Both were righteous in God’s sight, living without blame according to all the commands and requirements of the Lord.

But they had no children because Elizabeth could not conceive, and both of them were well along in years.

At the hour of incense the whole assembly of the people was praying outside.

But the angel said to him:

Do not be afraid, Zechariah,
because your prayer has been heard.
Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,
and you will name him John.

There will be joy and delight for you,
and many will rejoice at his birth.

For he will be great in the sight of the Lord
and will never drink wine or beer.
He will be filled with the Holy Spirit
while still in his mother’s womb.

He will turn many of the sons of Israel
to the Lord their God.

And he will go before Him
in the spirit and power of Elijah,
to turn the hearts of fathers
to their children,
and the disobedient
to the understanding of the righteous,
to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.

“How can I know this?” Zechariah asked the angel. “For I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years.”

Now listen! You will become silent and unable to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”

Now listen:
You will conceive and give birth to a son,
and you will call His name Jesus.

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.

He will reign over the house of Jacob forever,
and His kingdom will have no end.

The angel replied to 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 nothing will be impossible with God.”

Then she exclaimed with a loud cry:

“You are the most blessed of women,
and your child will be blessed!

She who has believed is blessed because what was spoken to her by the Lord will be fulfilled!”

because He has looked with favor
on the humble condition of His slave.
Surely, from now on all generations
will call me blessed,

But his mother responded, “No! He will be called John.”

He asked for a writing tablet and wrote:

HIS NAME IS JOHN.

And they were all amazed.

Fear came on all those who lived around them, and all these things were being talked about throughout the hill country of Judea.

All who heard about him took it to heart, saying, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the Lord’s hand was with him.

in holiness and righteousness
in His presence all our days.

And child, you will be called
a prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord
to prepare His ways,

Because of our God’s merciful compassion,
the Dawn from on high will visit us

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole empire should be registered.

This first registration took place while Quirinius was governing Syria.

While they were there, the time came for her to give birth.

But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people:

This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in cloth and lying in a feeding trough.”

and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them.

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had seen and heard, just as they had been told.

(just as it is written in the law of the Lord: Every firstborn male will be dedicated to the Lord)

You have prepared it
in the presence of all peoples—

Then Simeon blessed them and told His mother Mary: “Indeed, this child is destined to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed—

and a sword will pierce your own soul—that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

There was also a prophetess, Anna, a daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well along in years, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,

At that very moment, she came up and began to thank God and to speak about Him to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

And all those who heard Him were astounded at His understanding and His answers.

Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them. His mother kept all these things in her heart.

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,

He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,

Every valley will be filled,
and every mountain and hill will be made low;
the crooked will become straight,
the rough ways smooth,

and everyone will see the salvation of God.

Even now the ax is ready to strike the root of the trees! Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Now the people were waiting expectantly, and all of them were debating in their minds whether John might be the Messiah.

John answered them all, “I baptize you with water, but One is coming who is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

His winnowing shovel is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and gather the wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn up with a fire that never goes out.”

But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him about Herodias, his brother’s wife, and about all the evil things Herod had done,

When all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized. As He was praying, heaven opened,

So he took Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

The Devil said to Him, “I will give You their splendor and all this authority, because it has been given over to me, and I can give it to anyone I want.

If You, then, will worship me, all will be Yours.”

For it is written:

He will give His angels orders concerning you,
to protect you,

and
they will support you with their hands,
so that you will not strike
your foot against a stone.”

They were all speaking well of Him and were amazed by the gracious words that came from His mouth, yet they said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

Then He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me: ‘Doctor, heal yourself. So all we’ve heard that took place in Capernaum, do here in Your hometown also.’”

But I say to you, there were certainly many widows in Israel in Elijah’s days, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months while a great famine came over all the land.

But Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet and come out of him!”

And throwing him down before them, the demon came out of him without hurting him at all.

Amazement came over them all, and they kept saying to one another, “What is this message? For He commands the unclean spirits with authority and power, and they come out!”

When the sun was setting, all those who had anyone sick with various diseases brought them to Him. As He laid His hands on each one of them, He would heal them.

Also, demons were coming out of many, shouting and saying, “You are the Son of God!” But He rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew He was the Messiah.

“Master,” Simon replied, “we’ve worked hard all night long and caught nothing! But at Your word, I’ll let down the nets.”

For he and all those with him were amazed at the catch of fish they took,

and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s partners.

“Don’t be afraid,” Jesus told Simon. “From now on you will be catching people!”

While He was in one of the towns, a man was there who had a serious skin disease all over him. He saw Jesus, fell facedown, and begged Him: “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

On one of those days while He was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea, and also from Jerusalem. And the Lord’s power to heal was in Him.

Jesus said to them, “You can’t make the wedding guests fast while the groom is with them, can you?

But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them—then they will fast in those days.”

He also told them a parable: “No one tears a patch from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. Otherwise, not only will he tear the new, but also the piece from the new garment will not match the old.

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, it will spill, and the skins will be ruined.

After looking around at them all, He told him, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was restored.

During those days He went out to the mountain to pray and spent all night in prayer to God.

After coming down with them, He stood on a level place with a large crowd of His disciples and a great number of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon.

They came to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those tormented by unclean spirits were made well.

The whole crowd was trying to touch Him, because power was coming out from Him and healing them all.

You who are now hungry are blessed,
because you will be filled.
You who now weep are blessed,
because you will laugh.

Woe to you who are now full,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who are now laughing,
for you will mourn and weep.

Woe to you
when all people speak well of you,
for this is the way their ancestors
used to treat the false prophets.

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

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over—will be poured 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.

Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself don’t see the log in your eye? Hypocrite! First take the log out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck in your brother’s eye.

I will show you what someone is like who comes to Me, hears My words, and acts on them:

He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the river crashed against that house and couldn’t shake it, because it was well built.

When He had concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum.

That is why I didn’t even consider myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be cured.

This report about Him went throughout Judea and all the vicinity.

Then John’s disciples told him about all these things. So John summoned two of his disciples

This is the one it is written about:

Look, I am sending My messenger
ahead of You;
he will prepare Your way before You.

(And when all the people, including the tax collectors, heard this, they acknowledged God’s way of righteousness, because they had been baptized with John’s baptism.

Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

And a woman in the town who was a sinner found out that Jesus was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house. She brought an alabaster jar of fragrant oil

and stood behind Him at His feet, weeping, and began to wash His feet with her tears. She wiped His feet with the hair of her head, kissing them and anointing them with the fragrant oil.

Since they could not pay it back, he graciously forgave them both. So, which of them will love him more?”

You didn’t anoint My head with olive oil, but she has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.

And the seed on the rock are those who, when they hear, welcome the word with joy. Having no root, these believe for a while and depart in a time of testing.

Therefore take care how you listen. For whoever has, more will be given to him; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him.”