So it seemed good to me as well, because I have followed all things carefully from the beginning, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,

They were both righteous in the sight of God, following all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly.

Now while Zechariah was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty,

Now the whole crowd of people were praying outside at the hour of the incense offering.

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.

Joy and gladness will come to you, and many will rejoice at his birth,

for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth.

He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.

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."

Zechariah said to the angel, "How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is old as well."

And now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will be silent, unable to speak, until the day these things take place."

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.

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

Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I have not had sexual relations with a man?"

The angel replied, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called the Son of God.

For nothing will be impossible with God."

because he has looked upon the humble state of his servant. For from now on all generations will call me blessed,

He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, "His name is John." And they were all amazed.

All their neighbors were filled with fear, and throughout the entire hill country of Judea all these things were talked about.

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 should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us.

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High. For you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

Because of our God's tender mercy the dawn will break upon us from on high

Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus to register all the empire for taxes.

While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child.

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid! Listen carefully, for I proclaim to you good news that brings great joy to all the people:

This will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger."

and all who heard it were astonished at what the shepherds said.

But Mary treasured up all these words, pondering in her heart what they might mean.

So the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen; everything was just as they had been told.

(just as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male will be set apart to the Lord"),

that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples:

Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, "Listen carefully: This child is destined to be the cause of the falling and rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be rejected.

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

At that moment, she came up to them and began to give thanks to God and to speak about the child to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

And all who heard Jesus were astonished at his understanding and his answers.

Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. But his mother kept all these things in her heart.

He went into all the region around the Jordan River, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be brought low, and the crooked will be made straight, and the rough ways will be made smooth,

and all humanity will see the salvation of God.'"

Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."

While the people were filled with anticipation and they all wondered whether perhaps John could be the Christ,

John answered them all, "I baptize you with water, but one more powerful than I am is coming -- I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

His winnowing fork is in his hand to clean out his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his storehouse, but the chaff he will burn up with inextinguishable fire."

But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother's wife, and because of all the evil deeds that he had done,

Herod added this to them all: He locked up John in prison.

Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized. And while he was praying, the heavens opened,

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.

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

for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,'

and 'with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'"

He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by all.

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?"

Jesus said to them, "No doubt you will quote to me the proverb, 'Physician, heal yourself!' and say, 'What we have heard that you did in Capernaum, do here in your hometown too.'"

But in truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's days, when the sky was shut up three and a half years, and there was a great famine over all the land.

When they heard this, all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage.

They were all amazed and began to say to one another, "What's happening here? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!"

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

As the sun was setting, all those who had any relatives sick with various diseases brought them to Jesus. He placed his hands on every one of them and healed them.

Demons also came out of many, crying out, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them, and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.

Simon answered, "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing! But at your word I will lower the nets."

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

and so were James and John, Zebedee's sons, who were Simon's business partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people."

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."

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.

Then astonishment seized them all, and they glorified God. They were filled with awe, saying, "We have seen incredible things today."

Jesus answered them, "Those who are well don't need a physician, but those who are sick do.

So Jesus said to them, "You cannot make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you?

But those days are coming, and when the bridegroom is taken from them, at that time they will fast."

He also told them a parable: "No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old garment. If he does, he will have torn the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old.

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

After looking around at them all, he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." The man did so, and his hand was restored.

Now it was during this time that Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and he spent all night in prayer to God.

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.

"Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

"Woe to you who are well satisfied with food now, for you will be hungry. "Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.

"Woe to you when all people speak well of you, for their ancestors did the same things to the false prophets.

To the person who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other as well, and from the person who takes away your coat, do not withhold your tunic either.

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to ungrateful and evil people.

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven.

Give, and it will be given to you: A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be poured into your lap. For the measure you use will be the measure you receive."

A disciple is not greater than his teacher, but everyone when fully trained will be like his teacher.

How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove the speck from your eye,' while you yourself don't see the beam in your own? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

"Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and puts them into practice -- I will show you what he is like:

He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep, and laid the foundation on bedrock. When a flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built.

After Jesus had finished teaching all this to the people, he entered Capernaum.

So when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave well.

Fear seized them all, and they began to glorify God, saying, "A great prophet has appeared among us!" and "God has come to help his people!"

This report about Jesus circulated throughout Judea and all the surrounding country.

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

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

(Now all the people who heard this, even the tax collectors, acknowledged God's justice, because they had been baptized with John's baptism.

But wisdom is vindicated by all her children."

Then when a woman of that town, who was a sinner, learned that Jesus was dining at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfumed oil.

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.

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

You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with perfumed oil.