But before they lived together,
Mary became pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit.

An angel  appeared to Joseph  in a dream
and said

"Joseph, descendant of David,
do not be afraid to live with Mary as your wife.

Her baby has been conceived by the  power of the Holy Spirit.
She will give birth to a son.

You must name him 'Jesus' ('God saves')
because he will save his people from their sins."

Joseph  took Mary to his home as his wife.
She gave birth to a son, Jesus.

Dear Jesus, Son of God, son of Mary, step-son of Joseph,
please help me understand how you are the Savior of the world

Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem,
during the reign of King Herod.

Some months after Jesus' birth,
several  wise men from the East came to Jerusalem.

They said  "Where is the infant king of the Jews? 
We saw his star as it rose and we have come to offer him honor."

King Herod felt threatened by this news.
He knew from the Scriptures  that the promised Anointed One would be born in Bethlehem.

So Herod sent the wise men to Bethlehem,
pretending that he too would like to offer honor to the child.

The wise men headed for Bethlehem, guided by the star.
The star filled them with joy.
The star stopped over the place where the child was.

The wise men fell to their knees and honored the child.
They offered him gifts of gold, incense and myrrh.

Then they returned to their own country by a different way,
having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod.

Jesus,  help me to honor you like the wise men

After the wise men left Bethlehem,
an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and said

"Go quickly to Egypt,
because Herod wants to kill the child".

That same night, Joseph got up
and set out for Egypt with Mary and Jesus.

Herod was angry after being tricked by the wise men.
He got his soldiers to kill all baby boys two years old or younger in Bethlehem.

After Herod died some months later,
an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream
and told him to return to Israel.

Joseph, Mary and Jesus moved to the town of Nazareth,
thus fulfilling the prophecy about the Anointed One:
"He will be called a Nazarene".

Jesus, you were once a refugee.
  Please bless all refugees in the world today

About 30 years after Jesus was born,
a man began preaching repentance,
and baptizing people in the river Jordan.

This man was John the Baptist.
His message was
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand".

John fulfilled the prophecy:
"A voice cries in the wilderness: prepare a way for the Lord".

John said "I baptize you with water,
but one is coming who  will baptize you with the Holy Spirit".

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.
After Jesus was baptized, the heavens opened,
and Jesus saw the Spirit of God coming down on him like a dove.

And a voice from heaven said
"This is my Son, the Beloved.
My favor rests on him".

Jesus, please help me to prepare your way, like John the Baptist

After he was baptized,
Jesus spent about 40 days praying and fasting in the desert.
During this time, he was tempted by Satan.

"If you are the Son of God,
change some stones into bread" said Satan.

Jesus replied "Human life needs more than bread.
Life needs God's message".

Satan then  took Jesus to a high place and said
"Throw yourself down, since the angels will protect you".

Jesus replied
"Presumption is a sin".

Then Satan  took Jesus to a high mountain
and showed him all the nations of the world.

"Worship me and I will give you all these nations" said Satan.

Jesus replied
"Go away, Satan!   Only God is to be worshipped".

The devil then went away.

Jesus, please protect us from Satan and from evil

Jesus called four fishermen to become "fishers of men":
Peter and his brother Andrew, James and his brother John.
They left their boats and went with Jesus.

Jesus went all round the area of Galilee,
preaching in local prayer halls
and healing all kinds of sick people

News spread about the sick being healed,
and soon even  people from distant places came to Jesus to be healed.

Jesus, please heal the people I know who are sick: (...names...)

Blessed are poor and simple of heart  people.
They belong to the kingdom of heaven .

Blessed are people who are going through great sorrow.
Their hearts will be filled with peace.

Blessed are people who lead just and honest lives.
They will see the victory of goodness.

Blessed are people who show mercy to others.
God will be merciful to them.

Blessed are people who have a clean heart.
They will see God.

Blessed are people who are peacemakers.
They are God's children.

Blessed are people who are persecuted for the cause of right.
They will receive a great reward in heaven.

Jesus, please help me be merciful and kind and just

You are the salt of the earth.
But if salt loses its taste, it's no use for anything.

You are the light of the world.
Let the world see your light, your good deeds.

When people see you doing good deeds,
people will praise God.

I have not come to abolish the Jewish religion.
I have come to raise it to a higher level of goodness.

Your goodness must not just be something superficial.
Your goodness must be something from the heart.

You must avoid anger and insult, just like you avoid murder.
If you have offended someone, say "Sorry".

You must avoid lustful looks and thoughts.
Looking at someone lustfully is immorality of the heart.

Love and pray for people who are unkind to you.
This is the way to practise the highest level of goodness.

Jesus,  please help me practise a higher level of goodness

When you do a good deed,
do it for its own sake, not just to get people to praise you.

When you pray, love to pray in private in your heart.
Don't be looking for people to notice and praise you.

When you pray, there's no need to rave on and on.
God is not deaf. Prayer is not a lawyer arguing a case.
Prayer is a child speaking with simple trust like this:

Our Father in heaven,
may everyone love and honor you.

Your kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth as in heaven.

Thank you for enough food for today.
Forgive us as we forgive others.

Save us in time of trial.
Protect us from evil

Jesus,  help me remember that each time I pray "The Our Father",
you are praying with me. "Your Father = my Father = our Father"

Jesus said to the crowds:

When you do a bit of fasting,
don't run round telling the world what you are doing.
Secret fasting is spiritually powerful.

Your most  important account  is with the Bank of Heaven.
Build up your deposit with lots of good deeds and prayers.

Physical blindness is a great tragedy.
Greater still is spiritual blindness.

God must be number one in your life.
Don't let money or anything else replace God.

Jesus, please be Number One in my life

Pointing to flowers in the field Jesus said:
How beautiful are the flowers.
They are more beautiful than King Solomon's clothing.

If God cares so much about the life of flowers
won't he care even more about human life?

So, don't spend your day worrying about
what you are going to eat and drink and wear.

Put God first in your life, God and a right way of life,
then  God will look after your physical needs.

Don't waste your energy worrying about tomorrow.
Live life one day at a time.

Heavenly Father, thank you for caring for
the birds and flowers....and me!

Do not judge other people,
and God will not judge you.

It's so easy to be aware of other people's faults
yet be blind to your own faults.

Persevere in prayer. Ask and you will receive.
Search and you will find.
Knock and the door will be opened.

You like to give good things to your children.
God likes to give good things to you.

Treat other people
the way you would like them to treat you.

Beware of bad leaders.
A sure way to know if someone is good or bad:
are their actions good or bad?

If you put my words into practice,
you are like someone who builds his house on rock.

If you ignore my words,
you are like someone who builds his house on sand.

Jesus, please help me put your words into practice

But one day a leper broke the law.
He came right up to Jesus and said
"If you want to, you can heal me."

Jesus also broke the law.
He stretched out his hand, touched the leper,
and said "Of course I want to heal you. Be healed!"

The man was healed immediately.

Jesus, I didn't know you were a law-breaker.  I guess this means that sometimes, in special cases,  it's ok to break the law

In the town of Capernaum, a Roman army captain said to Jesus
"Sir, my servant is paralyzed and in great pain."
Jesus replied "I will go and heal him".

But the captain said
"Sir, I am not worthy that you should enter my house.
Just say the word and my servant will be healed.

For I understand orders. I give an order, and people act.
I know that you also just need to give an order,
and my servant will be healed".

Jesus said
"This foreigner's faith is greater than that of the local people.
And I  tell you that in the future
people from all parts of the world will be in the kingdom of heaven".

Then Jesus said to the captain
"Go home. Your request made in faith is granted".

And the servant was healed at that moment.

Jesus, please give more people,
 from all parts of the world, the faith of the captain

That evening,
many sick people were brought to Peter's home.
Jesus healed them all.

Jesus, please heal .....(names)....who are sick

Jesus was so tired that he went to sleep in the boat.
Then a sudden storm caused big waves to lash the boat.

Jesus' friends woke him up  and said
"Save us, Lord, we are sinking".

Jesus stood up, and ordered the wind and sea to be calm.
Straight away the wind and sea were calm.

Jesus' friends said to each other
"Who is this? Even the wind and sea obey him."

Jesus, please calm the storms in my life, my family, our world

Jesus knew that these people believed he could help them,
so he said to the paralyzed man "Courage, your sins are forgiven".

Religious leaders in the crowd were thinking to themselves
that Jesus was wrong to say he could forgive sins.

So Jesus said to the leaders: Which is easier:
to say 'Your sins are forgiven', or to say 'Get up and walk'?

Then to prove that he had authority to forgive sins,
he said to the paralyzed man
"Get up, pick up your bed and go home".

The man got up and went home.
The crowd praised God for what they had seen.

Jesus, please give me more faith in your power to forgive,
 your power to heal

Matthew invited Jesus and Jesus' friends to a dinner in his house.
Some tax collectors and  "bad" people sat at Jesus' table.

Religious leaders saw this and complained to Jesus' friends
"Why does your master eat with tax collectors and bad people?"

Jesus' answer was
"It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick.

Go and think about the Bible words
'What I want is mercy, not sacrifice'.
I have a special concern for rejects and down-and-outs."

Jesus, please help religious leaders in today's world
to care more about people who are rejected by society

One day John the Baptist's friends asked Jesus
"How come we and the religious leaders fast, but your friends don't?"

Jesus replied
"Fasting is a good thing, and after I have left this world
my friends will  fast.

But remember that multiplying external prayers and fasts
without a change of heart  is useless.

Out of date religious structures need a drastic overhaul,
not just external plastic surgery."

Jesus, please help me practise a bit of fasting,
especially  each Friday, the day you died

As Jesus and his friends were following the official to his home,
a woman who had a hemorrhage for 12 years
came up behind Jesus and touched his clothing.

The woman had said to herself
"If I can even touch his clothing, I will be healed".

Jesus knew what she was doing and said to her
"My daughter, your faith has healed you".
Instantly she was healed.

When Jesus arrived at the official's house
he saw a crowd of people crying loudly.

Jesus said to them "Get out of the house. The little girl is asleep , not dead".  The crowd laughed at Jesus.

After the crowd had gone outside, Jesus went inside.
He took the little girl by the hand, and she stood up.

News of what had happened spread all round the district.

Jesus, please increase my faith in your power to heal sick people

Jesus asked them "Do you believe I can help you?"
They said "Yes we do".

Then Jesus touched their eyes and said
"Your request made in faith is granted".

Immediately they were able to see again.
They told everyone they met  what Jesus had done for them.

Jesus, please heal my friend ........ who is blind

He felt sorry for the ordinary people
because they were like sheep without a shepherd
- leaderless, exploited, and feeling hopeless.

He said to his friends:
"So many people don't have good leaders.
Pray to God to send good leaders".

Jesus,  many countries have bad leaders.
Please help every country to have good leaders

Peter and his brother Andrew; Zebedees' sons James and John;
Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew;
James son of Alphaeus; Thaddaeus, Simon and Judas.

Jesus sent them to prepare his way by visiting the places he would go.
He gave them power to cast out evil spirits and to heal all kinds of sicknesses.
He said to them:

Proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is near. Cure the sick.
Raise the dead. Cleanse lepers. Cast our devils.

Jesus, please help all Christians to be apostles and fishers of people

But don't worry about what to say for your defense.
What to say will be given you by the Holy Spirit.

Boldly proclaim my message
and do not be afraid of persecution.

Take up your cross and follow me.
Anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me
is not worthy of me."

Jesus, please give me more courage 

Jesus also said to the people around him
how neither John nor himself could please them and their leaders.

"For John the Baptist always fasted and never drank wine,
and people said he was possessed.

I eat well and I drink wine
and people call me a glutton and a drunkard."

Jesus, please help me be someone who is easy to live with,
someone who is not hard to please

Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
I am joyfully amazed at the way simple people
understand and accept what I'm saying,
while proud and clever people miss the plot.

And he said to the ordinary people:

Come to me,
all you who are treated unfairly by unjust religious laws.
I will give you peace and justice.

Learn from me, and you will know peace,
for I am gentle and humble of heart.

Jesus, please help people who are suffering from unjust religious laws

One Sabbath day Jesus and his disciples were walking through a cornfield.  The disciples were hungry.
They picked some ears of corn and ate them.

Picking corn on the Sabbath was regarded as unlawful by the Pharisees.  So the Pharisees said to Jesus
"Your disciples are breaking the Sabbath law".

Jesus replied
"Don't you remember what David and his followers once did when they were hungry? They ate the Temple bread which only the priests were allowed to eat.

Go and learn the meaning  of these words
'What I want is mercy, not superficial external offerings'.

The Son of Man  is master of the Sabbath."

Jesus, Son of Man, please help me understand
 that love is more important than law.

Some religious leaders asked Jesus, to trap him,
"Is it lawful to heal a man on the Sabbath day?"
(The leaders taught that no "work" could be done on the Sabbath).

Jesus replied:
"If one of your sheep fell down a hole on the Sabbath,
wouldn't you lift it out?

A man is more important than a sheep.
Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."

Then Jesus said to the man with the withered hand
"Stretch out your hand".
He stretched it out. It was healed.

The religious leaders left the prayer hall
and began plotting how to get rid of Jesus.

Jesus, please stop bad religious leaders from misleading people

From outside the house they sent a message to say
they would like to speak with him.

When Jesus heard they were there, he said
"Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?"

Then holding out his hand towards his disciples he said
"Here are my mother and brothers.
Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven,
that person is my brother and sister and mother."

Brother Jesus,  please help me do the will of your Father in heaven

A farmer was planting seeds in his field.
Some seeds fell on the path. Birds ate them.

Some seeds fell on rocky ground.
They became sickly plants, without roots, and died.

Some seeds fell among thorns.
When they became plants, they were choked by the thorns.

Some seeds fell on good soil
and produced a rich harvest.

People who hear God's word without good will
are like the seeds on the path.
They are easy prey for Satan.

People who hear God's word only superficially
are like the seeds on rocky ground.
As soon as difficulties come, such people easily give up.

People who hear God's word with one ear
but with the other listen to the call of greed and pleasure
are like the seeds among thorns. Greed kills the word.

People who hear God's word with good will and put it into practice
are like the good seeds which produced a rich harvest.

Jesus, please help me be good seed!

When the good seed sprouted, so did the weeds.
The man's servants asked if they should get rid of the weeds.

"No", said the man, "you might damage the good seed if you do that.
Let them both grow till harvest time. Then burn the weeds."

Then Jesus explained his story:

"I am the sower. The field is the world.
The good seed stands for people of good will.
The bad seed stands for people of bad will. The enemy is Satan.

At the end of the world, the Son of Man will send his angels
to sort out the good and the bad people.
Bad people will go to hell.  Good people will go to heaven".

Jesus, please protect good people from bad people

The kingdom of heaven is like yeast which leavens flour.

The kingdom of heaven is like  treasure in a field.
Someone finds it, then sells all they have to buy the field.

The kingdom of heaven is like a fishing net that catches all sorts of fish. Good fish are put in a basket. Useless fish are thrown away.
So at the end of time, bad people will be thrown into hell.

Jesus, may your kingdom come, your will be done

But the local people would not accept him.  They said
"Where did he get such  wisdom and miraculous power?
He is just a carpenter's son. His mother is that woman called Mary.

His brothers are James, Joseph, Simon and Jude.
His sisters are here, too.  He's nobody special."

Jesus said to them
"A prophet is despised only in his own country and his own house.".

And he did not work many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

Jesus, please give me more faith in you
....and don't let me reject people

This was because John had told Herod he was breaking the Law
by living with Herodias,  his brother's wife.

During a birthday party for Herod,
the daughter of Herodias danced.

Her dancing so pleased Herod
that he said he would give her anything she wanted.

Herodias told her to ask for the head of John the Baptist on a dish.
Herod then had John beheaded.

John's disciples came and buried the body.

Jesus, please give the world good leaders,
 and protect people from bad leaders like Herod

Jesus got the people to sit on the grass.
There were about 20,000 of them.
Then he blessed the loaves and fish.

He handed the loaves and fish to his disciples.
His disciples gave them to the crowd.

Everyone had plenty to eat.
They even had 12 baskets of leftovers.

Jesus, please make leaders do more
 to help  the starving people of the world

When darkness came, the boat was far from land,
but it was battling large waves caused by a strong head-wind.

Jesus then walked on the water towards the boat.
He called out to his disciples "Courage. It is I. Don't be afraid."

Peter answered "Lord, if it is you, tell me to walk on the water to you."  Jesus said "Come".

Peter then started walking on the water,
but he became afraid and began to sink.

"Lord, save me" he called out.
Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to keep walking on the water.

"Man of little faith, why did you doubt?" asked Jesus.
As they got into the boat, the wind stopped.

The men in the boat bowed to Jesus and said
"You really are the Son of God".

Jesus, please help me not to lose faith in you

From all around that area, sick people were brought to him.
The sick people just wanted to touch his clothing.

All those who touched his clothing were healed

Jesus, please heal my sick friends (..names..) by letting them,
through prayer, touch your clothing

Jesus answered, with the words of the prophet Isaiah:
"This people honors me with external lip-service,
while their hearts are far from me."

Jesus also said
"It's not certain foods or lack of washing  that makes a person unclean.
It's evil in the  heart that makes a person unclean.

Evil intentions like murder, adultery, fornication, theft, perjury, slander. These are the things that make a person unclean."

Jesus, please  clean my heart

At first Jesus did not answer her, so his disciples said to him
"Help her, because she keeps shouting after us."

Jesus replied "I was sent only to the people of Israel".
The foreign woman by now was kneeling at Jesus' feet.
"Lord, help me" she pleaded.

Jesus said to her "Woman, you have great faith. Your wish is granted".  At that very moment, her daughter was healed.

Jesus, please give sick people great faith in you

These they put down at Jesus' feet.
Jesus healed them all.

The crowds praised the God of Israel
when they saw the dumb speaking, cripples whole again,
the lame walking and the blind able to see.

Jesus, please give sick people more faith in your healing love

The disciples replied
"Some people say you are one of the famous prophets".

Jesus then asked them
"And what about you. Who do you say I am?"

Peter answered
"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God".

Jesus then said to Peter
"Blessed are you, for my Father in heaven has revealed this to you.

So I now say to you:
you are Peter ('the rock') and on this rock I will build my church.
I will give you the keys of the kingdom."

Jesus, Son of God,
 please help the church to continue your work on earth

He also said 
"If you want to be my disciple, you must deny yourself,
take up your own cross, and follow me.

Selfishness will ruin your life.
Self-sacrificing will bless your life.

What use is it to have everything in this world
yet miss out on Heaven?"

Jesus, please help me find my life by losing it in service of others

The  prophets Moses and Elijah appeared and spoke with him. 
Peter said to Jesus "Lord, how good it is for us to be here!"

Then a bright cloud covered them with its shadow.
From the cloud came a voice:
"This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him."

The disciples bowed to the ground.
When they got up, they saw only Jesus in his normal appearance.

Jesus, Beloved Son of God,
how good it is to spend time with you in prayer.

A man went down on his knees and pleaded with Jesus:

"Lord, please help my son. He is crazy and does crazy things
like falling into fire and into water.
I asked  your disciples to heal him but they were not able to."

There was an evil spirit oppressing the boy,
so Jesus ordered the spirit to leave the boy.
The boy was healed immediately.

Jesus' disciples asked him
"Why were we unable to expel that spirit?"

Jesus answered "Because your faith is not strong enough."

Jesus, please increase my faith,
so that my prayers can be of more help to other people

Jesus got a little child to sit in front of them, and said 
"If you want to be great in God's eyes, become child-like.
In fact, unless you become child-like, you won't get to heaven.

And make sure you never cause harm to children like this one.
Remember, the protecting angels of children
are in the presence of my Father in heaven."

Jesus, please help me to be more child-like,
and please don't let me ever cause harm to children

For the kingdom of heaven is like a king who cancelled the huge debt of one of his servants.

But that same servant refused to cancel the tiny debt of one of his fellow servants.

So the king said to the servant:
'When you appealed to me, I had pity on you and cancelled your big debt.  But you refused to have pity on your fellow servant who asked you for mercy. Therefore you must now go to prison until your big debt is paid.'

If you refuse to forgive other people,
you are making yourself ineligible for God's forgiveness."

Jesus, please help me to forgive other people,
just as you forgive me....many times each day

One day some religious leaders put Jesus to the test by asking him
"Is it against the Law of Moses for a man to divorce his wife?"

Jesus replied "God created male and female, for the two to become united as one body.  What God has united, no one should separate."

The leaders then asked
"But why did Moses allow divorce?"

Jesus replied "Moses allowed divorce because people were so hard of heart.  But divorce was not God's plan.

So I say to you, anyone who walks out on their partner and marries someone else, is guilty of adultery.

Jesus, please help married people stay together

Some people brought their little children to Jesus.
They hoped Jesus would  put his hands on the children and bless them.

Jesus' disciples told the people to go away and not bother Jesus.
But Jesus' said "Don't prevent the little children from coming to me".

Then he put his hands on them and blessed them.

Jesus, please help all children to know you from their earliest days.
Please don't let parents prevent children from coming to you.

Jesus replied "Keep the commandments:
do not kill;  do not commit adultery; honor your father and mother;
care for others as much as you care about yourself".

The young man said "I have kept all these commandments.
What else do I need to do?"

Jesus said "If you want to do something really special with your life, go and sell all your possessions, give the money to the poor,
then come and follow me as one of my disciples".

When the young man heard these words he went away sad,
because he was very rich.

Jesus then said to his disciples
"It is hard for a rich person to get to Heaven".

Chapter 19 (27 - 29)   Listen

On behalf of all the disciples, Peter asked Jesus
"What about us?  We have left everything to follow you."

Jesus replied "You will be leaders in the church on earth.

Also, anyone who has left home, family or country for the sake of my name, will receive a 100-fold blessing in this life,
and will also receive eternal life in Heaven."

Jesus, please bless all Gospel workers

Chapter 20 (1 - 16)   Listen

Jesus said to his disciples
The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them the normal daily wage.

Then about 9am he went again to the market place. He saw more men without a job.  He got them also to go to his vineyard. He promised to pay them a fair wage.

About noon and again about 3pm he once more went to the market place and employed two more groups of men.

About 5pm he went one final time and employed one last group of men.

At sunset when the men came to be paid, the owner paid everyone a normal day's wage.  This made the dawn group unhappy.

They grumbled and said "We have done a full day's work in the heat. Yet we got the same as those who did only one hour's work. This is not fair!"

The owner replied "I am paying you what we agreed to. Why do you begrudge my generosity?"

Chapter 20 (20 -28)     Listen

The brothers James and John were two of Jesus' disciples.
One day their mother said to Jesus
"When you become king, allow my sons to sit at your right and left".

Jesus said to James and John
"Only my Father in heaven can allocate seats on my right and left". 

The 10 other disciples were angry at James and John for seeking honor.  So Jesus said to them all

"In most places, people in power like to dominate and control others.
But this is not to be your way of exercising authority.

You must exercise authority by serving others, not dominating them,
just as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve,
and to give his life as a ransom for the world".

Chapter  20 (29 - 34)     Listen

As  Jesus was leaving Jericho on his way to Jerusalem,
many people followed him along the road.

Sitting by the road were two  men who had become blind.
When they heard that Jesus was going past,
they called out "Son of David, have pity on us."

Some people tried to stop them from calling out,
but they shouted even more loudly " Son of David, have pity on us."

Jesus stopped and said to them "What do you want me to do for you?"  They replied "Lord, let  us see again".

Jesus felt sorry for them.
He touched their eyes and straight away their sight returned.

Chapter 21 (1 - 11)    Listen

Jesus sat on a donkey colt for the trip down the hill
from the Mount of Olives to the city of Jerusalem.

This was as a prophet had predicted:
"Look, your king is coming, humbly riding a peaceful donkey".

Big crowds accompanied Jesus down the hill.
People spread their clothes on the road as a sign of honor.

People cut branches from the trees and waved them singing
"Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.  Hosanna in the highest!"

People in the city asked "Who is he?"
The crowd answered "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee".

Chapter 21 (12 -16)     Listen

When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, he went to the Temple.
In the Temple there were money changers, and people selling pigeons.

Jesus tipped over their tables and drove them out of the Temple.
He said to them "My house is a house of prayer,
but you have turned it into a place for robbery".

Blind and lame people came to Jesus in the Temple.
He healed them all.

Then he went out of the city to the village of Bethany
and spent the night there.

Jesus, please protect  all places of prayer from corruption

Chapter 22 (34 - 40)     Listen

In Jerusalem a religious leader asked Jesus
"Which is the most important commandment?"

Jesus replied
"You must love the Lord your God with all your heart.
And you must care as much about others as you care about yourself.

These are the two most important commandments.
All other commandments depend on  these two."

Chapter 23 (1 - 36)     Listen

Jesus told the people to respect their religious leaders, but he condemned the religious leaders
-  for not practising what they preached
- for doing things just to attract attention
- for craving front seats and places of honor
- for being concerned only with externals

Jesus called the religious leaders
-  "hypocrites"
- "blind guides"
- "tombs that look good on the outside but are  full of dead bones".

Chapter 24 (9 - 44)     Listen

Jesus spoke to his disciples about the future:

"On account of my name you will be hated, tortured and killed.
But the Good News of the kingdom will spread to every nation
before the end of the world.

At the end of the world, the sun and moon will stop shining.
Stars will fall from the sky.

Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky
and all peoples will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds
with power and glory.

He will send his angels with a loud trumpet
to gather good people from all parts of the earth.

Therefore you should live a good life,
and you will have nothing to fear on your last day."

Chapter 25 (31 - 46)    Listen

Jesus said to his disciples:
When I come in glory at the end of the world,
all peoples of all times will be gathered in front of me.

I will separate them, like a shepherd separates sheep from goats.
I will place the sheep on my right, the goats on my left.

I will say to those on my right "Come and enter my kingdom.
For I was hungry, and you gave me food.
I was thirsty, and you gave me drink.
I was a stranger, and you made me welcome.
I was naked, and you clothed me.
I was sick, and you visited me.
I was in prison, and you came to see me".

Then those good people on my right will say
"Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you?
When did we see you thirsty and give you a drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
naked and clothe you, sick or in prison, and visit you?"

I will answer
"Each time  you helped and cared for a poor person,
you helped and cared for me".

Then I will say to those on my left
"Go away from me and join Satan and his angels in hell.

For I was hungry, and you never gave me food.
I was thirsty, and you never gave me anything to drink.
I was a stranger, and you never made me welcome,
naked, and you never clothed me,
sick and in prison, and you never visited me".

Those on my left will then ask
"Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or naked,
sick or in prison, and did not come to your help?"

I will answer
"Each time you refused to help and care for a poor person,
you refused to help and care for me".

Those on the left will then go to eternal punishment.
Those on the right will go to eternal life.

Chapter 26 (1 - 16)    Listen

A few days before the Passover festival,
the religious leaders kept looking for a way to arrest Jesus and have him put to death

Jesus knew what was happening. He told his disciples
"In a few days I will be crucified".

During these days Jesus had a meal at the home of Simon the leper.
At the meal, a woman put expensive burial oil on Jesus' head.
The woman understood  that Jesus was soon to die.

One of Jesus' 12 apostles, Judas Iscariot, went to the religious leaders
and offered to help them arrest Jesus at a convenient time.

The leaders paid Judas 30 pieces of silver.
Judas looked for an opportunity to arrange the arrest.

Chapter 26 (17 - 29)     Listen

On Passover Eve, Jesus ate a last meal with his apostles.
While they were eating, Jesus told them he knew he would be betrayed by one of them. He told Judas he knew he was the betrayer.

Then Jesus took some bread, blessed it and gave it to his apostles saying "Take this and eat it. This is my body".

Then he took a cup of wine, blessed it and gave it to them saying
"Take this and drink it. This is my blood".

Chapter 26 (30 - 46)     Listen

After their last meal, Jesus said to his apostles
"Tonight all of you will desert me".

Peter said "I will never desert you".
Jesus replied "Tonight before the rooster crows,
you will deny me three times".

They came to a place with olive trees called Gethsemane.
Jesus took Peter, James and John to a part of that area
and asked them to pray with him.

Jesus was overcome with sadness and fear.
He said to them "Sadness is filling my heart, as if my heart is dying.
Please support me as I pray."

Then he fell on his face and prayed for about an hour:
"Father, don't let this suffering continue. But your will be done".

He stood up and found that the apostles were asleep.
He said to them "Couldn't you stay awake one hour to support me?"

Three times he prayed the same way.
Three times the apostles went to sleep.

Then he said "Get ready.  The one who is betraying me is coming".

Jesus, please help me give more time to prayer

Chapter 26 (47 - 56)      Listen

While Jesus was still speaking, Judas arrived.
Judas had with him a large crowd of men with swords and clubs,
sent by the religious leaders

Judas had told these men "The one I kiss is the man. Take him".
So Judas went up to Jesus, said "Greetings, Master" and kissed him. The men  then seized Jesus

Jesus said to them "Am I a robber that you needed to capture me
with swords and clubs?  Day after day I was openly teaching in the Temple"

All of Jesus' apostles then deserted him and ran away

Jesus, when I feel I am being treated unfairly by other people,
may your arrest give me strength

Chapter 26 (57 - 68)    Listen

The men who arrested Jesus took him to a meeting of the religious leaders. The leaders wanted to condemn Jesus to death,
even if they had to use false evidence.

Jesus remained silent before their accusations.
Then the main leader challenged Jesus:
"Are you the Anointed One, the Son of God?"

Jesus replied "Yes".
The main leader then called out "We have heard him claim to be of Divine origin. This is blasphemy".

The rest of the leaders shouted "He should die".
Then they spat in Jesus' face and hit him with their fists.

Chapter 26 (69 - 75)     Listen

Peter went to the place where the religious leaders had Jesus on trial.
A young woman in the courtyard of the place  said to him
"You are a friend of the Galilean".

In front of the woman and people around her
Peter said "I don't know what you're talking about".

Peter went to the gateway of the place, where another woman said to people around her "This man is a friend of the Galilean".
Peter replied strongly "I don't know the man".

Not long after this a group of people said to Peter
"You are his friend. We can tell by your Galilean accent".

Then Peter even more strongly replied "I do not know the man".

At that very moment, a rooster crowed.
Peter remembered Jesus' words "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times".   Peter went outside and wept loudly.

Chapter 27 (1 - 26)     Listen

Early in the morning, the religious leaders had Jesus bound with ropes.
They then took him to Pilate, the Roman governor.

The leaders accused Jesus of many crimes.
To the governor's amazement, Jesus remained silent.

The leaders persuaded the crowd to demand
the execution of Jesus. They called out to Pilate "Crucify him".

Pilate asked "Why? What has he done wrong?"
The crowd shouted all the louder "Crucify him. Crucify him".

Pilate then washed his hands in front of the crowd and said
"I am innocent of this man's blood".
The crowd shouted "His blood be on us and on our children".

Pilate then ordered Jesus to be scourged and crucified.

Chapter 27 (27 - 31)     Listen

After the Roman soldiers scourged Jesus, they made fun of him:
- they put a red cloak on him.
- they made a crown out of thorns.
- they put a reed in his right hand.

Then they knelt in front of him saying "Hail, king of the Jews".
They spat on him.
They took the reed and hit him with it.

When they had finished making fun of him,
they dressed him  in his own clothes and led him away to crucify him.

Chapter 27 (32 - 44)    Listen

As Jesus was taken to the place of crucifixion,
a man name Simon, from Cyrene, was made to carry Jesus' cross.

Jesus was then nailed to the cross and hung on the cross.
Two robbers were crucified with him,
one on his right and one on his left.

Above Jesus' head was a sign with the charge against him:
"This is Jesus, the King of the Jews".

People passing by that place made fun of Jesus.
So did the religious leaders. They mocked and taunted him.

Chapter 27 (45 - 54)    Listen

Jesus was put on the cross about 9am.
From about noon until 3pm there was darkness over all the land.

About 3pm Jesus cried out the words of Psalm 22:
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

A little while later he again cried out in a loud voice.
Then he died.

At that moment the holy curtain in the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom,  and there was a violent earthquake.

The Roman soldiers were terrified.
Their leader called out "Truly this was a son of God".

Chapter 27 (57 - 66)      Listen

Joseph from Arimathaea was a rich man who had become a disciple of Jesus. After Jesus died on Friday, he asked Governor Pilate for Jesus' body.

Joseph wrapped the body in a clean burial cloth and put it in his own new tomb in a rock cave. He then put a large stone at the cave's entrance.

The next day, Saturday,  the religious leaders went to Pilate and said
"This imposter said he would rise from the dead after 3 days.
Therefore you should secure the tomb in case his disciples steal the body and say he has risen from the dead".

Pilate gave them a guard and told them to secure the tomb.
The guards took up their position at the tomb
and seals were put on the entrance stone.

Jesus in the tomb, please give eternal life to all who have died

Chapter 28 (1 - 15)      Listen

Jesus died on Friday afternoon.
Early on Sunday morning, two women went to Jesus' tomb.

Suddenly there was a violent earthquake, and an angel from heaven
came and rolled away the big stone at the tomb's entrance.
The guards at the tomb were terrified of the angel.

The angel said to the women "Do not be afraid. I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. He has risen from the dead. Go and tell his disciples he has risen from the dead and will see them in Galilee".

The women were filled with joy and ran to tell this news to the disciples.

As they left the tomb area, Jesus himself appeared to them and said  "Do not be afraid. Go and tell the disciples they must go to Galilee. They will see me there".

Chapter 28 (16 - 20)    Listen

The 11 apostles went to Galilee,
to the mountain where Jesus had arranged to meet them.

When they saw him they fell down before him in worship.

Jesus said to them
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Teach them to understand and live according to my words.
And know that I am with you always, yes, to the end of time".