just as they were passed down to us by those who had been eyewitnesses and servants of the word from the beginning,

so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

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.

The angel answered him, "I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. I have been sent to speak to you and to announce this good news to you.

He went there to be registered with Mary, who had been promised to him in marriage and was pregnant.

When they saw this, they repeated what they had been told about this child.

Then the shepherds returned to their flock, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.

It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Lord's Messiah.

When Jesus' parents saw him, they were shocked. His mother asked him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been worried sick looking for you!"

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.

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

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.

Jesus answered him, "It has been said, "You must not tempt the Lord your God.'"

Then Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been raised. As was his custom, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. When he stood up to read,

he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled, as you've heard it read aloud."

So the man immediately stood up in front of them and picked up what he had been lying on. Then he went home, praising God.

No one who has been drinking old wine wants new wine, because he says, "The old wine is good enough!'"

They are like a person building a house, who dug a deep hole to lay the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the floodwaters pushed against that house but couldn't shake it, because it had been founded on the rock.

Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant in perfect health.

The man who had been dead sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

I tell you, no one has ever been born who is greater than John. Yet even the least important person in the kingdom of God is greater than he."

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

So I'm telling you that her sins, as many as they are, have been forgiven, and that's why she has shown such great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven loves little."

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;

So he said, "You have been given knowledge about the secrets of the kingdom of God. But to others they are given in parables, so that "they might look but not see, and they might listen but not understand.'"

Now when those who had been taking care of the pigs saw what had happened, they ran away and reported it in the city and in the countryside.

The people who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed.

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.

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.

Now Herod the tetrarch heard about everything that was happening. He was puzzled because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead,

Now Peter and the men with him had been overcome by sleep. When they woke up, they saw Jesus' glory and the two men standing with him.

All things have been entrusted to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and the person to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

Why, even all the hairs on your head have been counted! Stop being afraid. You are worth more than a bunch of sparrows."

But the servant who did things that deserved a beating without knowing it will receive a light beating. Much will be required from everyone to whom much has been given. But even more will be demanded from the one to whom much has been entrusted."

Then Jesus told them this parable: "A man had a fig tree that had been planted in his vineyard. He went to look for fruit on it but didn't find any.

So he told the gardener, "Look here! For three years I've been coming to look for fruit on this tree but I haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it waste the soil?'

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones to death those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you people were unwilling!

The servant said, "Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.'

Because my son was dead and has come back to life. He was lost and has been found.' And they began to celebrate.

But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come back to life. He was lost and has been found.'"

So if you haven't been faithful with unrighteous wealth, who will trust you with true wealth?

And if you haven't been faithful with what belongs to foreigners, who will give you what is your own?

Now the Pharisees, who love money, had been listening to all this and began to ridicule Jesus.

"The Law and the Prophets remained until John. Since then, the good news about the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone entering it is under attack.

Besides all this, a wide chasm has been fixed between us, so that those who want to cross from this side to you cannot do so, nor can they cross from your side to us.'

But one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, came back and praised God with a loud voice.

The king told him, "Well done, good servant! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.'

The Son of Man is going away, just as it has been determined, but how terrible it will be for that man by whom he is betrayed!"

Because I tell you, what has been written about me must be fulfilled: "He was counted among the criminals.' Indeed, what is written about me must be fulfilled."

Now Herod was very glad to see Jesus, because he had been wanting to see him for a long time on account of what he had heard about him. He was also hoping to see some sign done by him.

So Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day. Before this they had been enemies.

(This man had been put in prison for murder and for a revolt that had taken place in the city.)

So he released the man who had been put in prison for revolt and murder the man whose release they continued to demand but he let them have their way with Jesus.

We have been condemned justly, because we are getting what we deserve for what we have done, but this man has done nothing wrong."

Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb cut in the rock, in which no one had yet been laid.

He is not here, but has been raised. Remember what he told you while he was still in Galilee:

I am sending to you what my Father promised, so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."