But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you must name him John.

Now you will keep silent and be unable to talk until the day when this takes place, because you did not believe what I told you, for it will be fulfilled at the proper time."

But when he came out, he could not speak to them, and so they knew that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. Meanwhile he kept on making signs to them, and remained dumb.

Now there were some shepherds in the same neighborhood, living in the open fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.

It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not die without seeing the Lord's Messiah.

She was very old; from girlhood she had lived seven years with a husband, and now had been a widow eighty years. She never left the temple, but continued to worship all day and all night with fastings and prayers.

and stayed the usual time. When they returned, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but His parents were not aware of it.

As they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem in anxious search for Him.

Then He said to them, "Why is it that you were searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"

But they did not understand what He said to them.

Produce, then, fruit that is consistent with the repentance that you profess, and do not even begin to say within yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our forefather,' for I tell you, God can raise up descendants for Abraham even out of these stones.

John expressly answered them all, "I am baptizing you in water only, but there is coming the One who is stronger than I am, whose shoestrings I am not fit to untie. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire;

But Jesus answered him, "The Scripture says, 'Not on bread alone does man live.'"

And Jesus answered him, "It has been said, 'You must not try the Lord your God.'"

So they all began to speak well of Him and to wonder at the gracious words that fell from His lips, and yet they continued to say, "Is He not Joseph's son?"

and yet Elijah was not sent to a single one of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon.

And there were many lepers in Israel in Elisha's time, and yet not one of them was cured except Naaman the Syrian."

Even demons came out of many people, shrieking and saying, "You are the Son of God!" But He reproved them and would not let them speak, because they knew that He was the Christ.

Simon answered, "We have toiled all night and caught nothing, but since you tell me to do so, I will set the nets again."

Then He warned him not to tell anybody, but rather He said, "Go, show yourself to the priest, and, to prove it to the people, make the offering for your purification, just as Moses prescribed."

And as they could not find a way because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his pallet through the tiles, among the people right in front of Jesus.

But Jesus answered them, "Not well but sick people have to send for the doctor.

It is not upright but sinful people that I have come to invite to repentance."

Then He told them a short story: "No one tears a piece from a new coat and puts it on an old one; or if he does, he will tear the new one too, and the patch from the new coat will not match the old one.

Now it was in those days that He went up on the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.

To the man who strikes you on one cheek, offer him the other too; and from the man who takes away your coat, do not keep back your shirt either,

Then He told them a story: "Can one blind man lead another? Will they not both fall into the ditch?

A pupil is not better than his teacher, but everyone when fully trained will be like his teacher.

For every tree is known by its fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or gather grapes from a bramble-bush.

"So why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' but do not practice what I tell you?

He is like a man who was building a house, who dug deep, and laid its foundation upon the rock; and when a flood came, the torrent burst upon that house but it could not shake it, because it was well built.

But the man who merely hears them and does not practice them is like a man who built a house upon the ground without a foundation. The torrent burst upon it, and at once it collapsed, and the wreck of that house was complete."

Then Jesus started to go with them. But when He was not far from the house, the captain sent friends to say to Him, "My Lord, stop troubling yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.

And so I did not deem myself worthy even to come to you. But simply speak the word, and let my servant-boy be cured.

When Jesus heard this, He was astounded at him, and turning to the crowd that was following Him He said, "I tell you, I have not found, in a single case among the Jews, so great faith as this!"

If not, what did you go out there to see? A man dressed in silks and satins? No. People who dress gorgeously and live luxuriously are found in royal palaces.

If not, then what did you go out there to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is far more than a prophet.

"I tell you, of all men born of women there is not one greater than John; and yet the one who is of least importance in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

They are like little children sitting in the market-place and calling to their fellows in the game: "'We played the wedding march for you, but you did not dance. We sang the funeral dirge, but you did not mourn.'

Since they could not pay him, he graciously canceled the debts for both of them. Now which one of them will love him more?"

And turning face to face with the woman He said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came to your house; you did not give me any water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with tears and wiped them with her hair.

You did not give me a kiss, but she, from the moment I came in, has not ceased to kiss my feet with affection.

You did not anoint my head with oil, but she anointed my feet with perfume.

So He said, "You are granted the privilege of knowing the secrets of the kingdom of God, but to others they are told in stories, so that they may look and not see, may hear and not understand.

Those along the path illustrate those who hear it, but then the devil comes and carries off the message from their hearts, so that they may not believe it and be saved.

For there is nothing hidden which shall not come out into the open, and nothing kept secret which shall not be known and come to light.

So take care how you listen, for whoever gets more will have more given to him, and whoever does not get more will have even what he thinks he has taken away from him."

His mother and His brothers came to see Him, but they could not get in touch with Him, on account of the crowd.

As soon as He stepped out upon the shore, there met Him a man from town, who was under the power of demons; and for a long time he had worn no clothes, and did not stay in a house but in tombs.

When he saw Jesus, he screamed and flung himself down before Him, and said in a loud voice, "What do you want of me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you not to torture me!"

Then they continued to beg Him not to order them to go off to the bottomless pit.

Then a woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, who could not be cured by anybody,

When the woman saw that she had not escaped His notice, she came forward trembling, and falling down before Him she told in the presence of all the people why she had touched Him and how she had been cured at once.

But Jesus heard it and said to him, "Do not be afraid; just have faith, and she will get well."

Now they were all weeping and wailing over her. But He said, "Stop weeping! For she is not dead but asleep."

And her parents were astounded, but He ordered them not to tell anyone what had taken place.

And when you leave that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a protest against all the people who do not welcome you."

But He particularly warned, yea, even commanded, them not to tell this to anybody,

And just as they were starting to leave Him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- although he did not know what he was saying.

I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not."

But they remained ignorant of what this meant; indeed, it had been hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.

Then John answered, "Master, we saw a man driving out demons by the use of your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not belong to our followers."

Jesus said to him, "Stop hindering him, for the man who is not against you is for you."

But they would not receive Him, because He was facing in the direction of Jerusalem.

Do not carry a purse, a bag, or shoes, and do not stop to say 'Good morning' to anybody on the road.

And if anyone there loves peace, your peace will come upon him; but if not, it will come back to you.

Stay on at the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the workman deserves his support. Do not keep moving about from house to house.

But if you go into any town and they do not welcome you, go out into the streets and say,

For I tell you, many prophets and kings have wished to see what you are seeing, but they did not, and to hear what you are hearing, but they did not."

But Martha was getting worried about having to wait on them so much, so she came up suddenly and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the housework alone? Then tell her to take hold and help me."

But there is actual need of few things, really of only one thing. For Mary has chosen the good portion which must not be taken away from her."

and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who does us wrong, and do not let us be subjected to temptation.'"

Then He said to them: "Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him in the middle of the night and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves;

I tell you, although he will not get up and give you any because he is your friend, yet because of your persistence he will get up and give you all your needs.

But He knew what they were thinking, and so said to them, "Any kingdom that is not united is in the process of destruction, and one house falls after another.

Whoever is not in partnership with me is against me, and whoever does not gather in partnership with me, scatters.

So be on your guard that the very source of light in you is not darkness.

The Pharisee noticed that He did not first wash before lunch, and was surprised.

You fools! Did not the One who made the outside make the inside too?

But a curse on you Pharisees, because you pay tithes on mint, rue, and every tiny garden herb, but neglect justice and the love of God! These latter especially you ought to have done, but ought not to have neglected the former.

He said, "Yes, a curse on you experts in the law, too, because you load people down with loads too heavy to carry, and yet you do not touch the loads yourselves with one of your fingers!

A curse on you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to the door of knowledge! You did not go in yourselves, and you kept out those who tried to get in."

There is nothing covered up that will not be uncovered, nor secret that will not be made known;

Are not sparrows sold five for two cents? And yet not one of them is forgotten by God!

And then He said to them, "Be ever on the alert and always on your guard against every form of greed, because a man's life does not consist in his possessions, even though they are abundant."

But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is to be demanded of you. Then who will have all that you have prepared?'

So it is with the man who continues to pile up possessions for himself, and is not rich in God."

Just think of how the lilies grow. They do not toil nor spin. But, I tell you, not even Solomon, in all his splendor, was ever dressed like one of them.

For all these are the very things the nations of the world are greedily trying to get, and surely your Father well knows that you need them.

But be sure of this, that if the master of the house had known what time the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.

So you, too, must always be ready, for at an hour that you are not expecting, the Son of Man will come."

But if that slave says to himself, my Master is not coming back for a long time, and begins to beat the men and women slaves, and to eat and drink and get drunk,

his master will come back some day when he is not expecting him, and at an hour of which he is not aware, and will cut him in two, and give him his share with the unfaithful.

That slave who knows his master's wishes and does not get ready or act upon them will be severely punished.

Do you think that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not so at all, but rather discord.

You hypocrites! You know how to interpret day by day the look of earth and sky. Then how is it that you do not know how to interpret the present crisis?

Why do you not of yourselves decide what is right?

For instance, when you are on the way to court with your opponent, take the utmost pains on the way to get entirely rid of him, so that he may not rush you before the judge, and the judge turn you over to the sheriff, and the sheriff put you in prison.

Then He told them this story: "A man had a fig tree planted by his vineyard, and he kept going and looking for figs on it, but did not find any.

So he said to the vine-dresser, 'Look here! for three years I have been coming to look for figs on this fig tree, and have not found any. Cut it down. Why waste the ground with it?'