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

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

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

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.

Listen: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.

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.

from generation to generation he is merciful to those who fear him.

On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they wanted to name him Zechariah after his father.

All who heard these things kept them in their hearts, saying, "What then will this child be?" For the Lord's hand was indeed with him.

that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, may serve him without fear,

in holiness and righteousness before him for as long as we live.

He went to be registered with Mary, who was promised in marriage to him, and who was expecting a child.

And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

When they saw him, they related what they had been told about this child,

Now when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, Joseph and Mary brought Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord

Now there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon who was righteous and devout, looking for the restoration of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

So Simeon, directed by the Spirit, came into the temple courts, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what was customary according to the law,

Simeon took him in his arms and blessed God, saying,

So the child's father and mother were amazed at what was said about him.

Indeed, as a result of him the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed -- and a sword will pierce your own soul as well!"

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

but (because they assumed that he was in their group of travelers) they went a day's journey. Then they began to look for him among their relatives and acquaintances.

When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.

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

When his parents saw him, they were overwhelmed. His mother said to him, "Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously."

So John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, "You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

So the crowds were asking him, "What then should we do?"

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

Then some soldiers also asked him, "And as for us -- what should we do?" He told them, "Take money from no one by violence or by false accusation, and be content with your pay."

and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my one dear Son; in you I take great delight."

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

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

Then the devil led him up to a high place and showed him in a flash all the kingdoms of the world.

And he said to him, "To you I will grant this whole realm -- and the glory that goes along with it, for it has been relinquished to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish.

Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'You are to worship the Lord your God and serve only him.'"

Then the devil brought him to Jerusalem, had him stand on the highest point of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,

Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.'"

So when the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him until a more opportune time.

Then Jesus, in the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and news about him spread throughout the surrounding countryside.

and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him.

All were speaking well of him, and were amazed at the gracious words coming out of his mouth. They said, "Isn't this Joseph's son?"

They got up, forced him out of the town, and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.

But Jesus rebuked him: "Silence! Come out of him!" Then, after the demon threw the man down in their midst, he came out of him without hurting him.

So the news about him spread into all areas of the region.

The next morning Jesus departed and went to a deserted place. Yet the crowds were seeking him, and they came to him and tried to keep him from leaving them.

Now Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing around him to hear the word of God.

He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then Jesus sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.

For Peter and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken,

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

While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came to him who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he bowed down with his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."

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

Then he ordered the man to tell no one, but commanded him, "Go and show yourself to a priest, and bring the offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

But the news about him spread even more, and large crowds were gathering together to hear him and to be healed of their illnesses.

Now on one of those days, while he was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting nearby (who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem), and the power of the Lord was with him to heal.

Just then some men showed up, carrying a paralyzed man on a stretcher. They were trying to bring him in and place him before Jesus.

But since they found no way to carry him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down on the stretcher through the roof tiles right in front of Jesus.

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

And he got up and followed him, leaving everything behind.

Then they said to him, "John's disciples frequently fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours continue to eat and drink."

The experts in the law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they could find a reason to accuse him.

Then he came down with them and stood on a level place. And a large number of his disciples had gathered along with a vast multitude from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon. They came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases,

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

When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave.

When they came to Jesus, they urged him earnestly, "He is worthy to have you do this for him,

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

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

Soon afterward Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him.

So the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

John's disciples informed him about all these things. So John called two of his disciples

The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look at him, a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'

Now one of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table.

As she stood behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. She wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the perfumed oil.

Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner."

So Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." He replied, "Say it, Teacher."

"A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed him five hundred silver coins, and the other fifty.

When they could not pay, he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"

Simon answered, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled." Jesus said to him, "You have judged rightly."

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

Some time afterward he went on through towns and villages, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him,

Then his disciples asked him what this parable meant.

So listen carefully, for whoever has will be given more, but whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him."

Now Jesus' mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not get near him because of the crowd.

They came and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we are about to die!" So he got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they died down, and it was calm.

Then he said to them, "Where is your faith?" But they were afraid and amazed, saying to one another, "Who then is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him!"

As Jesus stepped ashore, a certain man from the town met him who was possessed by demons. For a long time this man had worn no clothes and had not lived in a house, but among the tombs.

When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before him, and shouted with a loud voice, "Leave me alone, Jesus, Son of the Most High God! I beg you, do not torment me!"

For Jesus had started commanding the evil spirit to come out of the man. (For it had seized him many times, so he would be bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard. But he would break the restraints and be driven by the demon into deserted places.)

Jesus then asked him, "What is your name?" He said, "Legion," because many demons had entered him.

And they began to beg him not to order them to depart into the abyss.

The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying,

"Return to your home, and declare what God has done for you." So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole town what Jesus had done for him.

Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, because they were all waiting for him.

Then a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue, came up. Falling at Jesus' feet, he pleaded with him to come to his house,

because he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. As Jesus was on his way, the crowds pressed around him.

When the woman saw that she could not escape notice, she came trembling and fell down before him. In the presence of all the people, she explained why she had touched him and how she had been immediately healed.

But when Jesus heard this, he told him, "Do not be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed."

Now when he came to the house, Jesus did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John, and James, and the child's father and mother.

And they began making fun of him, because they knew that she was dead.