just as they were delivered to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word,

according to the custom of the priesthood, it fell to him by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.

But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.

And behold, you will be silent and not able to speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time."

But she was greatly troubled at his saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be.

And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.

And he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end."

And Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"

And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.

For with God nothing will be impossible."

Then Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord."

Now the time came for Elizabeth to be delivered, and she gave birth to a son.

but his mother said, "No; he shall be called John."

They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name."

and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, "What then will this child be?" For the hand of the Lord was with him.

"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people,

as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,

that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare his ways,

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of all the world.

And all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.

And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered.

And in that region there were shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.

Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people.

And this will be a sign to you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."

And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

(as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord"),

And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law,

Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that will be spoken against

(and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."

And when the feast was over, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it,

but supposing him to be in the company, they went a day's journey, and they sought him among their relatives and acquaintances.

And he said to them, "Why did you seek me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"

Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth;

Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"

Likewise the soldiers asked him, "And what shall we do?" So he said to them, "Rob no one by violence or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages."

But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all the other evil things Herod had done,

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

being tempted for forty days by the devil. In those days he ate nothing, and when they had ended, he was hungry.

But Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone.'"

If you, then, will worship me, it shall all be yours."

And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!" And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst, he came out of him without doing him any harm.

Now as the people pressed around him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.

And he saw two boats by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.

and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men."

And he stretched out his hand, and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be clean." And immediately the leprosy left him.

But the report went around concerning him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear and to be healed by him of their infirmities.

One day as he was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal.

But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days."

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined.

But new wine must be put into new wineskins.

And he came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and be healed of their diseases,

Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For he is kind to the ungrateful and evil.

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

"Judge not, and you will not be judged. Condemn not, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you."

A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.

For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a bramble bush.

Therefore I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.

When the messengers of John had departed, he began to speak to the crowds concerning John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)

But wisdom is justified by all her children."

When they had nothing with which to pay him back, he freely forgave them both. Now which of them will love him more?"

The ones along the path are those who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, that they may not believe and be saved.

And the ones that fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.

For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.

Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him."

For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For many times it had seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.

The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying,

And a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years and could not be healed by anyone,

But Jesus on hearing this answered him, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be well."

But he took her by the hand and called, saying, "Child, arise."

Then her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat.

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead,

by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.

But he said to them, "You give them something to eat." And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fishunless we go and buy food for all these people."

saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised."

For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

As the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah"not knowing what he said.

Then Jesus answered, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here."

While he was coming, the demon threw him and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.

"Let these words sink into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men."

And an argument arose among them as to which of them would be the greatest.

Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by him,

When the time drew near for him to be received up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.

After this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.

I tell you, it will be more tolerable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.

And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades!

All things have been delivered to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.

So likewise, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.