The
Gospel of Mark (NRSV), a Dramatization
(EFM,
Year 2)
Michael
Anne Haywood
(Chapters
are divided by this symbol: ><<(:> <:)>><, and the Narrator role is separated into chapters, so
that it can be rotated among readers.)
Narrator
1: The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is
written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’” John the baptizer
appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the
forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the
people of
John
the Baptist: “The one who is more powerful than I is
coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his
sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy
Spirit.”
Narrator
1: In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John
in the
Voice
from heaven: “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
Narrator
1: And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the
wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and
the angels waited on him.
Now
after John was arrested, Jesus came to
Jesus:
“The time is fulfilled, and the
Narrator
1: As Jesus passed along the
Jesus:
“Follow me and I will make you fish for people.”
Narrator
1: And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
As he
went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee
and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he
called them; and they left their father Zebedee in
the boat with the hired men, and followed him.
They
went to
Just
then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried
out,
Man
with unclean spirit:”What have you to do with us,
Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy
One of God.”
Narrator
1: But Jesus rebuked him, saying,
Jesus:
“Be silent, and come out of him!”
Narrator
1: And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came
out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another,
Witness:
“What is this? A new teaching--with authority! He commands even the unclean
spirits, and they obey him.”
Narrator
1: At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of
As soon
as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with
James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they
told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up.
Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
That
evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with
demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who
were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not
permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
In the
morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted
place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When
they found him, they said to him,
Simon:
“Everyone is searching for you.” He answered,
Jesus:
“Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message
there also; for that is what I came out to do.”
Narrator
1: And he went throughout
A leper
came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him,
Leper:
“If you choose, you can make me clean.”
Narrator
1: Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to
him,
Jesus:
“I do choose. Be made clean!”
Narrator
1: Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. After sternly
warning him he sent him away at once, saying to him,
Jesus:
“See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and
offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
Narrator
1: But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so
that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the
country; and people came to him from every quarter.
><<(:> <:)>><
Narrator
2: When he returned to
Jesus:
“Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Narrator
2: Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,
Scribe:
“Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins
but God alone?”
Narrator
2: At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these
questions among themselves; and he said to them,
Jesus:
“Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the
paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and take your mat and
walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to
forgive sins”
Narrator
2: --he said to the paralytic--
Jesus:
“I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.”
Narrator
2: And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of
them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying,
Bystander:
“We have never seen anything like this!”
Narrator
2: Jesus went out again beside the sea; the whole crowd gathered around him,
and he taught them. As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him,
Jesus:
“Follow me.”
Narrator
2: And he got up and followed him.
And as
he sat at dinner in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were also
sitting with Jesus and his disciples--for there were many who followed him.
When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax
collectors, they said to his disciples,
Scribe:
“Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Narrator
2: When Jesus heard this, he said to them,
Jesus:
“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have
come to call not the righteous but sinners.”
Narrator
2: Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and
said to him,
One of
the people: “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast,
but your disciples do not fast?”
Narrator
2: Jesus said to them,
Jesus:
“The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As
long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will
come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on
that day.
“No one
sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak;
otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear
is made. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will
burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one puts new
wine into fresh wineskins.”
Narrator
2: One sabbath he was going
through the grainfields; and as they made their way
his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him,
Pharisee:
“Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?”
Narrator
2: And he said to them,
Jesus:
“Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and
in need of food? He entered the house of God, when Abiathar
was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for
any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.”
Narrator
2: Then he said to them,
Jesus:
“The sabbath was made for
humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; so the
Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”
><<(:> <:)>><
Narrator
3: Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand.
They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said
to the man who had the withered hand,
Jesus:
“Come forward.”
Narrator
3: Then he said to them,
Jesus:
“Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?”
Narrator
3: But they were silent. He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at
their hardness of heart and said to the man,
Jesus:
“Stretch out your hand.”
Narrator
3: He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and
immediately conspired with the Herodians against him,
how to destroy him.
Jesus
departed with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from
and shouted,
First
person (shouting): “You are the Son of God!”
Narrator
3: But he sternly ordered them not to make him known.
He went
up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him.
And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be
sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons. So
he appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the
name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); and
Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and
Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed
him. Then he went home; and the crowd came together again, so that they could
not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for
people were saying,
Second
person: “He has gone out of his mind.”
Narrator
3: And the scribes who came down from
Scribe:
“He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he
casts out demons.”
Narrator
3: And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables,
Jesus:
“How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that
kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will
not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided,
he cannot stand, but his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man’s
house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then
indeed the house can be plundered.
“Truly
I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and
whatever
blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can
never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”
Narrator
3: -- for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Then
his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and
called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him,
One of
the crowd: “Your mother and your brothers and sisters
are outside, asking for you.”
Narrator
3: And he replied,
Jesus:
“Who are my mother and my brothers?”
Narrator
3: And looking at those who sat around him, he said,
Jesus:
“Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
><<(:> <:)>><
Narrator
4: Again he began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered
around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole
crowd was beside the sea on the land. He began to teach them many things in
parables, and in his teaching he said to them:
Jesus:
“Listen! A sower went out to sow. And
as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang
up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was
scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among
thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other
seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and
yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”
Narrator
4: And he said,
Jesus:
“Let anyone with ears to hear listen!”
Narrator
4: When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him
about the parables. And he said to them,
Jesus:
“To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside,
everything comes in parables; in order that ‘they may indeed look, but not
perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn
again and be forgiven.’“
Narrator
4: And he said to them,
Jesus:
“Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the
parables?
The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where
the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the
word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when
they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. But they have no
root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on
account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are those sown
among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the
word, but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for
other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. And these are
the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear
fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”
Narrator
4: He said to them,
Jesus:
“Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket, or under the bed, and
not on the lampstand? For there is nothing hidden,
except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except
to come to light. Let anyone with ears to hear listen!”
Narrator
4: And he said to them,
Jesus:
“Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you
get, and still more will be given you. For to those who have, more will be
given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken
away.”
Narrator
4: He also said,
Jesus:
“The
Narrator
4: He also said,
Jesus:
“With what can we compare the
Narrator
4: With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear
it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in
private to his disciples.
On that
day, when evening had come, he said to them,
Jesus:
“Let us go across to the other side.”
Narrator
4: And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as
he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat
into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the
stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him,
Disciple:
“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
Narrator
4: He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea,
Jesus:
“Peace! Be still!”
Narrator
4: Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them,
Jesus:
“Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”
Narrator
4: And they were filled with great awe and said to one another,
Disciple:
“Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
><<(:> <:)>><
Narrator
5: They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. And when he had stepped out of the boat,
immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. He lived
among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain; for
he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he
wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the
strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he
was always howling and bruising himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from a
distance, he ran and bowed down before him; and he shouted at the top of his
voice,
Man
(Legion) shouts: “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?
I adjure you by God, do not torment me.”
Narrator
5: For he had said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” Then
Jesus asked him,
Jesus:
“What is your name?”
Narrator
5: He replied,
Man
(Legion): “My name is Legion; for we are many.”
Narrator
5: He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now there on
the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding; and the unclean spirits begged
him,
Man
(Legion): “Send us into the swine; let us enter them.”
Narrator
5: So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the
swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed
down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the sea. The
swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came
to see what it was that had happened. They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac
sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the
legion; and they were afraid. Those who had seen what had happened to the
demoniac and to the swine reported it. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave
their neighborhood. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been
possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. But Jesus refused,
and said to him,
Jesus:
“Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and
what mercy he has shown you.”
Narrator
5: And he went away and began to proclaim in the
When
Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered
around him; and he was by the sea. Then one of the leaders of the synagogue
named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his
feet and begged him repeatedly,
Jairus: “My little
daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she
may be made well, and live.”
Narrator
5: So he went with him. And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him.
Now
there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. She
had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she
was no better, but rather grew worse. She had heard about Jesus, and came up
behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said,
Woman
with hemmorrhage: “If I but touch his clothes, I will
be made well.”
Narrator
5: Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was
healed of her disease. Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him,
Jesus turned about in the crowd and said,
Jesus:
“Who touched my clothes?”
Narrator
5: And his disciples said to him,
Disciple:
“You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’“
Narrator
5: He looked all around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had
happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him
the whole truth. He said to her,
Jesus:
“Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your
disease.”
Narrator
5: While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say
[to Jairus], “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the
teacher any further?” But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader
of the synagogue,
Jesus:
“Do not fear, only believe.”
Narrator
5: He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother
of James. When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a
commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. When he had entered, he said to them,
Jesus:
“Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.”
Narrator
5: And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child’s
father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was.
He took her by the hand and said to her,
Jesus:
“Talitha cum,”
Narrator
5: which means, “Little girl, get up!” And immediately the girl got up and
began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome
with amazement. He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told
them to give her something to eat.
><<(:> <:)>><
Narrator
6: He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him.
On the sabbath he began to
teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said,
Man in
synagogue: “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been
given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the
carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses
and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?”
Narrator
6: And they took offense at him. Then Jesus said to them,
Jesus:
“Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own
kin, and in their own house.”
Narrator
6: And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a
few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief. Then he
went about among the villages teaching.
He called
the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over
the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a
staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not
to put on two tunics. He said to them,
Jesus:
“Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. If any place
will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the
dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.”
Narrator
6: So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many
demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
King
Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some were saying,
Witness
1: “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these
powers are at work in him.”
Narrator
6: But others said,
Witness
2: “It is Elijah.”
Narrator
6: And others said,
Witness
3: “It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”
Narrator
6: But when Herod heard of it, he said,
Herod:
“John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.”
Narrator
6: For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in
prison on account of Herodias, his brother
Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her. For John had
been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to
kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a
righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly
perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him.
But an
opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers
and officers and for the leaders of
Herod:
“Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.”
Narrator
6: And he solemnly swore to her,
Herod:
“Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.”
Narrator
6: She went out and said to her mother,
Salome
(Herod’s daughter): “What should I ask for?”
Narrator
6: She replied,
Herodias (Herod’s
wife): “The head of John the baptizer.”
Narrator
6: Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested,
Salome:
“I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
Narrator
6: The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the
guests, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent a soldier of
the guard with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the
prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl
gave it to her mother.
When
his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a
tomb.
The
apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught.
He said to them,
Jesus:
“Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.”
Narrator
6: For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they
went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.
Now
many saw them going and recognized them, and they
hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went
ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were
like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
When it
grew late, his disciples came to him and said,
Disciple
1: “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now very late; send them away so
that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy something
for themselves to eat.”
Narrator
6: But he answered them,
Jesus:
“You give them something to eat.”
Narrator
6: They said to him,
Disciple
2: “Are we to go and buy two hundred denarii worth of
bread, and give it to them to eat?”
Narrator
6: And he said to them,
Jesus:
“How many loaves have you? Go and see.”
Narrator
6: When they had found out, they said,
Disciple
3: “Five, and two fish.”
Narrator
6: Then he ordered them to get all the people to sit down in groups on the
green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. Taking the
five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the
loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and he divided
the two fish among them all. And all ate and were filled; and they took up
twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. Those who had eaten the
loaves numbered five thousand men.
Immediately
he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to
When
evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. When
he saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind, he came
towards them early in the morning, walking on the sea. He intended to pass them
by. But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and
cried out; for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to
them and said,
Jesus:
“Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”
Narrator
6: Then he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were
utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts
were hardened.
When
they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret
and moored the boat. When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized
him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to
wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or
farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might
touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.
><<(:> <:)>><
Narrator
7: Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from
So the
Pharisees and the scribes asked him,
Pharisee:
“Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but
eat with defiled hands?”
Narrator
7: He said to them,
Jesus:
“Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people
honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they
worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’ You abandon the commandment
of God and hold to human tradition.”
Narrator
7: Then he said to them,
Jesus:
“You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your
tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever
speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.’ But you say that if anyone
tells father or mother, ‘Whatever support you might have had from me is Corban’ (that is, an offering to God)-- then you no longer
permit doing anything for a father or mother, thus making void the word of God
through your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many things like
this.”
Narrator
7: Then he called the crowd again and said to them,
Jesus:
“Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person
that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.”
Narrator
7: When he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him
about the parable. He said to them,
Jesus:
“Then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever goes into a
person from outside cannot defile, since it enters, not the heart but the
stomach, and goes out into the sewer?”
Narrator
7: (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said,
Jesus:
“It is what comes out of a person that defiles. For it is from within, from the
human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery,
avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All
these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
Narrator
7: From there he set out and went away to the region of
Jesus:
“Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food
and throw it to the dogs.”
Narrator
7: But she answered him,
Syrophoenician
woman: “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the
children’s crumbs.”
Narrator
7: Then he said to her,
Jesus:
“For saying that, you may go--the demon has left your daughter.”
Narrator
7: So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
Then he
returned from the region of
Jesus:
“Ephphatha,”
Narrator
7: that is, “Be opened.” And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was
released, and he spoke plainly. Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the
more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were
astounded beyond measure, saying,
Bystander:
“He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to
speak.”
><<(:> <:)>><
Narrator
8: In those days when there was again a great crowd without anything to eat, he
called his disciples and said to them,
Jesus:
“I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three
days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they
will faint on the way--and some of them have come from a great distance.”
Narrator
8: His disciples replied,
Disciple
1: “How can one feed these people with bread
here in the
desert?”
Narrator
8: He asked them,
Jesus:
“How many loaves do you have?”
Narrator
8: They said,
Disciple
2: “Seven.”
Narrator
8: Then he ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground; and he took the seven
loaves, and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to
distribute; and they distributed them to the crowd. They had also a few small
fish; and after blessing them, he ordered that these too should be distributed.
They ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven
baskets full. Now there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away.
And
immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of
Dalmanutha. The Pharisees came and began to argue
with him, asking him for a sign from heaven, to test him. And he sighed deeply
in his spirit and said,
Jesus:
“Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be
given to this generation.”
Narrator
8: And he left them, and getting into the boat again, he went across to the
other side.
Now the
disciples had forgotten to bring any bread; and they had only one loaf with
them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying,
Jesus:
“Watch out--beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.”
Narrator
8: They said to one another,
Disciple
3: “It is because we have no bread.”
Narrator
8: And becoming aware of it, Jesus said to them,
Jesus:
“Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or
understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you
have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five
loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you
collect?”
Narrator
8: They said to him,
Disciple
4: “Twelve.”
Jesus:
“And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces
did you collect?”
Narrator
8: And they said to him,
Disciple
5: “Seven.”
Narrator
8: Then he said to them,
Jesus:
“Do you not yet understand?”
Narrator
8: They came to
Jesus:
“Can you see anything?”
Narrator
8: And the man looked up and said,
Blind
man: “I can see people, but they look like trees, walking.”
Narrator
8: Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he looked intently and his
sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Then he sent him away to his
home, saying,
Jesus:
“Do not even go into the village.”
Narrator
8: Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and
on the way he asked his disciples,
Jesus:
“Who do people say that I am?”
Narrator
8: And they answered him,
Disciple
6: “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the
prophets.”
Narrator
8: He asked them,
Jesus:
“But who do you say that I am?”
Narrator
8: Peter answered him,
Peter:
“You are the Messiah.”
Narrator
8: And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.
Then he
began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be
rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and
after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him
aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he
rebuked Peter and said,
Jesus:
“Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on
divine things but on human things.”
Narrator
8: He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them,
Jesus:
“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their
cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and
those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will
save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their
life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are
ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them
the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father
with the holy angels.”
><<(:> <:)>><
Narrator
9: And he said to them,
Jesus:
“Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who
will not taste death until they see that the
Narrator
9: Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them
up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them,
and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach
them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with
Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus,
Peter:
“Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you,
one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
Narrator
9: He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud
overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice,
Voice:
“This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”
Narrator
9: Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only
Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one
about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the
dead could mean. Then they asked him,
Disciple
1: “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
Narrator
9: He said to them,
Jesus:
“Elijah is indeed coming first to restore all things. How then is it written
about the Son of Man, that he is to go through many sufferings and be treated
with contempt? But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him
whatever they pleased, as it is written about him.”
Narrator
9: When they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and
some scribes arguing with them. When the whole crowd saw him, they were
immediately overcome with awe, and they ran forward to greet him. He asked
them,
Jesus:
“What are you arguing about with them?”
Narrator
9: Someone from the crowd answered him,
One of
the crowd: “Teacher, I brought you my son; he has a spirit that makes him
unable to speak; and whenever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams
and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked your disciples to cast it
out, but they could not do so.”
Narrator
9: He answered them,
Jesus:
“You faithless generation, how much longer must I be among you? How much longer
must I put up with you? Bring him to me.”
Narrator
9: And they brought the boy to him. When the spirit saw him, immediately it
convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the
mouth. Jesus asked the father,
Jesus:
“How long has this been happening to him?”
Narrator
9: And he said,
Father:
“From childhood. It has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to
destroy him; but if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us.”
Narrator
9: Jesus said to him,
Jesus:
“If you are able!--All things can be done for the one who believes.”
Narrator
9: Immediately the father of the child cried out,
Father:
“I believe; help my unbelief!”
Narrator
9: When Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean
spirit, saying to it,
Jesus:
“You spirit that keeps this boy from speaking and hearing, I command you, come
out of him, and never enter him again!”
Narrator
9: After crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was
like a corpse, so that most of them said,
One of
the crowd: “He is dead.”
Narrator:
But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he was able to stand.
When he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately,
Disciple
2: “Why could we not cast it out?”
Narrator
9: He said to them,
Jesus:
“This kind can come out only through prayer.”
Narrator
9: They went on from there and passed through
Jesus:
“The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and
three days after being killed, he will rise again.”
Narrator
9: But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.
Then
they came to
Jesus:
“What were you arguing about on the way?”
Narrator
9: But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and
said to them,
Jesus:
“Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.”
Narrator
9: Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his
arms, he said to them,
Jesus:
“Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes
me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” John said to him,
John:
“Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop
him, because he was not following us.”
Narrator
9: But Jesus said,
Jesus:
“Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able
soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For
truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear
the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.
“If any
of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me,
it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and
you were thrown into the sea.
If your
hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life
maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.
And if
your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life
lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell.
And if
your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the
“For
everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its
saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with
one another.”
><<(:> <:)>><
Narrator
10: He left that place and went to the region of
Some
Pharisees came, and to test him they asked,
Pharisee
1: “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
Narrator
10: He answered them,
Jesus:
“What did Moses command you?”
Narrator:
They said,
Pharisee
2: “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of
dismissal and to
divorce her.”
Narrator
10: But Jesus said to them,
Jesus:
“Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. But from
the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a
man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two
shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore
what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
Narrator
10: Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. He said
to them,
Jesus:
“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits
adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she
commits adultery.”
Narrator
10: People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch
them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was
indignant and said to them,
Jesus:
“Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as
these that the
Narrator
10: And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.
As he
was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him,
Rich
man: “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Narrator
10: Jesus said to him,
Jesus:
“Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the
commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not
commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You
shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’“
Narrator
10: He said to him,
Rich
man: “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.”
Narrator
10: Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said,
Jesus:
“You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and
you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
Narrator
10: When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many
possessions. Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,
Jesus:
“How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the
Narrator
10: And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them
again,
Jesus:
“Children, how hard it is to enter the
Narrator
10: They were greatly astounded and said to one another,
Disciple
1: “Then who can be saved?”
Narrator
10: Jesus looked at them and said,
Jesus:
“For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are
possible.”
Narrator
10: Peter began to say to him,
Peter:
“Look, we have left everything and followed you.”
Narrator
10: Jesus said,
Jesus:
“Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or
mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the
good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age--houses, brothers
and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions--and in the age
to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be
first.”
Narrator
10: They were on the road, going up to
Jesus:
“See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to
the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then
they will hand him over to the Gentiles; they will mock him, and spit upon him,
and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again.”
Narrator
10: James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward
to him and said to him,
James:
“Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”
Narrator
10: And he said to them,
Jesus:
“What is it you want me to do for you?”
Narrator
10: And they said to him,