have handed them down to us, I too, most excellent Theophilus, because I have carefully investigated them all from the start, have felt impressed to write them out in order for you

For he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must drink no wine nor strong drink, and so he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his birth.

for He has smiled upon His slave in her lowly station, for from this day all ages will count me happy!

He shows His mercy from age to age to those who fear him.

deliverance from our foes and from the hands of all who hate us,

to grant us deliverance from the dreaded hand of our foes, so that we could serve Him

Because the heart of our God is merciful. And so the day will dawn upon us from on high,

And Joseph too went up from Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to the town of David in Judea called Bethlehem, because he was a descendant of the house and family of David,

She was very old; from girlhood she had lived seven years with a husband, and now had been a widow eighty years. She never left the temple, but continued to worship all day and all night with fastings and prayers.

So he used to say to the crowds that continued to come out there to be baptized by him: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to escape from the wrath that is coming?

Then some soldiers too were asking him, "What ought we too to do?" So he said to them, "Never extort money from anyone, never make a false accusation, and always be satisfied with your wages."

Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and for forty days He was led about in the desert under the Spirit's guidance,

Then he took Him to Jerusalem, and had Him stand on the tip-top turret of the temple, and said to Him, "If you are God's Son, throw yourself down from here,

Meanwhile He began to teach in their synagogues, and was continuously receiving praise from all.

to announce the year of favor from the Lord."

So they all began to speak well of Him and to wonder at the gracious words that fell from His lips, and yet they continued to say, "Is He not Joseph's son?"

As day broke He left the house and went to a lonely spot, and the crowds continued to look for Him; they overtook Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them.

So He got into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, and asked him to push out a little from the shore. Then He sat down and continued to teach the crowds from the boat.

as well as James and John, Zebedee's sons, who were Simon's partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Stop being afraid; from now on you will be catching men."

One day as He was teaching, there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Him to cure people.

But a time will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them; at that time they will fast."

Then He told them a short story: "No one tears a piece from a new coat and puts it on an old one; or if he does, he will tear the new one too, and the patch from the new coat will not match the old one.

When day came, He called His disciples to Him, and selected from them twelve whom He also named apostles:

Then He came down with them and took His stand on a level place, where there was a great throng of His disciples and a vast crowd of people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and the seacoast district of Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear Him and to be cured of their diseases.

So all the people were trying to touch Him, because power continued to go forth from Him and to cure them all.

To the man who strikes you on one cheek, offer him the other too; and from the man who takes away your coat, do not keep back your shirt either,

Practice giving to everyone who asks of you, and stop demanding back your goods from him who takes them away.

For every tree is known by its fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or gather grapes from a bramble-bush.

Then Jesus started to go with them. But when He was not far from the house, the captain sent friends to say to Him, "My Lord, stop troubling yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.

But when John's messengers had gone, He began to speak to the crowds about John: "What did you go out into the desert to gaze at? A reed that is tossed to and fro by the wind?

You did not give me a kiss, but she, from the moment I came in, has not ceased to kiss my feet with affection.

Soon afterwards He chanced to be making a tour of Galilee from town to town and from village to village preaching and telling the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve went with Him,

Now as a great crowd was coming together and people were coming to Him from one town after another, He said by way of a story:

Those along the path illustrate those who hear it, but then the devil comes and carries off the message from their hearts, so that they may not believe it and be saved.

So take care how you listen, for whoever gets more will have more given to him, and whoever does not get more will have even what he thinks he has taken away from him."

They landed in the neighborhood of Gerasa, which is just across the lake from Galilee.

As soon as He stepped out upon the shore, there met Him a man from town, who was under the power of demons; and for a long time he had worn no clothes, and did not stay in a house but in tombs.

Then all the inhabitants of the country around Gerasa asked Him to go away from them, because they were terribly frightened. So He got into a boat and went back.

Still Jesus said, "Somebody touched me, for I felt it when the power passed from me."

While He was still speaking, someone came from the house of the leader of the synagogue and said, "Your daughter is dead; stop troubling the Teacher anymore."

Into whatever house you go, stay there and continue to go out from it as headquarters.

And when you leave that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a protest against all the people who do not welcome you."

And so they set out and went from village to village, telling the good news and curing people everywhere.

Now Herod the governor heard of all that was taking place, and he continued to be puzzled over the reports -- by some that John had risen from the dead,

The next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met Him.

But they remained ignorant of what this meant; indeed, it had been hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.

When the disciples, James and John, saw this, they said, "Lord, do you want us to bid fire come down from heaven and consume them?"

Stay on at the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the workman deserves his support. Do not keep moving about from house to house.

'We are wiping off against you the very dust from your town that has stuck to our feet. But understand this, the kingdom of God is close by.'

He said to them, "I was looking at Satan failing like a flash of lightning from heaven.

At that very moment, by the power of the Holy Spirit, He exulted and said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for concealing these matters from wise and learned men, and for revealing them to little children. Yes, Father, I thank you that your good pleasure made it so.

Jesus answered: "A man was on his way down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell into the hands of robbers, who both stripped him and beat him till he was half dead, and then went off and left him.

But there is actual need of few things, really of only one thing. For Mary has chosen the good portion which must not be taken away from her."

And suppose he answers from inside, 'Stop bothering me; the door is now locked, and my children are packed about me in bed; I cannot get up and give you any.'

But others, to test Him, were demanding from Him a spectacular sign from heaven.

The queen of the south will rise at the judgment with the men of this age and will condemn them, for she came from the very ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom; and yet, One who is more than Solomon is here.

so that the blood of all the prophets that has been shed from the creation of the world may be charged against the men of this age --

from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against the men of this age.

plotting, as if in ambush, to entrap Him in something that might fall from His lips.

because what you have spoken in darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in people's ears, behind closed doors, will be proclaimed from the housetops.

and be like men waiting for their master when he comes home from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks, they at once may open the door for him.

But the one who does wrong without knowing it will be lightly punished. Much will be demanded from anyone to whom much has been given; yea, people will demand much more from anyone to whom they have entrusted much.

For from now on, five in a house will be divided, three against two, and two against three.

As soon as Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your disease!"

And so was it not right for this woman, a descendant of Abraham, whom Satan has for eighteen years kept bound, to be freed from this bond on the Sabbath?"

Then He was traveling from town to town and from village to village, teaching and making His way toward Jerusalem.

when once the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand on the outside and to knock on the door again and again and say, 'Lord, open it for us'; but He will answer, 'I do not know where you come from.'

But He will say to you, 'I do not know where you come from. Go away from me, all you wrongdoers!'

People will come from east and west, from north and south, and take their seats at the feast in the kingdom of God.

Just at that time some Pharisees came up and said to Him, "Get out at once! Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you!"

Just in front of Him was a man who was suffering from dropsy.

Then the manager said to himself, What shall I do, because my master is going to take my position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg.

I know what I will do -- I will ask them to take me into their homes when I am removed from my position.

Any man who divorces his wife to marry another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries the woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

and he was always craving to get a square meal from the scraps that fell from the rich man's table. Yes, the very dogs used to come and lick his sores.

Besides all this, between you and us there stands fixed a great chasm, so that those who want to cross from this side to you cannot, nor can they cross from your side to us.'

But he pleaded, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone went to them from the dead, they would repent.'

Then he answered, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced, even if someone rises from the dead.'"

"What man among you, if he has a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he comes in from the field, 'Come at once and take your seat at the table,'

And as He was going into one village, ten lepers met Him, who got up at some distance from Him,

for just as when the lightning flashes, it shines from one end of the sky to the other, so will the Son of Man be when He comes.

and the very day Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.

And in that city there was a widow who continued to come to him and say, 'Give me justice and protection from my opponent.'

But Jesus called them to Him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and stop preventing them from it, for to such as these the kingdom of God belongs.

So he said to the bystanders, 'Take the twenty dollars away from him and give it to the man who has the two hundred.'

'I tell you, the man who gets will have more given to him, but the man who does not get will have even what he has taken away from him!

and said: "If today you yourself had only known the conditions of peace! But now they are hidden from you.

was John's baptism from heaven or from men?"

And they argued with one another, and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why did you not believe him?'

But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet."

So they answered and said that they did not know where it was from.

but those who are considered worthy to attain that other world and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are married.

And He Himself withdrew about a stone's throw from them, and after kneeling down He continued to pray,

"Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me. Yet, not my will but always yours be done!"

When He rose from His prayer, He went to the disciples and found them asleep from sorrow.

But from today the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God."

Then they said, "What more evidence do we need? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth!"

and said to them, "You brought this man to me on a charge of turning the people from allegiance, and here in your presence I have examined Him and do not find Him guilty of the charges you make against Him.

Now as they led Him away, they seized a man named Simon, from Cyrene, as he was coming in from the country, and put the cross on his shoulders, for him to carry as he walked behind Jesus.

Now one of the criminals who were hanging from their crosses kept abusing Him, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Then save yourself and us too!"