Jesus knew their intentions and said to the man with the withered hand,
Rise up. Stand forth in the midst. The man arose and stood forth. Then
Jesus said to them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the
sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? To save life, or to destroy it?
Then looking around at them, He said to the man, Stretch forth thy
hand. As the man did so, his hand was restored whole as the other. They
were filled with anger and discussed what they might do to Jesus.
It came to pass in those days, Jesus went up into a mountain to pray.
He continued all night in prayer to God. When it was day, He called to
Him His disciples and, of them, He chose twelve whom He also named
apostles:
Simon (whom He also named Peter); Andrew, his brother; James and John;
Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James, the son of Alphaeus;
and Simon called Zelotes; Judas, the brother of James; and Judas
Iscariot, who also was the traitor.
Jesus came down with the company of His disciples and stood in the
plain. There was now gathered a great multitude of people out of all
Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, who
came to hear Him, and to be healed of their diseases and unclean
spirits. The whole multitude sought to touch Him because virtue flowed
out of Him and healed them all.
Jesus lifted His eyes to His disciples and said, Blessed are you who
are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are
hungry, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep, for you
shall laugh. Blessed are you when others hate you, separate you from
their company, reproach you, and denounce your name as evil for the Son
of man's sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! Your reward in
heaven is great. Their fathers treated the prophets the same way.
But woe to you who are rich! You have already received your
consolation. Woe to you who are full! Later you be hungry. Woe to you
who now laugh! You will mourn and weep. Woe to you, when everyone
speaks well of you, because the ancestors treated the false prophets in
the same way.
I say to you who hear, Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate
you. Bless them that curse you. Pray for those who use you and treat
you badly. To one who strikes you on the one cheek, offer also the
other. To one who takes away your cloak let him take away your coat
also. Give to everyone who asks. From one who takes your goods do not
ask for them back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
If ye love only those who love you, what thanks have ye? Sinners also
love those who love them. If ye do good only to those who do good to
you, what thanks have ye? Sinners do even the same also. And if ye lend
only to those from whom ye expect to receive back, what thanks have ye?
Sinners also lend to sinners to receive as much again.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account