For that reason, Theophilus, and because I have investigated it all carefully from the beginning, I have determined to write a connected account of it for Your Excellency,

so that you may be reliably informed about the things you have been taught.

Zechariah said to the angel, "How am I to know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in life."

The people were waiting for Zechariah, and wondering that he stayed so long in the sanctuary.

But when he came out he could not speak to them, and they knew that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. For his part, he kept making signs to them, and remained dumb.

"This is what the Lord has done for me," she said, "now that he has deigned to remove the disgrace I have endured."

The angel answered, "The holy Spirit will come over you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. For that reason your child will be called holy, and the Son of God.

They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who bears that name."

"And the oath that he swore to our forefather Abraham,

That we should be delivered from the hands of our enemies,

In those days an edict was issued by the Emperor Augustus that a census of the whole world should be taken.

There were some shepherds in that neighborhood keeping watch through the night over their flock in the open fields.

The angel said to them, "Do not be frightened, for I bring you good news of a great joy that is to be felt by all the people,

When the angels left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Come! Let us go over to Bethlehem, and see this thing that has happened, that the Lord has told us of!"

And the shepherds went back glorifying God and praising him for all that they had heard and seen in fulfilment of what they had been told.

It had been revealed to him by the holy Spirit that he should not die without seeing the Lord's Messiah.

And he gave them his blessing, and said to Mary, the child's mother, "This child is destined to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a portent that will be much debated??35 you yourself will be pierced to the heart??nd so the thoughts of many minds will be revealed."

She came up just at that time and gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were living in expectation of the liberation of Jerusalem.

When they had done everything that the Law of the Lord required, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.

They supposed that he was somewhere in the party, and traveled until the end of the first day's journey, and then they looked everywhere for him among their relatives and acquaintances.

He said to them, "How did you come to look for me? Did you not know that I must be at my Father's house?"

So he would say to the crowds that came out there to be baptized by him, "You brood of snakes! Who warned you to fly from the wrath that is coming?

Then produce fruit that will be consistent with your professed repentance! And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our forefather,' for I tell you, God can produce descendants for Abraham right out of these stones!

But the axe is already lying at the roots of the trees. Any tree that fails to produce good fruit is going to be cut down and thrown into the fire."

and, 'They will lift you up with their hands, so that you may never strike your foot against a stone.' "

Under the power of the Spirit Jesus returned to Galilee, and news of him went all over that region.

And they all spoke well of him and were astonished at the winning words that fell from his lips, and they said, "Is he not Joseph's son?"

He said to them, "No doubt you will quote this proverb to me: 'Doctor, cure yourself! Do the things here in your own country that we hear you did at Capernaum.'

And news of him spread to every place in that region.

But he said to them, "I must preach the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other towns also, for that is what I was sent to do."

So they did so, and inclosed such a shoal of fish that their nets began to break.

And they signaled to their comrades in the other boat to come and help them. And they came, and they filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

One day as he was teaching, there were some Pharisees and experts in the Law sitting near by, who had come from every village in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. The power of the Lord was there, so that he might cure people.

But to let you know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth"??urning to the man who was paralyzed he said to him??"I tell you, get up, pick up your mat, and go home!"

It was in those days that he went up on the mountain to pray, and passed the whole night in prayer to God.

Be glad when that happens, and leap for joy, for you will be richly rewarded in heaven, for that is the way their forefathers treated the prophets.

"Alas for you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is the way their forefathers treated the false prophets!

To the man that strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from the man who takes away your coat, do not keep back your shirt either.

Give to everyone that asks of you, and if anyone takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.

If you love only those who love you, what merit is there in that? For even godless people love those who love them.

And if you help only those who help you, what merit is there in that? Even godless people act in that way.

And if you lend only to people from whom you expect to get something, what merit is there in that? Even godless people lend to godless people, meaning to get it back again in full.

Why do you keep looking at the speck in your brother's eye, and pay no attention to the beam that is in your own?

How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, just let me get that speck out of your eye,' when you cannot see the beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! First get the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see to get out the speck in your brother's eye.

A good man, out of the good he has accumulated in his heart, produces good, and a bad man, out of what he has accumulated that is bad, produces what is bad. For his mouth says only what his heart is full of.

He is like a man who was building a house, who dug deep and laid his foundation upon the rock, and when there was a flood the torrent burst upon that house and could not shake it, because it was well built.

But the man who listens to it, and does not act upon it, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation. The torrent burst upon it, and it collapsed at once, and the wreck of that house was complete."

That is why I did not think I was fit to come to you. But simply say the word, and have my servant cured.

When Jesus heard this, he was astonished at him, and turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such faith as this even in Israel!"

And blessed is the man who finds nothing that repels him in me."

When John's messengers were gone, he began to speak to the crowds about John. "What was it that you went out into the desert to look at? A reed swaying in the wind?

Now that the Son of Man has come, he does eat and drink, and you say, 'Look at him! A glutton and a drinker, the companion of tax-collectors and irreligious people!'

Now there was a woman in the town who was leading a sinful life, and when she learned that he was having dinner at the Pharisee's house, she got an alabaster flask of perfume,

But he said to the woman, "It is your faith that has saved you. Go in peace."

And he said, "You are permitted to know the secrets of the Kingdom of God, but they are given to others in the form of figures, so that they may look and yet not see, and hear and yet not understand.

The ones by the path are those who hear, and then the devil comes and carries off the message from their hearts, so that they may not believe it and be saved.

"Nobody lights a lamp and then covers it with a dish or puts it under a bed, but he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light.

For there is nothing hidden that shall not be disclosed, nor kept secret that shall not be known and come to light.

It happened one day that he got into a boat with his disciples, and said to them, "Let us cross to the other side of the lake."

"Go back to your home, and tell all that God has done for you." And he went and told all over the town what Jesus had done for him.

But Jesus said, "Somebody touched me, for I know that power passed from me."

When the woman saw that she had not escaped his notice, she came forward trembling, and fell down before him, and before all the people told why she had touched him, and how she had been cured at once.

And he said to her, "My daughter, it is your faith that has cured you. Go in peace."

And they laughed at him, for they knew that she was dead.

And where they will not welcome you, leave that town and shake off the very dust from your feet as a protest against them."

Herod the governor heard of all that was happening, and he was perplexed because some people said that John had risen from the dead,

and some that Elijah had appeared, and others that one of the ancient prophets had come back to life.

And they all ate and had enough, and the pieces left over that were gathered up filled twelve baskets.

Once when he was praying by himself, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, "Who do the people say that I am?"

They answered, "John the Baptist, though others say Elijah, and others that one of the old prophets has come back to life."

And he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered, "The Christ of God!"

It was about eight days after Jesus said this that he took Peter, John, and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.

Just as they were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, how good it is that we are here! Let us put up three huts, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah!" For he did not know what he was saying.

And from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my Son, my Chosen! Listen to him!"

At the sound of the voice, they saw that Jesus was alone. And they kept silence, and said nothing about it to anyone at that time.

The next day, when they had come down from the mountain, it happened that a great crowd met him.

And they were all amazed at the power of God. While everybody was full of wonder at all that he was doing, he said to his disciples,

But they did not understand what he meant, indeed it was concealed from them, in order that they might not comprehend it, and they were afraid to ask him what he meant.

But Jesus knew the question that was in their minds and he took a child and made him stand by his side,

'The very dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off in protest. But understand this: the Kingdom of God is at hand!'

I tell you, on that Day Sodom will fare better than that town!

Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! For if the wonders that have been done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes!

But do not be glad that the spirits submit to you, but be glad that your names are enrolled in heaven."

At that moment he was inspired with joy, and said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding all this from the learned and intelligent, and revealing it to children! Yes, I thank you, Father, for choosing to have it so!

And he turned to his disciples when they were alone, and said, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!

Jesus said to him, "You are right. Do that, and you will live."

Now a priest happened to be going that way, and when he saw him, he went by on the other side of the road.

But a Samaritan who was traveling that way came upon him, and when he saw him he pitied him,

But Martha was worried with all she had to do for them, and she came up and said, "Master, does it make no difference to you that my sister has left me to do all the work alone? Tell her to help me."

But some of them said, "It is with the aid of Beelzebub, the prince of the demons, that he drives the demons out."

But he knew what they were thinking, and he said to them, "Any kingdom that is disunited is on the way to destruction, and one house falls after another.

And if Satan is disunited, how can his kingdom last? Because you say that I drive out demons with Beelzebub's aid.

But if it is with his aid that I drive out demons, by whose do your sons drive them out? Therefore, they shall be your judges.

But if it is with the finger of God that I am driving the demons out, then the Kingdom of God has overtaken you.

But when somebody stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he strips him of the arms that he relied on, and divides up the spoils.

When a foul spirit goes out of a man, it roams through deserts in search of rest, and when it finds none, it says, 'I will go back to my house that I left.'

No one lights a lamp and puts it in the cellar or under a peck measure; he puts it on its stand, so that people who come in can see the light.

The Pharisee noticed that he did not wash before the meal, and he was surprised.

At this, one of the experts in the Law said to him, "Master, when you say that, you affront us too."

This is why the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send prophets and apostles to them, and some of them they will kill and some they will persecute'??50 so that this age may be charged with the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the creation of the world,