In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest of Abijah’s division named Zechariah. His wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

But the angel said to him:

Do not be afraid, Zechariah,
because your prayer has been heard.
Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,
and you will name him John.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped inside her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Then her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her His great mercy, and they rejoiced with her.

All who heard about him took it to heart, saying, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the Lord’s hand was with him.

and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them.

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

And all those who heard Him were astounded at His understanding and His answers.

Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them. His mother kept all these things in her heart.

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,

But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him about Herodias, his brother’s wife, and about all the evil things Herod had done,

Then He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me: ‘Doctor, heal yourself. So all we’ve heard that took place in Capernaum, do here in Your hometown also.’”

When they heard this, everyone in the synagogue was enraged.

“Master,” Simon replied, “we’ve worked hard all night long and caught nothing! But at Your word, I’ll let down the nets.”

A good man produces good out of the good storeroom of his heart. An evil man produces evil out of the evil storeroom, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.

When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to Him, requesting Him to come and save the life of his slave.

Jesus heard this and was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following Him, He said, “I tell you, I have not found so great a faith even in Israel!”

He replied to them, “Go and report to John the things you have seen and heard: The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with skin diseases are healed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news.

(And when all the people, including the tax collectors, heard this, they acknowledged God’s way of righteousness, because they had been baptized with John’s baptism.

Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward; Susanna; and many others who were supporting them from their possessions.

The seed along the path are those who have heard and then the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.

As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who, when they have heard, go on their way and are choked with worries, riches, and pleasures of life, and produce no mature fruit.

But the seed in the good ground—these are the ones who, having heard the word with an honest and good heart, hold on to it and by enduring, bear fruit.

A large herd of pigs was there, feeding on the hillside. The demons begged Him to permit them to enter the pigs, and He gave them permission.

The demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.

When Jesus heard it, He answered him, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe, and she will be made well.”

Herod the tetrarch heard about everything that was going on. He was perplexed, because some said that John had been raised from the dead,

“I beheaded John,” Herod said, “but who is this I hear such things about?” And he wanted to see Him.

He answered:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.

Then He said: “Woe also to you experts in the law! You load people with burdens that are hard to carry, yet you yourselves don’t touch these burdens with one of your fingers.

Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in an ear in private rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and starts to beat the male and female slaves, and to eat and drink and get drunk,

At that time some Pharisees came and told Him, “Go, get out of here! Herod wants to kill You!”

When one of those who reclined at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, “The one who will eat bread in the kingdom of God is blessed!”

“Now his older son was in the field; as he came near the house, he heard music and dancing.

When Jesus heard this, He told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

After he heard this, he became extremely sad, because he was very rich.

Seeing that he became sad, Jesus said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!

Those who heard this asked, “Then who can be saved?”

but they could not find a way to do it, because all the people were captivated by what they heard.

He will come and destroy those farmers and give the vineyard to others.”

But when they heard this they said, “No—never!”

“Why do we need any more testimony,” they said, “since we’ve heard it ourselves from His mouth?”

When Pilate heard this, he asked if the man was a Galilean.

Finding that He was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem during those days.

Herod was very glad to see Jesus; for a long time he had wanted to see Him because he had heard about Him and was hoping to see some miracle performed by Him.

Then Herod, with his soldiers, treated Him with contempt, mocked Him, dressed Him in a brilliant robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.

That very day Herod and Pilate became friends. Previously, they had been hostile toward each other.

Neither has Herod, because he sent Him back to us. Clearly, He has done nothing to deserve death.