Now it happened while Zacharias was serving as priest before God in the appointed order of his priestly division,

It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous [which is to seek and submit to the will of God]—in order to make ready a people [perfectly] prepared [spiritually and morally] for the Lord.”

And coming to her, the angel said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”

“And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
For you will go on before the Lord (the Messiah) to prepare His ways;

At the end of eight days, when He was to be circumcised, He was named Jesus, the name given [to Him] by the angel [Gabriel] before He was conceived in the womb.

It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed).

Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

A Light for revelation to the Gentiles [to disclose what was previously unknown],
And [to bring] the praise and honor and glory of Your people Israel.”

Some men came carrying on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed, and they tried to bring him in and lay him down in front of Jesus.

He immediately stood up before them, picked up his stretcher, and went home glorifying and praising God.

This is the one of whom it is written [by the prophet Malachi],

‘Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You,
Who will prepare Your way before You.’

Seeing Jesus, he cried out [with a terrible voice from the depths of his throat] and fell down before Him [in dread and terror], and shouted loudly, “What business do we have [in common] with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me [before the appointed time of judgment]!”

When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came up trembling and fell down before Him. She declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed.

Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and He looked up to heaven [and gave thanks] and blessed them, and broke them and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the crowd.

But I tell you truthfully, there are some among those standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went into a Samaritan village to make arrangements for Him;

Whenever you go into a city and they welcome you, eat what is set before you;

for a friend of mine who is on a journey has just come to visit me, and I have nothing to serve him’;

The Pharisee noticed this and was surprised that Jesus did not first ceremonially wash before the meal.

“I say to you, whoever declares openly and confesses Me before men [speaking freely of Me as his Lord], the Son of Man also will declare openly and confess him [as one of His own] before the angels of God.

But he who denies Me before men will be denied in the presence of the angels of God.

When they bring you before the synagogues and the magistrates and the authorities, do not be worried about how you are to defend yourselves or what you are to say;

Whether he comes in the second watch (before midnight), or even in the third (after midnight), and finds them so [prepared and ready], blessed are those servants.

For while you are going with your opponent [at law] to appear before a magistrate, on the way make an effort to settle, so that he does not drag you before the judge, and the judge does not [rule against you and] turn you over to the officer, and the officer does not throw you into prison.

So He said to them, “You are the ones who declare yourselves just and upright in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts [your thoughts, your desires, your secrets]; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.

The Pharisee stood [ostentatiously] and began praying to himself [in a self-righteous way, saying]: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like the rest of men—swindlers, unjust (dishonest), adulterers—or even like this tax collector.

The first one came before him and said, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten more minas.’

“But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, turning you over to the synagogues and prisons, and bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake.

He said to them, “I have earnestly wanted to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;

Jesus said, “I say to you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will [utterly] deny three times that you know Me.”

While He was still speaking, a crowd came, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve [disciples], was leading the way for them. He approached Jesus to kiss Him.

The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.”

Then the whole assembly got up and brought Him before Pilate.

Now that very day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other—before this they had been enemies.

and said to them, “You brought this man before me as one who corrupts and incites the people to rebellion. After examining Him before you, I have found no guilt in this Man regarding the charges which you make against Him.

He asked, “What things?” And they replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet powerful in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people,

Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and [only then to] enter His glory?”

and He took it and ate it in front of them.