The Gospel of Matthew for Readers | Page 6

Father in heaven shall enter. Many will say to me, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? In thy name have we not cast out devils? And, in thy name, have we not done many wonderful works? Then will I say to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Whoever hears these sayings and does them, I liken to a wise man who built his house upon a rock. When the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon the house, it did not fall because it was founded upon a rock.
Whoever hears these sayings and does not do them I liken to a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. When the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, it fell. And a great fall it was.
When Jesus finished these sayings, people were astonished at His doctrine because He taught as one having authority different from the scribes.
8 When He came down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And, behold, there came a leper who worshipped Him, saying, Lord, if Thou will, Thou can make me clean. Jesus put out His hand, touched him, and said, Be thou clean. Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Then Jesus said to him, See that thou tell no man. Go thy way, show thyself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded for a testimony.
Then, when Jesus was in Capernaum, a centurion beseeched Him saying, Lord, my servant lies at home sick with palsy and grievously tormented. Jesus said to him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered, Lord, I am not worthy that thou should come under my roof, but only give the word and my servant shall be healed. I am a man of authority, understand commands, and have soldiers under me. I command this man, Go, and he goes. To another I say, Come, and he comes. I direct my servant to do this, and he does it.
When Jesus heard this, He marvelled and said to those who followed, Verily, I say unto you, I have not found such great faith anywhere, no, not even in Israel. And I say to you, Many shall come from the east and west and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Jesus said to the centurion, Go thy way. As thou has believed, so be it done unto thee. And the servant was healed that same hour.
When Jesus went to Peter's house, He saw Peter's wife's mother laid sick with a fever. He touched her hand and the fever left her. She arose and ministered to them. That evening they brought to Him many that were possessed with devils and He cast out the spirits with His word. He healed all who were sick so that it might be fulfilled what was spoken by Esaias the prophet: He took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.
Jesus saw great multitudes gathering. He decided they should depart to the other side of the water. A scribe approached Him and said, Master, I will follow wherever thou go. Jesus only replied, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has no place to lay His head. Another came to Him and said, Lord, let me first go and bury my father. But Jesus replied, Follow me and let the dead bury their dead. Then they got in a boat and started for the other side.
Behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea. It was so great that the boat was covered with the waves. Jesus was asleep. His disciples woke Him and said, Lord, save us. We will perish. Jesus replied, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea. There was a great calm. The disciples marvelled and said, What kind of man is this who even the winds and the sea obey!
On the other side they came into the country of the Gergesenes. There He met two men coming out of the tombs who were possessed with devils so fierce that no man dared pass them. They cried out, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? Art thou come here to torment us before the time?
At a distance from them was a herd of swine. The devils said to Him, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go into the herd of swine. Jesus said to them, Go. When they came out of the men,