And Zacharias said to the angel, “How will I be certain of this? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in age.”

This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.

“The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road and it was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the sky ate it up.

But he replied to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, [just] one more year until I dig around it and put in fertilizer;

And the servant [after returning] said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’

Jesus said to His disciples, “Stumbling blocks [temptations and traps set to lure one to sin] are sure to come, but woe (judgment is coming) to him through whom they come!

The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him and [cruelly] offering Him sour wine,