So it seemed good to me as well, because I have followed all things carefully from the beginning, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,

so that you may know for certain the things you were taught.

And Zechariah, visibly shaken when he saw the angel, was seized with fear.

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.

for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth.

And he will go as forerunner before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him."

Zechariah said to the angel, "How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is old as well."

Now the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they began to wonder why he was delayed in the holy place.

After some time his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, and for five months she kept herself in seclusion. She said,

"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."

So the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God!

For nothing will be impossible with God."

For the instant the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

because he has looked upon the humble state of his servant. For from now on all generations will call me blessed,

because he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name;

from generation to generation he is merciful to those who fear him.

Now the time came for Elizabeth to have her baby, and she gave birth to a son.

He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, "His name is John." And they were all amazed.

All their neighbors were filled with fear, and throughout the entire hill country of Judea all these things were talked about.

All who heard these things kept them in their hearts, saying, "What then will this child be?" For the Lord's hand was indeed with him.

For he has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,

that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, may serve him without fear,

in holiness and righteousness before him for as long as we live.

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High. For you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus to register all the empire for taxes.

While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child.

And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid! Listen carefully, for I proclaim to you good news that brings great joy to all the people:

This will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger."

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

Now when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, Joseph and Mary brought Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord

Now there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon who was righteous and devout, looking for the restoration of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

So Simeon, directed by the Spirit, came into the temple courts, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what was customary according to the law,

For my eyes have seen your salvation

a light, for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel."

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.

She had lived as a widow since then for eighty-four years. She never left the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.

At that moment, she came up to them and began to give thanks to God and to speak about the child to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Now Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem every year for the feast of the Passover.

but (because they assumed that he was in their group of travelers) they went a day's journey. Then they began to look for him among their relatives and acquaintances.

When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.

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."

But he replied, "Why were you looking for me? Didn't you know that I must be in my Father's house?"

He went into all the region around the Jordan River, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, "The voice of one shouting in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make his paths straight.

Therefore produce fruit that proves your repentance, and don't begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones!

Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."

Then some soldiers also asked him, "And as for us -- what should we do?" He told them, "Take money from no one by violence or by false accusation, and be content with your pay."

John answered them all, "I baptize you with water, but one more powerful than I am is coming -- I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

His winnowing fork is in his hand to clean out his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his storehouse, but the chaff he will burn up with inextinguishable fire."

where for forty days he endured temptations from the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were completed, he was famished.

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.

for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,'

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and the regaining of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed,

They were all amazed and began to say to one another, "What's happening here? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!"

But Jesus said to them, "I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns too, for that is what I was sent to do."

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and lower your nets for a catch."

But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!"

For Peter and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken,

Then he ordered the man to tell no one, but commanded him, "Go and show yourself to a priest, and bring the offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

Then Levi gave a great banquet in his house for Jesus, and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them.

No one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, 'The old is good enough.'"

how he entered the house of God, took and ate the sacred bread, which is not lawful for any to eat but the priests alone, and gave it to his companions?"

Then he looked up at his disciples and said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God belongs to you.

"Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

Rejoice in that day, and jump for joy, because your reward is great in heaven. For their ancestors did the same things to the prophets.

"But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your comfort already.

"Woe to you who are well satisfied with food now, for you will be hungry. "Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.

"Woe to you when all people speak well of you, for their ancestors did the same things to the false prophets.

bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your possessions back from the person who takes them away.

"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

Give, and it will be given to you: A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be poured into your lap. For the measure you use will be the measure you receive."

"For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit,

for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from brambles.

The good person out of the good treasury of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasury produces evil, for his mouth speaks from what fills his heart.

When they came to Jesus, they urged him earnestly, "He is worthy to have you do this for him,

So Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.

For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me. I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it."

When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, "Do not weep."

Fear seized them all, and they began to glorify God, saying, "A great prophet has appeared among us!" and "God has come to help his people!"

and sent them to Jesus to ask, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?"

When the men came to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, 'Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?'"

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

They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to one another, 'We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance; we wailed in mourning, yet you did not weep.'

For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, 'He has a demon!'

Then, turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

and Joanna the wife of Cuza (Herod's household manager), Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their own resources.

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 on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in a time of testing fall away.

As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.

But as for the seed that landed on good soil, these are the ones who, after hearing the word, cling to it with an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with steadfast endurance.

For nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing concealed that will not be made known and brought to light.

So listen carefully, for whoever has will be given more, but whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him."

As Jesus stepped ashore, a certain man from the town met him who was possessed by demons. For a long time this man had worn no clothes and had not lived in a house, but among the tombs.

For Jesus had started commanding the evil spirit to come out of the man. (For it had seized him many times, so he would be bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard. But he would break the restraints and be driven by the demon into deserted places.)

Then all the people of the Gerasenes and the surrounding region asked Jesus to leave them alone, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and left.

"Return to your home, and declare what God has done for you." So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole town what Jesus had done for him.

Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, because they were all waiting for him.

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