just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word,

according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John.

For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb.

And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”

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;

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

The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.

For nothing will be impossible with God.”

And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done 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 had been spoken to her by the Lord.”

But his mother answered and said, “No indeed; but he shall be called John.”

And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name.”

All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,

As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old—

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

To give to His people the knowledge of salvation
By the forgiveness of their sins,

Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.

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

This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.

And when eight days had passed, before His circumcision, His name was then 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 firstborn male that 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.

And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed—

and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents were unaware of it,

but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day’s journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances.

And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”

‘Every ravine will be filled,
And every mountain and hill will be brought low;
The crooked will become straight,
And the rough roads smooth;

So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

And some tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?”

Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.”

But when Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the wicked things which Herod had done,

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

for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry.

Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.”

And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.

In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice,

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

Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But rebuking them, He would not allow them to speak, because they knew Him to be the Christ.

Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret;

and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.”

And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him.

But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses.

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

But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.

who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured.

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

Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.

Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

But love your enemies, and 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 Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.

Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been 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 briar bush.

And a centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die.

for this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.

Soon afterwards He went to a city called Nain; and His disciples were going along with Him, accompanied by a large crowd.

When the messengers of John had left, He began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.

Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

When a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable:

Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.

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

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

But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger.

And when He came out onto the land, He was met by a man from the city who was possessed with demons; and who had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs.

For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.

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

But when Jesus heard this, He answered him, “Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she will be made well.”

He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Child, arise!”

And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He gave orders for something to be given her to eat.

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was happening; and he was greatly perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead,

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

When the apostles returned, they gave an account to Him of all that they had done. Taking them with Him, He withdrew by Himself to a city called Bethsaida.

But He said to them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps 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 be raised up on the third day.”

For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

And as these were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles: one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not realizing what he was saying.

And a man from the crowd shouted, saying, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my only boy,

And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”

While he was still approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground and threw him into a convulsion. 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 going to be delivered into the hands of men.”

An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest.

But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side,

Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.”

Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’

‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’

I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city.

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

And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!

All things have been handed over 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 anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”

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

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

Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?”