The Lord's Prayer

(Matthew 6:5-15)

1And it came to pass, as he was praying in a certain place, that when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, even as John also taught his disciples.

2And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Father, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come.

3Give us day by day our daily bread.

4And forgive us our sins; for we ourselves also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And bring us not into temptation.

Ask, Seek, Knock

(Matthew 7:7-12)

5And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves; 6for a friend of mine is come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him; 7and he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee? 8I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will arise and give him as many as he needeth.

9And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 10For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 11And of which of you that is a father shall his son ask a loaf, and he give him a stone? or a fish, and he for a fish give him a serpent? 12Or if he shall ask an egg, will he give him a scorpion? 13If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

A House Divided

(Matthew 12:22-30; Mark 3:20-27)

14And he was casting out a devil which was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb man spake; and the multitudes marveled. 15But some of them said, By Beelzebub the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. 16And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. 17But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. 18And if Satan also is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils by Beelzebub. 19And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. 20But if I by the finger of God cast out devils, then is the kingdom of God come upon you. 21When the strong man fully armed guardeth his own court, his goods are in peace: 22but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him his whole armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. 23He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

(Matthew 12:43-45)

24The unclean spirit when he is gone out of the man, passeth through waterless places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will turn back unto my house whence I came out. 25And when he is come, he findeth it swept and garnished. 26Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more evil than himself; and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man becometh worse than the first.

True Blessedness

27And it came to pass, as he said these things, a certain woman out of the multitude lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the breasts which thou didst suck. 28But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

The Sign of Jonah

(Matthew 12:38-42)

29And when the multitudes were gathering together unto him, he began to say, This generation is an evil generation: it seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of Jonah. 30For even as Jonah became a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. 31The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and shall condemn them: for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, a greater than Solomon is here. 32The men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here.

The Lamp of the Body

(Matthew 6:22-24)

33No man, when he hath lighted a lamp, putteth it in a cellar, neither under the bushel, but on the stand, that they which enter in may see the light. 34The lamp of thy body is thine eye: when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when it is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. 35Look therefore whether the light that is in thee be not darkness. 36If therefore thy whole body be full of light, having no part dark, it shall be wholly full of light, as when the lamp with its bright shining doth give thee light.

Woes to Pharisees and Experts in Law

(Matthew 23:1-36)

37Now as he spake, a Pharisee asketh him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat. 38And when the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that he had not first washed before dinner. 39And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter; but your inward part is full of extortion and wickedness. 40Ye foolish ones, did not he that made the outside make the inside also? 41Howbeit give for alms those things which are within; and behold, all things are clean unto you.

42But woe unto you Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and every herb, and pass over judgment and the love of God: but these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 43Woe unto you Pharisees! for ye love the chief seats in the synagogues, and the salutations in the marketplaces. 44Woe unto you! for ye are as the tombs which appear not, and the men that walk over them know it not.

45And one of the lawyers answering saith unto him, Master, in saying this thou reproachest us also. 46And he said, Woe unto you lawyers also! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. 47Woe unto you! for ye build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. 48So ye are witnesses and consent unto the works of your fathers: for they killed them, and ye build their tombs. 49Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send unto them prophets and apostles; and some of them they shall kill and persecute; 50that the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; 51from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zachariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary: yea, I say unto you, it shall be required of this generation. 52Woe unto you lawyers! for ye took away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

53And when he was come out from thence, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press upon him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things; 54laying wait for him, to catch something out of his mouth.