesus refused to drink it. 35 When they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among them by casting lots. 36 Then they sat down and kept watch over him.

37 Above his head they fixed the accusation against him, written out: ‘THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.’ 38 At the same time, two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right, the other on the left. 39 The passers-by railed at him, shaking their heads as they said: 40 “You who ‘destroy the temple and build one in three days,’ save yourself! If you are God’s Son, come down from the cross!”

41 In the same way the chief priests, with the teachers of the law and councilors, said in mockery: 42 “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! He is the ‘King of Israel’! Let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. 43 He has trusted in God; if God wants him, let him deliver him now; for he said: ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 Even the robbers who were crucified with him reviled him in the same way.

45 After mid-day a darkness came over all the country, lasting until three in the afternoon. 46 At about three Jesus called out loudly: “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani”: that is to say, ‘My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?’ 47 Some of those standing by heard this, and said: “The man is calling for Elijah!”

48 One of them immediately ran and took a sponge, and, filling it with common wine, put it on the end of a rod and offered it to him to drink. 49 But the rest said: “Wait and let us see if Elijah is coming to save him.” However another man took a spear and pierced his side; and water and blood flowed from it. 50 But Jesus, uttering another loud cry, gave up his spirit.

51 Suddenly the temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth shook, the rocks were torn asunder, 52 The tombs opened, and the bodies of many of God’s people who had fallen asleep rose, 53 And they, leaving their tombs, went after the resurrection of Jesus into the Holy City and appeared to many people. 54 The Roman captain and the men with him who were watching Jesus, on seeing the earthquake, and all that was happening, became greatly frightened and exclaimed: “This must indeed have been God’s Son!”

55 There were many women watching from a distance, who had accompanied Jesus from Galilee, and had been attending on him. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebediah’s sons. 57 When evening had fallen, there came a rich man from Arimathǽa, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to see Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; upon which Pilate ordered it to be given him. 59 So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen sheet, 60 And laid it in his newly-made tomb which he had cut in the rock; and before he left, he rolled a great stone against the entrance of the tomb. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary remained behind, sitting in front of the grave.

62 The next day (that is, the day following the preparation-day) the chief priests and Pharisees came together to see Pilate and said: 63 “Sir, we remember that during his lifetime that impostor said: ‘I shall rise after three days.’ 64 So order the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise his disciples may come and steal him, and then say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ so the last imposture will be worse than the first.” 65 “You may have a guard,” was Pilate’s reply; “go and make the tomb as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone, in presence of the guard.

To read the next chapter of the Book of Matthew, please go to The Gospel of Matthew – 28.

This Online New Testament Gospel of Matthew is excerpted from the book The Living Hour: The Lord’s Prayer for Daily Life (with New Century Gospels). Including over 200 bookmarked citations from the canonical Gospels, this Progressive Christian book appeals to the Unitarian spirit at the heart of all faiths.

Challenge your perceptions on the Gospel of Christ, Jesus’s parables, and the Kingdom of God by purchasing The Lord’s Prayer book today. Produced by LivingHour.org, a Thailand-based small press dedicated to publishing unique Learn Thai Language books and eBooks, as well as works on progressive spirituality.