And Zacharias said to the angel, “How will I be certain of this? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in age.”

“This is how the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor on me, to take away my disgrace among men.”

to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

But she was greatly perplexed at what he said, and kept carefully considering what kind of greeting this was.

Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin and have no intimacy with any man?”

Just as He promised by the mouth of His holy prophets from the most ancient times—

“Glory to God in the highest [heaven],
And on earth peace among men with whom He is well-pleased.”

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout [carefully observing the divine Law], and looking for the Consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and men.

the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,

Jesus replied to him, “It is written and forever remains written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’”

There was a man in the synagogue who was possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon; and he cried out with a loud and terrible voice,

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent (muzzled, gagged) and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown the man down among them, he came out of him without injuring him in any way.

But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”

and so were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon [Peter]. Jesus said to Simon, “Have no fear; from now on you will be catching men!”

While Jesus was in one of the cities, there came a man covered with [an advanced case of] leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean and well.”

Some men came carrying on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed, and they tried to bring him in and lay him down in front of Jesus.

When Jesus saw their [active] faith [springing from confidence in Him], He said, “Man, your sins are forgiven.”

The scribes and the Pharisees began to consider and question [the implications of what He had said], saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies [by claiming the rights and prerogatives of God]? Who can forgive sins [that is, remove guilt, nullify sin’s penalty, and assign righteousness] except God alone?”

But, in order that you may know that the Son of Man (the Messiah) has authority and power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralyzed man, “I say to you, get up, pick up your stretcher and go home.”

He immediately stood up before them, picked up his stretcher, and went home glorifying and praising God.

Jesus was saying to them, “The Son of Man (the Messiah) is Lord [even] of the Sabbath.”

On another Sabbath He went into the synagogue and taught, and a man was present whose right hand was withered.

But He was aware of their thoughts, and He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward.” So he got up and stood there.

After looking around at them all, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” And he did, and his hand was [fully] restored.

Blessed [morally courageous and spiritually alive with life-joy in God’s goodness] are you when people hate you, and exclude you [from their fellowship], and insult you, and scorn your name as evil because of [your association with] the Son of Man.

Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.

If you lend [money] to those from whom you expect to receive [it back], what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners expecting to receive back the same amount.

He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man guide [another] blind man? Will they not both fall into a hole in the ground?

The [intrinsically] good man produces what is good and honorable and moral out of the good treasure [stored] in his heart; and the [intrinsically] evil man produces what is wicked and depraved out of the evil [in his heart]; for his mouth speaks from the overflow of his heart.

he is like a [far-sighted, practical, and sensible] man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and yet could not shake it, because it had been securely built and founded on the rock.

But the one who has [merely] heard and has not practiced [what I say], is like a [foolish] man who built a house on the ground without any foundation, and the torrent burst against it; and it immediately collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”

For I also am a man subject to authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

Now as He approached the city gate, a dead man was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her [in the funeral procession].

And He came up and touched the bier [on which the body rested], and the pallbearers stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise [from death]!”

The man who was dead sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother.

So the men came to Jesus and said, “John the Baptist sent us to You to ask, ‘Are You the Expected One (the Messiah), or should we look for someone else?’”

But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing [entirely unsuited for the harsh wilderness]? Those who wear splendid clothing and live in luxury are in royal palaces!

“To what then shall I compare the people of this generation [who set aside God’s plan], and what are they like?

The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a man who is a glutton and a [heavy] wine-drinker, a friend of tax collectors and sinners [including non-observant Jews].’

Now when [Simon] the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this Man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching Him, that she is a [notorious] sinner [an outcast, devoted to sin].”

“A certain moneylender had two debtors: one owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.

Now when Jesus stepped out on land, He was met by a man from the city [of Gerasa] who was possessed with demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and was not living in a house, but among the tombs.

Now He was [already] commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him [violently] many times; and he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.

Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

And people came out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind (mentally healthy); and they were frightened.

But the man from whom the demons had gone out kept begging Him, pleading to go with Him; but Jesus sent him away, saying,

“Return home and tell [about] all the great things God has done for you.” So the man went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

Now a man named Jairus, a synagogue official, came [to Him]; and he fell at Jesus’ feet and began begging Him to come to his house;

While He was still speaking, someone from the synagogue official’s house came and said [to Jairus], “Your daughter is dead; do not inconvenience the Teacher any further.”

And He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey [that might encumber you]—neither a walking stick, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have two tunics apiece.

(For there were about 5,000 men.) And He said to His disciples, “Have them sit down to eat in groups of about fifty each.”

Now it happened that as Jesus was praying privately, the disciples were with Him, and He asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”

saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected [as the Messiah] by the elders and chief priests and scribes (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court), and be put to death, and on the third day be raised up [from death to life].”

For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world [wealth, fame, success], and loses or forfeits himself?

For whoever is ashamed [here and now] of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and the glory of the [heavenly] Father and of the holy angels.

And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah,

Now Peter and those who were with him had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and splendor and majesty, and the two men who were standing with Him.

And as these [men, Moses and Elijah] were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is delightful and good for us to be here; we should make three [sacred] tents; one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not realizing what he was saying.

And a man from the crowd shouted for help, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, because he is my only child;

“Let these words sink into your ears: the Son of Man is going to be betrayed and handed over to men [who are His enemies].”

John replied, “Master, we saw someone driving out demons in Your name; and we tried to stop him because he does not follow along with us.”

for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”] And they journeyed on to another village.

As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.”

And Jesus told him, “Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”

Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he encountered robbers, who stripped him of his clothes [and belongings], beat him, and went their way [unconcerned], leaving him half dead.

for a friend of mine who is on a journey has just come to visit me, and I have nothing to serve him’;

And [at another time] Jesus was casting out a demon, and it was [controlling a man so as to make him] mute; when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds were awed.

When the strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his belongings are undisturbed and secure.

For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man also be [a sign] to this generation.

The men of Nineveh will stand up [as witnesses] at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and look, something greater than Jonah is here.

Woe to you! For you are like graves which are unmarked, and people walk over them without being aware of it [and are ceremonially unclean].”

But He said, “Woe to you lawyers as well, because you weigh men down with burdens [man-made rules, unreasonable requirements] which are hard to bear, and you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers [to lighten the load].

“I say to you, whoever declares openly and confesses Me before men [speaking freely of Me as his Lord], the Son of Man also will declare openly and confess him [as one of His own] before the angels of God.

But he who denies Me before men will be denied in the presence of the angels of God.

And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit [that is, whoever intentionally discredits the Holy Spirit by attributing the authenticating miracles done by Me to Satan], it will not be forgiven him [for him there is no forgiveness].

But He said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or an arbitrator over [the two of] you?”

Then He said to them, “Watch out and guard yourselves against every form of greed; for not even when one has an overflowing abundance does his life consist of nor is it derived from his possessions.”

Then He told them a parable, saying, “There was a rich man whose land was very fertile and productive.

Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that when he comes and knocks they may immediately open the door for him.

You too, be continually ready; because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.”

The Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise steward [of the estate], whom his master will put in charge over his household, to give his servants their portion of food at the proper time?

but the one who did not know it and did things worthy of a beating, will receive only a few [lashes]. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.

Then He began telling them this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree that had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it, but did not find any;

It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his own garden; and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the sky found shelter and nested in its branches.”

Once the head of the house gets up and closes the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door [again and again], saying, ‘Lord, open to us!’ then He will answer you, ‘I do not know where you are from [for you are not of My household].’

but He will say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from; depart from Me, all you evildoers!’

And there in front of Him was a man who had dropsy (extreme swelling).

But they kept silent. Then He took hold of the man and healed him, and sent him on his way.

and he who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your place,’ and then, in disgrace you proceed to take the last place.

Jesus also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or wealthy neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment.

But Jesus said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many guests;

saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish!’

Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one who is coming against him with twenty thousand?

It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear and heed My words.”

Both the Pharisees and the scribes began muttering and complaining, saying, “This man accepts and welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost, [searching] until he finds it?

Then He said, “A certain man had two sons.

The father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.

Now Jesus was also saying to the disciples, “There was a certain rich man who had a manager [of his estate], and accusations [against this man] were brought to him, that this man was squandering his [master’s] possessions.