'His disciples came in the night and stole him away while we were asleep,' and if this comes to the ears of the Governor we will persuade him and free you from trouble." The soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this report has been spread among the Jews to this day.

The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had appointed to meet them, and they saw him and bowed down before him; but some doubted. Jesus came to them and talked with them. He said, "To me has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all the commands that I have given you. And, behold, I am with you all the days to the end of the world."

THE GOOD NEWS TOLD BY MARK

I

THE Beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ.

It is written in Isaiah the prophet, "Behold, I am sending my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make ready the way of the Lord; make his paths straight""; just so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching the baptism of a change of heart for forgiveness of sins. All the land of Judæa and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan river, confessing their sins.

John's clothes were of camel's hair and he had a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, "One is coming after me who is more powerful than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop and loose. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Immediately as he was coming up from the water he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit as a dove descending upon him. And there was a voice from the heavens, "Thou art my Son, my Beloved; in thee I am well pleased."

Immediately the spirit impelled him to go out into the wild lands. And he was in the wild lands forty days, tempted by Satan. There he was among the wild beasts, but angels waited upon him.

After John had been betrayed, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God and saying, "The time has been completed and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news."

As he passed along by the lake of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make

you fishers of men." They immediately left their nets and followed him. Going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and his brother John in their boat, mending their nets. Immediately he called them. They left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him away.

They came into Capernaum. Immediately on the Sabbath he went into the synagogue and taught. The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as if he had authority, and not as the scribes.

There was in their synagogue a man under the power of an impure spirit, and he immediately cried out, "What have you to do with us, Nazarene Jesus? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are the Holy one of God." But Jesus reproved him and said, "Be still, and come out of him." Then the impure spirit convulsed him, and screamed loudly and came out. They were all amazed so that they discussed together, "What is this? A new powerful teaching! He commands even the impure spirits and they obey him!" So reports about him immediately spread everywhere through the whole region of Galilee.

As soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. The mother-in-law of Simon was lying sick with fever. Immediately they told him about her. He came to her, and took her by the hand and lifted her up. The fever left her and she waited on them.

When evening came and the sun had set, they brought to him all the sick and those who were afflicted with demons; and the whole city was gathered before the door. He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons, not allowing the demons to talk, because they knew him.

Early in the morning, while it was still night, he rose and went out, and went away into a solitary place and there prayed. Simon and his companions searched for him, and when they found him they said to him, "All are looking for you." But he said to them, "Let us go somewhere else among the neighboring villages, so that I may preach there too; for it was

for this purpose that I came away." And he went through all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

There came to him a leper, begging him and kneeling to him and saying, "If you will, you can cleanse me." He had compassion on him, and stretched out his hand and touched him, and said, "I do will it; be cleansed." Immediately the leprosy left him and he became clean. Then Jesus sent him away after strictly charging him, "Be sure, do not say anything to anybody, but go and show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed for evidence." But the man went away and began to proclaim freely and to spread the report, so that Jesus was no longer able to enter openly into any city, but stayed out in the wild country, and people came to him from every direction.

II

He came again into Capernaum, and after some days it was heard that he was in the house. Many came together, so that there was no longer room even near the door, and he preached to them. Then some people came bringing to him a paralytic, borne by four. Not being able to bring him near, owing to the crowd, they opened the roof where he was, and when they had broken through it, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." There were some of the scribes sitting there and debating in their minds, "Why does this man talk so? He speaks profane words. Who except God can forgive sins?" Immediately Jesus, perceiving that they were inwardly reasoning in this way, said to them, "Why do you reason so in your minds? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, take up your pallet and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins," turning to the paralytic he said, "I tell you, Rise, take up your pallet and go to your house." Immediately the man rose and took up his pallet and went out before all, so that they were astounded and gave praise to God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"

Jesus went out again beside the lake, and all the crowd came to him and he taught them. As he was passing along, he saw Levi, the son of Alphæus, sitting at the tax office and said to him, "Follow me." He arose and followed.

Jesus was reclining at table in Levi's house, and many tax collectors and sinners also reclined at table along with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the scribes and the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, "Can it be that he eats with tax collectors and sinners?" When Jesus heard it, he said to them, "The strong have no need of a physician, but the sick have. I did not come to call righteous men, but sinners."

The disciples of John as well as the Pharisees were fasting. They came and said to Jesus, "Why is it that the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but your disciples are not fasting?" Jesus replied, "Can guests at a wedding fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast, in those days. No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old coat. For the patch will break away, the new from the old, and a worse tear will be made. No one pours new wine into old wine-skins. For the wine will burst the skins, and both wine and skins will be lost."

It happened on a Sabbath day that he was passing through the grainfields, and his disciples began, as they walked, to pluck the heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, "See what they are doing on the Sabbath - something that is not allowable." He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he had need and was hungry, he and his companions? how he went into the house of God, when Abiathar was High Priest, and ate the consecrated loaves, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and gave them also to his companions?" He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath; so the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."