exactly as these have been handed down to us by the original eyewitnesses who were in the service of the Gospel Message,

it fell to him by lot, as was the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense,

It will be joy and gladness for you, and many will rejoice over his birth:

for he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, he will drink neither wine nor strong drink, he will be filled with the holy Spirit from his very birth;

Zechariah said to the angel, "But how am I to be sure of this? I am an old man myself, and my wife is advanced in years."

But you will be silent and unable to speak till the day this happens, because you have not believed what I told you; it will be accomplished, for all that, in due time."

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazaret,

The angel went in and said to her, "Hail, O favoured one! the Lord be with you!"

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

he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and to his reign there will be no end."

"How can this be?" said Mary to the angel, "I have no husband."

The angel answered her, "The holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Most High will overshadow you; hence what is born will be called holy, Son of God.

Mary said, "I am here to serve the Lord. Let it be as you have said." Then the angel went away.

And blessed is she who believed that the Lord's words to her would be fulfilled."

and on the eighth day came to circumcise the child. They were going to call it by the name of its father Zechariah,

but the mother told them, "No, the child is to be called John."

They said to her, "None of your family is called by that name."

Then they made signs to the father, to find out what he wanted the child to be called,

"Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, for he has cared for his people and wrought them redemption;

as he promised of old by the lips of his prophets

to deal mercifully with our fathers and to be mindful of his holy covenant,

And you, my child, shall be called a prophet of the Most High; for you shall go in front of the Lord to make his ways ready,

by the tender mercy of our God, who will make the Dawn visit us from on high,

Now in those days an edict was issued by Caesar Augustus for a census of the whole world.

So everyone went to be registered, each at his own town,

to be registered along with Mary his wife. She was pregnant,

There were some shepherds in the district who were out in the fields keeping guard over their flocks by night;

Now when the angels had left them and gone away to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us be off to Bethlehem to see this thing that the Lord has told us of."

When the eight days had passed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus ??the name given by the angel before he had been conceived in the womb.

(as it is written in the law of the Lord: every male that opens the womb must be considered consecrated to the Lord)

indeed it had been revealed to him by the holy Spirit that he was not to see death before he had seen the Lord messiah.

By an inspiration of the Spirit he came to the temple, and when the parents of the child Jesus carried him in to perform the customary regulations of the law for him,

to be a light of revelation for the Gentiles and a glory to thy people Israel."

but Symeon blessed them, and to his mother Mary he said, "This child is destined for the downfall as well as for the rise of many a one in Israel; destined to be a Sign for man's attack ??35 to bring out the secret aims of many a heart. And your own soul will be pierced by a spear."

After spending the full number of days they came back, but the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know of this;

"Why did you look for me?" he said, "Did you not know I had to be at my Father's house?"

Every valley shall be filled up, every hill and mound laid low, the crooked made straight, the rough roads smooth;

To the crowds who came out to get baptized by him John said, "You brood of vipers, who told you to flee from the coming Wrath?

The axe is lying all ready at the root of the trees; any tree that is not producing good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."

Soldiers also asked him, "And what are we to do?" He said to them, "Never extort money, never lay a false charge, but be content with your pay."

Now as people's expectations were roused and as everybody thought to himself about John, "Can he be the Christ,"

But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias his brother's wife as well as for all the wickedness that he, Herod, had committed,

crowned all by shutting John up in prison.

and for forty days he was led by the Spirit in the desert, while the devil tempted him. During these days he ate nothing, and when they were over he felt hungry.

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

He taught in their synagogues and was glorified by all.

Now in the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean daemon, who shrieked aloud,

But Jesus checked it, saying, "Be quiet, come out of him." And after throwing him down before them the daemon did come out of him without doing him any harm.

as was the case with James and John, the sons of Zebedaeus, who were partners of Simon. Then said Jesus to Simon, "Have no fear; from now your catch will be men."

So he stretched his hand out and touched him, with the words, "I do choose, be cleansed." And the leprosy at once left him.

But the news of him spread abroad more and more; large crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their complaints,

No one pours fresh wine into old wineskins; otherwise the fresh wine will burst the wineskins, the wine will be spilt and the wineskins ruined.

No, fresh wine must be poured into new wineskins.

Blessed are you who hunger to-day! you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep to-day! you shall laugh.

Woe to you who have your fill to-day! you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh to-day! you will wail and weep.

No, you must love your enemies and help them, you must lend to them without expecting any return; then you will have a rich reward, you will be sons of the Most High for he is kind even to the ungrateful and the evil.

Be merciful, as your Father is merciful.

Also, judge not, and you will not be judged yourselves: condemn not, and you will not be condemned: pardon, and you will be pardoned yourselves:

give, and you will have ample measure given you ??they will pour into your lap measure pressed down, shaken together, and running over; for the measure you deal out to others will be dealt back to yourselves."

A scholar is not above his teacher: but if he is perfectly trained he will be like his teacher.

each tree is known by its fruit. Figs are not gathered from thorns, and grapes are not plucked from a bramble-bush.

and so I did not consider myself fit even to come to you. Just say the word, and let my servant be cured.

It was shortly afterwards that he made his way to a town called Nain, accompanied by his disciples and a large crowd.

Then he went forward and touched the bier; the bearers stopped, and he said, "Young man, I bid you rise."

And blessed is he who is repelled by nothing in me!"

When John's messengers had gone, he proceeded to speak to the crowds about John: "What did you go out to the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind?

Nevertheless, Wisdom is vindicated by all her children."

As they were unable to pay, he freely forgave them both. Tell me, now, which of them will love him most?"

Shortly afterwards he went travelling from one town and village to another preaching and telling the good news of the Reign of God; he was accompanied by the twelve

and by some women who had been healed of evil spirits and illnesses, Mary called Magdalene (out of whom seven daemons had been driven),

Those 'on the road' are people who hear; but then the devil comes and carries off the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved.

For nothing is hidden that shall not be disclosed, nothing concealed that shall not be known and revealed.

So take care how you listen; for he who has, to him shall more be given, while as for him who has not, from him shall be taken even what he thinks he has."

Then he said to them, "Where is your faith?" They marvelled in awe, saying to one another, "Whatever can he be? He gives orders to the very winds and water, and they obey him!"

As he stepped out on land he was met by a man from the town who had daemons in him; for a long while he had worn no clothing, and he stayed not in a house but among the tombs.

(For he had charged the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Many a time when it had seized hold of him, he had been fastened secure in fetters and chains, but he would snap his bonds and be driven by the daemon into the desert.)

On his return Jesus was welcomed by the crowd; they were all looking out for him.

but the crowds learned this and followed him. He welcomed them, spoke to them of the Reign of God, and cured those who needed to be healed.

He said to them, "Give them some food yourselves." They said, "We have only got five loaves and two fish. Unless ??are we to go and buy food for the whole of this people?"

Now it happened that while he was praying by himself his disciples were beside him. So he inquired of them, "Who do the crowds say I am?"

The Son of man, he said, has to endure great suffering, to be rejected by the elders and high priests and scribes, to be killed, and on the third day to be raised.

What profit will it be for a man to gain the whole world and lose or forfeit himself?

For whoever is ashamed of me and 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.

"Teacher," shouted a man from the crowd, "look at my son, I beg of you, for he is my only boy,

Jesus answered, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long must I still be with you and bear with you? Fetch your son here."

Before the boy could reach Jesus, the daemon dashed him down and convulsed him, but Jesus checked the unclean spirit, cured the boy, and handed him back to his father.

"Let these words sink into your ears: 'the Son of man is to be betrayed into the hands of men.'"

Jesus knew the dispute that occupied their minds, so he took hold of a little child and set it by his side;

Another man also said to him, "I will follow you, Lord. But let me first say good-bye to my people at home."

After that the Lord commissioned other seventy disciples, sending them in front of him two by two to every town and place that he intended to visit himself.

Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this household!'

I tell you, on the great Day it will be more bearable for Sodom than for that town.

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

"All has been handed over to me by my Father: and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son, and he to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

Mary has chosen the best dish, and she is not to be dragged away from it."

He said to them, "When you pray, say, Father, thy name be revered, thy Reign begin;

give us our bread for the morrow day by day,

And suppose he answers from the inside, 'Don't bother me; the door is locked by this time, and my children are in bed with me. I can't get up and give you anything.'

So I tell you, ask and the gift will be yours, seek and you will find, knock and the door will open to you;

What father among you, if asked by his son for a loaf, will hand him a stone? Or, if asked for a fish, will hand him a serpent instead of a fish?