Inasmuch as a number of writers have essayed to draw up a narrative of the established facts in our religion

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

and inasmuch as I have gone carefully over them all myself from the very beginning, I have decided, O Theophilus, to write them out in order for your excellency,

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

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."

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.

Look, there is your kinswoman Elizabeth! Even she has conceived a son in her old age, and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month;

for with God nothing is ever impossible."

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

she called out with a loud cry, "Blessed among women are you, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

Why, as soon as the sound of your salutation reached my ears, the babe leapt for joy within my womb.

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

for He who is Mighty has done great things for me. His name is holy,

his mercy is on generation after generation, for those who reverence him.

as he promised our fathers, to have mercy on Abraham and his offspring for ever."

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."

and he asked for a writing-tablet and wrote down, "His name is John," to the astonishment of all.

he has raised up a strong saviour for us in the house of his servant David

as he promised of old by the lips of his prophets

to save us from our foes and from the hand of all who hate us,

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

and as Joseph belonged to the house and family of David he went up from Galilee to Judaea, from the town of Nazaret to David's town called Bethlehem,

she gave birth to her firstborn son, and as there was no room for them inside the khan she wrapped him up and laid him in a stall for cattle.

but the angel said to them, "Have no fear. This is good news I am bringing you, news of a great joy that is meant for all the People.

And here is a proof for you: you will find a baby wrapped up and lying in a stall for cattle."

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."

and as for Mary, she treasured it all up and mused upon it.

Then the shepherds went away back, glorifying and extolling God for all they had heard and seen as they had been told they would.

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

"Now, Master, thou canst let thy servant go, and go in peace, as thou didst promise;

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."

and when he was twelve years old they went up as usual to the festival.

Then, as they failed to find him, they came back to Jerusalem in search of him.

When his parents saw him they were astounded, and his mother said to him, "My son, why have you behaved like this to us? Here have your father and I been looking for you anxiously!"

Then he went down along with them to Nazaret, and did as they told him. His mother treasured up everything in her heart.

and he went into all the Jordan-district preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins ??4 as it is written in the book of the sayings of the prophet Isaiah, The voice of one who cries in the desert, 'Make the way ready for the Lord, level the paths for him.

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."

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

John said to them all, "I baptize you with water, but after me one who is mightier will come, and I am not fit to untie the string of his sandals; he will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire.

His winnowing-fan is in his hand to purge his threshing-floor, to gather the wheat into his granary and burn the straw with fire unquenchable."

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,

At the outset Jesus was about thirty years of age; he was the son, as people supposed, of Joseph, the son of Heli,

Jesus replied to him, "It is written, Man is not to live on bread alone."

Jesus answered him, "It is written, You must worship the Lord your God, and serve him alone."

for it is written, He will give his angels charge of you,

Then he came to Nazaret, where he had been brought up, and on the sabbath he entered the synagogue as was his custom. He stood up to read the lesson

and was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah; on opening the book he came upon the place where it was written,

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me: for he has consecrated me to preach the gospel to the poor, he has sent me to proclaim release for captives and recovery of sight for the blind, to set free the oppressed,

and he proceeded to tell them that "To-day, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

All spoke well of him and marvelled at the gracious words that came from his lips; they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"

He added, "I tell you truly, no prophet is ever welcome in his native place.

"Ha! Jesus of Nazaret, what business have you with us? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, you are God's holy One!"

From many people daemons were also driven out, clamouring aloud, "You are God's son!" But he checked them and refused to let them say anything, as they knew he was the Christ.

He answered them, "I must preach the glad news of the Reign of God to the other towns as well, for that is what I was sent to do."

Now as the crowd were pressing on him to listen to the word of God, he saw, as he stood beside the lake of Gennesaret,

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."

One day he was teaching, and near him sat Pharisees and doctors of the Law who had come from every village of Galilee and Judaea as well as from Jerusalem. Now the power of the Lord was present for the work of healing.

Then the scribes and Pharisees began to argue, "Who is this blasphemer? Who can forgive sins, who but God alone?"

Which is the easier thing, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'?

They said to him, "The disciples of John fast frequently and offer prayers, as do the disciples of the Pharisees; but your adherents eat and drink."

Jesus said to them, "Can you make friends at a wedding fast while the bride groom is beside them?

A time will come when the bridegroom is taken from them, and then they will fast at that time."

Besides, no one wants new wine [immediately] after drinking old; 'The old,' he says, 'is better.'"

One sabbath it happened that as he was crossing the cornfields his disciples pulled some ears of corn and ate them, rubbing them in their hands.

Some of the Pharisees said, "Why are you doing what is not allowed on the sabbath?"

He went into the house of God, took the loaves of the Presence and ate them, giving them to his men as well ??bread that no one is allowed to eat except the priests."

And he said to them, "The Son of man is Lord even over the sabbath."

and the scribes and Pharisees watched to see if he would heal on the sabbath, so as to discover some charge against him.

Then Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it right on the sabbath to help or to hurt, to save life or to kill?"

Then, raising his eyes he looked at his disciples and said: "Blessed are you poor! the Realm of God is yours.

Blessed are you when men will hate you, when they will excommunicate you and denounce you and defame you as wicked on account of the Son of man;

rejoice on that day and leap for joy! rich is your reward in heaven for their fathers did the very same to the prophets.

Woe to you when all men speak well of you! that is just what their fathers did to the false prophets.

If a man strikes you on the one cheek, offer him the other as well: if anyone takes your coat, do not deny him your shirt as well;

As you would like men to do to you, so do to them.

If you love only those who love you, what credit is that to you? Why, even sinful men love those who love them.

If you help only those who help you, what merit is that to you? Why, even sinful men do that.

If you only lend to those from whom you hope to get something, what credit is that to you? Even sinful men lend to one another, so as to get a fair return.

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.

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

How dare you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take out the splinter that is in your eye,' and you never notice the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite! take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see properly to take out the splinter in your brother's eye.

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

The good man produces good from the good stored in his heart, and the evil man evil from his evil: for a man's mouth utters what his heart is full of.

Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and acts upon them, I will show you whom he is like.

He is like a man engaged in building a house, who dug deep down and laid his foundation on the rock; when a flood came, the river dashed against that house but could not shake it, for it had been well built.

He who has listened and has not obeyed is like a man who built a house on the earth with no foundation; the river dashed against it and it collapsed at once, and the ruin of that house was great."

"for he is a lover of our nation; it was he who built our synagogue."

Just as he was near the gate of the town, there was a dead man being carried out; he was the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the town were with her.

All were seized with awe and glorified God. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said, "God has visited his people."

When the men reached Jesus they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask if you are the Coming One or if we are to look out for someone else?"

So he replied, "Go and report to John what you have seen and heard; that the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and to the poor the gospel is preached.

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

This is he of whom it is written, Here I send my messenger before your face, to prepare the way for you.

I tell you, among the sons of women there is none greater than John, and yet the least in the Realm of God is greater than he is."

(On hearing this all the people and the taxgatherers acknowledged the justice of God, as they had been baptized with the baptism of John;

the Son of man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of taxgatherers and sinners!'

Nevertheless, Wisdom is vindicated by all her children."

When his host the Pharisee noticed this, he said to himself, "If he was a prophet he would know what sort of a woman this is who is touching him; for she is a sinner."