The Transfiguration

171 Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother , and led them up on a high mountain by themselves . 2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun , and His garments became as white as light . 3 And behold , Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 Peter said to Jesus , "Lord , it is good for us to be here ; if You wish , I will make three tabernacles here , one for You, and one for Moses , and one for Elijah ." 5 While he was still speaking , a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold , a voice out of the cloud said , " This is My beloved Son , with whom I am well-pleased ; listen to Him!" 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified . 7 And Jesus came to them and touched them and said , "Get up, and do not be afraid ." 8 And lifting up their eyes , they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone . 9 As they were coming down from the mountain , Jesus commanded them, saying , " Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead ." 10 And His disciples asked Him, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first ?" 11 And He answered and said , "Elijah is coming and will restore all things ; 12 but I say to you that Elijah already came , and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished . So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands ." 13 Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist .

Jesus Heals a Boy with an Unclean Spirit

14 When they came to the crowd , a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying , 15 "Lord , have mercy on my son , for he is a lunatic and is very ill e ; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water . 16 "I brought him to Your disciples , and they could not cure him." 17 And Jesus answered and said , "You unbelieving and perverted generation , how long e shall I be with you? How long e shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me." 18 And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once e . 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately e and said , "Why e could we not drive it out?" 20 And He said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith ; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed , you will say to this mountain , 'Move from here to there ,' and it will move ; and nothing will be impossible to you. 21 [" But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting ."]

Jesus Again Foretells His Death

22 And while they were gathering together in Galilee , Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men ; 23 and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day ." And they were deeply grieved .

Payment of the Tribute Money

24 When they came to Capernaum , those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said , "Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?" 25 He said , "Yes ." And when he came into the house , Jesus spoke to him first , saying , "What do you think , Simon ? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax , from their sons or from strangers ?" 26 When Peter said , "From strangers ," Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are exempt . 27 "However , so e that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook , and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth , you will find a shekel . Take that and give it to them for you and Me."

The Preaching of John the Baptist

31 Now in those days John the Baptist came , preaching in the wilderness of Judea , saying , 2 " Repent , for the kingdom of heaven is at hand ." 3 For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said , " THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS , ' MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE Lord , MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT !' " 4 Now John himself had a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist ; and his food was locusts and wild honey . 5 Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan ; 6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River , as they confessed their sins .

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism , he said to them, "You brood of vipers , who warned you to flee from the wrath to come ? 8 " Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance ; 9 and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves , ' We have Abraham for our father '; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham . 10 "The axe is already laid at the root of the trees ; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire . 11 "As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance , but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals ; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire . 12 "His winnowing fork is in His hand , and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor ; and He will gather His wheat into the barn , but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire ."

The Baptism of Jesus

13 Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John , to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying , "I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?" 15 But Jesus answering said to him, "Permit it at this time ; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness ." Then he permitted Him. 16 After being baptized , Jesus came up immediately from the water ; and behold , the heavens were opened , and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17 and behold , a voice out of the heavens said , " This is My beloved Son , in whom I am well-pleased ."