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On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was sacrificed, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go to prepare the Passover meal for you?”

So Jesus sent two of them into Jerusalem with these instructions: “As you go into the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him. At the house he enters, say to the owner,’The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with My disciples?” He will take you upstairs to a large room that is already set up. That is where you should prepare our meal.” So the two disciples went into the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover meal there.

In the evening Jesus arrived with the twelve disciples. As they were at the table eating, Jesus said, ” I tell you the truth, one of you eating with me here will betray me.”

Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, “Am I the one?”

He replied, “It is one of you twelve who is eating from this bowl with me. For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible will it be for the one who betrays him. For it would be far better for that man it he had never been born!”

As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then He broke it into pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take it, for this is My body.”

And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He ave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, “This is My blood, which confirms the covenant between God and His people. It is poured out as a sacrifice for many. I tell you the truth, I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it in the new Kingdom of God.

Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives. (vv. 12-26, NLT)

[Jesus answers the Sadducees’ -religious leaders who say there is no resurrection (v.18)] Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like angels in heaven. “

“But now, as to whether the dead will be raised – haven’t you ever read about this in the writings of Moses, in the story of the burning bush? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob died, God said to Moses, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ So He is the God of all the living, not the dead. You have made a serious error.” (vv. 24-27, NLT)

The next mornin, as they passed by the fig tree He had cursed, the disciples noticed it had withered from the roots up. Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and exclaimed, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree you cursed has withered and died!”

Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea’, and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and you have no doubt in your heart. I tell yiu , you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.” (vv. 20-25, NLT)

One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so He could touch them and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering Him.

When Jesus saw what was happening, He was angry with His disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to Me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never receive it.” Then He took the children in His arms and placed His hands on them and blessed them.” (vv. 13-16, NLT)

“So the Pharisees and teachers of religious law asked Him, “Why don’t Your disciples follow our age-old tradition” They eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony.”

Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people hone Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands form God.’

For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.” (vv 5-8, NLT)

Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “All of you listen,” He said, “and try to understand. It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.”

Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowd, and His disciples asked Him what He meant by the parable He had just used. “Don’t you understand either?” He asked. “Can’t you see that the food you put into your mouth cannot defile you? For food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes to the sewer.’ (By saying this,He declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes.)

And then He added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things from from within; they are what defile you.” (vv 14-20, NLT)

“For Herod had sent soldiers to arrest and imprison Joh as a favor to Herodias. She had been his brother, Philip’s wife, but Herod had married her. John had been telling Herod, “It is against God’s law to marry your brother’s wife.: So Herodias bore a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But without Herod’s approval she was powerless, for Herod respected John; and knowing that he was a good an holy man, he protected him. Herod was greatly disturbed whenever he talked with Joh, but even so, he liked to listen to him.

Herodias’s chance finally came on Herod’s birthday. He gave a party for his high government officials, and the leading citizens of Galilee. Then his daughter, also named Herodias, cam and performed a dance that greatly pleased Herod and his guests. “Ask me for anything you like,” the king said to the girl,”and I will give you whatever you ask, up to half my kingdom!”

She went out and asked her mother, “What should I ask for?”

Her mother told her, “Ask for the head of John the Baptist, right now, on a tray!”

So the girl hurried bak to the king and told him, “I want the head of John the Baptist, right now, on a tray!”

Then the king deeply regretted what he had said: but because of the vows he had mad in front of his guests, he couldn’t refuse her. So he immediately sent an executioner to the prison to cut off John’s head and bring it to him. The soldier beheaded John in teh prison, brought his head on a try, and gave it to the girl, who took it to her mother. When John’s disciples heard what had happened, they came to get his body and buried it in a tomb. (vv 17-29, NLT)

Jesus left that part of the country and returned with His disciples to Nazareth, His hometown. The next Sabbath He began teaching in the synagogue, and many who heard Hi were amazed. They asked, “Where did He get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles?” Then they scoffed, “He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And His sisters live right here among us.” They were deeply offended and refused to believe Him.

Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in His hometown and among His relatives and His own family.” And because of their unbelief, He couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place His hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their unbelief. (vv. 1-6, NLT)

“While He was still speaking to her, messengers arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. They told him, “Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.”

But Jesus overheard then and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid, Just have faith.”

Then Jesus topped the crowd and wouldn’t let anyone go with Him except Peter, James and John (the brother of James). When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw much commotion and weeping and wailing. He went inside and asked, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.”

The crowd laughed at him. But he made them all leave, and He took the girl’s father and mother and His three disciples into the room where the girl was lying. Holding Her hand, he said to herm, “Talitha koum”, which means “Little girlle, get up!” And the girl, was twelve years old, immediately stood up and walked around! They were totally amazed. Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell anyone what had happened, and then He told them to give her something to eat. (vv. 35-43, NLT)

Jesus got into the boat again and wen back to the other side of the lake, where a large crowd gathered around Him on the shore. Then a leader of the local synagogue, whose name was Jairus, arrived. When he saw Jesus, he fell at His feet, pleading fervently with Him. “My little daughter is dying,” he said. “Please come and lay Your hands on her; heal her so she can live.”

Jesus went with him, and all the people followed, crowding around him. A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better, in fact, she had gotten worse. She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind Him through the crowd and touched his robe. For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” Immediately, the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition.

Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?”

His disciples said to him, “Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, “Who touched me?”

But He kept on looking around to see who had done it. Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of Him, and told him what she had done. And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”(vv. 21-34, NLT)

Then Jesus asked them, “Would anyone light a lamp and then put it under a basket or under the bed? Of course not! A lamp is placed on a stand, where its light will shine. For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought into the light. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

Then He added, “Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given – and you will receive even more. To those who listen to My teaching, more understand will be given. But to those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.” (vv. 21-25, NLT)