Both of them were righteous before God, having lived blamelessly according to all of the commandments and regulations of the Lord.

But the angel told him, "Stop being afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to name him John.

You will have great joy, and many people will rejoice at his birth,

because he will be great in the Lord's presence. He will never drink wine or any strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.

He will bring many of Israel's descendants back to the Lord their God.

He is the one who will go before the Lord with the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, and to prepare the people to be ready for the Lord."

But because you did not believe my announcement, which will be fulfilled at its proper time, you will become silent and unable to speak until the day this happens."

Listen! You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you are to 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 ancestor David.

He will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end."

The angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come over you, and the power of the Most High will surround you. Therefore, the child will be holy and will be called the Son of God.

because he has looked favorably on his humble servant. From now on, all generations will call me blessed,

Fear came over all their neighbors, and throughout the hill country of Judea all these things were being discussed.

Everyone who heard about it kept thinking what had happened and asked, "What will this child become?" because it was obvious that the hand of the Lord was with him.

that he would save us from our enemies and from the grip of all who hate us.

and be holy and righteous before him all of our days.

And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, because you will go ahead of the Lord to prepare his way

Now in those days an order was published by Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be registered.

This was the first registration taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.

So all the people went to their hometowns to be registered.

While they were there, the time came for her to have her baby,

Then the angel told them, "Stop being afraid! Listen! I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.

And this will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a feeding trough."

All who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.

However, Mary continued to treasure all these things in her heart and to ponder them.

which you prepared for all people to see

a light that will reveal salvation to unbelievers and bring glory to your people Israel."

Then Simeon blessed them and told Mary, his mother, "This infant is destined to cause many in Israel to fall and rise. Also, he will be a sign that will be opposed.

Indeed, a sword will pierce your own soul, too, so that the inner thoughts of many people might be revealed."

All who heard him were amazed at his intelligence and his answers.

Then he went back with them, returning to Nazareth and remaining in submission to them. His mother continued to treasure all these things in her heart.

Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be leveled. The crooked ways will be made straight, and the rough roads will be made smooth.

Everyone will see the salvation that God has provided.'"

The ax already lies against the roots of the trees. So every tree not producing good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire."

Now the people were filled with expectation, and all of them were wondering if John was perhaps the Messiah.

John replied to all of them, "I'm baptizing you with water, but one is coming who is more powerful than I, and I'm not worthy to untie his sandal straps. It is he who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Now Herod the tetrarch had been rebuked by John because he had married his brother's wife Herodias and because of all of the other evil things Herod had done.

Added to all this, Herod locked John up in prison.

When all the people had been baptized, Jesus, too, was baptized. While he was praying, heaven opened,

where he was being tempted by the Devil for 40 days. During that time he ate nothing at all, and when they were over he became hungry.

The Devil also took him to a high place and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in an instant.

He told Jesus, "I will give you all this authority, along with their glory, because it has been given to me, and I give it to anyone I please.

So if you will worship me, all this will be yours."

because it is written, "God will put his angels in charge of you to watch over you carefully.

With their hands they will hold you up, so that you will never hit your foot against a rock.'"

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

All the people began to speak well of him and to wonder at the gracious words that flowed from his mouth. They said, "This is Joseph's son, isn't it?"

So he told them, "You will probably quote this proverb to me, "Doctor, heal yourself! Do everything here in your hometown that we hear you did in Capernaum.'"

He added, "I tell all of you with certainty, a prophet is not accepted in his hometown.

All the people in the synagogue became furious when they heard this.

Overwhelmed with amazement, they all kept saying to one another, "What kind of statement is this? because with authority and power he gives orders to unclean spirits, and they come out!"

At daybreak he left and went to a deserted place, while the crowds kept looking for him. When they came to him, they tried to keep him from leaving them.

Simon answered, "Master, we have worked hard all night and caught nothing. But if you say so, I'll lower the nets."

because Simon and all the people who were with him were amazed at the number of fish they had caught,

Then Jesus told Simon, "Stop being afraid. From now on you will be catching people." So when they brought the boats to shore, they left everything and followed Jesus.

One day, while Jesus was in one of the cities, a man covered with leprosy saw Jesus and fell on his face, begging him, "Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean."

Amazement seized all the people, and they began to praise God. They were filled with fear and declared, "We have seen wonderful things today!"

But Jesus told them, "You can't force the wedding guests to fast while the groom is still with them, can you?

But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and at that time they will fast."

Then he told them a parable: "No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and sews it on an old garment. If he does, the new cloth will tear, and the piece from the new won't match the old.

And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will make the skins burst, the wine will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined.

He looked around at all of them and then told the man, "Hold out your hand." The man did so, and his hand was restored to health.

Now it was in those days that Jesus went to a mountain to pray, and he spent the whole night in prayer to God.

Then Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place, along with many of his disciples and a large gathering of people from all over Judea, Jerusalem, and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon.

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

How blessed are you who are hungry now, because you will be satisfied! How blessed are you who are crying now, because you will laugh!

"But how terrible it will be for you who are rich, because you have had your comfort!

How terrible it will be for you who are full now, because you will be hungry! How terrible it will be for you who are laughing now, because you will mourn and cry!

"How terrible it will be for you when everyone says nice things about you, because that's the way their ancestors used to treat the false prophets!"

If someone strikes you on the cheek, offer him the other one as well, and if someone takes your coat, don't keep back your shirt, either.

Rather, love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind even to ungrateful and evil people.

Give, and it will be given to you. A large quantity, pressed together, shaken down, and running over will be put into your lap, because you'll be evaluated by the same standard with which you evaluate others."

He also told them a parable: "One blind person can't lead another blind person, can he? Both will fall into a ditch, won't they?

A disciple is not better than his teacher. But everyone who is fully-trained will be like his teacher.

I will show you what everyone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them.

After Jesus had finished saying all these things to the people who were there listening, he went to Capernaum.

This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding countryside.

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

This is the man about whom it is written, "See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.'

By having been baptized with John's baptism, all the people who listened, including the tax collectors, acknowledged God's justice.

They're like little children who sit in the marketplace and shout to each other, "A wedding song we played for you, the dance you all did scorn. A woeful dirge we chanted, too, but then you would not mourn.'

Wisdom is vindicated by all her children."

When they couldn't pay it back, he generously canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?"

You didn't anoint my head with oil, but this woman has anointed my feet with perfume.

as well as some women who had been healed of evil spirits and illnesses: Mary, also called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out;

Now while a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from every city, he said in a parable:

The ones on the stony ground are the people who joyfully welcome the word when they hear it. But since they don't have any roots, they believe for a while, but in a time of testing they fall away.

"No one lights a lamp and hides it under a bowl or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a lamp stand so that those who come in will see the light.

So pay attention to how you listen, because to the one who has something, more will be given. However, from the one who doesn't have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him."

Then all the people from the region surrounding the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were terrified. So he got into a boat and started back.

"Go home and tell what God has done for you." So the man left and kept proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

because his only daughter, who was about twelve years old, was dying. While Jesus was on his way, the crowds continued to press in on him.

A woman was there who had been suffering from chronic bleeding for twelve years. Although she had spent all she had on doctors, no one could heal her.

Jesus asked, "Who touched me?" While everyone was denying it, Peter and those who were with him said, "Master, the crowds are surrounding you and pressing in on you."

When the woman saw that she couldn't hide, she came forward trembling. Bowing down in front of him, she explained in the presence of all the people why she had touched Jesus and how she had been instantly healed.

Then he told her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace."

While he was still speaking, someone came from the synagogue leader's home and told him, "Your daughter is dead. Stop bothering the teacher anymore."

But when Jesus heard this, he told the synagogue leader, "Stop being afraid! Just believe, and she will get well."

Jesus called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases.

But he told them, "You give them something to eat." They replied, "We have nothing more than five loaves of bread and two fish unless we go and buy food for all these people."