Since [as is well known] many have undertaken to compile an orderly account of the things which have been fulfilled among us [by God],

exactly as they were handed down to us by those [with personal experience] who from the beginning [of Christ’s ministry] were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word [that is, of the teaching concerning salvation through faith in Christ],

so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught [that is, the history and doctrine of the faith].

In the days of Herod [the Great], king of Judea, there was a certain priest whose name was Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron [the first high priest of Israel], and her name was Elizabeth.

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

as was the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter [the sanctuary of] the temple of the Lord and burn incense [on the altar of incense].

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, because your petition [in prayer] was heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John.

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 Zacharias said to the angel, “How will I be certain of this? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in age.”

to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

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

Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin and have no intimacy with any man?”

And listen, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.

For with God nothing [is or ever] shall be impossible.”

And she exclaimed loudly, “Blessed [worthy to be praised] are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

And blessed [spiritually fortunate and favored by God] is she who believed and confidently trusted that there would be a fulfillment of the things that were spoken to her [by the angel sent] from the Lord.”

“For He who is mighty has done great things for me;
And holy is His name [to be worshiped in His purity, majesty, and glory].

“And His mercy is upon generation after generation
Toward those who [stand in great awe of God and] fear Him.

Just as He promised to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by that name.”

Then they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called.

And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote as follows, “His name is John.” And they were all astonished.

And He has raised up a horn of salvation [a mighty and valiant Savior] for us
In the house of David His servant—

Just as He promised by the mouth of His holy prophets from the most ancient times—

Salvation from our enemies,
And from the hand of all who hate us;

To show mercy [as He promised] to our fathers,
And to remember His holy covenant [the promised blessing],

To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,

Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Sunrise (the Messiah) from on high will dawn and visit us,

So Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,

For this day in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord (the Messiah).

“Glory to God in the highest [heaven],
And on earth peace among men with whom He is well-pleased.”

When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying one to another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem, and see this [wonderful] thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.

(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy [set apart and dedicated] to the Lord)”

and [they came also] to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord [to be appropriate for a family of modest means], “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout [carefully observing the divine Law], and looking for the Consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

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

and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She did not leave the [area of the] temple, but was serving and worshiping night and day with fastings and prayers.

And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem, according to the custom of the Feast;

and as they were returning [to Nazareth], after spending the required number of days [at the Feast], the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem. Now His parents did not know this,

When they saw Him, they were overwhelmed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us like this? Listen, Your father and I have been [greatly distressed and] anxiously looking for You.”

And He answered, “Why did you have to look for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”

as it is written and forever remains written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

“The voice of one shouting in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight.

Therefore produce fruit that is worthy of [and consistent with your] repentance [that is, live changed lives, turn from sin and seek God and His righteousness]. And do not even begin to say to yourselves [as a defense], ‘We have Abraham for our father [and so our heritage assures us of salvation]’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children (descendants) for Abraham [for God can replace the unrepentant, regardless of their heritage, with those who are obedient].

Even now the axe [of God’s judgment] is swinging toward the root of the trees; so every tree that does not produce good fruit is being cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Some soldiers asked him, “And what about us, what are we to do?” And he replied to them, “Do not extort money from anyone or harass or blackmail anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.”

Now the people were in a state of expectation, and all were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he was the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed).

John answered them all by saying, “As for me, I baptize you [only] with water; but One who is mightier [more powerful, more noble] than I is coming, and I am not fit to untie the strap of His sandals [even as His slave]. He will baptize you [who truly repent] with the Holy Spirit and [you who remain unrepentant] with fire.

His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat (believers) into His barn (kingdom); but He will burn up the chaff (the unrepentant) with unquenchable fire.”

When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son [by marriage] of Eli,

Jesus replied to him, “It is written and forever remains written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’”

Jesus replied to him, “It is written and forever remains written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve only Him.’”

for it is written and forever remains written,

‘He will command His angels concerning You to guard and protect You,’

When the devil had finished every temptation, he [temporarily] left Him until a more opportune time.

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.

The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me (the Messiah),
Because He has anointed Me to preach the good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to announce release (pardon, forgiveness) to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed (downtrodden, bruised, crushed by tragedy),

And [as He continued on] they all were speaking well of Him, and were in awe and were wondering about the words of grace which were coming from His lips; and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”

Then He said, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown.

“Let us alone! What business do we have [in common] with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”

They were all astonished and in awe, and began saying to one another, “What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out!”

When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their nets were [at the point of] breaking;

After they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him [becoming His disciples, believing and trusting in Him and following His example].

Jesus ordered him to tell no one [that he might happen to meet], “But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your purification, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony (witness) to them [that this is a work of Messiah].”

One day as He was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the Law sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present with Him to heal.

The scribes and the Pharisees began to consider and question [the implications of what He had said], saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies [by claiming the rights and prerogatives of God]? Who can forgive sins [that is, remove guilt, nullify sin’s penalty, and assign righteousness] except God alone?”

Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?

After this Jesus went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi (Matthew) sitting at the tax booth; and He said to him, “Follow Me [as My disciple, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk].”

And Jesus replied to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but [only] those who are sick.

Jesus said to them, “Can you make the wedding guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them?

And no one, after drinking old wine, wishes for new; for he says, ‘The old is fine.’”

But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

Jesus replied to them, “Have you not even read [in the Scriptures] what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him—

how he went into the house of God, and took and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful [for anyone] to eat except the priests alone, and [how he also] gave it to the men who were with him?”

Jesus was saying to them, “The Son of Man (the Messiah) is Lord [even] of the Sabbath.”

On another Sabbath He went into the synagogue and taught, and a man was present whose right hand was withered.

Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you directly: Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it?”

And looking toward His disciples, He began speaking: “Blessed [spiritually prosperous, happy, to be admired] are you who are poor [in spirit, those devoid of spiritual arrogance, those who regard themselves as insignificant], for the kingdom of God is yours [both now and forever].

Blessed [morally courageous and spiritually alive with life-joy in God’s goodness] are you when people hate you, and exclude you [from their fellowship], and insult you, and scorn your name as evil because of [your association with] the Son of Man.

Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for your reward in heaven is great [absolutely inexhaustible]; for their fathers used to treat the prophets in the same way.

Whoever strikes you on the cheek, offer him the other one also [simply ignore insignificant insults or losses and do not bother to retaliate—maintain your dignity]. Whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.

Give to everyone who asks of you. Whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.

Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.

If you [only] love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

If you lend [money] to those from whom you expect to receive [it back], what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners expecting to receive back the same amount.

But love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; for your reward will be great (rich, abundant), and you will be sons of the Most High; because He Himself is kind and gracious and good to the ungrateful and the wicked.

Be merciful (responsive, compassionate, tender) just as your [heavenly] Father is merciful.

Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over [with no space left for more]. For with the standard of measurement you use [when you do good to others], it will be measured to you in return.”

A student is not superior to his teacher; but everyone, after he has been completely trained, will be like his teacher.

Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice or consider the log that is in your own eye?

How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, allow me to take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite (play actor, pretender), first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit.

For each tree is known and identified by its own fruit. For figs are not picked from thorn bushes, nor is a cluster of grapes picked from a briar bush.

The [intrinsically] good man produces what is good and honorable and moral out of the good treasure [stored] in his heart; and the [intrinsically] evil man produces what is wicked and depraved out of the evil [in his heart]; for his mouth speaks from the overflow of his heart.

Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and obeys them, I will show you whom he is like:

he is like a [far-sighted, practical, and sensible] man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and yet could not shake it, because it had been securely built and founded on the rock.

But the one who has [merely] heard and has not practiced [what I say], is like a [foolish] man who built a house on the ground without any foundation, and the torrent burst against it; and it immediately collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”

When they reached Jesus, they pleaded with Him earnestly [to come], saying, “He is worthy for You to do this for him,

because he loves our nation and he built us our synagogue [at his own expense].”