Seeing that many have attempted to draw up a narrative of the facts which are received with full assurance among us

"By what proof," asked Zechariah, "shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is far advanced in years."

So Gabriel went into the house and said to her, "Joy be to you, favoured one! the Lord is with you."

And see, your relative Elizabeth--she also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.

and as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the babe leapt within her. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,

and uttered a loud cry of joy. "Blest among women are you," she said, "and the offspring of your body is blest!

But why is this honour done me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

And blessed is she who has believed, for the word spoken to her from the Lord shall be fulfilled."

Because the mighty One has done great things for me--Holy is His name!--

And His compassion is, generation after generation, Upon those who fear Him.

His mother, however, said, "No, he is to be called John."

"There is not one of your family," they said, "who has that name."

So he asked for a writing-tablet, and wrote, "His name is John." And they all wondered.

And has raised up a mighty Deliverer for us In the house of David His servant--

As He has spoken from all time by the lips of His holy Prophets--

To deliver us from our foes and from the power of all who hate us.

To grant us to be rescued from the power of our foes And so render worship to Him free from fear,

Through the tender compassion of our God, Through which the daybreak from on high will come to us,

For a Saviour who is the Anointed Lord is born to you to-day, in the town of David.

And this is the token for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger."

Then, as soon as the angels had left them and returned to Heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us now go over as far as Bethlehem and see this that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us."

as it is written in the Law of the Lord: "Every first-born male shall be called holy to the Lord."

And they also offered a sacrifice as commanded in the Law of the Lord, "a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons."

Symeon blessed them and said to Mary the mother, "This child is appointed for the falling and the uprising of many in Israel and for a token to be spoken against;

Then, as soon as they had accomplished all that the Law required, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth.

And when He was twelve years old they went up as was customary at the time of the Feast, and,

When they saw Him, they were smitten with amazement, and His mother said to Him, "My child, why have you behaved thus to us? Your father and I have been searching for you in anguish."

"Why is it that you have been searching for me?" He replied; "did you not know that it is my duty to be engaged upon my Father's business?"

And as Jesus grew older He gained in both wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

as it is written in the book of the prophet Isaiah, "The voice of one crying aloud! 'In the Desert prepare ye a road for the Lord: make His highway straight.

Live lives which shall prove your change of heart; and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our forefather,' for I tell you that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones.

And even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees, so that every tree which fails to yield good fruit will quickly be hewn down and thrown into the fire."

he answered the question by saying to them all, "As for me, I am baptizing you with water, but One mightier than I is coming, whose very sandal-strap I am not worthy to unfasten: He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and with fire.

His winnowing-shovel is in His hand to clear out His threshing-floor, and to gather the wheat into His storehouse; but the chaff He will burn up in fire unquenchable."

and the Holy Spirit came down in bodily shape, like a dove, upon Him, and a voice came from Heaven, which said, "Thou art My Son, dearly loved: in Thee is My delight."

"It is written," replied Jesus, "'It is not on bread alone that a man shall live.'"

Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'To the Lord thy God thou shalt do homage, and to Him alone shalt thou render worship.'"

Then he brought Him to Jerusalem and caused Him to stand on the roof of the Temple, and said to Him, "If you are God's Son, throw yourself down from here; for it is written,

The reply of Jesus was, "It is said, 'Thou shalt not put the Lord they God to the proof.'"

He came to Nazareth also, where He had been brought up; and, as was His custom, He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.

And there was handed to Him the book of the Prophet Isaiah, and, opening the book, He found the place where it was written,

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to proclaim Good News to the poor; He has sent me to announce release to the prisoners of war and recovery of sight to the blind: to send away free those whom tyranny has crushed,

Then He proceeded to say to them, "To-day is this Scripture fulfilled in your hearing."

And they all spoke well of Him, wondering at the sweet words of kindness which fell from His lips, while they asked one another, "Is not this Joseph's son?"

"I tell you in solemn truth," He added, "that no Prophet is welcomed among his own people.

"Ha! Jesus the Nazarene, what have you to do with us? I know who you are--God's Holy One!"

All were astonished and awe-struck; and they asked one another, "What sort of language is this? For with authority and real power He gives orders to the foul spirits and they come out."

He ordered him to tell no one. "But go," He said, "show yourself to the Priest, and make the offering for your purification which Moses appointed, as evidence for them."

Then the Scribes and Pharisees began to cavil, asking, "Who is this, uttering blasphemies? Who but God alone can forgive sins?"

Well aware of their reasonings, Jesus answered their questions by asking in turn, "What is this that you are debating in your hearts?

Which is easier? --to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'?

But Jesus replied to them, "It is not men in good health who require a physician, but the sick.

Again they said to Him, "John's disciples fast often and pray, as do also those of the pharisees; but yours eat and drink."

"Can you compel the bridal party to fast," replied Jesus, "so long as they have the bridegroom among them?

Nor does any one after drinking old wine wish for new; for he says, 'The old is better.'"

"Have you never read so much as this," answered Jesus--"what David did when he and his followers were hungry;

"The Son of Man," He added, "is Lord of the Sabbath also."

On another Sabbath He had gone to the synagogue and was teaching there; and in the congregation was a man whose right arm was withered.

Then fixing His eyes upon His disciples, Jesus said to them, "Blessed are you poor, because the Kingdom of God is yours.

"Blessed are you when men shall hate you and exclude you from their society and insult you, and spurn your very names as evil things, for the Son of Man's sake.

"Be glad at such a time, and dance for joy; for your reward is great in Heaven; for that is just the way their forefathers behaved to the Prophets!

"Alas for you when men shall all have spoken well of you; for that is just the way their forefathers behaved to the false Prophets!

To him who gives you a blow on one side of the face offer the other side also; and to him who is robbing you of your outer garment refuse not the under one also.

And behave to your fellow men just as you would have them behave to you.

"If you love those who love you, what credit is it to you? Why, even bad men love those who love them.

And if you are kind to those who are kind to you, what credit is it to you? Even bad men act thus.

And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is it to you? Even bad men lend to their fellows so as to receive back an equal amount.

Nevertheless love your enemies, be beneficent; and lend without hoping for any repayment. Then your recompense shall be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate.

give, and gifts shall be bestowed on you. Full measure, pressed, shaken down, and running over, shall they pour into your laps; for with the same measure that you use they shall measure to you in return."

There is no disciple who is superior to his teacher; but every one whose instruction is complete will be like his teacher.

"There is no good tree that yields unsound fruit, nor again any unsound tree that yields good fruit.

Every tree is known by its own fruit. It is not from thorns that men gather figs, nor from the bramble that they can get a bunch of grapes.

A good man from the good stored up in his heart brings out what is good; and an evil man from the evil stored up brings out what is evil; for from the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.

Every one who comes to me and listens to my words and puts them in practice, I will show you whom he is like.

He is like a man building a house, who digs and goes deep, and lays the foundation on the rock; and when a flood comes, the torrent bursts upon that house, but is unable to shake it, because it is securely built.

But he who has heard and not practised is like a man who has built a house upon the soft soil without a foundation, against which the torrent bursts, and immediately it collapses, and terrible is the wreck and ruin of that house."

for he loves our nation, and at his own expense he built our synagogue for us."

And just as He reached the gate of the town, they happened to be bringing out for burial a dead man who was his mother's only son; and she was a widow; and a great number of the townspeople were with her.

All were awe-struck, and they gave glory to God--some saying, "A Prophet, a great Prophet, has risen up among us." Others said, "God has not forgotten His People."

so John called two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord. "Are you the Coming One?" he asked, "or is there another that we are to expect?"

The men came to Jesus and said, "John the Baptist has sent us to you with this question: 'Are you the Coming One, or is there another that we are to expect?'"

And blessed is every one who does not stumble and fall because of my claims."

John is the man about whom it is written, 'See, I am sending My messenger before thy face, and he shall make ready thy way before thee.'

"I tell you that among all of women born there is not one greater than John. Yet one who is of lower rank in the Kingdom of God is greater than he.

But the Pharisees and expounders of the Law have frustrated God's purpose as to their own lives, by refusing to be baptized.

The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look, there is a man who is overfond of eating and drinking--he is a friend of tax-gatherers and notorious sinners!'

But wisdom is justified by all who are truly wise."

Noticing this, the Pharisee, His host, said to himself, "This man, if he were really a Prophet, would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching him--and would know that she is an immoral woman."

This is the reason why I tell you that her sins, her many sins, are forgiven--because she has loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little."

"The sower," He said, "goes out to sow his seed; and as he sows, some of the seed falls by the way-side, and is trodden upon, or the birds of the air come and peck it up.

"To you," He replied, "it is granted to know the secrets of the Kingdom of God; but all others are taught by parables, in order that they may see and yet not see, and may hear and yet not understand.

The meaning of the parable is as follows. The seed is God's Message.

That which fell among the thorns means those who have heard, but as they go on their way, the Message is stifled by the anxieties, wealth and gaieties of time, and they yield nothing in perfection.

But as for that in the good ground, it means those who, having listened to the Message with open minds and in a right spirit, hold it fast, and patiently yield a return.

There is nothing hidden, which shall not be openly seen; nor anything secret, which shall not be known and come into the light of day.

One day He went on board a boat--both He and his disciples; and He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the Lake." So they set sail.

"Where is your faith?" He asked them. But they were filled with terror and amazement, and said to one another, "Who then is this? for He gives orders both to wind and waves, and they obey Him."

"What is your name?" Jesus asked him. "Legion," he replied--because a great number of demons had entered into him;

for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. And as He went, the dense throng crowded on Him.