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

Now you will keep silent and be unable to speak until the day when this happens, because you have not believed what I have said, for it will all be fulfilled in due time."

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

And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have gained God's approval.

There were some shepherds in that neighborhood keeping watch through the night over their flock in the open fields.

The angel said to them, "Do not be frightened, for I bring you good news of a great joy that is to be felt by all the people,

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

And he gave them his blessing, and said to Mary, the child's mother, "This child is destined to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a portent that will be much debated??35 you yourself will be pierced to the heart??nd so the thoughts of many minds will be revealed."

and she had been a widow until she was now eighty-four. She never left the Temple, but worshipped night and day with fasting and prayer.

As they could not find him, they went back to Jerusalem in search of him.

He said to them, "How did you come to look for me? Did you not know that I must be at my Father's house?"

But they did not understand what he told them.

Then produce fruit that will be consistent with your professed repentance! And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our forefather,' for I tell you, God can produce descendants for Abraham right out of these stones!

He said to them, "Do not collect any more than you are authorized to."

And soldiers would ask him, "And what ought we to do?" He said to them, "Do not extort money or make false charges against people, but be satisfied with your pay."

John said to them all, "I am only baptizing you in water, but someone is coming who is stronger than I am, whose shoes I am not fit to untie. He will baptize you in the holy Spirit and in fire.

Jesus answered, "The Scripture says, 'Not on bread alone is man to live!' "

Jesus answered, "We have been told, 'You shall not try the Lord your God.' "

And they all spoke well of him and were astonished at the winning words that fell from his lips, and they said, "Is he not Joseph's son?"

and Elijah was not sent to one of them, but to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon.

Simon answered, "Master, we worked all night and caught nothing, but as you tell me to do it, I will put down the nets."

and so were Zebedee's sons, James and John, who were Simon's partners. Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid. From now on you are to catch men!"

Jesus answered them, "It is not well people but the sick who have to have the doctor.

I have not come to invite the pious but the irreligious to repentance!"

He used this figure also in speaking to them: "No one tears a piece from a new coat and sews it on an old one, or if he does, he will both tear the new one and the piece from the new one will not match the old one.

Jesus answered, "Have you not read even what David did, when he and his companions were hungry?

It was in those days that he went up on the mountain to pray, and passed the whole night in prayer to God.

To the man that strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from the man who takes away your coat, do not keep back your shirt either.

Give to everyone that asks of you, and if anyone takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.

Do not judge others, and they will not judge you. Do not condemn them, and they will not condemn you. Excuse others and they will excuse you.

And he used a figure saying, "Can one blind man lead another? Will they not both fall into a hole?

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

For sound trees do not bear bad fruit, nor bad trees sound fruit.

Every tree is known by its fruit. They do not pick figs off thorns, or gather grapes from brambles.

Why do you call me: 'Lord! Lord!' and not do what I tell you?

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

But the man who listens to it, and does not act upon it, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation. The torrent burst upon it, and it collapsed at once, and the wreck of that house was complete."

So Jesus went with them. But when he was not far from the house, the captain sent some friends to him, to say to him, "Master, do not take any more trouble, for I am not a suitable person to have you under my roof.

That is why I did not think I was fit to come to you. But simply say the word, and have my servant cured.

When Jesus heard this, he was astonished at him, and turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such faith as this even in Israel!"

And when the Master saw her, he pitied her, and said to her, "Do not weep."

And they were all overcome with awe, and they praised God, and said, "A great prophet has appeared among us!" and "God has not forgotten his people!"

They are like children sitting about in the bazaar and calling out to one another, " 'We have played the flute for you, and you would not dance! We have wailed and you would not weep!'

"For when John the Baptist came, he did not eat any bread or drink any wine, and you said, 'He has a demon!'

As they could not pay him, he canceled what they owed him. Now which of them will be more attached to him?"

And turning to 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 from the moment I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet.

You did not put any oil upon my head, but she has put perfume upon my feet.

And he said, "You are permitted to know the secrets of the Kingdom of God, but they are given to others in the form of figures, so that they may look and yet not see, and hear and yet not understand.

The ones by the path are those who hear, and 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 that shall not be disclosed, nor kept secret that shall not be known and come to light.

His mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not get near him, on account of the crowd.

And when he landed, he met a man possessed by demons, who was coming out of the town. He had worn no clothing for a long time, and did not live in a house but in the tombs.

When he saw Jesus he cried out and threw 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!"

And they begged him not to order them off to the bottomless pit.

And a man named Jairus came up??e was leader of the synagogue??nd he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged him to come to his house,

When the woman saw that she had not escaped his notice, she came forward trembling, and fell down before him, and before all the people told why she had touched him, and how she had been cured at once.

Even as he spoke someone came from the house of the leader of the synagogue and said, "Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Master any more."

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

And they were all wailing and beating their breasts for her. But he said, "Stop wailing! For she is not dead, she is asleep."

And her parents were amazed, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.

He said to them, "Do not take anything for your journey, no staff nor bag nor bread nor money, nor an extra shirt.

And where they will not welcome you, leave that town and shake off the very dust from your feet as a protest against them."

But he warned them particularly not to tell this to anyone,

Just as they were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, how good it is that we are here! Let us put up three huts, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah!" For he did not know what he was saying.

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

But they did not understand what he meant, indeed it was concealed from them, in order that they might not comprehend it, and they were afraid to ask him what he meant.

John answered, "Master, we saw a man driving out demons with your name, and we told him not to do so, for he does not go with us."

Jesus said to him, "Do not try to stop him, for the man who is not against you is for you."

And the people there would not receive him, because he was going to Jerusalem.

Carry no purse nor wallet nor shoes, and do not stop to exchange civilities with anyone on the way.

If there is anyone there who loves peace, your blessing will rest upon him, but if there is not, it will come back to you.

Stay at the same house, eating and drinking what they offer you, for the workman deserves his pay. Do not change from one house to another.

But whenever you come to a town and they do not welcome you, go out into the open streets and say,

But do not be glad that the spirits submit to you, but be glad that your names are enrolled in heaven."

For I tell you, many prophets and kings have wished to see what you see, and could not see it, and to hear what you hear, and could not hear it!"

indeed there is only one thing we need. For Mary has chosen the right thing, and it must not be taken away from her."

and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive anyone who wrongs us; and do not subject us to temptation.' "

And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him in the middle of the night, and says to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves,

and he answers from inside, 'Do not bother me; the door is now fastened, and my children and I have gone to bed; I cannot get up and give you any.'

I tell you, even if he will not get up and give him some because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rouse himself and give him all he needs.

Anyone who is not with me is against me, and anyone who does not join me in gathering, scatters.

The Pharisee noticed that he did not wash before the meal, and he was surprised.

You fools! Did not the Creator of the outside make the inside too?

But he said, "Yes, alas for you experts in the Law too! For you load men with burdens they can hardly carry, and you will not touch them yourselves with a single finger.

Alas for you experts in the Law! For you have taken the key to the door of knowledge, but you have not entered it yourselves, and you have kept out those who tried to enter."

There is nothing covered up that is not going to be uncovered, nor secret that is not going to be known.

Do not sparrows sell five for two cents? And yet not one of them is forgotten in God's sight.

But the very hairs on your heads are all counted! You must not be afraid, you are worth more than a great many sparrows!

And he said to them, "Take care! You must be on your guard against any form of greed, for a man's life does not belong to him, no matter how rich he is."

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

That is the way with the man who lays up money for himself, and is not rich with God."

And he said to his disciples, "Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about life, wondering what you will have to eat, or about your body, wondering what you will have to wear.

Think of the crows! They do not sow or reap, and they have no storehouses or barns, and God feeds them. How much more you are worth than the birds!

See how the lilies grow. They do not toil or spin, but, I tell you, even Solomon in all his splendor was never dressed like one of them.

So you must not ask what you are to have to eat or drink, and you must not be anxious about it.

For these are all things the nations of the world are in pursuit of, and your Father knows well that you need them.

Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen to give you the kingdom.

Whether he comes late at night or early in the morning and finds them on the watch, they are blessed.

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