it has seemed right to me also, after careful investigation of the facts from their commencement, to write for you, most noble Theophilus, a connected account,

it fell to his lot--according to the custom of the priesthood--to go into the Sanctuary of the Lord and burn the incense;

and the whole multitude of the people were outside praying, at the hour of incense.

"By what proof," asked Zechariah, "shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is far advanced in years."

And now you will be dumb and unable to speak until the day when this has taken place; because you did not believe my words--words which will be fulfilled at their appointed time."

When, however, he came out, he was unable to speak to them; and they knew that he must have seen a vision in the Sanctuary; but he kept making signs to them and continued dumb.

When his days of service were at an end, he went to his home;

She was greatly agitated at his words, and wondered what such a greeting meant.

"I am the Lord's maidservant," Mary replied; "may it be with me in accordance with your words!" And then the angel left her.

They asked his father by signs what he wished him to be called.

All who heard the story treasured it in their memories. "What then will this child be?" they said. For the lord's hand was indeed with him.

Just at this time an edict was issued by Caesar Augustus for the registration of the whole Empire.

It was the first registration made during the governorship of Quirinius in Syria;

And when they saw the child, they told what had been said to them about Him;

and all who listened were astonished at what the shepherds told them.

When eight days had passed and the time for circumcising Him had come, He was called JESUS, the name given Him by the angel before His conception in the womb.

as it is written in the Law of the Lord: "Every first-born male shall be called holy to the Lord."

To him it had been revealed by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death until he had seen the Lord's Anointed One.

And while the child's father and mother were wondering at the words of Symeon concerning Him,

and then being a widow of eighty-four years. She was never absent from the Temple, but worshipped, by day and by night, with fasting and prayer.

And coming up just at that moment, she gave thanks to God, and spoke about the child to all who were expecting the deliverance of Jerusalem.

Now His parents used to go up year by year to Jerusalem at the Feast of the Passover.

And when He was twelve years old they went up as was customary at the time of the Feast, and,

while all who heard Him were astonished at His intelligence and at the answers He gave.

"Why is it that you have been searching for me?" He replied; "did you not know that it is my duty to be engaged upon my Father's business?"

as it is written in the book of the prophet Isaiah, "The voice of one crying aloud! 'In the Desert prepare ye a road for the Lord: make His highway straight.

Accordingly John used to say to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, "O vipers' brood, who has warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

And even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees, so that every tree which fails to yield good fruit will quickly be hewn down and thrown into the fire."

The crowds repeatedly asked him, "What then are we to do?"

"Let the man who has two coats," he answered, "give one to the man who has none; and let the man who has food share it with others."

There came also a party of tax-gatherers to be baptized, and they asked him, "Rabbi, what are we to do?"

The soldiers also once and again inquired of him, "And we, what are we to do?" His answer was, "Neither intimidate any one nor lay false charges; and be content with your pay."

His winnowing-shovel is in His hand to clear out His threshing-floor, and to gather the wheat into His storehouse; but the chaff He will burn up in fire unquenchable."

And He--Jesus--when He began His ministry, was about thirty years old. He was the son (it was supposed)

son of Melchi, son of Addi, son of Cosam, son of Elmadam, son of Er,

tempted all the while by the Devil. During those days He ate nothing, and at the close of them He suffered from hunger.

"It is written," replied Jesus, "'It is not on bread alone that a man shall live.'"

The Devil next led Him up and caused Him to see at a glance all the kingdoms of the world.

And the Devil said to Him, "To you will I give all this authority and this splendour; for it has been handed over to me, and on whomsoever I will I bestow it.

If therefore you do homage to me, it shall all be yours.'

Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'To the Lord thy God thou shalt do homage, and to Him alone shalt thou render worship.'"

Then he brought Him to Jerusalem and caused Him to stand on the roof of the Temple, and said to Him, "If you are God's Son, throw yourself down from here; for it is written,

and 'On their hands they shall bear thee up, Lest at any moment thou shouldst strike thy foot against a stone.'"

The reply of Jesus was, "It is said, 'Thou shalt not put the Lord they God to the proof.'"

And there was handed to Him the book of the Prophet Isaiah, and, opening the book, He found the place where it was written,

And rolling up the book, He returned it to the attendant, and sat down--to speak. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.

And they all spoke well of Him, wondering at the sweet words of kindness which fell from His lips, while they asked one another, "Is not this Joseph's son?"

"Doubtless," said He, "you will quote to me the proverb, 'Physician, cure yourself: all that we hear that you have done at Capernaum, do here also in your native place.'"

But I tell you in truth that there was many a widow in Israel in the time of Elijah, when there was no rain for three years and six months and there came a severe famine over all the land;

and yet to not one of them was Elijah sent: he was only sent to a widow at Zarephath in the Sidonian country.

And there was also many a leper in Israel in the time of the Prophet Elisha, and yet not one of them was cleansed, but Naaman the Syrian was."

But in the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of a foul demon. In a loud voice he cried out,

"Ha! Jesus the Nazarene, what have you to do with us? I know who you are--God's Holy One!"

But Jesus rebuked the demon. "Silence!" He exclaimed; "come out of him." Upon this, the demon hurled the man into the midst of them, and came out of him without doing him any harm.

All were astonished and awe-struck; and they asked one another, "What sort of language is this? For with authority and real power He gives orders to the foul spirits and they come out."

Then standing over her He rebuked the fever, and it left her; and she at once rose and waited on them.

At sunset all who had friends suffering from any illness brought them to Him, and He laid His hands on them all, one by one, and cured them.

Demons also came out of many, loudly calling out, "You are the Son of God." But He rebuked them and forbad them to speak, because they knew Him to be the Christ.

Next morning, at daybreak, He left the town and went away to a solitary place; but the people flocked out to find Him, and, coming to the place where He was, they endeavoured to detain Him that He might not leave them.

and going on board one of them, which was Simon's He asked him to push out a little from land. Then He sat down and taught the crowd of people from the boat.

When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, "Push out into deep water, and let down your nets for a haul."

"Rabbi," replied Peter, "all night long we have worked hard and caught nothing; but at your command I will let down the nets."

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at the knees of Jesus, and exclaimed, "Master, leave my boat, for I am a sinful man."

(For he was astonished and terrified--he and all his companions--at the haul of fish which they had taken;

On another occasion, when He was in one of the towns, there was a man there covered with leprosy, who, seeing Jesus, threw himself at His feet and implored Him, saying, "Sir, if only you are willing, you are able to make me clean."

Reaching out His hand and touching him, Jesus said, "I am willing; be cleansed!" And instantly the leprosy left him.

Well aware of their reasonings, Jesus answered their questions by asking in turn, "What is this that you are debating in your hearts?

Amazement seized them all. "Glory to God!" was the abiding feeling. Yet fear flashed through their minds and they said, "We have seen strange things to-day."

After this He went out and noticed a tax-gatherer, Levi by name, sitting at the Toll office; and He said to him, "Follow me."

Levi also gave a great entertainment at his house in honour of Jesus, and there was a large party of tax-gatherers and others at table with them.

But Jesus replied to them, "It is not men in good health who require a physician, but the sick.

Again they said to Him, "John's disciples fast often and pray, as do also those of the pharisees; but yours eat and drink."

But a time for this will come, when the Bridegroom has been taken away from them: then, at that time, they will fast."

Now on the second-first Sabbath while He was passing through the wheatfields, His disciples were plucking the ears and rubbing them with their hands to eat the grain.

And some of the Pharisees asked, "Why are you doing what the Law forbids on the Sabbath?"

"Have you never read so much as this," answered Jesus--"what David did when he and his followers were hungry;

how he entered the house of God and took and ate the Presented Loaves and gave some to his followers--loaves which none but the Priests are allowed to eat?"

Then Jesus said to them, "I put it to you all whether we are allowed to do good on the Sabbath, or to do evil; to save a life, or to destroy it."

And looking round upon them all He said to the man, "Stretch out your arm." He did so, and the arm was restored.

But they were filled with madness, and began to discuss with one another what they should do to Jesus.

About that time He went out on one occasion into the hill country to pray; and He remained all night in prayer to God.

When it was day, He called His disciples; and He selected from among them twelve, whom He also named Apostles.

"Be glad at such a time, and dance for joy; for your reward is great in Heaven; for that is just the way their forefathers behaved to the Prophets!

"Alas for you who now have plenty to eat, because you will be hungry! "Alas for you who laugh now, because you will mourn and weep aloud!

To every one who asks, give; and from him who takes away your property, do not demand it back.

"If you love those who love you, what credit is it to you? Why, even bad men love those who love them.

And if you are kind to those who are kind to you, what credit is it to you? Even bad men act thus.

And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is it to you? Even bad men lend to their fellows so as to receive back an equal amount.

"And why look at the splinter in your brother's eye instead of giving careful attention to the beam in your own?

How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take that splinter out of your eye,' when all the while you yourself do not see the beam in your own eye? Vain pretender! take the beam out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother's eye.

Every tree is known by its own fruit. It is not from thorns that men gather figs, nor from the bramble that they can get a bunch of grapes.

A good man from the good stored up in his heart brings out what is good; and an evil man from the evil stored up brings out what is evil; for from the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.

"And why do you all call me 'Master, Master' and yet not do what I tell you?

He is like a man building a house, who digs and goes deep, and lays the foundation on the rock; and when a flood comes, the torrent bursts upon that house, but is unable to shake it, because it is securely built.

But he who has heard and not practised is like a man who has built a house upon the soft soil without a foundation, against which the torrent bursts, and immediately it collapses, and terrible is the wreck and ruin of that house."

Here the servant of a certain Captain, a man dear to his master, was ill and at the point of death;

for he loves our nation, and at his own expense he built our synagogue for us."

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

Jesus listened to the Captain's message and was astonished at him, and He turned and said to the crowd that followed Him, "I tell you that not even in Israel have I found faith like that."

And just as He reached the gate of the town, they happened to be bringing out for burial a dead man who was his mother's only son; and she was a widow; and a great number of the townspeople were with her.