In the days when Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest whose name was Zechariah, who belonged to the division of Abijah. His wife was also a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

So the angel came to her home and said, "Congratulations, you highly favored woman! The Lord be with you!"

Then the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, and so your child will be called holy, the Son of God.

And listen! your relative, Elizabeth, has herself too become pregnant, although she is old, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.

Then Mary said, "I am the Lord's slave. May what you say take place with me." Then the angel left her.

When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped within her. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,

Blessed is she who has believed, for what is promised to her by the Lord will be fulfilled."

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

Now Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned home.

And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and so they were rejoicing with her.

Then they said to her, "There is no one among your relatives that bears that name."

While they were there, the time came for her to give birth,

and she bore her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him up and laid Him in a manger, for there was no room for them at the inn.

but Mary continued to treasure it all up and to ponder it in her heart.

So He went back to Nazareth with them and continued to obey them. But His mother continued to treasure up all these sayings in her heart.

as it is written in the sermon-book of the prophet Isaiah: "Here is a voice of one shouting in the desert, 'Get the road ready for the Lord, make the paths straight for Him.

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,

Then He began to speak to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled here in your hearing."

He said to them, "Doubtless you will quote this proverb to me, 'Doctor, cure yourself! Do the things here in your hometown that we hear you did in Capernaum.'"

Then He rose to leave the synagogue, and He went to Simon's house. And Simon's mother-in-law was in the grip of a burning fever; so they asked Him about her.

Then He took His stand by her and reproved the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.

As He approached the gate of the town, look, there was being carried out a dead man, his mother's only son, and she was a widow! A considerable crowd of townspeople were with her.

Now when the Lord saw her, His heart was moved with pity for her, and so He said to her, "Stop weeping."

and took her stand behind Him at His feet, continually weeping. Then she began to wet His feet with her tears, but she continued to wipe them off with the hair of her head, and she kept right on kissing His feet with affection and anointing them with the perfume.

And turning face to face with the woman He said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came to your house; you did not give me any water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with tears and wiped them with her hair.

Therefore, I tell you, her sins, as many as they are, are forgiven, for she has loved me so much. But the one who has little to be forgiven loves me little."

And He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven!"

So He said to her, "My daughter, it is your faith that has cured you; go on in peace."

Now they were all weeping and wailing over her. But He said, "Stop weeping! For she is not dead but asleep."

But He grasped her hand and called out, "My child, get up!"

So her spirit returned and she got up at once, and He directed that something be given her to eat.

And her parents were astounded, but He ordered them not to tell anyone what had taken place.

As the day began to decline, the Twelve came up and said to Him, "Send the crowd off to the villages and farms around, to get lodging and to find food there, for we are in a destitute place here."

I solemnly say to you, some of you who stand here will certainly live to see the kingdom of God."

And just as they were starting to leave Him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- although he did not know what he was saying.

Then Jesus answered, "O you unbelieving, stubborn people of the times! How long must I be with you and put up with you? Bring him here to me."

Now as they were journeying on, He came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him to her house.

She had a sister named Mary who took her seat at the Lord's feet, and remained listening to His message.

But Martha was getting worried about having to wait on them so much, so she came up suddenly and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the housework alone? Then tell her to take hold and help me."

The Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and vexed about many things.

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."

Just as He was saying this, a woman in the crowd lifted her voice and said, "Blessed is the mother who bore you and nursed you!"

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.

The men of Nineveh will rise at the judgment with the men of this age and will condemn them, for they turned to the message preached by Jonah, and yet One who is more than Jonah is here.

But a curse on you Pharisees, because you pay tithes on mint, rue, and every tiny garden herb, but neglect justice and the love of God! These latter especially you ought to have done, but ought not to have neglected the former.

So he said to the vine-dresser, 'Look here! for three years I have been coming to look for figs on this fig tree, and have not found any. Cut it down. Why waste the ground with it?'

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

Then He laid His hands on her, and at once she straightened herself up and burst into praising God.

But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured her on the Sabbath, answered the crowd, "There are six days on which people must work; so come on these and be cured, but not on the Sabbath."

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!"

But He said to them: "Go and tell that fox, 'Here I am, driving out demons and performing cures, today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will finish these tasks.

"O Jerusalem! Jerusalem! The city that continues to murder the prophets, and to stone those who are sent to her, how often I have yearned to gather your children around me, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings. But you refused!

So the slave returned and reported these answers to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his slave, 'Hurry out into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor, the maimed, the crippled, and the blind.'

And when she finds it, she calls in her friends and neighbors, and says, 'Rejoice with me, because I have found the coin which I lost!'

Then he came to himself and said, 'How many of my father's hired men have more to eat than they need, and here I am dying of hunger!

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.

But Abraham said, 'My child, remember that you received in full your blessings in your lifetime, and Lazarus his hardships in his, but now he is continuously comforted here, while you are continuously tortured there.

and so people will not say, 'Look! Here it is,' nor, 'There it is,' for the kingdom of God is within you."

And men will say to you, 'Look! There he is!' or, 'Look! Here He is!' Do not start in pursuit of Him,

yet because this widow continues to bother me, I will give her justice and protection, so that she may not finally wear me out by her continual coming."

Here there was a man named Zaccheus, who was tax-commissioner of the district, and he was a rich man too.

But another one came in and said, 'Here is your twenty dollars, sir, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief.

But bring those enemies of mine here who did not want me to become king over them and slay them in my presence!'"

said, "Go on to the village in front of you, in which, just as you enter, you will find a colt tied, which no man has ever yet ridden. Untie it and bring it here to me.

and the third, married her; as also the seven did who died but left no child.

Now at the resurrection which one's wife will the woman be? For the seven married her."

for all the rest of them made their contributions out of their surplus, but she out of her want dropped in all that she had to live on."

"When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, then understand that her devastation is near.

So they said, "Lord, look! here are two swords!" And He answered them, "Enough!"

A servant girl saw him sitting by the fire and fixed her eyes on him and said, "This fellow was with Him too."

Here they began to make the following charges against Him: "We have found this fellow corrupting our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar and claiming to be a king himself."

But they continued emphatically insisting, "He is exciting the people by teaching all over Judea. He started in Galilee and now He is here."

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.

[He is not here but has risen.] Remember what He told you while He was still in Galilee, when

So while they were still disbelieving for sheer joy and still wondering about it, He asked them, "Have you anything here to eat?"

And I will send down upon you what my Father has promised. But you, on your part, must stay right here in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."