Then she exclaimed with a loud cry:

“You are the most blessed of women,
and your child will be blessed!

How could this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

When they came to circumcise the child on the eighth day, they were going to name him Zechariah, after his father.

All who heard about him took it to heart, saying, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the Lord’s hand was with him.

And child, you will be called
a prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord
to prepare His ways,

The child grew up and became spiritually strong, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole empire should be registered.

After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child,

Guided by the Spirit, he entered the temple complex. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform for Him what was customary under the law,

Then Simeon blessed them and told His mother Mary: “Indeed, this child is destined to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed—

“What then should we do?” the crowds were asking him.

Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?”

Some soldiers also questioned him: “What should we do?”

He said to them, “Don’t take money from anyone by force or false accusation; be satisfied with your wages.”

But new wine should be put into fresh wineskins.

and sent them to the Lord, asking, “Are You the One who is to come, or should we look for someone else?”

When the men reached Him, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to ask You, ‘Are You the One who is to come, or should we look for someone else?’”

“To what then should I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like?

Still other seed fell on good ground; when it sprang up, it produced a crop: 100 times what was sown.” As He said this, He called out, “Anyone who has ears to hear should listen!”

After He came to the house, He let no one enter with Him except Peter, John, James, and the child’s father and mother.

So He took her by the hand and called out, “Child, get up!”

Just then a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, because he’s my only child.

But Jesus, knowing the thoughts of their hearts, took a little child and had him stand next to Him.

He told them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in My name welcomes Me. And whoever welcomes Me welcomes Him who sent Me. For whoever is least among you—this one is great.”

“But woe to you Pharisees! You give a tenth of mint, rue, and every kind of herb, and you bypass justice and love for God. These things you should have done without neglecting the others.

Whenever they bring you before synagogues and rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how you should defend yourselves or what you should say.

He thought to himself, ‘What should I do, since I don’t have anywhere to store my crops?

Don’t keep striving for what you should eat and what you should drink, and don’t be anxious.

He told the vineyard worker, ‘Listen, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it even waste the soil?’

But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, responded by telling the crowd, “There are six days when work should be done; therefore come on those days and be healed and not on the Sabbath day.”

“Now, salt is good, but if salt should lose its taste, how will it be made salty?

It isn’t fit for the soil or for the manure pile; they throw it out. Anyone who has ears to hear should listen!”

“Then the manager said to himself, ‘What should I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig; I’m ashamed to beg.

“But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’

In the same way, when you have done all that you were commanded, you should say, ‘We are good-for-nothing slaves; we’ve only done our duty.’”

I assure you: Whoever does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

“Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him.’

“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother has a wife, and dies childless, his brother should take the wife and produce offspring for his brother.

Then a dispute also arose among them about who should be considered the greatest.

Then He said to them, “But now, whoever has a money-bag should take it, and also a traveling bag. And whoever doesn’t have a sword should sell his robe and buy one.

When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they asked, “Lord, should we strike with the sword?”