Now many have undertaken to compile an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us,

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.

"This is what the Lord has done for me at the time when he has been gracious to me, to take away my disgrace among people."

When they saw him, they related what they had been told about this child,

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

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

There was also a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old, having been married to her husband for seven years until his death.

When his parents saw him, they were overwhelmed. His mother said to him, "Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously."

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.

Now Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read,

Then he began to tell them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled even as you heard it being read."

Immediately he stood up before them, picked up the stretcher he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God.

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.

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

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

However, the Pharisees and the experts in religious law rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)

and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and disabilities: Mary (called Magdalene), from whom seven demons had gone out,

He said, "You have been given the opportunity to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that although they see they may not see, and although they hear they may not understand.

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

Now a woman was there who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years but could not be healed by anyone.

When the woman saw that she could not escape notice, she came trembling and fell down before him. In the presence of all the people, she explained why she had touched him and how she had been immediately healed.

Now Herod the tetrarch heard about everything that was happening, and he was thoroughly perplexed, because some people were saying that John had been raised from the dead,

But they did not understand this statement; its meaning had been concealed from them, so that they could not grasp it. Yet they were afraid to ask him about this statement.

"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

All things have been given to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son decides to reveal him."

Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the man who had been mute began to speak, and the crowds were amazed.

so that this generation may be held accountable for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world,

But the one who did not know his master's will and did things worthy of punishment will receive a light beating. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be asked.

and a woman was there who had been disabled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten herself up completely.

"When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, because a person more distinguished than you may have been invited by your host.

At the time for the banquet he sent his slave to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, because everything is now ready.'

Then the slave said, 'Sir, what you instructed has been done, and there is still room.'

If then you haven't been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will entrust you with the true riches?

And if you haven't been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you your own?

"The law and the prophets were in force until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is urged to enter it.

Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.'

And the king said to him, 'Well done, good slave! Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, you will have authority over ten cities.'

telling them, "Go to the village ahead of you. When you enter it, you will find a colt tied there that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here.

For the Son of Man is to go just as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!"

That very day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other, for prior to this they had been enemies.

(This was a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city, and for murder.)

He released the man they asked for, who had been thrown in prison for insurrection and murder. But he handed Jesus over to their will.

Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and placed it in a tomb cut out of the rock, where no one had yet been buried.

They found that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb,

He is not here, but has been raised! Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee,

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