You will have great joy, and many people will rejoice at his birth,

because he will be great in the Lord's presence. He will never drink wine or any strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.

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 ancestor David.

because the Almighty has done great things for me. His name is holy.

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

Then the angel told them, "Stop being afraid! Listen! I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.

One day, as the crowd was pressing in on him to listen to God's word, Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennesaret.

When they couldn't find a way to get him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down on his stretcher through the tiles into the middle of the room, right in front of Jesus.

Later, Levi gave a large banquet at his home for Jesus. A large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.

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

Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because your reward in heaven is great! That's the way their ancestors used to treat the prophets.

Rather, love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind even to ungrateful and evil people.

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found this kind of faith!"

Soon afterwards, Jesus went to a city called Nain. His disciples and a large crowd were going along with him.

As he approached the entrance to the city, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother's only son, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her.

Fear gripped everyone, and they began to praise God. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said, and "God has helped his people."

So I'm telling you that her sins, as many as they are, have been forgiven, and that's why she has shown such great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven loves little."

Now while a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from every city, he said in a parable:

His mother and his brothers came to him, but they couldn't get near him because of the crowd.

Now as they were sailing, Jesus fell asleep. A violent storm swept over the lake, and they were taking on water and were in great danger.

because Jesus was in the process of ordering the unclean spirit to come out of the man. On many occasions the unclean spirit had seized the man, and though he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, he would break the chains and be driven by the demon into deserted places.

When Jesus came back, the crowd welcomed him, because everyone was expecting him.

As the day was drawing to a close, the Twelve came to him and said, "Send the crowd away to the neighboring villages and farms so they can rest and get some food, because we are here in a deserted place."

Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed them. Then he broke the loaves in pieces and kept giving them to the disciples to pass on to the crowd.

He said, "The Son of Man must suffer a great deal and be rejected by the elders, the high priests, and the scribes. Then he must be killed, but on the third day he will be raised."

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

Suddenly, a man in the crowd shouted, "Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, because he is my only child.

Don't carry a wallet, a traveling bag, or sandals, and don't greet anyone on the way.

As Jesus was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and told him, "How blessed is the womb that gave birth to you and the breasts that nursed you!"

But the Lord told him, "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but on the inside you are full of greed and evil.

Then someone in the crowd told him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me."

Then he told them, "Be careful to guard yourselves against every kind of greed, because a person's life doesn't consist of the amount of possessions he has."

But the synagogue leader, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, told the crowd, "There are six days when work is to be done. So come on those days to be healed, and not on the Sabbath day."

Even as he was saying this, all of his opponents were blushing with shame. But the rest of the crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things he was doing.

"Once there was a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen and live in great luxury every day.

But first he must suffer a great deal and be rejected by those living today.

When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening.

The people at the front of the crowd sternly told him to be quiet, but he started shouting even louder, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he couldn't do so due to the crowd, since he was a short man.

He was now approaching the descent from the Mount of Olives. The whole crowd of disciples began to rejoice and to praise God with a loud voice because of all the miracles they had seen.

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd told Jesus, "Teacher, tell your disciples to be quiet."

When the scribes and the high priests realized that Jesus had told this parable about them, they wanted to arrest him right then, but they were afraid of the crowd.

There will be great earthquakes, famines, and plagues in various places, and there will be fearful events and awful signs from heaven."

"How terrible it will be for those women who are pregnant or who are nursing babies in those days! because there will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people.

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

"Constantly be on your guard so that your hearts will not be loaded down with self-indulgence, drunkenness, and the worries of this life, or that day will take you by surprise

So the high priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put him to death, because they were afraid of the crowd.

Judas accepted their offer and began to look for a good opportunity to betray Jesus to them when no crowd was present.

While Jesus was still speaking, a crowd arrived. The man called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them, and he came close to Jesus to kiss him.

Then the whole crowd got up and took him to Pilate.

A large crowd of people followed him, including some women who kept mourning and wailing for him.

They worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy.