Now the whole crowd of people were praying outside at the hour of the incense offering.

for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth.

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.

because he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name;

Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.

Now there were shepherds nearby living out in the field, keeping guard over their flock at night.

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid! Listen carefully, for I proclaim to you good news that brings great joy to all the people:

and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my one dear Son; in you I take great delight."

But in truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's days, when the sky was shut up three and a half years, and there was a great famine over all the land.

But he passed through the crowd and went on his way.

Now Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing around him to hear the word of God.

But since they found no way to carry him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down on the stretcher through the roof tiles right in front of Jesus.

Then Levi gave a great banquet in his house for Jesus, and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them.

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

Rejoice in that day, and jump for joy, because your reward is great in heaven. For their ancestors did the same things to the prophets.

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to ungrateful and evil people.

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him. He turned and said to the crowd that followed him, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith!"

Soon afterward Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him.

As he approached the town gate, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother (who was a widow), and a large crowd from the town was with her.

Fear seized them all, and they began to glorify God, saying, "A great prophet has appeared among us!" and "God has come to help his people!"

While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from one town after another, he spoke to them in a parable:

Now Jesus' mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not get near him because of the crowd.

For Jesus had started commanding the evil spirit to come out of the man. (For it had seized him many times, so he would be bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard. But he would break the restraints and be driven by the demon into deserted places.)

Then all the people of the Gerasenes and the surrounding region asked Jesus to leave them alone, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and left.

Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, because they were all waiting for him.

Now the day began to draw to a close, so the twelve came and said to Jesus, "Send the crowd away, so they can go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging and food, because we are in an isolated place."

Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven he gave thanks and broke them. He gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.

Now on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a large crowd met him.

Then a man from the crowd cried out, "Teacher, I beg you to look at my son -- he is my only child!

ThenBut while the entire crowd was amazed at everything Jesus was doing, he said to his disciples,

and said to them, "Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me, for the one who is least among you all is the one who is great."

Do not carry a money bag, a traveler's bag, or sandals, and greet no one on the road.

As he said these things, a woman in the crowd spoke out to him, "Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts at which you nursed!"

But the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.

Meanwhile, when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Then someone from the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."

Then he said to them, "Watch out and guard yourself from all types of greed, because one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

But the president of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the crowd, "There are six days on which work should be done! So come and be healed on those days, and not on the Sabbath day."

When he said this all his adversaries were humiliated, but the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things he was doing.

But Jesus said to him, "A man once gave a great banquet and invited many guests.

Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.'

When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was going on.

He was trying to get a look at Jesus, but being a short man he could not see over the crowd.

As he approached the road leading down from the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen:

But some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples."

There will be great earthquakes, and famines and plagues in various places, and there will be terrifying sights and great signs from heaven.

Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing their babies in those days! For there will be great distress on the earth and wrath against this people.

Then they will see the Son of Man arriving in a cloud with power and great glory.

"But be on your guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day close down upon you suddenly like a trap.

He went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers of the temple guard how he might betray Jesus, handing him over to them.

So Judas agreed and began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus when no crowd was present.

While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd appeared, and the man named Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He walked up to Jesus to kiss him.

Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders who had come out to get him, "Have you come out with swords and clubs like you would against an outlaw?

Now the men who were holding Jesus under guard began to mock him and beat him.

A great number of the people followed him, among them women who were mourning and wailing for him.

So they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,