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],

it seemed fitting for me as well, [and so I have decided] after having carefully searched out and investigated all the events accurately, from the very beginning, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus;

They both were righteous (approved) in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.

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

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.

He will turn many of the sons of Israel back [from sin] to [love and serve] the Lord their God.

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.”

The angel replied and said to him, “I am Gabriel; I stand and minister in the [very] presence of God, and I have been sent [by Him] to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

Now in the sixth month [of Elizabeth’s pregnancy] the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth,

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

The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

He will be great and eminent and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;

Then the angel replied to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you [like a cloud]; for that reason the holy (pure, sinless) Child shall be called the Son of God.

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 my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

“He has filled the hungry with good things;
And sent the rich away empty-handed.

At once Zacharias’ mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began speaking, praising and blessing and thanking God.

“Blessed (praised, glorified) be the Lord, the God of Israel,
Because He has visited us and brought redemption to His people,

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

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

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.

Then suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host (angelic army) praising God and saying,

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

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

Simeon took Him into his arms, and blessed and praised and thanked God, and said,

She, too, came up at that very moment and began praising and giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all who were looking for the redemption and deliverance of Jerusalem.

And the Child continued to grow and become strong [in spirit], filled with wisdom; and the grace (favor, spiritual blessing) of God was upon Him.

And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and men.

in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas [his son-in-law], the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.

and all mankind shall see the salvation of God.’”

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.”

So with many other appeals and various admonitions John preached the good news (gospel) to the people.

the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

Then the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to turn into bread.”

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.’”

Then he led Jesus to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle (highest point) of the temple, and said [mockingly] to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here;

Jesus replied to him, “It is said [in Scripture], ‘you shall not tempt the Lord your God [to prove Himself to you].’”

“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),

to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the favor of God abound greatly].”

“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!”

Standing over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her; and immediately she got up and began serving them [as her guests].

Demons also were coming out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But He rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that He was the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed).

But He said, “I must preach [the good news of] the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because I was sent for this purpose.”

Now it happened that while Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret (Sea of Galilee), with the people crowding all around Him and listening to the word of God;

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?”

He immediately stood up before them, picked up his stretcher, and went home glorifying and praising God.

They were all astonished, and they began glorifying God; and they were filled with [reverential] fear and kept saying, “We have seen wonderful and incredible things today!”

And he left everything behind and got up and began to follow Jesus [as His disciple].

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

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?”

The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely [with malicious intent], to see if He would [actually] heal [someone] on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse Him.

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?”

Now at this time Jesus went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.

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 [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] are you who hunger now [for righteousness, actively seeking right standing with God], for you will be [completely] satisfied. Blessed [forgiven, refreshed by God’s grace] are you who weep now [over your sins and repent], for you will laugh [when the burden of sin is lifted].

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.

“But I say to you who hear [Me and pay attention to My words]: Love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies, [make it a practice to] do good to those who hate you,

bless and show kindness to those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

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

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.

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.”

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

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.

Now as He approached the city gate, a dead man was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her [in the funeral procession].

Fear and profound awe gripped them all, and they began glorifying and honoring and praising God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited His people [to help and care for and provide for them]!”

So He replied to them, “Go and tell John about everything you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the good news (gospel) preached to them.

Blessed [joyful, spiritually favored] is he who does not take offense at Me.”

I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater [in privilege] than he.”

All the people and the tax collectors who heard Jesus, acknowledged [the validity of] God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John.

But the Pharisees and the lawyers [who were experts in the Mosaic Law] annulled and set aside God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.

Soon afterward, Jesus began going around from one city and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve [disciples] were with Him,

And some fell into good soil, and grew up and produced a crop a hundred times as great.” As He said these things, He called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear and heed My words.”

And He said, “To you [who have been chosen] it has been granted to know and recognize the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that though seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.

“Now [the meaning of] the parable is this: The seed is the word of God [concerning eternal salvation].

But as for that seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word with a good and noble heart, and hold on to it tightly, and bear fruit with patience.

Then Jesus’ mother and His brothers came up toward Him, but they could not reach Him because of the crowd.

But He answered, “My mother and My brothers are these who listen to the word of God and do it!”

Now on one of those days Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake (Sea of Galilee).” So they set out.

Seeing Jesus, he cried out [with a terrible voice from the depths of his throat] and fell down before Him [in dread and terror], and shouted loudly, “What business do we have [in common] with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me [before the appointed time of judgment]!”

“Return home and tell [about] all the great things God has done for you.” So the man went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

Then He sent them out [on a brief journey] to preach the kingdom of God and to perform healing.

But when the crowds learned of it, they followed Him; and He welcomed them and He began talking to them about the kingdom of God, and healing those who needed to be healed.

Now the day was ending, and the twelve [disciples] came and said to Him, “Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging, and get provisions; because here we are in an isolated place.”

Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and He looked up to heaven [and gave thanks] and blessed them, and broke them and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the crowd.

And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter replied, “The Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) of God!”

But I tell you truthfully, there are some among those standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

And as these [men, Moses and Elijah] were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is delightful and good for us to be here; we should make three [sacred] tents; one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not realizing what he was saying.

Jesus answered, “You unbelieving and perverted generation! How long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here [to Me].”

They were all amazed [practically overwhelmed] at the [evidence of the] greatness of God and His majesty and His wondrous work.

But while they were still awed by everything Jesus was doing, He said to His disciples,

“Let these words sink into your ears: the Son of Man is going to be betrayed and handed over to men [who are His enemies].”

But He said to him, “Allow the [spiritually] dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and spread the news about the kingdom of God.”

Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord [as Your disciple]; but first let me say goodbye to those at my home.”

But Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back [to the things left behind] is fit for the kingdom of God.”

and heal those in it who are sick [authenticating your message], and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’

‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you [breaking all ties]; yet understand this, that the kingdom of God has come near [and you rejected it].’

In that very hour He was overjoyed and rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and He said, “I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things [relating to salvation] from the wise and intelligent, and have revealed them to infants [the childlike and untaught]. Yes, Father, for this way was [Your gracious will and choice, and was] well-pleasing in Your sight.

And he replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”