according to the custom of the priesthood, it fell to him by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.

But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

And the angel answered him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news.

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 father David.

And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation.

On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they would have named him Zechariah after his father,

And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he would have him called.

and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, "What then will this child be?" For the hand of the Lord was with him.

to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear,

in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.

And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Now when they had seen him, they made widely known the saying which had been told them concerning this child.

And when the time of their purification according to the law of Moses was completed, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord

Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law,

he took him up in his arms and blessed God, and said:

And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him.

And coming up at that very hour she gave thanks to God, and spoke of him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

but supposing him to be in the company, they went a day's journey, and they sought him among their relatives and acquaintances.

And when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking him.

After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.

And when they saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously."

Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

And the multitudes asked him, "What then shall we do?"

And he answered them, "He who has two tunics, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."

Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"

Likewise the soldiers asked him, "And what shall we do?" So he said to them, "Rob no one by violence or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages."

But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all the other evil things Herod had done,

and the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."

And the devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."

But Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone.'"

Then the devil took him up to a high place, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

And he said to him, "To you I will give all this authority and their glory; for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.

And Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.'"

He took him to Jerusalem, set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here;

And Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'"

When the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of him went out through all the surrounding country.

And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. And he opened the book, and found the place where it was written:

Then he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.

And all spoke well of him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth; and they said, "Is not this Joseph's son?"

And they rose up and cast him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw him down the cliff.

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!" And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst, he came out of him without doing him any harm.

And the report about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

And he arose and left the synagogue, and entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they made request of him on her behalf.

When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them.

Now when it was day, he departed and went into a deserted place. And the people sought him and came to him, and tried to keep him from leaving them;

Now as the people pressed around him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.

Then he got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken;

So when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

While he was in one of the cities, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."

And he stretched out his hand, and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be clean." And immediately the leprosy left him.

And he charged him to tell no one, "But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded."

But the report went around concerning him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear and to be healed by him of their infirmities.

One day as he was teaching, there were 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 present for him to heal.

Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they sought to bring him in and lay him before Jesus.

When they could not find a way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus.

After this he went out, and saw a tax collector, named Levi, sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, "Follow me."

And he left everything, rose up and followed him.

Then Levi made him a great feast in his house; and there were a great number of tax collectors and others sitting at table with them.

They said to him, "The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink."

Jesus answered them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:

how he entered the house of God, took and ate the consecrated bread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?"

The scribes and the Pharisees watched him closely, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against him.

And he came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and be healed of their diseases,

And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came from him and healed them all.

To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic.

Give to everyone who asks of you, and from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.

A centurion's servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die.

When he heard of Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant.

And when they came to Jesus, they begged him earnestly, saying, "He is worthy to have you do this for him,

And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying to him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.

When Jesus heard this, he marveled at him, and turned and said to the crowd that followed him, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel."

Soon afterward, he went to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him.

Then he came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And he said, "Young man, I say to you, arise."

The dead man sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother.

And this report about him spread throughout all Judea and all the surrounding country.

Then the disciples of John told him about all these things.

And John, calling to him two of his disciples, sent them to the Lord, saying, "Are you the One who is to come, or shall we look for another?"

When the men had come to him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, 'Are you the One who is to come, or shall we look for another?'"

(And when they heard him, all the people, even the tax collectors, justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John.

But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)

One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went to the Pharisee's house, and reclined at the table.

and as she stood behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the perfume.

Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner."

And Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And he said, "Teacher, say it."

When they had nothing with which to pay him back, he freely forgave them both. Now which of them will love him more?"

Simon answered, "I suppose the one to whom he forgave more." And he said to him, "You have judged rightly."

Then those who reclined at the table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"

Soon afterward, he went on through every city and village, preaching and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him,

And when a great crowd came together and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable:

But others fell on good soil, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold." When he had said this he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

When his disciples asked him what this parable meant,