exactly as they were handed down to us by those [with personal experience] who from the beginning [of Christ’s ministry] were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word [that is, of the teaching concerning salvation through faith in Christ],

Now in the sixth month [of Elizabeth’s pregnancy] the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth,

Then Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel left her.

Now at this time Mary arose and hurried to the hill country, to a city of Judah (Judea),

“For He who is mighty has done great things for me;
And holy is His name [to be worshiped in His purity, majesty, and glory].

“He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And exalted those who were humble.

Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Sunrise (the Messiah) from on high will dawn and visit us,

And everyone went to register for the census, each to his own city.

So Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,

For this day in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord (the Messiah).

And when they had done everything [in connection with Jesus’ birth] according to the Law of the Lord, they went back to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.

but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and traveled a day’s journey; and [then] they began searching [anxiously] for Him among their relatives and acquaintances.

When they did not find Him, they went back to Jerusalem looking for Him [everywhere].

He went down to Nazareth with them, and was continually submissive and obedient to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

Even now the axe [of God’s judgment] is swinging toward the root of the trees; so every tree that does not produce good fruit is being cut down and thrown into the fire.”

But when Herod [Antipas] the tetrarch was repeatedly reprimanded [and convicted by John’s disapproval] for having Herodias, his brother’s wife [as his own], and for all the wicked things that Herod had done,

Then he led Jesus to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle (highest point) of the temple, and said [mockingly] to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here;

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me (the Messiah),
Because He has anointed Me to preach the good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to announce release (pardon, forgiveness) to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed (downtrodden, bruised, crushed by tragedy),

Then He rolled up the scroll [having stopped in the middle of the verse], gave it back to the attendant and sat down [to teach]; and the eyes of all those in the synagogue were [attentively] fixed on Him.

So He said to them, “You will no doubt quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal Yourself! Whatever [miracles] that we heard were done [by You] in Capernaum, do here in Your hometown as well.’”

Then He said, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown.

and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the crest of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to hurl Him down the cliff.

Then He came down [from the hills of Nazareth] to Capernaum, a city of Galilee [on the shore of the sea], and He was teaching them on the Sabbath;

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent (muzzled, gagged) and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown the man down among them, he came out of him without injuring him in any way.

that He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake, but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets.

He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little distance from the shore. And He sat down and began teaching the crowds from the boat.

When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their nets were [at the point of] breaking;

But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”

One day as He was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the Law sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present with Him to heal.

But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

Then Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a vast multitude of people from all over Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon,

Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over [with no space left for more]. For with the standard of measurement you use [when you do good to others], it will be measured to you in return.”

he is like a [far-sighted, practical, and sensible] man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and yet could not shake it, because it had been securely built and founded on the rock.

Soon afterward Jesus went to a city called Nain [near Nazareth], and His disciples and a large crowd accompanied Him.

Now as He approached the city gate, a dead man was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her [in the funeral procession].

One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and He went into the Pharisee’s house [in the region of Galilee] and reclined at the table.

Now there was a woman in the city who was [known as] a sinner; and when she found out that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume;

When a large crowd was gathering together, and people from city after city were coming to Him, He spoke [to them] using a parable:

But as they were sailing, He fell asleep. And a fierce gale of wind swept down [as if through a wind tunnel] on the lake, and they began to be swamped, and were in great danger.

Now when Jesus stepped out on land, He was met by a man from the city [of Gerasa] who was possessed with demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and was not living in a house, but among the tombs.

Seeing Jesus, he cried out [with a terrible voice from the depths of his throat] and fell down before Him [in dread and terror], and shouted loudly, “What business do we have [in common] with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me [before the appointed time of judgment]!”

Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and told it in the city and out in the country.

“Return home and tell [about] all the great things God has done for you.” So the man went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came up trembling and fell down before Him. She declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed.

And as for all those who do not welcome you, when you leave that city, shake the dust off your feet [breaking all ties with them] as a testimony against them [that they rejected My message].”

Now Herod [Antipas] the tetrarch [who governed a portion of Palestine including Galilee and Perea] heard about all that was being done [by Jesus], and he was thoroughly perplexed, because it was said by some that John [the Baptist whom he had ordered beheaded] had been raised from the dead,

When the apostles returned, they told Him all that they had done. He took them with Him and He privately withdrew [across the Jordan] to a city called Bethsaida.

(For there were about 5,000 men.) And He said to His disciples, “Have them sit down to eat in groups of about fifty each.”

Now Peter and those who were with him had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and splendor and majesty, and the two men who were standing with Him.

On the next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Him.

Even while the boy was coming, the demon slammed him down and threw him into a [violent] convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy and gave him back to his father.

When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and destroy them?”

Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them out ahead of Him, two by two, into every city and place where He was about to go.

Whenever you go into a city and they welcome you, eat what is set before you;

But whatever city you enter and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say,

‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you [breaking all ties]; yet understand this, that the kingdom of God has come near [and you rejected it].’

I tell you, it will be more bearable in that day [of judgment] for Sodom than for that city.

And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades (the realm of the dead).

Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he encountered robbers, who stripped him of his clothes [and belongings], beat him, and went their way [unconcerned], leaving him half dead.

Now by coincidence a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

Likewise a Levite also came down to the place and saw him, and passed by on the other side [of the road].

But a Samaritan (foreigner), who was traveling, came upon him; and when he saw him, he was deeply moved with compassion [for him],

He said to them,

“When you pray, say:
‘Father, hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.

‘And forgive us our sins,
For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us [who has offended or wronged us].
And lead us not into temptation [but rescue us from evil].’”

Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in [the person] and live there; and the last state of that person becomes worse than the first.”

“But woe (judgment is coming) to you Pharisees, because you [self-righteously] tithe mint and rue and every [little] garden herb [tending to all the minutiae], and yet disregard and neglect justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done, without neglecting the others.

Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the best seats in the synagogues and to be respectfully greeted in the market places.

Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my storehouses and build larger ones, and I will store all my grain and my goods there.

so he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree and have found none. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground [depleting the soil and blocking the sunlight]?’

and if it bears fruit after this, fine; but if not, cut it down.’”

But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, “There are six days in which work ought to be done; so come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”

As He was saying this, all His opponents were being humiliated; and the entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things that were being done by Him.

And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and they will sit down [and feast at the table] in the kingdom of God.

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

For which one of you, when he wants to build a watchtower [for his guards], does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to finish it?

Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one who is coming against him with twenty thousand?

“Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins [each one equal to a day’s wages] and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?

He said, ‘A hundred measures of [olive] oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’

And a poor man named Lazarus, was laid at his gate, covered with sores.

So you too, when you have done everything that was assigned and commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants [undeserving of praise or a reward, for we have not gone beyond our obligation]; we have merely done what we ought to do.’”

As He entered a village, He was met by ten lepers who stood at a distance;

Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten [of you] cleansed? Where are the [other] nine?

On that day, whoever is on the housetop, with his belongings in the house, must not come down [and go inside] to take them out; and likewise whoever is in the field must not turn back.

I tell you, this man went to his home justified [forgiven of the guilt of sin and placed in right standing with God] rather than the other man; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself [forsaking self-righteous pride] will be exalted.”

When Jesus reached the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”

So Zaccheus hurried and came down, and welcomed Jesus with joy.

So he called ten of his servants, and gave them ten minas [one apiece, each equal to about a hundred days’ wages] and said to them, ‘Do business [with this] until I return.’

The first one came before him and said, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten more minas.’

And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you proved yourself faithful and trustworthy in a very little thing, you shall [now] have authority over ten cities [in my kingdom].’

I was [always] afraid of you, because you are a stern man; you pick up what you did not lay down and you reap what you did not sow.’

He said to the servant, ‘I will judge and condemn you by your own words, you worthless servant! Did you [really] know that I was a stern man, picking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow?

Then he said to the bystanders, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’

And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas already!’

and they will level you to the ground, you [Jerusalem] and your children within you. They will not leave in you one stone on another, all because you did not [come progressively to] recognize [from observation and personal experience] the time of your visitation [when God was gracious toward you and offered you salvation].”

“As for all these things which you see, the time will come when there will not be one stone left on another that will not be torn down.”

And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled (completed).

“But be on guard, so that your hearts are not weighed down and depressed with the giddiness of debauchery and the nausea of self-indulgence and the worldly worries of life, and then that day [when the Messiah returns] will not come on you suddenly like a trap;

And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed,

saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup [of divine wrath] from Me; yet not My will, but [always] Yours be done.”